Black children more than twice as likely to die after surgical complications

by American Society of Anesthesiologists

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

When it comes to surgery, minority children lag far behind white children, according to two analyses of large national databases being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2020 annual meeting. One found Black children are more than twice as likely as white children to die following surgical complications that require an unplanned additional operation. Another study determined Black, Asian and Hispanic children are about half as likely to have surgery as white children.


"All parents want the best medical care for their children, and ensuring that quality surgical care is available for minority as well as white children will require a multifaceted solution," said Ethan L. Sanford, M.D., lead author of one of the studies and assistant professor of anesthesiology and pain management at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. "Clearly we have a lot of work to do."

Black children more likely to die after reoperation

Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, set out to better assess a surgical outcome known as "failure to rescue" in Black children. In this context, failure to rescue means the patient suffered a post-surgical complication that led to a second unplanned operation, but ultimately died. While previous studies have looked at racial disparities related to this outcome in children having heart surgery, this study looked at failure to rescue in all surgeries.

The researchers analyzed data from the American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Pediatric Participant Use Data file and found that of 276,917 children who had an inpatient surgical procedure between 2012 and 2017, 10,425 (8,409 white children and 2,016 Black children) suffered a complication that sent them back to the operating room. Two-hundred and nine children subsequently died, 135 white (1.6% of all white children who suffered a complication) and 74 Black (3.7% of all Black children who suffered a complication), meaning Black children were more than twice as likely to die.

They found the racial disparities in failure to rescue were greatest among the sickest children and when the reoperation occurred within four days of the initial surgery.

The researchers note there are many possible factors that lead to failure to rescue in Black children after surgery, including: socioeconomic status and access to quality care and preventive measures; and health risk factors, such as higher incidence of obesity, asthma and sleep apnea.


"We don't fully understand all of the issues that place a Black child at greater risk and how all of these issues interact with each other," said Brittany Willer, M.D., lead author of the study and a pediatric anesthesiologist at Nationwide Children's Hospital. "Our study gives physician anesthesiologists and surgeons insight into those at highest risk to heighten their awareness of the most vulnerable patients during the early post-operative period, which may have the biggest immediate impact on easing racial disparities."

Minority children less likely to have surgery than white children

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center conducted the first study to assess the difference in the incidence of surgery between Black, Hispanic, Asian, and white children. They analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey, which is conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study included 227,025 children age 18 or younger, of whom 11,018 had received any type of inpatient or outpatient surgery within the previous 12 months.

Even after adjusting for factors, such as the health of the child, poverty, whether the child was insured and the level of education attained by the parents, minority children were about half as likely as white children to have surgery. The authors note there is no evidence to suggest that white children are more likely to need surgery or to have cosmetic procedures—factors that potentially could play a role in the large difference between the two groups.

"We must consider implicit systemic biases within perioperative health care," said Dr. Sanford. "Bias can occur at several points, from deciding whether to refer a child to a surgeon, when a surgeon is deciding whether or not to operate on a child and when a physician anesthesiologist is deciding whether it is safe for a child to proceed with surgery. Further, some minority families may mistrust the health system, there may be communication or cultural difficulties, as well as barriers such as travel and the ability to take time off work."

Dr. Sanford said he hopes the research will help lead to broader health disparities research, such as routine collection of race and ethnicity data for children during all health care visits. Also important are quality improvement initiatives such as standardized teaching for health care workers about systemic bias and cultural competency, as well as increasing workforce diversity.

ASA's Committee on Professional Diversity recently posted a "living" document, "Anesthesiology and Health Equity," which looks into health care disparities in resources, quality of care, outcomes and mortality based on race and socioeconomic status. The committee anticipates the document will be reviewed and updated as new insights and perspectives on the issue are brought to its attention.


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Provided by American Society of Anesthesiologists

CANADIAN STUDY

Mask mandates shown to significantly reduce spread of COVID-19

by Simon Fraser University

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A new study by Simon Fraser University (SFU) researchers has found clear evidence that wearing a mask can have a significant impact on the spread of COVID-19. The researchers, from SFU's Department of Economics, have determined that mask mandates are associated with a 25 per cent or larger weekly reduction in COVID-19 cases.

The finding of their study, still in preprint and not yet peer-reviewed, conclude that mandating indoor masks nationwide in early July could have reduced the weekly number of new cases in Canada by 25 to 40 per cent in mid-August, which translates into 700 to 1,100 fewer cases per week.

The study analyzed the impact of mask mandates that were implemented across Ontario's 34 Public Health Units (PHUs) over the course of two months.

Researchers compared the results of PHUs that adopted mask mandates earlier to those that adopted mandates later. They determined that, in the first few weeks after their introduction, mask mandates were associated with an average weekly reduction of 25 to 31 per cent in newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases, relative to the trend in mask mandate absence, in July and August.

A further Canada-wide analysis with province-level data found a significantly negative association between mask mandates and subsequent COVID-19 case growth—up to a 46 percent average reduction in weekly cases in the first several weeks after adoption.

These results were supported by additional survey data that showed mask mandates increase self-reported mask usage in Canada by 30 percentage points, suggesting that the policy has a significant impact on behavior.

Jointly, these results suggest that mandating indoor mask wear in public places is a powerful policy measure to slow the spread of COVID-19, with little associated economic disruption in the short term.

The study also found that relaxed restrictions on businesses and gatherings (including retail, restaurants and bars) were positively associated with subsequent COVID-19 case growth—a factor that could offset and obscure the health benefits of mask mandates.

The most stringent restrictions on businesses and gatherings observed in the data were associated with a weekly decrease of 48 to 57 per cent in new cases, relative to the trend in the absence of restrictions.

The study authors note that while the results are significant, their sample period does not allow them to definitively say whether the effect of mask mandates persists or weakens beyond the first few weeks after implementation. However, they conclude that, combined with other policy measures, mask mandates can be a potent policy tool for slowing the spread of COVID-19.

Key Finding:
Mask mandates are associated with a 25 to 46 per cent average reduction in weekly COVID-19 cases across Canada.

Requiring indoor masks nationwide in early July could have reduced new COVID-19 cases in Canada by 25 to 40 per cent in mid-August, which translates into 700 to 1,100 fewer cases per week.

Mask mandates were shown to increase self-reported mask usage in Canada by 30 percentage points.

The most stringent restrictions on businesses and gatherings (including retail, restaurants and bars) were associated with a weekly decrease of 48 to 57 per cent in new cases, relative to the trend in the absence of restrictions.

Explore further  Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: Alexander Karaivanov et al, Face Masks, Public Policies and Slowing the Spread of COVID-19: Evidence from Canada, (2020).

DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.24.20201178

Provided by Simon Fraser University

Evidence of a cat recognizing and mimicking human behavior

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

Credit: Animal Cognition (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01428-6

A small team of researchers with Eötvös Loránd University's Department of Ethology in Budapest has observed an instance of a house cat recognizing and then mimicking human behavior. The group has written a paper describing their observations and published it in the journal Animal Cognition.

Very few species have been observed imitating human behavior—only orcas, apes, elephants, dolphins and magpies—and now, that list has grown to include house cats. The finding comes as a surprise because cats were not thought to possess the necessary cognitive abilities to intentionally mimic the actions of other creatures.

The work was inspired in a roundabout way. Lead researcher Claudia Fugazza, an animal behaviorist, met with a colleague named Fumi Higaki who related that she had taught her pet cat to copy some of her behavior on command. Both Fugazza and Higaki had been studying an animal training technique called "Do as I do," whereby an animal is trained to perform an action, such as roll over, and then is taught to do it when the trainer speaks the words "do as I do." The training then progresses until an animal is shown a new behavior it has not performed before, and is asked to do it by the trainer once again speaking the worlds "do as I do." Fugazza and Higaki had both been studying the technique with dogs; thus, it was a surprise when Higaki related that she had used the technique to train her cat.

Higaki set up a demonstration of the cat in action at her pet store. To keep from spooking the cat, Fugazza sat some distance away from Higaki and her cat, which was named Ebisu. Fugazza observed as the cat responded to 18 requests to perform an action it had never done before following requests mimic Higaki, including opening a drawer, spinning around, reaching out and touching a toy, and laying down in a certain position. The cat was found to respond as desired approximately 81 percent of the time. The researchers suggest that the cat demonstrated the capability of mapping its own body parts to those of another creature, and to understand how those parts could be used in similar ways.


Explore further Your dog remembers what you did

More information: Claudia Fugazza et al. Did we find a copycat? Do as I Do in a domestic cat (Felis catus), Animal Cognition (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01428-6

Journal information: Animal Cognition


© 2020 Science X Network

A better understanding of how cirrus clouds form

by Steve Tally, Purdue University

New research from a team led by scientists at Purdue University has found that trees and plants play an important role in the formation of cirrus clouds, a finding that has implications for agriculture, urban development, and climate change modeling. 

Credit: J. Duclos via Unsplash.com

New research provides insights into how cirrus clouds form, with implications for agriculture, urban development and climate-change predictions. The study shows that trees and plants play an important role that affects precipitation and global climate change.

An international team combined theory, field measurements and lab experiments to develop a better understanding of the formation of clouds.

Daniel Cziczo, professor and head of Purdue University's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, said that, surprisingly, scientists didn't previously have a full understanding of how cirrus clouds form.

"These clouds have an effect on climate and precipitation—things we humans care deeply about," he said. "This paper tells us how particles in the atmosphere, whether from natural or human-made sources, can impact clouds in a way that we previously didn't understand."

Scientists knew that particles in the air from smoke and auto emissions would influence the creation of clouds, but this new research spotlights the importance of volatile emissions from plants and organic material, which the scientists call "secondary organic aerosols."

"This data will help us better predict how activities such as deforestation or reforestation will affect the world's climate, because these secondary organic aerosols are derived from plants," Cziczo said. "If the levels of these organic aerosols change, we'll now have a better understanding of what effects this will have and be able to use this information in global climate models."

Cziczo and the other authors of the paper were able to take data supplied by other researchers on the project and use it to create cirrus-like ice clouds in his Purdue laboratory, and then analyze the results using a specialized spectrometry instrument.

The research was published in Nature Communications.

"Everybody's heard of greenhouse gases and global warming, but I don't think many understand that clouds are a big player in climate change, too," Cziczo said. "The clouds also affect precipitation, which has an obviously large role in agriculture and human activities.

The cloud-formation mechanism described in the journal paper highlights the intricate interplay between human activities, the environment, and natural resources, such as rainfall.

"If our water resources change dramatically, that has huge consequences on our food production, land and resource utilization, things like that. So, we're really trying to understand both the water cycle and climate from the perspective of the atmosphere."

The science of clouds extends beyond what we see in the sky above us, Cziczo said, and the same chemistry and physics are at work in clouds on other planets.

"It does snow on Mars, and Mars has clouds. We've used some of our laboratory equipment that we use to understand clouds on Earth and adapted them to Martian conditions or conditions on Saturn's moon Titan using data from probes."

Explore further Thin tropical clouds cool the climate

More information: Martin J. Wolf et al. A biogenic secondary organic aerosol source of cirrus ice nucleating particles, Nature Communications (2020).

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18424-6

Journal information: Nature Communications

Provided by Purdue University

Revising climate models with new aerosol field data

by Colorado State University

Instrumentation inlets and the view from the top of the tower at the Manitou Experimental Forest Observatory near Woodland Park, Colorado Credit: Delphine Farmer, CSU

Smoke from the many wildfires burning in the West have made air quality hazardous for millions of people in the United States. And it is the very tiniest of the aerosol particles in that air that make it particularly harmful to human health. But for decades, we haven't known how long these particles actually stay aloft.


New research by Colorado State University scientists is giving us a much better understanding of this process, which can help not only in air quality forecasting, but also in global climate modeling.

Aerosol particles, whether from wildfire smoke or car exhaust, play a large role in how much heat is absorbed or deflected by the atmosphere. However, we haven't entirely understood how quickly these tiny particles were pulled out of the air—especially in the absence of moisture. This has added substantial uncertainty to already-complex climate models.

Delphine Farmer, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry in the CSU College of Natural Sciences, knew it was time we could do better.

Farmer and her colleagues recently announced that they have been able to detect, in real-world environments—from forests to grasslands—the rate at which these important particles actually leave the atmosphere. Their findings first appeared online the week of October 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This work really highlights the importance and power of field measurements," Farmer said. "We can directly use observations from field studies to narrow the uncertainties in climate models, and to improve our understanding of climate-relevant processes."

Zeroing in on uncertainty

Aerosol particles fall out of the air in two main ways. The first and most common is known as "wet" deposition, when moisture plucks them out of the air, whether through cloud formation, snow, or rainfall. Scientists have had a fairly good handle on this force, which accounts for some 80% of the aerosol effect in the atmosphere.

But the other force, "dry" deposition, has been much more mysterious, although it plays a not-insignificant role globally. Because aerosols are so small (measured in nanometers and microns) they don't simply come tumbling down due to gravity. They can waft along in currents of air for a long time. Just how long, however, has been the question.


"When a particle is emitted into the atmosphere, the amount of time it hangs out in the air depends on these removal processes," Farmer said. This is crucial, she explained, because "the longer a particle hangs out in the atmosphere, the more opportunity it has to travel farther, or make clouds, or impact human health. So getting the removal process right is essential for predicting particle concentrations—and their effects."

Early results from theoretical calculations in the 1970s and '80s, and cruder measurements completed over smooth surfaces around 2000, have been fed into climate models for decades.

This is where Farmer, who has made a research career tracking atmospheric chemistry with high-resolution instruments, saw an opportunity for improvement.

Improved climate models—and human health

Farmer and her colleagues knew that, of course, the land—and even ocean—surface isn't all smooth. So they wanted to see what was actually happening to these particles in the real world.

In particular, they looked at the forces beyond gravity that were driving these aerosols' journeys. "For the small, climate- and health-relevant particles, turbulence in the atmosphere brings particles down to surfaces and allows those particles to get stuck," Farmer said.

And because of this, these small particles don't have a straight path to a surface—especially in a complex surface environment like a forest. Farmer explained it as each microscopic aerosol particle running its own gauntlet, "kind of like American Ninja Warrior, where the particle has to avoid hitting different obstacles in order to stay in the atmosphere. And each gauntlet is particularly challenging for different sizes of particles."

To see how these variously sized particles were faring in this obstacle course, the researchers deployed an ultra-high sensitivity aerosol spectrometer, which uses a laser to count particles. They set up measuring stations in a pine forest in the Manitou Experimental Forest in Colorado, and in grasslands in the Southern Great Plains in Oklahoma, to capture real-world data on these particles as they eventually landed.

"We measured how fast different particles run this gauntlet," Farmer explained. "Then we used those measurements to figure out which part of the gauntlet slowed different particles down."

They found a much narrower range of lifetimes for these important particles than had been suggested by earlier modeling. In fact, the old predictions were counting on a faster removal of the very small particles (those less than 100 microns) and a slower removal of the larger particles (those greater than 400 microns).

"This means that we may have been underestimating the aerosol indirect effect in models," Farmer said. "The good news is that we have been overestimating the uncertainty—we now know particle loss rates better."

The new findings can be applied to all sorts of uneven surfaces, from forests to grasslands to agricultural areas even to choppy seas.

More aerosol effects over land

When integrating their findings into models of the aerosol effects globally, Farmer and her coauthors predict there will be more aerosol effect than previously assumed over certain land areas, including parts of North America, Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and sub-Saharan Africa—and a lowering of the aerosol effect over oceans.

"It turns out that the particles' race to settle on a surface is pretty important for predicting radiative effects" and what the future climate might look like, Farmer said.

Their new data also suggests we've been underestimating the amount of the aerosols in the air that are most harmful to human health, those smaller than 2.5 nanometers (also known as PM2.5), which are, for example, the most commonly hazardous part of wildfire smoke.

"Our revised [number] increases surface PM2.5 concentrations by 11% globally and 6.5% over land," Farmer and her collaborators wrote in their new paper. Which is important to know because "exposure to PM2.5 is linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases."

Coauthors on the study included Jeffery Pierce, an associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences in the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering, and Kelsey Bilsback, a postdoctoral researcher there; as well as doctoral researchers in the Department of Chemistry Ethan Emerson, Anna Hodshire, and Holly DeBolt; and Gavin McMeeking from the Handix Scientific company in Boulder.

This important work also demonstrates just how advanced—and impactful—field measurement technologies are becoming.

"To me, the most exciting aspect of this work is that we are able to take real-world measurements over a forest and a grassland site and use them to directly improve our understanding of the climate system," Farmer said.


Explore further  Tiny particles lead to brighter clouds in the tropics
More information: Ethan W. Emerson et al, Revisiting particle dry deposition and its role in radiative effect estimates, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020).

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2014761117

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Provided by Colorado State University

REAL  #CHEMTRAILS
Aerosol instrument starts measurement campaign in European airspace

by SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

Electrical Engineer Rob Wolfs (left) and Software Engineer Jens Johanson (right) in front of the Falcon-20 research airplane in Toulouse. Credit: SRON

SRON's aerosol instrument SPEX Airborne is spreading its wings again. On October 2, it will start a series of measurement flights across Europe onboard a Falcon-20 research aircraft. SPEX Airborne will measure aerosols in the atmosphere—tiny dust particles that can disrupt measurements of the greenhouse gas CO2. In time, SPEX is intended to go into space as part of the European SCARBO mission.

Europe is committed to measuring CO2 emissions from space in order to achieve the European Green Deal targets. In addition to the future CO2 space mission CO2M, the European Commission is funding a collaboration of 10 organizations, including SRON, that are working on a constellation of smaller satellites called the Space CARBon Observatory (SCARBO). A new miniature CO2 measuring instrument, nanoCarb, has been developed for SCARBO in France. The Dutch SPEX Airborne is part of SCARBO, intended to correct the CO2 measurements for disturbances caused by aerosols. Before these instruments go into space, they first perform a series of measurement flights from Toulouse on the Falcon-20.

A team of SRON engineers has already arrived in Toulouse to install SPEX Airborne in the Falcon-20 aircraft. "After the installation, one or two test flights will be carried out over France," says Martijn Smit from SRON. "Then it gets exciting, because we'll see whether everything functions properly. If the test flight goes well, the real work begins."

There will be flights over Poland and Germany above a number of power plants with high CO2 emissions. The aircraft will also fly across Northern Italy and Southern Spain—regions with often increased concentrations of aerosols.

Credit: SRON

This campaign will be the first time that CO2 and aerosol are measured simultaneously.

The SCARBO consortium is led by Airbus Defense and Space in France. The project draws funding from the Horizon 2020 program of the European Commission. SRON and Airbus Defense and Space Netherlands are also currently developing the spectropolarimeter SPEXone for the NASA satellite mission PACE, which will be launched in 2023.


Explore further SPEX project gets wings: first measurements SPEX airborne published

Provided by SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

40,000 years of adapting to sea-level change on Alor Island

by Australian National University

Marine shell and coral fishing (at left) and ornamentation (at right) technologies from Makpan. Credit: Australian National University

Early people were rapidly adapting to climate change as they made their way towards Australia tens of thousands of years ago, new research shows.


Shells, fish bones and fishhooks found on the Indonesian island of Alor show how people lived and adapted to the environment more than 40,000 years ago.

Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) led the team which excavated a cave—called Makpan—on Alor's south-west coast.

Their findings also confirm Alor's position as a "stepping stone" between the larger islands of Flores and Timor.

According to Dr. Shimona Kealy from ANU, analysis of artifacts found at Makpan show how inventive and adaptive its early residents were.

"This provides further insights into early modern human movements between the islands and shows how responsive people were to challenges such as climate change," Dr. Kealy said.

"Once people began to move into the islands they did so very quickly, and rapidly adjusted to their new island homes."

Makpan witnessed a series of massive sea level highs and lows during its 43,000 years of human occupation, largely due to the climactic extremes of the last Ice Age.

"When people first arrived at Makpan, they came in low numbers," Dr. Kealy said.

A fish trap on the reef edge of Alor Island. Credit: Marko Reimann/Alamy Stock

"At this time the cave was close to the coast—as it is today—and this early community lived on a diet of shellfish, barnacles and sea urchin, with sea urchins in particular eaten in large numbers."

Shortly after their initial arrival, sea levels began to fall. This increased the distance from the site of Makpan to the coast, and likely encouraged people to broaden their diet to include a variety of land-based fruits and vegetables.

As the last Ice Age began to wane about 14,000 years ago, Makpan was once again within 1km of the coast.

Professor Sue O'Connor says around 12,000 years ago people were enjoying a "smorgasbord of seafood."

"It is no surprise the site sees significant evidence for fishing at this time, not just the bones of a wide variety of fish and shark species, but also in the form of shell fishhooks in different shapes and sizes," Professor O'Connor said.

Alor Island. Credit: Dr Shioma Kealy

Makpan was abandoned around 7,000 years ago, before a final occupation phase around 3,500 years ago.

"We don't know why Makpan was abandoned at this time," Dr. Kealy said.

The excavation site at Makpan. Credit: Dr Shimona Kealy

"Perhaps final sea level increases made other areas around Alor island more attractive settlement locations."

The study has been published in Quaternary Science Reviews.


Explore further  

Archaeologist finds world's oldest funereal fish hooks
More information: Shimona Kealy et al. Forty-thousand years of maritime subsistence near a changing shoreline on Alor Island (Indonesia), Quaternary Science Reviews (2020). 

DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106599
Journal information: Quaternary Science Reviews


Provided by Australian National University

Conservation success or pests? 

Seals spark passionate debate

by Patrick Whittle and Michael Casey

A grey seal swims in Casco Bay, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, off Portland, Maine. Seals, especially grey seals, are being blamed for attracting sharks and for stealing from commercial fishermen. Critics say the increased seal population will hurt the economy and scare off tourists. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Nick Muto has fished up and down the New England coast and there is nothing that gets his blood boiling more than the sight of a seal.


Muto, whose two boats fish for groundfish such as skate and monkfish as well as lobster, is among a growing group of anglers, beach goers and local officials who are quick to blame everything from disease to depleted fisheries to increased shark sightings on the exploding seal population.

"Areas that we used to traditionally fish that were as close to guarantees as you could get have been strip mined of fish, and the fish have been driven out of there by seals," Muto said. "They have eaten fish out of our nets. They have been caught in our nets. They are everywhere."

The debate over seals was reignited after the death in July of a swimmer killed by a great white off Harpswell, Maine. Seals are often shark prey, and experts believe Julie Dimperio Holowach may have been mistaken for a seal.

No one questions that seal and shark numbers are on the rise, mostly due to federal protections. It's estimated there are as many as 50,000 grey seals in New England waters plus a lesser number of harbor seals. The animals were almost eliminated through hunting and bounties decades ago.

But experts maintain there is not enough science to determine whether the current population is too big and little basis for culling the marine mammals. Even suggesting seals are destroying fisheries or are solely to blame for shark attacks is not supported by hard evidence. Experts say warming waters and other factors also could be playing a role. The Gulf of Maine, which stretches from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia, has been heating up faster than 99% of the world's oceans.

A grey seal moves across rocks on a small island in Casco Bay, Thursday, July 30, 2020, off Portland, Maine. Seals are thriving off the northeast coast thanks to decades of protections. Many scientists believe the increased seal population is leading to more human encounters with white sharks, who prey on seals. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

"We get into this question of how many grey seals there are. The next question is how many seals should there be, which is kind of where people are going to go next with that, which is a very challenging thing," said David Johnston, a marine ecologist at Duke University who has done grey seal population estimates using Google Earth and tagged seals to demonstrate how their feeding behavior changes due to sharks in the Northwest Atlantic.

Seal population rise has prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to propose guidelines for deterring marine mammals, including physical barriers to keep seals away from fishing gear.


"Frustration by fishermen and property owners stemming from conflicts with marine mammals has increased," notes NOAA's proposal. The agency is taking comments until Oct. 30.

But Johnston and Stephanie Wood, a University of Massachusetts Boston seal biologist currently surveying seals in the Boston Harbor, said the public should view seals as a conservation success story, rather than a problem to be managed.

Hunted almost into extinction by the 1900s, seals were given federal protection in 1972 by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Seals began returning to New England waters in the 1980s and 1990s from Nova Scotia and have thrived ever since—often raising pups on federally protected islands once home to hunting and fishing camps. They also disperse widely and have benefited from a wide-ranging diet, including fish, crustaceans and squid.

"Habitat opened up for seals, which is sort of the opposite story that we hear about a lot of other populations struggling to recover," said Wood, noting that other marine mammals such as whales and monk seals "haven't recovered in the same way."

A harbor seal pokes its head out of the water in Casco Bay, Thursday, July 30, 2020, off Portland, Maine. Seals are thriving off the northeast coast thanks to decades of protections. While many fishermen are complaining about the increased seal population, some guides say the growth of seals has contributed to ecotourism and it would be silly to try to reverse that now. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Trying to reduce the numbers of seals is more complicated than opening up a hunt for an abundant species such as deer, said Kristina Cammen, a marine mammal scientist with University of Maine. Bounties on seals in the 20th century reduced their populations by as many as 135,000, and marine mammal protections are designed to prevent that kind of population loss again, Cammen said.

Learning to coexist with the growing seal population makes far more sense, even if it contributes to more shark sightings in coastal waters, she said. "A healthy ecosystem has sharks, seals and humans and they all have a place in that ecosystem."

Some species of sharks have rebounded because there are protections for them, not just because there are more seals to eat, said Andrea Bogomolni, chair of Northwest Atlantic Seal Research Consortium, based in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

"Communicating that message of conservation success entails more than just a single species," Bogomolni said.

But seal critics call seals a public safety and ecological crisis and warn there will be more shark attacks if nothing is done. Tourism, too, will suffer, they said.

Some who are alarmed by the seal population burst are advocating culls while others are proposing some form of birth control. One group wants to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow delisting of species covered— similar to what's allowed under the Endangered Species Act. The first step, they argue, would be a study to determine what's a healthy population of seals for the region.

A grey seal lounges on a small island in Casco Bay, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, off Portland, Maine. Grey seals were nearly killed off from New England's waters but the population has rebounded in recent years. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

"Doing nothing is not acceptable to me and not acceptable to other residents of Cape Cod," Barnstable County Commissioner Ron Beaty said, adding that seals are the "core problem."

"The quality of life here and our ability to make a living and our economy will go down the toilet," he said. "I have respect for wildlife and respect for those that believe seals and sharks need to come back. But we have a right to survive and exist as well."

The shark attack in Maine that killed Holowach in July took place about 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) off the shore of Bailey Island. Kayakers took Holowach to shore, but not in time to save her.

Despite the attack, few people are blaming the seals. Longtime Maine whale watch guide Zack Klyver said the growth of seals has contributed to ecotourism.

"I'd prefer that we adapt and we not demand that everything adapt to us," Klyver said. "And there's a lot of interest in seals, in seeing them."


Explore further  As numbers of gray seals rise, so do conflicts

© 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Wildfires raze dozens of homes in New Zealand

Up to 50 homes were destroyed by a wildfire which swept through the picturesque New Zealand village of Lake Ohau

Wildfires have destroyed up to 50 homes in New Zealand, authorities announced Monday, saying it was a miracle no one was hurt as "a wall of orange" razed most of a remote South Island village.

The blaze began in a mountain forest early Sunday morning and, fanned by strong winds, swept through the village of Lake Ohau, forcing residents to flee for their lives.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) said the unpredictable winds made fighting the fire "challenging" and by Monday afternoon it had burned 4,600 hectares (18 square miles) of land.

Waitaki District mayor Gary Kircher said the tiny Lake Ohau community had been devastated.

"Of the 60 or 70 houses, we believe that the majority have gone," he told Radio New Zealand.

"The reality is that it's a minor miracle no one has been harmed. If it had been another 15-20 minutes it would have been a very different story."

Kircher described how residents awoke to find an inferno bearing down on them.

"I talked to a gentleman who got up to his dog (barking) in the early hours, opened his door and there was this wall of orange," he said.

"He was the one that set off the town fire alarm and helped to wake people... there's certainly some scary tales about how close it came to being an absolute disaster with fatalities."

Wildfires are relatively common on the South Island at this time of the year but the scale and intensity of the Ohau fire have been unusual.

Map of New Zealand locating the village of Lake Ohau where wildfires have destroyed dozens of homes, according to authorities on Monday.

'War zone'

Village resident Hugh Spiers, who lost his home, said the ferocious blaze was "surreal" and more akin to the huge bushfires that regularly erupt in Australia than a regular New Zealand blaze.

"The wind was so strong and the flames and the smoke and the sparks and the embers, it was just like what you see in the bush fires in Australia," he told TVNZ.

By Monday afternoon the fire front had moved far enough from the village to allow evacuated residents a brief trip back to assess the damage.

Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare, who accompanied them, described seeing burned out cars and gutted homes.

"The term I've heard used to describe it is a war zone," he told reporters.


"It's clear to me that there's no rhyme or reason when it comes to fire, one house is affected, the neighbour isn't... you can feel a sense of loss."

FENZ said 11 helicopters and eight fire crews were attempting to contain the flames.

Wildfires are relatively common on the South Island at this time of the year but the scale and intensity of the Ohau fire have been unusual

It said investigators were examining the cause of the blaze, amid reports it was ignited by an electrical arc from overhead power lines.

With light rain forecast for the next 24 hours, there were hopes it would be under control by Tuesday night.

New Zealand this year experienced its warmest winter on record, which government science body NIWA said was consistent with a long-term trend of rising temperatures linked to climate change.

University of Auckland environmental science expert, professor George Perry, said it was difficult to attribute a specific event such as the Lake Ohau fire to climate change.

But he said New Zealand had experienced more large wildfires that usual in recent years, pointing to changes in the three main factors affecting wildfires—fuel, climate and ignition sources.

"We would expect more such events under climate change especially as conditions become warmer and drier, and we see more droughts," he told AFP.


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Search underway for murder hornets nest in Washington state (Update)

by Nicholas K. Geranios

In this May 7, 2020, file photo, Washington State Department of Agriculture entomologist Chris Looney displays a dead Asian giant hornet, a sample brought in from Japan for research in Blaine, Wash. Washington state agriculture workers have trapped their first Asian giant hornet. The hornet was found July 14 in a bottle trap set north of Seattle near the Canadian border, and state entomologists confirmed its identity Wednesday, July 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, Pool, File)

Agricultural officials in Washington state said Friday they are trying to find and destroy a nest of Asian giant hornets—also known as murder hornets—amid concerns they could kill honey bees crucial for pollinating raspberry and blueberry crops.


Evidence of six of the hornets were found over the last week near the town of Blaine in Whatcom County, the Washington state Department of Agriculture told reporters.

The number of hornets found—nearly double the previous number discovered in the state—would indicate a nest has been established in the area, the agency said. One of the hornets was trapped alive, a first for the agency, spokeswoman Karla Salp said.

"We believe we are dealing with a nest,'' said Sven-Erik Spichiger, a department entomologist. "We hope to locate the nest in a couple of weeks and eradicate it."

The Asian giant hornet—the world's largest at 2 inches (5 centimeters)—can decimate entire hives of honeybees and deliver painful stings to humans. Farmers in the northwestern U.S. depend on those honey bees to pollinate many crops.

The invasive insect found in China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam and other Asian countries was first documented in Washington state late last year. Officials have said it's not known how it arrived. Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia are the only places the hornets have been found in North America.

In this Sept. 30, 2020, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a researcher holds a live Asian giant hornet with a tracking device affixed to it near Blaine, Wash. Agricultural officials in Washington state said Friday they are trying to find and destroy a nest of Asian giant hornets believed to be near the small town amid concerns the hornets could kill honey bees crucial for pollinating raspberry and blueberry crops. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)

There have been reports from Asia of the hornets stinging people so often they have died.

Despite their name, the hornets kill at most a few dozen people a year in Asia, and experts say it is probably far less. Hornets, wasps and bees typically found in the United States kill an average of 62 people a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.

The real threat from the hornets is their devastating attacks on honeybee hives, and the time of year when they attack those hives is nearing, Spichiger said. He called it the "slaughter phase."

A state scientist managed to trap one live Asian giant hornet near Blaine in recent days and officials tried to glue a radio tag to it so they could follow the hornet back to its nest, Spichiger said.

But the glue did not dry fast enough, the radio tag fell off and the hornet ultimately could not fly, Spichiger said. Scientists hope to capture another live hornet and try again.

In this Sept. 30, 2020, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a researcher holds a live Asian giant hornet with a tracking device affixed to it near Blaine, Wash. Agricultural officials in Washington state said Friday, Oct. 2, 2020 they are trying to find and destroy a nest of Asian giant hornets believed to be near the small town amid concerns the hornets could kill honey bees crucial for pollinating raspberry and blueberry crops. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)

In this Sept. 30, 2020, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a researcher works to attach a tracking device to a live Asian giant hornet near Blaine, Wash. Agricultural officials in Washington state said Friday, Oct 2, 2020 they are trying to find and destroy a nest of Asian giant hornets believed to be near the small town amid concerns the hornets could kill honey bees crucial for pollinating raspberry and blueberry crops. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)

In this Sept. 30, 2020, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a live Asian giant hornet flutters but is unable to fly away as a tracking device placed by a researcher dangles behind near Blaine, Wash. Agricultural officials in Washington state said Friday, Oct. 2, 2020 they are trying to find and destroy a nest of Asian giant hornets believed to be near the small town amid concerns the hornets could kill honey bees crucial for pollinating raspberry and blueberry crops. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)

In this Sept. 30, 2020, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a researcher holds a live Asian giant hornet with a tracking device affixed to it near Blaine, Wash. Agricultural officials in Washington state said Friday, Oct. 2, 2020 they are trying to find and destroy a nest of Asian giant hornets believed to be near the small town amid concerns the hornets could kill honey bees crucial for pollinating raspberry and blueberry crops. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)

In this Sept. 30, 2020, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a researcher works to attach a tracking device to a live Asian giant hornet near Blaine, Wash. Agricultural officials in Washington state said Friday, Oct 2, 2020 they are trying to find and destroy a nest of Asian giant hornets believed to be near the small town amid concerns the hornets could kill honey bees crucial for pollinating raspberry and blueberry crops. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)


People living in the Blaine area have been reporting sightings of the hornets to agricultural officials.

There is also evidence that the giant hornets are also attacking native wasps and hornets, Spichiger said.

Fifteen of the hornets have been found since they were first seen in the state in 2019, the agriculture department said.


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