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Social Structure Defines Spatial Transmission Of African Swine Fever In Wild Boar, Kim M. Pepin, Andrew J. Golnar, Tomasz Podgórski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The spatial spread of infectious disease is determined by spatial and social processes such as animal space use and family group structure. Yet, the impacts of social processes on spatial spread remain poorly understood and estimates of spatial transmission kernels (STKs) often exclude social structure. Understanding the impacts of social structure on STKs is important for obtaining robust inferences for policy decisions and optimizing response plans. We fit spatially explicit transmission models with different assumptions about contact structure to African swine fever virus surveillance data from eastern Poland from 2014 to 2015 and evaluated how social structure affected inference of …

Occurrence Of Mesocarnivores In Montane Sky Islands: How Spatial And Temporal Overlap Informs Rabies Management In A Regional Hotspot, Amanda M. Veals, John Koprowski, David L. Bergman, Kurt C. Vercauteren, David B. Wester

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Interspecific interactions among mesocarnivores can influence community dynamics and resource partitioning. Insights into these interactions can enhance understanding of local ecological processes that have impacts on pathogen transmission, such as the rabies lyssavirus. Host species ecology can provide an important baseline for disease management strategies especially in biologically diverse ecosystems and heterogeneous landscapes. We used a mesocarnivore guild native to the southwestern United States, a regional rabies hotspot, that are prone to rabies outbreaks as our study system. Gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), bobcats (Lynx rufus), and coyotes (Canis latrans) share large portions of their geographic ranges …

Sars-Cov-2 Exposure In Wild White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), Jeffrey C. Chandler, Sarah N. Bevins, Jeremy W. Ellis, Timothy J. Linder, Rachel M. Tell, Melinda Jenkins-Moore, J. Jeffrey Root, Julianna B. Lenoch, Suelee Robbe-Austerman, Thomas J. Deliberto, Tom Gidlewski, Mia Kim Torchetti, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Widespread human SARS-CoV-2 infections combined with human–wildlife interactions create the potential for reverse zoonosis from humans to wildlife. We targeted white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for serosurveillance based on evidence these deer have angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors with high affinity for SARS-CoV-2, are permissive to infection, exhibit sustained viral shedding, can transmit to conspecifics, exhibit social behavior, and can be abundant near urban centers. We evaluated 624 prepandemic and postpandemic serum samples from wild deer from four US states for SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Antibodies were detected in 152 samples (40%) from 2021 using a surrogate virus neutralization test. A subset of samples …

Molecular Identification Of Parasites In An Intestinal Coprolite From A Mummified Religious Dignitary Of The Piraino Mother Church Crypt, Sicily, Amanda Rollins, Krystiana Krupa, Georgia Millward, Dario Piombino-Mascali, Karl Reinhard, Frederika Kaestle

Karl Reinhard Publications

Intestinal contents were sampled from a spontaneously enhanced mummy from the Sepulcher of the Priests of the Piraino Mother Church in the Province of Messina, Sicily. This adult male mummy, Piraino 1, is an unidentified religious dignitary dating from the late-18th to mid-19th centuries. Immunological and molecular diagnostics were used to test for common and clinically significant parasites. A morphological diagnosis of Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) was confirmed genetically. A previously undetected Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) infection was also identified genetically. These data indicate that the Piraino 1 individual was simultaneously infected with multiple intestinal parasite species indicative of poor hygiene. This …

Serving Refugees In A Pandemic: Insights From Yazidis In The Midwest, Falah N. Rashoka M.S, Megan S. Kelley, Marc A. Garcia

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

There is a critical need for research to examine factors that hinder or facilitate access to healthcare in the context of COVID-19. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated barriers to healthcare for marginalized communities globally, leaving many without access to needed health services. Resettled refugees, in particular, must grapple with added challenges to locating and obtaining culturally appropriate healthcare services.

Recent focus groups shed light on the experiences of Yazidi refugees in the U.S. Midwest during COVID-19. Yazidis are a historically persecuted religious and ethnic minority group from northern Iraq (Kizilhan, 2017). Many Yazidis migrated to the U.S. on Special Immigrant …

Detection Of Two Dissimilar Chronic Wasting Disease Isolates In Two Captive Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Canadensis) Herds: Two Distinctive Chronic Wasting Disease Isolates Identified In Captive Elk, Tracy A. Nichols, Eric M. Nicholson, Yihui Liu, Wanyin Tao, Terry R. Spraker, Michael Lavelle, Justin W. Fischer, Qingzhong Kong, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) continues to spread in both wild and captive cervid herds in North America and has now been identified in wild reindeer and moose in Norway, Finland and Sweden. There is limited knowledge about the variety and characteristics of isolates or strains of CWD that exist in the landscape and their implications on wild and captive cervid herds. In this study, we evaluated brain samples from two captive elk herds that had differing prevalence, history and timelines of CWD incidence. Site 1 had a 16-year history of CWD with a consistently low prevalence between 5% and 10%. …

Environmental Dna For Conservation, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Biodiversity must be documented before it can be conserved. However, it may be difficult to document species with few individuals (Thompson, 2013; Goldberg et al., 2016), thus it requires a multitude of tools to detect species that occur in low numbers or are elusive (see the various chapters in this volume). One tool that has become useful for conservation efforts utilizes environmental DNA, which is DNA shed into the environment by organisms (eDNA; Taberlet et al., 2018). Typically this involves taking environmental samples such as soil, water, air, or using biological surrogates for sampling biodiversity (e.g. leeches, sponges, carrion flies, …

Allometric Regression Of Snake Body Length From Head Image Measurements, Shane R. Siers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

As in many fields of wildlife research and management, camera devices and photogrammetry have become an integral part of the toolkit for exploring otherwise‐unseen aspects of the biology, behavior, and control of the invasive brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) on Guam. Because brown treesnakes are cryptic and nocturnal, and nearly all aspects of their ecology are influenced by snake size, methods are needed to estimate snake size from images captured by infrared wildlife cameras. Unfortunately, it is difficult to capture images of an entire snake’s length at a controlled distance from a simple camera setup. Here, I describe the …

Increased Abundance Of The Common Raven Within The Ranges Of Greater And Gunnison Sage-Grouse: Influence Of Anthropogenic Subsidies And Fire, Jonathan B. Dinkins, Lindsey R. Perry, Jeffrey L. Beck, Jimmy D. Taylor

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The common raven (Corvus corax; raven) is native to North America and has increased in abundance, especially throughout western North America, during the last century. Human subsidies have facilitated raven dispersal into less suitable habitats and enabled these populations to maintain higher annual survival and reproduction. Concomitantly, overabundant raven populations are impacting other native at-risk species such as the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and potentially the Gunnison sage-grouse (C. minimus). Using Breeding Bird Survey data from 1995–2014, we evaluated raven count data to quantitatively describe changes in abundance and expansion into sagebrush ( …

A Novel Technique To Improve Capture Success Of Common Ravens, Lindsey R. Perry, Terrah M. Owens, Zachary T. Slick, Jimmy Taylor, Jonathan B. Dinkins

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Traditional trapping techniques for common ravens (Corvus corax; raven) require significant effort, often produce low capture rates, and cannot be used in some situations. We designed a 3-m noose pole to secure ravens from nocturnal roost locations while using a strobe spotlight to temporarily disorient them. We collected measures of trapping efficiency and contrasted them with padded leghold traps also used in the study. We effectively implemented our noose pole method in July and August of 2018, 2019, and 2020 in the Baker and Cow Lakes sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) Priority Areas of Conservation in eastern Oregon, USA, which yielded trapping …

Biodiversity Of The Coccidia (Apicomplexa: Conoidasida) In Vertebrates: What We Know, What We Do Not Know, And What Needs To Be Done, Donald W. Duszynski

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Over the last two decades my colleagues and I have assembled the literature on a good percentage of most of the coccidians (Conoidasida) known, to date, to parasitise: Amphibia, four major lineages of Reptilia (Amphisbaenia, Chelonia, Crocodylia, Serpentes), and seven major orders in the Mammalia (Carnivora, Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Insectivora, Marsupialia, Primates, Scandentia). These vertebrates, combined, comprise about 15,225 species; only about 899 (5.8%) of them have been surveyed for coccidia and 1,946 apicomplexan valid species names or other forms are recorded in the literature. Based on these compilations and other factors, I extrapolated that there yet may be an additional …

Vbms 403: Integrated Principles And Prevention Of Livestock Diseases, Christina L. Topliff

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio documents the teaching objectives, strategies, assessments, and changes implemented for VBMS 403: Integrated Principles and Prevention of Livestock Diseases, an Achievement-Centered Education (ACE) 10 Capstone course taught during the Spring Semester through the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Teaching methods and course activities included traditional lecturing with quizzes and examinations, in-class discussions, short reading assignments, and the generation of a scholarly term paper demonstrating broad knowledge, technical proficiency, information collection, synthesis, interpretation, and presentation. This portfolio documents the qualitative and quantitative methods used to assess the course learning objectives (goals). My …

Audit Of Waste Collected Over One Week From Superior Dental Health Of Lincoln, Bryclin Alstrom

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A waste audit of Superior Dental Health of Lincoln was conducted in order to propagate the implementation of sustainable waste management practices within the company. Differentiating between hazardous waste and solid waste is necessary for environmentally friendly waste management and ceasing the spread of infectious pathogens. The audit identified nine different materials contributing to the biomedical waste stream of the company. Of which, personal protective equipment (PPE) is of major concern due to the financial commitment necessary to acquire / dispose of these products, as well as the strain in supply due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The results of …

Precipitation Impact On Crop Yield, Ian Ritchie

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Climate change is a massive force impacting and changing many weather trends, including precipitation rates. This thesis will study the relationship between crop yield and changes in precipitation. Understanding crop yield is important in determining overall crop supply every year as well as crop prices. Many factors can have either a negative or a positive impact on crop yields. One of these many factors is precipitation. This thesis looks directly at the impacts of changes in precipitation on corn yield in Iowa from 1991-2020. To do this, a regression analysis was performed to compare changes in yearly precipitation rates for …

Core Commitments For Field Trials Of Gene Drive Organisms, Kanya C. Long, Luke Alphey, George J. Annas, Cinnamon S. Bloss, Karl J. Campbell, Jackson Champer, Chun-Hong Chen, Amit Choudhary, George M. Church, James P. Collins, Kimberly L. Cooper, Jason A. Delborne, Owain R. Edwards, Claudia I. Emerson, Kevin Esvelt, Sam Weiss Evans, Robert M. Friedman, Valentino M. Gantz, Fred Gould, Sarah Hartley, Elizabeth Heitman, Janet Hemingway, Hirotaka Kanuka, Jennifer Kuzma, James V. Lavery, Yoosook Lee, Marce Lorenzen, Jeantine E. Lunshof, John M. Marshall, Philipp W. Messer, Craig Montell, Kenneth A. Oye, Megan J. Palmer, Philippos Aris Papathanos, Prasad N. Paradkar, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jason L. Rasgon, Gordana Rašić, Larisa Rudenko, J. Royden Saah, Maxwell J. Scott, Jolene T. Sutton, Adam E, Vorsino, Omar S. Akbari

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We must ensure that trials are scientifically, politically, and socially robust, publicly accountable, and widely transparent.

Gene drive organisms (GDOs), whose genomes have been genetically engineered to spread a desired allele through a population, have the potential to transform the way societies address a wide range of daunting public health and environmental challenges. The development, testing, and release of GDOs, however, are complex and often controversial. A key challenge is to clarify the appropriate roles of developers and others actively engaged in work with GDOs in decision-making processes, and, in particular, how to establish partnerships with relevant authorities and other …

Correction: Moxley, R.A., Et Al. Intimate Attachment Of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 To Urinary Bladder Epithelium In The Gnotobiotic Piglet Model. Microorganisms 2020, 8, 263, Rodney A. Moxley, Tom W. Bargar, Stephen D. Kachman, Diane R. Baker, David Francis

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [1]: On page 2, the sentence that reads, “Hence, EHEC is a rare but established cause of HUS in children and adults.” should read, “Hence, EHEC is a rare but established cause of UTI-associated HUS in children and adults.” On page 4, the sentence that reads, “As noted previously, 14 of 126 (13.3%) piglets orally inoculated with EHEC O157:H7 strains developed mild to moderate purulent cystitis within 8 d PI [25] (Table 1).” should read, “As noted previously, 14 of 105 (13.3%) piglets orally inoculated with EHEC O157:H7 strains …

The Local Stability Of A Modified Multi-Strain Sir Model For Emerging Viral Strains, Miguel Fudolig, Reka Howard

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

We study a novel multi-strain SIR epidemic model with selective immunity by vaccination. A newer strain is made to emerge in the population when a preexisting strain has reached equilbrium. We assume that this newer strain does not exhibit cross-immunity with the original strain, hence those who are vaccinated and recovered from the original strain become susceptible to the newer strain. Recent events involving the COVID-19 virus shows that it is possible for a viral strain to emerge from a population at a time when the influenza virus, a well-known virus with a vaccine readily available, is active in a …

Harmful Algal Blooms Threaten The Health Of Peri-Urban Fisher Communities: A Case Study In Kisumu Bay, Lake Victoria, Kenya, Amber Roegner, Lewis Sitoki, Chelsea Weirich, Jessica Corman, Dickson Owage, Moses Umami, Ephraim Odada, Jared Miruka, Zachary Ogari, Woutrina Smith, Eliska Rejmankova, Todd R. Miller

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Available guidance to mitigate health risks from exposure to freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs) is largely derived from temperate ecosystems. Yet in tropical ecosystems, HABs can occur year-round, and resource-dependent populations face multiple routes of exposure to toxic components. Along Winam Gulf, Lake Victoria, Kenya, fisher communities rely on lake water contaminated with microcystins (MCs) from HABs. In these peri-urban communities near Kisumu, we tested hypotheses that MCs exceed exposure guidelines across seasons, and persistent HABs present a chronic risk to fisher communities through ingestion with minimal water treatment and frequent, direct contact. We tested source waters at eleven communities …

Six Years Of Shiny In Research: Collaborative Development Of Web Tools In R, Peter Kasprzak, Lachlan Mitchell, Olena Kravchuk, Andy Timmins

The R Journal

The use of Shiny in research publications is investigated over the six and a half years since the appearance of this popular web application framework for R, which has been utilised in many varied research areas. While it is demonstrated that the complexity of Shiny applications is limited by the background architecture, and real security concerns exist for novice app developers, the collaborative benefits are worth attention from the wider research community. Shiny simplifies the use of complex methodologies for people of different specialities, at the level of proficiency appropriate for the end user. This enables a diverse community of …

Shedding Of Marburg Virus In Naturally Infected Egyptian Rousette Bats, South Africa, 2017, Janusz T. Pawęska, Nadia Storm, Wanda Markotter, Nicholas Di Paola, Michael R. Wiley, Gustavo Palacios, Petrus Jansen Van Vuren

University of Nebraska's National Strategic Research Institute: Publications

We detected Marburg virus RNA in rectal swab samples from Egyptian rousette bats in South Africa in 2017. This finding signifies that fecal contamination of natural bat habitats is a potential source of infection for humans. Identified genetic sequences are closely related to Ravn virus, implying wider distribution of Marburg virus in Africa.

The genus Marburgvirus, family Filoviridae, comprises 1 species, Marburg marburgvirus, which comprises 2 marburgviruses, Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVV) (1). Marburgviruses cause sporadic but often fatal MARV disease in humans and nonhuman primates (2). The Egyptian rousette bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) …

Evolutionary Theory In Applied Problem-Solving, Lawrence C. Scharmann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Biology’s quest to be considered a mature science was initiated by Charles Darwin with the publication of On the Origin of Species2 in 1859. Naturalists quickly endorsed Darwin’s explanation for the relationships between similar species (i.e., common ancestry). Nonetheless, one of the arguments posed against evolution was that its supposed mechanism of action – namely natural selection – was considered conjecture at best since Darwin provided little in the way of evidence to support how natural selection might actually work. It was not until the 1930s when geneticists T.H. Morgan, Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ernst Mayr, and G. Gaylord Simpson noted that …

Assessment Of Grain Safety In Developing Nations, Jose R. Mendoza

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Grains are the most widely consumed foods worldwide, with maize (Zea mays) being frequently consumed in developing countries where it feeds approximately 900 million people under the poverty line of 2 USD per day. While grain handling practices are acceptable in most developed nations, many developing nations still face challenges such as inadequate field management, drying, and storage. Faulty grain handling along with unavoidably humid climates result in recurrent fungal growth and spoilage, which compromises both the end-quality and safety of the harvest. This becomes particularly problematic where there is little awareness about health risks associated with poor …

Validating A Common Tick Survey Method: Cloth‑Dragging And Line Transects, Pia L. Kjellander, Malin Aronsson, Ulrika A. Bergvall, Josep L. Carrasco, Madeleine Christensson, Per-Eric Lindgren, Mikael Åkesson, Petter Kjellander

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Cloth-dragging is the most widely-used method for collecting and counting ticks, but there are few studies of its reliability. By using cloth-dragging, we applied a replicated line transects survey method, in two areas in Sweden with different Ixodes ricinus tick-densities (low at Grimsö and high at Bogesund) to evaluate developmental stage specific repeatability, agreement and precision in estimates of tick abundance. ‘Repeatability’ was expressed as the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), ‘agreement’ with the Total Deviation Index (TDI) and ‘precision’ by the coefficient of variation (CV) for a given dragging distance. Repeatability (ICC) and agreement (TDI) were higher for the most …

Linking Mosquito Surveillance To Dengue Fever Through Bayesian Mechanistic Modeling, Clinton B. Leach, Jennifer A. Hoeting, Kim M. Pepin, Alvaro E. Eiras, Mevin B. Hooten, Colleen T. Webb

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Our ability to effectively prevent the transmission of the dengue virus through targeted control of its vector, Aedes aegypti, depends critically on our understanding of the link between mosquito abundance and human disease risk. Mosquito and clinical surveillance data are widely collected, but linking them requires a modeling framework that accounts for the complex non-linear mechanisms involved in transmission. Most critical are the bottleneck in transmission imposed by mosquito lifespan relative to the virus’ extrinsic incubation period, and the dynamics of human immunity. We developed a differential equation model of dengue transmission and embedded it in a Bayesian hierarchical …

Distribution Of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Pathogens In Potable Spring Water Of Eastern Indian Himalayas: Emphasis On Virulence Gene And Antibiotic Resistance Genes In Escherichia Coli, Ashish Kumar Singh, Saurav Das, Santosh Kumar, Varsha Rani Gajamer, Ishfaq Nabi Najar, Yanchen D. Lepcha, Hare Krishna Tiwari, Samer Singh

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Every year millions of people die due to fatal waterborne diseases around the world especially in developing countries like India. Sikkim, a northeastern state of India, greatly depends on natural water sources. About 80% of the population of Sikkim depends on natural spring water for domestic as well as agricultural use. Recent waterborne disease outbreaks in the state raises a concerning question on water quality. In this study, we analyzed water quality especially for the detection of Enterobacteriaceae members from four districts of the state. Isolation with selective culture media techniques and taxonomic characterization of Enterobacteriaceae bacteria with 16S rRNA …

Investigating Microbial And Host Factors That Modulate Severity Of Clostridioides Difficile Associated Disease, Armando Lerma

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Clostridioides difficile is recognized as one of the most important pathogens in hospital and community healthcare settings. The clinical outcome of infection of toxigenic C. difficile infection (CDI) ranges from asymptomatic colonization to fulminant pseudomembranous colitis and death. In recent studies, it has been suggested that a high proportion of nosocomial CDI cases are transmitted from asymptomatic carriers which might be acting as infection reservoirs. Understanding what causes the different responses to infection could lead to the development of novel prevention and treatment strategies. Although several explanations have been proposed to explain variations in susceptibility, understanding of the exact mechanisms …

Spotted Owls And Forest Fire: Comment, Gavin M. Jones, R. J. Gutiérrez, William M. Block, Peter C. Carlson, Emily J. Comfort, Samuel A. Cushman, Raymond J. Davis, Stephanie A. Eyes, Alan B. Franklin, Joseph L. Ganey, Shaula Hedwall, John J. Keane, Rodd Kelsey, Damon B, Lesmeister, Malcolm P. North, Susan L. Roberts, Jeremy T. Rockweit, Jamie S. Sanderlin, Sarah C. Sawyer, Ben Solvesky, Douglas J. Tempel, Ho Yi Wan, A. Leroy Westerling, Gary C. White, M. Zachariah Peery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Western North American forest ecosystems are experiencing rapid changes in disturbance regimes because of climate change and land use legacies (Littell et al. 2018). In many of these forests, the accumulation of surface and ladder fuels from a century of fire suppression, coupled with a warming and drying climate, has led to increases in the number of large fires (Westerling 2016) and the proportion of areas burning at higher severity (Safford and Stevens 2017, Singleton et al. 2018). While the annual area burned by fire is still below historical levels (Taylor et al. 2016), some forest types in the west …

One Out Of Ten: Low Sampling Efficiency Of Cloth Dragging Challenges Abundance Estimates Of Questing Ticks, Siiri Nyrhilä, Jani J. Sormunen, Satu Mäkelä, Ella Sippola, Eero J. Vesterinen, Tero Klemola

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) act as important vectors of zoonotic pathogens. For instance, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. spirochetes pose a severe health risk as aetiological agents of Lyme borreliosis. Commonly, to study the abundance of questing (host-seeking) ticks, a 1 m2 piece of cloth is dragged over vegetation for a determined distance. Here, we designed a tick-sampling study to estimate the sampling efficiency of this standard method. We established 10 m dragging transects in a hemiboreal mixed forest patch in SW Finland for a 5-day monitoring period. Five of the transects were cloth-dragged 3× a day, whereas another five transects were …

Loci Associated With Antibody Response In Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa) Infected With Brucella Suis, Courtney F. Pierce, Vienna R. Brown, Steven C. Olsen, Paola Boggiatto, Kerri Pedersen, Ryan S. Miller, Scott E. Speidel, Timothy J. Smyser

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are a destructive invasive species widespread throughout the United States that disrupt ecosystems, damage crops, and carry pathogens of concern for the health of domestic stock and humans including Brucella suis—the causative organism for swine brucellosis. In domestic swine, brucellosis results in reproductive failure due to abortions and infertility. Contact with infected feral swine poses spillover risks to domestic pigs as well as humans, companion animals, wildlife, and other livestock. Genetic factors influence the outcome of infectious diseases; therefore, genome wide association studies (GWAS) of differential immune responses among feral swine can provide …

Underground Diversity: Uropodina Mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) From European Badger (Meles Meles) Nests, Przemysław Kurek, Krzysztof Nowakowski, Tomasz Rutkowski, Agnieszka Ważna, Jan Cichocki, Michał Zacharyasiewicz, Jerzy Błoszyk

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Badgers can gather huge quantities of organic material to build their nests for winter time and to rear their cubs. Moreover, badger burrows (setts) are characterized by specific microclimate with quite stable temperature and humidity. Their fauna is poorly studied, especially in respect of saprobiontic Uropodina mites. In 2018–2019, we monitored 94 badger setts to search for nest material that had been thrown away during cleaning of the chambers after mating and winter sleep. In the collected material from 32 badger nests, we found 413 Uropodina mites of 16 species, in various stages of development (adults, protonymphs, and deutonymphs). The …