Michigan Department of Natural Resources - October 27, 2014

Wildlife Viewing

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Join us in celebrating #BatWeek!

The DNR is joining The Organization for Bat Conservation, Bat Conservation International, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others for the celebration of #BatWeek! Taking place Oct. 26 through Nov. 1, #BatWeek 2014 is drawing attention to the value of bats and the challenges they face.

This time of year, bats are on the move. While some species of bats will migrate south, where temperatures remain above freezing, the majority of our Michigan bats hibernate in abandoned mines, caves or other secluded places free from human disturbances. Because a Michigan bat’s diet consists of only insects, their main food is unavailable in the colder months. To survive the long winter with a complete lack of food, bats must store up enough fat reserves during the summer months to fuel their bodies during hibernation. To conserve their precious energy reserves, bats' metabolism slows and their body temperatures lower to 38-43 degrees.

Michigan bats are important because they are the primary nighttime predator of insects. Bats eat large amounts of nuisance insects that are damaging to agriculture and forests. Some species of bats can consume more than half their body weight in insects each night! This predation helps decrease the reliance on chemical insecticides to control pests and also combats infectious diseases that spread through insect bites.

However, these fascinating critters are facing the greatest threat to North American bat populations. White nose syndrome (WNS) is a devastating disease from an invasive fungus that grows on the nose, wings and exposed skin of the bats. The fungus thrives in cold, damp environments and is only known to affect bats, primarily during hibernation. The fungal growth forms irritating lesions on the bats' skin, causing them to wake more often during hibernation and deplete their fat reserves prematurely. Without enough fat reserves to survive the rest of the winter, bats with WNS will emerge mid-winter and desperately try to find insects, but will die from starvation and exposure to the cold.

How can you help Michigan’s bats?

• Report Unusual Bat Behavior and Deaths.  
• Learn more about bats in Michigan.
• Learn how to prevent the spread of WNS.
• Buy a wildlife habitat license plate.
• Buy a Living Resources wildlife patch.
• Simply make a tax-deductible donation.

With your help and increased funding to the Nongame Wildlife Fund, we can increase our efforts to protect and learn about the bats that call Michigan home. Help us #SavetheBats!

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This email was sent to siekask@gmail.com using GovDelivery, on behalf of: Michigan DNR · Constitution Hall, 525 W. Allegan St., PO Box 30028 Lansing MI 48909 · 1-800-439-1420

Perspectives

Look carefully at the tail of the black squirrel and you can see his injury.

Are you a glass half full or glass half empty person? I often wonder why people have a tendency towards one extreme or the other. Being a half empty person, I spend far too much time fretting and stewing about minor incidents that the rest of the population would skip by without much consideration. But I know that the world needs the pessimists like me to keep the other half grounded.

On an overcast day like today, my half empty attitude takes a downward spiral and I admit that during these periods I am not the most pleasant person to be around. To counteract the black mood, I take to watching the squirrels outside the kitchen window. There are an assortment of grays and blacks, youngsters and adults. One catches my eye. Face forward he is a beautiful squirrel, healthy and full of vigor. Then he twists around and I can see that some of his tail fur is missing. One section of the tail has skin and no fur, but a good 4-5 inches of skin is gone as well, exposing the segmented bones. The squirrel doesn’t appear to be bothered by the injury and considering how chilly it is today, I would think that the wound would sting from the cold air temperature.

If this was me, I would be hiding in my house, ashamed to allow others to see my injuries. But this squirrel is right in the middle of the pack, pushing the others away from his stash of sunflower seeds, scampering up the tree with the other squirrels at the slightest hint of trouble. It gets me to thinking about the so-called human superiority over other animals. Our ability to think and process sophisticated pieces of information give us an advantage over most but it comes at a price. I think we humans spend far too much time worrying about insignificant things. Does having the perfect wardrobe, car, house and ageless body really count for much in the scheme of things? My life is more comfortable than many in the world and yet, I sit here on this gloomy day moping about. Then I see this squirrel whose injury could jeopardize his odds of survival and he is behaving as if he is master of the backyard. It begs the question: who is the smarter creature?

State announces grants as part of new invasive species initiative - Michigan DNR

Press Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 28, 2014

Contact: Tammy Newcomb, 517-284-5832 or Ed Golder, 517-284-5815
State announces grants as part of new invasive species initiative
At least $3.6 million available to fight land, water invaders

A handbook has been released outlining the scope and guidelines for the new Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program, made possible through funding in Gov. Rick Snyder’s fiscal year 2015 budget. The program is a joint effort of the Michigan departments of Natural Resources, Environmental Quality and Agriculture and Rural Development.

The grant program will devote at least $3.6 million toward projects to detect, prevent, manage and eradicate invasive species on the ground and in the water.

“The long-term health of Michigan’s natural resources is critical to our state’s economy and quality of life,” said DNR Director Keith Creagh. “The Asian carp, for instance, could devastate the $7 billion Great Lakes fishery. These grants will help us link with partner groups to address the significant threat invasive species pose to Michigan.”
The grant program is central to a new invasive species initiative, which brings a multi-department, comprehensive approach to the ongoing problem of harmful, non-native invaders. The initiative is made possible with funding first proposed by Gov. Snyder and approved by the Michigan Legislature. The governor and Legislature devoted $5 million in ongoing funding to invasive species beginning in the 2015 fiscal year. A minimum of $3.6 million of the funding will be devoted to grants, with additional grant funding possible.

Administered by the DNR, the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program targets four key objectives:

• Preventing new introductions of invasive species through outreach and education.
•  Monitoring for new invasive species as well as expansions of current invasive species.
•  Responding and conducting eradication efforts to new findings and range expansions.
•  Managing and controlling key colonized species in a strategic manner.   

The program begins October 2014 and will operate each year that funding is available. Local, federal and tribal units of government, nonprofit organizations and universities may apply for a Michigan Invasive Species Grant for work to be conducted in Michigan. Applications must be submitted by Dec. 5, 2014, and those applicants approved for funding will be announced Feb. 15, 2015. Projects funded through this grant cycle must be completed by Oct. 30, 2016.

Collaborative projects will receive higher scoring than those for individual agencies. The minimum grant amount is $25,000 and applicants must commit to provide at least 10 percent of the total project cost in the form of a local match. Applicants with more than a 10-percent match will receive greater scoring consideration.“The Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program is a critical component of the state’s comprehensive invasives strategy to prevent new invasions, limit the spread of existing invasions and control their associated impacts,” said Creagh. “This program will greatly benefit Michigan’s world-class natural resources.”
Learn more about the new invasive species initiative – including the grant program – at:www.michigan.gov/invasivespecies.    

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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

Thoughts for a Sunday morning

The Gardener - A Poem by Mary Oliver


Have I lived enough?

Have I loved enough?

Have I considered Right Action enough, have I
     come to any conclusion?

Have I experienced happiness with sufficient gratitude?

Have I endured loneliness with grace?


I say this, or perhaps I'm just thinking it.

     Actually, I probably think too  much.


Then I step out into the garden,

where the gardener, who is said to be a simple man,
     is tending his children, the roses.


From the book - A Thousand Mornings - Poems - Mary Oliver

For more poetry by Mary Oliver, go to http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/maryoliver.html

My Unusual Juvenile Squirrel - October 23, 2014

This little guy was initially all brown and now his fur is changing to black.
I've never seen anything like this before.

Last winter’s cold legacy: Fall colors slower to peak - Great Lakes Echo

Satellite image shows fall colors across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Canada on Sept. 30. 
Image: NASA

Last winter’s cold legacy: Fall colors slower to peak

National Bat Week: October 26-November 1

Join us in celebrating the first ever National Bat Week! We're asking everyone to spread the word this Halloween season that bats are important, not scary.

Whether you're looking for an event to attend or activities to do at home, you can find lots to choose from on our Bat week page or onFacebook. Find your perfect way to celebrate today!

NEW! Save the Bats Campaign

A healthy environment takes healthy bats. And with North American bats dying in record numbers, we know it's going to take all of us working together to protect the bats and to keep our environment healthy. Our new Save the Bats campaign does just that--it gives people easy ways to help and connects people to others who care. Bat house building, gardening, teaching others--there is something for everyone. Ready to find out more? Visit www.savebats.org and become a friend of the Save Bats Facebook page. Once you're there, you'll be able to learn a lot more about bats and find out all sorts of ways to get involved.

Your Dollars At Work Thanks to people like you, we are able to inspire thousands of children and adults to protect biodiversity. When you invest in us, you make the environment healthier and the world safer for bats.  Your donations are critical to helping us teach people that bats are important and mobilize Americans to become involved in conservation throughout the year. Please consider making your tax-deductible gift today by using our secure online form.  The path to protecting bats begins with you. Thank you for your support!  The Organization for Bat Conservation is an environmental education nonprofit and wildlife sanctuary specializing in bats and other nocturnal animals. At our home base at the Bat Zone in Bloomfield Hills, MIchigan, we care for more than 150 bats from around the world. Each year, we teach hundreds of thousands of people about bats through Bat Zone tours, traveling live animal programs, exhibits and festivals and inspire people to protect these important animals.

Pollution Linked To Lethal Sea Turtle Tumors - Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

featuring: 

• Kyle Van Houtan

Contact: 

Tim Lucas, 919-613-8084, tdlucas@duke.edu

By Kati Moore, MEM ‘16
Nicholas School Communications Student Assistant

Note to editors: Kyle Van Houtan is available for additional comment at (808) 228-1112 or kyle.vanhoutan@gmail.com.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Pollution in urban and farm runoff in Hawaii is causing tumors in endangered sea turtles, a new study finds.

The study, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PeerJ, shows that nitrogen in the runoff ends up in algae that the turtles eat, promoting the formation of tumors on the animals’ eyes, flippers and internal organs.

Scientists at Duke University, the University of Hawaii and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducted the study to better understand the causes behind the tumor-forming disease Fibropapillomatosis, which is the leading known cause of death in green turtles, said Kyle Van Houtan, adjunct associate professor at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

“We’re drawing direct lines from human nutrient inputs to the reef ecosystem, and how it affects wildlife,” said Van Houtan, who is also a scientist in NOAA’s Turtle Research Program.

This research builds on a study published in 2010 that found the disease was more prevalent in areas with high levels of nitrogen runoff. That study hypothesized the disease might be linked to how algae that the turtles eat store extra nitrogen, and designed this study to test that idea.

“In this paper we drill down on whether excess nitrogen inputs are causing a nutrient cascade in the system that’s ending up in these tumors in green turtles,” said Van Houtan.

One way that algae store excess nitrogen is in an amino acid called arginine. The researchers found unusually high levels of arginine both in the algae in highly polluted waters and in the tumors of diseased turtles. Arginine levels in algae in less polluted waters and tumor-free tissues were comparatively low.

One non-native red algae species, Hypnea musciformis, had especially high levels of arginine compared to other species sampled. Hypnea is invasive and thrives in the nitrogen-rich waters caused by nutrient pollution. Since it grows more successfully than native species of algae, it can make up as much as 90 percent of the turtles’ diet.

Because this algae contains so much arginine and the turtles eat so much of it, the turtles have approximately 14 times more arginine in their systems than they would if they were eating native algae species in less-polluted waters, said Van Houtan.

Even worse, the turtles, which are herbivorous, have to eat twice as much of the invasive algae species to get the same amount of calories they would gain from eating native algae.

“The energy and arginine content of (the algae) may therefore act as a sort of one-two punch for promoting this disease,” the study noted.

Arginine is thought to promote a virus that leads to the disease that forms the tumors. “If this disease is a car, arginine its fuel,” said Van Houtan. Without it, the virus can’t function.  How the virus causes tumors is still unclear, he said.

Arginine is just one of the molecules the researchers measured in the turtle tumors. They also found elevated levels of amino acids that are common in human cancer tumors, such as proline and glycine, Van Houtan said.

Measuring amino acids in the turtle tumors allowed the researchers to better understand how the tumors form and function. Similar analyses of amino acids may also be useful in understanding human cancer tumors, said Van Houtan. “A hallmark of cancer tumors is that they re-program their host cells and change their metabolism. Our findings here are similar.”

This research could help scientists better understand how to protect not only sea turtles but also other marine plants and animals that face similar threats from pollution. “It’s not just green turtles, but fish and coral reefs that have similar diseases in these locations,” said Van Houtan.

Van Houtan said he hopes future research on this problem can inform environmental management of reef systems as a whole. “If research continues to support this hypothesis, we probably need to reconsider our current ways of managing coastal nutrients,” he said.

The research was funded by a grant from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund and a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering.

Celia M. Smith, Meghan L. Dailer and Migiwa Kawachi of the University of Hawaii at Manoa co-authored the study.

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CITATION: “Eutrophication and the dietary promotion of sea turtle tumors,” Kyle S. Van Houtan, Celia M. Smith, Meghan L. Dailer and Migiwa Kawachi, published September 30, 2014 in PeerJ. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.602

© 2014 Duke Office of News & Communications
615 Chapel Drive, Box 90563, Durham, NC  27708-0563
(919) 684-2823; After-hours phone (for reporters on deadline): (919) 812-6603

http://nicholas.duke.edu/news/pollution-linked-lethal-sea-turtle-tumors

Owl Calls - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Download and Compare Owl Calls!

© 2014 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

http://dl.allaboutbirds.org/owlsounddownload

Acorn to oak tree time-lapse

This fall I made a deliberate effort to collect all my yard's red and white oak acorns I could find. I scattered many of them throughout the back yard in hopes that some of them will sprout just like the one in the video creating a new generation of oaks.

How beavers have affected ecosystem at Voyageurs National Park - Science Daily - October 9, 2014

This abandoned beaver pond in Voyageurs National Park still has many water pockets that provide valuable habitat.

Credit: Image courtesy of South Dakota State University

Date:

October 9, 2014

Source:

South Dakota State University

Summary:

Felling trees, building dams and creating ponds -— beavers have a unique ability to alter the landscape in ways that are beneficial to other organisms, according to one expert who is researching how beavers have affected the ecosystem at Voyageurs National Park near International Falls, Minnesota.

Felling trees, building dams and creating ponds -- beavers have a unique ability to alter the landscape in ways that are beneficial to other organisms, according to South Dakota State University professor Carol Johnston of the natural resource management department. That's why they are known as a "keystone species."

The ecologist received a two-year National Science Foundation grant for more than $143,000 to compile a book based on her previous NSF-funded research on how beavers have affected the ecosystem at Voyageurs National Park near International Falls, Minnesota.

"Beavers influence the environment at a rate far beyond what would be expected given their abundance," said Johnston, who has been doing beaver research since the 1980s and authored or co-authored 28 of the 37 articles in the compilation.

Beavers create patchiness because they cut down big trees and make dams that flood the landscape creating wet meadows and marshy vegetation, Johnston explained. However, historical and aerial photos from 1927 and 1940 showed solid forests, meaning little evidence of beaver activity.

From the 1940s through the 1980s, the beaver population in the nearly 218,000-acre park increased steadily, according to Johnston. By 1986, 13 percent of the landscape was impounded by beavers.

"We saw lots of ponds where before there were none," she said. In addition to duck and amphibians, moose and upland mammals use this habitat extensively. "Having beaver on the landscape creates a lot of biodiversity."

Since 1991, the number of beavers has begun to decrease, Johnston pointed out. However, thanks to National Park Service officials mapping the active beaver lodges, she can now relate the population data to changes in the landscape.

"It's unusual to have both those types of data for such a large area," she said. That will allow her to track what happens to the landscape when beaver numbers are reduced.

Both predation and depleted food supply may account for the beavers' decline.

"Aspen is the preferred food," she said, noting beavers don't hibernate and must rely on having a large supply of edible food in their underwater cache to survive the winter.

Beavers forage up to 110 yards from the pond edge, creating what Johnston calls a "bathtub ring of conifers" when most of the aspen and deciduous trees have been harvested. Venturing beyond that comfort zone makes them susceptible to predators, she pointed out. "Beavers are a preferred prey for wolves."

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by South Dakota State University.Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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South Dakota State University. (2014, October 9). How beavers have affected ecosystem at Voyageurs National Park. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 13, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141009210329.htm

Crows vs. Ravens - Cornell Lab eNews

Crows vs. Ravens

The Latest SWP News - Fall 2014

The Superior Watershed Partnership is a nationally recognized Great Lakes nonprofit organization protecting Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron by implementing innovative, science-based programs that achieve documented, measurable results.

NEWS The Superior Watershed Partnership's Email Newsletter has a new look.   We hope you like it! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SWP WORKS WITH HIAWATHA NATIONAL FOREST TO PROTECT THE SEVERELY DECLINING MONARCH BUTTERFLY POPULATION! Marquette, MI - The Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) is wrapping up a summer long season of monarch butterfly habitat restoration on the Stonington Peninsula.  In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service's Hiawatha National Forest (HNF) and with funding from the National Forest Foundation (NFF), the SWP will plant the final native pollinator plants for the season in the coming weeks.  The SWP and project partners have been restoring important pollinator habitat for nearly 5 years.  Monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles from Canada and the United States to winter in the mountain forests of central Mexico.  And countless numbers of these butterflies funnel right through the Stonington Peninsula in the south central Upper Peninsula.  This rural peninsula juts out into Lake Michigan between the Big and Little Bay de Nocs.  There are only two roads on this 2 mile long spit of land, both leading to the tiny fishing hamlet of Stonington where a small dock sits next to a NOAA weather station.  From there, a short dirt road leads to the Peninsula Point Lighthouse.  The Peninsula is well known for bird and butterfly migration stopover habitat, but less known is the Peninsula's dire importance for monarchs, specifically, as they make their long journey to the south. The Stonington is primarily owned by the HNF, and thanks to financial assistance from the NFF, is the site of a long history of monarch butterfly habitat restoration by the SWP and HNF. Research suggests the population of monarch butterflies in the eastern U.S. has declined by 90% -- a figure so staggering that one researcher commented:  "in human terms it would be like losing every living person in the U.S. except those in Florida and Ohio."  The decrease, many scientists believe, is due to threats experienced on the butterflies' migration.  When they start their journey each year, monarchs rely on specific plants for food and reproduction - common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) being the primary species.  Milkweed is a native plant that provides plenty of value to butterflies, wasps, and bees, but is of little use to farmers, who use herbicides to keep it in check.  While en route to their wintering grounds, scientists also believe monarchs are facing more extreme weather conditions including higher-than-normal temperatures and storms.  The current global collapse in monarch populations has reinforced the meaning and importance of efforts like the SWP/HNF collaborative monarch restoration project. What does the project entail?  For the last several years thousands of pollinator plants are raised from seed at the HNF Greenhouse in Marquette.  It takes hundreds of volunteer hours to keep these plants growing - from watering to separating overly crowded seedlings.  Species important to monarchs are raised but others important for the survival of bees, bats, and other pollinator insects are also cultivated - such species as black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia serotina), bee balm (Monarda fistulosa), a variety of asters (Aster spp.), and coneflower (Rudbeckia spp.) in addition to common milkweed.  Prior to any planting on the Stonington Peninsula, the SWP and HNF send field crews to pull invasive species.  Plants such as houndstongue (Cynoglossum offiinale), spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), and marsh thistle (Cirsium palustre) are among the many invasive species removed at the monarch openings.  Once the native plants reach the appropriate height and age, HNF and SWP staff and volunteers plant the seedlings at targeted monarch habitat openings on the Stonington Peninsula. Hundreds of volunteers have helped in the some stage of the process, including students from North Star Academy and Northern Michigan University, MSU Extension's Life of Lake Superior, Central Upper Peninsula Cooperative Weed Management Area, and others from the Hiawatha Interpretive Association.  Since 2011, the SWP, HNF and project partners have planted over 150,000 native plants to establish and restore pollinator habitat in the Central UP, with almost a quarter of those being on the Stonington Peninsula.   Click here for more information on the SWP's native plant and invasive species program.

Your Help is Needed - Squirrel Pox

I want to learn more about Fibromatosis (Squirrel Pox). If you have rehabilitated squirrels infected with the pox or have come across articles about the disease, would you please send them to me at this blog site. The more we know, the more we can help these infected squirrels. Thanks for your assistance.

Squirrel Pox

Healthy Baby Squirrel - October 2012

October 4^th is celebrated as the Roman Catholic feast day of Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and nature.  So it seems like an appropriate day to write about an animal that has touched my heart this week.

On Thursday I saw a gray squirrel bound across the backyard. He was moving fast but I could tell that something was wrong with his front leg. It was bright red and devoid of fur. By the time I got my binoculars, the squirrel was gone.

The next day he returned, joining the other squirrels in the feeder area directly behind the house. Now I could see that what I had initially thought was an injury was in fact a bad case of Fibromatosis commonly known as squirrel pox.

Michigan is known to have frequent outbreaks of the disease. Affecting young squirrels, it is believed that the virus is transmitted by insect bites.  During my time as a wildlife rehabitator, I never admitted or cared for a squirrel with the disease. However, that the source of the disease came from insects was no surprise as my experience in raising orphan squirrels always began with treating them for fleas and other infestations.

The virus manifests itself through the growth of tumors (pox) that emerge on the skin surface. In extreme cases the pox may metastasize internally but what I have been able to research indicates that the disease doesn’t in itself directly cause death. Death comes from by the squirrel’s inability to maintain a normal life. Should the pox invade the mouth; eating becomes difficult with starvation its natural course. The pox may cover the eyes, or enlarge the paws to the point that escape from predators is impaired. Injuries to the pox themselves can result in an infection that can also kill the squirrel.

I found an article from a rehabilitator that with the application of drying medications to the pox and antibiotics for infections, the squirrel can be successfully treated and released. Because of the abundance of squirrels and the fact that an infected squirrel can still be hunted and consumed without fear of disease transmittal to humans, little effort is made to combat the disease system-wide by wildlife managers.

Despite the numerous poxes on his body, my squirrel is able to run, climb and eat without difficulty. There is always a risk that the pox will compromise his ability to survive but at this point, he is doing fine. I will continue to monitor his health and if given the opportunity, will attempt to live-trap him for treatment. 

I taped his visit yesterday and have linked it below for viewing. For those who are squeamish of growths, please be aware that I tried to capture as many of the pox for my own research purposes. But realize that in spite of the pox, this squirrel is behaving no differently than a healthy one.