Yesterday, CBC reported that the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium met (or will meet) with "all the stakeholders" to explain the science behind the "mortality crisis": http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/right-whale-meeting-saint-marys-university-1.4363256 Keep in Mind . . . The pathologists did not look beyond 2008 data. Based on a personal opinion that Zika, WNV, SLEV, and Wolbachia infections were "unlikely", they did NOT test for those pathogens. The evidence for blunt trauma (in four or five whales) was "severe internal bleeding" which could have been caused by those aforementioned viral and/or bacterial infections — not to mention foul play with these carcasses. The ONLY solid conclusion that could be made: TWO whales died from entanglements. And I have no idea what Kim Davies, a post-doctoral fellow in Dalhousie University's department of oceanography, meant by this phrase: "... and you know with climate change, all bets are off." (I copied Kim Davies on an August 6th email I wrote but I never heard back from her). Bottom line: Climate change is contributory but it doesn't explain the rapid extinction and breeding failures of vertebrate species (e.g. Arctic terns, planktivorous fish, North Atlantic right whales, Adélie penguins, and even human males). RE: The Catastrophic Adélie Penguin Chick Die-Off Oddly, CBC posted this article but never allowed commenting: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/antarctic-penguin-chicks-die-off-1.4344107 This massive penguin chick die-off also supports my Wolbachia-infecting-our-food-chain theory. Adélie penguins are consuming inordinate amounts of Wolbachia via their food sources. Notable 2013 study quotes: "Prey diversity was found to be greater than previously thought. Krill, fish, copepods and amphipods were the most important food groups ... Copepods were a major food item. Co-ingestion analysis indicated that copepods were present in association with fish in the diet more often than with krill, despite krill being consumed more commonly than fish." Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3864945 All of those food sources consume mosquito larvae (see my video above). Wolbachia and Zika are both maternally inherited (found in the eggs and larvae of these Wolbachia-infected Aedes). Five independent research teams have determined that overnight-active Culex can spread Zika. It's worrisome that "whole male mosquitoes (Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus) in Mexico" also had ZIKV. Source: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/06/19/151951 More Study Quotes: "West Nile virus outbreaks and mortality events have been documented in both wild and captive avian species, including penguins." Source: http://zoowildlifejournal.com/doi/abs/10.1638/2016-0144.1?code=zvet-site ZIKV is “clearly related to Culex-borne flaviviruses.” Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5500625 In fact, Zika shares the same phylogenetic clade alongside West Nile virus (with over 97 percent nodal support). With citations: http://www.infobarrel.com/Adlie_Penguin_Chick_Deaths_Wolbachia-Infected_Aedes_Is_More_Likely_Than_Climate_Change Sadly, I fear we will see more of these die-offs (and probably in humans too, especially men). With 16 citations: http://www.infobarrel.com/Wolbachia-Infected_Aedes_An_Ill-Fated_Experiment_in_French_Polynesia_ And over the weekend, I also noticed that a "major" study is pointing to air pollution as killing one in six people in the world. Well, well, isn't that a convenient "finding"? Since Culex are overnight-active Zika vectors, homeless people will be much more affected by ZIKV/Wolbachia infections. But the public has been inundated by millions of Aedes aegypti photos and the mantra "daytime-active" Aedes. This is a dangerous half-truth. These mass vertebrate die-offs will continue (if my theory is correct) and we need to keep pushing public health authorities, politicians, and others to test vertebrates (including humans) for the presence of Wolbachia and ZIKV. We cannot bury our heads in the sand and ignore what trillions of Wolbachia-infected Aedes are doing to our food chain much longer. P.S. I am adding more people to the list of those being petitioned. Thank you for continuing to spread the word and for your kind words. Sincerely, Rose Authors note: I cannot use italics or hyperlink. Ergo, links are not hidden and I used caps for emphasis. How your signature helps: each time a supporter signs our petition, an email is automatically sent directly to those being petitioned (governments, companies and individuals). When hundreds or even thousands of emails arrive in their inboxes, our message is impossible to ignore.