Alberta NDP calls for door-to-door vaccination campaign to increase immunizations


Dave Dormer
CTVNewsCalgary.ca Digital Producer
Published Sept. 27, 2021 

CALGARY -

Alberta's opposition NDP is calling on the province to implement a door-to-door campaign to address vaccine hesitancy and increase funding for community groups working to get more people immunized against COVID-19.

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley also called on the province to study the issue of vaccine hesitancy, "in order to identify and address underlying causes, including financial and language barriers."

“Higher vaccination rates will reduce pressure on our hospitals, and help lessen, maybe even prevent future waves of infection,” said Notley.

“I realize that there are some Albertans who are vehemently opposed to vaccination, and it may be difficult to change their minds, but it’s not impossible.”

Alberta hit a new record high number of ICU admissions for COVID-19 on Monday at 265, the same day the province announced 5,181 new cases had been added over the weekend.

It marked the 11th time during the month of September that a new record was reached in terms of ICU admissions.

The NDP wants to see the province enlist the help of healthcare professionals and "trusted community members" for a door-to-door campaign.

Increasing grants to community groups will also help, they say.

"By tripling the current budget for vaccine promotions to $45 million, the Government of Alberta could partner with trusted local organizations to combat misinformation and increase uptake," read a release.

“This work will be difficult, it will be inefficient, and it will cost money. But the price of not doing it, both in money and in human suffering, is far higher,” said Notley.

The NDP point out a focused vaccine campaign in northeast Calgary last fall resulted in 93.4 per cent of eligible people living in Calgary’s upper northeast having at least one dose of the vaccine and 83.1 per cent being fully vaccinated.

In the lower northeast, 82.7 per cent of those eligible have one dose after the campaign and 72.7 per cent are fully-vaccinated.

Marichu Antonio, a one-time Calgary Citizen of the Year and former executive director of Action Dignity, was part of that effort and also supported the vaccination campaign at the Cargill meat-packing plant.

“It is important that we bring vaccination close to the people and communities,” said Antonio. “Working with community leaders, volunteers and organizations has proven to be effective in providing accurate, relevant and culturally accessible information, for linking people to needed support, and especially for encouraging people to get vaccinated and be protected—as well as protect others—from the pandemic.”

Justice Critic and Calgary-McCall MLA Irfan Sabir said the success seen in Calgary can be attributed to efforts to bring the vaccines to people at the Genesis Centre as well as local gurdwaras and mosques.

“Bringing the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines directly to people works, I am so proud to represent people who have rolled up their sleeves and done their part to keep their fellow Albertans safe, to protect our hospitals, protect jobs and protect Alberta’s economy,” he said.

United Conservative Party removes vice-president who spoke out against Kenney's leadership

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Joel Mullan predicts 'dark days ahead' if grassroots party members ignored

CBC · Posted: Sep 28, 2021 

Delegates vote on policies at the 2019 general meeting of the United Conservative Party. Joel Mullan, who was removed as a board member and vice-president on Tuesday, says its grassroots members are being ignored. (Dave Chidley/The Canadian Press)

A high-ranking member of the United Conservative Party who has been publicly demanding the resignation of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has been removed from his position as a party vice-president and director.

"The board of directors of the United Conservative Party elected to remove me as vice-president, policy and governance, and as a director. So, yep, they fired me," Joel Mullan told CBC News on Tuesday.

The vote cited a breach of confidentiality, based on Mullan speaking to the media last week about his calls for a board meeting to discuss a leadership review, an argument that Mullan says he does not accept.

"If I elected to bring an issue to the board, I feel it's up to me whether or not I want to share that. And I do not see that as a violation of confidentiality," he said.

"I was speaking out very clearly as a private individual, not as a representative of the board." 

• Jason Kenney survives caucus meeting with leadership review to come

Dave Prisco, the party's communications director, confirmed that Mullan was removed for breaking the UCP's code of conduct and its confidentiality agreement.

"These standards were created by our democratically elected board to ensure everyone who is involved in these positions can speak freely at meetings without fear of their comments being made public," Prisco said in a statement.

"It is abundantly clear that Mr. Mullan did not live up to that standard." 

At a caucus meeting on Sept. 22, an expected revolt against Kenney's leadership did not materialize. Instead, the meeting ended with a plan for the party's annual general meeting to take place in the spring, and the scheduled leadership review to occur at that time.

Mullan said 10 of the 22 UCP constituency associations have passed motions asking for the review to happen by March 1, and others are expected to discuss the issue.

• Cabinet shuffle won't save Jason Kenney from COVID-19 crisis in Alberta, critics say

He said the decision to remove him is a strong signal that the party has become increasingly disconnected from its grassroots.

"The grassroots are in charge and absolutely paramount in the party. As long as it's convenient," he said.

Mullan, who lives in Edmonton, said he doesn't regret his actions and has no intention of leaving the party.

He is, however, concerned about its future.

"I believe that it has started to lose its way, that we have ineffective leadership, and that unless we return to listening to our grassroots members, that we may see some dark days ahead," he said.

"It won't go to a happy place, that's for sure. As far as the shape it's going to take, I'm not sure right now. But there will be further division, I have no doubt."

 

Enbridge inks low carbon deals with Shell, Vanguard Renewables

September 28, 20215:30 AM Reuters

Enbridge Inc said on Tuesday it had signed low carbon infrastructure partnerships with Royal Dutch Shell and Vanguard Renewables, as the Canadian pipeline operator pushes ahead with its emission reduction goals.

The company will purchase two billion cubic feet (bcf) of renewable natural gas (RNG) annually from Vanguard Renewables, while it will collaborate with Shell on potential green and blue hydrogen production.

Enbridge, which had set emission reduction targets in November, hopes to be a net zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2050, as the industry faces pressure to limit carbon discharge.29dk2902l

The company said on Tuesday it would buy RNG from the anaerobic digesters that Vanguard will invest $200 million to build in the U.S. Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest

Enbridge will also will invest about $100 million in RNG upgrading equipment to convert the farm-derived gas into pipeline quality renewable natural gas and provide services to market it to U.S. customers.

Carbon-negative RNG is produced when carbon emissions are captured from dairies and turned into a transportation fuel, reducing the harmful effects of long-term climate change.29dk2902l

Blue hydrogen, where carbon emissions from its production are not released into the atmosphere, and green hydrogen, which is made with renewable power, are attracting huge interest as a clean alternative to natural gas that can be used for heating homes, heavy industry and transportation.

Alberta bans anti-vaccination protests, all other demonstrations outside health-care facilities

Province reports 1,246 new cases of COVID-19 and 18 new deaths

CBC News · Posted: Sep 28, 2021

Premier Jason Kenney and Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, were joined by the province's health and justice ministers at the Tuesday afternoon COVID-19 update. 

(Jason Franson/The Canadian Press, Art Raham/CBC)

Anti-vaccination protests and all other demonstrations outside hospitals will be banned in a move to make Alberta health-care facilities safer for staff, patients and families, Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday.

But no new restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were announced, despite recent calls from medical professionals to enact "fire-breaker" measures to protect the struggling health-care system.

Kenney told a news conference the province is still monitoring the impact of public health measures that went into effect on Sept. 20. He said unvaccinated Albertans who are currently filling up hospitals beds would be unlikely to comply with any new measures.

"It is a paradox and there's no easy solution to it," he said.

Instead, the regulations of the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act have been amended to ensure that health-care facilities are subject to the same legal protection as railways, highways and pipelines, carrying punishments for trespassing, interfering with operations and construction or causing damage.

THIS LAW CAN ALSO BE USED TO BAN NURSES AND HOSPITAL WORKERS PROTESTS

WATCH | Kenney says unvaccinated unlikely to comply with new measures:

Kenney says unvaccinated unlikely to comply with widespread restrictions
Asked whether Alberta would introduce stricter COVID-19 rules, Premier Jason Kenney says now is not the time. 1:37

The measure is in response to protests two weeks ago across the country by anti-vaccination groups, Kenney said.

"Recently, Albertans watched anti-vaccine protesters stand in front of our hospitals, hurling mistruths and misinformation about our health-care system, our doctors and our nurses," he said.

"People were rightly shocked to see this totally inappropriate behaviour from a vocal minority."

Kenney and Justice Minister Kaycee Madu reiterated that the intention was not to interfere with any individual's constitutional right to lawful protest.

"Albertans must have the ability to access health care when they need it and health-care professionals must have the ability to do their work free from interference," Madu said.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney condemns hospital protests

Calgary hospitals cancel surgeries for 2nd week as protesters outside defend right to be unvaccinated

Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said 1,246 new cases of COVID-19 were identified among 11,100 tests conducted in the previous 24 hours. The positivity rate was 11.5 per cent.

As of Tuesday, there are 1,100 patients in hospital, including 263 in intensive care.

(CBC News)

Another 18 deaths were reported, bringing the total in the province to 2,663 since the start of the pandemic.

Hinshaw noted that over the past 120 days, people who aren't fully vaccinated represented 80 per cent of people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 91 per cent of those in the ICU.

"These numbers speak for themselves: vaccines are critically important," she said.
ICU strain

The health-care system is at a breaking point as Alberta Health Services scrambles to create more intensive care capacity in hospitals across the province.

Kenney said there are 370 ICU beds across the province, currently at 86 per cent capacity. He noted that if not for surge beds, the province would be at 184 per cent capacity.

"The only reason that we have any beds available is because AHS has added 197 surge spaces — more than double the number that we maintain as normal baseline of ICU beds in Alberta outside of this COVID time," he said.

Albertans dying from COVID-19 at more than three times the average Canadian rate

Alberta health-care system sets another record with 312 patients in intensive care

Alberta premier rejects call for COVID 'firebreak,' says new measures would punish the vaccinated

The province is set to launch a new advertising campaign aimed at providing education about COVID-19 vaccines and debunking common myths, Kenney said.

That will include a direct informational pamphlet as well as radio, digital and billboard advertisements, he said.

Specific advertising is being aimed at demographics with a slower uptake, including rural regions and Albertans in their 20s and 30s.

Kenney said pharmacies and AHS will reach out to Albertans who have received a first dose but have not yet received a second.

Newfoundland and Labrador may help

Kenney told reporters he has been talking to Andrew Furey, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, about getting assistance from the province but indicated last week that Alberta had not reached the upper limit for its health-care system.

The offer from Newfoundland and Labrador is not off the table, Kenney said.

"We've gone back and forth and those discussions are carrying on today," he said.

"If Newfoundland feels that they can free up some medical personnel to supplement our own front-line workers, we would be delighted to receive that support."

He said Furey is interested in sending health-care workers to Fort McMurray, Alta., known colloquially as the Atlantic province's second-largest city.

"There may be news on that in the days to come," Kenney said.

ART IS ANYTHING YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH
Danish artist pockets museum's cash, declares it conceptual art


The Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Denmark, loaned $85,000 worth of Danish kroner to artist Jens Haaning to use in two artworks, but the artist kept the cash and turned in two empty frames titled "Take the Money and Run."

Photo by Alex2life/Wikimedia Commons

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A Danish artist who was loaned $85,000 cash by a museum to use in a pair of artworks instead turned in two empty frames under the title, Take the Money and Run.

Lasse Andersson, director of the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, said the facility loaned artist Jens Haaning $85,000 in Danish kroner banknotes to recreate two of his earlier works that featured cash in a frame.

The works, titled An Average Danish Annual Income and An Average Austrian Annual Income, had been intended for an exhibition at the museum about working life. The original pieces had featured cash in a frame representing annual incomes for average workers in Denmark and Austria.

Andersson said museum officials opened the box they received from Haaning, expecting to find new versions of the cash pieces, but instead found two empty frames.

"Haaning sent us an email saying he thought it was more interesting to do a new work, and it was called Take the Money and Run," Andersson told Danish broadcaster DR.

Andersson said officials are now concerned that Haaning will not abide by his agreement to return the cash to museum Jan. 14, 2022, when the exhibition is scheduled to close.

"We are not a rich museum," he said. "We are really hoping the money will come back."

Haaning told DR he has no plans to return the money.

"Of course I will not pay it back," he said. "The work is that I took the money and I will not give it back."

World's most dangerous bird raised by humans 18,000 years ago, study suggests

Katie Hunt
CNN Digital
Monday, September 27, 2021 


A cassowary can be aggressive, but it "imprints" easily -- it becomes attached to the first thing it sees after hatching. This means it's easy to maintain and raise up to adult size. (Shutterstock via CNN)

The earliest bird reared by humans may have been a cassowary -- often called the world's most dangerous bird because of its long, dagger-like toe.

Territorial, aggressive and often compared to a dinosaur in looks, the bird is a surprising candidate for domestication.

However, a new study of more than 1,000 fossilized eggshell fragments, excavated from two rock shelters used by hunter-gatherers in New Guinea, has suggested early humans may have collected the eggs of the large flightless bird before they hatched and then raised the chicks to adulthood. New Guinea is a large island north of Australia. The eastern half of the island is Papua New Guinea, while the western half forms part of Indonesia.

"This behaviour that we are seeing is coming thousands of years before domestication of the chicken," said lead study author Kristina Douglass, an assistant professor of anthropology and African studies at Penn State University.

"And this is not some small fowl, it is a huge, ornery, flightless bird that can eviscerate you," she said in a news statement.

The researchers said that while a cassowary can be aggressive (a man in Florida was killed by one in 2019), it "imprints" easily -- it becomes attached to the first thing it sees after hatching. This means it's easy to maintain and raise up to adult size.

Today, the cassowary is New Guinea's largest vertebrate, and its feathers and bones are prized materials for making bodily adornments and ceremonial wear. The bird's meat is considered a delicacy in New Guinea.

There are three species of cassowary, and they are native to parts of northern Queensland, Australia, and New Guinea. Douglass thought our ancient ancestors most likely reared the smallest species, the dwarf cassowary, that weighs around 20 kilograms (44 pounds).

The fossilized eggshells were carbon-dated as part of the study, and their ages ranged from 18,000 to 6,000 years old.

Humans are believed to have first domesticated chickens no earlier than 9,500 years ago.

NOT FOR SNACKING

To reach their conclusions, the researchers first studied the eggshells of living birds, including turkeys, emus and ostriches.

The insides of the eggshells change as the developing chicks get calcium from the eggshell. Using high-resolution 3D images and inspecting the inside of the eggs, the researchers were able to build a model of what the eggs looked like during different stages of incubation.

The scientists tested their model on modern emu and ostrich eggs before applying it to the fossilized eggshell fragments found in New Guinea. The team found that most of the eggshells found at the sites were all near maturity.

"What we found was that a large majority of the eggshells were harvested during late stages," Douglass said. "The eggshells look very late; the pattern is not random."

These late-stage eggshells indicate people living at these two rock shelter sites were harvesting eggs when the cassowary embryos had fully formed limbs, beaks, claws and feathers, the study said.

But were humans purposefully collecting these eggs to allow them to hatch or collecting the eggs to eat? It's possible they were doing both, Douglass said.

Consuming eggs with fully formed embryos is considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, but Douglass said the research team's analysis suggested people were hatching the chicks.

"We also looked at burning on the eggshells," Douglass said in the news release. "There are enough samples of late stage eggshells that do not show burning that we can say they were hatching and not eating them."

BIG BIRD AS VALUABLE RESEARCH

Less mature eggshells showed more signs of burning -- suggesting that when cassowary eggs were consumed they were cooked and eaten when their contents were primarily liquid.

"In the highlands today people raise cassowary chicks to adulthood, in order to collect feathers, and consume or trade the birds. It is possible cassowaries were also highly valued in the past, since they are among the largest vertebrate animals on New Guinea. Raising cassowaries from chicks would provide a readily available source of feathers and meat for an animal that is otherwise challenging to hunt in the wild as an adult," she explained via email.

However, there is still much the researchers don't know.

To successfully hatch and raise cassowary chicks, people would need to know where the nests were, know when the eggs were laid and remove them from the nest just before hatching. This is no easy feat as birds don't nest at the same sites each year. Once a female lays the eggs, male birds take over nest duty and don't leave for 50 days while incubating the eggs.

"People may have hunted the male and then collected the eggs. Because males don't leave the nest unattended they also don't feed much during the incubation period making them more vulnerable to predators," she said.

The research was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PNAS on Monday.

Cassowaries May Have Been Domesticated Before Chickens By Brave (Or Foolish) Humans

CASSOWARIES LIVE ON FRUIT RATHER THAN MEAT, BUT THEIR LETHAL CLAWS STILL MAKE THEM MAJOR THREATS TO ANYTHING THEY DON’T LIKE – HUMANS INCLUDED. IMAGE CREDIT: LUCKY VECTORSTUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
By Stephen Luntz27 SEP 2021, 20:00


Long before chicken domestication, humans appear to have raised a different bird species – one capable of ripping a person apart with a single raking kick. Cassowaries make birds’ status as the surviving dinosaurs easy to believe, yet according to a new study, these are the beasts humans somehow chose to raise to adulthood. Strange as that decision may seem, it could explain the cassowary’s survival and the fate of New Guinea’s rainforests.

Eggshells deposited at Yuku and Kiowa in the New Guinea Highlands disproportionately appear to have been collected just a few days before they hatched. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team who discovered this pattern explains it (almost in time for world Cassowary Day) as the result of people's aim to raise the hatchlings, not cook the eggs.

The heaviest birds to have inhabited the Earth in recent times – New Zealands’ Moa and Madagascar’s elephant bird – both quickly became extinct shortly after humans arrived on their home islands. Somehow, however, three species of cassowary have survived in New Guinea and Australia, co-inhabiting with humans for tens of thousands of years.

It’s just possible cassowaries’ survival is a result of humans choosing to raise the young to adulthood as the best way to get their meat, rather than hunting wild birds alone. If so, it proved a very beneficial choice for the health of the rainforests in which cassowaries live, allowing them to continue their vital role as spreaders of seeds.

Cassowary chicks may look harmless at this age, but they don't stay that way.

 Image Credit: Andy Mack

The shape and color of cassowary eggs changes as they get close to hatching and the embryos absorb calcium from the shells. Dr Kristina Douglass of Penn State University and co-authors used this fact to study the developmental stages of shells deposited at the two sites 18,000 years ago.

They also noted that while some shells showed signs of having been cooked; "There are enough samples of late stage eggshells that do not show burning that we can say they were hatching and not eating them,” Douglass said in a statement.

Cassowaries live on fruit rather than meat, but their lethal claws still make them major threats to anything they don’t like – humans included. Douglass suspects the dwarf cassowary variety Casuarius bennetti were the ones being raised, rather than the two larger species. Nevertheless, she noted; “This is not some small fowl, it is a huge, ornery, flightless bird that can eviscerate you.”

There are unconfirmed signs of humans forming a symbiosis with rock doves at Gibraltar 67 thousand years ago, but that aside, the work presented here represents the oldest evidence bird farming in human history. "This behavior that we are seeing is coming thousands of years before domestication of the chicken," Douglass said.

Cassowary nests are rare and hard to find. Moreover, the father guards and incubates them until hatching. It would have taken considerable skill to identify the right time to harvest the eggs, and killing the male to get to them would have carried risks. Nevertheless, New Guineans continue to raise cassowaries today, taking advantage of the fact they imprint easily on humans if one is the first to feed them after hatching.

Study: Common parasite in dogs resistant to drug treatments

By HealthDay News

A common dog parasite -- hookworms -- has become resistant to drugs used to kill them, a new study says. File Photo by Jaromir Chalabala/Shutterstock

Hookworms -- a common parasite in animals -- have become resistant to multiple deworming drugs used to kill them, a new study finds.

Veterinarians typically use three types of drugs to kill hookworms, and all three have lost their effectiveness, researchers report.

Moreover, as more hookworms survive, they'll be a threat to people, too, according to the study.

One possible breeding ground for a potential drug-resistant hookworm outbreak is dog parks.

"Personally, I would not take my dog to a dog park," said study co-author Dr. Ray Kaplan, a former professor of veterinary parasitology at the University of Georgia.

"If your dog picks up these resistant hookworms, it's not as easy as just treating them with medication anymore," he said in a university news release. "Until new types of drugs are available, taking your dog to a dog park has to be considered a risky activity."For the study, Kaplan's team looked at current and former racing greyhounds. Race kennels are conducive to spreading hookworm because of the sandy ground, and the dogs are dewormed about every three to four weeks.

Of the dogs tested, 4 out of every 5 had hookworms. But even the dogs that tested negative likely were infected, Kaplan said, because hookworms can hide in tissues, until the infection worsens

The researchers also found the dogs still had high levels of hookworms even after they were treated.

In areas where hookworms are common, it is easy for them to develop mutations that protect them against the drugs used to kill them.

With repeated treatments, most of the drug-susceptible worms will be killed, and the resistant ones will predominate, the researchers noted.

RELATED Scientists say dog disease affects humans

And making the problem worse, veterinarians usually don't test for hookworm after treatment, so drug-resistant worms go unnoticed until the dog starts showing signs of infection with hookworm disease.

"There's a very committed greyhound adoption industry because they are lovely dogs," Kaplan said. "I used to own one. But as those dogs are adopted, the drug-resistant hookworms are going to show up in other pet dogs."

Dogs don't have to ingest the worms to become infected. Hookworm larvae live in the soil and can also enter through the dog's skin and paws. And female dogs can pass the parasite to their puppies through their milk.

In people, the infection can penetrate the skin and cause a red, very itchy rash.

There is still one possible solution: Hookworms appear susceptible to emodepside, a dewormer only approved for use in cats. Using this cat drug on dogs should only be done by a veterinarian, the researchers said.

The study was published recently in the International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance.More information

For more on hookworm, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Report: Russian hacker Aleksei Burkov deported from U.S., detained in Moscow



Russian hacker Aleksei Burkov was reportedly deported from the United States, where he was serving a nine-year sentence for cybercrimes and detained at a Moscow airport. 

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI 

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A convicted Russian hacker was detained at a Moscow airport after what appeared to be a rare extradition by the United States, Russian media reported.

Aleksei Burkov was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport after being deported from the United States where he was serving a nine-year prison sentence for cybercrimes including identity theft and money laundering, Russian Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Irina Volk said, according to state-run Russian news agency TASS.

Burkov pleaded guilty last January to charges that he sold payment card numbers on a website called "Cardplanet" that resulted in more than $20 million in fraudulent purchases made on U.S. credit cards.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Burkov also ran another site where elite cybercriminals could be invited to advertise stolen goods for sale.

Burkov was detained by local police in Israel in 2015 and then extradited to the United States in 2019.

The United States does not usually extradite convicted felons to other nations unless it has received assurances they will serve the full length of their sentences.

Russia and the United States do not have an extradition treaty.

Bird species increased in urban areas during human lockdowns for the pandemic

By HealthDay News

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns cleared streets as people stayed home, birds made a comeback, according to researchers in Canada. 

Photo by TRAPHITHO/Pixabay


When COVID-19 restrictions forced you indoors, it brought birds back to North America, new research shows.

Across the United States and Canada, birders documented an 80% increase among most of the 82 species they recorded since the start of pandemic restrictions last year.

Some species -- 26% -- increased in response to drops in certain types of human activity, while decreasing in response to others. This suggests that some birds, such as red-tailed hawks, have adapted to some types of human disturbances, according to the report published this month in Science Advances.

But the researchers said people could make urban spaces more attractive to birds by cutting traffic and other disturbances from transportation.

RELATED With less noise during lockdown, Bay Area sparrows sang 'sexier' songs

Lockdowns and travel restrictions in 2020 resulted in an unprecedented moment with reduced traffic, air pollution and noise. This moment -- dubbed an "anthropause" -- may have affected numerous species, especially urban wildlife, but which species benefited has been unclear.

So the team led by Michael Schrimpf, an ecologist at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, analyzed data on more than 4 million birds between March and May of 2017 to 2020. Volunteers collected the data through eBird, one of the world's largest community science programs.

Using the volunteers' data, the researchers made comparisons across counties and gauged how the pandemic affected relationships between bird counts and three measures human activity -- distance to major roads, distance to international airports and urban versus rural sites.

Many species increased in urban areas during the pause, including eagles and hummingbirds, the authors noted in a journal news release.

Bald eagles increased in abundance in cities with the tightest lockdowns, while the ruby-throated hummingbirds were three times more likely to be spotted near airports, the volunteers' counts revealed.More information

For more on COVID-19 and wildlife, visit Conservation International.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

As birds migrate, the microbes in their gut evolve


Researchers found that bird microbiomes change with their environment as they move from place to place, according to a study with Kirtland's warblers, pictured. 

Photo by Nathan W. Cooper

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The community of microbes living in a person's intestines is influenced by their physical and mental health, as well as their dietary habits. It's also dictated by location.

The gut microbiome of someone living in Arizona will be different than the gut microbiome of someone residing in South Carolina. The same is true for birds -- and even more so, according to scientists at the University of Chicago.

New research, published Tuesday in the journal Molecular Ecology, suggests the gut microbiota of migratory birds evolves as they move from place to place.

"We've seen in other animals that microbiomes can be influenced by the places their hosts live," lead study author Heather Skeen said in a press release.

RELATED Study reveals link between microbiome, early brain development

"Lots of birds migrate, and they experience different environments at different points of their migratory cycle. We didn't know how these different environments affected the birds' microbiomes," said Skeen, a doctoral student at the Field Museum and the University of Chicago.

For the study, Skeen and her colleagues attached tracking devices to Kirtland's warblers flying from the Bahamas to Michigan for the summer.

Before the birds were released and headed north, scientists placed each Kirtland's warbler into a brown paper bag, where the birds promptly relieved themselves. Researchers sequenced the microbiota found in the droppings of each bird.

RELATED A few common bacteria dominate soil's carbon cycle

The tracking devices allowed researchers to find and capture the same birds once they arrived in northern Michigan. Scientists collected and analyzed the droppings from the same individual birds and compared the microbiota from the two sample sets.

Their analysis showed each bird's gut microbiome is heavily dependent on geography.

"One of the most important parts about this study is that we were able to recapture birds at different portions of the annual cycle in different locations, and we have this one-to-one comparison of the same population and the same individuals and how their microbiomes changed," Skeen said.

RELATED Lost birds can use Earth's magnetic signature to get back on track

"If we'd tested different individual birds, we wouldn't have been able to say for sure if the changes we saw were due to location or if they were just differences between populations. Since we were looking at the exact same birds, these results are much more supported," Skeen said.

With other migratory birds, the study might not have gone as smoothly, but Kirtland's warblers are unique.

The tracking devices were helpful, but even if they had failed, researchers knew where the birds were headed. That's because the small yellow-breasted song birds only breed in young jack pine forest.

"We picked Kirtland's Warbler because there are very, very few species of birds where you would have been able to track individual birds from their non-breeding grounds and then capture them on their breeding grounds," said Skeen.

Several weeks after the birds left the Bahamas, their trackers started pinging radio towers in northern Michigan.

"When one of our birds' trackers pinged near a tower, we would drive around the range using a handheld radio antenna, looking for the bird," Skeen said. "Once we picked up the signal, we got out of the car and walked around, trying to attract the birds using recordings of their songs."

By studying how the microbiomes of birds change from place to place, scientists hope to better understand how the avian microbiome functions. Previous studies suggest the avian microbiome is quite different than the mammalian microbiome.

Among mammals, an individual's gut microbiome is strongly correlated with the animal's species and lineage, but the microbiota in bird's intestines are much less stable and more easily influenced by environmental changes.

The latest study suggests large groups of bacteria are transient, having little impact on a bird's microbiome. These food-borne microbes pass right through a bird's inside, never colonizing it's intestines.

Understanding the idiosyncrasies of the avian microbiome could ultimately help researchers better anticipate their ability to adapt to climate change.

"An animal's gut microbiome is an additional level of molecular diversity, and as global climate change alters ecosystems, the gut microbiome might be one of the avenues in which animals can adapt to the changing environment," Skeen said

"The gut microbiome has its own unique ecosystem, and it's ripe for discoveries," Skeen said.