Member A Day in May Update
 As of May 10th, 17 new members have joined LPC in response to our Member a Day in May Membership Drive! Even though we are more than halfway there we still need your help to achieve our goal of 31 new members in May. Take a chance to win one of three great prizes: a 11" x 14" matted loon photograph, a $100 gift certificate to The Loon's Feather Gift Shop or a handcrafted loom decoy. Click here for more information. If you are already a member of LPC, thank you so much for your support. Please consider forwarding this email to a friend who might be interested in the latest loon news and who might want to support our work as well.
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LPC Continues Investigation of Climate Impacts on Loons
After coming off of a warm winter with a record number of loons rescued from the ice, we are beginning to wonder what the weather has in store for us this summer. Will it be another wet year with above average temperatures? For a northern species like the Common Loon that nests at the water's edge, a warmer and wetter climate could have a large impact on their nesting success. To better anticipate this impact, we have started an investigation of the effects of climate on loon breeding success over the 40 years of LPC's loon monitoring data. Preliminary results show that from year to year both increased temperature and precipitation have impacted loon nesting success, with temperature a bigger factor in warmer southern and southeastern New Hampshire.
And it is not just loon nesting success that is affected by climate change. In our Fall 2015 newsletter (see page 7), we reported on a loon last summer from pristine northern waters of Lake Umbagog that had been killed by avian malaria, the first documented mortality from malaria in loons. A recent profile of the case in the Boston Globe highlighted the potential significance. As the climate warms, loons and other wildlife will be increasingly exposed to pathogens, like malaria, that could not thrive in New Hampshire's cooler northern climate until now. As part of LPC's investigation of climate impacts on loons, LPC is collaborating with Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (NHVDL), Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, and Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine to investigate the threat of emerging diseases in loons. With the help of our large network of volunteers, we have been able to quickly identify any sick or dying loons on our lakes, and data from LPC's mortality studies were instrumental in enacting the new legislation on lead fishing tackle, which will take effect in June. Through our existing monitoring program, we will continue to research the factors influencing New Hampshire loon mortality, with an increased focus on emerging diseases related to a changing climate.
For more information on the effort to detect and investigate this kind of disease in New England loons, click here.
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