Publications

About 150 waterfowl died and another 250 became weak and lethargic from suspected salt poisoning after using White Lake, a highly saline lake in Mountrail County, North Dakota. Frigid temperatures made fresh water unavailable, forcing the birds to ingest the saline waters with resultant toxic effects. Sick birds recovered when removed from the salt water and released into fresh water...

Epizootic mortality occurred in Laysan albatross (Diomedea immutabilis) fledgings at Midway Atoll in 1983. Heavy metal toxicity from ingestion of weathered paint chips was one of the causes. Sick albatrosses were unable to retract their wings, causing a 'droop-wing' appearance. Five normal and 12 droop-winged fledglings were captured, killed, and examined. Paint chips found in the...

Clostridium botulinum neurotoxins inhibit acetylcholine release at neuromuscular junctions. Agents stimulating neurotransmitter efflux, such as 3,4-diaminopyridine (3,4-DAP), could be useful for botulism therapy. Treatment with 3,4-DAP (8 mg/kg hourly, beginning 3 hr after toxin injection) failed to increase the survival times of mice receiving 10, 20 or 40 LD50 type C, but did prolong...

No abstract available.

Inclusion body disease of cranes was the cause of death in 17 immature and mature cranes of 5 different species in Wisconsin. A herpesvirus of unknown origin was the apparent cause. An isolate of this herpesvirus was used to experimentally infect 3 species of cranes. Macroscopic and microscopic lesions associated with naturally acquired and experimentally induced disease were essentially...

The National Wildlife Health Laboratory (NWHL), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Madison are in the process of a 7-ha prairie restoration project on their lands to create a microcosmic representation of presettlement Wisconsin. Visiting scientists, personnel from local schools and universities, and neighboring public will eventually be able to use this land for its educational and...

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

The whooping crane has been the subject of intensive scientific study and management because it is an endangered species and has high public interest. Programs have been developed to identify critical habitat, to increase production through captive breeding, and in recent years, to use sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) as surrogate parents in establishing new populations of wild whooping...

No abstract available.

What is avian botulism? Avian botulism, or Western duck sickness, is one of the three most important disease problems of wild migratory birds. Each year, many birds are paralyzed or die after exposure to a toxin produced by the botulinum bacterium. Two of the seven toxin types that have been identifies cause mortality in wild birds; one of these types, type C, is most often associated...

Determination of lead poisoning problem areas is complicated by the nature of the disease process. Rigorous documentation of lead poisoning as a cause of mortality in birds requires the integration and evaluation of pathological and toxicological data by an experienced diagnostician. No single technique provides unequivocal proof that lead exposure occurred at the site of death. However