Publications

Baits containing recombinant raccoon poxvirus (RCN) expressing plague antigens (fraction 1 [F1] and a truncated form of the V protein-V307) were offered for voluntary consumption several times over the course of several months to a group of 16 black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). For comparison, another group of prairie dogs (n = 12) was injected subcutaneously (SC) (prime...

Alphaviruses (Togaviridae) infect wild birds, but clinical illness and death attributable to virus in naturally infected birds is rarely reported, particularly for small passerine species or nestlings. Buggy Creek virus is a unique alphavirus in the Western equine encephalomyelitis virus (WEEV) complex that is vectored by the cimicid swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius), an ectoparasite of...

No abstract available.

Five southern red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi) of the first generation of a wild-caught breeding colony were presented with lesions at the maxillary incisors consistent with elodontoma. The affected animals had a history of chronic weight loss, were >16 months of age, and were siblings. Radiographs of the head showed multiglobular to irregularly outlined mineral opacity masses at the...

A newly developed polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method to rapidly and specifically detect Geomyces destructans on the wings of infected bats from small quantities (1–2 mg) of tissue is described in the current study (methods for culturing and isolating G. destructans from bat skin are also described). The lower limits of detection for PCR were 5 fg of purified fungal DNA or 100...

Underlying dynamic event processes unfolding in continuous time give rise to spatiotemporal patterns that are sometimes observable at only a few discrete times. Such event processes may be modulated simultaneously over several spatial (e.g., latitude and longitude) and temporal (e.g., age, calendar time, and cohort) dimensions. The ecological challenge is to understand the dynamic latent...

Flightless and post-molt survival and movements were studied during August-May, 2001-2002, 2002- 2003 and 2006-2007 for 181 adult female Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). Birds were radiotagged just before or early in their flightless period on four wetlands that differed in size on Klamath Basin (KB) National Wildlife Refuge complex. Flightless survival varied among years but was higher on...

Serologic testing to detect antibodies to avian influenza (AI) virus has been an underused tool for the study of these viruses in wild bird populations, which traditionally has relied on virus isolation and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In a preliminary study, a recently developed commercial blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA) had sensitivity...

Observational data sets generated by complex processes are common in ecology. Traditionally these have been very challenging to analyze because of the limitations of available statistical tools. This seems to be changing, and these are exciting times to be involved with ecological statistics, not just because of the neo-Bayesian revival but also because of the proliferation of...

This report describes the validation of an avian influenza virus (AIV) H7 subtype-specific real-time reverse transcriptasePCR (rRT-PCR) assay developed at the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL) for the detection of H7 AI in North and South American wild aquatic birds and poultry. The validation was a collaborative effort by the SEPRL and the National Veterinary Services...

Bithynia tentaculata (Linnaeus, 1758), a snail native to Europe, was introduced into the US Great Lakes in the 1870's and has spread to rivers throughout the Northeastern US and Upper Mississippi River (UMR). Trematode parasites, for which B. tentaculata is a host, have also been introduced and are causing widespread waterfowl mortality in the UMR. Waterfowl mortality is caused by...

Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) require extensive prairie dog colonies (Cynomys spp.) to provide habitat and prey. Epizootic plague kills both prairie dogs and ferrets and is a major factor limiting recovery of the highly endangered ferret. In addition to epizootics, we hypothesized that enzootic plague, that is, presence of disease-causing Yersinia pestis without any noticeable...