Digital Commons Network^™

Biology And Impacts Of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 5. Eleutherodactylus Coqui, The Coqui Frog (Anura: Leptodactylidae), Karen H. Beard, William C. Pitt, Emily A. Price

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The nocturnal, terrestrial frog Eleutherodactylus coqui, known as the Coqui, is endemic to Puerto Rico and was accidentally introduced to Hawai‘i via nursery plants in the late 1980s. Over the past two decades E. coqui has spread to the four main Hawaiian Islands, and a major campaign was launched to eliminate and control it. One of the primary reasons this frog has received attention is its loud mating call (85–90 dB at 0.5 m). Many homeowners do not want the frogs on their property, and their presence has influenced housing prices. In addition, E. coqui has indirectly impacted the …

Ecological Correlates Of Risk And Incidence Of West Nile Virus In The United States, Brian F. Allan, R. Brian Langerhans, Wade A. Ryberg, William J. Landesman, Nicholas W. Griffin, Rachael S. Katz, Brad J. Oberle, Michele R. Schutzenhofer, Kristina N. Smyth, Annabelle De St. Maurice, Larry Clark, Kevin R. Crooks, Daniel E. Hernandez, Robert G. Mclean, Richard S. Ostfeld, Jonathan M. Chase

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

West Nile virus, which was recently introduced to North America, is a mosquito-borne pathogen that infects a wide range of vertebrate hosts, including humans. Several species of birds appear to be the primary reservoir hosts, whereas other bird species, as well as other vertebrate species, can be infected but are less competent reservoirs. One hypothesis regarding the transmission dynamics of West Nile virus suggests that high bird diversity reduces West Nile virus transmission because mosquito blood-meals are distributed across a wide range of bird species, many of which have low reservoir competence. One mechanism by which this hypothesis can operate …

Historical Account Of The Two Family-Group Names In Use For The Single Accepted Family Comprising The "Fish Blood Flukes", Stephen A. Bullard, Kirsten Jensen, Robin M. Overstreet

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

The family-group name for the “fish blood flukes” is unstable, with both “Aporocotylidae Odhner, 1912” and “Sanguinicolidae von Graff, 1907” in use for the single family. Although “Sanguinicolidae von Graff, 1907” (or “Graff, 1907”) has been a widely-accepted family-group name for the fish blood flukes subsequent to Yamaguti'’s 1954 and 1958 synoptical publications (“Systema Helminthum”), a critical examination of the relevant literature, much of it published in German during 1900 through 1926, reveals that “Aporocotylidae Odhner, 1912” is the earliest available family-group name for these flukes. The name Aporocotylidae, moreover, was in wide usage by alpha taxonomists before …

Caecincola Longiscens N. Sp. (Digenea: Cryptogonimidae) From The White Crappie, Pomoxis Annularis, In Mississippi, U.S.A., Stephen S. Curran, Robin M. Overstreet

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

A new cryptogonimid trematode is described from the white crappie, Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque, 1818, collected from Lake Chotard, an oxbow lake directly connected to the Mississippi River in Issaquena County, and from a small ephemeral oxbow periodically connected with the Pascagoula River in Jackson County, both in Mississippi, U.S.A. Caecincola longiscens n. sp. is characterized by having an elongated body with a length to width ratio of 5.5-7.5:1, tandem testes, an elongated tubular seminal vesicle, and vitelline follicles confined to the hindbody.

Rhipidocotyle Tridecapapillata N. Sp. And Prosorhynchoides Potamoensis N. Sp. (Digenea: Bucephalidae) From Inland Fishes In Mississippi, U.S.A., Stephen S. Curran, Robin M. Overstreet

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Rhipidocotyle tridecapapillata n. sp. is described from the intestine of the white bass, Morone chrysops (Rafinesque, 1820), from the Luxapalila River in Lowndes County, Mississippi, U.S.A. The new species has 13 papillae that protrude laterally from the anterior rim of the dorsal lobe of the rhynchus, enabling easy differentiation from the only known freshwater North American congeners, Rhipidocotyle papillosa (Woodhead, 1929), which has 15 papillae, and Rhipidocotyle septpapillata Krull, 1934, which has 7 papillae. Prosorhynchoides potamoensis n. sp. is described from the pyloric ceca and intestine of the white crappie, Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque, 1818, from the Pascagoula River in Jackson …

Morphological Deformities As Biomarkers In Fish From Contaminated Rivers In Taiwan, Peter Lin Sun, William E. Hawkins, Robin M. Overstreet, Nancy J. Brown-Peterson

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) were collected seasonally from four contaminated rivers in southwestern Taiwan for studies of morphological deformities that could be used as biomarkers of contamination. Morphological deformities found in tilapia were separated into 15 categories. Overall, the prevalence of deformities such as split fins, lower lip extension and gill deformities were significantly related to various water quality parameters, including low DO and high ammonium, lead and zinc concentrations. The persistence of tilapia in polluted waters and the development of a suite of morphological deformities suggest that tilapia can be used as sentinels of non-point source pollution in rivers.

Testing A Passive Tracking Index For Monitoring The Endangered Ethiopian Wolf, Paul Paul Evangelista, Richard M. Engeman, Lucy Tallents

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The endangered Ethiopian wolf is considered the rarest canid in Africa. The species faces many threats and is particularly vulnerable to diseases such as rabies. A simple, low-technology means to monitor populations would greatly facilitate conservation efforts, through early detection of population changes and behavior, and signaling a need for intervention. We tested a passive tracking index methodology, which has been a valuable tool for indexing canids and other species around the world. The method uses counts of track intrusions into plots placed in the animals’ routes of travel as the basis for calculating an index. Unlike for other species, …

Field Test Of A Single-Injection Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Immunocontraceptive Vaccine In Female White-Tailed Deer, James P. Gionfriddo, John D. Eisemann, Kevin J. Sullivan, Ronald S. Healey, Lowell A. Miller, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Richard M. Engeman, Christi A. Yoder

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The development and use of safe, effective and practical wildlife contraceptive agents could reduce reproduction in locally overabundant deer populations in situations where traditional management tools such as regulated hunting cannot be employed. GonaCon Immunocontraceptive Vaccine (the commercial name for a particular gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-based emulsion) was tested in adult female white-tailed deer in a fenced herd near Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. Observations of udder condition were used to identify does that had become pregnant. Necropsy observations, histopathology and serum concentrations of anti-GnRH antibodies, luteinising hormone and progesterone were used to compare health and reproductive status of treated (n = …

Antibiotic Use In Animal Production: Environmental Concerns, Teshome H. Regassa, Richard K. Koelsch, Charles S. Wortmann, Richard F. Randle, Akwasi A. Abunyewa

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Introduction

Antibiotic1 use in animal production has led to improved feed use efficiency and increased growth rates. In turn, these resulted in reduced food production costs and reduced excrement of manure nutrients which may cause pollution problems.

On the other hand, antibiotic use leads to antibiotic resistance and a possible reduction in effectiveness of treatment options for both animals and humans. This publication addresses these issues.

Disease-causing microorganisms2, including bacteria,are the most diverse and numerous organisms on earth. Diverse in their habitat, environmental adaptation, and mechanisms of reproduction, they have short generations with high multiplication rates. Such characteristics help develop …

Observations On The Use Of Gonacon™ In Captive Female Elk (Cervus Elaphus), Gary Killian, Terry J. Kreeger, Jack Rhyan, Kathleen Fagerstone, Lowell Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Overabundant populations of elk (Cervus elaphus) are a significant concern in some areas of the western United States because of potential ecologic damage and spread of brucellosis to domestic livestock. Brucella abortus is transmitted among elk through direct contact with aborted fetuses, placentas and associated fluids, or postpartum discharge of infected animals. Because transmission of brucellosis is dependent on pregnancy, contraception of cows could be used for both disease and population management. The objective of this study was to evaluate the contraceptive efficacy of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine (GonaCon^TM) in female elk. In September 2004, cows …

Las Enfermedades Del Venado Cola Blanca En Norteamérica: Situación Actual Y Desafíos., Tyler A. Campbell

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Desde hace mucho tiempo, los administradores de vida silvestre han buscado conocer acerca de la ecología de las enfermedades y parásitos que afectan al venado cola blanca (Odocoileus virginianus ) (por ejemplo vea Whitlock 1939). Este es un importante campo de estudio porque las enfermedades y parásitos pueden afectar nocivamente las poblaciones de venados, otros animales silvestres, el ganado y humanos (Davidson et al. 1981).

El venado cola blanca ha recibido mucha atención en la literatura acerca de sus enfermedades y parásitos y tratados completos se han dedicado al tema (por ejemplo, vea Davidson et al. 1981). Los avances …

Feral Swine Contact With Domestic Swine: A Serologic Survey And Assessment Of Potential For Disease Transmission, A. Christy Wyckoff, Scott E. Henke, Tyler A. Campbell, David G. Hewitt, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are present in 38 of the 50 United States, and their populations continue to expand. Domestic swine are widely regarded as vulnerable to diseases harbored by feral swine. Our objectives were to determine antibody prevalence for selected pathogens in Texas feral swine populations and identify contact events between feral and domestic swine. Overall prevalence of antibodies against brucellosis and pseudorabies virus was 11% and 30%, respectively. Antibodies to porcine reproductive and respiratory disease virus were detected in 3% of feral swine from southern Texas. All samples tested negative for antibodies to classical swine fever …

Surveillance For Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza In Wild Birds In The Usa, Thomas J. Deliberto, Seth R. Swafford, Dale L. Nolte, Kerri Pedersen, Mark W. Lutman, Brandon S.. Schmit, John A. Baroch, Dennis J. Kohler, Alan B. Franklin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

As part of the USA’s National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, an Interagency Strategic Plan for the Early Detection of Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza in Wild Migratory Birds was developed and implemented. From 1 April 2006 through 31 March 2009, 261 946 samples from wild birds and 101 457 wild bird fecal samples were collected in the USA; no highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected. The United States Department of Agriculture, and state and tribal cooperators accounted for 213 115 (81%) of the wild bird samples collected; 31, 27, 21 and 21% of the samples were collected from the Atlantic, …

Escherichia Coli, Salmonella, And Mycobacterium Avium Subsp. Paratuberculosis In Wild European Starlings At A Kansas Cattle Feedlot, Shannon M. Gaukler, George M. Linz, Julie S. Sherwood, Neil W. Dyer, William J. Bleier, Yvonne M. Wannemuehler, Lisa K. Nolan, Catherine M. Logue

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The prevalence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolated from the feces of wild European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) humanely trapped at a feedlot in central Kansas was assessed. All E. coli and Salmonella isolates recovered were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System panels and the E. coli isolates were classified as to their content of genes associated with pathogenic E. coli of birds and cattle, including cvaC, iroN2, ompTp, hlyF2, eitC, iss, iutA, ireA, papC, stxI, stxII, sta, K99, F41, and eae. Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Mycobacterium avium …

Experimental Inoculation Of Coyotes With Mycobacterium Bovis Susceptibility And Shedding, Shylo R. Johnson, Mike R. Dunbar, Lorene Martinez, Robert L. Jones, Richard Bowen, Paul Gordy

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Several wildlife species have tested positive for bovine tuberculosis in Michigan and may potentially transmit the disease to other animals. Coyotes have the highest known prevalence in the endemic area and thus, our objective was to investigate the shedding of Mycobacterium bovis by coyotes. Four coyotes were orally inoculated with 1 ml of 1 x 10⁵ CFU/ml of M. bovis. Oral and nasal swabs, and feces were collected regularly and tested by culture. Fecal samples were also tested by exposing guinea pigs to the coyotes' feces. All animals were necropsied to determine if infection occurred. All swabs, feces …

Declining Mortality In American Crow (Corvus Brachyrhynchos) Following Natural West Nile Virus Infection, Lisa M. Reed, Michael A. Johansson, Nicholas Panella, Robert Mclean, Terry Creekmore, Rose Puelle, Nicholas Komar

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is known to suffer 100% mortality from infection with the New York 1999 strain of West Nile virus (WNV). Following the initial detection of WNV in North America in 1999, we measured prevalence of WNV-reactive antibodies (‘‘seroprevalence”) in free-ranging American and fish crows (Corvus ossifragus) of central New Jersey after each transmission season through 2005. In 2002, seroprevalence in American crow juveniles increased to 14% from the 5% of the previous year, potentially indicating increased survival in this species. Using the annual seroprevalence measurements and the number of human West Nile …

Experimental Infection Of Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon Pyrrhonota) With Varying Doses Of West Nile Virus, Paul T. Oesterle, Nicole M. Nemeth, Kaci K. Vandalen, Heather Sullivan, Kevin T. Bentler, Ginger R. Young, Robert G. Mclean, Larry Clark, Cynthia Smeraski, Jeffrey S. Hall

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) were inoculated with differing doses of West Nile virus (WNV) to evaluate their potential role as reservoir hosts in nature. Swallows often nest in large colonies in habitats and months associated with high mosquito abundance and early WNV transmission in North America. Additionally, cliff swallow diet consists of insects, including mosquitoes, leading to an additional potential route of WNV infection. The average peak viremia titer among infected cliff swallows was 10^6.3 plaque-forming units (PFU)/mL serum and the reservoir competence index was 0.34. There was no correlation between dose and probability of becoming infected …

Benefit Cost Scenarios Of Potential Oral Rabies Vaccination For Skunks In California, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Ray T. Sterner, Robert Hale, Michele T. Jay, Ben Sun, Dennis Slate

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Scenario-based analyses were computed for benefits and costs linked with hypothetical oral rabies vaccination (ORV) campaigns to contain or eliminate skunk-variant rabies in skunks (Mephitis mephitis) in California, USA. Scenario 1 assumed baiting eight zones (43,388 km² total) that comprised 73% of known skunk rabies locations in the state. Scenario 2 also assumed baiting these eight zones, but further assumed that added benefits would result from preventing the spread of skunk-variant rabies into Los Angeles County, USA. Scenarios assumed a fixed bait cost ($1.24 each) but varied campaigns (one, two and three annual ORV applications), densities of …

Options For The Control Of Disease 3: Targeting The Environment, Alastair Ward, Kurt C. Vercauteren, W. David Walter, Emmanuellle Gilot-Fromont, Sophie Rossi, Gareth Edwards- Jones, Mark S. Lambert, Michael R. Hutchings, Richard J. Delahay

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Management of wildlife disease can be targeted at pathogens, hosts or vector populations, but may also focus on the environment. As constituent elements of any given environment, resident wildlife populations, and their pathogens, may be profoundly influenced by environmental change, in terms of their abundance, distribution and behavior. Hence, it is reasonable to expect that incorporation of environmental manipulation into a program to control wildlife diseases may potentially result in outcomes as effective as direct intervention aimed at hosts, pathogens and vectors.

Worm-Web Search: A Content-Based Image Retrieval (Cbir) System For The Parasite Image Collection In The Harold W. Manter Laboratory Of Parasitology, University Of Nebraska State Mueum, Ramalingamurthy Meduri, Ashok Samal, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

We have developed a prototype web-accessible content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system that allows internet/web-based sharing of biological collections that contain large numbers of images of archived specimens. This system will enable both researchers and educators to access verified, high quality data on biological collections that are available in any museum with digitized holdings. The CBIR system that we are testing can play an important role in understanding global biodiversity because no knowledge of the specific names of specimens need be known before useful information can be extracted from such databases. Our CBIR framework allows users to search image collections using …

Effects Of Shielding Adenoviral Vectors With Polyethylene Glycol On Vector-Specific And Vaccine-Mediated Immune Responses, Eric A. Weaver, Michael A. Barry

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Many individuals have been previously exposed to human adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5). This prior immunity has long been known to hinder its use for gene therapy and as a gene-based vaccine. Given these immunogenicity problems, we have tested whether polyethylene glycol (PEG) can blunt immune effects against Ad5 during systemic and mucosal vaccination. Ad5 vectors were covalently modified with 5-, 20-, and 35-kDa linear PEG polymers and evaluated for their ability to produce immune responses against transgene antigen products and the vector itself. We show that shielding Ad5 with different-sized PEGs generally reduces transduction and primary antibody responses by the …

Ard News December 2008

Agricultural Research Division: News and Annual Reports

Contents:

Comments from the Dean Gary Cunningham
Undergraduate Honors Research Program
David H. and Annie E. Larrick/William G. Whitmore Funds, 2009
Mussehl Endowment
New or Revised Projects September and October 2008
Proposals Submitted for Federal Grants September and October 2008
Grants and Contracts Received for September and October 2008

Ecological Niche Of The 2003 West Nile Virus Epidemic In The Northern Great Plains Of The United States, Michael Wimberly, Michael B. Hildreth, Stephen P. Boyte, Erik Lindquist, Lon Kightlinger

United States Public Health Resources

Background: The incidence of West Nile virus (WNv) has remained high in the northern Great Plains compared to the rest of the United States. However, the reasons for the sustained high risk of WNv transmission in this region have not been determined. To assess the environmental drivers of WNv in the northern Great Plains, we analyzed the county-level spatial pattern of human cases during the 2003 epidemic across a seven-state region.
Methodology/Principal Findings: County-level data on WNv cases were examined using spatial cluster analysis, and were used to fit statistical models with weather, climate, and land use variables as predictors. …

Presentation Of The 2008 Asp Distinguished Service Award To William C. Campbell, Robin M. Overstreet

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Presentation of the 2008 American Society of Parasitologists Distinguished Service Award to William C. Campbell, Dana Fellow for scientists emeriti at Drew University.

A Fundamental Study Of The Pcr Amplification Of Gc-Rich Dna Templates, T. G. Mamedov, Elsje Pienaar, Scott E. Whitney, Joel R. Termaat, G. Carvill, R. Goliath, Anuradha Subramanian, Hendrik J. Viljoen

Hendrik J. Viljoen Publications

A theoretical analysis is presented with experimental confirmation to conclusively demonstrate the critical role that annealing plays in efficient PCR amplification of GC-rich templates. The analysis is focused on the annealing of primers at alternative binding sites (competitive annealing) and the main result is a quantitative expression of the efficiency (η) of annealing as a function of temperature (T_A), annealing period (t_A), and template composition. The optimal efficiency lies in a narrow region of T_A and t_A for GC-rich templates and a much broader region for normal GC templates. To confirm the …

Acceptance Of The Clark P. Read Mentor Award: Students, Opportunity, Serendipity, And W.B. Yeats: "Education Is Not The Filling Of A Pail; It Is The Lighting Of A Fire", Donald W. Duszynski

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Transcript of the speech given by Donald W. Duszynski, of the University of New Mexico, upon acceptance of the American Society of Parasitologists' Clark P. Read Mentor Award, 2008.

How Does A Riverine Setting Affect The Lifestyle Of Shellmound Builders In Brazil?, Sabine Eggers, C. C. Petronilho, K. Brandt, C. Jericó-Daminello, J. Filippini, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

The contact of inland and coastal prehistoric groups in Brazil is believed to have been restricted to regions with no geographical barrier, as is the case in the Ribeira de Iguape valley. The inland osteological collection from the riverine shellmound Moraes (5800–4500 BP) represents a unique opportunity to test this assumption for this region. Despite cultural similarities between riverine and coastal shellmounds, important ecological and site distribution differences are expected to impact on lifestyle. The purpose of this study is thus to document and interpret health and lifestyle indicators in Moraes in comparison to coastal shellmound groups. Specifically we test …

Antibody Responses Of Cervids (Cervus Elaphus) Following Experimental Mycobacterium Bovis Infection And The Implications For Immunodiagnosis, Noel P. Harrington, Om P. Surujballi, John F. Prescott, J. Robert Duncan, W. Ray Waters, Konstantin Lyashchenko, Rena Greenwald

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Captive and free-ranging wildlife animals are implicated in the maintenance and transmission of bovine tuberculosis and therefore pose a significant obstacle to eradication of the disease from domestic livestock. The current antemortem diagnostic method, the intradermal tuberculin skin test, is impractical for routine use with many wild animals. Antibody-based assays are particularly attractive because the animals are handled only once and immediate processing of the sample is not required. This report characterizes the antibody responses of red deer-elk hybrids (Cervus elaphus) against Mycobacterium bovis and subsequently evaluates the diagnostic performance of select antigens in a rapid-test format. Sequential …

Lifestyle Of Shellmound Builders In Brazil (Galley Proofs), Sabine Eggers, C. C. Petronilho, K. Brandt, J. Filippini, Karl J. Reinhard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The contact of inland and coastal prehistoric groups in Brazil is believed to have been restricted to regions with no geographical barrier, as is the case in the Ribeira de Iguape valley. The inland osteological collection from the riverine shellmound Moraes (5800–4500 BP) represents a unique opportunity to test this assumption for this region. Despite cultural similarities between riverine and coastal shellmounds, important ecological and site distribution differences are expected to impact on lifestyle. The purpose of this study is thus to document and interpret health and lifestyle indicators in Moraes in comparison to coastal shellmound groups. Specifically we test …

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, V. 30, No. 3, Fall 2008, Scott Lyell Gardner

American Society of Parasitologists: Newsletter

An issue of the American Society of Parasitologists' quarterly newsletter, also called the Journal of Parasitology Newsletter.