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: 1659
An enigmatic wild passerine mortality event in the eastern United States An enigmatic wild passerine mortality event in the eastern United States
The ability to rapidly respond to wildlife health events is essential. However, such events are often unpredictable, especially with anthropogenic disturbances and climate-related environmental changes driving unforeseen threats. Many events also are short-lived and go undocumented, making it difficult to draw on lessons learned from past investigations. We report on the response to a...
Authors
Sabrina S. Greening, Julie C. Ellis, Nicole L. Lewis, David B. Needle, Cristina M. Tato, Susan Knowles, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Jaimie L. Miller, Daniel A. Grear, Jeffrey M. Lorch, David S. Blehert, Caitlin Burrell, Lisa A. Murphy, Erica A. Miller, C. Brandon Ogbunugafor, Andrea J. Ayala, W. Kelley Thomas, Megan S. Kirchgessner, Christine Casey, Ethan P. Barton, Michael J. Yabsley, Eman Anis, Roderick B. Gagne, Patrice Klein, Cindy P. Driscoll, Chelsea Sykes, Robert H. Poppenga, Nicole M. Nemeth
Sampling mass mortality events to enable diagnoses: A protocol using freshwater mussels Sampling mass mortality events to enable diagnoses: A protocol using freshwater mussels
Many taxa around the globe are threatened by often unexplained mass mortality events (MMEs), which can decimate populations and compromise key ecosystem functions. One example of a highly threatened taxon facing frequent MMEs is freshwater mussels (Unionida).There has been a recent increase in interest in understanding the causes of freshwater mussel MMEs, but standardised methodologies...
Authors
Daniel A. Cossey, Michelle Dennis, Jordan C. Richard, Camilla D. Torre, Andrew McElwain, Diane L. Waller, Susan Knowles, Joshua I. Brian, Eric Leis, Ericka A. Burioli, David C. Aldridge
Holding time or fixative formulation has no obvious effect on histology of Porites evermanni and Montipora capitata Holding time or fixative formulation has no obvious effect on histology of Porites evermanni and Montipora capitata
Collection of coral for histologic examination requires holding of samples in seawater for a time before they are fixed for histologic processing. This could adversely affect the interpretation of morphologic changes during histologic examinations. We evaluated the microscopic morphology of Porites evermanni and Montipora capitata held (0–120 minutes) in seawater prior to fixation in Z...
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Chutimon Singakharn, Amy Webb, Norton Chan, Michelle Dennis
Ophidiomycosis – Snake Fungal Disease (SFD) Ophidiomycosis – Snake Fungal Disease (SFD)
No abstract available.
Authors
Daniele Marini, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Francesco C. Origgi
Partly cloudy with a chance of mosquitoes: Developing a flexible approach to forecasting mosquito populations Partly cloudy with a chance of mosquitoes: Developing a flexible approach to forecasting mosquito populations
Climate-induced shifts in mosquito phenology and population structure have important implications for the health of humans and wildlife. The timing and intensity of mosquito interactions with infected and susceptible hosts are a primary determinant of vector-borne disease dynamics. Like most ectotherms, rates of mosquito development and corresponding phenological patterns are expected to...
Authors
Travis Mcdevitt-Galles, Arthur DeGaetano, Sarah Elmendorf, John R. Foster, Howard S. Ginsberg, Mevin B. Hooten, Shannon LaDeau, Katherine Maria McClure, S. H. Paull, Erin E. Posthumus, Ilia Rochlin, Daniel A. Grear
Arsenic accumulation in Sonora Mud Turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) in an unusual freshwater food web Arsenic accumulation in Sonora Mud Turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) in an unusual freshwater food web
Montezuma Well is an unusual fishless, spring-fed, desert wetland in central Arizona. Water in the wetland is naturally enriched with > 100 µg/l dissolved geogenic arsenic (As) and supports a simple aquatic food web dominated by a small number of endemic invertebrate species that achieve high abundances. Previous studies of As among various environmental compartments and organisms in...
Authors
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Thomas R. Kulp, Charles A. Drost, Rodrigo Macipríos, Susan Knowles, Joshua R. Ennen
Genotypic clustering of H5N1 avian Influenza viruses in North America evaluated by ordination analysis Genotypic clustering of H5N1 avian Influenza viruses in North America evaluated by ordination analysis
The introduction of HPAI H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b viruses to North America in late 2021 resulted in avian influenza outbreaks in poultry, mortality events in many wild bird species, and spillover into many mammalian species. Reassortment events with North American low pathogenic virus were identified as early as February 2022 and over 100 genotypes have been characterized. Such diversity...
Authors
Patil Tawidian, Mia K. Torchetti, Mary Lea Killian, Kristina Lantz, Krista E. Dilione, Jourdan M. Ringenberg, Sarah N. Bevins, Juliana Lenoch, Hon S. Ip
Anatidae brood records in Maine during studies of Anas rubripes (American black duck), 1977–94 Anatidae brood records in Maine during studies of Anas rubripes (American black duck), 1977–94
This report describes a compilation of brood observations for Anatidae species breeding in Maine during an 18-year period (1977–94) that were made by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center while it was operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. During four focused studies, variables affecting the declining Anas rubripes (Brewster, 1902) (American black duck...
Authors
Jerry R. Longcore, Christine M. Bunck, Daniel G. McAuley, David A. Clugston
Pathology of lesions in corals from the US Virgin Islands after emergence of stony coral tissue loss disease Pathology of lesions in corals from the US Virgin Islands after emergence of stony coral tissue loss disease
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first documented in Florida in 2014 and has since spread through the Caribbean causing unprecedented mortality in more than 20 species of corals. The cause of SCTLD is unknown, but bacteria are suspected based on regression of gross lesions in some corals treated with antibiotics. Limited pathology studies on SCTLD exist, but it is likely that...
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Jeff Miller, Thomas Kelley, Aine C. Hawthorn, Tina Weatherby, Caroline Rogers
Vaccination of endangered wildlife as a conservation tool: Hindsights and new horizons in the pandemic era Vaccination of endangered wildlife as a conservation tool: Hindsights and new horizons in the pandemic era
Vaccines are an established conservation tool that can reduce the threat of infectious disease in endangered wildlife populations. Vaccines exist for many infectious pathogens, and at a time of rapid technological advances in vaccinology, developing vaccines and vaccination programs for free-living endangered wildlife could help efforts to prevent extinctions from disease threats...
Authors
Frances Gulland, Michelle Barbieri, Sarah Cleaveland, Martin Gilbert, Ailsa J. Hall, Tonie E. Rocke
Density estimation using spatial capture-recapture analyses: Application to vaccination of prairie dogs against sylvatic plague Density estimation using spatial capture-recapture analyses: Application to vaccination of prairie dogs against sylvatic plague
Prairie dogs are notoriously difficult to enumerate, with previously methods including visual counts, mark-resight, burrow counts, and catch per unit effort. Unlike those methods, spatial capture-recapture (SCR) analyses allow for formal estimation of density along with associated estimates of uncertainty, detection probability, and the size of the average area over which an individual...
Authors
Robin E. Russell, Dan W. Tripp, Katherine Richgels, Tonie E. Rocke
Glucocorticoid and glycemic responses to immune challenge in a viviparous snake afflicted with an emerging mycosis Glucocorticoid and glycemic responses to immune challenge in a viviparous snake afflicted with an emerging mycosis
Disease may be both a cause and consequence of stress, and physiological responses to infectious disease may involve stress coping mechanisms that have important fitness consequences. For example, glucocorticoid and glycemic responses may affect host fitness by altering resource allocation and use in hosts, and these responses may be affected by competing stressors. To better understand...
Authors
Craig M. Lind, Joseph Agugliaro, Jason Ortega, Jenna N. Palmisano, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Tran Truong, Terence M. Farrell