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Kondoru Unfeathered Biped Joined: 05 Dec 2003 Total posts: 5719 Gender: Unknown |
 Posted: 03-05-2006 15:02 Post subject: |
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| But they do suffer from the bends if they ascend too quickly. |
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| MrRING Android Futureman Joined: 07 Aug 2002 Total posts: 4195 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 01-08-2006 14:21 Post subject: |
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LINK
| Quote: | Weather Blamed for Bird Deaths
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- Wildlife officials say stormy weather probably is to blame for the deaths of about 1,000 birds over the weekend at Thurmond Lake near Augusta.
The regional wildlife supervisor for Georgia's Wildlife Resources Division, Vic VanSant, says lightning probably killed the birds. Martins, swallows and crows were among the birds killed at three locations at the lake, which straddles the Georgia-South Carolina line.
VanSant says high winds also can kill large numbers of roosting birds. Alan Dean is a ranger for the Army Corps of Engineers. He says many of the birds were still alive, but injured, when rangers visited the area Sunday. As a precaution, rangers who collected the dead and dying birds wore rubber gloves in case they later were found to be affected by bird flu or some other contagion.
Samples from each group were collected and taken yesterday to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia in Athens to determine why the birds died.
Dean says the most severe storm that swept through the Thurmond Dam area late Friday night flattened about 30 acres of timber at the corps' Quail Habitat Demonstration Area on the Georgia side of the dam. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 20-11-2007 17:26 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | The mystery of dead dolphins in Persian Gulf
An autopsy has been carried out on one of the 73 dead dolphin bodies found on Jask beaches, south of Iran, ISNA reported on October 29, 2007.
The marine deputy of Iran Department of Environment announced that a new program regarding the monitoring of the death of aquatic has been set up with the collaboration of the Environment Program of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea.
Dr Nabavi, on the occasion of the autopsy of one of the 73 dead dolphin bodies found on Jask beaches, said to the environment reporter of ISNA: In this program patrolling the region, reporting dead aquatic on the beaches, monitoring fishing activities and tracking of aquatic, especially the dolphins, are previewed.
More text & photos at:
http://www.payvand.com/news/07/nov/1170.html |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13303 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 02-10-2008 19:24 Post subject: |
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/surrey/7647928.stm
| Quote: | Cat poisonings 'may be malicious'
Vets in a Surrey town believe anti-freeze poisoning which has caused the deaths of 11 cats in the same road may have been malicious.
The Vets Now clinic in Farnham said it had put five cats to sleep from Eaton Road, Camberley this week and knew of six others which had died.
Four of the animals belonged to the same owner, said senior veterinary nurse, Kath Howie.
Surrey Police said was investigating and had not ruled out foul play.
"We normally see one anti-freeze poisoning case every six months, so to see five in one week and have knowledge of another six cases would lead me to believe this has been malicious," said Ms Howie.
Anti-freeze is highly toxic to cats, which are drawn to the substance because it tastes sweet.
Exposure to a teaspoonful can cause death if they lick their paws after coming into contact with it.
"Unfortunately, by the time the signs of anti-freeze poisoning present themselves it is usually too late to save the cat's life," said Ms Howie.
But she said a life could be saved in the early stages, when the animal's symptoms included staggering, vomiting and being un-coordinated.
In the past few weeks, similar incidents have claimed the lives of 28 cats in Somerset - 19 in Bridgwater and nine in Weston-super-Mare.
A spokesman for Surrey Police said it was aware of a number of incidents in the St Michael's and Watchetts area of Camberley in which cats had died after coming into contact with a harmful substance.
"Local officers are investigating and have not ruled out foul play, but are keeping an opening mind about the circumstances," he said. |
It hasn't been cold enough for anti-freeze, has it? Sounds like yet another sicko who kills animals but is never caught. Seems to be a lot of it about these days. |
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| Quake42 Warrior Princess
Great Old One Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Total posts: 5212 Location: Over Silbury Hill, through the Solar field Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 02-10-2008 21:27 Post subject: |
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| Why would cats be drawn to antifreeze because of its sweet taste? I thought that all felines lacked the ability to taste sweetness. |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13303 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 02-10-2008 22:43 Post subject: |
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| Quake42 wrote: | | Why would cats be drawn to antifreeze because of its sweet taste? I thought that all felines lacked the ability to taste sweetness. |
There was a bloke on the radio saying that cats love the taste of antifreeze, so maybe it's more than its sweetness? |
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| Dr_Baltar |
| Posted: 03-10-2008 11:58 Post subject: |
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| Apparently cats and dogs are both attracted by the smell and taste of ethylene glycol, the major chemical constituent of antifreeze. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 30-04-2012 13:23 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Peru examines deaths of more than 500 pelicans
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17890174
A virus or seismic oil exploration are being examined as possible causes
Related Stories
Peru dolphin deaths mystery
Peru country profile
The government of Peru is investigating the deaths of more than 500 pelicans along a 70km (40-mile) stretch of the country's northern coast.
Officials say most appeared to have died on shore over the past few days.
Scientists have also found the carcasses of 54 boobies, several sea lions and a turtle.
They were found in the same region where some 800 dolphins washed ashore earlier this year. The cause of their death is still being investigated.
The Peruvian government said it was "deeply worried".
A preliminary report said that there was no evidence to show the pelicans had died at sea, but rather on the beach where they were found.
But it said further tests would be needed to establish the cause of death.
The Peruvian Maritime Institute (Imarpe) said so far 538 dead pelicans and 54 boobies had been found in various stages of decomposition, although most appeared to have died recently.
In addition, five badly decomposed sea lions and a turtle carcass had been found on shore, Imarpe said.
Local media reports suggest more than 1,200 dead pelicans have been found in the Piura and Lambayeque regions.
Between January and April of this year, some 800 dead dolphins washed ashore in Lambayeque, according to government figures.
Peru's Deputy Minister for Natural Resource Development, Gabriel Quijandria Acosta, said a virus might have killed the dolphins.
A viral epidemic outbreak was linked to similar deaths of marine wildlife in Peru in the past, as well as in Mexico and the United States.
Analysis on the dolphins so far suggested they had contracted a morbillivirus, which belongs to the same group as the measles virus in humans, Stefan Austermuehle of a local NGO, Mundo Azul, told the BBC.
"We know that in other cases in the United States up to 50% of populations were killed by the virus," he said.
"What we also know...is that in previous cases animals that have higher loads of pollutants in their body will fall easier victims to these kind of diseases because their immune system is weakened."
Imarpe scientists said results of tests carried out on the dead dolphins would be released in the coming days. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 30-04-2012 13:33 Post subject: |
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It gets worse: but this time we know whats responsible.
| Quote: | Almost Seven Million Birds Perish at Communication Towers in North America Each Year
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120425193056.htm
Estimated annual avian mortality from communication towers by Bird Conservation Region. High mortality estimates in Peninsular Florida and Southeastern Coastal Plain reflect the more numerous and taller communication towers in these regions. (Credit: Longcore et al. PLoS One; doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0034025.g006)
ScienceDaily (Apr. 25, 2012) — Every year nearly 7 million birds die as they migrate from the United States and Canada to Central and South America, according to a new USC study published on April 25 in the journal PLoS ONE.
The birds are killed by the 84,000 communication towers that dot North America and can rise nearly 2,000 feet into the sky, according to the authors of "An Estimate of Avian Mortality at Communication Towers in the United States and Canada."
Placing that figure in context, the Exxon Valdez oil spill killed 250,000 birds and the Empire State building is 1,250 feet high.
"This is a tragedy that does not have to be," said lead author Travis Longcore, associate professor in the USC Spatial Sciences Institute at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
The taller the tower the greater the threat, the study found. The 1,000 or so towers above 900 feet accounted for only 1.6 percent of the total number of towers. Yet these skyscraper towers killed 70 percent of the birds, about 4.5 million a year, Longcore said.
Most of the birds spent winter in places like the Bahamas and summer in Canada. With names like the Common Yellowthroat and the Tennessee Warbler, they could fit in the palm of one's hand.
"These birds eat insects and keep our forests healthy," Longcore said. "They are quite beautiful. We have a long history of appreciating birds. Millions of people watch birds."
However, the birds are not generally killed by running into the tower itself but the dozens of cables, known as guy wires, that prop up the thin, freestanding structure, Longcore said.
During bad weather, the birds were pushed down by cloud cover and flew at lower altitudes. The clouds also removed navigation cues, such as stars, leaving only the blinking or static red lights of towers.
The blinking did not fool the birds, but towers with a static red light resulted in more dead birds.
"In the presence of the solid red lights, the birds are unable to get out of their spell," Longcore said. "They circle the tower and run into the big cables holding it up."
Longcore estimated that changing the steady-burning lights on the 4,500 towers greater than 490 feet tall (about 6 percent of the total) could reduce mortality about 45 percent, or about 2.5 million birds. The study also recommended that businesses share towers to reduce their number and build more freestanding towers to reduce the need for guy wires.
In 2005, Longcore and his colleagues started collecting and analyzing data from field studies that counted the number of bird kills at communication towers across the United States. The team only used findings that documented bird kills for at least a year and in some cases for several decades.
The numbers were scrutinized to find the average bird mortality based on height, the guy wires and the types of lights affixed to the tower.
The team then matched up tower types, sizes and attributes of 38 tower studies, applying those findings to the 84,000 towers across Canada and the United States in preparation for the new publication, which also was submitted to the Federal Communications Commission.
"One of the things this country has been great about is saying we care about not losing species on our watch," Longcore said. "With these towers, we are killing birds in an unnatural way. This is senseless."
The study, which does not include shorter towers that typically are used for mobile telephone transmission, focused on towers taller than 180 feet, which typically provide TV and radio frequencies.
The study's authors included Catherine Rich and Beau MacDonald of The Urban Wildlands Group, Pierre Mineau, Daniel G. Bert and Erin Mutrie of Environment Canada, Lauren M. Sullivan of UCLA, Sidney A. Gauthreaux of Clemson University, Michael Avery of the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Wildlife Services, Albert M. Manville of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Emilie Travis and David Drake of the University of Wisconsin and independent scholar Robert L. Crawford.
The study was funded in part by The Urban Wildlands Group, Environment Canada, the American Bird Conservancy and Defenders of Wildlife. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 23-05-2012 23:17 Post subject: |
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Were they killed on porpoise?
| Quote: | Peru dolphins not killed by oil blasts, says minister
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18169586
The dolphins were washed up in Chiclayo, in the north of Peru
Related Stories
'Warm sea' killed pelicans in Peru Watch
Peru examines deaths of pelicans
Peru dolphin deaths mystery Watch
A Peruvian minister has denied claims that explosions used in oil exploration are to blame for the deaths of hundreds of dolphins.
Fisheries Minister Gladys Triveno said a government investigation showed that natural causes were to blame.
She contradicted a study by an environmental group which suggested that explosions had caused the deaths.
The animals have washed up along Peru's northern coastline since the beginning of the year.
Ms Triveno said the official government report by Peru's Maritime Institute (Imarpe) ruled out oil exploration, or infection by a virus or bacteria, as triggers for the deaths of the dolphins.
"We have reached the conclusion that the deaths were from natural causes. It's not the first time that this has happened," Ms Triveno said, citing similar cases of dolphin deaths in New Zealand and Australia.
She was speaking on Peruvian radio hours before the release of the official government report.
'Food problem'
However, environmental group Orca said it had tested 30 dead dolphins and found they had broken ears and damaged organs, consistent with the animals suffering from decompression sickness.
Orca has blamed the deaths on the noise and pressure waves caused by explosions it linked to oil exploration in the area.
Along the same stretch of shoreline, thousands of sea birds have also been found dead over the past months.
Ms Triveno announced there would be a separate report into the death of more than 1,200 pelicans, but that she could already rule out a bacterial or viral infection.
She said their deaths were related to a "food problem". |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-05-2012 19:19 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Thousands of shellfish found dead in Peru
http://phys.org/news/2012-05-thousands-shellfish-dead-peru.html
May 26th, 2012 in Biology / Ecology
A dead dolphin lying on a beach on the northern coast of Peru, close to Chiclayo, some 750 km north of Lima, in March 2012. Thousands of crustaceans were found dead off the coast of Lima following the mystery mass death of dolphins and pelicans, the Peruvian Navy said Friday.
Thousands of crustaceans were found dead off the coast of Lima following the mystery mass death of dolphins and pelicans, the Peruvian Navy said Friday.
The cause of death is under investigation, said Industry and Fishing Minister Gladys Triveno, warning that "it would be premature to give a reason for this phenomenon."
The Navy said it presented a report on the find to the Agency of Environmental Evaluation and Control to determine the cause.
Biologist Yuri Hooker of Cayetano Heredia University said the species found on Pucusana Beach, 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Lima, was a type of red krill about three centimeters (1.2 inches) long.
"They live mostly along the coast of Chile up to the coast of northern Peru. What is happening is that these crustaceans are being affected by the warming of Pacific waters in the north of the country," he said, adding that the phenomenon occurs "with some frequency."
Hooker explained that the warmer temperatures led the shrimp-like creatures that usually live far away from the coast to move in closer to land, where they died.
Nearly 900 dolphins washed up along Peru's northern coast between February and April. A government study said the marine mammals died of natural causes, while environmental groups insist the massive toll was linked to offshore oil exploration in the area.
Peruvian officials have suggested that the dolphins, along with 5,000 dead sea birds -- mostly pelicans -- died due to the effects of rising temperatures in Pacific waters, including the southern migration of fish eaten by the birds. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 04-06-2012 20:01 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | 'Starving' crown-of-thorns starfish in mass stranding
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18294729
By Ella Davies
Reporter, BBC Nature
More than 800 crown-of-thorns were left high and dry
Related Stories
What lies beneath
'The Hoff' crab is new ocean find
The strange places fish live
Hundreds of crown-of-thorns starfish found on a beach in southern Japan in January stranded themselves because they were starving, say researchers.
More than 800 were discovered on a 300m stretch of sand on Ishigaki island.
The starfish population "outbreak" was first identified in 2009, when masses of juveniles were seen feeding on the island's outer coral reef.
The coral-eating starfish then took three years to move onto the beach where they perished.
The reason for the starfish population boom is not clear, but the strange behaviour has shown marine scientists what can happen when these slow-moving creatures completely deplete their food source.
"The shortage of food, corals, is a probable cause of the stranding," said Go Suzuki from the Fisheries Research Agency, who witnessed the phenomenon from his research station.
In a paper, published in the journal Coral Reefs, Mr Suzuki and colleagues described how an area once covered with up to 60% coral was reduced to 1% by the voracious starfish.
The marine scientists described how the starfish gradually moved closer to the beach, possibly in search of more coral to feed on.
Mr Suzuki suggested that the current may have helped the starfish along their doomed path, pushing the animals towards the shore.
Noting that they died on the beach, rather than in the water, the team concluded that when the starving starfish were eventually washed up they were too weak to return to the sea.
Crown-of-thorn facts
The multi-armed starfish are named for the protective venomous spines that cover their surface like a crown
The predators extrude their stomachs in order to feed. They liquefy their prey with digestive juices, absorb the nutrients and then suck their stomachs back in
Adults can consume as much as six square metres of living coral reef per year
Watch the 'predatory pin cushion's' attack close up |
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| Anome_ Faceless Man
Great Old One Joined: 23 May 2002 Total posts: 5328 Location: Left, and to the back. Age: 44 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 05-06-2012 08:27 Post subject: |
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| I'm afraid I don't really feel any sympathy for them. They're going through the Great Barrier Reef like a plague of locusts. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 14-07-2012 12:19 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Brazil biologists investigate penguin deaths
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18838918
The annual migration takes some penguins as far north as Rio de Janeiro
Related Stories
'Lost' penguins turn up on Rio beaches Watch
Japan's fugitive penguin caught
Emperor penguins face extinction
Brazilian biologists are investigating the deaths of more than 500 penguins found washed up on the beaches of Rio Grande do Sul state.
Autopsies are being conducted on some of the birds to determine the cause of death.
Researchers said the penguins appeared to have been well-fed, with no apparent injuries and no oil on their bodies.
Similar incidents in the past have been blamed on shifting ocean currents and colder temperatures.
Magellanic Penguins migrate to southern Brazil from Patagonia every year during the southern winter.
Last week dozens of young penguins were rescued from beaches in Rio de Janeiro after straying far beyond their normal range.
The birds delighted beach-goers, but scientists said their health was suffering in the tropical waters.
Brazil's environment agency is preparing to fly those penguins back to the south. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 24-02-2013 21:39 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Peru: Dozens Of Dead Sea Creatures Washed Up
http://news.sky.com/story/1056048/peru-dozens-of-dead-sea-creatures-washed-up
The bodies of 18 sea turtles, 22 sea lions, eight dolphins, 16 sharks and 22 marine birds are found on the coastline of Peru
4:17pm UK, Saturday 23 February 2013
Video: Warning: Video contains pictures of dead animals and birds
Experts are trying to work out why nearly 100 dead animals and birds have washed up on a Peruvian coastline.
The bodies of 18 sea turtles, 22 sea lions, eight dolphins, 16 angular roughsharks and 22 marine birds were found during an inspection by government officials.
Some of the creatures were sprayed with a special paint as part of an investigation into the grim discovery along 77 miles of the Lambayeque coastline.
The carcasses, were in various states of decomposition, were measured, placed in bags and then taken away for analysis.
Jaime De La Cruz, an engineer with Peru's Ocean Institute, said a report detailing their cause of death was expected in the coming weeks.
In the past couple of years, a worrying number of dead sea creatures have been ending up on Peru's shores.
While officials have yet to conclusively pinpoint a cause, some of the possible explanations include viruses, offshore oil exploration, or poisoned food sources. |
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