Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

[HenryN]

UNDIAGNOSED DIE-OFF, AVIAN - USA: (CALIFORNIA), REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: 8 Jan 2009
Source: Emergency and Disaster Information System [edited]
<http://emergency112.blogspot.com/2009/01/rsoe-edis-usa-biological-hazard_08.html>


A mystery disease is striking California's huge flocks of pelicans,
which are being found disoriented far from their usual habitat and
displaying extreme fatigue and bruising inside their beaks, as was
reported Wednesday [7 Jan 2009].

Bird rescuers suspect that fatal algae toxins may be responsible for
the scourge, but the birds do not display many of the signs
associated with those toxins, which normally occur in the summer.

Another suspect is run-off from the fire retardant that was used in
enormous amounts to battle wildfires along the coast last summer
[2008]. The birds are usually seen flying in formation along the
Pacific coast or diving into the ocean to catch fish in their large
beaks. But in recent weeks, many have been found deep inland and far
away from their usual routes. Adding to the consternation is that
many of the dead pelicans are adults, while it is usually the younger
birds that are the most frequent victims of disease.

"We have ruled out starvation, because there are plenty of fish in
coastal waters right now," said Jay Holcomb, executive director of
the northern California-based International Bird Rescue Research
Centre. "We are seeking answers from all the experts we can find."

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Susan Baekeland

[Were there any storms in recent weeks? Storms have been known to
affect birds' navigational systems, causing them to be in areas not
otherwise frequented.

The fire retardant may accumulate in the fish they eat, but given the
dilution factor of the ocean, this seems like a stretch. Without
testing, it is impossible to know.

This article does not mention whether any necropsies on the birds
have been done, which may shed some light on why the birds are dying.
If someone has some definitive information, we would appreciate your
sharing it with us. - Mod.TG]

[see also:
2008
----
Undiagnosed die-off, avian - USA (FL): RFI 20081005.3145
Undiagnosed deaths, avian - USA: (NY) poison 20080106.0066
2007
----
Undiagnosed deaths, avian - USA (NY): RFI 20071227.4156
Undiagnosed die-off, avian - USA (multistate) 20070705.2131
Undiagnosed deaths, avian - USA (FL): RFI 20070703.2114
Undiagnosed die-off, avian - USA (TX) (02) 20070120.0267
Undiagnosed die-off, avian - USA (TX) 20070112.0137
2004
----
Undiagnosed deaths, avian - USA (FL)(02) 20041209.3268
Undiagnosed illness, avian - USA (FL) 20041124.3146
Undiagnosed deaths, avian - USA (FL) 20040711.1854]
................................................tg/msp/dk

 

[HenryN]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Rescuers are baffled over ailing pelicans


Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer
Friday, January 9, 2009


<!--/articlebox -->The birds with distinctive prehistoric silhouettes are turning up disoriented in odd places, some with discolored or bruised pouches. They fly onto highways and parking lots or sit quietly in backyards where they are rescued.

The International Bird Rescue Research Center, in Cordelia near Fairfield and in San Pedro in Southern California, is treating 75 birds, 15 of them received Thursday. Some birds have recovered.

Veterinarians and researchers are considering a range of causes, including natural toxins in algae called domoic acid or a virus or unpredictable weather conditions that may have thrown the birds off of their feeding patterns.

"Watching a brown pelican soar, gliding effortlessly and majestically with its giant wingspan and then, amazingly, diving and filling its enormous pouch with fish is a sight to behold," said Jay Holcomb, executive director of the international bird center.
He doesn't believe the birds are starving from a lack of food along the coast. La Niña-like cold ocean conditions have produced a generous supply of fish this fall and winter. But extremely cold weather in Oregon and Washington may have contributed to the birds' stress, he said.
Holcomb, who's been saving birds for 35 years, believes the birds' behavior "points to something going on in their neurons, but there's nothing conclusive yet." The bruising and discoloration of pouches and feet are a mystery, something he hasn't seen before.
Lab tests conducted by University of Southern California revealed Thursday that half of the blood samples from six pelicans showed evidence of domoic acid, which can cause deadly neurological effects.
"This is indicative that domoic acid plays at least some role in this event," said David Caron, a professor in USC's department of biological sciences. "There may be some other larger general factors that are at play here, and domoic acid may be one added insult that puts them over the edge."
The toxin is produced by a certain species of diatom, which for eight years has been on the rise in California coastal waters. Researchers haven't figured out the environmental cue that induces the diatom to grow and produce domoic acid.
California sea lions are also susceptible, and just last year many suffered seizures, ending up at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito.
Exposure at this time of year would be unusual, scientists say. Typically, domoic acid shows up from February to June. In addition, tests by USC researchers on plankton didn't show high concentrations.
There are 70,000 breeding pairs of pelicans in California and Baja California. The bird is protected as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The insecticide DDT, widely used from the 1940s, knocked back numbers of pelicans, eagles, hawks, falcons and other hunting birds. The banning of DDT and other chlorinated pesticides in the 1970s, plus other protections, aided the pelicans' comeback, although the birds haven't returned to their original range of nesting spots. Last year, the federal government proposed removing the bird from the protections of the act.
The birds are still prey to fishing lines, gill nets, gun-toting vandals and lean food years.
On Thursday, the International Bird Rescue Research Center pleaded for donations of money to the nonprofit center, which spends between $500 and $1,000 to treat and feed each pelican.
E-mail Jane Kay at jkay@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page B - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/09/BAMA1564T4.DTL&hw=pelican&sn=001&sc=1000

 

[HenryN]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Rescuers are baffled over ailing pelicans


." The bruising and discoloration of pouches and feet are a mystery, something he hasn't seen before.

E-mail Jane Kay at jkay@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page B - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/09/BAMA1564T4.DTL&hw=pelican&sn=001&sc=1000

Seems like H5N1 is surrounded by "mystery".

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="3" width="590"><tbody><tr><td>http://www.ibrrc.org/pr_04_25_2007.html


April 25, 2007
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" valign="top">San Pedro, CA
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" valign="top">Crisis off our coast
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" height="21" valign="top">Deadly domoic acid killing record numbers of animals in Southern California
</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="602" valign="top" width="572"><table align="right" border="0" width="324"> <tbody><tr align="center"> <td>

</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td>Many dead brown pelicans litter California beaches following the domoic acid outbreak. (Photo: © Rebecca Dmytryk Titus)
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> It’s happened with pre
dictable regularity, every spring since International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) opened its center in San Pedro in 2001. The staff at the center, which specializes in seabirds, and especially California brown pelicans, calls it DA; short for Domoic Acid. The staff braces for the dead and dying birds they know will come, every spring.

This spring is different. It’s much worse, affecting more species of birds, pinepeds and possibly even whales. Beaches are littered with dead birds, seals, dolphins, otters, and in Santa Barbara a 29 foot sperm whale washed ashore. The reasons for the deaths are not entirely certain, however, many of the animals tested were positive for domoic acid poisoning.

More: Domoic Acid
See video: Pelicans shaking on beach from domoic acid poisoning
Jay Holcomb, IBRRC’s director has many questions, but not enough answers. “I have been doing this work for 35 years and I have never seen anything like this as far as the number of species affected, other than an oil spill,” Holcomb said. “We have very serious concerns about what is happening to seabirds, and how it may affect populations, especially California brown pelicans, who are heading into breeding season. The loss of breeding adults at this time may impact the next generation as well,” Holcomb said. (California brown pelicans are still on the Endangered Species List, but have been petitioned for de-listing).

Pelicans with domoic acid poisoning, which affects the brain, can have seizures while flying, causing them to literally fall from the sky. Some have crashed into car windshields or ended up in places they shouldn’t be, like airport runways and freeways. Holcomb believes many seabirds having seizures out at sea drown, making it virtually impossible to count the bodies. More: Pelicans/Domoic acid
<table align="right" border="0" width="322"> <tbody><tr> <td></td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td>Red areas around Los Angeles harbor shows super concentrated areas of the toxic bloom. Map is from the 2006 Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper series by the Los Angeles Times: "Altered Oceans"
</td></tr></tbody></table> Although domoic acid is a naturally occurring toxin produced by microscopic algae, something is making recent blooms of the algae especially virulent. IBRRC is working closely with the Caron Laboratory at USC, providing body fluids from suspect birds for analysis. Professor Dave Caron and Assistant Research Professor Astrid Schnetzer test the waters off Southern California and alert the center when domoic acid is present. The staff then braces and prepares the ICU. The only way to save the birds is to flush the toxins out of their systems, a labor intensive process. Also see: Caron Laboratory/Domoic Acid
This spring dead birds began littering beaches in March. IBRRC rescue personnel walking the beaches reported “dead birds everywhere.” Species included grebes, gulls, cormorants, American avocets and loons. Not all test positive for DA. But other neurotoxins such as saxitoxin which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans, are also being examined by Dave Caron and Astrid Schnetzer. They are studying the birds with the help of IBRRC staff who provide fresh blood and body fluids of all sick birds. Long-time volunteer, Susan Kaveggia, orchestrates the sampling and has been instrumental in forging the relationship with USC.

Also see: LA Times story: Marine deaths linked to toxin
The Marine Mammal Care Center, which is next door to IBRRC in Fort MacArthur, has been overwhelmed with sick seals and sea lions who eat the same fish as pelicans; anchovies and sardines. The fish eat the affected algae, which don’t kill them, but the animals that eat the fish get concentrated amounts, depending on how many affected fish they eat. Whether they live or die depends how much of the poison they ingest. Many of these sick animals have been tested by Caron and Schnetzer. More than half of those tested have been positive for DA over the past few days.

Humans have died from eating contaminated mussels. Many times people don’t know what made them sick so they don’t report it to health authorities. In humans, domoic acid poisoning can cause vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache, dizziness, confusion, disorientation, loss of short-term memory, motor weakness, seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, coma and possibly death.

Short term memory loss is permanent, thus the name Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning. Birds and pinepeds exhibit similar symptoms. Because the toxin affects the brain, the long term effects of DA poisoning aren’t known, something that concerns Holcomb.
“In my opinion, domoic acid is the new DDT,” Holcomb said. “If the effects of DA poisoning are cumulative in the brain, and we don’t know that yet, it could have serious consequences on the population of California Brown Pelicans. As of this point, we just don’t know.”
</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Brown pelicans turning up sick
Brown pelicans are turning up sick and confused, alarming rescuers
By Mike Taugher
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 01/09/2009 06:42:59 PM PST


An sudden influx of sick, emaciated and disoriented brown pelicans has wildlife rescue workers worried and searching for causes.

About 150 of the pelicans have been brought into the International Bird Rescue Research Centers in Fairfield and Los Angeles since December, a rescue official said.

"Most of them appear to be very, very skinny," said Michelle Bellizzi, the center's rehabilitation manager. "We have never seen this many pelicans come in this time of year without an oil spill."

Brown pelicans, majestic soaring birds with a more-than-6-foot wingspan and a spectacular dive, were nearly wiped out by DDT before the pesticide was banned in 1972. Today, the population has recovered, and federal authorities last year proposed removing the birds from the endangered-species list.

Rescue workers say they do not know what is causing pelicans this year to turn up confused in backyards, on freeways and in city parks. One fell out of a tree in Oakland, Bellizzi said.

One possible culprit is domoic acid, a product of harmful algae that causes neurological damage and disorientation of the kind seen in the sick pelicans this winter.

However, domoic acid is usually more of a problem in Southern California and in warmer months.

Another possibility is that the birds were weakened by a cold snap in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, said Daniel Anderson, an avian ecologist at UC Davis.

Large numbers of pelicans began migrating south about a month later than usual, remaining in the Pacific Northwest into December when cold storms moved through.

"Pelicans can't take freezing cold weather," Anderson said. "It's one possibility these birds were weakened from cold weather."

"The most likely case is it's a series of things ... multiple stressors," Anderson added.

On Friday, there were about 30 pelicans at the rescue center's Fairfield headquarters, and the number of birds coming into the two centers in Fairfield and Los Angeles has risen from about five to 10 a week to about five to 10 a day, Bellizzi said.

She added that on Friday, only one pelican came into the Fairfield center.

The pelican population on the Farallon Islands, meanwhile, appears fine, said PRBO Conservation Science spokeswoman Melissa Pitkin.

In August, Conservation Science, which monitors birds on the isolated islands, reported a record number of brown pelicans there ? nearly 6,000.

The rescue center is asking for contributions. Healthy pelicans eat 7 pounds of fish a day, adding to the cost of staffing and antibiotics. Its Web site is www.ibrrc.org.

To report sick pelicans, call local rescue organizations or animal control offices; WildRescue at 866-Wild911; or the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fairfield at 707-207-0380 ext. 110.

Mike Taugher covers natural resources. Reach him at 925-943-8257 or mtaugher@bayareanewsgroup.com.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11419359?nclick_check=1

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Welcome rwilmer!

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

California brown pelicans found frail and far from home

By Louis Sahagun
January 6, 2009
Wildlife rescuers from San Diego to San Francisco suddenly are facing a distressing biological mystery: Disoriented and bruised California brown pelicans are landing on highways and airport runways and in farm fields, alleys and backyards miles from their normal coastal haunts.

In the last week, the big brown birds known for flying in formation over beaches have been reported wobbling across Culver Boulevard in Playa del Rey and on a Los Angeles International Airport runway. Two dead pelicans were found on the 110 Freeway. Elsewhere, one smacked into a car.



Photos: Saving pelicans L.A. Unleashed: the Times' animal blog"We're a little freaked out by this," said Rebecca Dmytryk, spokeswoman for the nonprofit WildRescue. "We've never seen anything like it."

On Monday, the International Bird Rescue Research Center in San Pedro and other animal rehabilitation centers continued to receive pelicans of all ages found dead or dying in what Dmytryk described as "the oddest of places." Many of them shared symptoms including disorientation, extreme fatigue and bruises inside their pouches.

Bird rescuers were rushing pelican blood samples and carcasses to state wildlife authorities and laboratories that specialize in detecting potentially fatal algae toxins, such as domoic acid, that have plagued the species in past years. But domoic acid typically sickens marine animals in spring and summer, not in January.


"We just became aware of this problem a few days ago," said David Caron, a professor of biological sciences at USC who was analyzing pelican blood samples sent to him from throughout the state. "By the end of the week, we'll have information that should tell us whether or not these animals test positive for phytoplankton toxins."

At a cost of about $500 to $1,000 per bird, veterinarians and volunteers were tending to growing numbers of feathered patients with intravenous fluids, medications, warm enclosures and a steady diet of smelt and squid. Sick birds started arriving last month and many of them rebounded within a matter of weeks.

"Pelicans have been hammered over the years by oil spills, DDT, domoic acid, fishing line, gunshots, starvation and parasites -- we're expert at dealing with those problems," said David Weeshoff, a volunteer at the San Pedro center. "But right now, we're scratching our heads over the cause of this event. Not a good deal."

Unlike previous mass bouts of illness, such as one involving domoic acid that devastated mostly young pelicans last summer, the current problem involves a significant number of adult birds, like the one found dead Sunday in the backyard of Dru Hammond's home in the foothills near Carmel Valley Village, in Monterey County.

"We've lived in this house 12 years and we've never seen a pelican here before," she said. "My husband found it by our small pond. It looked like it just laid down and died there."

Pending completion of blood and tissue analysis, speculation on possible causes of the event has become a main topic of conversation among animal rehabilitation workers.

Some wondered whether pelicans afflicted by domoic acid in years past had developed a lower tolerance.

Others suggested that the birds had somehow ingested fire retardants and chemical residues washed to sea after recent devastating fires, or caught a virus.

"We've ruled out starvation because there are plenty of fish in coastal waters right now," said Jay Holcomb, executive director of the Northern California-based International Bird Rescue Research Center. "We're seeking answers from all the experts we can find."

Brown pelicans plunged to near zero population growth in the 1960s and '70s because the pesticide DDT infiltrated their food in nesting grounds such as Anacapa Island, about 11 miles off Oxnard. DDT residues in fish the pelicans consumed were believed to have prevented the mothers from depositing calcium in the shells of their eggs, which caused them to break easily.

When DDT was banned in the United States in 1972, the species started to recover. In February, the Interior Department announced a proposal to remove brown pelicans from the national endangered species list.

More than 70,000 breeding pairs of pelicans inhabit California and Baja California, and total numbers have surged to about 620,000 birds along the West Coast, Gulf Coast and Latin and South America.

"They're pretty tough, having survived everything they've been through," said veterinarian Erica Lander of the San Pedro rescue center. "But pelicans are also very fragile, and they need our help."

For more information on helping the birds, visit www.ibrrc.org.

louis.sahagun@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pelicans6-2009jan06,0,1465931.story

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Welcome rwilmer!

Hello Florida1! I am very happy to be here.

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Mysterious illness leaves pelicans disoriented, dying
By Sharon Wootton | For The Olympian ? Published January 09, 2009

Comments (0) Recommend (0) Photos

Brown pelicans, cedar waxwings and a sea lion with a plastic necklace are part of the column today: brown pelicans because they're dying; cedar waxwings because they're "invading;" and a sea lion because plastic has it by the throat.

Something is killing brown pelicans in California and southern Oregon; others are ill or dying.

No sick or dead browns have been reported in Washington, said Rocky Beach, wildlife diversity division manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"They're not usually here in the winter but some have been counted in the Christmas Bird Count, and that's unusual although the population is increasing.

"Even if they were, it would have been particular difficult to find them given the weather. Not a lot of folks have been out (on the coast)."

There are about 100 brown pelicans in Grays Harbor and 30 to 50 at the mouth of the Columbia this winter.

"That's unusual," Beach said.

"(Researchers) suspect a toxic algae bloom or an environmental contaminant. Nobody's nailed down any pathogen yet," he said.

The browns to the south are so disoriented that there have been reports of them landing on runways, become road kill on freeways, and found in alleys, yards and as many as five miles inland. They are frail, bruised and fading.

Most worrisome is that so many adults are affected, which could influence offspring numbers in a species that only a year ago were taken off the endangered species list.

Waxwings enjoy fruits of Anchorage

According to the Anchorage Daily News, December's Christmas Bird Count tallied 22,000 cedar waxwings in the area. Now I like cedar waxwings as well as the next birder, but 22,000?

That's a record for the count that started in 1941. It gives new meaning to an eruptive species, any bird population that can explode, or quickly wane, depending on food. In this case, Anchorage's mountain ash berries.

Apparently thousands of mountain ash saplings were given away in the 1980s in an oil-company public relations act. They grew up and produced tons of berries.

Ah, unintended consequences.

Necklaces are decorative and sometimes beautiful but rarely dangerous, unless it's a disguised weapon in a James Bond film or on a mammal.

Sad consequences of plastic

A Stellar sea lion on Whale Rocks in the San Juan Islands was sighted wearing a piece of plastic tightly encircling its neck. Hopefully the plastic will fray and break; there's concern about the potential for it to restrict the throat and thus swallowing.

A whale-watch boat operator reported the problem last month to the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

"It was tight, real tight. We never saw it but in the photo, you couldn't see the band because (it was so tight) in the fur, which usually means it was embedded into the skin," said Amy Traxler, network coordinator.

There's little that can be done to remove it from a sometimes aggressive mammal that weighs hundreds of pounds and would most likely dive underwater if approached.

The situation again reminds us of the dangers of plastic and fishing gear dumped or lost in the marine environment.

According to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, an estimated 1 million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals die each year from eating or being entangled in debris, most of it plastic.

Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.

http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/720953.html

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Pelicans Fall Out Of The Sky Along The Pacific Coast
2009-01-07 23:41:33 (2 days ago)
Posted By: JWSmythe
(Read 224 times || 0 comments) Submit to Digg
Pelicans suffering from a mysterious malady are crashing into cars and boats, wandering along roadways and turning up dead by the hundreds across the West Coast, from southern Oregon to Baja California, Mexico, bird-rescue workers say.
Weak, disoriented birds are huddling in people's yards or being struck by cars. More than 100 have been rescued along the California coast, according to the International Bird Rescue Research Center in San Pedro.

Hundreds of birds, disoriented or dead, have been observed across the West Coast.

(story continues below)





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Editor: This is definitely weird. We've run some very strange stories about nature going wrong over the last few years, including toads mysteriously exploding in Europe, bees dying off world wide, and huge dead areas in our oceans. Like it or not, as I've been saying, we are having a profound negative impact on our environment. It all sounds like tree hugging nutjob talk, until the ecosystem fails us, and we find ourselves without the the basic necessities of food and clean water. I'm not a tree hugging nutjob. You won't find me protesting at a "save the [insert species]" ralley. What you are reading here is my educated opinion, which unfortunately many don't realize.

Global warming, like it or not, is another indicator of what we've done. For those that say global warming is a myth, that's fine, believe as you wish, but animals around the planet are being adversely affected by our actions. Our ecosystem is exactly that, it's a system. Should one part of it fail, a huge portion fails. Seagulls may be annoying, and may make a mess of your car when you're parked near the water, but they too are an essential part of what makes the world we live in work.

Climatic changes, and the pollutants we constantly put into the environment are not good for anyone. There are plenty of places where fresh water rivers are so contaminated that they aren't safe for humans or animals to drink from. Huge tracts of land have been contaminated so they can not be farmed.

These hazards are not just from one source. They have so many sources, it will take a change in the way we live to fix it. If we fail to fix it, it will only be a matter of time (likely a very short time) until we find that we are dying off because of our own causes.

What can we do? By putting poison on your yard to kill weeds and bugs, that poison is also introduced into the runoff water, which ends up in our lakes and oceans. Mercury filled lights, including "compact flouresecent" bulbs, contain enough mercury to bring 6000 gallons of water over safe levels. Thousands of acres are contaminated by the nuclear waste from our "clean" power plants.

In the past, we've identified some problems, such as the use of DDT, and banned it from use. Some known problems such as the use of refined sugars in our foods is a cause of diabetes, and the processing of it damages the environment. Even the overuse of pharmacuticals in our society has tainted our drinking water.

There are a lot of things to fix beyond these, yet very little is being done to curb our damage to our environment. Soon enough, we will find out it's too late. Hopefully there will be some survivors who can warn future generations. In the case of our toxic waste handling, it won't just be a few generations that will have to deal with it, it will be thousands of years before our environment is really safe. They will look back and know the cause. Humans in the last 100 years have destroyed the earth as we knew it. With a little luck and good planning, the history books will read that we recognized what we've done, and put in the necessary measures to counteract everything we've done. I like to remain optimistic, but I don't honestly believe we'll make it.

http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=19731

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Brown Pelican Mystery Intensifies As Deaths Increase

Posted: Jan 7, 2009 09:55 PM EST

Updated: Jan 7, 2009 10:14 PM EST

Video Gallery <1>

Pelican Mystery Intensifies As Deaths Increase
2:57







MONTEREY, Calif.- The mystery illness leaving hundreds of Brown Pelicans sick and dead along the California coastline is still eluding researchers and rescuers both at a state and national level.

But just as quickly as the pelicans are getting ill, the story is gaining national and international attention. The Discovery Channel dispatched a photographer to the Central Coast Wednesday to follow the local WildRescue team on their recovery efforts.

A Discovery Channel producer said they will air the story in a few weeks on the Canadian science news show, "The Daily Planet."

WildRescue founder Rebecca Dmytryk said the BBC also picked up on the story, but her main concern right now is saving as many of the birds as possible.

Dmytryk scooped up several more sick pelicans Wednesday into her WildRescue van on the commercial Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. She said she also found a dead adult pelican on Fisherman's Wharf 1 Wednesday afternoon. The lastest numbers show that more than 200 brown pelicans have been confirmed dead, but Dmytryk said she suspects there's more than double that amount from Baja California to the Oregon/California border.

Dmytryk said adult pelicans should not be dying off in such masses.

Rescuers have not ruled out the possibility that demoic acid, a neurotoxin from algea, could be making the birds sick, but experts say the acid would be making other mammals and birds sick as well, which is not happening.

Dmytryk said tests results could take up to three weeks.

http://www.kcba.com/Global/story.asp?S=9635913

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

What's Killing California Pelicans?
Posted By: Deborah Hoffman 1 day ago
Read Comments (3)Recommend Print Article Email Article Larger Smaller



CORDELIA, CA - The calls started coming in to the International Bird Rescue Research Center just after Christmas. Something strange was going on with pelicans up and down the coast of California.

"We started getting calls of pelicans acting a little weird," said IBRRC Director Jay Holcomb. "They were landing in weird spots, on highways on runways, in people's yards."

Holcomb said they have received more than 150 calls and 75 of the sick birds have been brought in to the centers in Cordelia and San Pedro. "As we looked at them they seemed to be disoriented like they didn't know where they were. They were confused," Holcomb said.

The aquatic bird specialists at the IBRRC are baffled by the sick pelicans. "We don't know what's going on," said Holcomb. "It could be some kind of viral thing, some kind of toxin in the environment that they're eating."

While typically this time of year there is often a die-off of young brown pelicans, most of the sick pelicans are adults which are more valuable to the population because they can breed.

"We've had calls from people in Baja (Mexico) that have seen the same thing and have actually literally seen hundreds of pelicans dying on the beaches," said Holcomb.

The staff at the IBRRC has taken blood and tissue samples of the birds and sent them off to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game. It could be several weeks before they get any results.

Holcomb said the influx of sick birds to the rescue center is straining their budget. He said the center is always looking for donations but a great way the public can help is to become a Pelican Partner.

"Donors are allowed to watch the staff give their adopted bird a final evaluation and they they can take part in it's release back into the wild," said Holcomb. "People really enjoy it."

For more information about the Pelican Partner program and the International Bird Rescue Research Center, click here.


News10/KXTV

http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=52962&catid=2

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

All right that's about all of the news stories that I can find that are not duplicates.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

That's great! Thanks!

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

That's great! Thanks!

You are welcome. Just hope they can find out for sure what is wrong with these pelicans.

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Tests find neurotoxin in Calif. brown pelicans
The Associated Press
Posted: 01/09/2009 07:56:17 PM PST

LOS ANGELES?Initial laboratory tests have found a neurotoxin in some of the hundreds of ailing California brown pelicans that are dying or being rescued in record numbers along the West Coast.

The International Bird Rescue Research Center said Friday that three of six birds examined at a University of Southern California lab tested positive for domoic acid.

Researchers say they cannot conclude that the naturally occurring neurotoxin is the primary cause of the widespread illness because the birds also exhibit other symptoms, such as low body weight.

The center, based in Fairfield in Northern California, has recorded 265 reports of dead or ailing pelicans from Baja California, Mexico, to Washington state.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11419784?nclick_check=1

 

[HenryN]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Tests find neurotoxin in Calif. brown pelicans
The Associated Press
Posted: 01/09/2009 07:56:17 PM PST

LOS ANGELES?Initial laboratory tests have found a neurotoxin in some of the hundreds of ailing California brown pelicans that are dying or being rescued in record numbers along the West Coast.

The International Bird Rescue Research Center said Friday that three of six birds examined at a University of Southern California lab tested positive for domoic acid.

Researchers say they cannot conclude that the naturally occurring neurotoxin is the primary cause of the widespread illness because the birds also exhibit other symptoms, such as low body weight.

The center, based in Fairfield in Northern California, has recorded 265 reports of dead or ailing pelicans from Baja California, Mexico, to Washington state.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11419784?nclick_check=1

Domoic acid poisoning is unlikely. I would think that the test would detect domoic acid at levels well below a fatal dose and it sounds like 3/6 pelicans were negative. Domoic acid is not infectious, so it likely played no role in causing symptoms or deaths in the negative (or positive) birds.

Neurological problems, bleeding under the skin, and rapid death are common symptoms of H5N1 in birds.

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Usual toxin could be sickening pelicans
By Sandy Mazza, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/09/2009 10:48:42 PM PST

Pelicans recuperate in a netted enclosure at the International Bird Rescue Research Center in San Pedro. (Sean Hiller / Staff Photographer)

A round of blood tests this week on stranded and sickly pelicans has provided biologists and rescue groups with clues, but no conclusions, as to why the birds have turned up starving in some unlikely places.

Rescue workers saw a spike in California brown pelicans taken in last month, recovered on Westside roads and beaches and walking in the path of airplanes at LAX. They have also been begging fishermen for food on the Redondo Beach pier.

Experts theorized the problem could be caused by fish swimming deeper and eluding capture or interrupted pelican migration patterns, but no one can say for sure.

Tests found poisonous domoic acid in moderate levels in three of six pelicans on Thursday. Low levels of the poison were also found in coastal waters.

While domoic acid, a naturally occurring neurotoxin produced by microscopic algae in the water, caused mass deaths of local marine animal populations six years ago, experts believe the current levels are too low to be the reason hundreds of listless and dying pelicans have been found along the coast from Washington to Baja, Mexico.

"I think what might be going on here is that there is some general phenomenon going on that is incapacitating a lot of these birds," said USC Biological Sciences professor David Caron, who administered the tests. "The domoic acid is a secondary effect; the concentration was very low. It may not be enough to push a lot of these birds over the edge."
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More tests are scheduled in the next few weeks on pelican tissue and blood samples.

The problem is more perplexing because, until recently, pelicans have been thriving.

Since the birds were placed on the federal endangered species list in 1970, when high levels of the pesticide DDT caused their eggshells to thin and break, they have experienced healthy population growth. Last year, there was a baby boom on their Channel Islands breeding ground.

Experts agree that the primary problem is probably not a mysterious disease - the pelicans simply aren't eating enough. There is no clear reason for this, though, because cooler ocean temperatures mean the seas are stocked with fish.

Peter Wallerstein, a rescue specialist with the nonprofit group Marine Animal Rescue, said he believes the fish are swimming too deep for pelicans to catch.

"Some local fishermen have said that the fish are much deeper below the surface than normal," Wallerstein said. "They're not sure why because the water temperature is normal. But can the pelicans see the fish that deep? Can they dive that deep? I don't think so."

Sick pelicans have kept Wallerstein busy catching and transporting the birds to the International Bird Rescue Research Center in San Pedro. On Friday, veterinarians there nursed three pelicans who arrived in critical condition.

While the increased number of big-billed patients has stretched the resources of the rescue center, Wallerstein said there would be even more dying birds if it weren't for fishermen who feed them - even though they shouldn't.

"High concentrations of starving pelicans are at these bait docks and fishing piers," he said.

Bill Peterson, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the pelicans' plight is odd because current ocean conditions are optimal for pelicans.

"The ocean has been very cold and very productive," said Peterson, who is based in Newport, Ore. "There's a lot of anchovies, and the salmon are doing very good."

Peterson said the pelican populations were doing so well this year that they migrated south about two or three months later than usual - in December.

He hypothesized that, since the pelicans began their migration so much later, they were caught in winter storms and worn down by the hectic trip.

"Maybe because of all the storminess, they weren't able to feed," Peterson said.

The storms also could have motivated the fish to swim deeper than usual to avoid being tossed around in choppy waters, making it more difficult for pelicans to feed, he said.

But his explanation, like Wallerstein's, is only a guess.

Rebecca Dmytryk, founder of Wild-

Rescue of Malibu who is working with the International Bird Rescue Research Center, said she hopes additional tests will lend answers in the next few weeks.

If not, the center may have to start turning away some of the birds because of the cost of their health care. Each bird is estimated to cost the center $500 to $1,000.

"We're way into our reserves," Dmytryk said. "There's going to be a point where we can't take any more birds. We're in dire straits now."

sandy.mazza@dailybreeze.com

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_11421158

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

No answer in pelican die-off

By Zeke Barlow (Contact)
Saturday, January 10, 2009

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As dead and dying pelicans continue to turn up in the strangest of locations, scientists are beginning to get some preliminary results that hint at what could be causing the unusual die-off.

Though three birds tested had signs of domoic acid poisoning, it is thought to be only part of the reason 265 pelicans have been found dead or dying along the Pacific Coast in the past few weeks. Water samples taken in the waters off Southern California this week showed that five places out of 14 had very low concentrations of domoic acid.

However, many of the typical symptoms of a domoic acid outbreak ? seizures and other animals getting sick ? haven?t been seen, leading scientists to think there is a secondary problem. Domoic acid is a naturally occurring toxin that has annual blooms in the ocean.

?We are continuing to collect and test samples, keeping an open mind and considering all possibilities,? said Heather Nevill, a veterinarian at the International Bird Rescue Research Center, which has been treating the birds.

The group thinks twice as many birds as reported may be dead or dying. Four birds were found in Ventura County on Thursday, one of which died before it could be transported to the research center, said volunteer Kathy Hughes.

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/jan/10/no-answer-in-pelican-die-off/

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: Undiagnosed die-off, avian - usa: (california), request for information

Tests Show Neurotoxin In Some Sick Pelicans
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―

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Wildlife experts say neurotoxins have been detected in some sick California brown pelicans that are being found in record numbers along the West Coast, though researchers don't believe it is the primary cause of their widespread illness.

Preliminary lab results from USC show three of six blood samples taken from sick pelicans tested positive for domoic acid.

A veterinarian at the International Bird Rescue Research Center says researchers believe the results are significant, but do not explain all the signs they are seeing in the pelicans.

The center says it has recorded 265 reports of dead or ailing pelicans from Baja California, Mexico, to Washington state. More than 100 pelicans are being treated at the center's two facilities in Fairfield and San Pedro.

http://cbs2.com/pets/Sick.Pelicans.Neurotoxin.2.904740.html