(Newser)
– For the past 25 years, a mysterious condition has killed bald eagles in the United States and left holes in their brains. Researchers have identified vacuolar myelinopathy (VM), a deadly condition that causes paralysis, blindness and seizures in bald eagles and their prey, including fish, turtles, snakes and smaller birds – and now I think I know what caused it, on Live Science. Initial suspicions fell Hydrilla verticillata, a highly invasive plant native to Central Africa and common in fish tanks, which has taken over lakes in several states. Because only some of these lakes have been linked to VM, subsequent research has identified a species of cyanobacteria found on certain Hydrilla plants. In the laboratory, cyanobacterial cultures failed to produce any toxins. This changed, however, when the researchers added bromide to the mixture, per version.
The bacteria produced a toxin called aetochtonototoxin, or “poison that kills the eagle.” Bromide occurs naturally in small amounts in lakes, but is also introduced through chemical leaks and herbicides, which are “ironically used to control the spread. Hydrilla, “on Live Science. Further research has shown that the plant is” capable of enriching bromide in the environment, making it even more available to cyanobacteria. ” Wired. “Only this discovery made us aware that VM is spreading because of it [human] influence, “says Steffen Breinlinger, who worked with an international team of researchers on a study in Science. He notes that VM can never be eradicated from US lakes, but “if we control the bromide in the tanks … in the end [the cyanobacteria] he will be stripped of his weapon. ” Wired notes that the effect on people who eat infected animals is not yet clear. (Read some much better news for bald eagles.)