Publications

No abstract available.

A blocking ELISA targeting an immunodominant West Nile epitope on the West Nile Virus NS1 protein was assessed for the detection of West Nile–specific antibodies in blood samples collected from 584 sentinel chickens and 238 wild birds collected in New Jersey from May–December 2000. Ten mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) experimentally infected with West Nile virus and six uninfected...

No abstract available.

Four lichen species sampled three times over a 15-year time span at four of the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin were analyzed for 16 chemical elements in order to determine time trends and spatial patterns. Factor analyses of the data revealed that elements associated with soils (Al, Cr, Fe, Na, Ni and S) have increased over the study period, while nutrient and pollutant elements (Cu, K, P...

Clumps of the cactus Opuntia fragilis growing in association with mats of the lichens Cladina mitis, Cladina rangiferina and a spikemoss, Selaginella rupestris, were discovered in an agricultural field in Pepin County, Wisconsin, that had been abandoned for over 50 y. The association appeared to be beneficial to the cactus, which flowered almost exclusively in the presence of lichens. Of...

Deformities and malformations in anurans occur in a variety of manifestations (Meteyer 2000. Field Guide to Malformations of Frogs and Toads with Radiographic Interpretations. Biol. Sci. Rep., USGS/BRD/BSR-2000-0005, 18 pp.). Most of those described in the literature are visible externally (e.g., ectromelia, brachydactyly, polydactyly, brachygnathia, kyphosis) (Ouellet et al. 1997. J...

We have been collaborating since 1992 in studies on southern sea otters (Enhdyra lutris nereis) as part of a program to define factors, which may be responsible for limiting the growth of the southern sea otter population. We previously demonstrated Toxoplasma gondii in sea otiers. We postulated that cat feces containing oocysts could be entering the marine environment through storm run...

Because of the difficulty in identifying botulinum toxin in cattle, it is hypothesized that cattle are sensitive to levels of toxin below the detection limits of current diagnostic techniques (the mouse protection bioassay and the immunostick enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] for type C botulinum toxin). Using an up-down method for toxicologic testing, the median toxic dose...

In 1998 viruses were isolated from tiger salamander larvae (Ambystoma tigrinum diaboli and A. tigrinum melanostictum) involved in North Dakota and Utah (USA) mortality events and spotted salamander (A. maculatum) larvae in a third event in Maine (USA). Although sympatric caudates and anurans were present at all three sites only ambystomid larvae appeared to be affected. Mortality at the...

An American white pelican (P. erythrorhyncos) was captured in August 1999 in California, USA. The bird was unable to fly away or evade the boat, and showed considerable aggression when captured. Numerous multifocal, 1 mm diameter, yellow masses were observed throughout the lungs and air sacs. The liver was yellow. A 6 cm diameter, firm spherical mass was present in the abdominal cavity...

Past studies of free-ranging green turtles Chelonia mydas with fibropapillomatosis (FP) in Hawaii have shown that animals become immunosuppressed with increasing severity of this disease. Additionally, preliminary clinical examination of moribund turtles with FP revealed that some animals were also bacteraemic. We tested the hypothesis that bacteraemia in sea turtles is associated with...

We cultured 126 Pasteurella multocida isolates, 92 from water and 34 from sediment samples collected from wetlands in the Pacific and Central flyways of the United States between 1996 and 1999. Most (121) of the isolates were P. multocida serotype 1, but serotypes 3, 3/4, 10, and 11 were also found. Many (82) of the isolates were further characterized by DNA fingerprinting procedures and...