Animals
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Fish

Drought killing fish, waterfowl threatened too

Alyce Hinton
Reuters
Sat, 28 Jul 2012 20:19 UTC
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© Erik Daily/LaCrosse Tribune/APDead carp float near the shore of the La Crosse Marsh near Myric Park, Wis., on July 10.
The drought and extreme heat wreaking havoc across the U.S. farm belt is killing fish by the thousands in lakes and rivers and could pose a problem to migrating ducks and other waterfowl if it stretches into the fall, officials said.

Authorities are tallying up the losses which could run into the millions of dollar as the worst drought in 56 years expands, devastating the corn and soybean crops and forcing ranchers to cull their herds due to scorched pasture.

"Nationwide we are talking tens of millions to hundreds of millions (of dollars in losses). It just depends upon how long it lasts and how widespread it becomes," said fisheries biologist Dan Stephenson of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

"If this drought persists into fall, when the duck and other waterfowl pass through on their way south, there could be a larger problem," Stephenson told Reuters.

In Iowa, losses were estimated at $10.1 million after 37,000 fish were found dead along a 42-mile stretch of the Des Moines River from the dam in Eldon to the Farmington Bridge in the northeast of the state.
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Fish

Fish kill at Lake Erie result of 'upwelling of cold water'


Erie Times-News
Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:36 UTC
Lake Erie fish kill
© Josh Barber / Erie Times-NewsThis dead freshwater drum, commonly known as a sheepshead, was photographed on the beach at Chautauqua park in Erie on July 24.

Hundreds of dead and dying sheepshead showed up along the Lake Erie shore in recent days.

The fish, also known as freshwater drum, were spotted over the weekend along North East Township near the Pennsylvania-New York state line and also in western Erie County between Elk Creek in Girard Township and Crooked Creek in Springfield Township.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection officials said the die-off was due to a "natural phenomenon" called a seiche and was unrelated to pollution or other stresses caused by humans.
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Bug

Omaha man's home overrun by Brown Recluse spiders

Laura Pullman
The Daily Mail
Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:13 UTC
An Omaha man is desperate to move out of his home after an army of venomous spiders have invaded.

Dylan Baumann is cautiously moving around his small apartment after seeing at least forty brown recluse spiders crawling up the walls and across the floors.

A single bite from a brown recluse can hospitalise victims. Baumann has not yet been bitten after taking special precautions.

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© KETVDangerous: Dylan Baumann is sharing his Omaha home with dozens of venomous brown recluse spiders
He has moved his bed away from the wall and pulled up the skirt of the bed to try and avoid being attacked in his sleep.

Every day he shakes out his clothes before putting them on and makes sure none of the dangerous arachnids are hiding in his shoes. After a shower, he shakes his towel before drying off.
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Better Earth

Two Rare White Sparrows Appear in Moray Garden


STV, Scotland
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:05 UTC
Two rare white sparrows
© Linda CrowtherDouble vision: Two rare white sparrows are now feeding in a Moray garden.
A Moray woman who photographed a rare white fledgling sparrow in her garden last week was left 'stunned' when a second white bird turned up.

Thought to be a 'one-in-a-million' rarity, the white sparrows have a condition known as leucism that leaves their feathers either partly or completely white.

While such birds have been spotted before around the world, intensive internet searches have so far revealed no previous instances where more than a single bird has been seen at the same spot.

Linda Crowther captured images of two of the birds being fed by a parent at the weekend - and she is convinced that there is an older third sparrow visiting.

She said: "I have kept a close watch for the original white sparrow and was stunned when, not one but, two turned up. They are almost identical and were being fed by the same adult male.
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Bizarro Earth

BP oil spill partially (?) to blame for high dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico


PhysOrg
Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:17 UTC
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© Steve Shippee, UCFFor the past two years, scientists have been trying to figure out why there were a high number of dolphin deaths, part of what's called an "unusual mortality event" along the northern Gulf of Mexico. What they found was a perfect storm.
The largest oil spill on open water to date and other environmental factors led to the historically high number of dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico, concludes a two-year scientific study released today. A team of biologists from several Gulf of Mexico institutions and the University of Central Florida in Orlando published their findings in the journal PLoS ONE. For the past two years, scientists have been trying to figure out why there were a high number of dolphin deaths, part of what's called an "unusual mortality event" along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Most troubling to scientists was the exceptionally high number of young dolphins that made up close to half of the 186 dolphins that washed ashore from Louisiana to western Florida from January to April 2010.

The number of "perinatal" (near birth) dolphins stranded during this four-month period was six times higher than the average number of perinatal strandings in the region since 2003 and nearly double the historical percentage of all strandings. "Unfortunately it was a 'perfect storm' that led to the dolphin deaths," said Graham Worthy, a UCF provosts distinguished professor of biology and co-author of the study. "The oil spill and cold winter of 2010 had already put significant stress on their food resources, resulting in poor body condition and depressed immune response. It appears the high volumes of cold freshwater coming from snowmelt water that pushed through Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound in 2011 was the final blow."
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Blackbox

Iceland not cold enough? 14 killer whales seen off Northern Scotland

Alex Ward
Daily Mail
Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:11 UTC
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© Cascade NewsRare appearance: Usually sighted in groups of four or five, visitors got an unprecedented glimpse at 14 killer whales off the John O'Groats coast

More than a dozen killer whales made a rare appearance off the most northerly point in mainland Britain on Monday morning. Visitors to the John O'Groats coast were spellbound as 14 killer whales splashed and played in the harbour.

In an unprecedented sighting, the killer whales, also known as orcas, are believed to have been attracted by seals and were part of two or three different pods.
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Bug

Swarming invasive insect from south-central Europe found in US for 1st time

Jessie L. Bonner
Associated Press
Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:27 UTC
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© Idaho State Department of Agriculture / AP Photo Two Elm Seed Bugs are seen in this undated handout photo provided by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. A federal official said Wednesday, July 18, 2012

An invasive insect commonly found in south-central Europe has been detected in southwestern Idaho, marking the first time the elm seed bug has been spotted in the U.S., according to federal officials.

A U.S. Agriculture Department specialist has confirmed the discovery of the pests that officials say don't pose a threat to trees, despite their name - but do tend to enter houses and buildings in huge swarms.

The Idaho Department of Agriculture issued a statement Wednesday warning that the bugs recently found in Ada and Canyon counties can prove to be a "significant nuisance" for homeowners. Elm seed bugs invade homes during the summer to escape heat, and then stick around through the winter, the department said.

The quarter-inch pests, which feed on elm tree seeds and resemble tiny, brown cockroaches with triangular back markings, do not pose a public health risk, officials said. But the bugs can have an unpleasant odor, "especially when crushed," said Pamela Juker, a spokeswoman for the Idaho Agriculture Department.
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Bizarro Earth

Hawaii Biologists Baffled by Mysterious Creatures Washing Up on Beaches

Brianne Randle
KHON2
Sat, 14 Jul 2012 08:26 UTC
mystery creature Hawaii
© KHON2
The south shore of Oahu is being invaded by something strange from sea, that even has sand crabs running for cover.

"It's the first time I've seen this, I've never seen it before," says beach goer Bruce Kuwana.

"It's really weird, it looks like you want to eat it like a little berry," says beach goer Sonya Lake.

"There are probably millions I'd say," says beach goer Scott Paddock.

If you look closely the entire shoreline is dotted with tiny, purple creatures all curled up.

"Looks like it has about it 6 legs on each side," says Lake. "Yeah it's like an avatar crab."

"When something washes up like this you don't know what to expect, maybe Tsunami stuff," says Kuwana.
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Bizarro Earth

Magellanic Penguin Deaths In Brazil Being Investigated


RedOrbit
Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:10 UTC
Penguin
© ruigsantos / Shutterstock
Biologists are investigating the deaths of hundreds of penguins that were discovered washed up on the beaches at Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state, various media outlets reported over the weekend.

Officials with the Center of Coastal and Marine Studies (Ceclimar) told AFP reporters on Friday that the 512 Magellanic penguin bodies were found on the coast between the towns of Tramandai and Cidreira.

They added that samples from the deceased birds had been taken to Porto Alegre University for further study. The results of that analysis were expected to be released in approximately one month's time.

According to Nick Allen of the Telegraph, the penguins, which were migrating north from Argentina in order to find food in warmer waters, showed no signs of injury, hunger or oil stains. The massive amount of the dead birds coupled with the lack of injury or signs of exhaustion have veterinarians puzzled, he added.
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Stop

Urban noise 'killing baby house sparrows'

Mark Kinver
BBC
Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:45 UTC
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© Isabel WinneyThe UK's house sparrow population has been declining since the 1970s
Noise in urban areas could be increasing the mortality rate among young house sparrows, a study has suggested.

Researchers say the noise could stop adult birds hearing the hunger calls from their dependent offspring.

In their study, the team found that birds nesting in noisy areas were less effective at feeding their chicks as those that nested in quieter places.

The findings have been published in the journal Plos One.

Scientists from the University of Sheffield reached their conclusion after carrying out a study on Lundy, a 445-hectare (1,100-acre) island located 19km (12mi) off the North Devon coast.

Co-author Julia Schroeder explained that the project happened more-or-less by chance.

"When I first went to the island, which is very remote and quiet - apart from gulls and shearwaters - I entered a barn and it was very loud," she recalled.

The barn contained an electricity generator, yet sparrows were still choosing to nest in the building, so Dr Schroeder wondered whether the conditions affected the songbirds.

"I found that there was a reduced fitness - a reduced reproductive output from the nest boxes located in the noisy area," she told BBC News.
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