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Environmental Sciences

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Birds

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

H7n9 Influenza A Virus Transmission In A Multispecies Barnyard Model, Angela M. Bosco-Lauth, Anna Rodriguez, Rachel M. Maison, Stephanie M. Porter, J. Jeffrey Root Jan 2023

H7n9 Influenza A Virus Transmission In A Multispecies Barnyard Model, Angela M. Bosco-Lauth, Anna Rodriguez, Rachel M. Maison, Stephanie M. Porter, J. Jeffrey Root

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Influenza A viruses are a diverse group of pathogens that have been responsible for millions of human and avian deaths throughout history. Here, we illustrate the transmission potential of H7N9 influenza A virus between Coturnix quail (Coturnix sp.), domestic ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus), chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), and house sparrows (Passer domesticus) co-housed in an artificial barnyard setting. In each of four replicates, individuals from a single species were infected with the virus. Quail shed virus orally and were a source of infection for both chickens and ducks. Infected chickens transmitted the virus to quail but not to ducks or …


To Live And Fly In La: Using Bird Strike And Management Program Information To Improve Safety At Airports In The Los Angeles Basin, Todd J. Pitlik, Elizabeth Hermann, Eric Peralta, Brian E. Washburn Jan 2018

To Live And Fly In La: Using Bird Strike And Management Program Information To Improve Safety At Airports In The Los Angeles Basin, Todd J. Pitlik, Elizabeth Hermann, Eric Peralta, Brian E. Washburn

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife-aircraft collisions (wildlife strikes) pose a serious safety risk to aircraft. Wildlife strikes can be evaluated at different levels, include efforts to examine these problems at the national, regional, or state level, or for an individual airport. Similarly, wildlife strikes involving individual wildlife species or guilds can be examined at varying scales. Although wildlife strike analyses at the national, regional, or species/guild level are valuable, airport-specific analyses are essential for the effective implementation and evaluation of integrated wildlife damage management programs as these actions are conducted at the airport level. The species that present hazards to safe aircraft operations varies …


Crop Diversification Leads To Diverse Bird Problems In Hawaiian Agriculture, Marni E. Koopman, William C. Pitt Sep 2007

Crop Diversification Leads To Diverse Bird Problems In Hawaiian Agriculture, Marni E. Koopman, William C. Pitt

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Over the last 20 years, Hawaii’s agriculture has shifted from a focus on sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) and pineapples (Ananas comosus) produced on large farms to a diverse array of products produced on a multitude of smaller farms. This dramatic shift in production, in addition to the introduction of many new avian species, has resulted in a concomitant change in the problems faced by agriculture. We surveyed farmers to determine the extent of bird damage to crops, the species responsible, the crops most vulnerable, and control methods employed. Bird problems varied by island, but cardinals ( …


A Review Of Shiga Toxin Escherichia Coli And Salmonella Enterica In Cattle And Free-Ranging Birds: Potential Association And Epidemiological Links, Kerri Pedersen, Larry Clark Mar 2007

A Review Of Shiga Toxin Escherichia Coli And Salmonella Enterica In Cattle And Free-Ranging Birds: Potential Association And Epidemiological Links, Kerri Pedersen, Larry Clark

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Cattle are the main reservoir for human infection by pathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonello enterico. To prevent entry of these foodborne pathogens into the human food chain, management factors at the farm level must be identified and controlled. External sources of contamination, such as birds, should be considered as potential sources of transmission over long distances. In this review, we focus on the epidemiology of infection by E. coli and S. enterica and the consequences of birds acting as disseminators of these pathogens at dairy farms in terms of cattle health and the subsequent effects on human health.


Invasive Predators: A Synthesis Of The Past, Present, And Future, William C. Pitt, Gary W. Witmer Feb 2007

Invasive Predators: A Synthesis Of The Past, Present, And Future, William C. Pitt, Gary W. Witmer

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive predators have had devastating effects on species around the world and their effects are increasing. Successful invasive predators typically have a high reproductive rate, short generation times, a generalized diet, and are small or secretive. However, the probability of a successful invasion is also dependent on the qualities of the ecosystem invaded. Ecosystems with a limited assemblage of native species are the most susceptible to invasion provided that habitat and climate are favorable. In addition, the number of invasion opportunities for a species increases the likelihood that the species will successfully establish. The list of routes of entry or …


Use Of Alpha-Chloralose By Usda Wildlife Services To Immobilize Birds, Jeanette R. O'Hare, John D. Eisemann, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Lawanna L. Koch, Thomas W. Seamans Jan 2007

Use Of Alpha-Chloralose By Usda Wildlife Services To Immobilize Birds, Jeanette R. O'Hare, John D. Eisemann, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Lawanna L. Koch, Thomas W. Seamans

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In 1992, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened an Investigational New Animal Drug (INAD) file for the avian immobilizing agent, alpha-chloralose (AC) for the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Currently, this INAD authorizes trained Wildlife Services (WS) personnel to use AC to immobilize and live-capture nuisance waterfowl (Anatidae spp.), American coots (Fulica americana), pigeons (Columba livia), common ravens (Corvus corax) and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis). The use of AC has proven to be a valuable tool for WS and the number …


Invasive Predators: A Synthesis Of The Past, Present, And Future, William C. Pitt, Gary W. Witmer Jul 2006

Invasive Predators: A Synthesis Of The Past, Present, And Future, William C. Pitt, Gary W. Witmer

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive predators have had devastating effects on species around the world and their effects are increasing. Successful invasive predators typically have a high reproductive rate, short generation times, a generalized diet, and are small or secretive. However, the probability of a successful invasion is also dependent on the qualities of the ecosystem invaded. Ecosystems with a limited assemblage of native species are the most susceptible to invasion provided that habitat and climate are favorable. In addition, the number of invasion opportunities for a species increases the likelihood that the species will successfully establish. The list of routes of entry or …


Influence Of The Number Of Repellent-Treated And Untreated Food Or Water Containers On Intake By The European Starling, Arla G. Hile, Michael G. Tordoff Feb 2005

Influence Of The Number Of Repellent-Treated And Untreated Food Or Water Containers On Intake By The European Starling, Arla G. Hile, Michael G. Tordoff

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The availability of multiple sources of food and drink has a profound influence on choice behavior in rodents. It is not known how other taxa might respond to the same kind of variation in availability. We tested European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) with various combinations of unadulterated and repellent-treated (0.025% citronellyl acetate) resources. In Experiment 1, birds drank more plain than repellent-treated water than when given (a) 2 bottles of plain water and 2 of repellent-water, or (b) 3 bottles of plain water and 1 of repellent-water. However, they drank more repellent than water when given 3 bottles of repellent-water and …


West Nile Virus And Wildlife, Peter P. Marra, Sean Griffing, Carolee Caffrey, A. Marm Kilpatrick, Robert Mclean, Christopher Brand, Emi Saito, Alan P. Dupuis, Laura Kramer, Robert Novak May 2004

West Nile Virus And Wildlife, Peter P. Marra, Sean Griffing, Carolee Caffrey, A. Marm Kilpatrick, Robert Mclean, Christopher Brand, Emi Saito, Alan P. Dupuis, Laura Kramer, Robert Novak

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

West Nile virus (WNV) has spread rapidly across North America, resulting in human deaths and in the deaths of untold numbers of birds, mammals, and reptiles. The virus has reached Central America and the Caribbean and may spread to Hawaii and South America. Although tens of thousands of birds have died, and studies of some bird species show local declines, few region-wide declines can be attributed to WNV. Predicting future impacts of WNV on wildlife, and pinpointing what drives epidemics, will require substantial additional research into host susceptibility, reservoir competency, and linkages between climate, mosquitoes, and disease. Such work will …


Bird Depredations In Uruguayan Vineyards, Ethel N. Rodriguez, Guadalupe Tiscornia, Mark E. Tobin Feb 2004

Bird Depredations In Uruguayan Vineyards, Ethel N. Rodriguez, Guadalupe Tiscornia, Mark E. Tobin

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Many species of birds in Uruguay frequent vineyards and damage grapes, both species that are considered crop pests and species that are protected by law because their conservation and protection are desirable. We surveyed 70 farmers in the Department of Canalones, the main grape growing region in Uruguay, to determine their perceptions about the nature and severity of bud depredations and the methods being employed to reduce such damage. Sixty-seven percent of respondents reported receiving damage from birds. Bird depredations were considered a serious problem by 58% of respondents, a moderate problem by 19% of respondents, and a minor problem …


Reducing Blackbird-Human Conflicts In Agriculture And Feedlots: New Methods For An Integrated Management Approach, George M. Linz, H. Jeffrey Homan, Linda B. Penry, Philip Mastrangelo Nov 2003

Reducing Blackbird-Human Conflicts In Agriculture And Feedlots: New Methods For An Integrated Management Approach, George M. Linz, H. Jeffrey Homan, Linda B. Penry, Philip Mastrangelo

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In the United States, blackbirds are abundant and widely distributed. with their winter populations estimated to be between 500 million and 1 billion. Annual damage to grain, fruit, and berry crops from blackbirds exceeds $100 million in direct costs. Additional costs, not estimated, include those spent to prevent human health and safety hazards and those from damage abatement efforts. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services (WS) is charged with reducing the magnitude of health. safety, nuisance, agriculture, and feedlot/dairy problems caused by these birds. WS' goal is to improve profitability to agricultural producers, enhance the human health and safety, …


Birds Associated With Blackbird Spring Feeding Sites In South Dakota, George M. Linz, David L. Bergman, William J. Bleier Jan 1995

Birds Associated With Blackbird Spring Feeding Sites In South Dakota, George M. Linz, David L. Bergman, William J. Bleier

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

From 2 to 16 April 1993, we conducted road-side surveys of birds using harvested fields of small grains, soybeans, and wm within 8 km of two blackbird roosts in east central South Dakota. Blackbirds, waterfowl, killdeer, homed larks, ring-necked pheasants, and western meadowlarks were the most common buds recorded. The frequencies of blackbirds, non-game birds, terrestrial game birds, and waterfowl was not equally distributed within the three habitats (P = 0.U.23).