Camille is the Wildlife Disease Specialist for the Ecosystems Mission Area. At USGS headquarters, Camille coordinates national science efforts related to aquatic and terrestrial wildlife disease. She serves as the primary USGS headquarters staff member for national coordination of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife disease surveillance and research policies, plans, and programs. In that ro
Education and Certifications
B.S. Biology (Animal Physiology). Cornell University
D.V.M. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Mississippi State University
M.S. Veterinary Medical Sciences (Wildlife Epidemiology). Mississippi State University
Ph.D. Disease Ecology. Virginia Tech
DACVPM Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine
Honors and Awards
2020 Eugene M. Shoemaker Award for Communications Product Excellence (USGS Response to CWD)
USGS Excellence in Leadership Award (COVID-19 Response Team)
STAR Award, USGS (Multiple Years)
Performance Awards, USGS (Multiple Years)
Science and Products
Fish & Wildlife Disease: Small Mammal Disease
Fish & Wildlife Disease: White-Nose Syndrome
Chronic Wasting Disease
Fish & Wildlife Disease: Avian Disease
Fish & Wildlife Disease: Reptile Disease
Fish & Wildlife Disease: Marine Mammals
Fish & Wildlife Disease: Coral Diseases
Fish & Wildlife Disease: Wild Fish Diseases
Diseases We Study
Fish & Wildlife Disease: Amphibian Diseases
2020 CARES Act
U.S. Geological Survey science to support wildlife disease management
Future directions to manage wildlife health in a changing climate
Proceedings of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Wild Birds Webinar Series, August 2–5, 2021
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is an emerging disease threat to wild birds in North America
Assessing the risks posed by SARS-CoV-2 in and via North American bats — Decision framing and rapid risk assessment
Chronic wasting disease—Research by the U.S. Geological Survey and partners
U.S. Geological Survey response to chronic wasting disease
Prepublication communication of research results
U.S. Geological Survey response to white-nose syndrome in bats
Chronic wasting disease—Status, science, and management support by the U.S. Geological Survey
Batrachochytrium salamandriovrans (Bsal) in Appalachia—Using scenario building to proactively prepare for a wildlife disease outbreak caused by an invasive amphibian chytrid fungus
USGS microbiome research
Science and Products
- Science
Fish & Wildlife Disease: Small Mammal Disease
Sylvatic plague is a flea-borne bacterial disease of wild rodents. Humans, pets, and wildlife can be afflicted with this disease. Prairie dogs are highly susceptible to plague and are the primary food source of the highly endangered black-footed ferret, which is also susceptible to the disease. Sylvatic plague can decimate prairie dog colonies (90% or greater mortality rates), resulting in local...Fish & Wildlife Disease: White-Nose Syndrome
Since the winter of 2006-07, millions of North American bats have died from white-nose syndrome (WNS). As of September 2015, bats with WNS were confirmed in 26 states and five Canadian provinces. White-nose syndrome gets its name from the white fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which infects the skin on the muzzle, ears, and wings of hibernating bats and was discovered by USGS scientists. USGS...Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) affects cervids (elk, moose, mule deer, and white-tailed deer) throughout the U.S. CWD affects the nervous system in these animals and creates distinctive brain lesions. At this time, we have no treatment for CWD and it is fatal to the animals who contract it. CWD is caused by an infectious, irregular form of cellular prion protein. CWD can be directly and indirectly...Fish & Wildlife Disease: Avian Disease
Since 2006, we have partnered with agencies around the world to monitor the spread of highly pathogenic (HPAI) avian influenza. In 2014, our scientists detected three HPAI viruses for the first time in wild birds in North America: H5N2, H5N8, and a recombinant H5N1. In response to HPAI detections, our scientists are working closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other Federal and...Fish & Wildlife Disease: Reptile Disease
Disease causing pathogens are of concern to human and wildlife health and are frequently the number one reported impairment for water resources in the United States.Fish & Wildlife Disease: Marine Mammals
We are developing advanced tools for disease diagnosis, surveillance, risk assessment and control to support management of wildlife diseases.Fish & Wildlife Disease: Coral Diseases
Corals reefs support marine biodiversity, protect coastlines from storm surges and strong waves, and provide income from tourism to coastal communities. Coral diseases were first recognized in the 1970s and are now considered a major threat to coral reef survival worldwide. Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) emerged in Florida in 2014 and now impacts nearly 90% of coral reefs in Florida. This...Fish & Wildlife Disease: Wild Fish Diseases
USGS fish disease research is focused on developing advanced tools for rapid disease detection and control. USGS scientists are improving our understanding of the factors controlling the epidemiology of aquatic animal diseases and the impact of disease on wild fish populations. Our scientists are also investigating the effects of warming waters, drought, and invasive species on fish disease...Diseases We Study
USGS scientists are at the table with public and animal health agencies as they tackle zoonotic wildlife diseases including coronaviruses, plague, chronic wasting disease, avian influenza, and white-nose syndrome. We are developing advanced tools for disease diagnosis, surveillance, risk assessment and control to support management of wildlife diseases.Fish & Wildlife Disease: Amphibian Diseases
Amphibians are the most threatened groups of animals on the planet. Diseases (e.g., chytrid fungi, ranavirus, severe perkinsea infections (SPI)) are negatively impacting these species. Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Bd) was identified 15 years ago as one of the primary causes of death for many amphibians. However, the ecology and epidemiology of Bd is still being investigated. A...2020 CARES Act
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law on March 27th, 2020, to aid response efforts and ease the economic impact of COVID-19. The Department of the Interior received funds to “prevent, prepare for, and response to coronavirus, domestically or internationally including, “biosurveillance of wildlife and environmental persistence studies.” The USGS...ByEcosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Environmental Health Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Fisheries Research Center - Multimedia
- Publications
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U.S. Geological Survey science to support wildlife disease management
Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) serves a principal role in conducting wildlife disease outbreak investigations, surveillance, and ecological research to support management of diseases in free-ranging native wildlife. Approximately 60 percent of emerging human infectious diseases such as COVID-19, are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and humans and 70 percent ofAuthorsM. Camille Hopkins, Suzanna C. SoileauFuture 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 et al. 201AuthorsErik K. Hofmeister, Emily Cornelius Ruhs, Lucas Fortini, M. Camille Hopkins, Lee C. Jones, Kevin D. Lafferty, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Olivia E. LeDeeProceedings of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Wild Birds Webinar Series, August 2–5, 2021
In light of ongoing and geographically widespread highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in wild birds throughout much of Eurasia during 2020–21, the Interagency Steering Committee for Avian Influenza Surveillance in Wild Migratory Birds disseminated an informational memorandum in January 2021 to highlight the need for enhanced surveillance and heightened awareness in North America. ThAuthorsM. Camille Hopkins, J. Russ Mason, Giavanna Haddock, Andrew M. RameyHighly pathogenic avian influenza is an emerging disease threat to wild birds in North America
Prior to the emergence of the A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 (Gs/GD) H5N1 influenza A virus, the long-held and well-supported paradigm was that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks were restricted to poultry, the result of cross-species transmission of precursor viruses from wild aquatic birds that subsequently gained pathogenicity in domestic birds. Therefore, management agencies typicallAuthorsAndrew M. Ramey, Nichola J. Hill, Thomas J. DeLiberto, Samantha E. J. Gibbs, M. Camille Hopkins, Andrew S. Lang, Rebecca L. Poulson, Diann Prosser, Jonathan M. Sleeman, David E. Stallknecht, Xiu-Feng WanAssessing the risks posed by SARS-CoV-2 in and via North American bats — Decision framing and rapid risk assessment
The novel β-coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, may pose a threat to North American bat populations if bats are exposed to the virus through interaction with humans, if the virus can subsequently infect bats and be transmitted among them, and if the virus causes morbidity or mortality in bats. Further, if SARS-CoV-2 became established in bat populations, it could possibly serve as a source for new infectionAuthorsMichael C. Runge, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Jonathan D. Reichard, Samantha E. J. Gibbs, Paul M. Cryan, Kevin J. Olival, Daniel P. Walsh, David S. Blehert, M. Camille Hopkins, Jonathan M. SleemanChronic wasting disease—Research by the U.S. Geological Survey and partners
IntroductionChronic wasting disease (CWD) is the only transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, a class of invariably fatal neurodegenerative mammalian diseases associated with a misfolded cellular prion protein found in wild free-ranging animals. Because it has a long incubation period, affected animals in Cervidae (the deer family; referred to as “cervids”) may not show signs of disease for severAuthorsM. Camille Hopkins, Christina M. Carlson, Paul C. Cross, Christopher J. Johnson, Bryan J. Richards, Robin E. Russell, Michael D. Samuel, Glen A. Sargeant, Daniel P. Walsh, W. David WalterU.S. Geological Survey response to chronic wasting disease
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is focused on the development of early detection and effective response tools that promote an adaptive management approach to chronic wasting disease (CWD). USGS scientists across the United States are working to understand the biology of CWD, assess and predict the spread and persistence in wildlife and the environment, and develop tools for early detection and cAuthorsM. Camille Hopkins, Suzanna C. SoileauPrepublication communication of research results
Publishing of scientific findings is central to the scientific process, and it is traditional to consider findings “provisional” until accepted by a peer-reviewed journal. Until publication, communication of provisional findings beyond participants in the study is typically limited. This practice helps assure scientific integrity. However, a dilemma arises when a provisional finding has urgent socAuthorsM. J. Adams, Reid N. Harris, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Matthew J. Gray, M. Camille Hopkins, Samuel A. Iverson, Robert Likens, Mark Mandica, D.H. Olson, Alex Shepack, Hardin WaddleU.S. Geological Survey response to white-nose syndrome in bats
OverviewSince its discovery in 2007, the fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) has killed more than six million bats. Ten of 47 bat species have been affected by WNS across 32 States and 5 Canadian Provinces. The cold-growing fungus (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) that causes WNS infects skin covering the muzzle, ears, and wings of hibernating bats. The fungus erodes deep into the vitalAuthorsM. Camille Hopkins, Suzanna C. SoileauChronic wasting disease—Status, science, and management support by the U.S. Geological Survey
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigates chronic wasting disease (CWD) at multiple science centers and cooperative research units across the Nation and supports the management of CWD through science-based strategies. CWD research conducted by USGS scientists has three strategies: (1) to understand the biology, ecology, and causes and distribution of CWD; (2) to assess and predict the spreadAuthorsChristina M. Carlson, M. Camille Hopkins, Natalie T. Nguyen, Bryan J. Richards, Daniel P. Walsh, W. David WalterBatrachochytrium salamandriovrans (Bsal) in Appalachia—Using scenario building to proactively prepare for a wildlife disease outbreak caused by an invasive amphibian chytrid fungus
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), a pathogenic chytrid fungus, is nonnative to the United States and poses a disease threat to vulnerable amphibian hosts. The Bsal fungus may lead to increases in threatened, endangered, and sensitive status listings at State, Tribal, and Federal levels, resulting in financial costs associated with implementing the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The UnitedAuthorsM. Camille Hopkins, M. J. Adams, P.E. Super, D.H. Olson, C.R. Hickman, P. English, L. Sprague, I.B. Maska, A.B. Pennaz, K. A. LudwigUSGS microbiome research
Microbiomes are the communities of microorganisms (for example, bacteria, viruses, and fungi) that live on, in, and around people, plants, animals, soil, water, and the atmosphere. Microbiomes are active in the functioning of diverse ecosystems, for instance, by influencing water quality, nutrient acquisition and stress tolerance in plants, and stability of soil and aquatic environments. MicrobioAuthorsChristina A. Kellogg, M. Camille Hopkins - News