Animals
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Question

UK: Trees Felled in Attempt to Halt Lethal Disease

Mark Hennessy
The Irish Times
Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:20 UTC
Tens of thousands of trees are being felled on National Trust-owned forests in the southwest of England in an attempt to stop a disease spreading which threatens to destroy up to 100 species of hardwoods and conifers.

The disease, known as "sudden oak death", was discovered in shrubs in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset five years ago after it was introduced by an infected plant from the United States. It has also been found in Ireland.

It has since been discovered in the larch, a conifer, and most significantly in rhododendrons, which have defied efforts over decades by foresters to get rid of the pest that was brought into the UK in the 19th century.

Nearly 60,000 larch trees are being felled in two forests in Somerset in an attempt to stop the spread of the airborne fungus, which has already been found in more than 2,000 hectares of land in the region.
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Radar

Weather radar shows something unusual around time birds fell


Today's THV
Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:38 UTC
The National Weather Service in North Little Rock examined a speck on the radar that showed up around the same time all the birds fell out of the sky from alleged trauma on New Year's Eve.

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Monkey Wrench

Capuchin monkeys choose the best tools to crack nuts


BBC News
Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:13 UTC
Wild capuchin monkeys are very selective about the best way to crack a nut, according to scientists.

Researchers from the University of Georgia, US, filmed the wild monkeys selecting the correct anvil and hammer for the job. The footage reveals that the animals are "selective about the materials they use in tool use", say the scientists.

The research team have reported their findings in the journal Animal Behaviour.

The monkeys use pits in logs as anvils, to lodge the nuts in place while they use large stones as hammers to bash through the shells. In the footage, the monkey can be seen "weighing up" the most appropriately sized pit.

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Bizarro Earth

Quebec Bird Deaths Stump Wildlife Officials

Jean-Francois Racine
Toronto Sun
Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:48 UTC
Dead Pigeons
© Daniel Mallard/QMI AgencySylvain Turmel is wondering why he’s been picking up dead pigeons for more than two weeks on his farm in Saint-Augustine-de-Desmaures.

Montreal - More than 80 pigeons have keeled over and died at a farm near Quebec City for unknown reasons, the latest in a string of mysterious animal deaths around the world.

Environmental officials in the province say there's no connection to a similar case in Arkansas, but Sylvain Turmel is wondering why he's been picking up dead pigeons for more than two weeks on his farm in Saint-Augustine-de-Desmaures.

The first dead bird was found on Dec.18. He's since found more bodies on his roof and inside the barn.

"I was stunned," he said.

"I went to see my tenant to ask whether he'd been feeding them poison. He ended helping me pick up 25 corpses. In the time it took us to collect them, five more had fallen. Authorities thought it might be gas. But that's not possible."

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries said tests are currently being performed at the animal pathology lab in the provincial capital.

"The cause right now isn't known," said Nicolas Begin. "It's not related to what happened in the U.S. (But) we don't see this sort of thing every day and we're treating this as a serious matter."
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Eye 1

At least nine incidents of mass animal deaths across the globe

Wil Longbottom
Mail Onlilne
Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:57 UTC
  • Blue stain believed to be sign of poisoning or hypoxia - lack of oxygen that is precursor to altitude sickness
  • Cold weather and overbreeding blamed for deaths of two 2million fish in Chesapeake Bay
  • Disease behind deaths of 100,000 fish in Arkansas River
  • At least nine incidents of mass animal deaths across the globe
  • Hundreds of confused birds plummeted to their deaths in multiple locations in the U.S.
  • Rapid movement of Magnetic North Pole towards Russia may have caused bird deaths
Thousands of dead collared doves rained down on roofs and cars in an Italian town in the latest in a growing spate of mass animal deaths across the globe.

Residents in Faenza described the birds falling to the ground like 'little Christmas balls' with strange blue stains on their beaks.

Initial tests on up to 8,000 of the doves indicated that the blue stain could have been caused by poisoning or hypoxia.
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Fish

Australia's Goulburn River: Dirty Water Leads to Fish Deaths


hearldsun.com.au
Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:08 UTC
dead fish
© Glenn MilneJohn Ross, 5, checks out a dead cod in the Murray River near Wemen.
Ten billion litres of environmental water will be released into the lower Goulburn River in a bid to clean up the river and protect native fish, the Department of Sustainability and Environment said yesterday.

But locals say the move is too little too late. People at Mildura and Robinvale are reporting fish up to 1m floating belly up down the river and crayfish climbing up river banks to breathe.

Jodie Ross, who runs the general store in Wemen, southeast of Mildura, said the black water started in Swan Hill and reached Wemen on New Year's Day. She said the dying fish were a devastating sight for river communities.

"We are seeing hundreds of dead fish floating by and even the live ones are coming up to the top as though they are very weak," she said.

Ms Ross said the river bank was lined with dead shrimp and yabbies.
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Fish

Officials: Lake Meredith fish kill blamed on algae, not connected to worldwide animal deaths

Adam D. Young
Lubbock Avalanche Journal
Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:41 UTC
A mass fish kill that prompted Lubbock officials to add a chemical to city water was being blamed on a toxic algae bloom - and certainly not being connected to recent reports of mass animal deaths around the country, officials said Thursday.

Between 10,000 and 20,000 gizzard shad were found dead last week in Lake Meredith, prompting Lubbock officials to continue adding a chemical to Lubbock water to prevent a possible fishy odor from reaching Hub City faucets. The fish kill triggered state officials to investigate the mass deaths.

The likely culprit: golden algae, a water-dwelling organism that, under certain conditions, can release a toxin fatal to fish, said Charlie Munger, a district supervisor for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

Munger said low water levels at Lake Meredith likely increased salinity and PH levels in the dwindling lake. That chemical imbalance, along with cold temperatures, likely was enough to affect the algae's ability to survive and trigger its defense mechanism - releasing toxin to kill other organisms to provide nutrients.
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Question

US: Chesapeake Bay fish death toll hits 2 million, cold weather being blamed

Candus Thomson
The Baltimore Sun
Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:12 UTC
Image
© Associated Press / Charles PoukishThis Jan. 3, 2011 photo provided by the Maryland Department of the Environment shows dead fish, mostly spot, along with a few small croaker, at Northwest Creek on Kent Island in Stevensville. Maryland officials say an estimated two million fish have been reported dead south of the Bay Bridge since last week.
Biologists see no indication that water quality or pollution played a role in death of 2 million spot fish

It could be two weeks before state officials know for certain what killed an estimated 2 million fish in the Chesapeake Bay. Or, they may never find out the exact cause.

Biologists with the Maryland Department of the Environment sent tissue samples from the fish, mostly juvenile spot 3- to 6-inches long, to state labs to pinpoint the reason they died. But for now, they believe a rapid drop in temperature in December caused cold-water stress, said MDE spokeswoman Dawn Stoltzfus.

Stoltzfus said there are no indications that water quality or pollution contributed to the kill, but the tissue samples will be analyzed for contaminants. Samples also will be sent to the Department of Natural Resources for bacteria analysis. However, she cautioned that "most, if not all, of the fish may be too decomposed to expect meaningful results."

The bay's surface water temperature late last month - 32.9 degrees--was the coldest in 25 years, according to state records. Historical lows were recorded at 13 locations on the bay, from the mouth of the Elk River to Rock Hall and Kent Island to Point Lookout. Spot have little tolerance for temperatures below 35.6 degrees.
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Eye 1

279 Manatees die of 'cold chill' in Florida


TBO
Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:16 UTC
manatees
© APManatees congregate around a power-plant's warm-water discharge flow in Florida last December.
What's more depressing than 2 million dead baby fish? Try 279 floating manatees - and not floating in the good way.

Florida officials are blaming the manatee deaths of last year on "cold chill," the same weather condition that Maryland scientists think was responsible for the recent huge fish kill in the Chesapeake Bay. The frigid waters also killed 21 manatee newborns.

Adding in the deaths due to cold, a total of 767 manatees perished in Florida in 2010. It was the deadliest year on record for the canal-cows, according to Martine DeWit, a state veterinarian.

Manatees suffering from the extreme cold don't seem to expire in a forgiving numbness. Says the AP:

[I]f they don't find warm water, lesions form on their body, similar to frostbite. The animals die from infection stemming from weakened immune systems or hypothermia, DeWit said.
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Fish

Thousands of Dead Fish Wash Ashore on Folly Beach South Carolina

Brian Troutman
ABC/WCIV
Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:41 UTC
dead fish, south carolina
© Annie O'Brien
A nationwide scare involving mass deaths of fish and birds has now hit ground locally. A giant fish kill has occurred at Folly Beach, and according to a report by The Post and Courier, one standing at the end of the pier can see a seemingly never ending line of dead fish in both directions.

Officials with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have confirmed that thousands of dead fish washed ashore behind the former Holiday Inn at Folly Beach and say the fish are all of the same species -- Menhaden.

"We're still waiting to see if DNR can come up with some kind of a clue as to why this happened." Folly Beach Mayor Tim Goodwin said.

If the Fish are not washed away by the tide, Folly Officials will be responsible for the clean up.

Bill Troy was out for his morning jog when he noticed thousands of the silver sided fish washed up on the shore.
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