The larval parasite sucks the blood of fledglings and the fear is that this could seriously weaken young birds.Dr Fessl and Dr Tebbich found that heavily infested nestlings were more likely to die and many dead birds had holes drilled through their flesh. The scientists analysed the nests of the estimated 30 to 70 breeding pairs of mangrove finch on Isabella, the only island where this critically endangered species exists.”We confirmed the presence of Philornis at these sites in March 2000. A decline in nestling survival related to fly-larvae parasitism would be a severe threat to it,” they write in the journal Ibis.Nigel Collar, an adviser to Birdlife International, said the emergence of this alien parasite in the Galapagos was extremely worrying.”A decline in nestling survival resulting from these new parasitic fly larvae would severely threaten this already critical species with extinction,” he said.. Michael Brodie is sensible enough to realise that the world title he defends tonight against Mexico’s Louis Fuente is not enough to make him the best featherweight in the country.

Brodie wants a fight with Sheffield’s Naseem Hamed, who himself holds the International Boxing Organisation version of the title.”Right now I believe that Naz is the best featherweight in the country but he has given me his word that he will meet me next year and when that happens I think I will be the best featherweight in the country,” said Brodie.However, there are various indicators to suggest that Hamed actually entering a British ring against a British fighter is highly unlikely. The main stumbling block will be that there is simply not enough cash to make it worthwhile.Brodie’s honesty is welcome in the murky world of professional boxing where deception is often a key negotiating tool but even he appears to have forgotten that Glasgow’s Scott Harrison holds the meaningful World Boxing Organisation version of the featherweight title.Amazingly, there are two other so-called world title fights on tonight’s bill at the Altringham Leisure centre. There was a time, back in the Seventies, when just one or two world title fights took place each year but now there are six or seven each month in British rings.Wayne Rigby defends his WBF light welterweight title for the second time against Liverpool’s nine bout novice Gary Ryder. Rigby has been in some of boxing’s most appalling and bloody fights during the last few years.The third world title fight involves Belfast’s Brian Magee against an American journey man called Jose Spearman for the IBO’s super middleweight title. Spearman is a replacement and should fold by about five or six rounds against Magee, who like Brodie is close enough to being world class..

Sunday 3 November, 450 miles due east of Salvador, 17.40It’s been cloudy but very hot, especially below deck, so I’ve been drinking litres of extra water just to replace what I’m losing. Still being bombarded by kamikaze flying fish (they stink if you don’t get them off deck quickly) but have seen no dolphins since the North Atlantic. And no whales yet this trip, although I can smell them after they’ve surfaced upwind Very fishy. Tuesday 5 November, South-west of St Helena, 06.38At first light yesterday, making a small repair to one of the batten endings, I heard an odd creak, and looked down to see the gooseneck fitting ­ the crucial mechanism where the boom joins the deck at the base of the mast ­ had come clean off Left unattended it threatens to bring the whole lot down Irreparable ­ end of race.

The underpinning bolt, battered relentlessly by the storm of the second week, had come loose. To cut a very long story short, I had to re-flatten the bent deck-jaw that the gooseneck sits in and re-bolt the gooseneck It took eight hours but I managed, I think But it could break again at any moment And I’m done in. At least I’m still in second ahead of Thierry [Dubois].Wednesday 6 November, Due east of Rio de Janeiro, 08:27Reasonably uneventful 24 hours except for hourly check of the gooseneck bolt I’ve run out of cereal, so I’m on porridge. Oh for a bacon buttie, or full English breakfast, orange juice, tea brewed in a teapot. Then a stroll up the hill at the top end of Helensburgh, where I grew up and my parents still live.