Publications

Each year, an average of 14 million gallons of oil from more than 10,000 accidental spills flow into fresh and saltwater environments in and around the United States. Most accidental oil spills occur when oil is transported by tankers or barges, but oil is also spilled during highway, rail, and pipeline transport, and by nontransportation-related facilities, such as refinery, bulk...

Barbiturate products are commonly used to euthanize domestic animals. The primary active component in euthanasia solutions is sodium pentobarbital, but some products also contain other minor ingredients (Fig. 48.1). Euthanasia solutions are generally injected intravenously in domestic animals; therefore, after death, the solutions will be most concentrated in the blood and the highly...

In the summer of 1992, morbidity and mortality in juvenile double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus; DCC) attributable to Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was observed for the first time in seven northern USA states and one Canadian province, and recurred in three western Canadian provinces. Based on clinical signs and laboratory diagnostic findings, DCC mortality from NDV occurred...

No abstract available at this time

Individual disease outbreaks have killed many thousands of animals on numerous occasions. Tens of thousands of migratory birds have died in single die-offs with as many as 1,000 birds succumbing in 1 day. The ability to successfully combat such explosive situations is highly dependent on the readiness of field personnel to deal with them. Because many disease agents can spread through...

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) in green turtles Chelonia mydas is a debilitating, neoplastic disease that has reached worldwide epizootic levels. The etiology of FP is unknown but has been linked to oncogenic viruses. Toxic benthic dinoflagellates (Prorocentrum spp.) are not typically considered tumorigenic agents, yet they have a worldwide distribution and produce a tumor promoter, okadaic...

No abstract available.

Chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides (OCs) are diverse synthetic chemicals that belong to several groups, based on chemical structure. DDT is the best known of these insecticides. First synthesized in 1874, DDT remained obscure until its insecticidal properties became known in 1939, a discovery that earned a Nobel Prize in 1948. The means of synthesizing the cyclodiene group, the most...

The geographic relationships among taxonomic groups are important to study to determine patterns of biodiversity and whether or not associations occur between large groups, e.g., birds and vascular plants. This study was undertaken to determine relationships between higher plants and lower plants, specifically vascular plant and lichen floras in nine national parks of the Great Lakes...

Hemosporidia are microscopic, intracellular parasitic protozoans found within the blood cells and tissues of their avian hosts. Three closely related genera, Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon, are commonly found in wild birds. Infections in highly susceptible species and age classes may result in death.

Avian pox is the common name for a mild-to-severe, slowdeveloping disease of birds that is caused by a large virus belonging to the avipoxvirus group, a subgroup of poxviruses. This group contains several similar virus strains; some strains have the ability to infect several groups or species of birds but others appear to be species-specific. Mosquitoes are common mechanical vectors or

In March 1978, a previously unidentified herpesvirus was isolated at the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) from a die-off of captive cranes housed at the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Serological testing of this virus against other previously isolated avian herpesviruses does not result in cross-reactions, thereby supporting this agent’s status as a...