EHD in NC

Posted on November 28, 2011 by MadelineBodin

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease popped up late in North Carolina this year, says an article in the Wilmington Star-News. So far the outbreak has been mild. (And considering how late in the season it is, the chances seem good for it to remain mild.)

The article says a dry summer probably contributed to the lateness and mildness of the disease this year. Drought plagued the region for most of the summer. Hurricane Irene brought the rain that allowed the midges to thrive. Officials from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission say there have been about 30 cases of EHD confirmed in the eastern part of the state.

Read the whole article in the Wilmington Star-News.

Calif. County to Ban Bullfrogs

Posted on November 23, 2011 by MadelineBodin

Bullfrogs are invasive outside of their native habitat in the northeastern U.S. They are also bred for food in China, and, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the conditions of commercial food production are ripe for the growth and spread of chytrid fungus, which has been plaguing amphibians worldwide.

What can a state do? California is being asked to ban the import of bullfrogs, which is a tough sell because of the state’s high percentage of Asian-Americans, for whom eating frogs (as well as turtles and shark fins) is as culturally significant as steak-and-kidney pie, kielbasa and manicotti are to other ethnic groups.

Nationally, Defenders of Wildlife has proposed that only frogs proven to be disease-free be allowed in the country. But more locally, one California county, Santa Cruz, plans to take the big leap and ban bullfrogs to protect its imperiled amphibians, which include the California tiger salamander and the California red-legged frog.

Read all the ins and outs of this complex topic in the Los Angeles Times.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, this will be the last State Wildlife Research News post this week. We’ll be back on Monday, Nov. 28th with more wildlife research news.

Year of the Bat continues

Posted on November 22, 2011 by MadelineBodin

In 2010 the United Nations declared 2011 and 2012 to be the Year of the Bat. (And yes, the UN almost always declares a special “year” that lasts two years.) The first year of the bat is almost over, but there is another whole year to come.

See the United Nations’ press release here.

Visit the Year of the Bat Web site here.

Get the news from Bat Conservation International here.

One of the more surprising name checks of the international effort was in a piece on removing bats from your attic in Consumer Reports.

Virus Hurts NJ Deer Hunt

Posted on November 21, 2011 by MadelineBodin

In the North, the virulance of epizootic hemorrhagic disease in white-tailed deer varies greatly. The outbreak may be mild and kill only a few deer, or it may have population-level impact. This year in New Jersey, or at least parts of that state, EHD appeared to have an impact on the state’s exceptionally dense deer population levels.

Now that it’s hunting season, the impact of the virus is being seen in a reduced harvest. During the muzzleloader season in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, less than half of the typical number of deer were taken, which may be a harbinger of rifle season numbers.

Read the story in MyCentralJersey.com. (And yes, the story goes on to other game topics before the end of the first page.)

Photo: License check in 2008, Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, NJ. Credit: John and Karen Hollingsworth, courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Cougars on the Move

Posted on November 18, 2011 by MadelineBodin

Cougars, also known as mountain lions, pumas and by several other names, have been in the news in Kansas and Wisconsin.

In Wisconsin and young mountain has been photographed by trail cameras three times in recent weeks. A press release from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reminds deer hunters that they can only shoot the animal in self-defense or in the defense of another human.

A TMJ 4 news report couches the news as a warning: hunters should stay in groups if a cougar has been spotted, and be aware that they have been known to steal deer carcasses. That may be because it was couched as a warning in an earlier Associated Press report.

In Kansas, a mountain lion was photographed on a game camera. Footprints confirmed that it was indeed a mountain lion, the sixth confirmed in the state since 2007. Read the Kansas Department of Parks, Wildlife and Tourism press release here.

Photo: Mountain lion in Wisconsin, courtesy of the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources

Road Salt and Vernal Pools

Posted on November 17, 2011 by MadelineBodin

There have been plenty of studies on the effects of road salt on wetlands, and particularly on the amphibians that live in those wetlands. (Here’s a bibliography with seven pages of peer-reviewed papers on the subject, plus over a page of other information sources.)

But because so much of that work was done by Nancy Karraker when she was at State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, James Petranka of the University of North Carolina – Asheville wanted to know how road salt effected amphibians in the southeastern United States — the site of enormous salamander diversity, says an article in the Charlotte Observer.

What he found was that road salt’s impact on the invertibrates in a vernal pool is crucial to the development of the amphibians there, and possibly, to public health. That’s because the salamander larvae eat water fleas, copepods and other invertebrates that don’t fare well in salty water. What’s more, mosquitoes didn’t seem to have any problem with the salty water, and one of the mosquito species that volunteered in the salty test pools carries West Nile Virus.

Read the excellent article in the Charlotte Observer.

A paper on Petranka’s research was published in the journal Aquatic Ecology in 2010. Read the abstract here. (Fee or subscription required for the full article.)

The Adirondack road salt journal article that the newspaper article refers to is most likely this comprehensive 2008 paper on the impact of road salt on wood frogs and spotted salamanders in New York. (Because this article is cited in Petranka’s 2010 paper.)

But Karraker also published a compelling 2011 paper showing how road salt shrivels the egg masses of spotted salamanders that does not appear in her 2007 bibliography.

Photo: Spotted salamander by Tom Tyning, courtesy of the US Department of Transportation

Possible Adenovirus in Deer in California

Posted on November 16, 2011 by MadelineBodin

A homeowner in Colfax, Cal. has found five dead deer in her yard since September. A local veterinarian suspects that it might be adenovirus. However, the homeowner apparently called her local newspaper before reporting the deer to the California Department of Fish and Game, so while we know the deer are dead, no tests have been done.

Read the article in the Auburn (Cal.) Journal.

Georgia Surveys Hellbenders

Posted on November 14, 2011 by MadelineBodin

North Georgia has one of the healthiest eastern hellbender populations in North America. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division began a long-term survey and monitoring project of the large salamanders this year.

Using nets, sometimes snorkeling, the research team surveyed stream segments in four watersheds this season, ending last month. The hellbenders found were weighed, measured, swabbed amphibian diseases, sampled for DNA and tagged with Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT).

The purpose of the study is to establish baseline data for the species in the state.

Like the Ozark hellbender, which was listed as federally endangered last month, the eastern hellbender has experienced sharp population declines. It is state-listed as threatened in Georgia and has already disappeared from eight streams where it was once found in the state.

The eastern hellbender is found in 12 states ranging from southern New York to northern Mississippi, with a western population in Missouri.

Get all the details in the Georgia Department of Natural Resources press release, here.

Also read about previous eastern hellbender research in New York State, here.

Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania Boat & Fish Commission

Burro Removal in Texas

Posted on November 11, 2011 by MadelineBodin

It’s the wild horse controversy, served up Tex-Mex style, with shorter legs and longer ears. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is shooting wild burros found on state land in the Big Bend region. The burros have their advocates, and even on the adjoining Big Bend National Park, it is illegal to hunt the wild burros, which are not a native species, but are considered to be historically significant.

Read the Associated Press story on the controversy, which emphasizes the conflict between native bighorn sheep, prized by wealthy hunters, and the lowly burros, embraced by animal-lovers across class lines. Here’s the story in the New York Times. (But if you are trying to keep under your monthly article limit, here is the same story in the Washington Post.)

The Wildlife Society’s position is that burros are not native, and the feral animals need to be managed responsibly. Read the organization’s comment here.

Bighorn Vaccine Can’t Cure Sheep Lease Controversy

Posted on November 10, 2011 by MadelineBodin

A year ago the Payette National Forest, in west-central Idaho, announced it was going to cut back on leases to domestic sheep ranchers to reduce the risk of a pneumonia-like disease spreading from the domestic sheep to the local, native bighorns.

Earlier this year a Washington State University researcher announced that he had developed a vaccine to protect the bighorns from the disease. That was wonderful news to an Idaho congressman, who introduced a rider to an appropriations bill that would delay the revocation of the sheep grazing leases for five years.

But in a letter to his funders, the WSU researcher said the bighorn vaccine is still 10 years from practical application. (Read more in the Lewiston Tribune.) This week a consortium of wildlife groups urged the congressman to withdraw his rider. (Read about it in the Idaho Statesman.)

The implications are bigger than Payette National Forest. The congressman has said that his rider merely stops other national forests from cutting back on their domestic sheep leases to protect bighorns from disease. (Read about it, again, in the Idaho Statesman.)

Photo by Ingrid Taylor (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taylar/) Colorado bighorn sheep

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