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Title    New England Drought Means Bolder Bears, Stressed Fish
Date    Tuesday August 23 2016, @09:16AM
Author    martyb
Topic   
from the non-global-warming dept.
https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=16/08/23/029235

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Bears are bolder, mosquitoes are multiplying and stream-dwelling fish are stressed. Beyond hurting crops and helping the tourism industry, New England's hot, dry summer also is affecting the region's wildlife.

All six New England states are experiencing at least moderate drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center, with severe patches in all but Vermont and pockets of extreme drought in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Low rainfall also means low stream flow levels across the region. The U.S. Geological Survey says all six states have areas exhibiting moderate hydrologic drought, with severe spots in Massachusetts and one extreme area in Maine.

[...] In Maine, officials are recommending that people fish earlier or later in the day when temperatures are cooler. The same goes for southern New Hampshire, said Scott Decker, inland fisheries program director at New Hampshire Fish and Game.

Given that mosquitoes breed in standing water, you might expect fewer instead of more during a drought, said Pete Pekins, wildlife professor at the University of New Hampshire. But the opposite happens because as water levels drop, river banks and the edges of ponds widen, he said.

[...] The drought has implications on land as well as water, with bears, snakes and ants among those species venturing further afield in search of food or water. In Quincy, Massachusetts, a timber rattlesnake showed up on someone's front steps. In New Hampshire, bears have been foraging for food at campgrounds and neighborhood trash cans because drought-stricken berry bushes didn't produce as much as usual.

Too bad there is no simple way for Louisiana to export some of their excess rainfall to New England.

[Ed. Note: For our international readers, "New England" refers to the northeast region of the USA that encompasses the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.]


Original Submission

Links

  1. "Arthur T Knackerbracket" - https://soylentnews.org/~Arthur+T+Knackerbracket/
  2. "following story" - http://phys.org/news/2016-08-england-drought-bolder-stressed-fish.html
  3. "water" - http://phys.org/tags/water/
  4. "drought-stricken berry bushes" - http://phys.org/tags/drought/
  5. "Original Submission" - https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=15426

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