I've recently been reading about the die-off of the frogs:
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/0...ngus/index.html
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/2...-fate-to-frogs/

Colony collapse disorder among bees:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtm...0/eabees120.xml
http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572
http://www.backyardhive.com/Articles_on_Be...lapse_Disorder/
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/05/03/b...w19-502-ak-0000

And now comes a new one: bats:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080130/ap_on_...JJt1pcGI88iANEA
http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/41621.html

While doing research for this, I came across ducks:
http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20061209.htm

fish:
http://home.att.net/~thehessians/fishkill.html

And there's a theory that fungus may have played a role in the death of the dinosaurs:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_sc...e_in_by_fungus/

So the 64,000 dollar question is: are we next?

I hope not, but even i think a change is on the horizon, say in 50yrs give or take....

What that change will be i don't know, but i get the distinct impression that it's comming.....

This hasn't been really put out as a general knowledge thing such as BSE foot and mouth etc... So im sure there is no immediate threat of this just yet. That said Bacteria and virus strains do tend to have a tendency of mutating or adapting to create a whole new strain. Our Hospitals are a known culprit for brewing the new mutation of MRSA which did not exist 15 years ago

Well, as one of the articles on bees says: bees may be gone in England within 10 years.

The problem is that Colony Collapse Disorder has spread to other countries in Europe, North and South America, and now Asia.

Unless we intervene, frogs will all be gone by about 2025. The African clawed frog is immune to the fungus ... but I doubt it's immune to the parasites that are helping kill off the other frogs.

These are the two big ones right now ... but I'm worried about this first report on bats. The thing with the ducks was quite a while ago, and it may be isolated. The bat thing might be isolated too ... but you have to remember: ten years ago, we hadn't heard of the frog problem yet.

I only just found out about this now so its news to me

Oh do you mean mankind?

Iw2b2: I laughed when I read that, but then I thought: You know, Iw2b2 is right. We're undoubtedly involved in this somewhere.

I don't see how we could not be. We upset delicate, complex ecosystems. We're like a wrench thrown into a system of cogs and wheels. Piss poor stewards we are...

New update:
26 dolphins dead, more than 40 successfully rescued ... yet no known cause. It says they may have been looking for food.

I realize this is likely not a parasitic infection or a fungus causing problems with their ability to navigate, but such a thing wouldn't be unprecedented.

Still, the line that bothers me is: may have been looking for food. Are there fish shortages off England, and if so, is it a die-off (there was a small die-off in the US a couple of years ago due to fungus), is it over-fishing, or is it a combination? I think we should watch the news for more dolphin problems.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080830/ap_on_...ading_fireflies

Here's an article on the decline of fireflies. This one is probably in response to urban lighting. Real shame too. I remember as a kid I used to see a LOT of fireflies. On my trip home, I didn't see ONE.

Here is some more news of mysterious die-offs:

http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2007/0.../news/news2.txt

http://www.seagrant.uconn.edu/LOBFACT1.pdf

http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showN...E0F747DDC8C58FF

http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/ar...93&rel_no=1

http://www.parks.wa.gov/parkpage.asp?selec...camano%20Island

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20...1m1pelican.html

http://m.dailycamera.com/news/2006/Sep/14/...-trees-die-off/

http://www.sfbayjv.org/news_summaries/2005...sh_die-off.html

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...B7011A034434520

http://praise.manoa.hawaii.edu/news/eh122.html

http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=15629

It is getting scary.