Thomas O'Shea, PhD (Former Employee)

The literature supports that unique rabies virus (RABV) variants are often compartmentalized in different species of bats. In Colorado, two divergent mtDNA lineages of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) co-occur. RABV associated with this species also segregates into two clades. We hypothesized that unique RABV variants might be associated with mtDNA lineages of Colorado big brown bats...

Papers in this Special Feature stem from a symposium on large-scale ecosystem change and the conservation of marine mammals convened at the 86th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists in June 2006. Major changes are occurring in multiple aspects of the marine environment at unprecedented rates, within the life spans of some individual marine mammals. Drivers of change...

Bat researchers have used both morphological indices and total body electric conductivity (TOBEC) as proxies for body condition in a variety of studies, but have typically not validated these indices against direct measurement of body composition. We quantified body composition (total carcass lipids) to determine if morphological indices were useful predictors of body condition in big...

Recently, bat ectoparasites have been demonstrated to harbor pathogens of potential importance to humans. We evaluated antirabies antibody seroprevalence and the presence of ectoparasites in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) sampled in 2002 and 2003 in Colorado to investigate if an association existed between ectoparasite intensity and exposure to rabies virus (RV). We used logistic...

We investigated movements of female big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) roosting in maternity colonies in buildings in Fort Collins, Colorado (USA), during the summers of 2002, 2003, and 2005. This behavior can be of public health concern where bats that may carry diseases (e.g., rabies) move among buildings occupied by people. We used passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) to mark...

Ectoparasites of an urban population of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in Fort Collins, Colorado, were investigated during summers 2002, 2003, and 2004. Eleven species of ectoparasites were found (the macronyssid mite Steatonyssus occidentalis, the wing mite Spinturnix bakeri, the myobiid mites Acanthophthirius caudata and Pteracarus aculeus, the chirodiscid mite Alabidocarpus...

The epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was caused by a newly emerged coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Bats of several species in southern People's Republic of China harbor SARS-like CoVs and may be reservoir hosts for them. To determine whether bats in North America also harbor coronaviruses, we used reverse transcription-PCR to detect coronavirus RNA in bats. We found...

Several geographically distinct mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages of the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) have been documented in North America. Individuals from 2 of these lineages, an eastern and a western form, co-occur within maternity colonies in Colorado. The discovery of 2 divergent mtDNA lineages in sympatry prompted a set of questions regarding possible biological differences...

We compared conventional capture (primarily mist nets and harp traps) and passive integrated transponder (PIT) tagging techniques for estimating capture and survival probabilities of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) roosting in buildings in Fort Collins, Colorado. A total of 987 female adult and juvenile bats were captured and marked by subdermal injection of PIT tags during the summers...

Data and specimens collected from dugong carcasses and live stranded individuals provide vital information for research and management agencies. The ability to assign a cause of death (natural and/or human induced) to a carcass assists managers to identify major threats to a population in certain areas and to evaluate and adapt management measures. Data collected from dugong carcasses...

No abstract available.

Movements, distribution, and roosting requirements of most species of temperate-zone bats in autumn are poorly understood. We conducted the 1st radiotelemetry study of autumn migrations and prehibernation roost selection of bats in western North America. Big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus, n = 55) in the Poudre River watershed, Colorado, moved from low-elevation summer ranges to high...