Animals
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Eye 1

US: 4 dead dolphins wash up on Gulf Coast beaches in 5 days; deaths part of 'unusual mortality event'

Ben Raines
al.com
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:02 UTC
dead dolphin
© Courtesy of John C.S. PierceThis dolphin was found on the Mobile Bay side of the Fort Morgan peninsula Saturday morning, one of four found since Friday. The death brings the total number of dead dolphins found since the BP oil spill to more than 400. Federal officials say an "Unusual Mortality Event" has been declared for the Gulf's dolphin population, which have been dying at a rate 5 to 10 times higher than average.

Dauphin Island, Alabama -- A dolphin carcass, bloated and violet in the morning sun, was found on Fort Morgan early Saturday, bringing the number lost since the BP oil spill to more than 400.

Three other dolphins have washed up in Alabama in the past week, including a pregnant female on Dauphin Island and a mother and calf pair on Hollingers Island in Mobile Bay.

"We should be seeing one (death) a month at this time of year," said Ruth Carmichael, a Dauphin Island Sea Lab scientist tasked with responding to reports of dead dolphins. "We're getting one or more a week. It's just never slowed down."
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X

Australia: Mystery toxin may have killed Gold Coast horses

Arlie Felton-Taylor and Neroli Roocke
ABC
Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:30 UTC
Image
© Tony BartlettTests are continuing to determine how 21 quarter horses died on the Gold Coast.
Biosecurity Queensland's chief vet says a toxin is the mostly likely cause of the deaths of 21 horses on a single property in the state's south.

The animals started dying late last week at Kooralbyn, in the Gold Coast hinterland.

Dr Rick Symons says hendra virus has been ruled out and blood tests from ill and dead horses have shown nothing else.

Authorities are now waiting for the results of test on samples taken during autopsies.
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Eye 1

New Zealand: First oiled penguins signal trouble


Sunlive
Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:56 UTC
oiled penguin

This penguin’s natural colour is white and blue. He is being cared for by a veterinarian in Te Maunga.

Two oil-drenched penguins have been found washed up on Bay of Plenty beaches today, covered in the oil spilling from container ship Rena on Astrolabe reef.

The two blue penguins were found covered in oil on Papamoa and Little Waihi Beach this afternoon and have been taken to a specialist treatment facility in Te Maunga.

Wildlife Response Centre Director Brett Gartrell is attending to two blue penguins stricken by the oil and says to be helping two birds this soon highlights the coming danger.
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Bizarro Earth

U.S. Government Joins Probe of Mysterious Seal Deaths

Jason McLure
Reuters
Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:07 UTC
Seal
© Andreas Trepte / Wikimedia Commons

Federal officials have joined an investigation into the mysterious deaths of young harbor seals on beaches across three New England states as the number of dead seals rose to 49.

Seals began washing up on the beaches of northern Massachusetts, New Hampshire and southern Maine last week, said Maggie Mooney-Seus, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's office in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

"Some of them have been decomposed," she told Reuters on Wednesday. "We're hoping we're not going to see a lot more. We don't know at this point what's caused it."

The densest cluster of seal deaths has been along New Hampshire's 18-mile (30-km) coast, where 17 seal carcasses have been recovered since Friday, said Tony Lacasse, a spokesman for the New England Aquarium in Boston.

The aquarium has conducted autopsies on three of the least-decomposed seals and found that they all had an adequate layer of blubber to survive.
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Heart

Dead Dolphins Again Found on Coast of Java

Arfi Bambani Amri
Viva News
Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:10 UTC
dead dolphins, java
© Taman Nasional Ujungkulon

Following the discovery of 17 dead dolphins in Ujung Kulon, residents of Parangtritis and Depok Beach, Yogyakarta witness the same phenomenon. A number of dolphins were found dead and stranded.

"The officers discovered dead fish on the shore not far from the search and rescue (SAR) command post of Parangtritis," said Taufik M Faqi, Secretary of the SAR Parangtritis team, Bantul, Yogyakarta.

Taufik stated that as the dolphins were in terrible condition, the SAR officers buried them. "Last Sunday, around 9 a.m. we buried the dead dolphins," he said.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Millions of Bees Mysteriously Die in Florida


CBS Tampa
Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:43 UTC
Honey bees
© Getty ImagesHoney bees.

Micco - Florida officials are abuzz as to how millions of honey bees were killed in Brevard County.

Several beekeepers in the county have reported lost colonies this week. Charles Smith of Smith Family Honey Company told Stuart News Thursday he lost 400 beehives. He says the bees appeared to have been poisoned.

"I'll never get completely compensated for this unless someone handed me 400 beehives," Smith told Stuart News. "I lost the bees, the ability to make honey and the ability to sell the bees."

Smith told Florida Today that he lost $150,000 from the incident. State officials are testing the bees to determine what type of chemicals contributed to their deaths.

Experts say pesticides might be behind the lost beehives.
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Stop

Mercury Mess: Wild Bird Sex Stifled

Roxanne Karimi
Environmental Health News
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
Methylmercury alters hormone levels in shore birds, increasing male homosexuality and decreasing reproductive success.

Levels of methylmercury commonly measured in the environment disrupt hormone levels in both sexes of white ibis, a bird species that lives in US southeast coastal marshes. Altered courtship and chick rearing behaviors tied to the hormone changes reduced reproduction. This result could impact wild populations.

The experimental study is among the first to show that methylmercury can act as an endocrine disruptor and reduce reproductive success in wildlife. Importantly, effects were seen at low and chronic exposures that would be typical in the wild.

The findings, reported by scientists from the University of Florida, also align with results from previous studies that examined mercury's effects on reproduction in ibis, other wild bird species and fish.

Hormone changes in males were more erratic with some males nesting with other males. The changes in hormone levels were more pronounced in males bonded with other males compared to those bonded with females.

Mercury is a metal naturally found in soil and rocks. It is a common global pollutant that persists in the environment and the body. Coal burning at power plants is one of the primary ways that mercury is released into the atmosphere. From there, mercury enters water bodies and is taken up by aquatic animals, including fish.

Most wildlife and people are exposed through diet to mercury in its organic form - known as methylmercury. Predators and other animals high in the food chain are particularly at risk of exposure, because methylmercury concentrations increase at higher levels of the food chain.

Comment: Mercury is an environmental toxin dangerous to all living things:

Despite decline, mercury contamination remains environmental hazard in US

Exposure To Low Doses Of Mercury Changes The Way The Arteries Work

How to Rid Your Body of Mercury and Other Heavy Metals

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Bug

US: Hairy, Crazy Ants Invade from Texas to Mississippi

Janet McConnaughey
The Associated Press
Sat, 01 Oct 2011 10:12 UTC
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© Mississippi State Entomological Museum/Blake LaytonNylanderia pubens (ants) and their larvae are seen in Starkville, Miss.
It sounds like a horror movie: Biting ants invade by the millions. A camper's metal walls bulge from the pressure of ants nesting behind them. A circle of poison stops them for only a day, and then a fresh horde shows up, bringing babies. Stand in the yard, and in seconds ants cover your shoes.

It's an extreme example of what can happen when the ants - which also can disable huge industrial plants - go unchecked. Controlling them can cost thousands of dollars. But the story is real, told by someone who's been studying ants for a decade.

"Months later, I could close my eyes and see them moving," said Joe MacGown, who curates the ant, mosquito and scarab collections at the Mississippi State Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University.

He's been back to check on the hairy crazy ants. They're still around. The occupant isn't.
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Binoculars

Rare White Whale Calf Spotted Off Australia


The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 29 Sep 2011 02:20 UTC
An extremely rare white humpback whale calf has been spotted near Australia's Great Barrier Reef in an event witnesses described Thursday as a "once in a lifetime experience."

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© Wayne Fewings/Getty ImagesThe white humpback whale calf breaching in Cid Harbour in the Whitsunday Islands
Believed to be just a few weeks old, the baby humpback was seen at Cid Harbour in the famous reef's Whitsunday Islands area by local man Wayne Fewings, who was with his family in a boat when he spotted a whale pod.

"We were just drifting when I noticed the smaller whale in the pod was white. I couldn't believe my eyes, and I just grabbed my camera," Fewings said.

"Then the white calf approached my boat, seeming to want to check us out. I was just so amazed at seeing this animal, it made me think how truly astounding the Great Barrier Reef is," he added of the sighting on Saturday.
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Binoculars

Australian Koalas' Loud Noises "Made by Human-Style Voice Boxes"

Andrew Hough
The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:15 UTC
Male koalas in Australia bellow so loud during mating season because their voice boxes are akin to those found in humans, scientists have discovered.


Despite the tree-dwelling mammal having a cute and furry appearance, a 15 pound koala is as loud as a cow weighing more than a tonne, a study found.

Researchers discovered the marsupial emitted a louder sound as a way of attracting sexual partners during mating season.

The team of Australian and Austrian scientists, writing in The Journal of Experimental Biology, also found their cries were a way of boasting about their body size and intimidate rival lovers.
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