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United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

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American Robins (Turdus Migratorius) And Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla Cedrorum) Vary In Use Of Cultivated Cherry Orchards, Rachael A. Eaton, Catherine A. Lindell, Jeffrey Homan, George M. Linz, Brian A. Maurer Jan 2016

American Robins (Turdus Migratorius) And Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla Cedrorum) Vary In Use Of Cultivated Cherry Orchards, Rachael A. Eaton, Catherine A. Lindell, Jeffrey Homan, George M. Linz, Brian A. Maurer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Some fruit-eating bird species commonly consume cultivated fruit. Species-specific variation in diet preferences could result in varying use of orchards and impacts on the fruit-producing industry. However, species specific studies of avian orchard use are lacking, particularly throughout the fruit-growing season. Our objectives were to quantify the frequency of daily bird visits to orchards and the amount of time birds spent visiting orchards each day over the fruit-ripening season. Birds are well-documented consumers of cultivated sweet cherries (Prunus avium), which are relatively high in sugar and low in proteins and lipids. American Robins (Turdus migratorius) and …


Disease-Emergence Dynamics And Control In A Socially-Structured Wildlife Species, Kim M. Pepin, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2016

Disease-Emergence Dynamics And Control In A Socially-Structured Wildlife Species, Kim M. Pepin, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Once a pathogen is introduced in a population, key factors governing rate of spread include contact structure, supply of susceptible individuals and pathogen life-history. We examined the interplay of these factors on emergence dynamics and efficacy of disease prevention and response. We contrasted transmission dynamics of livestock viruses with different life-histories in hypothetical populations of feral swine with different contact structures (homogenous, metapopulation, spatial and network). Persistence probability was near 0 for the FMDV-like case under a wide range of parameter values and contact structures, while persistence was probable for the CSFV-like case. There were no sets of conditions where …


Limited Transmission Of Emergent H7n9 Influenza A Virus In A Simulated Live Animal Market: Do Chickens Pose The Principal Transmission Threat?, Angela Bosco-Lauth, Richard A. Bowen, J. Jeffrey Root Jan 2016

Limited Transmission Of Emergent H7n9 Influenza A Virus In A Simulated Live Animal Market: Do Chickens Pose The Principal Transmission Threat?, Angela Bosco-Lauth, Richard A. Bowen, J. Jeffrey Root

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Emergent H7N9 influenza A virus has caused multiple public health and financial hardships. While some epidemiological studies have recognized infected chickens as an important bridge for human infections, the generality of this observation, the minimum infectious dose, and the shedding potential of chickens have received conflicting results. We experimentally tested the ability of domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) to transmit H7N9 to co-housed chickens and to several other animal species in an experimental live animal market. Results indicated that an infected chicken failed to initiate viral shedding of H7N9 to naIve co-housed chickens. The infected chicken did, however, …


High Rates Of Detection Of Clade 2.3.4.4 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses In Wild Birds In The Pacific Northwest During The Winter Of 2014–15, Hon S. Ip, Robert J. Dusek, Barbara Bodenstein, Mia Kim Torchetti, Paul Debruyn, Kristin Mansfield, Thomas J. Deliberto, Jonathan M. Sleeman Jan 2016

High Rates Of Detection Of Clade 2.3.4.4 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses In Wild Birds In The Pacific Northwest During The Winter Of 2014–15, Hon S. Ip, Robert J. Dusek, Barbara Bodenstein, Mia Kim Torchetti, Paul Debruyn, Kristin Mansfield, Thomas J. Deliberto, Jonathan M. Sleeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

SUMMARY. In 2014, clade 2.3.4.4 H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses spread across the Republic of Korea and ultimately were reported in China, Japan, Russia, and Europe. Mortality associated with a reassortant HPAI H5N2 virus was detected in poultry farms in western Canada at the end of November. The same strain (with identical genetic structure) was then detected in free-living wild birds that had died prior to December 8, 2014, of unrelated causes in Whatcom County, Washington, U. S. A., in an area contiguous with the index Canadian location. A gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) that had hunted and …


Outbreak Of H7n8 Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza In Commercial Turkeys With Spontaneous Mutation To Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, Mary Lea Killian, Mia Kim Torchetti, Nichole Hines, Sam Yingst, Thomas J. Deliberto, Dong-Hun Lee Jan 2016

Outbreak Of H7n8 Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza In Commercial Turkeys With Spontaneous Mutation To Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, Mary Lea Killian, Mia Kim Torchetti, Nichole Hines, Sam Yingst, Thomas J. Deliberto, Dong-Hun Lee

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H7N8 was detected in commercial turkeys in January 2016. Control zone surveillance discovered a progenitor low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) virus in surrounding turkey flocks. Data analysis supports a single LPAI virus introduction followed by spontaneous mutation to HPAI on a single premises.


Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses And Generation Of Novel Reassortants, United States, 2014–2015, Dong-Hun Lee, Justin Bahl, Mia Kim Torchetti, Mary Lea Killian, Hon S. Ip, Thomas J. Deliberto, David E. Swayne Jan 2016

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses And Generation Of Novel Reassortants, United States, 2014–2015, Dong-Hun Lee, Justin Bahl, Mia Kim Torchetti, Mary Lea Killian, Hon S. Ip, Thomas J. Deliberto, David E. Swayne

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Asian highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) viruses spread into North America in 2014 during autumn bird migration. Complete genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 32 H5 viruses identified novel H5N1, H5N2, and H5N8 viruses that emerged in late 2014 through reassortment with North American low-pathogenicity avian influenza viruses.


A Noninvasive Method To Detect Mexican Wolves And Estimate Abundance, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Chip.A. Cariappa, Dyan J. Straughan, Melissa Neubaum, Margaret Dwire, Paul R. Krausman, Warren B. Ballard, David L. Bergman, Stewart W. Breck Jan 2016

A Noninvasive Method To Detect Mexican Wolves And Estimate Abundance, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Chip.A. Cariappa, Dyan J. Straughan, Melissa Neubaum, Margaret Dwire, Paul R. Krausman, Warren B. Ballard, David L. Bergman, Stewart W. Breck

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Monitoring wolf abundance is important for recovery efforts of Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in Arizona and New Mexico, USA. Although radiotelemetry has been a reliable method, collaring and tracking wolves in an expanding population will be prohibitively expensive and alternative methods to estimate abundance will become necessary. We applied 10 canid microsatellite loci to 235 Mexican wolf samples, 48 coyote (C. latrans) samples, and 14 domestic dog (C. lupus familiaris) samples to identify alleles that provide reliable separation of these species. We then evaluated an approach …


Ecosystem Services Provided By Avian Scavengers, Travis L. Devault, James C. Beasley, Zachary H. Olson, Marcos Moleón, Martina Carrete, Antoni Margalida, José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata Jan 2016

Ecosystem Services Provided By Avian Scavengers, Travis L. Devault, James C. Beasley, Zachary H. Olson, Marcos Moleón, Martina Carrete, Antoni Margalida, José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Food webs developed under classical theoretical models often depict simplistic interactions among trophic levels linked by predation (Hairston et al. 1960). As a result, extensive research efforts have been devoted to studying predator-prey interactions, often ignoring the contribution of scavenging in food-web dynamics. However, recent advancements in food-web theory have recognized the widespread and critical role that scavenging plays in stabilizing food webs in ecosystems throughout the world, thus suggesting that previous models may have greatly underestimated the importance of scavenging in food web research ( Wilson and Wolkovich 2011; Barton et al. 2013). Such disregard for the importance of …


Evaluation Of A Food Bait Block For Potential Chemical Delivery To Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys Ludovicianus), Gary W. Witmer, Rachael S. Moulton, Jenna L. Swartz Jan 2016

Evaluation Of A Food Bait Block For Potential Chemical Delivery To Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys Ludovicianus), Gary W. Witmer, Rachael S. Moulton, Jenna L. Swartz

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Fertility control is a potential method to control prairie dog populations in the urban/suburban environment. However, an effective, oral delivery system is needed. We tested a food bait block delivery system that could make baits available to prairie dogs over a number of days which would make this method more cost-effective than placing food bait by hand near burrows every day. Prairie dogs readily consumed the bait blocks stacked on vertical metal poles during the day. We found, however, that rabbits and mice also consumed the food bait blocks, mainly at night. Over the course of the study, the mean …


Resource Selection By Cougars: Influence Of Behavioral State And Season, Linsey W. Blake, Eric M. Gese Jan 2016

Resource Selection By Cougars: Influence Of Behavioral State And Season, Linsey W. Blake, Eric M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

An understanding of how a predator uses the landscape can assist in developing management plans. We modeled resource selection by cougars (Puma concolor) during 2 behavioral states (moving and killing) and 2 seasons (summer and winter) with respect to landscape characteristics using locations from global positioning system (GPS)-collared cougars in the Pryor Mountains, Montana and Wyoming, USA. Furthermore, we examined predation-specific resource selection at 2 scales (fine and coarse). When possible, we backtracked from cache sites to kill sites and used a fine-scale analysis to examine landscape characteristics of confirmed kills. At this fine scale, kill sites had …


Proportions Of Bird Damage In Tree Fruits Are Higher In Low-Fruit-Abundance Contexts, Catherine A. Lindell, Karen M.M. Steensma, Paul D. Curtis, Jason R. Boulanger, Juliet E. Carroll, Colleen Burrows, David P. Lusch, Nikki L. Rothwell, Shayna L. Wieferich, Heidi M. Henrichs, Deanna K. Leigh, Rachael A. Eaton, George M. Linz Jan 2016

Proportions Of Bird Damage In Tree Fruits Are Higher In Low-Fruit-Abundance Contexts, Catherine A. Lindell, Karen M.M. Steensma, Paul D. Curtis, Jason R. Boulanger, Juliet E. Carroll, Colleen Burrows, David P. Lusch, Nikki L. Rothwell, Shayna L. Wieferich, Heidi M. Henrichs, Deanna K. Leigh, Rachael A. Eaton, George M. Linz

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Frugivorous birds impose significant costs on tree fruit growers through direct consumption of fruit and grower efforts to manage birds.We documented factors that influenced tree fruit bird damage from 2012 through 2014 with a coordinated field study in Michigan, New York, and Washington. For sweet cherries, percent bird damage was higher in 2012 compared to 2013 and 2014, in Michigan and New York compared toWashington, and in blocks with more edges adjacent to non-sweet cherry land-cover types. These patterns appeared to be associated with fruit abundance patterns; 2012 was a particularly lowyield year for tree fruits in Michigan and New …


Identification Of Robust Microsatellite Markers For Wild Pig Fecal Dna, Elizabeth M. Kierepka, Shem D. Unger, David A. Keiter, James C. Beasley, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Fred L. Cunningham, Antoinette J. Piaggio Jan 2016

Identification Of Robust Microsatellite Markers For Wild Pig Fecal Dna, Elizabeth M. Kierepka, Shem D. Unger, David A. Keiter, James C. Beasley, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Fred L. Cunningham, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Collection of fecal samples for use in a genetic capture-mark-recapture framework has become popular as a noninvasive method of monitoring wildlife populations. A major caveat to this process, however, is that fecal samples often yield low quality DNA that is prone to genotyping errors, potentially leading to biases in population parameter estimation. Therefore, considerable care is required to identify robust genetic markers, especially in hot or humid conditions that may accelerate DNA degradation. We identified microsatellite loci in wild pig (Sus scrofa) fecal samples that were robust and informative within warm, humid ecosystems. To examine how degradation affected …


Feral Swine Damage To Globally Imperiled Wetland Plant Communities In A Significant Biodiversity Hotspot In Florida, Richard M. Engeman, Steve L. Orzell, Rodney K. Felix, Eric A. Tillman, Gary Killian, Michael L. Avery Jan 2016

Feral Swine Damage To Globally Imperiled Wetland Plant Communities In A Significant Biodiversity Hotspot In Florida, Richard M. Engeman, Steve L. Orzell, Rodney K. Felix, Eric A. Tillman, Gary Killian, Michael L. Avery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We studied rooting damage during five-years of feral swine control at Avon Park Air Force Range, a significant botanical biodiversity hotspot in peninsular Florida with many globally imperiled plant species and communities. While control reduced swine abundance, remaining animals consistently rooted the 49 studied sites in both middle-dry season (MDS) and late-dry season (LDS) each year. At each study site, we measured rooting with sub-meter accuracy. Neither total nor proportional area rooted differed in either season, across study years, or among plant community types: herbaceous seepage slopes, wet pine savannas, wet grasslands. The proportion of sites with damage during MDS …


Olfactory Attractants And Parity Affect Prenatal Androgens And Territoriality Of Coyote Breeding Pairs, Christopher J. Schell, Julie K. Young, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Jill M. Mateo, Rachel M. Santymire Jan 2016

Olfactory Attractants And Parity Affect Prenatal Androgens And Territoriality Of Coyote Breeding Pairs, Christopher J. Schell, Julie K. Young, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Jill M. Mateo, Rachel M. Santymire

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Hormones are fundamental mediators of personality traits intimately linked with reproductive success. Hence, alterations to endocrine factors may dramatically affect individual behavior that has subsequent fitness consequences. Yet it is unclear how hormonal or behavioral traits change with environmental stressors or over multiple reproductive opportunities, particularly for biparental fauna. To simulate an environmental stressor, we exposed captive coyote (Canis latrans) pairs to novel coyote odor attractants (i.e. commercial scent lures) midgestation to influence territorial behaviors, fecal glucocorticoid (FGMs) and fecal androgen metabolites (FAMs). In addition, we observed coyote pairs as first-time and experienced breeders to assess the influence …


Evaluation Of Boldness Assays And Associated Behavioral Measures In A Social Parrot, Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta Monachus), Kaan Kerman, Kathryn E. Sieving, Colette S. Mary, Michael L. Avery Jan 2016

Evaluation Of Boldness Assays And Associated Behavioral Measures In A Social Parrot, Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta Monachus), Kaan Kerman, Kathryn E. Sieving, Colette S. Mary, Michael L. Avery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Boldness reflects consistent individual differences in risk-taking behavior across various contexts. However, evaluating this basic assumption has largely been neglected in birds. In a captive monk parakeet population (Myiopsitta monachus; N = 33), we undertook an analysis of 7 measures across 3 commonly used boldness assays (i.e., novel object, emergence, and predator-exposure tests). Using principal component analysis, we derived 3 components (PCs). PC-2 loaded strongly with measures from emergence and predator-exposure tests; we interpreted it as the closest approximation of boldness. PC-1 and PC-3 described different aspects of feeding such as foraging activity and rate, respectively. Finally, we …


Winter And Summer Home Ranges Of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos) Captured At Loafing Sites In The Southeastern United States, D. Tommy King, Justin W. Fischer, Bronson Strickland, W. David Walter, Fred L. Cunningham, Guiming Wang Jan 2016

Winter And Summer Home Ranges Of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos) Captured At Loafing Sites In The Southeastern United States, D. Tommy King, Justin W. Fischer, Bronson Strickland, W. David Walter, Fred L. Cunningham, Guiming Wang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Satellite telemetry was used to investigate summer and winter home ranges for resident and migrant American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) captured in the southeastern United States between 2002 and 2007. Home range utilization distributions were calculated using 50% and 95% kernel density estimators with the plug-in bandwidth selector. Mean summer home ranges (95%) varied from 177 to 4,710 km2 and mean winter home ranges (95%) ranged from 185 to 916 km2. Mean 50% and 95% home ranges of adult American White Pelicans during summer tended to be larger than those during winter, whereas mean 50% and 95% home …


Environmental Factors Influencing The Occurrence Of Coyotes And Conflicts In Urban Areas, Sharon A. Poessel, Eric M. Gese, Julie K. Young Jan 2016

Environmental Factors Influencing The Occurrence Of Coyotes And Conflicts In Urban Areas, Sharon A. Poessel, Eric M. Gese, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The increase of global urbanization can have effects on wildlife species, including carnivores such as coyotes (Canis latrans). As coyotes continue to settle in more urban areas, reports of human-coyote conflicts, such as attacks on humans or pets, may also increase. Understanding environmental variables that might influence whether or not coyotes and human-coyote conflicts will occur in certain urban areas may assist wildlife officials in creating management plans for urban wildlife.We conducted a survey of 105 urban areas in the United States requesting information on the occurrence of coyotes and human-coyote conflicts. We analyzed the responses with data …


Speed Kills: Effects Of Vehicle Speed On Avian Escape Behavior, Travis L. Devault, Bradley F. Blackwell, Thomas W. Seamans, Steven L. Lima, Esteban Fernández-Juricic Jan 2016

Speed Kills: Effects Of Vehicle Speed On Avian Escape Behavior, Travis L. Devault, Bradley F. Blackwell, Thomas W. Seamans, Steven L. Lima, Esteban Fernández-Juricic

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The avoidance of vehicles is a common challenge for birds in the modern world. Birds generally rely on antipredator behaviors to avoid vehicles, but modern vehicles are faster than predators. We predicted that birds may be unable to accurately estimate the speed of approaching vehicles, which could contribute to miscalculations in avoidance behaviors and cause collisions. We tested our prediction in two studies. In the first (DeVault et al. 2014), we baited turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) to roads with animal carcasses and measured flight initiation distance (FID) when driving a truck towards them at 30, 60, or 90 …


Morphometric Variation During Chick Development In Interior Double-Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax Auritus), Jennifer E. Chastant, Corey T. Callaghan, D. Tommy King Jan 2016

Morphometric Variation During Chick Development In Interior Double-Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax Auritus), Jennifer E. Chastant, Corey T. Callaghan, D. Tommy King

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In numerous avian species, egg size is correlated to female body condition, hatchling size and nestling growth. Recent demography studies of Interior Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) suggest a migratory divide across the Great Lakes; western populations winter in the Gulf of Mexico region of the southeastern United States (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) with extensive catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) aquaculture, and eastern populations winter in Florida, where catfish aquaculture is not pervasive. If Double-crested Cormorants have improved their overall body condition through catfish exploitation, then egg and chick sizes should also be affected. Three breeding areas in Ontario (east, central, and …


Role For Migratory Wild Birds In The Global Spread Of Avian Influenza H5n8 Jan 2016

Role For Migratory Wild Birds In The Global Spread Of Avian Influenza H5n8

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian influenza viruses affect both poultry production and public health. A subtype H5N8 (clade 2.3.4.4) virus, following an outbreak in poultry in South Korea in January 2014, rapidly spread worldwide in 2014–2015. Our analysis of H5N8 viral sequences, epidemiological investigations, waterfowl migration, and poultry trade showed that long-distance migratory birds can play a major role in the global spread of avian influenza viruses. Further, we found that the hemagglutinin of clade 2.3.4.4 virus was remarkably promiscuous, creating reassortants with multiple neuraminidase subtypes. Improving our understanding of the circumpolar circulation of avian influenza viruses in migratory waterfowl will help to provide …


Prioritizing Management And Research Actions Against Invasive Reptiles In Florida: A Collaboration By An Expert Panel, Richard M. Engeman, Michael L. Avery Jan 2016

Prioritizing Management And Research Actions Against Invasive Reptiles In Florida: A Collaboration By An Expert Panel, Richard M. Engeman, Michael L. Avery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Florida has more introduced animals than any other region of the U.S. and also ranks high in this respect globally. Given Florida's climate, it is no coincidence that a large proportion of Florida’s invasive vertebrate species are reptiles and amphibians. Exotic snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles, and crocodilians are all breeding in Florida. The largest snakes in Florida are constrictors from other continents, and the five largest lizard species breeding in Florida are from Africa, South America, and Central America. Establishment of non-native reptiles and amphibians has been documented in Florida for over 135 years, and the rate of invasive reptile …


Antigenic Characterization Of H3 Subtypes Of Avian Influenza A Viruses From North America, Elizabeth Bailey, Li-Ping Long, Nan Zhao, Jeffrey S. Hall, John A. Baroch, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Lucy Senter, Frederick L. Cunningham, G. Todd Pharr, Larry Hanson, Richard Slemons, Thomas J. Deliberto, Xiu-Feng Wan Jan 2016

Antigenic Characterization Of H3 Subtypes Of Avian Influenza A Viruses From North America, Elizabeth Bailey, Li-Ping Long, Nan Zhao, Jeffrey S. Hall, John A. Baroch, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Lucy Senter, Frederick L. Cunningham, G. Todd Pharr, Larry Hanson, Richard Slemons, Thomas J. Deliberto, Xiu-Feng Wan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Besides humans, H3 subtypes of influenza A viruses (IAVs) can infect various animal hosts, including avian, swine, equine, canine, and sea mammal species. These H3 viruses are both antigenically and genetically diverse. Here, we characterized the antigenic diversity of contemporary H3 avian IAVs recovered from migratory birds in North America. Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays were performed on 37 H3 isolates of avian IAVs recovered from 2007 to 2011 using generated reference chicken sera. These isolates were recovered from samples taken in the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific waterfowl migration flyways. Antisera to all the tested H3 isolates cross-reacted with each …


Effects Of Visual Obstruction, Prey Resources, And Satiety On Bird Use Of Simulated Airport Grasslands, Bradley F. Blackwell, Thomas W. Seamans, Kimberly Linnell, Lisa Kutschbach-Brohl, Travis L. Devault Jan 2016

Effects Of Visual Obstruction, Prey Resources, And Satiety On Bird Use Of Simulated Airport Grasslands, Bradley F. Blackwell, Thomas W. Seamans, Kimberly Linnell, Lisa Kutschbach-Brohl, Travis L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Grasslands represent 39%–50% of U.S. airport properties, and a recent management framework recommended exploiting both antipredator behaviours and food resources in airport grasslands to curb use by birds considered hazardous to aviation safety. We evaluated framework predictions empirically by exposing unsated and sated brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) to visually obstructive (∼13-cm vegetation height; tall), higher-risk plots versus unobstructive (height; short) plots, and relative to prey resources. We predicted that 1) unsated birds (unfed since the previous day) would be present in greater numbers and forage more in short than tall vegetation plots 24 h post-mowing because of invertebrate …


Widespread Detection Of Antibodies To Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile, St. Louis Encephalitis, And Turlock Viruses In Various Species Of Wild Birds From Across The United States, Kerri Pedersen, David R. Marks, Eryu Wang, Gillian Eastwood, Scott C. Weaver, Samuel M. Goldstein, David R. Sinnett, Thomas J. Deliberto Jan 2016

Widespread Detection Of Antibodies To Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile, St. Louis Encephalitis, And Turlock Viruses In Various Species Of Wild Birds From Across The United States, Kerri Pedersen, David R. Marks, Eryu Wang, Gillian Eastwood, Scott C. Weaver, Samuel M. Goldstein, David R. Sinnett, Thomas J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild birds serve as amplifying hosts for many arboviruses, and are thought to be responsible for introducing these viruses into new areas during migration as well as reintroducing them to places where winter temperatures disrupt mosquito-borne transmission. To learn more about four mosquito-borne arboviruses of concern to human or animal health, we tested sera from 997 wild birds of 54 species and 17 families across 44 states of the United States collected from January 1, 2013, through September 30, 2013. Samples were tested for antibody against eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, West Nile, and Turlock viruses using plaque reduction …


Weak Support For Disappearance And Restricted Emergence/Persistence Of Highly Pathogenic Influenza A In North American Waterfowl, Andrew M. Ramey, Erica Spackman, Mia Kim-Torchetti, Thomas J. Deliberto Jan 2016

Weak Support For Disappearance And Restricted Emergence/Persistence Of Highly Pathogenic Influenza A In North American Waterfowl, Andrew M. Ramey, Erica Spackman, Mia Kim-Torchetti, Thomas J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Krauss et al. (1) use lack of detection of highly pathogenic (HP) H5 clade 2.3.4.4 (henceforth “H5”) influenza A viruses (IAVs) from >22,000 wild bird samples collected in North America in 2014–2015 to argue that HP H5 IAVs disappeared from waterfowl and that unresolved mechanisms restrict emergence and perpetuation of HP IAVs in natural reservoir species. Here we offer an alternative interpretation.


Use Of Predator Hair To Enhance Perceived Risk To White-Tailed Deer In A Foraging Context, Thomas W. Seamans, Bradley F. Blackwell, Kimberly E. Linnell Jan 2016

Use Of Predator Hair To Enhance Perceived Risk To White-Tailed Deer In A Foraging Context, Thomas W. Seamans, Bradley F. Blackwell, Kimberly E. Linnell

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Deer react to predator scent in varying degrees even when exposed to unknown predators. This response could be genetically based and maintained as long as the population is exposed to predation. We tested whether predator scent in the form of hair would enhance perceived risk and serve as a foraging repellent to free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). During the winters of 2013 and 2014, we quantifi ed alert behaviors and consumption of whole-kernel corn in response to current (coyote [Canis latrans]) and extirpated (bobcat [Lynx rufus]; black bear [Ursus americanus]) predator species …


Repellent Application Strategy For Wild Rodents And Cottontail Rabbits, Scott J. Werner, Shelagh T. Deliberto, Roger A. Baldwin, Gary W. Witmer Jan 2016

Repellent Application Strategy For Wild Rodents And Cottontail Rabbits, Scott J. Werner, Shelagh T. Deliberto, Roger A. Baldwin, Gary W. Witmer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Effective chemical repellents and repellent application strategies are needed to manage damages caused by wild rodents and rabbits to agricultural resources. For the purpose of comparatively investigating the behavioral response of wild rodents and rabbits to a chemical repellent, we experimentally evaluated the concentration-response relationship of an anthraquinone-based repellent in California voles (Microtus californicus Peale), Richardson’s ground squirrels (Urocitellus richardsonii Sabine), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner) and cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus audubonii Baird) in captivity. We observed 52–56% feeding repellency for whole oats treated with 10,800ppm anthraquinone or 18,500ppmanthraquinone in mice and squirrels, and 84–85% repellency for …


Multi-Isotopic (Δ2H, Δ13C, Δ15N) Tracing Of Molt Origin For Red-Winged Blackbirds Associated With Agro-Ecosystems, Scott J. Werner, Keith A. Hobson, Steven L. Van Wilgenburg, Justin W. Fischer Jan 2016

Multi-Isotopic (Δ2H, Δ13C, Δ15N) Tracing Of Molt Origin For Red-Winged Blackbirds Associated With Agro-Ecosystems, Scott J. Werner, Keith A. Hobson, Steven L. Van Wilgenburg, Justin W. Fischer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We analyzed stable-hydrogen (δ2H), carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios in feathers to better understand the molt origin and food habits of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) near sunflower production in the Upper Midwest and rice production in the Mid-South of the United States. Outer primary feathers were used from 661 after-second-year (ASY) male blackbirds collected in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota (spring collection), and Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas (winter collection). The best-fit model indicated that the combination of feather δ2H, δ13C and δ …


Interpreting And Predicting The Spread Of Invasive Wild Pigs, Nathan P. Snow, Marta A. Jarzyna, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2016

Interpreting And Predicting The Spread Of Invasive Wild Pigs, Nathan P. Snow, Marta A. Jarzyna, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. The eruption of invasive wild pigs (IWPs) Sus scrofa throughout the world exemplifies the need to understand the influences of exotic and nonnative species expansions. In particular, the continental USA is precariously threatened by a rapid expansion of IWPs, and a better understanding of the rate and process of spread can inform strategies that will limit the expansion.

2. We developed a spatially and temporally dynamic model to examine three decades (1982– 2012) of IWP expansion, and predict the spread of IWPs throughout the continental USA, relative to where IWPs previously inhabited. We used the model to predict where …


Modifying M-44s To Reduce Risk Of Activation By Swift Fox, Julie K. Young Jan 2016

Modifying M-44s To Reduce Risk Of Activation By Swift Fox, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

M-44s are spring-powered sodium cyanide ejectors commonly used in the United States to manage livestock depredation by coyotes (Canis latrans). While highly selective for canids, improvements could reduce risk to nontarget canids, especially State-Endangered or -Threatened canids such as the swift fox (Vulpes velox). In 2012–2013, we tested M-44s set at modified heights to determine whether height modifications reduced risk to swift foxes without reducing activation rates by coyotes. We presented captive coyotes housed at the USDA National Wildlife Research Center’s Predator Research Facility, Millville, Utah, USA, with M-44s at various test heights to determine a …