Life Sciences Commons^™

Spillover Benefits Of Wildlife Management To Support Pheasant Populations, Aaron M. Anderson, Karen Gerhardt, Wylie T. Cross, Stephanie A. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) and other upland game populations in Wyoming, USA, have been declining due to changes in agricultural practices, urban development, and predation. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) have been implicated as one of the main predators of pheasant nests. Management of raccoons to support pheasant populations has the direct benefit of increasing pheasant populations and additional spillover benefits to corn producers in the region may occur. We conducted a field study in southeastern Wyoming from July to October 2009 to estimate the increase in corn yield associated with raccoon trapping. Although the primary purpose of the raccoon trapping was …

Leptospirosis In Fox Squirrels (Sciurus Niger) Of Larimer County, Colorado, Usa, Katherine Dirsmith, Kaci K. Vandalen, Tricia Fry, Brad Charles, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Colleen Duncan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Leptospira interrogans. The organism is typically maintained within a geographic region by colonizing renal tubules of carrier animals and shed into the environment in urine. We assessed whether L. interrogans was present in fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) in Larimer County, Colorado, USA, and whether it is associated with disease. Twenty-two squirrels were trapped from 29 November 2011 to 15 December 2011 for use in an unrelated study. The squirrels were individually housed for 33–65 days and euthanized; no clinical disease was observed. On gross examination, significant renal lesions …

Use Of Patch Selection Models As A Decision Support Tool To Evaluate Mitigation Strategies Of Human–Wildlife Conflict, Sharon Baruch-Mordo, Colleen T. Webb, Stewart W. Breck, Kenneth R. Wilson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Human-dominated landscapes offer spatially concentrated and reliable food resources that attract wildlife and lead to human–wildlife conflicts. Conflict management is often directed at humans (e.g., education) to reduce attractants, or foraging benefits to wildlife, or at wildlife (e.g., hazing) to increase foraging costs; but strategies can be expensive and ineffective. Because a key driver of conflict is the pursuit of food by wildlife, we used patch selection models, a dynamic, state-dependent modeling approach based on foraging theory, to assess how benefit reduction and cost increase resulting from conflict mitigation affect wildlife foraging decisions. We applied the patch selection models to …

Isolation And Genetic Characterization Of Toxoplasma Gondii From Mute Swan (Cygnus Olor) From The Usa, J. P. Dubey, S. Choudhary, O. C. H. Kwok, L.R. Ferreira, S. Oliveira, S.K. Verma, D.R. Marks, K. Pedersen, R.M. Mickley, A.R. Randall, D. Asnoe, C. Su

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Little is known of the genetic diversity of Toxoplasma gondii circulating in wildlife. In the present study, antibodies to T. gondii were determined in serum samples from 632 mute swans (Cygnus olor) collected from different areas of the USA. Sera were tested by T. gondii modified agglutination test; 54 (8.5%) of 632 samples were seropositive with titers of 25 in 28 sera, 50 in 22 sera, 100 in three samples, and 200 or higher in one swan. Hearts from 14 seropositive swans were bioassayed in mice and viable T. gondii (designated TgSwanUs1–3) were isolated from the hearts of …

Rethinking Airport Land-Cover Paradigms: Agriculture, Grass, And Wildlife Hazards, Travis L. Devault, Michael J. Begier, Jerrold L. Belant, Bradley F. Blackwell, Richard A. Dolbeer, James A. Martin, Thomas W. Seamans, Brian E. Washburn

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The various habitats that compose airport property, particularly undeveloped lands, inherently contribute in some measure to attraction of wildlife and, subsequently, the risk of wildlife–aircraft collisions. Many airports control large tracts of land outside airoperations areas for safety and security and to mitigate noise pollution. In the contiguous United States, the average size of airports that are approved for regularly scheduled passenger traffic (i. e., certificated) by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is 761 ha (DeVault et al. 2012). Although airports operate under numerous constraints when selecting land covers (Federal Aviation Administration 2012), turf grasses (managed, domesticated grass varieties) and …

Wiidiife Translocation As A Management Alternative At Airports, Paul D. Curtis, Jonathon D. Cepek, Rebecca Mihalco, Thomas W. Seamans, Scott R. Craven

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife in urban settings may be a welcome sight for many, but negative interactions between people and various wild species are increasing (Conover et a!. 1995, Conover 2002). Wildlife populations are commonly managed in part to reduce these conflicts, particularly in high-risk areas such as roadways and airports (Conover 2002). However, the public often opposes lethal control or management methods perceived as causing harm to nuisance animals (Reiter et al. 1999, Conover 2002, Treves et al. 2006), and attitudes vary considerably depending on the particular wildlife species involved (Kretser et a!. 2009). Consequently, a variety of nonlethal management approaches are …

The Influence Of Trap Type And Cover Status On Capture Rates Of Pocket Gophers In California, Roger A. Baldwin, Daniel B. Marcum, Steve B. Orloff, Stephen J. Vasquez, Cheryl A. Wilen, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Population reduction through trapping is among the most common techniques used to mitigate damage caused by pocket gophers in a variety of crops. A new trap called the Gophinator was recently developed that combined many positive attributes of previous pocket gopher traps. Because efficacy data for this trap was lacking, we compared capture rates of this trap to the Macabee trap, the most commonly used pocket gopher trap in the western U.S. We also addressed factors that may influence the efficacy of traps such as cover status of the trap set, season, gender, and weight of the captured pocket gopher. …

Prevalence Of Avian Paramyxovirus 1 And Avian Influenza Virus In Double-Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax Auritus) In Eastern North America, Tiffanie A. Cross, D. M. Arsnoe, R. B. Minnis, D. T. King, S. Swafford, K. Pedersen, J. C. Owen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Although it is well established that wild birds, such as cormorants, carry virulent avian paramyxovirus serotype 1 (APMV-1; causative agent of Newcastle disease) and avian influenza virus (AIV), the prevalence of these viruses among Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the Great Lakes region of North America has not been rigorously studied. We determined the prevalences of APMV-1 and AIV in Double-crested Cormorants from the interior population of eastern North America. From 2009 to 2011, oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs and serum samples were collected from 1,957 individual Double-crested Cormorants, ranging from chicks to breeding adults, on breeding colony sites …

Determination Of An Immunocontraceptive Peptide In A Wildlife Vaccine Formulation, David A. Goldade, Jeffrey M. Kemp, Jeanette R. O'Hare, Lowell A. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife populations continue to grow despite the use of traditional management techniques. GonaCon™ Immunocontraceptive Vaccine is a vaccine used to reduce reproduction in mammalian species, including white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). The vaccine consists of synthetic gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) conjugated to a mollusk hemocyanin (Concholepas concholepas) prepared as an emulsion with mineral oil to promote a prolonged immune response. Development of an analytical method for determination of the active ingredient in the vaccine formulation was complicated by the emulsion and conjugation of GnRH to the carrier protein. Breaking the emulsion was achieved chemically by addition of …

Procedures For Identifying Infectious Prions After Passage Through The Digestive System Of An Avian Species, Justin W. Fischer, Tracy A. Nichols, Gregory E. Phillips, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Infectious prion (PrP^Res) material is likely the cause of fatal, neurodegenerative transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) diseases¹. Transmission of TSE diseases, such as chronic wasting disease (CWD), is presumed to be from animal to animal^2,3 as well as from environmental sources^4-6. Scavengers and carnivores have potential to translocate PrP^Res material through consumption and excretion of CWD contaminated carrion. Recent work has documented passage of PrP^Res material through the digestive system of American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), a common North American scavenger⁷.

We describe procedures used to document passage of …

Home Ranges And Habitat Use Of Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus Occidentalis) In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, D. Tommy King, Buddy L. Goatchter, Justin W. Fischer, John Stanton, James M. Lacour, Scott C. Lemmons, Guiming Wang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Little is known about movements and habitat use of Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We attached satellite transmitters to 18 adult Brown Pelicans (nine males, nine females) that were captured on Grand Isle along the Louisiana coast during 31 August-2 September 2010. Their movements and habitat use were tracked between September 2010 and March 2012. Nine of the Brown Pelicans remained proximate to the Louisiana coast; four ranged along the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana; three moved from Louisiana to Texas; and two migrated across the Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatan Peninsula. …

Factors Affecting Survival And Cause-Specific Mortality Of Saiga Calves In Mongolia, Bayarbaatar Buuveibaatar, Julie K. Young, Joel Berger, Amanda E. Fine, Badamjav Lkhagvasuren, Peter Zahler, Todd K. Fuller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Factors affecting juvenile survival are poorly known in the world’s most northern antelope, the endangered saiga (Saiga tatarica), yet these factors are fundamental for understanding what drives population change. We monitored Mongolia saiga (S. tatarica mongolica) calves in Sharga Nature Reserve, western Mongolia, during 2008–2010. Our results showed that male and single calves were heavier than females and twins, respectively. However, we identified no significant differences in seasonal or annual survival rates between sexes or between singletons and twins. Litter size and birth mass varied among years, and there was a negative relationship between these variables. …

Costs Of Raccoon Rabies Incidents In Cattle Herds In Hampshire County, West Virginia, And Guernsey County, Ohio, Richard B. Chipman, Tyler W. Cozzens, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Rita Biswas, Jewell Plumley, Jeanette O'Quin, Timothy P. Algeo, Charles E. Rupprecht, Dennis Slate

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Objective—To determine direct and indirect costs associated with raccoon rabies incidents involving cattle herds in Hampshire County, WV, in 2008 and Guernsey County, Ohio, in 2010.

Design—Ex post cost analysis.

Animals—1 cattle herd in Hampshire County, WV, in 2008 and 1 cattle herd in Guernsey County, Ohio, in 2010.

Procedures—Data were collected for each incident through telephone and email interviews with 16 federal, state, and county agency personnel involved in the case investigations and coordinated responses for rabies in the cattle herds. To characterize the economic impact associated with rabies in the 2 cattle herds, cost analysis was conducted with …

Monitoring Wild Pig Populations: A Review Of Methods, R. M. Engeman, G. Massei, M. Sage, M. N. Gentle

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are widespread across many landscapes throughout the world and are considered to be an invasive pest to agriculture and the environment, or conversely a native or desired game species and resource for hunting.Wild pig population monitoring is often required for a variety of management or research objectives, and many methods and analyses for monitoring abundance are available. Here, we describe monitoring methods that have proven or potential applications to wild pig management. We describe the advantages and disadvantages of methods so that potential users can efficiently consider and identify the option(s) best suited to …

Foraging Ecology Of Four Gull Species At A Coastal–Urban Interface, Brian E. Washburn, Glen E. Bernhardt, Lisa Kutschbach-Brohl, Richard B. Chipman, Laura C. Francoeur

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Coastal urban environments provide a potentially diverse source of food for gulls, including items of marine, terrestrial, and anthropogenic origin. Our objective was to examine variation in the diet and use of feeding habitat of four species of gulls, the Laughing (Leucophaeus atricilla), Herring (Larus argentatus), Great Blackbacked (L. marinus), and Ring-billed (L. delawarensis), at a coastal–urban interface. We necropsied, identified the sex and age class, and quantified the stomach contents of 1053 Laughing, 249 Herring, 67 Great Black-backed, and 31 Ring-billed Gulls collected near the New York City metropolitan area in …

Excluding Mammals From Airports, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Michael J. Lavelle, Thomas W. Seamans

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

To ensure aircraft safety, it is critical to exclude large mammal species such as deer (Odocoileus spp.), feral swine (Sus scrofa), and coyotes (Canis latrans) from airport environments, as well as to consider thoroughly and carefully all available management methods. Airports are often located on or adjacent to undeveloped land that provides habitat for various species large enough to pose a direct hazard to aircraft. Unoccupied expanses of forage near runways provide deer with sufficient incentive to leave cover and occupy airport lands. Associated risk and tragic collisions have ranked deer as the most hazardous wildlife group …

Pseudorabies (Aujeszky’S Disease), Kerri Pedersen, Yvonne Nadler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Topographic Home Range Of Large Mammals: Is Planimetric Home Range Still A Viable Method?, W. David Walter, Justin W. Fischer, Teresa J. Frink, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Jonathan A. Jenks, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Topography influences movement trajectories, quality of forages used, and behavioral response of large herbivores to anthropogenic disturbances, but research is lacking on the influence of terrain complexity on size of home range. Size of home range usually is based on planimetric area and therefore rarely accounts for the true surface area traversed by an animal. We conducted radiotelemetry on bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) equipped with VHF collars at three sites from 2002 to 2006 to document size of home range in areas that ranged from 400 …

Deciphering Serology To Understand The Ecology Of Infectious Diseases In Wildlife, Amy T. Gilbert, A. R. Fooks, D. T. S. Hayman, D. L. Horton, T. Muller, R. Plowright, A. J. Peel, R. Bowen, J. L. Wood, J. Miils, A. A. Cunningham, C. E. Rupprecht

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The ecology of infectious disease in wildlife has become a pivotal theme in animal and public health. Studies of infectious disease ecology rely on robust surveillance of pathogens in reservoir hosts, often based on serology, which is the detection of specific antibodies in the blood and is used to infer infection history. However, serological data can be inaccurate for inference to infection history for a variety of reasons. Two major aspects in any serological test can substantially impact results and interpretation of antibody prevalence data: cross-reactivity and cut-off thresholds used to discriminate positive and negative reactions. Given the ubiquitous use …

Capture Success Higher Near Roads For San Clemente Island Foxes, Nathan P. Snow, William F. Andelt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Recently, island fox (Urocyon littoralis) populations on 4 of 6 California Channel Islands (USA) were greatly reduced by colonizing golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and a suspected outbreak of disease, creating concern for subspecies on all islands. Consequently, efforts of live-trapping foxes for research, monitoring, and vaccination has increased. Despite increased trapping efforts, evaluation of factors that influence capture success has not been conducted. We examined capture success of island foxes at 85 random trapping locations on San Clemente Island during 170 trap-nights during 2006–2007. We captured 98 island foxes, and found that traps placed ≤10 m …

Nwrc Annual Publications List – 2013

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Avian Survey Methods For Use At Airports, Bradley F. Blackwell, Paige M. Schmidt, James A. Martin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Adverse effects and damage caused by interactions between humans and wildlife are increasing (DeStephana and DeGraaf 2003). To manage wildlife effectively- whether to mitigate damage. to enhance safety, or to reach conservation goals-wildlife biologists must identify hazards posed by or to members of a particular species (i.e., a population) or guild, and then prioritize management goals and specific actions. We examine the special problem of managing birds to reduce hazards to aviation, particularly those species known to cause structural damage to aircraft when struck and that ·pose problems to airport facilities (Dolbeer et al. 2000, Cleary and Dolbeer 2005, DeVault …

Neospora Caninum Exposure In Overlapping Populations Of Coyotes (Canis Latrans) And Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa), Sarah N. Bevins, Emily Blizzard, Luis Bazan, Pat Whitley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Limited information exists on Neospora caninum transmission dynamics in wildlife. This coccidian parasite, whose presence can lead to substantial economic losses in cattle operations, requires a canid definitive host for reproduction. We examined exposure in a definitive host, coyotes (Canis latrans), and in overlapping populations of feral swine (Sus scrofa) to determine if spatial proximity between a definitive and incidental host influences the likelihood of parasite exposure. Eighteen percent of coyotes (95% confidence interval [CI]514.2–21.8) and 15.8% of feral swine (95% CI512.5–19.2) had been exposed to N. caninum, and this is the first report of exposure …

Effectiveness And Target-Specificity Of A Novel Design Of Food Dispenser To Deliver A Toxin To Feral Swine In The United States, Tyler A. Campbell, Justin A. Foster, Michael J. Bodenchuk, John D. Eisemann, Linton Staples, Steven J. Lapidge

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

There are no registered toxins available for use on Feral Swine (Sus scrofa, Linnaeus) in the United States. HOGGONE is a proprietary bait matrix under development in Australia that delivers toxic levels of sodium nitrite to feral swine. However, one challenge is to develop a species-specific oral delivery system to deliver toxins to feral swine in the USA while minimizing non-target wildlife exposure. The HOGHOPPER^TM is a lightweight and portable bait delivery system that could overcome this problem. Our objective was to compare non-toxic HOGGONE removal by wildlife that visited HOGHOPPERS during acclimation periods (doors open; free-feeding …

Conclusions And Future Directions, Jerrold L. Belant, Travis L. Devault, Bradley F. Blackwell

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Although the management of wildlife at airports has seen great progress in recent decades, wildlife col~ lisians with aircraft continue to pose risks to human safety and economic losses to the aviation industry and military (Allan 2002, Dolbeer 2009). Our understanding of physiological and behavioral responses of wildlife to various types of repellents and harassment techniques has grown tremendously. Substantial in· roads have been made in developing and optimizing exclusion devices, particularly for mammals. Research and management have increased considerably in recent years, allowing us to better understand aspects of re· source use (e.g., cover, food) by wildlife and the …

Complete Genome Sequence Of An Avian Bornavirus Isolated From A Healthy Canadian Goose (Branta Canadensis), Jianhua Guo, John Baroch, Adam Randall, Ian Tizard

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian bornavirus (ABV) is the causative agent of proventricular dilatation disease, a fatal neurologic and gastrointestinal disease in psittacine and other birds (1, 2). The genomic sequences of different ABV isolates are much more variable than those of Borna disease virus (BDV) isolates (3). Recent surveys have demonstrated that a unique genotype of ABV also infects apparently healthy geese and swans across North America (4–6). Under some circumstances, it has been reported to cause lethal neurological disease in Canadian geese and trumpeter swans (7, 8). The viruses that infect geese and swans are apparently from a single genotype. We report …

Could Avian Scavengers Translocate Infectious Prions To Disease-Free Areas Initiating New Foci Of Chronic Wasting Disease?, Justin W. Fischer, Gregory E. Phillips, Tracy A. Nichols, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Mechanisms for the spread of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases, including chronic wasting disease (CWD) in North American cervids, are incompletely understood, but primary routes include horizontal and environmental transmission. Birds have been identified as potential vectors for a number of diseases, where they ingest or are exposed to infected material and later shed the disease agent in new areas after flying substantial distances. We recently identified American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) as having the potential to translocate infectious prions in their feces. Our results suggest that this common, migratory North American scavenger is capable of translocating infectious prions to …

Isolation And Molecular Characterization Of Fikirini Rhabdovirus, A Novel Virus From A Kenyan Bat, Rebekah C. Kading, Amy T. Gilbert, Eric C. Mossel, Mary B. Crabtree, Ivan V. Kuzmin, Michael Niezgoda, Bernard Agwanda, Wanda Markotter, M. Ryan Weil, Joel M. Montgomery, Charles E. Rupprecht, Barry R. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Zoonotic and vector-borne pathogens have comprised a significant component of emerging human infections in recent decades, and bats are increasingly recognized as reservoirs for many of these disease agents. To identify novel pathogens associated with bats, we screened tissues of bats collected in Kenya. Virus isolates were identified by next generation sequencing of viral nucleic acid preparations from the infected cell culture supernatant and characterized. Here we report the identification of Fikirini rhabdovirus, a novel rhabdovirus isolated from a bat, Hipposideros vittatus, captured along the Kenyan coast.

Why Can’T Rodents Vomit? A Comparative Behavioral, Anatomical, And Physiological Study, Charles C. Horn, Bruce A. Kimball, Hong Wang, James Kaus, Samuel Dienel, Allysa Nagy, Gordon R. Gathright, Bill J. Yates, Paul L. R. Andrews

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The vomiting (emetic) reflex is documented in numerous mammalian species, including primates and carnivores, yet laboratory rats and mice appear to lack this response. It is unclear whether these rodents do not vomit because of anatomical constraints (e.g., a relatively long abdominal esophagus) or lack of key neural circuits. Moreover, it is unknown whether laboratory rodents are representative of Rodentia with regards to this reflex. Here we conducted behavioral testing of members of all three major groups of Rodentia; mouse-related (rat, mouse, vole, beaver), Ctenohystrica (guinea pig, nutria), and squirrel-related (mountain beaver) species. Prototypical emetic agents, apomorphine (sc), veratrine (sc), …

Pheromonal Control Of The Invasive Brown Treesnake: Potency Of Female Sexual Attractiveness Pheromone Varies With Ovarian State, Tom Mathies, Breanna Levine, Richard M. Engeman, Julie A. Savidge

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The female sex pheromone has potential a s a control tool for the Brown Treesnake, Boiga irregularis Merrem, a pest introduced into Guam. We conducted male-guided bioassays to determine whether potency of the female pheromone varied according to reproductive state and during vitellogenesis. In weekly simultaneous choice tests, we presented males with skin lipid samples from vitellogenic females, non-vitellogenic females, conspecific males, and carrier controls. The total time each sample was tongue-flicked was recorded: mean total tongue-flick time was highest for samples from vitellogenic females followed by samples from non-vitellogenic females. Pair-wise comparisons of male tongue-flick time for samples of …