Animal Sciences Commons^™

Impacts Of Predation Risk And Development On Susceptibility Of North American Anurans To Ranaviruses, Nathan Alden Haislip

Masters Theses

For over three decades, amphibian populations have been declining across the globe. Emerging infectious diseases are responsible for some of these declines. Ranaviruses have caused die-offs in wild amphibian populations on 4 continents, in 5 Canadian provinces, and in over 25 U.S. states. In order to understand host-pathogen dynamics, it is critical to establish baseline information on species susceptibility and the effects of natural stressors. The goal of my thesis research was to quantify the effects of anuran development and exposure to invertebrate predators on species-specific susceptibility to ranavirus. My experiments were designed in factorial arrangements, and consisted of exposure …

Identifying Mechanisms Associated With Innate Immunity In Cows Genetically Susceptible To Mastitis, Alexandra Alida Elliott

Doctoral Dissertations

Mastitis, or mammary gland inflammation, causes the greatest loss in profit for dairy producers. Mastitis susceptibility differs among cows due to environmental, physiological, and genetic factors. Prior research identified a genetic marker in a chemokine receptor, CXCR1, associated with mastitis susceptibility and decreased neutrophil migration. Current research seeks to identify reasons behind mastitis susceptibility by validating this model through in vivo challenge with Streptococcus uberis and studying specific mechanisms causing impaired neutrophil migration. Holstein cows with GG (n=19), GC (n=28), and CC (n=20) genotypes at CXCR1+777 were challenged intramammarily with S. uberis strain UT888. After challenge 68% of quarters from …

Winter Ecology Of Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae, Alphavirus) In The Central Great Plains, Charles R. Brown, Stephanie A. Strickler, Amy T. Moore, Sarah A. Knutie, Abinash Padhi, Mary Bomberger Brown, Ginger R. Young, Valerie A. O'Brien, Jerome E. Foster, Nicholas Komar

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A largely unanswered question in the study of arboviruses is the extent to which virus can overwinter in adult vectors during the cold winter months and resume the transmission cycle in summer. Buggy Creek virus (BCRV; Togaviridae, Alphavirus) is an unusual arbovirus that is vectored primarily by the swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius) and amplified by the ectoparasitic bug’s main avian hosts, the migratory cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and resident house sparrow (Passer domesticus). Bugs are sedentary and overwinter in the swallows’ mud nests. We evaluated the prevalence of BCRV and extent of …

Multi-Host Model-Based Identification Of Armillifer Agkistrodontis (Pentastomida), A New Zoonotic Parasite From China, Shao-Hong Chen, Qin Liu, Yong-Nian Zhang, Jia-Xu Chen, Hao Li, Ying Chen, Peter Steinmann, Xiao-Nong Zhou

Harold W. Manter Laboratory: Library Materials

Background: Pentastomiasis is a rare parasitic infection of humans. Pentastomids are dioecious obligate parasites requiring multiple hosts to complete their life cycle. Despite their worm-like appearance, they are commonly placed into a separate sub-class of the subphylum Crustacea, phylum Arthropoda. However, their systematic position is not uncontested and historically, they have been considered as a separate phylum.

Methodology/Principal Findings: An appraisal of Armillifer agkistrodontis was performed in terms of morphology and genetic identification after its lifecycle had been established in a multi-host model, that is, mice and rats as intermediate hosts, and snakes (Agkistrodon acutus and Python molurus) …

Muellerius Capillaris Dominates The Lungworm Community Of Bighorn Sheep At The National Bison Range, Montana, Vanessa O. Ezenwa, Alicia M. Hines, Elizabeth A. Archie, Eric P. Hoberg, Ingrid M. Asmundsson, John T. Hogg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Lungworm infections are common among bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in North America, and the predominant species reported are Protostrongylus stilesi and P. rushi. The only records of another lungworm species, Muellerius capillaris, infecting bighorns come from South Dakota, USA. At the National Bison Range (NBR), Montana, USA we found that across six sampling periods, 100% of wild bighorn sheep surveyed were passing first-stage dorsal-spined larvae (DSL) which appeared to be consistent with M. capillaris. By contrast, only 39%or fewer sheep were passing Protostrongylus larvae. Using molecular techniques, we positively identified the DSL from the NBR …

Distribution Of Fleas (Siphonaptera) In Bird-Nests, Bird Siphonaptera On Mammalia And The Medical Importance Of Interspecific Flea Transmission In Mongolia, Daniel Kiefer, K. Pfister, D. Tserennorov, D. Otgonbaatar, Ravčigijn Samjaa, D. Sumjaa, E. G. Burmeister, Mathias S. Kiefer

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Starting in the 1960s of the last century a huge amount of material from mammals and birds was collected in Mongolia. The according results were published in Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei, Volume 1-10, and represented on conferences in Halle, Moscow, Irkutsk, Ulaanbaatar, Bratislava and the Entomological Review St. Petersburg.

A big part of the collected material consisted of ectoparasites analyzed by experts from Mongolia, Germany, England, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia resulting in newly described species along with zoogeographical and ecological profiles.

During the years 1974-2007 material from 321 nests of 38 bird taxa were obtained. 157 …

Ectoparasites Of Bats In Mongolia (Ischnopsyllidae, Nycteribiidae, Cimicidae And Spinturnicidae), Ingo Sceffler, Dietrich Dolch, Jargalsaikhan Ariunbold, Nyamsuren Batsajchan, Andreas Abraham, Klaus Thiele

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

For large parts of the world, the knowledge of bat ectoparasites is still scanty. Regarding Mongolia, only few studies exist to date. This paper analyzes results from extensive captures between 2005-2008, carried out in different sites of Mongolia. Discussed ectoparasites include bat fleas, (Ischnopsyllidae), bat flies (Nycteribiidae), and bat bugs (Cimicidae) and spinturnicid mites (Spinturnicidae). A number of species found in this study were new records for Mongolia, and for many species additional sites were reported. For some bat species, the spectrum and frequency of larger ectoparasites could be determined for the first time.

Current State Of Ixodidae Research In Mongolia, Daniel Kiefer, K. Pfister, D. Tserennorov, G. Bolormaa, D. Otgonbaatar, Ravčigijn Samjaa, E. G. Burmeister, Mathias S. Kiefer

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Our research presents the Ixodidae-fauna in Mongolia. The current taxonomic state in Mongolia shows 19 Ixodidae taxa extracted in 308 locations from 115 bird and mammal species. In 1980, the species Ixodes persulcatus SCHULZE, 1930 and Ixodes berlesei Birula, 1895 were detected in Inget Tolgoi and Ixodes laguri OLENEV, 1929 on Meriones unguiculatus 10 km southeast of Ulaanbaatar for the first time. In 2000 the species Haemaphysalis concinna Koch, 1844 was detected in the Selenge-river area and Argas (Argas) vulgaris FILIPPOVA, 1961 was detected in the Gobi area. From the collection of M. and A. STUBBE 1 N …

How Birds Combat Ectoparasites, Dale H. Clayton, Jennifer A. H. Koop, Christopher W. Harbison, Brett R. Moyer, Sarah E. Bush

Harold W. Manter Laboratory: Library Materials

Birds are plagued by an impressive diversity of ectoparasites, ranging from feather-feeding lice, to feather-degrading bacteria. Many of these ectoparasites have severe negative effects on host fitness. It is therefore not surprising that selection on birds has favored a variety of possible adaptations for dealing with ectoparasites. The functional significance of some of these defenses has been well documented. Others have barely been studied, much less tested rigorously. In this article we review the evidence--or lack thereof--for many of the purported mechanisms birds have for dealing with ectoparasites. We concentrate on features of the plumage and its components, as well …