Digital Commons Network^™

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 = …

Evaluation Of Attractants To Improve Trapping Success Of Nutria On Louisiana Coastal Marsh, Susan Jojola, Gary W. Witmer, Patrick Burke

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Nutria (Myocastor coypus) are an important part of the Louisiana (USA) fur industry, but high densities of nutria cause extensive damage to coastal marsh ecosystems. Hence, there is a need to develop improved methods for targeted management of nutria. We screened 14 olfactory cues as potential lures for nutria, first in controlled settings and then in the field, to see if nutria capture rates using foothold traps would increase. In Y-maze trials, nutria most frequently selected olfactory cues of a synthetic formulation of nutria anal-gland secretion and nutria fur extract. We examined the 3 most selected attractants in …

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 …

Sperm Competition Selects Beyond Relative Testes Size In Birds, Stefan Lupold, George M. Linz, James W. Rivers, David F. Westneat, Tim R. Birkhead

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Sperm morphology varies considerably across taxa, and postcopulatory sexual selection is thought to be one of the main forces responsible for this diversity. Several studies have investigated the effects of the variation in sperm design on sperm function, but the consequences of variation in sperm design on testis morphology have been overlooked. Testes size or architecture may determine the size of the sperm they produce, and selection for longer sperm may require concomitant adaptations in the testes. Relative testes size differs greatly between species and is often used as an index of sperm competition, but little is known about whether …

Sperm Design And Variation In The New World Blackbirds (Icteridae), Stefan Lüpold, George M. Linz, Tim R. Birkhead

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Post-copulatory sexual selection (PCSS) is thought to be one of the evolutionary forces responsible for the rapid and divergent evolution of sperm design. However, whereas in some taxa particular sperm traits are positively associated with PCSS, in other taxa, these relationships are negative, and the causes of these different patterns across taxa are poorly understood. In a comparative study using New World blackbirds (Icteridae), we tested whether sperm design was influenced by the level of PCSS and found significant positive associations with the level of PCSS for all sperm components but head length. Additionally, whereas the absolute length of sperm …

White-Tailed Deer Herbivory And Timber Harvesting Rates: Implications For Regeneration Success, Brad F. Miller, Tyler A. Campbell, Benjamin R. Laseter, W. Mark Ford, Karl V. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Herbivory by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can affect forest regeneration. Typical measures to ensure forest regeneration have included physical barriers or direct manipulation of deer densities. However, altering silvicultural practices to provide abundant deer forage has not been tested thoroughly. We examined browse species preferences and changes in herbivory rates in 1–6 year old regeneration areas from 2001 to 2004 in the central Appalachians on the MeadWestvaco Wildlife and Ecosystem Research Forest in West Virginia. Woody vegetation reached the maximum plot coverage by the 4th growing season. However, the establishment of less abundant woody species, such as northern …

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 …

Invasive Litter, Not An Invasive Insectivore, Determines Invertebrate Communities In Hawaiian Forests, Nathania C. Tuttle, Karen H. Beard, William C. Pitt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In Hawaii, invasive plants have the ability to alter litter-based food chains because they often have litter traits that differ from native species. Additionally, abundant invasive predators, especially those representing new trophic levels, can reduce prey. The relative importance of these two processes on the litter invertebrate community in Hawaii is important, because they could affect the large number of endemic and endangered invertebrates. We determined the relative importance of litter resources, represented by leaf litter of two trees, an invasive nitrogen-fixer, Falcataria moluccana, and a native tree, Metrosideros polymorpha, and predation of an invasive terrestrial frog, Eleutherodactylus …

Feasibility Of Infectious Prion Digestion Using Mild Conditions And Commercial Subtilisin, John L. Pilona, Paul B. Nash, Terry Arver, Don Hoglund, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Two serine protease enzymes, subtilisin 309 and subtilisin 309-v,were used to digest brain homogenates containing high levels of prion infectivity using mildly alkaline conditions to investigate prion decontamination methods. To establish that PrP^res infectivity was eliminated, we utilized the Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) mouse-adapted scrapie model system for bioassay. Only one digestion condition (subtilisin 309 at 138mAU/ml, 55 ◦C and 14 h digestion time pH 7.9) was considered to be highly relevant statistically (P < 0.001) compared to control, with 52% of challenged mice surviving until the end of the study period. In contrast, treatment of PrP^res by autoclaving at 134 ◦C or treatment with hypochlorite at a concentration of 20,000ppm completely protected mice from prionosis. Further, in vitro assays suggest …

Eight Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci Developed And Characterized From Townsend’S Big-Eared Bat, Corynorhinus Townsendii, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Katie Erin G. Miller, Marjorie D. Matocq, Susan L. Perkins

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Two of the five subspecies of the western big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii, are listed as federally endangered with the remaining three being of conservation concern. Knowing the degree of connectivity among populations would aid in the establishment of sound conservation and management plans for this taxon. For this purpose, we have developed and characterized eight polymorphic microsatellite markers.

Intraspecific Comparison Of Population Structure, Genetic Diversity, And Dispersal Among Three Subspecies Of Townsend’S Big-Eared Bats, Corynorhinus Townsendii Townsendii, C. T. Pallescens, And The Endangered C. T. Birginianus, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Kirk W. Navo, Craig W. Stihler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Townsend’s big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii, is distributed broadly across western North America and in two isolated, endangered populations in central and eastern United States. There are five subspecies of C. townsendii; C. t. pallescens, C. t. australis, C. t. townsendii, C. t. ingens, and C. t. virginianus with varying degrees of concern over the conservation status of each. The aim of this study was to use mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA data to examine genetic diversity, population differentiation, and dispersal of three C. townsendii subspecies. C. t. virginianus is found in isolated populations in the eastern United States and …

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 …

Sedation And Disruption Of Maternal Motivation Underlie The Disruptive Effects Of Antipsychotic Treatment On Rat Maternal Behavior, Changjiu Zhao, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The behavioral mechanisms underlying antipsychotic-induced maternal behavior deficits were examined in the present study. Different groups of postpartum rats were treated with haloperidol (0.1 mg/kg), clozapine (10.0 mg/kg), chlordiazepoxide (5.0 mg/kg, an anxiolytic) or vehicle (0.9% saline) on Days 4 and 6 postpartum and their maternal behaviors were tested under either pup-separation (e.g. pups were removed from their mothers for 4 h before testing) or no-pup-separation condition. Maternal behavior and drug-induced sedation were further tested for 3 days from Day 8 to 12 postpartum. Results show that pup-separation, which putatively increases maternal motivation, did significantly shorten clozapine-elongated pup approach latency, …

Low-Level Lead Exposure And Contingency-Based Responding In Preschoolers: An Exploratory Study, Melanie Mcdiarmid Nelson, Kimberly A. Espy

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Two reversal paradigm tasks (spatial reversal and spatial reversal with irrelevant color cues) originally designed to assess contingency-based responding in primates were adapted for use with 139 preschool children with a mean peak blood lead level (BLL) of 4.2 μg/dl (SD = 2.2). Sixty-nine children with BLL ≥ 5 μg/dl and 70 children with BLL of < 5 μg/dl were included. Results indicated that preschool children with low-level lead exposure take longer to learn associations than preschool children with very low levels of lead exposure, and this difference cannot be attributed to increased distractibility or perseverative responding. These results support the use of these measures to assess specific cognitive functions in preschool children.

Central Pattern Generation Involved In Oral And Respiratory Control For Feeding In The Term Infant, Steven M. Barlow

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose of review—Drinking and eating are essential skills for survival and benefit from the coordination of several pattern generating networks and their musculoskeletal effectors to achieve safe swallows. Oral-pharyngo-esophageal motility develops during infancy and early childhood, and is influenced by various factors, including neuromuscular maturation, dietary and postural habits, arousal state, ongoing illnesses, congenital anomalies, and the effects of medical or surgical interventions. Gastroesophageal reflux is frequent in neonates and infants, and its role in neonatal morbidity including dysphagia, chronic lung disease, or apparent life-threatening events is not well understood. This review highlights recent studies aimed at understanding the development …

Oral And Respiratory Control For Preterm Feeding, Steven M. Barlow

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose of review—Feeding competency is a frequent and serious challenge to the neonatal intensive care unit survivors and to the physician–provider–parent teams. The urgency of effective assessment and intervention techniques is obviated to promote safe swallow, as attainment of oral feeding for the preterm infant/newborn is one of the prerequisites for hospital discharge. If left unresolved, feeding problems may persist into early childhood and may require management by pediatric gastroenterologists and feeding therapists. This review highlights studies aimed at understanding the motor control and development of nonnutritive and nutritive suck, swallow, and coordination with respiration in preterm populations.

Recent findings—Functional …

Nonparticipatory Stiffness In The Male Perioral Complex, Shin-Ying Chu, Steven M. Barlow, Jaehoon Lee

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose—The objective of this study was to extend previous published findings in the authors’ laboratory using a new automated technology to quantitatively characterize nonparticipatory perioral stiffness in healthy male adults.

Method—Quantitative measures of perioral stiffness were sampled during a nonparticipatory task using a computer-controlled linear motor servo programmed to impose a series of tensile displacements over a span of approximately 24 mm at the oral angle in 20 healthy young male adults. Perioral electromyograms were simultaneously sampled to confirm nonparticipation or passive muscle state. Perioral stiffness, derived as a quotient from resultant force (ΔF) and oral span (ΔX), was modeled …

Gestational Risks And Psychiatric Disorders Among Indigenous Adolescents, Les B. Whitbeck, Devan M. Crawford

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study reports on the effects maternal prenatal binge drinking, cigarette smoking, drug use, and pregnancy and birth complications on meeting criteria for psychiatric disorders at ages 10–12 and 13–15 years among 546 Indigenous adolescents from a single culture in the northern Midwest and Canada. Adolescent DSM-IV psychiatric disorders were assessed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Revised (DISC-R). Results indicate that maternal behaviors when pregnant have significant effects on adolescent psychiatric disorders even when controlling for age and gender of adolescent, family per capita income, living in a single mother household, and adolescent reports of mother’s positive parenting.

Harriet Martineau And Ireland, Brian Conway, Michael R. Hill

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The Victorian sociologist-novelist Harriet Martineau visited Ireland on two different occasions, first in 1832 and again, twenty years later, in 1852, just six years after the Great Famine of 1846, when the country was still very much visibly affected by that event. Her latter journey covered some 1,200 miles and encompassed all four provinces that make up the island of Ireland, north and south. Martineau was not the first foreign visitor to nineteenth century Ireland, of course, but she provided one of the few genuinely sociological interpretations during this time period. This chapter, then, examines Martineau's Irish writings and her …

Capturing And Handling Wild Animals, Sanford D. Schemnitz, Gordon R. Batcheller, Matthew J. Lovallo, H. Bryant White, Michael W. Fall

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The art of capturing wild animals for food and clothing is as old as human existence on earth. However, in today’s world, reasons for catching wild species are more diverse. Millions of wild animals are captured each year as part of damage and disease control programs, population regulation activities, wildlife management efforts, and research studies. Many aspects of animal capture, especially those associated with protected wildlife species, are highly regulated by both state and federal governmental agencies. Animal welfare concerns are important regardless of the reason for capture. In addition, efficiency (the rate at which a device or system catches …

Deer Responses To Repellent Stimuli, Bruce A. Kimball, Jimmy D. Taylor Ii, Kelly R. Perry, Christina Capelli

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Four repellents representing different modes of action (neophobia, irritation, conditioned aversion, and flavor modification) were tested with captive white-tailed deer in a series of two-choice tests. Two diets differing significantly in energy content were employed in choice tests so that incentive to consume repellent-treated diets varied according to which diet was treated. When the high energy diet was treated with repellents, only blood (flavor modification) and capsaicin (irritation) proved highly effective. Rapid habituation to the odor of meat and bone meal (neophobia) presented in a sachet limited its effectiveness as a repellent under conditions with a high feeding motivation. Thiram, …

Feasibility Of Infectious Prion Digestion Using Mild Conditions And Commercial Subtilisin, John L. Pilon, Paul B. Nash, Terry Arver, Don Hoglund, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Two serine protease enzymes, subtilisin 309 and subtilisin 309-v,were used to digest brain homogenates containing high levels of prion infectivity using mildly alkaline conditions to investigate prion decontamination methods. To establish that PrP^res infectivity was eliminated, we utilized the Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) mouse-adapted scrapie model system for bioassay. Only one digestion condition (subtilisin 309 at 138mAU/ml, 55^◦C and 14 h digestion time pH 7.9) was considered to be highly relevant statistically (P < 0.001) compared to control, with 52% of challenged mice surviving until the end of the study period. In contrast, treatment of PrP^res by autoclaving at 134^◦C or treatment with hypochlorite at a concentration of 20,000ppm completely protected mice from prionosis. Further, in …

Prevalence Of West Nile Virus In Migratory Birds During Spring And Fall Migration, Robert J. Dusek, Robert G. Mclean, Laura D. Kramer, Sonya R. Ubico, Alan P. Dupuis Ii, Gregory D. Ebel, Stephen C. Guptill

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

To investigate the role of migratory birds in the dissemination of West Nile virus (WNV), we measured the prevalence of infectious WNV and specific WNV neutralizing antibodies in birds, principally Passeriformes, during spring and fall migrations in the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways from 2001–2003. Blood samples were obtained from 13,403 birds, representing 133 species. Specific WNV neutralizing antibody was detected in 254 resident and migratory birds, representing 39 species, and was most commonly detected in northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis ) (9.8%, N = 762) and gray catbirds ( Dumetella carolinensis ) (3.2%, N = 3188). West Nile virus viremias …

Using Packrat Middens To Assess Grazing Effects On Vegetation Change, J. Fisher, Ken L. Cole, R.S. Anderson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Research on grazing effects usually compares the same sites through time or grazed and ungrazed sites over the same time period. Both approaches are complicated in arid environments where grazing can have a long undocumented history and landscapes can be spatially heterogenous. This work employs both approaches simultaneously by comparing grazed and ungrazed samples through both time and space using fossil plant macrofossils and pollen from packrat middens. A series of 27 middens, spanning from 995 yr BP to the present, were collected from Glen Canyon in southeastern Utah, USA. These middens detail vegetation change just prior to, and following, …

Reproductive Health Of Bass In The Potomac, Usa, Drainage: Part 1. Exploring The Effects Of Proximity To Wastewater Treatment Plant Discharge, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Vicki S. Blazer, Christopher P. Guy, Alfred E. Pinkney, John E. Mullican, David A. Alvarez

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Intersex (specifically, testicular oocytes) has been observed in male smallmouth bass (SMB; Micropterus dolomieu) and other centrarchids in the South Branch of the Potomac River, USA, and forks of the Shenandoah River, USA, during the past five years. This condition often is associated with exposure to estrogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals in some fish species, but such chemicals and their sources have yet to be identified in the Potomac. In an attempt to better understand the plausible causes of this condition, we investigated the reproductive health of bass sampled up- and downstream of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent point sources on …

A Comparison Of Complete Mitochondrial Genomes Of Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix And Bighead Carp Hypophthalmichthys Nobilis: Implications For Their Taxonomic Relationship And Phylogeny, S. F. Li, J. W. Xu, Q. L. Yang, C. H. Wang, Q. Chen, D. C. Chapman, Guoqing Lu

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Based upon morphological characters, Silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (or Aristichthys nobilis) have been classified into either the same genus or two distinct genera. Consequently, the taxonomic relationship of the two species at the generic level remains equivocal. This issue is addressed by sequencing complete mitochondrial genomes of H. molitrix and H. nobilis, comparing their mitogenome organization, structure and sequence similarity, and conducting a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of cyprinid species. As with other cyprinid fishes, the mitogenomes of the two species were structurally conserved, containing 37 genes including 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA …

Post-Clovis Survival Of American Mastodon In The Southern Great Lakes Region Of North America, Neal Woodman, Nancy Beavan Athfield

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The end of the Pleistocene in North America was marked by a wave of extinctions of large mammals, with the last known appearances of many species falling between ca. 11,000–10,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Temporally, this period overlaps with the Clovis Paleoindian cultural complex (11,190–10,530 ¹⁴C yr BP) and with sudden climatic changes that define the beginning of the Younger Dryas chronozone (ca. 11,000–10,000 ¹⁴C yr BP), both of which have been considered as potential proximal causes of this extinction event. Radiocarbon dating of enamel and filtered bone collagen from an extinct American Mastodon (Mammut americanum) …

Effects Of Level Of Supplemental Flax Oil On Ruminal Disapperance Of Soybean Meal, E. J. Scholljegerdes

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Reductions in forage intake can influence the extent of ruminal degradability of protein and supplemental fats can reduce forage intake. Therefore, the effects of supplemental flax oil on in situ disappearance of soybean meal was evaluated utilizing six ruminally cannulated beef cows (Initial BW = 639 ± 30.2 kg) grazing bromegrass pasture. Cows were given 287 g (DM basis) of soybean meal and randomly assigned to one of three treatments that were 0, 3, or 6% dietary flax oil. Supplements were dosed intraruminally at 0730 daily for 28 d. In order to confirm that the level of flax oil fed …

Ecotoxicology Studies With Sediment, Pore Water, And Surface Water From The Palmerton Zinc Site, John M. Besser, Bill Brumbaugh, Chris Ingersoll

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Zinc smelters operated in Palmerton, Carbon County, Pennsylvania between 1898 and 1980. Atmospheric emissions and solid waste (slag or cinders) from smelter operations resulted in deposition of toxic elements – including arsenic, copper, cadmium, lead, manganese, and zinc -- on the surrounding landscape, including surface and ground water. The smelter sites, waste piles, and the contaminated terrestrial and aquatic landscape around them are collectively referred to as the Palmerton Zinc Pile Site (Palmerton site).

The objective of this study was to update the findings of a 1997 study of the toxicity of surface water, pore water, and sediment in the …

Ecological Impacts Of Lead Mining On Ozark Streams: Toxicity Of Sediment And Pore Water, John M. Besser, William G. Brumbaugh, Ann L. Allert, Barry C. Poulton, Christopher J. Schmitt, Christopher G. Ingersoll

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We studied the toxicity of sediments downstream of lead–zinc mining areas in southeast Missouri, using chronic sediment toxicity tests with the amphipod, Hyalella azteca, and pore-water toxicity tests with the daphnid, Ceriodaphnia dubia. Tests conducted in 2002 documented reduced survival of amphipods in stream sediments collected near mining areas and reduced survival and reproduction of daphnids in most pore waters tested. Additional amphipod tests conducted in 2004 documented significant toxic effects of sediments from three streams downstream of mining areas: Strother Creek, West Fork Black River, and Bee Fork. Greatest toxicity occurred in sediments from a 6-km reach of upper …