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Fish and Wildlife Disease

USGS is the lead Federal agency for wildlife disease surveillance to support natural resource management and Federal biosecurity efforts. This line of work includes research on the ecology of fish and wildlife diseases and the development of surveillance, control, and risk-assessment tools. Investigations of wildlife mortality events support Federal, State and tribal wildlife management agencies

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Filter Total Items: 8
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deer with CWD

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Detection in Cervids Using MicroRNA Biomarkers from Blood

WARC scientists are testing and developing methods for the isolation of cervid exosomes from blood samples, followed by microRNA extraction and next generation sequencing.
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Detection in Cervids Using MicroRNA Biomarkers from Blood

WARC scientists are testing and developing methods for the isolation of cervid exosomes from blood samples, followed by microRNA extraction and next generation sequencing.
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Green frog

Interaction of Environmental Stressors and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) Pathogen Loads on Survival of Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans)

The U.S. Geological Survey Amphibian Research Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is using a combination of swabbing, non-lethal tissue sampling, soil and water sampling, and collection of a variety of other environmental variables to determine the relationships between the prevalence and pathogen load of Bd infection and environmental stressors on green treefrog survival.
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Interaction of Environmental Stressors and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) Pathogen Loads on Survival of Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans)

The U.S. Geological Survey Amphibian Research Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is using a combination of swabbing, non-lethal tissue sampling, soil and water sampling, and collection of a variety of other environmental variables to determine the relationships between the prevalence and pathogen load of Bd infection and environmental stressors on green treefrog survival.
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Winter Manatee Foraging Behavior and the Decline of Seagrass Beds in the Northern Indian River Lagoon

Health Effects and Behavioral Response of Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) to Persistent Algal Bloom and Associated Loss of Seagrass Resources in Brevard County, Florida

USGS researchers are working with partners to assess the health and foraging behavior of Florida manatees in the northern Indian River Lagoon and Banana River, areas that have experienced declining seagrasses due to an extended phytoplankton bloom.
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Ecosystems, Wildlife Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Health Effects and Behavioral Response of Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) to Persistent Algal Bloom and Associated Loss of Seagrass Resources in Brevard County, Florida

USGS researchers are working with partners to assess the health and foraging behavior of Florida manatees in the northern Indian River Lagoon and Banana River, areas that have experienced declining seagrasses due to an extended phytoplankton bloom.
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Figure 2. Hatchling American kestrels

Studying Immune Responses in the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)

The objectives of this study are to (1) investigate whether the immune system will respond to chemical stressors, such as new flame retardant compounds, and (2) determine if such chemical stressors influence white blood cells (WBC) responses after exposure to a viral pathogen mimicking bird flu.
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Studying Immune Responses in the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)

The objectives of this study are to (1) investigate whether the immune system will respond to chemical stressors, such as new flame retardant compounds, and (2) determine if such chemical stressors influence white blood cells (WBC) responses after exposure to a viral pathogen mimicking bird flu.
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Manatee Health Assessment and Biomedical Studies

A multi-agency effort assesses the health of manatees and provides baseline information on their health, reproductive status, and nutritional condition.
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Manatee Health Assessment and Biomedical Studies

A multi-agency effort assesses the health of manatees and provides baseline information on their health, reproductive status, and nutritional condition.
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coral with stony coral tissue loss disease

Coral Bleaching and Disease: Effects on Threatened Corals and Reefs

A severe disease - tentatively named stony coral tissue loss disease - is rapidly killing corals in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Puerto Rico, and the National Park Service are working together to better under the disease and determine if the disease affecting corals in the USVI is the same one that has been killing corals in Florida since...
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Coral Bleaching and Disease: Effects on Threatened Corals and Reefs

A severe disease - tentatively named stony coral tissue loss disease - is rapidly killing corals in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Puerto Rico, and the National Park Service are working together to better under the disease and determine if the disease affecting corals in the USVI is the same one that has been killing corals in Florida since...
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Parasites of Imported and Non-Native Wild Asian Swamp Eels

Parasites of Imported and Non-Native Wild Asian Swamp Eels

In parts of Asia, wild-caught and aquaculture-reared swamp eels are widely consumed as food by humans and are a common source of human gnathostomiasis, a food-borne zoonosis caused by parasitic nematodes of the genus Gnathostoma spp. In humans, the larvae of these nematodes can cause tissue damage and, in some instances, death. Over the past two decades, many thousands of Asian swamp eels have...
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Ecosystems, Invasive Species Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Parasites of Imported and Non-Native Wild Asian Swamp Eels

In parts of Asia, wild-caught and aquaculture-reared swamp eels are widely consumed as food by humans and are a common source of human gnathostomiasis, a food-borne zoonosis caused by parasitic nematodes of the genus Gnathostoma spp. In humans, the larvae of these nematodes can cause tissue damage and, in some instances, death. Over the past two decades, many thousands of Asian swamp eels have...
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Evaluating the Prevalence of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, in the Southeastern U.S.: Any Evidenc

Evaluating the Prevalence of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, in the Southeastern U.S.: Any Evidence of Disease-Related Population Declines?

Pathogens and infectious disease play a role in some recent species extinctions and are likely to impact biodiversity in the future. Environmental DNA - eDNA - is coupled with traditional amphibian sampling methods to determine the distribution and prevalence of the amphibian chytrid fungus, also known as Bd, in the southeastern US.
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Ecosystems, Wildlife Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Evaluating the Prevalence of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, in the Southeastern U.S.: Any Evidence of Disease-Related Population Declines?

Pathogens and infectious disease play a role in some recent species extinctions and are likely to impact biodiversity in the future. Environmental DNA - eDNA - is coupled with traditional amphibian sampling methods to determine the distribution and prevalence of the amphibian chytrid fungus, also known as Bd, in the southeastern US.
Learn More