Wildlife

Great Lakes bats threatened by mysterious disease

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By Jeff Gillies, gilliesj@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
June 1, 2009

A mysterious ailment that’s already wiped out more than a million North American bats is headed to critical Great Lakes hibernation sites. White-nose Syndrome, named for the tufts of fungus growing on the faces and wings of afflicted bats, was first spotted in New York in February 2006. The disease has since spread through New England, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Conservationists worry it could spread as far as Mexico. “As quick as it has spread, it’s most likely going to hit the Great Lakes region within one to two years, potentially wiping out 90 percent of bats that hibernate in the region,” said Rob Mies, director of the Michigan-based Organization for Bat Conservation.

Wildlife

Another invasive species enters Great Lakes

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(ON) The Standard – Bloody-red shrimp, first discovered in the Great Lakes in 2006 and multiplying rapidly, could pose ecological and economic risks to Lake Ontario. Like zebra mussels, the notorious molluscs that wreaked havoc on municipal water supplies and hydroelectric companies upon their arrival, the shrimp are native to eastern Europe and were likely brought over in the ballast water tanks of ships. More

Wildlife

30,000 cormorants destroying lakeside park

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(ON) The Toronto Star- One arm of the Leslie Street Spit, home to Tommy Thompson Park and the Great Lakes’ largest colony of cormorants, looks like a wintry apocalypse. There are no trees now, just a few guano-spattered snags. This is where cormorants first settled in the park in 1990. They now number about 30,000. In some Ontario parks, Parks Canada officials shoot cormorants to stem the loss of trees.

Wildlife

Counting frogs: Keeping track of species keeps habitats healthy

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(IL) Chicago Tribune – Crouched in fields of prairie grass under moonlit skies, Matt Hokanson leads workshops three times in the spring to teach new monitors how to count the population of frogs by the number of calls they hear. There are 13 native species of frogs in Illinois, Hokanson said, but four to five are limited to specific habitats such as sandy areas. The rest can be found in wetlands where habitats are located by aerial photographs taken by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Audubon Society Chicago Region. More

Wildlife

Boaters beware: State checking for zebra mussels

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(MN) Minneapolis Star Tribune – Boaters beware: Beginning this weekend, officials will be out in force trying to prevent the spread of invasive zebra mussels from Lake Mille Lacs, Prior Lake in Scott County and Rice Lake near Brainerd. The Department of Natural Resources is teaming up with other law enforcement agencies, including sheriffs’ departments, the State Patrol and tribal authorities, starting Memorial Day Weekend to check boats at those heavily used lakes. DNR conservation officers, watercraft inspectors and creel census clerks will be checking boats and informing boaters to inspect, remove and drain water from bait buckets, live wells and boats before leaving water accesses. Violators face up to $500 fines. More

Wildlife

Michigan changes bear hunting rules, reduces licenses

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By Gabriel Goodwin,
Capital News Service
The Natural Resources Commission has changed bear hunting regulations for the 2009 season due to requests made by bait and dog hunters. Most of the modifications were made to help reduce conflicts between dog hunters and bait hunters, said Richard Smith, of Marquette and editor of the Michigan Bear Hunters Association’s publication “Bear Facts.”
The changes include a five-day ban on training hunting dogs and a limit on bait sites available to individuals. Other components include a reduction in licensing quotas and a slight modification in the bear season timetable. The association supports the regulation changes and Smith said the group participated in drafting them. Both dog and bait hunters came together and found a solution that will make it better for everyone, he said.

Wildlife

Climate Change Forces Michigan Mammals Northward

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(MI) Environmental News Service – Some of Michigan’s forest mammals are expanding their ranges to the north, likely in response to climate change, a new study shows.  

The finding that historically southern species now are replacing the declining northern species by scientists at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Ohio’s Miami University, appears in the June issue of the journal “Global Change Biology.” “This study documents things that are happening right now, here at home,” lead author Philip Myers said today. More

Wildlife

Pheromones in river traps attract sea lampreys

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Scientists have found another promising weapon in the battle against sea lampreys, strong evidence that they may win the war against one of the Great Lakes’ most infamous invaders.

Researchers at Michigan State University have begun field tests on a chemical compound that tricks the lampreys and lures them into traps.

Wildlife

Bald eagle soars off Michigan’s endangered list

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After decades of recuperation, the bald eagle population in Michigan has risen to a level that has prompted officials to remove the bird from the state endangered species list.

“In the 1950s and 1960s, chemicals in pesticides had an impact on many birds at the top of the food chain,” said Christopher Hoving, endangered species coordinator at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Wildlife

Plan approved to save endangered water snake

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By Gabriel Goodwin

LANSING —The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized a plan to aid the recovery of the endangered northern copperbelly water snake because its Michigan population has diminished to mere hundreds due to habitat fragmentation and habitat loss, experts said. The short-term goal of the plan is to allow the population to reach sustainability, Barbara Hasler, fish and wildlife biologist for the agency, said. She said she hopes that will be the turning point for the species because the recovery plan’s focus is to stop the decline, reach a stable point and increase the number of copperbellies. The plan lays out a timeframe of about 30 years but “is very dependent on funding and the ability to do the identified actions to protect the population,”said Hasler, who is based in East Lansing. Professor Bruce Kingsley, chair of the Biology Department at Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne, said the northern copperbelly water snake population has been declining for at least 75 years and has been in a threatened status for more than 20 years.