TOP STORIES
'Naked' Penguins Baffle Experts
Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of Washington, and other groups are grappling with a wildlife mystery: Why are some penguin chicks losing their feathers? The appearance of "naked" penguins -- afflicted with what is known as feather-loss disorder -- in penguin colonies on both sides of the South Atlantic in recent years has scientists puzzled as to what could be causing the condition.
A study on the disorder appears in a recent edition of the journal Waterbirds. The authors of the paper are: Olivia J. Kane, Jeffrey R. Smith, and P. Dee Boersma of the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of Washington; Nola J. Parsons and Vanessa Strauss of the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds; and Pablo Garcia-Borboroglu and Cecilia Villanueva of Centro Nacional Patagónico.
"Feather-loss disorders are uncommon in most bird species, and we need to conduct further study to determine the cause of the disorder and if this is in fact spreading to other penguin species," said Boersma, who has conducted studies on Magellanic penguins for more than three decades.
08 Apr 2011
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Cited Journal Article
Olivia J. Kane, et al. Feather-Loss Disorder in African and Magellanic Penguins. BioOne Waterbirds, 2010; 33 (3): 415-21 DOI: 10.1675/063.033.0321
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Penguin rescue operation under way after south Atlantic oil spill
Monkeys Provide Malaria Reservoir for Human Disease in Southeast Asia
Monkeys infected with an emerging malaria strain are providing a reservoir for human disease in Southeast Asia, according to research published April 7. The Wellcome Trust funded study confirms that the species has not yet adapted to humans and that monkeys are the main source of infection.
Malaria is a potentially deadly disease that kills over a million people each year. The disease is caused by malaria parasites, which are transmitted by infected mosquitoes and injected into the bloodstream.
There are five species of malaria parasite that are known to cause disease in humans, of which Plasmodium knowlesi is the most recently identified. Previously thought to only infect monkeys, researchers have shown that human P. knowlesi infections are widely distributed in Southeast Asia and that it is a significant cause of malaria in Malaysian Borneo. Until now, it was not clear whether the infection is transmitted from person to person, or is passed over from infected monkeys.
08 Apr 2011
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Cited Journal Article
Kim-Sung Lee, et al. Plasmodium knowlesi: Reservoir Hosts and Tracking the Emergence in Humans and Macaques. PLoS Pathogens, 2011; 7 (4): e1002015 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002015
Area bats have white-nose syndrome
A disease that's already killed a million bats in eastern North America has been found in a colony hibernating near Mattawa.
White nose syndrome, which isn't considered dangerous to humans, was found on five sample bats taken from the Purdy Mine Site in Mattawan Township, says the North Bay District Office of Ministry of Natural Resources.
"We'd like people to stay away from any caves or mines that may harbour bats," said Dave Fluri, MNR management biologist, to ensure the disease isn't transmitted on the clothing or boots people wear while exploring.
07 Apr 2011
D Dale
Location: Mattawa, Ontario, Canada - Map It
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OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of The Guardian's Week in Wildlife
Three New Scientific Studies Confirm Lead Poisoning of Wildlife Due to Hunting Ammunition- Beheaded bald eagle found in La. parish ditch [Winnsboro, Louisiana, USA - Map It ]
- Scientists unsure why dolphins washing up dead [Gulf of Mexico, United States]
- NOAA: Just one Mississippi dolphin had oil
