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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Plague Is Found in New Mexico. Again.
Two people were found to have plague this week. What does the disease look like in the modern world, and why does it keep happening in New Mexico?
Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
The New York Times

Health authorities have found Zika virus mosquitoes in Long Beach, California
Authorities have warned residents to watch out for mosquito bites and clean out pet bowls as the Aedes aegypti species breeds in stagnant water.
Long Beach, California, United States
Newsweek

Phytoplankton Have Turned The Bosphorus A Stunning Turquoise
When conditions are right, phytoplankton populations can grow explosively. And the ones blooming in the Black Sea right now are reflective, turning the usually dark water bright and milky.
Karakoy Neighborhood, Istanbul, Turkey
NPR.org

Bizarre, Glowing Sea Creatures Bloom in the Pacific
Tropical, tube-shaped animals called pyrosomes, known as "fire bodies,"; appear by the millions off the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. No one knows why.
Gulf of Alaska, United States
National Geographic

Risk of profuse blue-green algae blooms in Gulf of Finland
The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) has warned that the Gulf of Finland faces the risk of earlier and larger than usual blue-green algae blooms this summer – weather permitting. The environment agency says high levels of phosphorous have the potential to feed abundant toxic algal growths.
Gulf of Finland, Suoim, Finland
Yle Uutiset

Idaho mosquitoes test positive for West Nile
BANNOCK COUNTY -- Mosquitoes infected with the West Nile Virus have been discovered in eastern Idaho, health officials warned Friday.
Brannock County, Idaho, United States
KTVB

Mosquito capable of spreading Zika found in Southern Nevada
County health officials have detected a species of mosquito responsible for spreading Zika and other viruses for the first time in Southern Nevada.
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Las Vegas Review-Journal

West Nile Virus: Mosquitoes In Madison, Antioch Test Positive
The Health Department says two batches of mosquitoes tested positive for West Nile virus, but no human cases have been reported.
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
East Nashville, TN Patch

West Nile investigated in boy’s death, which would be Missouri’s earliest fatal case
The Jackson County Medical Examiner has sent samples for testing to the Missouri Department of Health after a possible West Nile death. If confirmed it would be the earliest West Nile fatality in a calendar year in Missouri history.
Independence, Missouri, United States
Kansas City Star

Lone Star Tick invades Southeast
Tick season is here and it's no secret the parasites can transmit dangerous diseases.But there's a relatively new and rare tick-borne disorder that causes an allergic reaction to red meat called 'Alpha Gal.'Jasmine Bailey reports how the tick that carries
Mobile, Alabama, United States
WPMI

Ticks are flourishing in St. Lawrence County, Lyme disease rates likely higher than tracking shows
Saint Lawrence County, New York, United States
NorthCountryNow

Scientists: Tick population exploding across Long Island
Scientists predict a record year for ticks on Long Island and the rest of the Northeast, and they are attributing the surge to a confluence
Long Island, New York, United States
Newsday

Overfishing is killing climate-resistant coral found in Mozambique
Quirimbas National Park, Mozambique
Mail Online

When Alaska shellfish turns deadly
No one really knows why algae put so much effort into making poisons. Alexandrium makes saxitoxin, and causes PSP. Another algae called Pseudo-nitzschia produces domoic acid, the source of amnesiac shellfish poisoning.
Seldovia, Alaska, United States
Alaska Dispatch News

Parasite on a Hooligan's (Thaleichthys pacificus) Gill
A parasitic copepod- similar to or possibly *Salmincola*.
Lutak Inlet, Alaska, United States

Great Barrier Reef hit by severe coral bleaching — study
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
NBC News

Amazon Deforestation, Once Tamed, Comes Roaring Back
"A decade after the “Save the Rainforest” movement captured the world’s imagination, Cargill and other food giants are pushing deeper into the wilderness."
Coari, Amazonas, Brazil
HIROKO TABUCHI, CLAIRE RIGBY and JEREMY WHITE

Logging Crew Mobilizes Near Irreplaceable Wetland, Slated for Site C Flooding
Watson Slough, Peace River region
DeSmog Canada

Yukon's wild sheep could be at risk of disease outbreak
The Yukon Fish and Game Association executive director believes it's just a matter of time before a disease outbreak, such as pneumonia, could spread from domestic sheep to wild Dall sheep.
Clinton, British Columbia, Canada
CBC News

Gone: endemic Baikal sponge has died completely in several areas of the vast lake
Vital for making its waters so 'pure', one theory is that rising underwater methane leaks are killing off the sponge, but is there a silver lining?
Listvyanka, Irkutsk, Russia
The Siberian Times

Russia plans to kill a quarter-million Siberian reindeer amid anthrax fears
A mysterious anthrax outbreak over the summer killed more than 2,300 reindeer and at least one child.
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia
Washington Post

The Pacific blob caused an 'unprecedented' toxic algal bloom - and there's more to come
The 'blob' caused it this time around. But oceans will keep getting warmer in the future.
Northeast Pacific Ocean
Washington Post

Are Ocean Conditions Right for Vibrio parahaemolyticus?
Resident becomes sick after consuming oysters and wonders what is being done to prevent future outbreaks of *V parahaemolyticus*, this new climate related illness in Alaska.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Mike Brubaker, Soumik Basu, Santina Gay, James Berner

Swift Response to Red Tide Keeps Jaltemba Bay Safe
In recent years, the presence of red tide algae in the Mexican Pacific Ocean has occurred from Manzanillo Bay, Colima, all along the western Mexican coast to the Bay of Mazatlan, Nayarit, and as far north as Ensenada, La Paz, Baja California. Fortunately, although Jaltemba Bay did have some of the toxic algae, the civic leaders and government were immediately in action.
Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, Mexico
Sol Mexico News

Anthrax outbreak triggered by climate change kills boy in Arctic Circle
Seventy-two nomadic herders, including 41 children, were hospitalised in far north Russia after the region began experiencing abnormally high temperatures
Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia
the Guardian

Toxic algae blamed for die-off at 2 salmon farms in Clayoquot Sound
Millar Channel, British Columbia, Canada
CBC News

West Coast Harmful Algal Bloom
Over the past few months, a massive toxic bloom of the marine diatom *Pseudo-nitzschia*, stretching from central California to the Alaska Peninsula, has resulted in significant impacts to coastal resources and marine life. NOAA has been working closely with federal, state, tribal, academic, and other partners to respond to this unprecedented harmful algal bloom (HAB).
Pacific Ocean, Northern to East Coasts
National Ocean Service (NOAA)

B.C. government urged to stop spread of deadly diseases to wild bighorns
B.C.'s wild bighorn sheep are facing a deadly threat from a pneumonia-causing bacterial disease
Cache Creek, British Columbia, Canada

Bighorn sheep in B.C. dying from domestic sheep pneumonia
A bighorn sheep herd in B.C.’s interior is in trouble after coming into contact with domestic sheep and the contagious disease they carry.
Chasm Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada
CBC News

Algae Bloom
Appears to be smothering all aquatic plant life.
Gakona, Alaska, United States

Sargassum algae invades the coasts of the Great South of Haiti
For over one year the coasts of the Great South of Haiti, are invaded by an unusual species of algae known as Sargassum or Seaweed. The most affected communities are : St Jean du Sud, Les Cayes, St Louis du Sud, Côtes de fer, Jacmel, Cayes Jacmel...
Saint-Louis du Sud, Sud, Haiti
HaitiLibre.com

Slimy Beach
Slimy Algae on beach
Port Lions, Alaska, United States

Whales Are Dying Off North America’s West Coast
West Coast of Vancouver Island, Canada
VICE News

Abundant Japanese Wireweed (Sargassum muticum)
A species of invasive seaweed is becoming very abundant and displacing native species.
Bamfield, British Columbia, Canada

Red Phytoplankton Bloom
7-11-13 Red phytoplankton bloom - Jakolof Bay, Alaska, USA
Jakalof Bay, Alaska, United States
Kris Holderied, Dean Stockwell, Mike Brubaker

Sick Spotted Seal (Phoca largha)
Local hunter reported that he had caught a spotted seal that he thought was sick.
Eek, Alaska, United States

Water Red in Harbor (Algae)
Red-colored seawater in boat harbor.
Saint George, Alaska, United States

Latest IHN outbreak forces cull at Millar Channel fish farm
Update: Aug. 16. Mainstream Canada has announced that the Millar Channel fish farm is now empty. The fish, infected with the IHN virus,were taken to a rendering facility. Mainstream Canada is developing a plan for cleaning and disinfecting the farm site, as per the requirements of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. “This is an unfortunate incident, but we are pleased with how smoothly the depopulation procedure went considering the situation,” said Fernando Villarroel, Mainstream Canada’s managing director.
Millar Channel, British Columbia, Canada
Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper

Chiefs Concerned About Infectious Sockeye Virus
The Shuswap Nation Tribal Council is very concerned about the conclusive finding of the European Strain of Infectious Salmon Anemia virus (ISA) in sockeye in Rivers Inlet. The Secwepemc, like "most BC First Nations, have relied on salmon as the life blood of our people. Between 50 and 90 per cent of our people's diet consisted of salmon at the time of contact.
Rivers Inlet, British Columbia, Canada
Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper

Cyanobacteria bloom under lake ice
Cyanobacteria blooms usually occur in summer.
Smithers, British Columbia, Canada

Potentially toxic algae blooms hit Interior B.C. lakes
Some residents in B.C.'s Central Interior are being told to avoid drinking or bathing in their tap water following an outbreak of potentially toxic algae blooms.
Tashick Lake, Vanderhoof, BC

Wildlife refuge pond in Hawaii mysteriously turns bubble-gum pink after drought
Halobacteria thrive in bodies of water with high levels of salt. The salinity inside the Kealia Pond outlet area is currently greater than 70 parts per thousand, twice the salinity of seawater. Maui's drought is likely contributing to the situation. Normally Waikapu Stream feeds into Kealia Pond and raises water levels there, but Wolfe said that hasn't happened in a long time.
Kīhei, Hawaii, United States
NBC Connecticut

Corals in peril at a popular Hawaiian tourist destination due to global climate change
Researchers from the Coral Reef Ecology Lab at the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology documented the third global bleaching event as it occurred from 2014 to 2016 at the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve (HBNP) on the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i. Their findings, published in the international journal PeerJ, show that temperature is by far the most influential factor in coral bleaching at this well-managed location where corals, fish, and all other organisms are protected.
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Hawaii, United States
EurekAlert!

North Saskatchewan River Turns Blue
The river, which starts at the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia Icefields and flows through to central Saskatchewan, is usually murky brown by the time it reaches Edmonton in summer. In recent weeks, however, the water has taken on the hues of Alberta's glacial lakes, thanks to dry, hot weather combined with maintenance at a major dam.
North Saskatchewan River, Alberta, Canada
CBC

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