A live bottlenose dolphin on Tobay Beach in Nassau County, New York. (Photo Credit: APP/Riverhead Foundation for Research and Preservation)
Bottlenose Dolphins, their numbers impacted last year from a nasty virus that rivals the death rate of Ebola in West Africa, are still dying, researchers have found.
The outbreak of morbillivirus, a measles-like virus that causes pneumonia, skin lesions and brain infections, has killed roughly twice as many bottlenose dolphins as the last big outbreak in 1987-88. In New Jersey, 151 bottlenose dolphins died last year — nearly 10 times this year’s toll so far, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.
Morbillivirus is highly contagious. It’s spread through respiration (via blowholes) and direct contact. Experts think the virus may also be spread through skin contact.
Asbury Park Press Reporter Todd B. Bates explores the unusual mortality event:
The perennial was planted in upland areas surrounding vernal pools, which had been previously constructed as Tiger Salamander habitat. In the spring, native shrubs had also been planted around the three vernal pools.
Rutgers Professor Dr. Brooke Maslo Honored for her Contribution to Wildlife Conservation
By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator
As a Rutgers University professor, 2014 Women & Wildlife Inspiration Award Winner Dr. Brooke Malso has impacted the lives of many students by demonstrating the value of wildlife conservation. Through her scientific research, she has also uncovered valuable findings that have positively impacted conservation efforts in New Jersey.
Brooke Maslo Education Award Winner
In her course “Wildlife Ecology and Conservation,” Brooke creates a first-hand experience in conservation for each of her students by assigning them to work with a wildlife professional to create and execute a management plan for a species of their choice. An avid scientist, Brooke’s current research on beach-nesting bird habitat focuses on the challenges of both protecting breeding habitats to conserve threatened wildlife and protecting coastal infrastructure for severe storm resiliency. Brooke also investigates the role of bats in the control of invasive agricultural insects, encourage New Jersey agriculturalists to provide suitable habitats for the species, and educate New Jersey residents about bats.
CWF asked Brooke a few questions about what working in wildlife rehabilitation means to her:
What is your favorite thing about your job?
“My favorite thing about being an academic researcher is that I am constantly learning. Conservation issues are complex and require solid understanding of the mechanisms that drive both the conservation threat, as well as the species’ response. In order to develop strategies to deal with new conservation issues, we must use what is known to explore how we can manage what is poorly understood. That requires a multidisciplinary approach, and it is often daunting to move out of one’s comfort zone to learn another branch of the field. However, arming yourself with the knowledge that can truly combat a conservation threat is incredibly rewarding.”
What do you find most challenging about your profession?
“Time management. Between teaching, advising students, conducting research, and engaging in public outreach, I often find myself staring at my to-do list, unsure of where to begin. When I am home, my mind is usually still on work, and I have to make a conscious effort to focus on relaxing and enjoying recreational time with my family. I succeed in that for the most part, but it is certainly a challenge.”
Do you have a New Jersey wildlife species that you like best? Why?
“That’s a tough question. I conducted my PhD work on piping plovers, which are probably about the cutest birds in the world. They will always hold a special place in my heart! But I am also quite happy working with little brown bats (and find them pretty cute, too!). I think my passion for little browns is driven by just how intelligent, adaptive, and social these animals are! The more I learn about them, the more intrigued I become.”
What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t working?
“When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my family outdoors… boating, swimming, going to sports games, etc. Doing any activity is great if you make it that way!”
Name one thing you can’t live without.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I cannot live without my NY Giants football Sundays. Obsessed might be an understatement.”
We are excited to recognize the leadership and inspiration they provide for those working to protect wildlife in New Jersey. Women & Wildlife will also celebrate the timeless and inspiring journeys of wildlife migration in New Jersey and beyond.
Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
Hard to believe, but October is already here! And that can only mean one thing — bats! Everyday throughout the month of October, follow CWF on social media and our blog to fly high with these incredible creatures of the night! Each day we will have fun facts, quizzes, and beautiful photos highlighting these amazing animals and the work CWF does to protect them.
The first week we gave an overview of bats in New Jersey with a news article written by CWF Wildlife Biologist MacKenzie Hall. Last week we discussed some threats bats face today. Today we will debunk myths about bats, and later this month we will give examples of ways you can help and CWF Wildlife Ecologist Stephanie Feigin will share some stories from the field!
Make sure to follow us everyday on Facebook and Twitter and read our blog every Friday for our #31daysofbats!
Bats tend to have the reputation of being mysterious creatures of the night. The extent of most peoples’ interactions with bats is limited to a fleeting glimpse in the dark of the night. Because we do walk amongst these species, there is often a lack of understanding and even fear surrounding bats.
So let’s clear up some myths and misconceptions that are often associated with these creatures. Despite common beliefs that bats are blind, rabies-ridden bloodsuckers, they are actually an extraordinary mammal that is valuable to eco-systems all over the world. All bats in the United States are insectivores, and can eat up thousands of bugs in a single night. Because they control the populations of many pests, they are a priceless factor in agriculture, only to be replaced by harmful pesticides. A recent study published in Science magazine estimates that bats’ insect-eating services may be worth as much as $53 billion to US agriculture alone (click here to read about it).
“Blind as a bat.” Not exactly. The assumption that all bats are blind is completely false. Many bats primarily use echolocation to locate their prey, since it can give them a much more accurate picture of objects and pray in complete darkness. In reality, most bats have very good vision, possibly even as sharp as a human’s 20/20 vision.
Bats are not flying blood-suckers that may sweep into your bedroom and leave you lifeless in bed! In fact, the bats that inhabit the United States are completely harmless. Americans should not fear the bite of a bat or the contraction of rabies from the creatures because North American bats live off of insects and have no interest in sucking your blood. Studies show that less than 1% of bats contract rabies; rabid bats tend to become solitary and die quickly, and unlike raccoons, cats, dogs, and other animals, they rarely become aggressive.
In the countries that are inhabited by vampire bats, there are only three sanguivorous, or blood-drinking bat species, that inhabit Mexico, South, and Central America. Vampire bat species include the common vampire bat, the hairy-legged vampire bat, and the white-winged vampire bat. These three species are the only mammals on the planet that survive solely on blood. The rarity of this characteristic surely contributed to the fear that now surrounds them, which is only magnified by the many popular films that feature vampires.
Vampire bat photo credit: National Geographic
But even those bloodsuckers do not usually target humans as their food source. These three species tend to prey on birds and sleeping cattle and horses. Contrary to how vampire bats are portrayed in films, they do not suck blood out of their prey, but instead lap it up with their long tongues for about 30 minutes. These species do not take enough blood to cause any harm to their prey, but they can spread rabies and other diseases and the development of infection is a possibility. Cattle industries in these countries are being negatively impacted, and scientists are working to find a solution.
Since the 1970s, efforts to control the spread of rabies through bats have focused on culling, or killing bats through the use of poison and even explosives. A poisonous paste is applied to a captured bat, which then spreads the paste among its colony through grooming after it is released. However, poison has been found to be unsuccessful by numerous studies because it only targets adult bats, many of which have developed immunity to rabies, and fails to affect juvenile bats, which are less likely to groom older bats, as well as develop immunity. A better alternative practice that does not involve the killing of innocent bats is the immunization of livestock. It has even been found that the revaccination of cows during pregnancy allows an immunity to develop in the calves.
Bats have developed a reputation as being creepy creatures of the night, but are, in reality, valuable to our eco-system and agricultural economy. As communities celebrate Halloween, and bats with sharp fangs decorate homes, be sure to remember the bright side to bats.
Sarah Bergen is a communications intern with Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey
On behalf of our friends – the piping plovers, red knots, American oystercatchers, least terns, ruddy turnstones, black skimmers, and many others – Conserve Wildlife Foundation wishes you a happy World Shorebirds Day.
To learn more about our beach nesting birds work, click here.
You can click here to learn about our migrating shorebirds work.
And if you haven’t seen the Delaware Bay beach restoration video yet, enjoy it here!
Finally, you can help support our shorebirds work with a donation, or through volunteering on one of our shorebird projects.
Click here to make a donation to our shorebird work here!
One other fun way to cozy up to a bird this fall is to visit Unreal Birds, and consider making a purchase of those adorable birds. A portion of every purchase benefits CWF!
CWF Celebrates World Shorebirds Day With Release of Our First Story Map: “American Oystercatchers Through the Seasons”
By Michael Davenport, GIS Program Manager
Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF), today released a new interactive “Wildlife Story Map” in support of this Saturday’s first annual World Shorebirds Day! The Story Map can be viewed here!
A Story Map is a web-based interactive GIS map embedded with multimedia content, such as text, photographs, and video. CWF, working with GIS software developer ESRI and with financial assistance provided by a grant from the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife, plans to make this Story Map the first of many, helping engage the public about New Jersey’s rare wildlife in a dynamic and interactive way.
“American Oystercatchers Through the Seasons” tells the story about a species of migratory bird, the American Oystercatcher, which spends the summer breeding season along the New Jersey coast, but is present year-round along the southern New Jersey coast. Our state represents the northern limit of the species’ winter range. While some New Jersey birds migrate during the winter to Florida, those that breed in New England during the summer may end up spending their winter here in New Jersey.
This Story Map also provides stories about individual banded birds, which have been tracked on journeys between New Jersey and southern states such as Florida, as well as between New Jersey and more northern states, such as Massachusetts.
Make a donation today to support additional Story Maps!
How to Use the Story Map:
On the left side of the Story Map page are several “buttons” which will allow you to flip through the different seasons in an oystercatcher’s life: Breeding, Migration, and Wintering. Each page provides information and photos and a map specific to that portion of the bird’s life cycle. By clicking on an individual point within the map, a box containing more specific information, and a photo in some cases, will pop-up. The map also provides the ability to zoom-in and out in order to see areas of interest in more detail.
This Story Map is especially exciting since it helps celebrate the first annual World Shorebirds Day. This event seeks to “…raise global public awareness about the conservation of, and research about, shorebirds. About half of the world’s shorebird populations are in decline, and the rate of habitat loss is worse than ever before” (World Shorebirds Day 2014).
World Shorebirds Day hopes to accomplish the following:
To raise public awareness about the need to protect shorebirds and their habitats throughout their life cycles;
To raise public awareness about the need for ongoing shorebird research;
To connect people with shorebirds through important shorebird sites around the world;
To get shorebird enthusiasts to introduce shorebirds to more birdwatchers;
To raise awareness about the need for increased funding for shorebird research, monitoring and conservation.
CWF’s shorebird leadership ranges from the American Oystercatcher celebrated in this Story Map, to the beach nesting birds along the Atlantic Coast, to the red knots and ruddy turnstones along the Delaware Bay.
Your support can help CWF develop additional Story Maps on other rare wildlife. Support our work on Story Maps on the American Oystercatcher and other important shorebirds in honor of World Shorebirds Day by supporting research, education, and public awareness efforts carried out by CWF:
We hope that this will be the first of many Story Maps that CWF will use in order to communicate the many fascinating stories that New Jersey’s wildlife have to tell.
Make a donation today to support shorebirds today!
On May 30, 2014 EarthShare New Jersey launched the exciting new Rain Barrel Auctions program. Thanks to a donation of barrels from Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. in Bordentown, N.J., each of the 24 members of EarthShare New Jersey will have one designed which captures the important work each of these charities do for our environment. The auctions are designed to raise awareness and funds for the local members of EarthShare New Jersey.
Rain Barrels offer a long-term, sustainable way to collect and store the rain water that drains from our roofs and gutters. The water can then be used around the home, in the garden, or even for hydration as long as it is adequately filtered and cleaned. Each of the rain barrels being auctioned off are not only functional, but exquisite one of a kind works of art designed by artists from across the state. The program will run until the end of 2014.
The rain barrel designed for CWF was recently posted on eBay. CWF is very excited to have been selected for this effort, and we hope this rain barrel raises awareness and the sale is a success! The proceeds for this rain barrel will be split with CWF and EarthShare.
EarthShare is a national non-profit federation with 25 years of experience in connecting people and workplaces with effective ways to support critical environmental causes. Together we’ve raised more than $300 million for programs that care for our air, land, water, wildlife and public health — in your community, across the U.S. and around the world. EarthShare develops and manages employee engagement and giving campaigns to increase support for its member organizations and help our workplace partners achieve their philanthropic and CSR goals.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation is a non-profit and an EarthShare local member organization. Together CWF and EarthShare work to create a sustainable environment through education, conservation, preservation and community awareness. Through ongoing statewide and community activities we address so many important issues.
Check out our rain barrel, with beautiful artwork by Diane Novobilsky, here!
Ospreys are a common sight along the New Jersey shore during summer months.Each year myself and other dedicated volunteers conduct surveys of osprey nests by boat. Photo by Northside Jim.We use ladders to access nests. Photo by Northside Jim.We count the number of young produced.While checking nests the adults circle nests and often dive bomb banders, like myself.Dive bombed like this. Photo by Northside Jim.And this… Photo by Jim Northside Jim.Young are banded for future tracking.This year a color auxiliary band is being deployed on young that are produced on Barnegat Bay.The bands will allow us and “Osprey Watchers” to ID individuals birds and we will learn a great deal about their dispersion, site fidelity, life span, etc…While checking nests, with or without young, we clean out any trash that we find. Photo by Northside Jim.After surveying a nest the adults return to care for their young.
This marks the third story in Shorebird Week! Our first blog post, on Tuesday, introduced the film “A Race Against Time” and directed you to a free viewing of the film on our website. Our second blog post, highlighted an incredible news story about a resighting of the iconic Red knot B95 on the Delaware Bay! And today’s blog post, will highlight volunteers incredible effort to save stranded horseshoe crabs!
Volunteer Don Senior extracts an impinged horseshoe crab from the rubble on the south end of Fortescue beach along the Delaware Bay on Saturday (c) Phillip Tomlinson South Jersey Times
This story illustrates the incredible efforts of volunteers for Conserve Wildlife Foundation and other conservation groups to save the stranded horseshoe crabs on Delaware Bay beaches. Horseshoe crabs can easily be flipped onto their backs by incoming tides, and they are not able to right themselves on their own. They also get trapped easily by tides and man-made obstacles, such as debris, which leaves them unable to return to the water leaving them to eventually die.
Return the Favor, a multi-group effort, has committed to rescuing as many horseshoe crabs as possible from South Jersey’s Delaware Bay beaches by regularly combing designated stretches of beach and helping to flip the crabs back on their bellies and redirect them back to the water. If possible these volunteers go out daily and rescue all of the flipped or impinged crabs. These efforts have been very successful so far, and they hope to continue these efforts and engage more about who want to volunteer.
