Biological Hazard in USA on Wednesday, 21 January, 2015 at 04:41 (04:41 AM) State of California Area: City: Foster City The number of dead and dying aquatic birds on San Francisco Bay soared past 300 on Tuesday as animal rescuers expanded their search to the western shoreline after birds covered in a mysterious goo were found in Foster City. At least 80 birds found along the East Bay shoreline died after their feathers were coated with the glue-like compound, and state wildlife officials say they are collecting more carcasses by the hour. Field workers have brought about 300 birds with gunked-up feathers to International Bird Rescue, an aquatic bird rescue center in Fairfield. That includes three surf scoters collected in Foster City on Tuesday morning and two collected there Sunday. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife began necropsies of the birds and laboratory tests Tuesday in an attempt to identify the substance. Preliminary tests showed it is not a petroleum-based substance or an organic product like vegetable or fish oil. Officials are testing for polyisobutylene, a sticky, odorless substance similar in consistency to what was found on the birds. The compound, which can be used in synthetic rubber or as a fuel additive, was blamed for the deaths of more than 4,000 seabirds along the southwest coast of England in 2013 after it was spilled from a cargo ship. We have never had a diagnosed spill of that compound in the U.S., said Mike Ziccardi, the director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at UC Davis, which is working closely with state wildlife officials and the bird rescuers. Another possible culprit, he said, is a natural algal toxin similar to the poisonous bloom that occurred in 2007, killing hundreds of birds up and down the Pacific coast. That was caused by a die-off of plankton, which released a soapy compound that got in bird feathers and destroyed their waterproofing, just like this latest problem. Were not ruling anything out right now, Ziccardi said. If it is a man-made compound we want to find out where it came from and prevent it from happening in the future as well. Wildlife officials hope to identify the gummy material within the next day or two, but said it could be a while before they discover the source of the pollution. Globs of a silvery conglutination have been collected from beaches, said Andrew Hughan, spokesman for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Thats the interesting part of it, said Hughan, who stumbled across a dead bird south of the San Leandro Marina as he talked on his cell phone. Theres no sheen on the water. If you look really closely you can see tiny little droplets in the water. Thats what were dealing with here. Were not sure what it is. Were collecting animals as fast as we can. Most of the gooed-up birds have been concentrated along the Alameda, San Leandro and Hayward shorelines and in wetlands along the eastern end of the Dumbarton Bridge. Barbara Callahan, the interim executive director of International Bird Rescue, said 262 birds were being treated Tuesday. Workers were running around trying to treat and clean the ever-growing flock. In all, 360 birds slathered in the goop have been collected since Friday afternoon, when East Bay Regional Park District workers first detected the problem along the shoreline off Winton Avenue in Hayward. Its still a crisis, said Callahan, adding that only three two-person field teams from her organization are out collecting birds. At this time weve had no indication that it is slowing down. Rebecca Dmytryk, president and chief executive officer of Wildlife Emergency Services, a nonprofit based in Moss Landing dedicated to improving emergency responses to sick and injured wildlife, said there are not enough volunteers to inspect the entire bay shoreline. Hundreds have been affected and hundreds are out there, Dmytryk said. The birds are everywhere. The problem is that nobody knows what the substance is, let alone where it came from, so there has not been a unified statewide response, which is the protocol when there are oil spills. The U.S. Coast Guard flew over the bay shortly after the substance was detected, but could not locate evidence of a spill. If its confirmed that its a spill from a specific vessel, then we can respond, said a Coast Guard spokesman. But right now there is no indication that it is a spill. As of now, animal rescue groups are on their own dealing with the crisis.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 01:19:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015