waterboy 2.0 Posted May 24, 2015 Canaries in the coal mine?.....adapt or die is hard with a limited species range. First is was the mammals.... now its "turtle ebola" Doesnt even affect other turtle species apparently in the same river system apparently. Thats a concerning trend. along the lines of the Tassie devils with the cancer that is transmissable.... Print Email Facebook Twitter More Bellinger River snapping turtles face extinction from mystery virus on NSW mid north coastBy Tom Lowrey Posted 18 Mar 2015, 12:51am Photo: A rare snapping turtle from the Bellinger River is checked by a NPWS worker. (ABC News: Tom Lowrey) Map: Bellingen 2454 A rare freshwater turtle species may soon become extinct because of a mystery virus in the population on the NSW mid north coast. Sick and dying Bellinger River snapping turtles have been washing up on the banks of the Bellinger River, near the town of Bellingen, since mid-February. The virus attacks the turtles' internal organs, leaving them blind and starving, and most survive only a few days. So far more than 300 have died as the virus travels upstream. It is estimated there are only a few thousand of the snapping turtles within the river system. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has set up an incident management team to manage the situation, and try and save the species. Deputy Incident Controller Geoff Ross said no turtles had survived the illness. "It has 100 per cent mortality," Mr Ross said. "There is no chance any turtle that has this disease has survived."Scientists try to identify turtles resistant to virusNPWS staff have been working with vets from Taronga Zoo and across the country to try and identify the pathogen and find a cure. Mr Ross said very little was known about it. "We're still looking for that intelligence," he said. "We're doing a lot of planning to try and conserve this animal and reduce the impacts of this disease on other animals." Photo: Josh Maher says a rebreeding program is needed to save the Bellinger River snapping turtle. (ABC: Tom Lowery) Turtles displaying some resistance to the illness have been captured, marked and released back in the river for monitoring. It is hoped they may be key to stopping the spread of the virus if they can survive. Local ecologists, however, have called for more urgent action to ensure the future of the species. Fauna management specialist and local resident, Josh Maher, said a rebreeding program needed to be launched. "I definitely think it should be happening, and sooner rather than later at the rate this thing is spreading," he said. He said the healthy turtles which remained in the river may not be enough for the species to recover. "Even if the animals at the very top end of the river system were to survive, to repopulate the rest of the river could take 100 years, if it were to happen naturally," he said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-18/rare-snapping-turtles-face-extinction-from-virus/6330262 http://www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au/news/1166553-bellinger-river-snapping-turtle-deaths-latest-news 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterboy 2.0 Posted May 24, 2015 (edited) Devil Facial Tumour Disease BTW for any not familiar with it...and trust me this is a presentable photo. Google it if you want to see the true carnage this thing causes. Edited May 24, 2015 by waterboy 2.0 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhoenixSon Posted May 24, 2015 they are getting devils resistant to it now! forget how they were doing it, but i think they gave them little amounts of infected cells to build immunity? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shortly Posted May 24, 2015 Do you mean Canaries in the coal mine for that particular ecosystem in isolation, or the entire ecosystem as a whole? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterboy 2.0 Posted May 25, 2015 they think they have resistant devils....I'll be convinced if they can survive a feed amongst the infected (which isnt that many, because they have been hammered). I still see the odd youngster round here, but from 30+ adults I could draw to a carcass prior to it hitting. Dont see adults no more, not even as lumpy faced roadkill anymore. I've given up on my death wish of being cleaned up overnight by them My thoughts were/are the ecosystem as a whole Shortly. Could be both....dunno. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites