Laptop Battery Owls with glazed eyes, truckloads of dead crows, eagles struggling for their lives while being intravenously fed in bird sanctuaries. Those scenes are being repeated throughout the Midwest as the West Nile virus has struck with a vengeance, killing hundreds of birds. As the human toll -- now at 46 -- mounts, scientists are also concerned that dozens of bird species are facing long-term or even permanent effects from the virus.
Obviously the human toll has been the center stage of concern. But a small number of ornithologists and wildlife enthusiasts are studying West Nile' the hundreds of thousands of birds killed since the virus appeared.
Thinkpad "This is a bird disease, not a human disease," said John Bianchi of the National Audubon Society.
Several researchers say the Christmas counts, when combined with other bird surveys in which drops have also been noted, lends the West Nile theory enough credence to merit study. McGowan, the Cornell University ornithologist, term declines in crow populations. Besides West Nile, other bird illnesses, pesticide use, and other habitat changes can imperil crows, McGowan said.
Microsoft The virus, which is carried by mosquitoes, surfaced on a significant scale only about six weeks ago, and already the effect on bird populations has been devastating: At least 111 species have been identified as affected, and that number is expected to rise.
. (AXcess News) Reports of West Nilevirus are rising on the West Coast even though fall's cooler weather is dampening the reproduction of mosquitos there. San Francisco reported its third case of West Nile virus today. aged man tested positive for West Nile virus but that he was recovering at his home. The other two who contracted West Nile virus, aged man and woman, were likely to have contracted West Nile virus from visits to the Sacramento area, health officials said.
Laptop Computers Scientists are still scrambling to understand the disease and its spread, so the true number of infected birds and what can be expected in the coming weeks remains uncertain. Ward Stone, head of wildlife pathology for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and one of the scientists who first identified the disease when it surfaced in New York City in 1999, said he isn't surprised by the outbreak.
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Laptop Computer "I predicted it would be about four years," he said, noting that the disease never really went away after the 1999 outbreak but has been slowly spreading and incubating every summer. "This is so much bigger and more serious than 1999."
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Desktop Computer New York has the second-highest number of cases, and the disease has also been found in New Jersey and Maryland this summer.
Notebooks But West Nile has hit the Midwest hardest. Ohio leads the country in reported incidences, and high numbers of cases have been reported in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Nebraska. A recent Audubon census in an area outside Chicago that was known to have a population of about 100 crows found only three.
Lenovo "What we found was very dramatic," said Judy Pollock, bird conservation projects manager with the Audubon of the Chicago region. "We have no idea why it hit the Midwest so hard."
Hard Drive Bianchi noted that the recipe was there for a West Nile outbreak. This year featured a dry spring and early summer, an inhospitable climate for mosquitoes that meant their natural predators -- birds -- were also fewer.
Travelstar Then rains in late summer led to a flourishing of mosquito populations, and the birds weren't there to eat them.
Gateway Birds typically live only a few days after contracting West Nile. The virus causes encephalitis, meaning their brain becomes inflamed and they suffer heart lesions and enlargement of the other vital organs.
Laptop Parts So far no species has been found to be immune to the virus, though some birds seem to suffer more acutely than others.
Software Common crows and blue jays appear to be the first and most frequent victims, though bird experts note that this might only be because they are highly visible and numerous. The whole Corvidae family -- which includes jays, crows, ravens and magpies -- is highly susceptible.
Hard Drives Bird lovers are especially worried by the fact that raptors, including owls, eagles and hawks, are being devastated by the disease. Paul Tebbel, president of Raptor Recovery Nebraska, has been overwhelmed with sick hawks, owls and even two eagles in the past six weeks.
Electronics "We usually get only a few a week, and now we're getting three to six a day," Tebbel said. "We were completely baffled and caught unaware."
Canon Tebbel noted that about half the birds his group has seen, including the two eagles, are able to survive with care that includes hand or intravenous feeding. But he is afraid almost any sick bird in the wild will die.
Desktop Pc The bulk of public concern is focused on the risk of West Nile to people, but Tebbel said the potential harm to the ecological balance could have lasting ramifications as more birds die.
Desktop Computers "Taking care of raptors is not a high priority for the state," he said. "But raptors are one of our most important predators. They eat rabbits, mice, rats. In an agricultural area like this, they are a very important part of the ecosystem."
Think Pad National Audubon Society scientist Frank Gill noted that few bird epidemics of this type have occurred in our country, and that there is little precedent for studying them. A devastating epidemic of avian pox in Hawaii was also caused by mosquitoes, brought to the island on ships.
Repair "As a rule, birds can bounce back quickly," said Gill. "But there are some instances where they don't, like in Hawaii."
Data Recovery While a vaccine has been developed for horses, who are also affected by the disease, scientists have little idea how to curb the disease in birds. A vaccine could be used to treat rare or caged birds, but, as Stone said, "it would be impossible to vaccinate the millions of birds in the world."
Cisco The only real relief may come from the onset of winter, when frosts kill most mosquitoes, at least in the colder regions, and slow the spread of West Nile.
Keyboard Meanwhile, concern about the disease's effect on people is contributing to even more bird deaths. Terror at the possibility of contracting West Nile has led people to dump pesticide in rivers, to demand mass chemical spraying and even to poison bird feeders, according to Bianchi.
Monitor Rather than mass pesticide use, the Audubon Society is urging "integrated pest control," including the elimination of any standing water that can serve as a mosquito breeding ground, and the use of bacterial larvicides, which kill mosquitoes, midges and some other insects but leave most bugs unharmed.
Desktop "If you kill all the insects birds eat, it will be just as bad as them getting West Nile," Pollock said.
Infosys When it comes down to it, most scientists predict that nature will ultimately take its course, as it has for centuries. The birds that survive the epidemic will pass on their West Nile-resistant traits to future generations and, over time, breeds will become resilient in the face of the disease.
Refurbished Laptops "Something like this will run its course in three or four years," predicted Gill. "Those birds not sensitive to it will prevail. It will be an example of natural selection in action."
Wipro By Kari Lydersen
Washington Post - 9/14/2002
Topic: Birding
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