Ranavirus in de zwemvijver Zwarte Dennen te Staphorst

Staatsbosbeheer, Dutch Wildlife Health Centre (DWHC) en RAVON hebben over de situatie van herhaalde uitbraken van ranavirus in de zwemvijver in Boswachterij Staphorst overlegd. Hoe kan een beheerder hiermee omgaan? Ranaviruses can cause mass mortality in amphibian, reptile and fish populations. When these mortality events occur frequently, a ranavirus infection can have severe impact on an amphibian population. Ranavirus was first detected in the Netherlands in 2010. In 2012 and in 2015, such an event occurred in a population of the Common Spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus) in a pond in Staphorst, in the north of the Netherlands. This put Staatsbosbeheer [Dutch Forestry Commission], the owner of the pond, in a dilemma. This water body is a very important breeding site for the Spadefoot, but at the same time it has an important recreational function for the local people. Together Staatsbosbeheer, RAVON and the Dutch Wildlife Health Centre reached a workable solution. The pond should be cleaned thoroughly every other year. It was agreed that, after cleansing, the discarded water should be kept in the vicinity, seeping into the nearby woodland soil and not disposed of in a ditch. The vegetation that comes out of the pond should be placed on the shore, and later transferred to the woodland. All machinery and equipment needs to be disinfected before leaving the area. An intensive publicity campaign will inform the public and warn people not to spread the virus. We ask nature managers to be aware of this problem, and to tackle it to prevent the spread of ranavirus.