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Unprecedented die-off of swallows that bolster crops, public health
The wild weather that recently thrashed Oregon killed thousands of swallows that bolster crop production and public health.
The die-offs of barn and violet-green swallows were first reported on Monday. There have been sightings every day since then, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials said Thursday.
"I'm presuming every place that had concentrations of swallows had some sort of die-off," said Colin Gillin, a fish and wildlife veterinarian. "It's very unfortunate."
... The extent of the die-off is unprecedented, Gillin said.
In the past, Oregon has seen die-offs of swallows but it's always been because of spraying of pesticides on fields near the Willamette River, Gillin said. And those die-offs were limited to small areas. This time, bodies were found mainly in barns from the Port of St. Helens to Junction City. Most of the sightings have been near the Willamette River where the birds congregate looking for insect hatches.
Nearly 1,000 swallows and a few swifts were turned over to Fish and Wildlife officials. "That has to be a fraction of what actually died," Gillin said.
The birds apparently starved to death, Gillin said. Pathologists at the Oregon State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory found nothing in their stomachs or upper gastrointestinal tracts.
A wealth of data found in whale breath
On her trainer’s command, an alabaster-skinned beluga whale named Naku placed her chin on the deck of her outdoor pool and exhaled several times, emitting a hollow “chuff” sound with each breath. The vapor rose into a petri dish a researcher held over her blowhole.
Those tiny drops contain a wealth of information, it turns out. Researchers at Mystic Aquarium and elsewhere are learning how to use the breath, or “blow,” of whales and dolphins to extract and measure hormones, microorganisms, DNA and the byproducts of metabolism.
Their goal is not only to improve the health of captive cetaceans like Naku, but also to develop a powerful, unobtrusive technique for studying them. While blood is the gold standard in physiological research, it can be hard to obtain — and all but impossible from large whales. Three new studies describe advances in breath analysis, which may prove to be the next best thing.
OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
- 30 large dolphins beach themselves in Brazil [Areia Branch, Brazil - Map It ]
- US seeks protection of bat decimated by white-nose syndrome
- Confirmed: washed up dolphins had deadly morbillivirus disease [View recent cases reported in the news in North Carolina, USA on the Disease News Map ]
- Endangered Galapagos Sea Lions Are Threatened by Dog Diseases [Cited PLoS journal article HERE]
- Spread of Lake Erie’s toxic algae poses challenge to governments
- West Nile Virus bird found in Henry County [Henry Co., Illinois, USA - Map It ]
- Bird collected in Morton tests positive for West Nile [View recent reports in the news in Illinois, USA on Disease News Map ]
- Rare disease reported in Wisconsin cattle [Wisconsin, USA]
- Outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease [View recent cases reported in the news in Wyoming, USA on the Disease News Map ]
- Scope, severity of EHD outbreak still unknown [North Dakota, USA]
- FWP considers mule deer limits in response to disease in white-tailed deer [Missoula Co., Montana, USA - Map It ]
- Fatal deer, antelope diseases may be moving farther west [blue tongue][Big Horn Co., Montana, USA - Map It ]
- Chronic wasting disease: forgotten, but not gone
- Deer-auto crashes decline in U.S. as disease thins herd
- The failing freezer: How soil microbes affect global climate
- Scale up disease surveillance – Dr. Bisiw [Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture]
- Health of oceans 'declining fast'
- Toxic Algae Blooms May Be Longer, More Intense Due To Climate Change
- Wildlife Rabies Vaccination Project Helps Protect People And Pets [Tennessee, USA]
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