Dennis,
We've been losing divers and coots on pool 7 of the Mississippi for the past few years. Different snail, same trematodes. WI DNR says the numbers are in the thousands but if I'm not mistaken their saying mostly Ringers and Coots. No one seems to know if this is a cyclical (sp) thing or if it will get worse over a period of time. There are times hunting that we watch tens of thousands of ducks trade around that closed area. It's a major resting area like Winne so there is the possibility of real problems.
I like to take friends and neighbors out into the closed area to watch the ducks, geese and swans this time of year and it has been amazing to see the number of Eagles that are there to feed on the dead and dying ducks. The trematodes don't seem to affect them. (They are a sub-specie of the Bald Eagle called Walking Eagles (too fat to fly) ;^) )
U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the WI DNR are the people in this area studying this, not sure if or what they have come up with but their web sites might have something for you.
George
