Mystery of Dead Eider Ducks in Cape Cod Solved
17 December 2014
US - Since 1998, hundreds and sometimes thousands of dead eider ducks have been washing up every year on Cape Cod’s beaches in late summer or early fall, but the reasons behind these cyclic die-offs have remained a mystery.
A team of scientists from Cornell, Tufts University, University of Georgia, the US Geological Survey and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have pinned down one of the agents responsible: a pathogen they’re calling Wellfleet Bay virus (WFBV). Their findings shed light on why eider ducks (also called common eiders) die on Cape Cod every year and offer hints about how the virus spreads....
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"We isolated the virus repeatedly, over multiple years of outbreaks, and in many birds, which tells us the virus is definitely playing a contributing role and possibly a major role in the die-offs," Mr Allison said. However, the dead and dying eiders found on Cape Cod have numerous health problems, he said, so it?s likely there are multiple factors to blame. "Lots of the birds are emaciated, and lots have parasitic worms in conjunction with the virus, and it?s possible another factor like stress or migration may also play a role and trigger the deaths," he said...
