Many of the dead seals that washed ashore in northern New England in the past few weeks tested positive for either avian influenza or phocine distemper virus, but it is still too soon to say if those viruses are the primary causes of the unusual die-off.
Preliminary results suggest that avian flu and/or phocine distemper virus may be contributing to the elevated seal strandings in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts since June 1, 2018.
Marine mammal experts are testing tissue samples for a potential common cause of the surge in carcasses found on the state's beaches this year.
The smelly carcass, identified as that of an adult male minke whale, is the second large marine animal to turn up on shore in southern Maine in the past week.
Previously, regulators monitored the presence of certain toxins and shut down fishing when they exceeded safe limits.
The number of outages is down from a peak of 484,000 statewide after winds and rain ravaged the region Monday morning.
We put out the call for images of storm damage across the state Monday morning and our readers answered with some great shots.
The unusually warm winter has proven deadly in the northeast. More than a dozen people, including snowmobilers and ice fishermen, have died when they fell through thin lake ice.
Ice is a key player not only in the culture of the northern Northeast, but also in its unique lake ecosystems – a determinant of everything from water temperature to aquatic food chains to water quality. And according to long-term climate data, ice-out has been moving earlier and earlier.
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