Publications

An estimated 9,500 sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) died in Gaines County, Texas and Roosevelt County, New Mexico between 1982 and 1987. The predominant clinical sign observed in sick cranes was their inability to hold their heads erect, both while standing and flying. Multiple muscle hemorrhages and submandibular edema were the most common lesions seen at necropsy. Mycotoxins produced...

Womersia midwayensis Goff, Sievert and Sileo is described as a new species from specimens taken off a Laysan albatross chick, Diomedea immutabilis (L.), collected on Sand Island, Midway Islands. A key to the genera and species of larval Apoloniinae of the world is given.

Most studies of chlamydial infections in free-living wild birds have been limited to surveys for the presence of Chlamydia psittaci or antibody to C psittaci and have largely been done in association with the identification of chlamydiosis in human beings, commercial fowl, or pet birds. The emphasis of these studies has been to determine the prevalence of infection and the potential role...

Records of 170 sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) necropsied at the National Wildlife Health Research Center, Wisconsin, from 1976 through 1985 were reviewed as representative samples to determine causes of nonhunting mortality in the mid-continent and Rocky Mountain populations of sandhill cranes. Avian cholera, avian botulism, and ingestion of mycotoxins were leading causes of...

Isoneosolaniol (4,8-diacetoxy-12,13-epoxytrichothec-9-ene-3,15-diol) and other unidentified trichothecene mycotoxins were isolated from culture extracts of two highly toxigenic strains of Fusarium compactum cultured from waste peanuts involved in an acute intoxication of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis). Neosolaniol and other unidentified trichothecenes were detected in waste peanuts...

When it comes to getting sick, wild waterfowl—which include ducks, geese, and swans—are a lot like people. We are all vulnerable to a wide variety of diseases. Some diseases that affect waterfowl, such as avian botulism, have been recognized for many decades as a major cause of death. Others, such as duck plague, are relative newcomers to the known roster of waterfowl diseases...

No abstract available.

During the summers of 1981 and 1982, studies were conducted at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Long Island, New York, to determine whether annual water-level drawdowns used to create shorebird habitat also led to the occurrence of avian botulism (Clostridium botulinum type C). Low levels of morbidity and mortality from avian botulism occurred on the two ponds throughout both summers, but...

Surviving birds from nine duck plague outbreaks in urban and confined waterfowl were sampled for duck plague (DP) virus and DP antibody during 1979-86. Duck plague virus was found in combined oral and cloacal swabs of birds from three outbreaks, and DP-neutralizing antibody was demonstrated in some birds from all nine outbreaks. Greater prevalence of DP antibody and higher titers were...

No abstract available.

Techniques are described for the preparation, cryopreservation, and inoculation of Muscovy duck embryo cell cultures. The procedure yields a susceptible reproducible cell culture system for the isolation and cultivation of viruses from wild birds.

One hundred twenty-three of 300 blood samples (41%) taken from Rio Grande wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) from three locations in southern Texas (Welder Wildlife Refuge, Chaparrosa Ranch, and Campo Alegre Ranch) and subinoculated into domestic broad-breasted white turkey poults were positive for a Plasmodium (Novyella) sp. Analysis of blood films from 350 turkeys revealed