Wildlife Disease News Digest

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Double whammy for the disappearing frogs

. . . This week's unusual twist comes in the shape of a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), which suggests a very different relationship between two of the major amphibian threats: loss of habitat, and the fungal disease chytridiomycosis.

Gui Becker and Kelly Zamudio from Cornell University in the US analysed statistics on amphibian decline in Brazil, Costa Rica and Australia, and found that chytrid appears to do more damage in pristine forests than in lands that have been cleared or otherwise modified by human hands.

Why this should be the case isn't entirely clear.

BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk
01 Jun 2011
Photo credit: Robin Moore/ILCP

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Cited Journal Article
CG Becker and KR Zamudio. Tropical amphibian populations experience higher disease risk in natural habitats. PNAS. 2011 May 31. [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1014497108.

Acid oceans turn 'Finding Nemo' fish deaf

Clownfish, the spectacular tropical species featured in the movie Finding Nemo, appear to lose their hearing in water slightly more acidic than normal.

At levels of acidity that may be common by the end of the century, the fish did not respond to the sounds of predators.

The oceans are becoming more acidic because they absorb much of the CO2 that humanity puts into the atmosphere.

BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk
31 May 2011
R Black
Photo credit: Matthew Wittenrich

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Cited Journal Article
SD Simpson et al. Ocean acidification erodes crucial auditory behaviour in a marine fish. Biol Lett. 2011 Jun 01. [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0293.

Is Domoic Acid Dooming Wildlife?

. . . But researchers say they are concerned about what appears to be a troubling trend—levels of domoic acid are sickening or killing increasing numbers of Pacific Ocean marine animals along the West Coast, particularly in a “hot zone” stretching from California's Ventura County to the South Bay.

“Some years are much more severe than others,” said Cindy Reyes, executive director of the California Wildlife Center, a Malibu, CA-based nonprofit that rescues and rehabilitates native wildlife.

The number of animals suspected of suffering domoic acid poisoning that the center has rescued fluctuates from year to year, often because of changing weather conditions.

Marina del Ray Patch - marinadelrey.patch.com
01 Jun 2011
J Howard, N Mooradian and M Skrzypczak

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Reported Wildlife Mortality Events to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Updated

USGS and a network of partners across the country work on documenting wildlife mortality events in order to provide timely and accurate information on locations, species and causes of death.

This information was updated on Jun 01, 2011 on the USGS National Wildlife Health Center web page, New and Ongoing Wildlife Mortality Events Nationwide.

Quarterly Mortality Reports are also available from this page. These reports go back to 1995.

USGS National Wildlife Health Center
06 Jun 2011
Area: United States

>>>Updated Wildlife Mortality Event Table

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: NOAA via Associated Press