Publications

Scientists at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), in collaboration with colleagues at other federal agencies and the University of Wisconsin, are developing and testing vaccines that can be used to protect black-footed ferrets and prairie dogs against plague. The black-footed ferret is commonly regarded as the most endangered mammal in North America, and sylvatic plague is a...

Adult black-bellied whistling ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) were observed leaving islands with recently hatched young in a South Texas hypersaline lake during summer 2003. We counted 216 ducklings from 20 broods attempting to make their first swim to the mainland, presumably heading for suitable rearing habitat. Of these, 144 (67%) either died in the water or on the salt-encrusted...

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Perpetuation, overwintering, and extinction of eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) in northern foci are poorly understood. We therefore sought to describe the molecular epidemiology of EEEV in New York State during current and past epizootics. To determine whether EEEV overwinters, is periodically reintroduced, or both, we sequenced the E2 and partial NSP3 coding regions of 42 EEEV...

Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) are highly susceptible to Yersinia pestis and, along with other wild rodents, are significant reservoirs of plague for other wildlife and humans in the western United States. A recombinant raccoon poxvirus, expressing the F1 antigen of Y. pestis, was incorporated into a palatable bait and offered to three groups (n=18, 19, and 20) of black-tailed prairie dogs...

We investigated cause-specific temporal and spatial trends in sea turtle strandings in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Five species of sea turtle were recorded in 3,861 strandings over a 22-year period (1982–2003). Green turtles comprised 97% of these strandings with size and gender composition reflecting the demographic structure of the resident green turtle population and relative green...

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Nodularin (NODLN) is a cyclic pentapeptide hepatotoxin produced by the cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena, which forms extensive blooms during the summer in the Baltic Sea. Nodularin was detected in liver, muscle and/or feather samples of several common eiders (Somateria mollissima) from the Gulf of Finland (northern Baltic Sea) in 2002-2005. Published information on the adverse effects...

Twenty-eight Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) and 26 Barrow's Goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica) were captured in Prince William Sound, Alaska, between 1 and 15 March 2005. Blood was collected for quantification of element concentrations, prevalence of antibodies to several viruses, and hemoparasite prevalence and identification. Although we found selenium concentrations that...

We describe a new myxozoan, Henneguya akule n. sp., infecting the carangid fish Selar crumenophthalmus in Hawaii. Spores were found only in the aortic bulb, characterized by elliptical capsule with 2 tails, and pyriform polar capsules that angled toward the anterior end of the spore. Polar filaments had 3–4 coils. Parasites were present in apparently healthy fishes and caused no evident...