TOP STORIES
New Research Suggests Wild Birds May Play a Role in the Spread of Bird Flu
A study by the U.S. Geological Survey, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Chinese Academy of Sciences used satellites, outbreak data and genetics to uncover an unknown link in Tibet among wild birds, poultry and the movement of the often-deadly virus.
Researchers attached GPS satellite transmitters to 29 bar-headed geese – a wild species that migrates across most of Asia and that died in the thousands in the 2005 bird flu outbreak in Qinghai Lake, China. GPS data showed that wild geese tagged at Qinghai Lake spend their winters in a region outside of Lhasa, the capitol of Tibet, near farms where H5N1 outbreaks have occurred in domestic geese and chickens.
This is the first evidence of a mechanism for transmission between domestic farms and wild birds, said Diann Prosser, a USGS biologist at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. “Our research suggests initial outbreaks in poultry in winter, followed by outbreaks in wild birds in spring and in the breeding season. The telemetry data also show that during winter, wild geese use agricultural fields and wetlands near captive bar-headed geese and chicken farms where outbreaks have occurred.”
USGS - usgs.gov
24 Mar 2011
24 Mar 2011
Oil Spill in South Atlantic Threatens Endangered Penguins
A major spill of heavy crude oil from a wrecked freighter has coated an estimated 20,000 endangered penguins on a remote South Atlantic island chain, the local authorities and environmental groups said Tuesday.More than 800 tons of fuel oil has leaked from the Maltese-registered ship, which ran aground on Nightingale Island, part of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, a British territory, early in the morning of March 16, local officials said. All 22 crew members of the M.S. Oliva were rescued.
“The scene at Nightingale is dreadful, as there is an oil slick encircling the island,” Trevor Glass, a local conservation officer, said in a statement.
The ship has broken in half and an additional 800 tons of fuel oil is believed to be leaking from the front section of the hull, said a spokeswoman with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, a British-based conservation group monitoring the situation.
New York Times - nytimes.com
22 Mar 2011
J Rudolf
22 Mar 2011
J Rudolf
U.S. outpacing Canada in marine cleanup efforts, which could save millions of creatures from death each year
Lost in storms or torn off by rocks, commercial fishing nets and traps can continue to fish on the ocean bottom for countless years after their owners have written them off and returned to safe harbour.
The extent of the problem is massive and its impact significant, as evidenced by just one small area of B.C.'s Boundary Bay near the Canada-U.S. border.
Vancouver Sun - www.vancouversun.com
22 Mar 2011
L Pynn
22 Mar 2011
L Pynn
OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED STORIES
- Porpoise, Stranded by Japan's Tsunami, Rescued from Rice Paddy
- European Coastal Pollution Is Harmful to Seals, Study Finds
- Native fish in Lake Tahoe are disappearing, says report [Lake Tahoe, USA]
- Mites, ovine - Canada (02): bighorn sheep
- The Wild Elephant census in Sri Lanka
It Ain't All Bad News!
- Unique overpasses for bighorn sheep show initial success
- Coho salmon run improves in Russian River [California, USA]
- Deer Numbers in Wisconsin Increase [Wisconsin, USA]
