Wildlife Disease News Digest

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Ecology of Infectious Disease Grants Awarded by NSF, NIH
National Science Foundation - www.nsf.gov
07 Oct 2009
Photo credit: State of Delaware

. . . To better understand the ecological mechanisms that govern relationships between human-induced environmental changes and the emergence and transmission of infectious diseases, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) have awarded 10 grants through the Ecology of Infectious Diseases (EID) program. It is the tenth year of funding in the joint NSF-NIH program.

Interdisciplinary projects funded through the EID program will study how large-scale environmental events--such as habitat destruction and global warming--alter the risks of viral, parasitic and bacterial diseases in humans and animals.

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Parasitic infection killing greenfinches
Irish Times - www.irishtimes.com
08 Oct 2009
S Mac Connell
Photo courtesy of the Irish Times

Location: Ireland - Map It

A disease which cannot be controlled in the wild is killing off one of Ireland’s most popular garden birds, the greenfinch.

While trichomoniasis, caused by the parasitic trichomonad organism, has been hitting all bird populations, greenfinches have been the species most affected.

The parasite lives in the bird’s upper digestive tract, its actions progressively blocking the bird’s throat, making it unable to swallow, thus killing it by starvation.

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Beachgoers warned to stay away from sick sea lion
Katu News - www.katu.com
08 Oct 2009
M Kalkstein
Photo courtesy of Katu News

Location: Seaside, Oregon, USA - Map It

. . . Chandler said it is likely the sea lion has a disease called leptospirosis, which causes lethargy and weight loss. The disease is contagious to humans and dogs and that is why marine mammal experts have posted signs warning people to stay away from the animal.

Chandler said the best chance the sea lion has for survival is if people stay away from it and give it a stress-free environment.

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What Is Killing South African Crocs?
Scientific American - www.scientificamerican.com
01 Oct 2009
N Lubick
Photo credit: H Bouwman

Location: Kruger National Park, Limpopo, South Africa - Map It

. . . Investigators are rushing to figure out the cause and worry that the deaths might be signaling the presence of toxins or pathogens that could threaten not only the croc population but also the livelihoods of the people living near the river.

. . . After slicing open some of the crocodile corpses last year, researchers determined some kind of pansteatitis—an inflammation of adipose tissue—was killing the animals.

. . . The disease may not be limited to crocs. Scientists found the same kinds of fat deposits in fish in the Olifants River. And in the river’s gorge just upstream from Massingir Dam in Mozambique, which also has seen croc declines, birds were absent, raising the possibility that they, too, have succumbed to the same agent.

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Bronx Zoo opens WCS Center for Global Conservation
Your Neighborhood, Your News - www.yournabe.com
08 Oct 2009

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Center for Global Conservation, designed by FXFOWLE Architects, is a state-of-the-art, 40,000-square-foot “green” facility that will serve as WCS’s command center for its conservation work worldwide, including in North America. It is now the home of more than 100 WCS conservationists, researchers and support staff working to save wildlife and wild places.

. . . The C.V. Starr Science Campus where the new building sits at the Bronx Zoo includes WCS’s Wildlife Health Center, headquarters for the Global Health Program, and will soon include additional facilities for a special care unit and animal husbandry facilities.

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