Publications
View citations of publications by National Wildlife Health Center scientists since our founding in 1975. Access to full-text is provided where possible.
Wildlife Health Bulletins
Wildlife Health Bulletins
Wildlife Health Bulletins are distributed to natural resource/conservation agencies to provide and promote information exchange about significant wildlife health threats.
Wildlife Disease Case Definitions
Wildlife Disease Case Definitions
Case definitions provide a standardized, science-based set of criteria for diagnosing disease and pathogens. This manual provides case definitions for selected diseases of importance to wildlife in Canada and the United States.
Filter Total Items: 1656
The population genetics of the causative agent of snake fungal disease indicate recent introductions to the USA The population genetics of the causative agent of snake fungal disease indicate recent introductions to the USA
Snake fungal disease (SFD; ophidiomycosis), caused by the pathogen Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Oo), has been documented in wild snakes in North America and Eurasia, and is considered an emerging disease in the eastern United States of America. However, a lack of historical disease data has made it challenging to determine whether Oo is a recent arrival to the USA or whether SFD emergence...
Authors
Jason T. Ladner, Jonathan M. Palmer, Cassandra L. Ettinger, Jason E. Stajich, Terence M. Farrell, Brad M. Glorioso, Becki Lawson, Steven J. Price, Anne G. Stengle, Daniel A. Grear, Jeffrey M. Lorch
Plant pathogens provide clues to the potential origin of bat white-nose syndrome Pseudogymnoascus destructans Plant pathogens provide clues to the potential origin of bat white-nose syndrome Pseudogymnoascus destructans
White-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats, yet both the origins and infection strategy of the causative fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, remain elusive. We provide evidence for a novel hypothesis that P. destructans emerged from plant-associated fungi and retained invasion strategies affiliated with fungal pathogens of plants. We demonstrate that P. destructans invades bat...
Authors
Carol Meteyer, Julien Yann Dutheil, M. Kevin Keel, Justin G. Boyles, Eva Holtgrewe Stukenbrock
Ecological divergence of wild birds drives avian influenza spillover and global spread Ecological divergence of wild birds drives avian influenza spillover and global spread
The diversity of influenza A viruses (IAV) is primarily hosted by two highly divergent avian orders: Anseriformes (ducks, swans and geese) and Charadriiformes (gulls, terns and shorebirds). Studies of IAV have historically focused on Anseriformes, specifically dabbling ducks, overlooking the diversity of hosts in nature, including gull and goose species that have successfully adapted to...
Authors
Nichola J. Hill, Mary Anne Bishop, Nidia S. Trovao, Katherine Ineson, Anne Schaefer, Wendy B. Puryear, Katherine Zhou, Alexa Foss, Dan Clark, Ken McKenzie, Jonathan D. Gass, Laura Borkenhagen, Jeffrey S. Hall, Jonathan A. Runstadler
Leading change with diverse stakeholders Leading change with diverse stakeholders
The shift to holistic approaches to managing wildlife health, and the complex landscape of partners and stakeholders, has led to a focus on the development of leadership skills in addition to technical expertise. This chapter introduces key elements and core skills for successful cross-sectoral and transdisciplinary leadership that will help wildlife health practitioners effectively lead...
Authors
Catherine Machalaba, Jonathan M. Sleeman
Pollution and wildlife health Pollution and wildlife health
Pollution is a pervasive and growing threat to wildlife health. This chapter discusses two broad groups of pollution, those whose abatement could have immediate beneficial effects including light, air, and noise pollution, and those that will take relatively longer to address due to their environmental persistence or their continuing discharge. Whilst we are very good at detecting the...
Authors
Thierry M. Work
Susceptibility of beavers to chronic wasting disease Susceptibility of beavers to chronic wasting disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious, fatal, neurodegenerative prion disease of cervids. The expanding geographical range and rising prevalence of CWD are increasing the risk of pathogen transfer and spillover of CWD to non-cervid sympatric species. As beavers have close contact with environmental and food sources of CWD infectivity, we hypothesized that they may be susceptible...
Authors
Allen Jeffrey Herbst, Serene Wohlgemuth, Jing Yang, Andrew Castle, Diana Martinez Moreno, Alicia Otero, Judd M. Aiken, David Westaway, Debbie I. McKenzie
Evaluating the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to bats in the context of wildlife research, rehabilitation, and control Evaluating the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to bats in the context of wildlife research, rehabilitation, and control
Preventing wildlife disease outbreaks is a priority for natural resource agencies, and management decisions can be urgent, especially in epidemic circumstances. With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, wildlife agencies were concerned whether the activities they authorize might increase the risk of viral transmission from humans to North American bats, but had a limited amount of time in which...
Authors
Jonathan D. Cook, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Michael C. Runge
Avian-associated Aspergillus fumigatus displays broad phylogenetic distribution, no evidence for host specificity, and multiple genotypes within epizootic events Avian-associated Aspergillus fumigatus displays broad phylogenetic distribution, no evidence for host specificity, and multiple genotypes within epizootic events
Birds are highly susceptible to aspergillosis, which can manifest as a primary infection in both domestic and wild birds. Aspergillosis in wild birds causes mortalities ranging in scale from single animals to large-scale epizootic events. However, pathogenicity factors associated with aspergillosis in wild birds have not been examined. Specifically, it is unknown whether wild bird...
Authors
Lotus A. Lofgren, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Robert A. Cramer, David S. Blehert, Brenda M. Berlowski-Zier, Megan Winzeler, Cecilia Gutierrez-Perez, Nicole E. Kordana, Jason E. Stajich
Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium from wild birds in the United States represent distinct lineages defined by bird type Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium from wild birds in the United States represent distinct lineages defined by bird type
Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is typically considered a host generalist; however, certain isolates are associated with specific hosts and show genetic features of host adaptation. Here, we sequenced 131 S. Typhimurium isolates from wild birds collected in 30 U.S. states during 1978-2019. We found that isolates from broad taxonomic host groups including passerine birds, water...
Authors
Yezhi Fu, Nkuchia M. M’ikanatha, Jeffrey M. Lorch, David S. Blehert, Brenda M. Berlowski-Zier, Chris A. Whitehouse, Shaoting Li, Xiangyu Deng, Jared C. Smith, Nikki W. Shariat, Erin M. Nawrocki, Edward G. Dudley
Are little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) impacted by dietary exposure to microcystin? Are little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) impacted by dietary exposure to microcystin?
The cyanobacterium, Microcystis aeruginosa, can produce the hepatotoxin microcystin. When toxic M. aeruginosa overwinters in the sediments of lakes, it may be ingested by aquatic insects and bioaccumulate in nymphs of Hexagenia mayflies. When volant Hexagenia emerge from lakes to reproduce, they provide an abundant, albeit temporary, food source for many terrestrial organisms including...
Authors
Devon N. Jones, Gregory L. Boyer, Julia S. Lankton, Megan Woller-Skar, Amy L. Russell
Three decades of stranding data reveal insights into endangered hawksbill sea turtles in Hawai‘i Three decades of stranding data reveal insights into endangered hawksbill sea turtles in Hawai‘i
Hawksbill sea turtles Eretmochelys imbricata inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands are extremely rare and listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. The paucity of data on basic hawksbill ecology continues to hinder effective management of the species. We analyzed stranding data collected between 1984 and 2018 to gain insights into the distribution, demography, and conservation...
Authors
Shandell Brunson, Alexander Gaos, Irene Kelly, Kyle van Houtan, Yonat Swimmer, Stacy Hargrove, George H. Balazs, Thierry M. Work, T. Todd Jones
Demographic implications of lead poisoning for eagles across North America Demographic implications of lead poisoning for eagles across North America
Lead poisoning occurs worldwide in populations of predatory birds, but exposure rates and population impacts are known only from regional studies. We evaluated the lead exposure of 1210 bald and golden eagles from 38 US states across North America, including 620 live eagles. We detected unexpectedly high frequencies of lead poisoning of eagles, both chronic (46 to 47% of bald and golden...
Authors
Vincent A. Slabe, James T. Anderson, Brian A. Millsap, Jeffrey L. Cooper, Alan R. Harmata, Marco Restani, Ross H. Crandall, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Peter H. Bloom, Travis L. Booms, John Buchweitz, Renee C. E. Culver, Kim Dickerson, Robert Domenech, Ernesto Dominguez-Villegas, Daniel Driscoll, Brian W. Smith, Michael J. Lockhart, David McRuer, Tricia A. Miller, Patricia Ortiz, Krysta Rogers, Matt Schwarz, Natalie Turley, Brian Woodbridge, Myra E. Finkelstein, Christian A. Triana, Christopher R. DeSorbo, Todd E. Katzner