tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post525735977448754358..comments2023-10-26T03:19:41.569-07:00Comments on Stephen Bodio's Querencia: Why Quammen's Spillover is worth Your TimeSteve Bodiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14434597061701369867noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-91244510014400656982013-04-25T09:26:24.821-07:002013-04-25T09:26:24.821-07:00I found it fascinating and a page turner in its ow...I found it fascinating and a page turner in its own way.<br /><br />I would be interested in other opinions on the Lyme disease part. Quammen raises the idea that Lyme disease is NOT related to high white-tailed deer populations, but instead due to low forest wildlife diversity (including predators) and a subsequent population explosion of white-footed mice.<br /><br />That's an interesting idea, but I am skeptical on that one. I have read (or witnessed) nothing to suggest that there are fewer rodent predators in the eastern and midwestern forest--there are large numbers of coyotes, foxes, raccoons, great horned owls, etc.<br /><br />Certain birds and wildflowers have declined in eastern forests to be sure (in no small part due to deer overpopulation) but I don't see how that would affect mouse populations.<br /><br />I suspect that continuing research will find that large numbers of deer equals increased cases of Lyme disease. But I could be wrong. <br /><br />Other thoughts welcome. Matt Millerhttp://blog.nature.org/science/author/mmiller/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-8046294307533858432013-04-25T09:12:29.936-07:002013-04-25T09:12:29.936-07:00Quammen's "Song of the Dodo" was wha...Quammen's "Song of the Dodo" was what convinced me to be an evolutionary biologist, and I picked this up last winter and thought it was one of the best non-fiction books I'd read in a very long time.<br /><br />I'm not a regular comment leaver, but cue this morning, when Stingray was like, "Hey, Steve Bodio has a book rec on lethal diseases! You like those!" "...yeah, that'd be the one I've been trying to loan you and LabRat on your Kindle for the past six months!"<br /><br />In short: I thought it was well-written too. Although a little terrifying; my parasitologist labmate refers to bats as "tiny parasite space shuttles." Apparently true for very lethal viruses, too!Indynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-46759842401339708532013-04-25T05:45:42.565-07:002013-04-25T05:45:42.565-07:00I love everything I've gotten my hands on writ...I love everything I've gotten my hands on written by Quammen, so I'll definetely be looking for a copy of this one too. I know I'll be interested, even though I find such subjects scary and depressing.....L.B.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-20775124909292072312013-04-24T12:14:17.616-07:002013-04-24T12:14:17.616-07:00http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=p...http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=pathogens-from-humans-cats-kill-seals-dolphins<br /><br />"Pathogens from people, cats and other land animals are entering the oceans and attacking sea mammals. A parasite from opossums is killing California sea otters; a parasite from cats is killing dolphins.<br />Although data are still new, these “pollutagens” seem to be on the rise. Furthermore, drug-resistant bacteria from humans have been found in sharks and seals, raising the chance that the bugs could mutate and reinfect humans, who might be ill equipped to fight them.<br />Thoroughly cleansing wastewater and expanding wetlands that buffer land from sea could lessen the pollutagen threat."<br /><br />It goes the other way, too. Wildlife is suffering new diseases we don't research.<br /><br />I read the Spillover book, last fall, and liked it. Very well written but I didn't find much new in it.<br /><br />WHAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com