Julia S Lankton
Biography
Julia Lankton is a wildlife pathologist at the USGS-National Wildlife Health Center. She attended veterinary school at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, completed her pathology residency at the University of Tennessee, and worked as clinical instructor and pathology fellow at the University of Florida and Disneyworld, before joining USGS in 2013. Her interests include environmental toxicology and the relationship between contaminants and disease in wildlife health.
Education
Residency, Anatomic Pathology, University of Tennessee, 2009-2012
DVM, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, 2009
BA English, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 1996
Professional Experience
2013-present: Wildlife Pathologist, USGS-NWHC
2012-2013: Clinical Instructor, Anatomic Pathology, University of Florida and Disney's Animal Kingdom
Affiliations
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists
Science and Products
Pathology — Madison, Wisconsin
About the Capability
The Environmental Health Program collaborates with the pathology section of the Necropsy and Pathology Diagnostic Laboratory at the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) to advance an understanding of the effects of contaminant and pathogen exposure on wildlife.
Necropsy & Pathology
The Necropsy and Pathology services are performed by board-certified veterinary pathologists and necropsy technical staff whose principal role is to determine the cause of death for animals submitted to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center.
Confirmed cases of Ophidiomycosis in museum specimens from the USA as early as 1945
Ophidiomycosis represents a conservation threat to wild snake populations. The disease was reported in North America early in the 21st century, but the history of ophidiomycosis has not been investigated. We examined museum specimens and confirmed cases of ophidiomycosis >50 years before the disease’s reported emergence.
Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Price, Steven J.; Lankton, Julia S.; Drayer, Andrea N. Pathology of Lagovirus europaeus GI.2/RHDV2/b (rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2) in native North American lagomorphs
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease, a notifiable foreign animal disease in the US, was reported for the first time in wild native North American lagomorphs in April 2020 in the southwestern US. Affected species included the desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), mountain cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii), black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus),...
Lankton, Julia S.; Knowles, Susan; Keller, Saskia; Shearn-Bochsler, Valerie I.; Ip, Hon S. Investigation of algal toxins in a multispecies seabird die-off in the Bering and Chukchi seas
Between 2014 and 2017, widespread seabird mortality events were documented annually in the Bering and Chukchi seas, concurrent with dramatic reductions of sea ice, warmer than average ocean temperatures, and rapid shifts in marine ecosystems. Among other changes in the marine environment, harmful algal blooms (HABs) that produce the neurotoxins...
Van Hemert, Caroline R.; Dusek, Robert J.; Smith, Matthew M.; Kaler, Robert; Sheffield, Gay; Divine, Lauren M.; Kuletz, Kathy J.; Knowles, Susan; Lankton, Julia S.; Hardison, D. Ransom; Litaker, R. Wayne; Jones, Timothy; Burgess, Hillary K.; Parrish, Julia K. Quarterly wildlife mortality report January 2021
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) Quarterly Mortality Report provides brief summaries of epizootic mortality and morbidity events by quarter. The write-ups, highlighting epizootic events and other wildlife disease topics of interest, are published in the Wildlife Disease Association quarterly newsletter. A link is provided in this...
Richards, Bryan J.; Bodenstein, Barbara; Grear, Daniel A.; Ip, Hon S.; Ballmann, Anne; Lankton, Julia S.; Shearn-Bochsler, Valerie I. Elemental and radionuclide exposures and uptakes by small rodents, invertebrates, and vegetation at active and post-production uranium mines in the Grand Canyon watershed
The effects of breccia pipe uranium mining in the Grand Canyon watershed (Arizona) on ecological and cultural resources are largely unknown. We characterized the exposure of biota to uranium and co-occurring ore body elements during active ore production and at a site where ore production had recently concluded. Our results indicate that biota...
Cleveland, Danielle; Hinck, Jo Ellen; Lankton, Julia S. An ecological and conservation perspective
Natural ecosystems are facing unprecedented threats which directly threaten human well-being through decreases in critical ecosystem services (IPBES 2019). The top five drivers causing the largest global impacts to biodiversity and ecosystem services include: 1) changes in land and sea use; 2) direct exploitation of organisms; 3) climate change; 4...
White, C. LeAnn; Lankton, Julia S.; Walsh, Daniel P.; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Stephen, Craig Brodifacoum toxicity in American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) with evidence of increased hazard upon subsequent anticoagulant rodenticide exposure
A seminal question in ecotoxicology is the extent to which contaminant exposure evokes prolonged effects on physiological function and fitness. A series of studies were undertaken with American kestrels ingesting environmentally realistic concentrations of the second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) brodifacoum (BROD). Kestrels fed BROD...
Rattner, Barnett A.; Volker, Steven F; Lankton, Julia S.; Bean, Thomas G.; Lazarus, Rebecca S.; Horak, Katherine E. Postmortem evaluation of reintroduced migratory whooping cranes (Grus americana) in eastern North America
Endangered whooping cranes (Grus americana) have been reintroduced into the eastern U.S. to speed recovery efforts. This study reviewed necropsy and diagnostic records of 125 crane carcasses recovered during the project’s first 15 years following release of 268 cranes. The proportions of causal classifications did not differ significantly from a...
Yaw, Taylor J.; Miller, Kimberli J.; Lankton, Julia S.; Hartup, Barry K. Wing abnormality in wild-hatched Whooping Crane (Grus americana) chick from the Louisiana nonmigratory population
We describe a wing abnormality present in a wild-hatched Whooping Crane (Grus americana) chick from the reintroduced Louisiana nonmigratory population. Despite its compromised flight ability, the chick fledged, reached independence, and lived until 13 months of age. Necropsy revealed a healed fracture near the left carpus likely resulting from...
Vasseur, Phillip L.; Zimorski, Sara E.; Szyszkoski, Eva K; LaCour, James M; Lankton, Julia S. Virally-vectored vaccine candidates against white-nose syndrome induce anti-fungal immune response in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus)
White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has killed millions of North American hibernating bats. Currently, methods to prevent the disease are limited. We conducted two trials to assess potential WNS vaccine candidates in wild-caught Myotis lucifugus. In a pilot study, we immunized bats with...
Rocke, Tonie E.; Kingstad-Bakke, Brock; Wuthrich, Marcel; Stading, Ben; Abbott, Rachel C.; Isidoro Ayza, Marcos; Dobson, Hannah E.; dos Santos Dias, Lucas; Galles, Kevin; Lankton, Julia S.; Falendysz, Elizabeth; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Fites, J. Scott; Lopera-Madrid, Jaime; Klein, Bruce; Osorio, Jorge E.; White, J. Paul Mortality due to Tyzzer's disease of muskrats in northern Ohio, USA
In 2017, we investigated a mortality event of muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) in Northwest Ohio, USA, and determined the causes of death to be from Tyzzer's disease due to Clostridium piliforme and Klebsiella pneumoniae septicemia. The gross presentation resembled tularemia, which highlighted the importance of a complete...
Grear, Daniel A.; Lankton, Julia S.; Zaleski, Sara; Witt, Mark; Lorch, Jeffrey M. Assessment of chronic low‐dose elemental and radiological exposures of biota at the Kanab North uranium mine site in the Grand Canyon watershed
High‐grade U ore deposits are in various stages of exploitation across the Grand Canyon watershed, yet the effects of U mining on ecological and cultural resources are largely unknown. We characterized the concentrations of Al, As, Bi, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Hg, Mo, Ni, Se, Ag, Tl, Th, U, and Zn, gross alpha and beta activities, and U and Th...
Cleveland, Danielle; Hinck, Jo Ellen; Lankton, Julia S.
Pathology Case of the Month - Exotic Duck
Case History: Mortality of captive exotic ducks was reported by the owner of an aviary (species and location are withheld from this report to protect privacy). An adult female duck was submitted for cause-of-death determination.
Pathology Case of the Month - Eastern Gray Squirrels
Case History: Six eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) were found dead below a tree in a residential yard in Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Pathology case of the month - Desert Cottontail
Case History: An adult male desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) was found dead on a ranch in west Texas, U.S.A. Other rabbits had been reported sick in the area; clinical signs included lethargy, uncoordinated movements, and blood around the nose and mouth.
Pathology Case of the Month - Muskrats
Case History: Over a two-week period in November 2017, approximately 20 muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) were found dead in a managed wetland in Ohio, USA.
Pathology Case of the Month - Great-Horned Owl and Eurasian Collared-Dove
Case History: An adult female Great-Horned Owl (Bobo virginianus) was found dead in a residential yard in Utah, U.S. with an immature male Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) clutched in its left foot.