Blue-winged Teal and Cross Continental Avian Influenza Transmission
This project focused on improving our understanding of the migratory ecology of Blue-winged Teal and their ability to transmit avian influenza or other pathogens across the wild bird – domestic poultry interface.
USGS scientists and their collaborators previously identified that Blue-winged Teal play a critical role in the transmission of blood-borne parasites between the United States and the Neotropics. Meanwhile, researchers have also identified a wide variety of avian influenza viruses when sampling migratory Blue-winged Teal. Despite the known ability of this species to carry avian influenza and the potential role they may serve in cross continental disease transmission, little work had been done to examine the migratory ecology of Blue-winged Teal and their spatio-temporal overlap with domestic poultry.
This project focused on understanding 3 key factors: (1) the migration and stopover ecology of Blue-winged Teal, (2) the exposure of these birds to domestic poultry during migration, and (3) the spatio-temporal association of Blue-winged Teal migration with avian influenza outbreaks. We addressed these questions through the use of paired disease sampling and telemetry datasets.
Our results indicate that the overlap of Blue-winged Teal and domestic poultry is driven by season, the poultry type produced (e.g. turkey, chicken) and if the facility is a commercial or backyard operation. Additionally, we found that outbreaks were indeed associated with wild bird proximity, and that transmission potential is dependent upon stopover duration.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Tracking Data for Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
This project focused on improving our understanding of the migratory ecology of Blue-winged Teal and their ability to transmit avian influenza or other pathogens across the wild bird – domestic poultry interface.
USGS scientists and their collaborators previously identified that Blue-winged Teal play a critical role in the transmission of blood-borne parasites between the United States and the Neotropics. Meanwhile, researchers have also identified a wide variety of avian influenza viruses when sampling migratory Blue-winged Teal. Despite the known ability of this species to carry avian influenza and the potential role they may serve in cross continental disease transmission, little work had been done to examine the migratory ecology of Blue-winged Teal and their spatio-temporal overlap with domestic poultry.
This project focused on understanding 3 key factors: (1) the migration and stopover ecology of Blue-winged Teal, (2) the exposure of these birds to domestic poultry during migration, and (3) the spatio-temporal association of Blue-winged Teal migration with avian influenza outbreaks. We addressed these questions through the use of paired disease sampling and telemetry datasets.
Our results indicate that the overlap of Blue-winged Teal and domestic poultry is driven by season, the poultry type produced (e.g. turkey, chicken) and if the facility is a commercial or backyard operation. Additionally, we found that outbreaks were indeed associated with wild bird proximity, and that transmission potential is dependent upon stopover duration.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.