Disease
Disease
Fish and wildlife are at risk to diseases, just like humans. These may come by way of microbes, parasites, toxins, and other biological and physical agents. 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. Field and laboratory studies along with epidemiological models assess the effects of pathogens on freshwater, marine and terrestrial wildlife populations. This focal area has recently included the launch of online disease surveillance and risk assessment tools, molecular analyses to understand the global spread of pathogens, immunology studies to identify the underlying factors associated with wildlife disease resistance and susceptibility, and the development of wildlife vaccines.
Filter Total Items: 9
A Rapid CRISPR-based Field Test for the Non-invasive Detection of the Fungal Causative Agent of White-nose Syndrome
White-nose syndrome has killed more than five million bats since its discovery in 2006. USGS is developing a non-invasive and user-friendly CRISPR white-nose syndrome biosensor to allow for quick detection of the pathogen that causes the disease.
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.
Prevalence Rates of Snake Fungal Disease and Its Population-level Impacts in a Snake Assemblage in Southwest Louisiana
WARC researchers used visual encounter surveys to determine prevalence rates of snake fungal disease in south-central Louisiana.
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.
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.
Survey and Assessment of Live Food Markets as an Invasion Pathway
Live food markets may be a source of the increasing number of non-native wild invertebrate and fish species, like Asian swamp eels and snakeheads. USGS is surveying such markets around the United States to identify and document species that might be of concern if released live into the wild to assess if the live food market is a possible invasion pathway.
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...
NRDA: Deepwater ROV Sampling to Assess Potential Impacts to Hardbottom Coral Communities and Associates from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
The MC252 oil spill introduced hydrocarbons, dispersants, and drilling muds into the Gulf of Mexico, potentially adversely affecting the seafloor environment surrounding the spill site.
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.