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: 1648
Partnering in search of answers: Seabird die-offs in the Bering and Chukchi Seas Partnering in search of answers: Seabird die-offs in the Bering and Chukchi Seas
Prior to 2015, seabird die-offs in Alaskan waters were rare; they typically occurred in mid-winter, linked to epizootic disease events or above-average ocean temperatures associated with strong El Nino-Southern Oscillation events (Bodenstein et al. 2015, Jones et al. 2019, Romano et al. 2020). Since 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has monitored mortality events that have...
Authors
Robb Kaler, Gay Sheffield, S Backensto, Jackie Lindsey, T. Jones, J. Parrish, B Ahmasuk, Barbara Bodenstein, Robert Dusek, Caroline Van Hemert, Matthew Smith, P Schwalenberg
Invasive corallimorpharians at Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge are no match for lye and heat Invasive corallimorpharians at Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge are no match for lye and heat
Invasive marine species are well documented but options to manage them are limited. At Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (Central North Pacific), native invasive corallimorpharians, Rhodactis howesii, have smothered live native corals since 2007. Laboratory and field trials were conducted evaluating two control methods to remove R. howesii overgrowing the benthos at Palmyra Atoll...
Authors
Thierry Work, Renee Breeden, Robert Rameyer, Vernon Born, Tim Clark, Jeremy Rainal, Chris Gillies, Julia Rose, Alex Wegmann, Stefan Kropidlowski
Review of harmful algal blooms effects on birds with implications for avian wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay region Review of harmful algal blooms effects on birds with implications for avian wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay region
The Chesapeake Bay, along the mid-Atlantic coast of North America, is the largest estuary in the United States and provides critical habitat for wildlife. In contrast to point and non-point source release of pesticides, metals, and industrial, personal care and household use chemicals on biota in this watershed, there has only been scant attention to potential exposure and effects of...
Authors
Barnett A. Rattner, Catherine Wazniak, Julia Lankton, Peter McGowan, Serguei Drovetski, Todd Egerton
A call to action: Standardizing white-tailed deer harvest data in the Midwestern United States and implications for quantitative analysis and disease management A call to action: Standardizing white-tailed deer harvest data in the Midwestern United States and implications for quantitative analysis and disease management
Recreational hunting has been the dominant game management and conservation mechanism in the United States for the past century. However, there are numerous modern-day issues that reduce the viability and efficacy of hunting-based management, such as fewer hunters, overabundant wildlife populations, limited access, and emerging infectious diseases in wildlife. Quantifying the drivers of...
Authors
Ellen E. Brandell, Daniel J. Storm, Timothy R. Van Deelen, Daniel Walsh, Wendy Turner
Ophidiomycosis is related to seasonal patterns of reproduction, ecdysis, and thermoregulatory behavior in a free-living snake species Ophidiomycosis is related to seasonal patterns of reproduction, ecdysis, and thermoregulatory behavior in a free-living snake species
Informed and effective management of emerging infectious diseases can be improved by a clear understanding of host–pathogen–environment interactions. Impacts of the seasonal environment on pathogen dynamics and host responses are poorly described in most reptile host–fungal pathogen systems. Here, we describe seasonal patterns of ophidiomycosis, a disease caused by the fungus...
Authors
C. Lind, J. Agugliaro, Jeffrey Lorch, T. Farrell
Global dissemination of Influenza A virus is driven by wild bird migration through arctic and subarctic zones Global dissemination of Influenza A virus is driven by wild bird migration through arctic and subarctic zones
Influenza A viruses (IAV) circulate endemically among many wild aquatic bird populations that seasonally migrate between wintering grounds in southern latitudes to breeding ranges along the perimeter of the circumpolar arctic. Arctic and subarctic zones are hypothesized to serve as ecologic drivers of the intercontinental movement and reassortment of IAVs due to high densities of...
Authors
Jonathan Gass, Robert Dusek, Jeffrey Hall, Gunnar Hallgrimsson, Halldor Halldorsson, Solvi Vignisson, Sunna Ragnarsdottir, Jon Jonsson, Scott Krauss, Wong. Sook-San, Xiu-Feng Wan, Sadia Akter, Srinand Sreevatsan, Nidia S. Trovão, Felicia Nutter, Jonathan Runstadler, Nichola Hill
Advances in coral immunity ‘omics in response to disease outbreaks Advances in coral immunity ‘omics in response to disease outbreaks
Coral disease has progressively become one of the most pressing issues affecting coral reef survival. In the last 50 years, several reefs throughout the Caribbean have been severely impacted by increased frequency and intensity of disease outbreaks leading to coral death. A recent example of this is stony coral tissue loss disease which has quickly spread throughout the Caribbean...
Authors
Nikki Traylor-Knowles, Andrew Baker, Kelsey Beavers, Neha Garg, Jeffrey Guyon, Aine Hawthorn, Nicholas MacKnight, Mónica Medina, Laura Mydlarz, Esther Peters, Julia Stewart, Michael Studivan, Joshua Voss
Immunogenicity, safety, and anti-viral efficacy of a subunit SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate in captive black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) and their susceptibility to viral challenge Immunogenicity, safety, and anti-viral efficacy of a subunit SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate in captive black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) and their susceptibility to viral challenge
A preliminary vaccination trial against the emergent pathogen, SARS-CoV-2, was completed in captive black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes; BFF) to assess safety, immunogenicity, and anti-viral efficacy. Vaccination and boosting of 15 BFF with purified SARS-CoV-2 S1 subunit protein produced a nearly 150-fold increase in mean antibody titers compared to pre-vaccination titers. Serum...
Authors
Ariel Leon, Della Garelle, Airn Hartwig, Elizabeth Falendysz, Hon S. Ip, Julia Lankton, Tyler Tretten, Terry Spraker, Richard Bowen, Tonie Rocke
The future of fungi: Threats and opportunities The future of fungi: Threats and opportunities
The fungal kingdom represents an extraordinary diversity of organisms with profound impacts across animal, plant, and ecosystem health. Fungi simultaneously support life, by forming beneficial symbioses with plants and producing life-saving medicines, and bring death, by causing devastating diseases in humans, plants, and animals. With climate change, increased antimicrobial resistance...
Authors
Nicola Case, Judith Berman, David Blehert, Robert Cramer, Christina Cuomo, Cameron Currie, Iuliana Ene, Matthew Fisher, Lillian Fritz-Laylin, Aleeza Gerstein, N. Glass, Neil Gow, Sarah Gurr, Chris Hittinger, Tobias Hohl, Iliyan Iliev, Timothy James, Hailing Jin, Bruce Klein, James Kronstad, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Victoria McGovern, Aaron Mitchell, Julia Segre, Rebecca Shapiro, Donald Sheppard, Anita Sil, Jason Stajich, Eva Stukenbrock, John Taylor, Dawn Thompson, Gerard Wright, Joseph Heitman, Leah Cowen
Potential effects of environmental conditions on prairie dog flea development and implications for sylvatic plague epizootics Potential effects of environmental conditions on prairie dog flea development and implications for sylvatic plague epizootics
Fleas are common ectoparasites of vertebrates worldwide and vectors of many pathogens causing disease, such as sylvatic plague in prairie dog colonies. Development of fleas is regulated by environmental conditions, especially temperature and relative humidity. Development rates are typically slower at low temperatures and faster at high temperatures, which are bounded by lower and upper...
Authors
Michael D. Samuel, Julia Poje, Tonie Rocke, Marco Metzger
Diagnostic testing of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) by RT-QuIC using multiple tissues Diagnostic testing of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) by RT-QuIC using multiple tissues
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease affecting cervids (deer, elk, moose). Current methods to monitor individual disease state include highly invasive antemortem rectal biopsy or postmortem brain biopsy. Efficient, sensitive, and selective antemortem and postmortem testing of populations would increase knowledge of the dynamics of CWD epizootics as well as provide a...
Authors
Kate Burgener, Stuart Lichtenberg, Aaron Lomax, Daniel J. Storm, Daniel Walsh, Joel Pedersen
Biosafety practices when working with bats: A guide to field research considerations Biosafety practices when working with bats: A guide to field research considerations
Introduction: Field work with bats is an important contribution to many areas of research in environmental biology and ecology, as well as microbiology. Work with bats poses hazards such as bites and scratches, and the potential for exposure to infectious pathogens such as rabies virus. It also exposes researchers to many other potential hazards inherent to field work, such as...
Authors
Alvaro Aguilar-Setien, Nidia Arechiga-Ceballos, Gary Balsamo, Amy Behrman, Hannah Frank, Gary Fujimoto, Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Thomas Hudson, Shelley Jones, Luis Ochoa Carrera, Gregory Powell, Carrie Smith, Joni Triantis Van Sickle, Susan Vleck