Digital Commons Network^™

Towards Optimized Population Control Efficiency In Space And Time: A Modelling Framework Adapted To A Colonial Waterbird, Alban Guillaumet, Brian S. Dorr, Guiming Wang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The double-crested cormorant is a native North American waterbird that recently underwent a dramatic population expansion. Population control efforts in the USA and Canada attempt to mitigate cormorant damages to natural resources and aquaculture. However, there is currently no coordination among the various stakeholders involved in management activities as well as no attempt to optimize population control efficiency. In this paper, we present for the first time a spatially explicit stage-structured metapopulation model parameterized for the cormorant. We developed simulation tools to get insights into the efficiency gain that can be expected from a better planning of management activities in …

Band Encounters Of Wintering European Starlings Captured In Kansas, Nebraska, And Texas, H. Jeffrey Homan, James R. Thiele, Garrett W. Unrein, Shannon M. Gaukler, Anthony A. Slowik, Linda B. Penry, George M. Linz

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are agricultural and societal pests in the U.S., thus, understanding their migratory behavior is of practical importance to resource managers. We leg-banded starlings and used publicly reported encounters with them to estimate migration distances traveled by wintering populations to reach their reproductive territories. We captured and banded 9,939 starlings at 6 sites between November and February 2005–2010 in 3 states. We banded birds in industrial areas surrounding Omaha, Nebraska, and at cattle feedlots in central Kansas (n = 2) and the Texas Panhandle (n = 3). Banding sites were associated with wintering …

Freshwater Clams As Bioconcentrators Of Avian Influenza Virus In Water, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Jenny S. Carlson, Kevin T. Bentler, Kacy R. Cobble, Dale L. Nolte, Alan B. Franklin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We report experimental evidence for bioconcentration of a low-pathogenicity avian influenza virus (H6N8) in the tissue of freshwater clams. Our results support the concept that freshwater clams may provide an effective tool for use in the early detection of influenza A viruses in aquatic environments.

Quantitative Pcr Estimates Angiostrongylus Cantonensis (Rat Lungworm) Infection Levels In Semi-Slugs (Parmarion Martensi), Susan I. Jarvi, Margaret E.M. Farias, Kay Howe, Steven Jacquier, Robert Hollingsworth, William Pitt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The life cycle of the nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis involves rats as the definitive host and slugs and snails as intermediate hosts. Humans can become infected upon ingestion of intermediate or paratenic (passive carrier) hosts containing stage L3 A. cantonensis larvae. Here, we report a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay that provides a reliable, relative measure of parasite load in intermediate hosts. Quantification of the levels of infection of intermediate hosts is critical for determining A. cantonensis intensity on the Island of Hawaii. The identification of high intensity infection ‘hotspots’ will allow for more effective targeted rat and slug control measures. qPCR …

Assessment Of Bird Damage To Sunflower And Corn In North Dakota, Megan E. Klosterman, George M. Linz, Anthony A. Slowik, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

North Dakota is the top sunflower-producing state in the United States, annually harvesting about 404,686 ha (1 million acres). Since the early 2000s, corn also has become a major crop within the state due to increases in corn prices. Blackbirds (Icteridae) can cause significant damage to both ripening corn and sunflower. The National Sunflower Association considers blackbird depredation to be a key factor in the reduction in sunflower acreage in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). In order to better quantify the amount of damage caused by blackbirds, we assessed blackbird damage to ripening sunflower and corn in 120 …

Evaluation Of Elevated Bait Trays For Attracting Blackbirds (Icteridae) In Central North Dakota, George M. Linz, Jamison B. Winter, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) became an economically important crop in North Dakota in the 1970s, providing a major source of food for post-breeding blackbirds (Icteridae). Reducing local blackbird populations with rice grains treated with an avicide is one proposed alternative for reducing sunflower damage. In fall 2007 and 2008, we evaluated the idea of attracting blackbirds to rice-baited trays attached to wire cages supplied with live blackbirds. During our observations (1011 h), we saw 3888 birds, consisting of 25 species and 12 families, on the bait trays. Blackbirds made up 90.4% of the bird observations, whereas sparrows (Emberizidae) made …

Sunflower Growers Use Nonlethal Methods To Manage Blackbird Damage, George M. Linz, H. Jeffrey Homan, Scott J. Werner, James C. Carlson, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Blackbird damage to sunflower in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota is an unyielding challenge to the industry. Large populations of blackbirds and environmental concerns have driven the direction of research toward nonlethal methods that can be implemented locally. Currently, Wildlife Services field specialists lend propane cannons to growers and spray wetlands with glyphosate to fragment dense cattail stands used by roosting blackbirds. After researchers demonstrated decoy crops (wildlife conservation sunflower plots), some growers have adapted the basic principles and have started diverting blackbirds from sunflower, a high value crop, to alternative lesser-value crops, such …

Long-Term Effects Of Immunocontraception On Wild Boar Fertility, Physiology And Behaviour, Giovanna Massei, Dave P. Cowan, Julia Coats, Fiona Bellamy, Roger Quy, Stéphane Pietravalle, Matthew Brash, Lowell A. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Fertility control appears as a publicly acceptable alternative to lethal methods for limiting population growth in wildlife. Recently developed single-dose immune-contraceptive vaccines have induced infertility in several mammals. However, the potential side-effects and the long-term effectiveness of these contraceptives have been poorly investigated.

Aims. We tested the long-term effectiveness and potential side-effects of the single-dose gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine GonaCon™ on captive female wild boar.

Methods. We carried out two sequential trials: Trial 1 (n = 6 GonaCon™-treated and 6 control wild boar) and Trial 2 which started two years later and replicated Trial 1. We …

What Do We Know? A Literature Review Of The Eastern Coyote, Lauren L. Mastro, Eric M. Gese, Julie K. Young, John A. Shivik

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Coyotes (Canis latrans) have expanded into the eastern United States over the last 100 years. Increases in their distribution and abundance have been documented and concerns about their presence in urban areas and their impact on both native wildlife and domestic livestock are growing. These effects require further investigation and may require changes to management strategies. Two documents, a book and a technical bulletin, provide general overviews of the biology of eastern coyotes. However, these documents are not comprehensive, and are either not readily available or were published >15 years ago. We provide a comprehensive review of the …

Biology And Impacts Of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 8. Eleutherodactylus Planirostris, The Greenhouse Frog (Anura: Eleutherodactylidae), Christina A. Olson, Karen H. Beard, William C. Pitt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The greenhouse frog, Eleutherodactylus planirostris, is a direct developing (i.e., no aquatic stage) frog native to Cuba and the Bahamas. It was introduced to Hawai‘i via nursery plants in the early 1990s and then subsequently from Hawai‘i to Guam in 2003. The greenhouse frog is now widespread on five Hawaiian Islands and Guam. Infestations are often overlooked due to the frog’s quiet calls, small size, and cryptic behavior, and this likely contributes to its spread. Because the greenhouse frog is an insectivore, introductions may reduce invertebrates. In Hawai‘i, the greenhouse frog primarily consumes ants, mites, and springtails and obtains …

The Role Of The National Wildlife Disease Program In Wildlife Disease Surveillance And Emergency Response, Kerri Pedersen, John A. Baroch, Dale L. Nolte, Tom Gidlewski, Thomas J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The National Wildlife Disease Program (NWDP), overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services (WS), was established in 2003 to develop a nationally coordinated wildlife disease surveillance and emergency response system. Since its inception, the NWDP has developed collaborations with over 200 national and international partners. The national partners include state, tribal, federal, and private organizations. These partnerships have resulted in surveillance and management of over 100 pathogens, toxins, and disease syndromes affecting wildlife, domestic animals, and humans. Several of these pathogens, including avian influenza, plague, tularemia, bluetongue, and 10 pathogens carried by …

Low-Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses In Wild House Mice, Susan A. Shriner, Kaci K. Vandalen, Nicole L. Mooers, Jeremy W. Ellis, Heather J. Sullivan, J. Jeffrey Root, Angela M. Pelzel, Alan B. Franklin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: Avian influenza viruses are known to productively infect a number of mammal species, several of which are commonly found on or near poultry and gamebird farms. While control of rodent species is often used to limit avian influenza virus transmission within and among outbreak sites, few studies have investigated the potential role of these species in outbreak dynamics.

Methodology/Principal Findings: We trapped and sampled synanthropic mammals on a gamebird farm in Idaho, USA that had recently experienced a low pathogenic avian influenza outbreak. Six of six house mice (Mus musculus) caught on the outbreak farm …

Producer Survey Of Bird-Livestock Interactions In Commercial Dairies, Stephanie A. Shwiff, James C. Carlson, J. H. Glass, J. Suckow, Martin S. Lowney, K. M. Moxcey, Bruce Larson, George M. Linz

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The objective of this producer survey was to identify and estimate damage caused by bird-livestock interactions in commercial dairies. The interactions between birds and livestock have previously been implicated in causing economic damage while contributing to the environmental dissemination of microorganisms pathogenic to livestock and humans. Very little research exists to help producers understand what bird species use dairies, why they use dairies, or the scope and nature of damage created as a result of bird-livestock interactions. To better characterize these interactions, we surveyed dairy operators within Pennsylvania, New York, and Wisconsin. Survey results suggest that the most common and …

Diagnostic Accuracy Of Rectal Mucosa Biopsy Testing For Chronic Wasting Disease Within White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Herds In North America: Effects Of Age, Sex, Polymorphism At Prnp Codon 96, And Disease Progression, Bruce V. Thomsen, David A. Schneider, Katherine I. O’Rourke, Thomas Gidlewski, James Mclane, Robert W. Allen, Alex A. Mcisaac, Gordon B. Mitchell, Delwyn P. Keane, Terry R. Spraker, Aru Balachandran

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

An effective live animal diagnostic test is needed to assist in the control of chronic wasting disease (CWD), which has spread through captive and wild herds of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Canada and the United States. In the present study, the diagnostic accuracy of rectal mucosa biopsy sample testing was determined in white-tailed deer from 4 CWD-infected captive herds. Specifically, the current study compared the immunohistochemical detection of disease-associated prion protein in postmortem rectal mucosa biopsy samples to the CWD status of each deer as determined by immunodiagnostic evaluations of the brainstem at the obex, the medial …

Using Three-Dimensional Flight Patterns At Airfields To Identify Hotspots For Avianeaircraft Collisions, W. David Walter, Justin W. Fischer, John S. Humphrey, Trey S. Daughtery, Michael P. Milleson, Eric A. Tillman, Michael L. Avery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In the United States, black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) pose significant birdstrike risks to aircraft. Understanding flight behaviors of vultures in and around military and civilian airfields is necessary to alleviate these risks. Using satellite telemetry data collected from 11 black vultures and 7 turkey vultures equipped with Global Positioning System backpack harness technology, we collected data on location and altitude near the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) in Beaufort, South Carolina from September 2006 to September 2008. We used military aircraft flight landing patterns to visualize a new concept, a flight …

Avian Use Of Solid Waste Transfer Stations, Brian E. Washburn

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Transfer stations are an important component of modern solid waste management systems. Solid waste management facilities (e.g., landfills) are very attractive to and used by many birds, resulting in a variety of health and safety problems, including disease transmission to humans and increased risk of wildlife–aircraft collisions. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration recommends municipal solid waste management facilities (e.g., landfills, transfer stations) not be sited within 8 km of an airport. Little information is available regarding the attractiveness of transfer stations to birds or the factors that might influence avian use, particularly on a national scale. The …

Historical And Current Status Of Laughing Gulls Breeding In New York State, Brian E. Washburn, Martin S. Lowney, Allen L. Gosser

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) was extirpated as a breeding bird from New York State by 1900. Recolonization of coastal New York by this colonial waterbird occurred in 1979 with discovery of 15 breeding pairs in Jamaica Bay (Queens County) New York, New York. We conducted a survey of Long Island salt marsh habitats in 2008 to document if other breeding colonies of Laughing Gulls existed. We identified 66 individual possible breeding areas and field surveys were conducted in each area during June 2008. Many areas appeared to provide suitable nesting habitat (i.e., large areas of salt marsh …

Estimates Of Energy And Prey Requirements Of Wolverines, Julie K. Young, Brian Hudgens, David K. Garcelon

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wolverine (Gulo gulo) populations have decreased throughout much of their North American range and there is interest in establishing recovery programs in the Sierra Nevada of California and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Determining the sufficiency of prey resources is an important consideration for initiating wolverine recovery, yet there are limited data on resource availability and needs. Our goal is to estimate prey requirements based on wolverine caloric needs and the caloric content of prey likely to be available. We achieve this goal by modifying existing models to account for wolverine biology. Models show a male wolverine requires …

The Direction Of Research And Management Of Double-Crested Cormorants Heading Into The 2000s: Symposium Overview And Future Information Needs, Brian S. Dorr, Christopher Somers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

An overview is provided of a symposium on the direction of research and management of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) heading into the 2000s. The current symposium built on previous efforts and described a number of focus areas of informational need, including cormorant impacts on natural resources, demographics of cormorants, assessment of control efforts, assessment of fish consumption and bioenergetics, and cormorant spatial ecology and influences on movements. The cormorant symposium highlighted a shift in research focus relative to earlier symposia, from evaluating potential impacts on commercial and natural resources to evaluating management actions in attaining desired goals. In …

Reducing Impacts Of Double-Crested Cormorants To Natural Resources In Central New York: A Review Of A Collaborative Research, Management, And Monitoring Program, Travis L. Devault, Richard B. Chipman, Scott C. Barras, Jimmy D. Taylor Ii, Carl P. Cranker Iii, Elizabeth M. Cranker, James F. Farquhar

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) have used central New York waters for breeding and stopover habitats during migration since 1984. In response to public concern over Oneida Lake, the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation initiated an integrated research, management and monitoring program aimed at mitigating cormorant impacts to fisheries and other natural resources in 1998. The history of this program was reviewed and efforts to reduce negative impacts of the Double-crested Cormorant population in central New York described. Management was successful, as demonstrated by a substantial decrease in …

Effectiveness Of Theobromine And Caffeine Mixtures In Coyote Lure Operative Devices As A Predacide: A Simulated Field Study, Eric M. Gese, Patrick A. Darrow, John A. Shivik, Bruce A. Kimball, John D. Eisemann, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Predators are capable of causing damage to domestic livestock throughout North America. Lethal responses for managing livestock depredations may include the use of sodium cyanide in M- 44 devices. Currently, several states have banned the use of M-44s and several other states are forecast to ban these devices. Therefore, additional tools are being sought to expand the repertoire of options available for managing coyote depredations on domestic livestock. We evaluated the use of a theobromine:caffeine mixture delivered within a Coyote Lure Operative Device (CLOD) as an additional predacide for coyotes (Canis latrans). Results from six trials involving 38 …

Mitigation Of Double-Crested Cormorant Impacts On Lake Ontario: From Planning And Practice To Product Delivery, James F. Farquhar, Irene M. Mazzocchi, Russell D. Mccullough, Richard B. Chipman, Travis L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation initiated a Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) control program in the eastern basin of Lake Ontario to mitigate cormorant impacts in 1999. Key objectives included improving the quality of Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and other fisheries, restoring the structure and function of the warmwater fish community and reducing cormorant impacts to nesting habitats of other colonial waterbird species. In eight years of intensive control, cormorant numbers declined, with a corresponding reduction in estimated fish consumption. Diversity and numbers of co-occurring waterbirds either increased or have not been shown to …

Rats! Foiled Again: A History Of Rodent Control Methods Development At The National Wildlife Research Center, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Michael W. Fall, Gary W. Witmer, William C. Pitt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) and its predecessor laboratories have a long history of developing materials and methods for managing rodents and the damage they cause. The NWRC has been influential in exploring, developing, and maintaining legal uses of many traditional field rodenticides such as strychnine and zinc phosphide. Products have been developed for managing rodents in a variety of locales, and for managing a variety of species, from commensal rodents in urban areas, to pocket gophers and mountain beaver in forests, prairie dogs and ground squirrels on rangelands, and nutria and beaver in wetlands. Considerable research has also …

Migration Patterns Of Double-Crested Cormorants Wintering In The Southeastern United States, D. Tommy King, Bronson K. Strickland, Andrew Radomski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Migration patterns of Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) wintering in the southeastern U.S. are poorly understood. Movement data were analyzed from 28 cormorants captured in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi and equipped with satellite transmitters. Four (three immature, one adult) cormorants did not migrate and stayed in the southeastern U.S. throughout the year. During spring, cormorants captured in Alabama migrated east of the Mississippi River and primarily west of the Appalachian Mountains. Cormorants from Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi migrated north along the Mississippi River Valley, the Missouri River Valley and/or the Ohio River Valley. The earliest departure for spring …

Long-Term Effects Of Immunocontraception On Wild Boar Fertility, Physiology And Behaviour, Giovanna Massei, Dave P. Cowan, Julia Coats, Fiona Bellamy, Roger Quy, Stephane Pietravalle, Matthew Brash, Lowell A. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Fertility control appears as a publicly acceptable alternative to lethal methods for limiting population growth in wildlife. Recently developed single-dose immunocontraceptive vaccines have induced infertility in several mammals. However, the potential side-effects and the long-term effectiveness of these contraceptives have been poorly investigated.

Aims. We tested the long-term effectiveness and potential side-effects of the single-dose gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine GonaCon^TM on captive female wild boar.

Methods.Wecarried out two sequential trials: Trial 1 (n = 6 GonaConTM -treated and 6 control wild boar) and Trial 2 which started two years later and replicated Trial 1. We assessed the effectiveness …

Coyote (Canis Latrans), 100+ Years In The East: A Literature Review, Lauren L. Mastro, Eric M. Gese, Julie K. Young, John A. Shivik

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Coyotes (Canis latrans) have expanded into the eastern United States over the last 100 years. Increases in their distribution and abundance have been documented and concerns about their presence in urban areas and their impact on both native wildlife and domestic livestock are growing. These impacts require further investigation and may require changes to management strategies. Two documents, a book and a technical bulletin, provide general overviews of eastern coyote biology. However, these documents are not comprehensive, and are either not readily available or were published >15 years ago. We provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature …

Genetic Measures Confirm Familial Relationships And Strengthen Study Design, Stacie J. Robinson, Ryan D. Walrath, Timonthy R. Vandeelen, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Social structure and behavioral interactions between individuals shape basic biological processes, such as breeding; foraging and predator avoidance; movement and dispersal; and disease transmission. We used a targeted trapping strategy to capture kin groups of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during 2007 and 2008 in Sandhill Wildlife Research Area, Wisconsin, USA, in order to observe social behaviors. Because inferring family relationships from observation of behavior is subjective, we usedmeasures of genetic relatedness and parentage assignment tests to determine that our capture strategy was efficient for capturing related pairs (78% of groups contained 1 dyad of related animals). The results of …

Assignment Of Measurable Costs And Benefits To Wildlife Conservation Projects, S. A. Shwiff, A. M. Anderson, R. Cullen, P. C. L. White, S. S. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Success of wildlife conservation projects is determined bya suite of biological and economic factors. Donorand public understanding of the economic factors is becoming increasingly central to the longevity of funding for conservation efforts. Unlike typical economic evaluation, many costs and benefits related to conservation efforts are realised in nonmonetary tenns. We identify the types of benefits and costs that arise from conservation projects and examine several well developed techniques that economists use to convert benefits and costs into monetary values so they may be compared in a common metric. Costs are typically more readily identifiable than benefits, with financia l …

Introduction: Double-Crested Cormorants Of The Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Basin: Recent Studies, Movements And Responses To Management Actions, D.V. Chip Weseloh, Francesca J. Cuthbert, D. Tommy King

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This paper introduces the second Special Publication of the Waterbird Society to address the biology and management of the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritius) in North America. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the species was at very low population levels, the Double-crested Cormorant has rebounded to its greatest population level in over 100 years. Such a significant increase has resulted in changes in community structure, and new stressors, in many aquatic ecosystems. Both Special Publications (1995 and 2013) have been focused on the biology and management of the species. The first volume dealt mainly with population …

Efficacy Of Proximity Loggers For Detection Of Contacts Between Maternal Pairs Of White-Tailed Deer, Ryan Walrath, Timonthy R. Vandeelen, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contact frequency and duration estimates between individuals are important to understanding the behavioral ecology of wildlife species and the epidemiology of infectious diseases. A new technology uses proximity data loggers to record time and duration of contacts. We conducted an experiment at Sandhill Wildlife Management Area, located near Babcock, Wisconsin (USA) to compare probabilities of detecting intraspecific contacts among white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) maternal pairs (dams/fawns) based on detections from proximity loggers deployed on collars versus those obtained from direct observation. We defined 5 discrete probabilities of detection of a contact in terms of P (probability of detection …