Wildlife

“Spillback” Disease

While there are many documented instances of humans catching diseases such as COVID-19, bird flu and other pathogens from animals, a new study finds that humans are giving diseases to animals more frequently than previously thought.

Writing in the journal Ecology Letters, researchers say there have been nearly 100 cases where diseases “spillback” to animals both in captivity and in the wild. The latest example is COVID-19 being transmitted from people to wild white-tailed deer in North America and spreading among the population.

The majority of the spillback has been from humans to other closely related primates. Mountain gorillas in Uganda have caught several diarrhea-causing bacterial infections from people. “It brings into question which cross-species transmission events we may be missing, and what this might mean not only for public health, but for the health and conservation of the species being infected,” said lead author Anna Fagre.

Light Pollution

Some species of birds are encountering more light pollution at both ends of their migratory routes, potentially confusing them and causing them to crash into buildings, according to a new report.

Writing in the journal Ecosphere, researchers say nighttime light pollution levels are increasing from the southeastern U.S. to Mexico and Central America. It is estimated that as many as 1 billion bird deaths are caused by collisions each year, with a combination of artificial light at night and the mirrored surfaces of buildings the main causes.

Wildlife advocates are calling for new legislation to require architects to design buildings that are more bird friendly, and for cities to reduce light pollution during key migration periods.

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