Subject: Again Fla. "mysterious' die off of Alligators, turtles, crabs and fish.
Date: Mon, 01 Jan 2001 10:40:00 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State
of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
cc: Carol Browner browner.carol@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker,
I thought you might like to read an (edited) article from The Sun
Sentinel dated: Tuesday, 26 December, 2000.
It came from: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org> .
Biologists are searching for clues to determine what is
killing scores of alligators, turtles and fish in Lake Griffin, one of
Florida's most polluted lakes. So
far this year, 140 alligators have mysteriously died in Griffin, 30 miles
northwest of Orlando. The alligators began dying in around 1997.
Since then, 312 alligators have died mysteriously. Last
year, 101 alligator deaths were recorded.
Almost all are mature alligators measuring 10 feet or more. Biologists
say the animals mysteriously become lethargic, floating for days without
moving or eating. Normally,
alligators live to be 80 years or older, and dead adult alligators rarely are
seen.
Biologists first ruled out viral infection. Pesticide
poisoning and even botulism, a common problem among ducks, were investigated,
said biologist Dwayne Carbonneau of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission.
So far, the prime suspect is Lake Griffin's water. About
94 percent of the lake's algae content is an exotic toxic algae
Cylindrospermopsis, which has been linked to illnesses in Australia. Lake Griffin's much less prominent toxic algae, Microcystis,
also can be deadly. But after 3
years, biologists have yet to confirm a positive link between the algae and
the deaths, primarily because the alligators do not show typical symptoms of
the toxins' poisons.
Of reptiles sampled from the lake, researchers have found
several with microscopic sores in one area of the brain, which may hold a key
to unraveling the mystery of the deaths. The area, about the size of a match
head, controls the alligator's translation of visual signals into muscle
movements. The alligators can see
and perhaps realize what is going on but can't make their muscles respond
because the lesions are slowing the signals from the brain to the limbs,
biologists said.
Biologists are now beginning to see other mysterious
wildlife deaths that may share some similarities with the large reptiles.
Among Lake Griffin's different types of turtles, members of the soft-shelled
species are also turning up dead.
Although no figures are available, Carbonneau said
another species on death watch is the long-nose gar. He said the typically
hearty fish, which has occasional die-offs each year, is showing up dead in
even larger numbers than usual. --
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Well Mr. Helliker, Do you think maybe, just maybe,
that the pollution is the "mysterious" KILLER? I would like to remind you that your "registered"
POISONS are specifically formulated to KILL!
Respectfully, Stephen
L. Tvedten
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