Mud puppy die-off raises eyebrows

[GLF]

Mussels carrying botulism E suspect

Some people might wonder what's the big deal about a large die-off of mud puppies in the Detroit River and Lake Erie? After all, the lizardlike, foot-long predaceous salamanders are less than adorable.

"Mud puppies are kind of like the canaries in a mine," said Gary Towns, a research biologist in the Livonia office of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources who is trying to figure out why so many of these pre-dinosaur, evolutionary relics have died in the past few weeks.

"They seem to be very sensitive to pollutants and water quality. But we really don't know yet what's causing this, or what it might mean long term."

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