Portuguese Man-O-War (Physalia physalis)

Authorities have said that a woman had a deadly reaction and died after being stung by a jellyfish on an Italian beach.

Maria Farcus, 69, is thought to be the first such case of a person dying of a jellyfish-sting in Europe.

Furcas came up onto the beach and collapsed having suffered what appeared to be anaphylactic shock after being stung by the Portuguese Man-of-war jellyfish. Paramedics rushed onto the scene, but were unable to save her, reported the Daily Mail.

“The lady came out of the water dragging her leg and screaming she had been stung by a jellyfish. There was a very vivid red mark on her right leg. Then she collapsed to the ground and a lifeguard and other people on the beach rushed to help her. … She died on the sand in front of dozens of people” A witness on the scene reported.

Experts have said that they believe that Furcas’s case is the first fatal case in the Mediterranean, despite the fact that thousands are stung each year on the beaches by jellyfish.

Furcas’s death happened just days after more than 700 jellyfish stings were reported along the Costa Blanca in Spain.

“This type of jellyfish has always been present in the Mediterranean but now they are increasing in numbers due to global warming and they can grow tentacles up to 60 feet long,” explained a marine biology lecturer at the University of Lecce, Ferdinando Boero.

The mysterious deaths among dogs visiting the beaches of Auckland have now been solved; they were caused by tropical pufferfish.

Tropical pufferfish contains a highly potent toxin known as tetrodotoxin. They are considered a delicacy in Japan, but will be a deadly indulgence unless prepared by an expert pufferfish chef. Even just touching a pufferfish can be lethal.

Tests done by the Cawthron Institute found tetrodotoxin in the vomit of one of the dogs that died after visiting Narrow Neck beach, and the toxin was also present in a sea slug sample taken from the same beach. How the toxin got into the sea slug remains unknown.

If members of the public find unusually large numbers of fish and other dead animals they should report these to the MAF Biosecurity New Zealand emergency pest and disease hotline 0800-809-966.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists visits Green Island each year to enjoy scuba diving and snorkelling among its beautiful reefs, but no sewage treatment exists so an average of 1,500 tons of untreated sewage is flushed into the sea on a daily basis.

According to The China Post , no sewage treatment project has been prepared for the island since land can’t be procured for a sewage plant. Researchers now fear that the untreated sewage is to blame for the spread of the so called “Black Death” among the corals.

Chen Jhao-lun, a senior research fellow at the Academia Sinica who has studied the coral
reefs, describes the affected colonies as being covered slowly with a piece of black cloth.
“As this black sponge which multiplies itself covers the colonies, it shuts off sunlight to stop
photosynthesis by coral polyps,” Chen explains. The polyps die and no new corals are formed.

The “Black Death”, a type of necrosis, typically manifests in the form of black lesions that gradually spread across the surface of an infested colony.

However, very little is known about the Black Death and some researchers think that other factors, such as changing water temperatures or overfishing, might be to blame – not the untreated sewage. It is also possible that a combination of unfavourable factors have tipped the balance of the reef, causing the disease to go rampant. Temperature does appear to be a key variable associated with outbreaks, but it remains unknown if a temperature change alone is capable of causing this degree of devastation.

Molecular studies on lesions have not been able to identify a likely microbial pathogen, and according to Chen, the black layer might actually be an opportunistic second effect rather than the causative agent of the coral mortality. Montipora aequituberculae corals seem to be especially susceptible to the disease, but at least five other coral species from three different genera have been affected as well.

When Chen surveyed the water of Green Island last year, only four colonies off Dabaisha or Great White Sand showed signs of Black Death. In April this year, Chen found 24 affected colonies – six times as many as last year. If nothing is done to remedy the problem, Great White Sand near the southernmost tip of Green Island may have only dead colonies in five to six years, Chen predicts.

Green Island
Green Island is known as one of the world’s best spots for scuba diving and snorkelling. Located roughly 16 nautical miles southeast of Taitung on east Taiwan, Green Island used to house a concentration camp for political prisoners. Today, it is instead famous for its rich coral reefs.

(The picture is not from the green island but rather the great barrier reef)

Eleven of the 18 freshwater stingrays living at the U.S. National Zoo died over the holiday weekened, together with two arowanas. All dead fishes were residents of the zoo’s Amazonia exhibit; a 55,000-gallon (208,000 L) aquarium designed to replicate a flooded Amazon forest. Zoo officials are now suspecting low oxygen levels to be behind the sudden mass death.

Picture of Motoro Sting Ray, Ocellate river stingray – Potamotrygon motoro. Not one of the dead rays.
Copyright www.jjphoto.dk

As soon as the deaths were discovered 7 a.m Monday morning, zookeepers tested the water and found low levels of dissolved oxygen. They immediately started supplementing the aquarium with reservoir water and no more fish have died so far. In addition to stingrays and arrowanas, the Amazon aquarium is also home to discus, boulengerella fish, and a large school of guppies. By 10:15 a.m. Monday, the oxygen levels were back to normal but zookeepers continue to monitor the health of the surviving fish just in case.

Necropsies performed on the dead fish did not unveil any definite cause of death, which makes low oxygen levels even more likely, according to National Zoo officials. They do not believe human error caused the oxygen drop, since all protocols and checks were properly followed Sunday night.

Insufficient levels of dissolved oxygen in the water are one of the most common causes of fish mass death, in the wild as well as in captivity. Last year, 41 stingrays died at the Calgary Zoo in Canada due oxygen scarcity in the water.

(photo provided by: NOAA Photo Library)

Thirty-four cownose stingrays died in a 24 hour period at the new $250,000 dollar exhibit in the Calgary Zoo. Veterinarians are stating that it must be a water problem for so many animals to die so quickly. The nine surviving stingrays are remaining under close observation while the cause is determined and the exhibit remains closed. In just three hours, on Sunday, 26 of the 43 stingrays had died. The following morning the other eight had passed as well.

Further information on the findings of the cause of death will be posted once provided.

to read the entire article visit: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080512/stingray_deaths_080512/20080512?hub=TopStories

(photo is of a Southern Ray not a CowNose Stingray)

Fishermen in Bangladesh beat a rare Ganger River dolphin to death because they had not seen “this kind of creature before”, CNN reports. The dolphin was caught in Bagerat, a city located near Sundarbans, one of the biggest mangrove forests in the world. According to the national Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news organization, the fishermen left the body of the dolphin outside a museum after having unsuccessfully trying to find a buyer for the dead animal. The dolphin has now been moved to a visitor center where it will be prepared for an exhibit, according to Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur from the Bangladesh Cetacean Diversity Project.

According to the WWF, the Ganges River dolphin is rarely seen since it prefers to stay hidden in the murky Ganges River and only surface occasionally to breathe. The species is classified as an endangered species and the total population is believed to consist of no more than 4,000-5,000 specimens. It is threatened by habitat destruction, including dam constructions, and is known to sometimes become entangled in nets. Being caught in a net is naturally really dangerous for a creature that needs to surface to breathe.

The word Sundarbans means “beautiful forest” in Bengali. This large mangrove forest is located at the mouth of the Ganges in Bangladesh and the West Bengal region of India. The forest has been an UNESCO world heritage site since 1997 under the names Sundarbans (the part located in Bangladesh) and Sundarbans National Park (the part located in India). The Ganges River dolphin is not the only endangered species living here; the region is for instance home to the famous Royal Bengal Tiger. Source: CNN.com