Dusek, R.J., M.G. Spalding, D.J. Forrester, N. Komar, and J.F. Day. 2005. Morbidity and mortality factors in pre-fledged Florida sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pratensis) chicks. Proceedings North American Crane Workshop 9: 7-13.
Robert Dusek
Biography
Education
- Master of Science, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 2002.
- Bachelor of Science, Wildlife Management. Humboldt State University, Arcata, California. 1989
Professional Experience
- Aug. 2001 - Present, Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey - National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin.
- Feb. 1998 - Aug. 2001, Graduate Student/Biological Technician, Florida Game and Fish Commission and University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
- Oct. 1995 - Jan. 1998, Biological Technician (Marine), Biscayne National Park, Homestead, Florida.
- Nov. 1991 - Oct. 1995, Biological Technician (Wildlife), Pacific Islands Science Center (Wildlife Disease Lab), Volcano, Hawaii.
- June 1991 - Nov. 1991, Wildlife Biologist, Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, Tulelake, California.
Science and Products
Date published: December 14, 2020
Status: Active Detecting Sublethal Effects of Harmful Algal Blooms in Mammalian and Avian Cells
USGS Researchers are collaborating to study avian and mammalian cells to detect sublethal toxin effects following exposure to harmful algal blooms.
Date published: September 30, 2019
Status: Active Algal Toxins and Wildlife Health
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have the potential to harm fish and wildlife, domestic animals, livestock, and humans through toxin production or ecological disturbances such as oxygen depletion and blockage of sunlight.
Contacts: Robert Dusek
Date published: July 24, 2018
Status: Active Avian Influenza
Avian influenza is a viral disease caused by various strains of avian influenza viruses that can be classified as low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) or highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). It remains a global disease with potential high consequence with the potential to threaten wildlife, agriculture, and human health.
Date published: January 1, 2018
Status: Active 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.
Year Published: 2019
Avian influenza virus prevalence in marine birds is dependent on ocean temperatures
Waterfowl and shorebirds are the primary hosts of influenza A virus (IAV), however, in most surveillance efforts, large populations of birds are not routinely examined; specifically marine ducks and other birds that reside predominately on or near the ocean. We conducted a long-term study sampling sea ducks and gulls in coastal Maine for IAV and...
Hall, Jeffrey S.; Dusek, Robert J.; Nashold, Sean; TeSlaa, Joshua L.; Allen, Bradford R.; Grear, Daniel A.
Year Published: 2019
Quarterly wildlife mortality report July 2019
No abstract available.
Richards, Bryan J.; Dusek, Robert J.Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2019
Aerosol transmission of gull-origin Iceland subtype H10N7 influenza A virus in ferrets
Subtype H10 influenza A viruses (IAVs) have been recovered from domestic poultry and various aquatic bird species, and sporadic transmission of these IAVs from avian species to mammals (i.e., human, seal, and mink) are well documented. In 2015, we isolated four H10N7 viruses from gulls in Iceland. Genomic analyses showed four gene segments in the...
Guan, Minhui; Hall, Jeffrey S.; Zhang, Xiaojian; Dusek, Robert J.; Olivier, Alicia K.; Liu, Liyuan; Li, Lei; Krauss, Scott; Danner, Angea; Li, Tao; Rutvisuttinunt, Wiriya; Lin, Xiaoxu; Hallgrimsson, Gunnar T.; Ragnarsdottir, Sunna B.; Vignisson, Solvi R.; TeSlaa, Josh; Nashold, Sean; Jarman, Richard; Wan, Xiu-Feng
Year Published: 2019
The expectations and challenges of wildlife disease research in the era of genomics: Forecasting with a horizon scan-like exercise
The outbreak and transmission of disease-causing pathogens are contributing to the unprecedented rate of biodiversity decline. Recent advances in genomics have coalesced into powerful tools to monitor, detect, and reconstruct the role of pathogens impacting wildlife populations. Wildlife researchers are thus uniquely positioned to merge ecological...
Fitak, Robert R.; Antonides, Jennifer D.; Baitchman, Eric J.; Bonaccorso, Elisa; Braun, Josephine; Kubiski, Steven; Chiu, Elliott; Fagre, Anna C.; Gagne, Roderick B.; Lee, Justin S.; Malmberg, Jennifer L.; Stenglein, Mark D.; Dusek, Robert J.; Forgacs, David; Fountain-Jones, Nicholas M.; Gilbertson, Marie L. J.; Worsley-Tonks, Katherine E. L.; Funk, W. Chris; Trumbo, Daryl R.; Ghersi, Bruno M.; Grimaldi, Wray; Heisel, Sara E.; Jardine, Claire M.; Kamath, Pauline L.; Karmacharya, Dibesh; Kozakiewicz, Christopher P.; Kraberger, Simona; Loisel, Dagan A.; McDonald, Cait; Miller, Steven; O’Rourke, Devon; Ott-Conn, Caitlin N.; Páez-Vacas, Mónica; Peel, Alison J.; Turner, Wendy C.; VanAcker, Meredith C.; VandeWoude, Sue; Pecon-Slattery, Jill
Year Published: 2019
USGS-NWHC Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report - January 2019
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; Dusek, Robert J.; Rocke, Tonie E.; Richgels, Katherine L. D.Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2019
Mortality of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus carissima) naturally exposed to microcystin-LR
We describe a die-off of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus carissima) associated with acute intoxication with microcystin-LR in 2016 at Scofield Reservoir in Utah. High levels of this cyanotoxin in water from the reservoir and gastrointestinal content of bats supported this diagnosis.
Isidoro Ayza, Marcos; Jones, Lee C.; Dusek, Robert J.; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Landsberg, Jan H.; Wilson, Patrick; Graham, Stephanie
Year Published: 2018
USGS-NWHC Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report - October 2018
No abstract available.
Richards, Bryan J.; Dusek, Robert J.; Ballmann, Anne; Nguyen, Natalie T.Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2018
Chlamydia psittaci in feral Rosy-faced Lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis) and other backyard birds in Maricopa County, Arizona
In 2013, a mortality event of nonnative, feral Rosy-faced Lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis) in residential backyards in Maricopa County, Arizona, US was attributed to infection with Chlamydia psittaci. In June 2014, additional mortality occurred in the same region. Accordingly, in August 2014 we sampled live lovebirds and sympatric bird...
Dusek, Robert J.; Justice-Allen, Anne; Bodenstein, Barbara; Knowles, Susan; Grear, Daniel A.; Adams, Laura; Levy, Craig; Yaglom, Haley D.; Shearn-Bochsler, Valerie I.; Ciembor, Paula; Gregory, Christopher R.; Pesti, Denise; Ritchie, Branson W.Attribution: Biology and Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, United States of America
View Citation
Dusek, R.J., A. Justice-Allen, B. Bodenstein, S. Knowles, D.A. Grear, L. Adams, C. Levy, H.D. Yaglom, V. Shearn-Bochsler, P. Ciembor, C.R. Gregory, D. Pesti, and B. Ritchie. 2018. Chlamydia psittaci in feral Rosy-faced Lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis) and other backyard birds in Maricopa County, Arizona. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 54(2): 000-000. Online first - http://www.jwildlifedis.org/doi/pdf/10.7589/2017-06-145
Year Published: 2018
Grass is not always greener: Rodenticide exposure of a threatened species near marijuana growing operations
ObjectiveMarijuana (Cannabis spp.) growing operations (MGO) in California have increased substantially since the mid-1990s. One environmental side-effect of MGOs is the extensive use of anticoagulant rodenticides (AR) to prevent damage to marijuana plants caused by wild rodents. In association with a long-term demographic study, we report on...
Franklin, Alan B.; Carlson, Peter C.; Rex, Angela; Rockweit, Jeremy T.; Garza, David; Culhane, Emily; Volker, Steven F; Dusek, Robert J.; Shearn-Bochsler, Valerie I.; Gabriel, Mourad W.; Horak, Katherine E.
Year Published: 2018
Quarterly wildlife mortality report - January 2018
No abstract available.
Richards, Bryan J.; Grear, Daniel A.; Ballmann, Anne; Dusek, Robert J.; Kaler, Robert; Kuletz, KathyAttribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2018
Inferring epidemiologic dynamics from viral evolution: 2014–2015 Eurasian/North American highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses exceed transmission threshold, R0 = 1, in wild birds and poultry in North America
Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) is a multihost pathogen with lineages that pose health risks for domestic birds, wild birds, and humans. One mechanism of intercontinental HPAIV spread is through wild bird reservoirs, and wild birds were the likely sources of a Eurasian (EA) lineage HPAIV into North America in 2014. The introduction...
Grear, Daniel R.; Hall, Jeffrey S.; Dusek, Robert J.; Ip, Hon S.Attribution: Biology and Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, United States of America
View Citation
Grear, D. A., Hall, J. S., Dusek, R. J., Ip, H. S. 2017. Inferring epidemiologic dynamics from viral evolution: 2014-2015 EA/NA highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses exceed transmission threshold, R0=1, in wild birds and poultry in North America. Evolutionary Applications. doi: 10.1111/eva.12576
Year Published: 2017
Potential for water borne and invertebrate transmission of West Nile virus in the Great Salt Lake, Utah
In November and December of 2013, a large mortality event involving 15,000 - 20,000 eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) occurred at the Great Salt Lake (GSL), UT. The onset of the outbreak in grebes was followed by a mortality event in > 86 bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). During the die-off, West Nile virus (WNV) was detected by RT-PCR...
Lund, Melissa; Shearn-Bochsler, Valerie I.; Dusek, Robert J.; Shivers, Jan; Hofmeister, Erik K.Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Pre-USGS Publications
Dusek, R.J., M.G. Spalding, D.J. Forrester, and E.C. Greiner. 2004. Haemoproteus balearicae and other blood parasites of free-ranging sandhill crane chicks. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 40: 682-687.
https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-40.4.682
Dusek, R.J. and D.J. Forrester. 2002. Blood parasites of American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and fish crows (C. ossifragus) in Florida, U.S.A. Comparative Parasitology 69: 92-96.
https://doi.org/10.1654/1525-2647(2002)069[0092:BPOACC]2.0.CO;2
Frederick, P.C., M.G. Spalding, and R. Dusek. 2002. Wading birds as bioindicators of mercury contamination in Florida, USA: annual and geographic variation. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 21: 163-167.
https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5620210123
Spalding, M.G., S.A. Nesbitt, S.T. Schwikert and R.J. Dusek. 2001. The use of radio transmitters to monitor survival of sandhill crane chicks. Proceedings of the Eighth North American Crane Workshop 8: 213-215.