Disease

Environmental health is defined by connections between the physical environment, ecological health, and human health. Current research within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recognizes the importance of this integrated research philosophy, which includes study of disease and pollutants as they pertain to both wildlife and humans. Due to its key geographic location and significant wildlife...

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Eastern Ecological Science Center is home to the Northeast Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (NEARMI), one of 7 ARMI regions across the United States. NEARMI works on public lands in thirteen states from Maine to Virginia, including many National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges.

Black basses (Micropterus spp) are enigmatic North American sportfishes that support the most economically valuable freshwater sport fishery in the United States and serve as keystone predators within aquatic ecosystems. Hyperpigmented melanistic lesions on the surface of black basses have been observed in a number of waterbodies across the country in increasing frequency. We have recently...

The Eastern Ecological Science Center is working closely with federal, state, and tribal partners to help inform decisions that reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from humans to North American wildlife, including bats.

Avian influenza virus in the aquatic environment: Surveillance in waterfowl habitat on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Migratory birds, and particularly those using habitats close to human settlements, may be infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria. The USGS is working with public health professionals to understand the role of birds in the maintenance and dispersal of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Additionally, the USGS is investigating how antibiotic resistant bacteria in birds may relate to public and...

At least 30 Alaskan bird species are affected and the geographic extent of the problem appears to be growing. In addition to Alaskan observations, we have received increasing numbers of reports from other parts of North America and Europe.

Interest in the immune systems of wild birds has increased as public health authorities have recognized that many emerging infectious diseases of wildlife can be transmitted to humans (i.e., zoonoses). Eco-immunology is an emerging field that characterizes how immune adaptations of wild species vary as a result of evolution in different habitats and niches. Present understanding of the influence...

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.

Disease in amphibian populations can have a range of effects, from devastating declines following introduction of a novel pathogen to recurring breakout events on a landscape. Elucidating mechanisms underlying the effects of diseases on amphibian populations is crucial to help managers make appropriate decisions to achieve management goals for amphibians.

The Challenge: The genomic revolution is giving wildlife biologists new tools to assess the role of wildlife in spreading diseases that affect human populations. Peptide arrays are a high throughput technology that gives unprecedented breadth and depth of information about the immune system. We are using peptide arrays to assess the immune responses of Chesapeake Bay waterfowl to avian influenza...

The Challenge: In an era when emerging infectious diseases are steadily increasing, human populations are exposed to virulent new pathogens. Insight into the human system can be gained from understanding the variety of immune adaptations of wildlife species. The vertebrate immune system is not static. Rather, it involves in response to the environment.