Hydrilla disease

[Gamblerman65]

Google Aetokthonas hydrillicola
It is a long read but interesting..

[Arethaz]

I don't buy it 100%. Read this:

"Wilde realized that in virtually every site where bald eagles died, there was an intense invasion of hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant native to Asia and considered the ultimate aquatic weed in freshwater locations where it is found. She hypothesized that the eagles were eating tainted prey: waterbirds called coots eat the hydrilla, develop AVM, then pass it on to the eagles who prey on them as food. She just had to figure out why that was happening, and a close examination of the hydrilla led her to the culprit-blue-green algae coating the leaves of the very plants the coots were eating, confirmed at every location where birds were dying from AVM."

Here is another interesting tidbit:

"In order to test the theory that the cyanobacteria is producing the neurotoxin that causes disease in birds, the researchers studied many lakes with hydrilla infestations. Some had the new cyanobacterial colonies on the leaves, but many did not. By monitoring both types, the researchers demonstrated only the lakes with Aetokthonos hydrillicola have birds suffering and dying from AVM."

Seems to me that it is the blue green algae and not the hydrilla... the article says it clearly.

So in conclusion this eradication of hydrilla the state is going through is it at least in part to conserve the bald eagles and the other more "unimportant" animals at least to people and media? As I see it if they want to help eradicate it in the way they are describing it they will need to kill off every type of grass that can become coated with blue green algae or so I would speculate.

Source Article: https://news.uga.edu/identify-name-t...d-eagles-0215/