Wildlife Disease News Digest

TOP STORIES

Announcing the Release of the Kestrel Watch - An On-line Sight Reporting System
University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Raptor Center
Photo credit: Larry Allen

Across the world, citizens are helping scientists monitor changes in the environment and wildlife populations by becoming astute observers. Networks of these citizen volunteers help research scientists gather large volumes of information that they otherwise would not be able to collect. Audubon's annual Christmas Bird Count, which began in 1900, is the longest running citizen science project known. This spring, The Raptor Center is launching its own citizen science project called Kestrel Watch.

For more information about this new citizen science project or to access the on-line report form visit the Kestrel Watch website.

>>>>KESTREL WATCH

Landfill methane towers scorch perched hawks
Google News - www.google.com/hostednews (Source: Associated Press)
25 May 2009
M Esch
Photo coutesy - AP Photo/Hoo's Woods Raptor Center, Dianne Moller
Area: United States

A towering landfill smokestack offers an irresistible perch for raptors to watch for rodents scavenging in the treeless landscape below. But when flames fed by landfill gas rush upward, the birds are being scorched or burned alive.

At the urging of wildlife rehabilitators, the solid-waste industry is starting to investigate where birds may be at risk and ways to protect them — such as welding deterrent spikes atop smokestacks and providing alternative perches.

It's unclear how widespread the problem is, but suffering or dead birds have been reported in recent years in New York, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Honey Bee Colony Losses In U.S. Almost 30 Percent From All Causes From September 2008 To April 2009
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: USDA/Agricultural Research Service)
22 May 2009
Photo credit: Jeff Pettis, ARS
Area: United States

Honey bee colony losses nationwide were approximately 29 percent from all causes from September 2008 to April 2009, according to a survey conducted by the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This is less than the overall losses of about 36 percent from 2007 to 2008, and about 32 percent from 2006 to 2007, that have been reported in similar surveys.

"While the drop in losses is encouraging, losses of this magnitude are economically unsustainable for commercial beekeeping," said Jeff Pettis, research leader of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency.

>>>FULL ARTICLE
>>>SURVEY ABSTRACT

Dead boreal owls were starving, not sickly
Daily-Newsminer - newsminer.com
21 May 2009
T Mowry
Area: Fairbanks, Alaska, USA - Map It

The reason boreal owls were dropping dead at an alarming rate in Fairbanks this spring isn’t because they were eating sick redpolls infected with salmonella; it’s because they weren’t eating anything at all.

Test results on a half-dozen dead boreal owls that were sent to the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., showed that the birds were emaciated, not sick.

“They were all essentially starving,” said Susan Sharbaugh, senior biologist at the Alaska Bird Observatory.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Whirling disease researchers optimistic about Montana's trout
Montana State University - www.montana.edu
E Boswell
20 May 2009
Photo credit: MSU photo by Kelly Gorham
Area: Montana, United States

Whirling disease now infects about 150 streams across Montana, but researchers say they are still optimistic about the future of trout fishing in the state.

One of the most promising developments, they say, is the discovery of wild rainbow trout that are naturally resistant to whirling disease. Another is the mysterious rebound of rainbow trout in the Madison River, the first Montana river where whirling disease was discovered.

"There's hope," said Montana State University ecologist Billie Kerans. "There's some hope for the trout in Montana. Not all drainages have responded the same way to whirling disease."

>>>FULL ARTICLE