TOP STORIES
Toxic turtles: Long-lasting chemicals could be harming sea turtles
From the moment they are born, sea turtles fight to survive. Buried alive, they dig themselves out and evade hungry crabs and birds as they crawl to the ocean, where they begin a long and treacherous migration. One out of 1,000 will survive into adulthood. And those that do will bear a toxic burden. Scientists are discovering that sea turtles, long ignored by toxicologists who study wildlife, are highly contaminated with industrial chemicals and pesticides.
Environmental Health News - www.environmentalhealthnews.org
14 Mar 2013
B Israel
Role of Kinship in Mass Strandings of Pilot Whales Questioned
Pilot whales that have died in mass strandings in New Zealand and Australia included many unrelated individuals at each event, a new study concludes, challenging a popular assumption that whales follow each other onto the beach and to almost certain death because of familial ties.
Using genetic samples from individuals in large strandings, scientists have determined that both related and unrelated individuals were scattered along the beaches -- and that the bodies of mothers and young calves were often separated by large distances.
... The mass stranding of pilot whales is common in New Zealand and Australia, involving several thousand deaths over the last few decades, according to Marc Oremus of the University of Auckland, who is lead author on the study. The researchers say their genetic analysis of 490 individual pilot whales from 12 different stranding events showed multiple maternal lineages among the victims in each stranding, and thus no correlation between kinship and the grouping of whales on the beach.
... The mass stranding of pilot whales is common in New Zealand and Australia, involving several thousand deaths over the last few decades, according to Marc Oremus of the University of Auckland, who is lead author on the study. The researchers say their genetic analysis of 490 individual pilot whales from 12 different stranding events showed multiple maternal lineages among the victims in each stranding, and thus no correlation between kinship and the grouping of whales on the beach.
Science Daily - www.sciencedaily.com
14 Mar 2013
Journal Reference
Marc Oremus et al. Genetic Evidence of Multiple Matrilines and Spatial Disruption of Kinship Bonds in Mass Strandings of Long-finned Pilot Whales, Globicephala melas. Journal of Heredity, March 13, 2013 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/est007
More Marine Mammal News
Pelican deaths now exceed 100 in Brevard
Outbreak cause baffles biologists
More than 100 parasite-infested brown pelicans died in Brevard County in the past two months. No one knows why. “The pelicans are emaciated and have heavy parasite counts, and, to our knowledge, other bird species have not been affected,” Dan Wolf, a researcher with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a release.
Many of the dead pelicans have turned up in Cocoa Beach. But others have been found on Merritt Island, in Melbourne, Indian Harbour Beach and along the St. Sebastian River.
FWC researchers are assessing specimens from the pelican carcasses and the environment to identify a potential cause.... “We suspect it may be botulism due to the warmer than average winter,” Sue Small, director of the Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary in Palm Shores, said earlier this week.
Florida Today - www.floridatoday.com
14 Mar 2013
J Waymer
Location: View locations of reports on Global Wildlife Disease News Map 
OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH NEWS
- Deer die off puzzles wildlife officials [Camp Nelson, California, USA - Map It ]
- Officials: Emaciation cause of Tundra swans deaths [Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge, Alaska, USA - Map It ]
- Monarch Migration Plunges to Lowest Level in Decades
- Heavy snow may be forcing boreal owls to starve [Minnesota, USA]
- Sharp fall in birds of prey poisoned in Scotland [United Kingdom]
- Engaging the Public in the Fight Against Wildlife Trafficking
- "Losing all these bats... what does it mean?" [whitenosesyndrome.org blog]
- Province legalizes white-tailed deer farms [New Brunswick, Canada]
- Lawmakers Don't Move on Chronic Wasting Disease [Iowa, USA]
- The Deadly Virus That's Spreading Faster Than Malaria or West Nile
- Field Epidemiology Training Program for Veterinarians in Beijing
- Vaccine hope for Tasmanian devil tumour disease
- Australia's native frogs beat invasive toads
- Wildlife Trade Meeting Endorses DNA Testing of Seized Ivory
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