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Erik Hofmeister

Erik Hofmeister is a Research Virologist at the National Wildlife Health Center.

Science and Products

Mosquito, species not verified

Vector-Borne Diseases

Vector-borne diseases are transmitted from one animal to another by vectors, including insects, such as mosquitoes or fleas, and arachnids, such as ticks. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center investigates wildlife diseases, including vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus and sylvatic plague.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center
Vector-Borne Diseases

Vector-Borne Diseases

Vector-borne diseases are transmitted from one animal to another by vectors, including insects, such as mosquitoes or fleas, and arachnids, such as ticks. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center investigates wildlife diseases, including vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus and sylvatic plague.
Learn More
Caribou roaming the Arctic Coastal Plain

Synthesizing Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife Health and Identifying Adaptation Strategies

Changing climate conditions could have significant impacts on wildlife health. Shifts in temperature and precipitation may directly affect the occurrence of disease in fish and wildlife by altering their interactions with pathogens (such as the bacterium that causes Lyme disease), helping vectors like mosquitoes and ticks expand their range, or speeding up the time it takes for a...
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
Synthesizing Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife Health and Identifying Adaptation Strategies

Synthesizing Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife Health and Identifying Adaptation Strategies

Changing climate conditions could have significant impacts on wildlife health. Shifts in temperature and precipitation may directly affect the occurrence of disease in fish and wildlife by altering their interactions with pathogens (such as the bacterium that causes Lyme disease), helping vectors like mosquitoes and ticks expand their range, or speeding up the time it takes for a parasite to
Learn More

Functional changes in cecal microbiome of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) experimentally exposed to sublethal doses of Microcystin-LR Functional changes in cecal microbiome of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) experimentally exposed to sublethal doses of Microcystin-LR

The frequency of cyanobacterial blooms appears to have increased globally in recent decades due to human induced eutrophication and climate change. Cyanobacterial blooms can produce several groups of toxins, among which microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is one of the most abundant. Effects of MC-LR on avian microbiome have not been studied and studies in laboratory murines are limited to...
By
Eastern Ecological Science Center

Avian disease screening of translocated sage grouse captured in Montana, USA Avian disease screening of translocated sage grouse captured in Montana, USA

The purpose of this project is to determine the infectious status and exposure status of several diseases that have the potential to impact the health of greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) captured in Montana, USA to be translocated to Alberta, Canada. Specific disease status to be tested include, infection with avian influenza virus (AIV), infection with Avian Paramyxovirus...
By
National Wildlife Health Center

Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) weights and Ct values for SARS-CoV-2 Infection challenge Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) weights and Ct values for SARS-CoV-2 Infection challenge

Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) weights and SARS-CoV2 test results were collected as part of study to assess transmission potential of SARS-CoV2 in North American bat populations. It has been proposed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated in Asian bats and subsequently spread through human populations as a pandemic. There is concern that infected humans could transmit the virus to...
By
National Wildlife Health Center

Data Release for Assessing the Impact of Changing Water Resources on Migratory Bird Health and Management in the Central Flyway of the United States Data Release for Assessing the Impact of Changing Water Resources on Migratory Bird Health and Management in the Central Flyway of the United States

There is a growing movement within natural resource management to view wildlife health as a cumulative outcome of many different factors, rather than simply the absence of disease. This inclusive understanding of health opens the door to management options that are more creative than traditional techniques to prevent or mitigate pathogens. The public health field uses a determinants of...
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Serologic Survey of Selected Arthropod Borne Pathogens in Free-ranging Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americanus) Captured in Northern Michigan, USA Serologic Survey of Selected Arthropod Borne Pathogens in Free-ranging Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americanus) Captured in Northern Michigan, USA

We conducted a serosurvey of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) for vector-borne pathogens in 2016-2017 that were captured in the Hiawatha National Forest in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. At capture, in addition to age, sex, body weight of the hare and a blood sample data was collected on the ecological land type (USDA Forest Service. 2006. Hiawatha National Forest 2006...
By
National Wildlife Health Center

Experimental infection of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with SARS-CoV-2 Experimental infection of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with SARS-CoV-2

We experimentally challenged wild Mexican free-tailed bats (TABR) with SARS-CoV-2 to determine the susceptibility, reservoir potential, and population impacts of infection in this species. Of nine bats oronasally inoculated with SARS-CoV-2, five became infected and orally excreted moderate amounts of virus for up to 18 days post inoculation. These five subjects all seroconverted and...
By
Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center
Image: Zebra Finch
Zebra Finch
Zebra Finch
Image: Zebra Finch

Zebra Finch

Zebra Finch

Erik Hofmeister, NWHC veterinarian and research scientist, holds a zebra finch, a species which serves as a laboratory model for study of avian diseases.

By
Ecosystems, Communications and Publishing
Image: Zebra Finch

Zebra Finch

Zebra Finch

Erik Hofmeister, NWHC veterinarian and research scientist, holds a zebra finch, a species which serves as a laboratory model for study of avian diseases.

By
Ecosystems, Communications and Publishing
Filter Total Items: 36

A short-term sublethal oral exposure to microcystin-LR disrupts cecal microbiome homeostasis in mallard A short-term sublethal oral exposure to microcystin-LR disrupts cecal microbiome homeostasis in mallard

Introduction: The frequency of cyanobacterial blooms seems to have increased globally in recent decades due to human induced eutrophication and climate change. Cyanobacterial blooms can produce several groups of toxins, among which microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is one of the most abundant. Effects of MC-LR on avian microbiome have not been studied and studies in laboratory murines have been...
Authors
Sergei V. Drovetski, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Erik K. Hofmeister, Natalie K. Karouna-Reiner, Robert J. Dusek
By
Eastern Ecological Science Center

Experimental infection of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with SARS-CoV-2 Experimental infection of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with SARS-CoV-2

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus is thought to have originated in wild bats from Asia, and as the resulting pandemic continues into its third year, concerns have been raised that the virus will expand its host range and infect North American wildlife species, including bats. Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) live in large colonies in...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Hall, Erik K. Hofmeister, Hon S. Ip, Sean Nashold, Ariel Elizabeth Leon, Carly Marie Malave, Elizabeth Falendysz, Tonie E. Rocke, M. Carossino, U. Balasuriya, Susan Knowles
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Future directions to manage wildlife health in a changing climate Future directions to manage wildlife health in a changing climate

In September 2019 The Economist wrote an obituary to Okjökull, a glacier in western Iceland that was declared “dead” in 2014, a victim of climate change. Although a few wildlife species have already incurred such a fate (e.g., the Bramble Cay melomys [Melomys rubicola]) (Fulton 2017), many more are on the path to climate-driven extinction (Andermann et al. 2020; Ceballos et al. 2015; He...
Authors
Erik K. Hofmeister, Emily Cornelius Ruhs, Lucas Fortini, M. Camille Hopkins, Lee C. Jones, Kevin D. Lafferty, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Olivia E. LeDee
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, National Wildlife Health Center, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Acute oral toxicity and tissue residues of saxitoxin in the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) Acute oral toxicity and tissue residues of saxitoxin in the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Since 2014, widespread, annual mortality events involving multiple species of seabirds have occurred in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Chukchi Sea. Among these die-offs, emaciation was a common finding with starvation often identified as the cause of death. However, saxitoxin (STX) was detected in many carcasses, indicating exposure of these seabirds to STX in the marine environment...
Authors
Robert J. Dusek, Matthew M. Smith, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Sherwood Hall, Clark D. Ridge, Ransome Hardison, Robert Kaler, Barbara Bodenstein, Erik K. Hofmeister, Jeffrey S. Hall
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, National Wildlife Health Center

Genetic sequencing of Attwater's prairie chicken avian poxvirus and evaluation of its potential role in reticuloendotheliosis virus outbreaks Genetic sequencing of Attwater's prairie chicken avian poxvirus and evaluation of its potential role in reticuloendotheliosis virus outbreaks

Efforts to breed Attwater's prairie chickens (APC; Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) in captivity to supplement wild populations of this endangered bird have been negatively affected by infections with Avipoxvirus and reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV). Because REV can be integrated into the genome of fowlpox virus (FPV) and may be transmitted in that manner, identifying the source of avipox...
Authors
Erik K. Hofmeister, Fiona Antigoni Georgousi, Melissa Lund, Pam Ferro, Joe Flanagan, Holly Haefele, Mike Morrow
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Experimental challenge of a North American bat species, big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), with SARS-CoV-2 Experimental challenge of a North American bat species, big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), with SARS-CoV-2

The recently emerged novel coronavirus, SARS‐CoV‐2, is phylogenetically related to bat coronaviruses (CoVs), specifically SARS‐related CoVs from the Eurasian bat family Rhinolophidae. As this human pandemic virus has spread across the world, the potential impacts of SARS‐CoV‐2 on native North American bat populations are unknown, as is the ability of North American bats to serve as...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Hall, Susan Knowles, Sean Nashold, Hon S. Ip, Ariel Elizabeth Leon, Tonie E. Rocke, Saskia Annatina Keller, Mariano Carossino, Udeni B.R. Balasuriya, Erik K. Hofmeister
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center
National Wildlife Health Center co-sponsors Climate Change and Wildlife Health Workshop

National Wildlife Health Center co-sponsors Climate Change and Wildlife Health Workshop

On January 7-9, 2020, the USGS Northeast Climate Adaption Science Center and the USGS National Wildlife Health Center sponsored a Climate Change and...

Read Article
Project Examines Emerging Challenges Related to Climate Change, Disease, and Wildlife Health

Project Examines Emerging Challenges Related to Climate Change, Disease, and Wildlife Health

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center, in partnership with the USGS Climate Adaptation Science Center Network, is leading a one-year project to...

Read Article

Science and Products

Mosquito, species not verified

Vector-Borne Diseases

Vector-borne diseases are transmitted from one animal to another by vectors, including insects, such as mosquitoes or fleas, and arachnids, such as ticks. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center investigates wildlife diseases, including vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus and sylvatic plague.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center
Vector-Borne Diseases

Vector-Borne Diseases

Vector-borne diseases are transmitted from one animal to another by vectors, including insects, such as mosquitoes or fleas, and arachnids, such as ticks. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center investigates wildlife diseases, including vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus and sylvatic plague.
Learn More
Caribou roaming the Arctic Coastal Plain

Synthesizing Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife Health and Identifying Adaptation Strategies

Changing climate conditions could have significant impacts on wildlife health. Shifts in temperature and precipitation may directly affect the occurrence of disease in fish and wildlife by altering their interactions with pathogens (such as the bacterium that causes Lyme disease), helping vectors like mosquitoes and ticks expand their range, or speeding up the time it takes for a...
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
Synthesizing Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife Health and Identifying Adaptation Strategies

Synthesizing Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife Health and Identifying Adaptation Strategies

Changing climate conditions could have significant impacts on wildlife health. Shifts in temperature and precipitation may directly affect the occurrence of disease in fish and wildlife by altering their interactions with pathogens (such as the bacterium that causes Lyme disease), helping vectors like mosquitoes and ticks expand their range, or speeding up the time it takes for a parasite to
Learn More

Functional changes in cecal microbiome of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) experimentally exposed to sublethal doses of Microcystin-LR Functional changes in cecal microbiome of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) experimentally exposed to sublethal doses of Microcystin-LR

The frequency of cyanobacterial blooms appears to have increased globally in recent decades due to human induced eutrophication and climate change. Cyanobacterial blooms can produce several groups of toxins, among which microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is one of the most abundant. Effects of MC-LR on avian microbiome have not been studied and studies in laboratory murines are limited to...
By
Eastern Ecological Science Center

Avian disease screening of translocated sage grouse captured in Montana, USA Avian disease screening of translocated sage grouse captured in Montana, USA

The purpose of this project is to determine the infectious status and exposure status of several diseases that have the potential to impact the health of greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) captured in Montana, USA to be translocated to Alberta, Canada. Specific disease status to be tested include, infection with avian influenza virus (AIV), infection with Avian Paramyxovirus...
By
National Wildlife Health Center

Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) weights and Ct values for SARS-CoV-2 Infection challenge Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) weights and Ct values for SARS-CoV-2 Infection challenge

Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) weights and SARS-CoV2 test results were collected as part of study to assess transmission potential of SARS-CoV2 in North American bat populations. It has been proposed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated in Asian bats and subsequently spread through human populations as a pandemic. There is concern that infected humans could transmit the virus to...
By
National Wildlife Health Center

Data Release for Assessing the Impact of Changing Water Resources on Migratory Bird Health and Management in the Central Flyway of the United States Data Release for Assessing the Impact of Changing Water Resources on Migratory Bird Health and Management in the Central Flyway of the United States

There is a growing movement within natural resource management to view wildlife health as a cumulative outcome of many different factors, rather than simply the absence of disease. This inclusive understanding of health opens the door to management options that are more creative than traditional techniques to prevent or mitigate pathogens. The public health field uses a determinants of...
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Serologic Survey of Selected Arthropod Borne Pathogens in Free-ranging Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americanus) Captured in Northern Michigan, USA Serologic Survey of Selected Arthropod Borne Pathogens in Free-ranging Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americanus) Captured in Northern Michigan, USA

We conducted a serosurvey of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) for vector-borne pathogens in 2016-2017 that were captured in the Hiawatha National Forest in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. At capture, in addition to age, sex, body weight of the hare and a blood sample data was collected on the ecological land type (USDA Forest Service. 2006. Hiawatha National Forest 2006...
By
National Wildlife Health Center

Experimental infection of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with SARS-CoV-2 Experimental infection of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with SARS-CoV-2

We experimentally challenged wild Mexican free-tailed bats (TABR) with SARS-CoV-2 to determine the susceptibility, reservoir potential, and population impacts of infection in this species. Of nine bats oronasally inoculated with SARS-CoV-2, five became infected and orally excreted moderate amounts of virus for up to 18 days post inoculation. These five subjects all seroconverted and...
By
Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center
Image: Zebra Finch
Zebra Finch
Zebra Finch
Image: Zebra Finch

Zebra Finch

Zebra Finch

Erik Hofmeister, NWHC veterinarian and research scientist, holds a zebra finch, a species which serves as a laboratory model for study of avian diseases.

By
Ecosystems, Communications and Publishing
Image: Zebra Finch

Zebra Finch

Zebra Finch

Erik Hofmeister, NWHC veterinarian and research scientist, holds a zebra finch, a species which serves as a laboratory model for study of avian diseases.

By
Ecosystems, Communications and Publishing
Filter Total Items: 36

A short-term sublethal oral exposure to microcystin-LR disrupts cecal microbiome homeostasis in mallard A short-term sublethal oral exposure to microcystin-LR disrupts cecal microbiome homeostasis in mallard

Introduction: The frequency of cyanobacterial blooms seems to have increased globally in recent decades due to human induced eutrophication and climate change. Cyanobacterial blooms can produce several groups of toxins, among which microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is one of the most abundant. Effects of MC-LR on avian microbiome have not been studied and studies in laboratory murines have been...
Authors
Sergei V. Drovetski, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Erik K. Hofmeister, Natalie K. Karouna-Reiner, Robert J. Dusek
By
Eastern Ecological Science Center

Experimental infection of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with SARS-CoV-2 Experimental infection of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with SARS-CoV-2

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus is thought to have originated in wild bats from Asia, and as the resulting pandemic continues into its third year, concerns have been raised that the virus will expand its host range and infect North American wildlife species, including bats. Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) live in large colonies in...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Hall, Erik K. Hofmeister, Hon S. Ip, Sean Nashold, Ariel Elizabeth Leon, Carly Marie Malave, Elizabeth Falendysz, Tonie E. Rocke, M. Carossino, U. Balasuriya, Susan Knowles
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Future directions to manage wildlife health in a changing climate Future directions to manage wildlife health in a changing climate

In September 2019 The Economist wrote an obituary to Okjökull, a glacier in western Iceland that was declared “dead” in 2014, a victim of climate change. Although a few wildlife species have already incurred such a fate (e.g., the Bramble Cay melomys [Melomys rubicola]) (Fulton 2017), many more are on the path to climate-driven extinction (Andermann et al. 2020; Ceballos et al. 2015; He...
Authors
Erik K. Hofmeister, Emily Cornelius Ruhs, Lucas Fortini, M. Camille Hopkins, Lee C. Jones, Kevin D. Lafferty, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Olivia E. LeDee
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, National Wildlife Health Center, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Acute oral toxicity and tissue residues of saxitoxin in the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) Acute oral toxicity and tissue residues of saxitoxin in the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Since 2014, widespread, annual mortality events involving multiple species of seabirds have occurred in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Chukchi Sea. Among these die-offs, emaciation was a common finding with starvation often identified as the cause of death. However, saxitoxin (STX) was detected in many carcasses, indicating exposure of these seabirds to STX in the marine environment...
Authors
Robert J. Dusek, Matthew M. Smith, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Sherwood Hall, Clark D. Ridge, Ransome Hardison, Robert Kaler, Barbara Bodenstein, Erik K. Hofmeister, Jeffrey S. Hall
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, National Wildlife Health Center

Genetic sequencing of Attwater's prairie chicken avian poxvirus and evaluation of its potential role in reticuloendotheliosis virus outbreaks Genetic sequencing of Attwater's prairie chicken avian poxvirus and evaluation of its potential role in reticuloendotheliosis virus outbreaks

Efforts to breed Attwater's prairie chickens (APC; Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) in captivity to supplement wild populations of this endangered bird have been negatively affected by infections with Avipoxvirus and reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV). Because REV can be integrated into the genome of fowlpox virus (FPV) and may be transmitted in that manner, identifying the source of avipox...
Authors
Erik K. Hofmeister, Fiona Antigoni Georgousi, Melissa Lund, Pam Ferro, Joe Flanagan, Holly Haefele, Mike Morrow
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Experimental challenge of a North American bat species, big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), with SARS-CoV-2 Experimental challenge of a North American bat species, big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), with SARS-CoV-2

The recently emerged novel coronavirus, SARS‐CoV‐2, is phylogenetically related to bat coronaviruses (CoVs), specifically SARS‐related CoVs from the Eurasian bat family Rhinolophidae. As this human pandemic virus has spread across the world, the potential impacts of SARS‐CoV‐2 on native North American bat populations are unknown, as is the ability of North American bats to serve as...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Hall, Susan Knowles, Sean Nashold, Hon S. Ip, Ariel Elizabeth Leon, Tonie E. Rocke, Saskia Annatina Keller, Mariano Carossino, Udeni B.R. Balasuriya, Erik K. Hofmeister
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center
National Wildlife Health Center co-sponsors Climate Change and Wildlife Health Workshop

National Wildlife Health Center co-sponsors Climate Change and Wildlife Health Workshop

On January 7-9, 2020, the USGS Northeast Climate Adaption Science Center and the USGS National Wildlife Health Center sponsored a Climate Change and...

Read Article
Project Examines Emerging Challenges Related to Climate Change, Disease, and Wildlife Health

Project Examines Emerging Challenges Related to Climate Change, Disease, and Wildlife Health

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center, in partnership with the USGS Climate Adaptation Science Center Network, is leading a one-year project to...

Read Article
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