Veterinary Medicine Commons^™

Records Of Fleas (Siphonaptera) From Delaware [Sampling, Distribution, Dispersal], Ashley C. Kennedy, Wil S. Winter, Alfred L. Gardner, Neal Woodman, Scarlett A. Shifflet, Sierra Redus, Jeffrey R. Newcomer, Ralph P. Eckerlin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We present an annotated checklist of fleas (Siphonaptera) known to occur in the state of Delaware based on an examination of Siphonaptera collections at the University of Delaware and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, as well as new specimens of fleas we collected from wildlife, other hosts, and tick flags. We review published records and compile them herein with our new records, which include 3 species previously unreported from Delaware. With these additions, there are now 18 flea species from 19 avian and mammalian hosts documented from Delaware.

Measuring Changes In Pork Demand, Welfare Effects, And The Role Of Information Sources In The Event Of An African Swine Fever Outbreak In The United States, Pratyoosh Kashyap, Jordan F. Suter, Sophie C. Mckee

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

African swine fever (ASF) has never been detected in the United States, but the current global outbreak threatens to change that. Although ASF poses no known risk to human health and is not a food safety concern, little is known about the response in U.S. consumer demand in case of an outbreak. We use an online survey experiment, following the one-and-one-half-bound dichotomous choice contingent valuation approach to estimate changes in consumers’ willingness to pay for pork in case of an ASF outbreak. Using these estimates, we find that demand for unprocessed pork (processed pork) products in the U.S. is predicted …

Genetic Tracking Of A Rabid Coyote (Canis Latrans) Detected Beyond A Rabies Enzootic Area In West Virginia, Usa, Matthew W. Hopken, Crystal Gigante, Amy T. Gilbert, Richard B. Chipman, Jordana D. Kirby, Rene Edgar Condori, Samuel Mills, Chelsea Hartley, John Forbes, Lisa Dettinger, Dongxiang Xia, Yu Li, Bridgett Vonholdt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife translocation and cross-species transmission can impede control and elimination of emerging zoonotic diseases. Tracking the geographic origin of both host and virus (i.e., translocation versus local infection) may help determine the most effective response when high-risk cases of emerging pathogens are identified in wildlife. In May 2022, a coyote (Canis latrans) infected with the raccoon (Procyon lotor) rabies virus variant (RRV) was collected in Lewis County, West Virginia, USA, an area free from RRV. We applied host population genomics and RRV phylogenetic analyses to determine the most likely geographic origin of the rabid coyote. Coyote …

Seroprevalence Of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus In Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa) In 17 States In The Usa, Shari M. Kennedy, Thomas Passler, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Vienna R. Brown, Gage W. Raithel, Manuel F. Chamorro, Paul H. Walz, Constantinos S. Kyriakis, Shollie M. Falkenberg

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are among the most detrimental invasive species in the USA. They are damaging to crops and agriculture, pose a public health risk as reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens, and may also spread disease to livestock. One pathogen identified in wild pigs is bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), a virus that causes an economically important disease of cattle (Bos taurus and Bos indicus). We sought to determine the BVDV seroprevalence in wild pigs in 17 states across the US and to determine whether age category, sex, or location were associated with a positive antibody …

Epidemiological Modeling Of Sars-Cov-2 In White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Reveals Conditions For Introduction And Widespread Transmission, Elias Rosenblatt, Jonathan D. Cook, Graziella V. Direnzo, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Fernando Arce, Kim M. Pepin, F. Javiera Rudolph, Michael C. Runge, Susan A. Shriner, Daniel P. Walsh, Brittany A. Mosher

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Emerging infectious diseases with zoonotic potential often have complex socioecological dynamics and limited ecological data, requiring integration of epidemiological modeling with surveillance. Although our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 has advanced considerably since its detection in late 2019, the factors influencing its introduction and transmission in wildlife hosts, particularly white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), remain poorly understood. We use a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Susceptible epidemiological model to investigate the spillover risk and transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in wild and captive white-tailed deer populations across various simulated scenarios. We found that captive scenarios pose a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 introduction from humans into deer herds …

Pathology Of Chronic Mycoplasma Ovipneumoniae Carriers In A Declining Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Population, Jennifer L. Malmberg, Samantha E. Allen, Jessica E. Jennings-Gaines, Marguerite Johnson, Katie L. Luukkonen, Kara M. Robbins, Todd E. Cornish, Rachel A. Smiley, Brittany L. Wagler, Zach Gregory, Daryl Lutz, Pat Hnlicka, Kevin L. Monteith, William H. Edwards

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) across North America commonly experience populationlimiting epizootics of respiratory disease. Although many cases of bighorn sheep pneumonia are polymicrobial, Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae is most frequently associated with all-age mortality events followed by years of low recruitment. Chronic carriage of M. ovipneumoniae by adult females serves as a source of exposure of naïve juveniles; relatively few ewes may be responsible for maintenance of infection within a herd. Test-and-remove strategies focused on removal of adult females with evidence of persistent or intermittent shedding (hereafter chronic carriers) may reduce prevalence and mitigate mortality. Postmortem confirmation of pneumonia …

Molecular Characterization Of Non-H5 And Non-H7 Avian Influenza Viruses From Non-Mallard Migratory Waterbirds Of The North American Flyways, 2006–2011, Shahan Azeem, John A. Baroch, Deepanker Tewari, Kristy L. Pabilonia, Mary L. Killian, Birgit Bradel-Tretheway, Dong Sun, Sara Ghorbani-Nezami, Kyoung-Jin Yoon

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The surveillance of migratory waterbirds (MWs) for avian influenza virus (AIV) is indispensable for the early detection of a potential AIV incursion into poultry. Surveying AIV infections and virus subtypes in understudied MW species could elucidate their role in AIV ecology. Oropharyngeal–cloacal (OPC) swabs were collected from non-mallard MWs between 2006 and 2011. OPC swabs (n = 1,158) that molecularly tested positive for AIV (Cts ≤ 32) but tested negative for H5 and H7 subtypes were selected for virus isolation (VI). The selected samples evenly represented birds from all four North American flyways (Pacific, Central, Mississippi, and Atlantic). Eighty-seven …

Home Range And Resource Selection Of Virginia Opossums In The Rural Southeastern United States, Jacob E. Hill, David A. Bernasconi, Richard B. Chipman, Amy T. Gilbert, James C. Beasley, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Guha Dharmarajan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) has a rapidly expanding distribution in North America, but many aspects of its ecology remain relatively understudied, particularly in rural areas of its core range. We collected GPS telemetry data from 93 opossums in a rural, non-agricultural landscape in South Carolina, USA (2018–2019) to examine factors influencing space use and resource selection. Estimated male home ranges (99% utilization distributions) were on average 50% larger than those of females (mean home range 115.9 ± 103.7 ha vs 76.7 ± 75.0 ha). The home range size decreased on average by 20% with each 20% increase …

Expanding Cwd Disease Surveillance Options Using Environmental Contamination At Deer Signposts, Miranda Hsiang-Ning Jacobson Huang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Environmental surveillance can allow early detection of diseases, which increases management options and can improve disease trajectories. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids is a significant prion disease that has been spreading across North America since the 1960s, leading to cervid population declines and concern from hunters and state wildlife agencies. White-tailed deer have a unique breeding season behavior called scraping, where they deposit urine and saliva at shared sites. Since both these fluids can contain CWD prions, scrape sites have the potential to serve as sentinel sites for environmental surveillance of CWD.

2. To examine this potential, we …

Taphonomic Signatures Of Early Scavenging By Black And Turkey Vultures, Marian L. Wahl, Grant N. Burcham, Amanda M. Herbert, Lee A. Humberg, Patrick A. Zollner, Landon R. Jones, Brandon M. Quinby, Bryan M. Kluever

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Scavenging is critical for nutrient cycling and maintenance of healthy ecosystems. While there is substantial research into the identification of taphonomic signatures from facultative mammalian scavengers, early stage scavenging signatures by vultures remain unknown. Further, some vulture species are opportunistic predators, highlighting the need to define signatures observed in the course of normal scavenging behavior. We placed stillborn neonatal calves in an unoccupied pasture and used motion-trigger camera traps to quantify scavenging effort, then conducted necropsies to evaluate the effect of black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) scavenging effort on carcass consumption. We …

Reemergence Of A Big Brown Bat Lyssavirus Rabies Variant In Striped Skunks In Flagstaff, Arizona, Usa, 2021–2023, Amy T. Gilbert, Lolita I. Van Pelt, Lias A. Hastings, Crystal M. Gigante, Lillian A. Orciari, Sabrina Kelley, Kathryn Fitzpatrick, René Edgar Condori, Yu Li, Scott Brunt, April Davis, Matthew W. Hopken, Clara C. P. Mankowski, Ryan M. Wallace, Charles E. Rupprecht, Richard B. Chipman, David L. Bergman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background

Throughout the Americas, Lyssavirus rabies (RV) perpetuates as multiple variants among bat and mesocarnivore species. Interspecific RV spillover occurs on occasion, but clusters and viral host shifts are rare. The spillover and host shift of a big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) RV variant Ef-W1 into mesocarnivores was reported previously on several occasions during 2001–2009 in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, and controlled through rabies vaccination of target wildlife. During autumn 2021, a new cluster of Ef-W1 RV cases infecting striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) was detected from United States Department of Agriculture enhanced rabies surveillance in Flagstaff. The …

High Thermal Quality Rookeries Facilitate High Thermoregulatory Accuracy In Pregnant Female Rattlesnakes, Haley A. Moniz, Jack Henry Buck, Hayley L. Crowell, Scott M. Goetz, Trevor D. Ruiz, Emily N. Taylor, Scott M. Bobacks

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Temperature is a primary factor influencing organismal development, and the fluctuating daily and seasonal thermal regimes of temperate climates may challenge the ability of viviparous reptiles to optimize body temperatures during gestation. Testing how viviparous reptiles navigate highly variable thermal conditions (e.g., relatively cold nights and/or highly fluctuating temperatures) is a powerful way to understand how they use microhabitats for thermoregulatory benefits. We assessed the thermal ecology of pregnant and non-pregnant female prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) inhabiting a high-elevation, montane shrubland in northwest Colorado throughout their short summer active season, addressing the thermal consequences of microhabitat selection with …

Prevalence Of Avian Influenza Virus In Atypical Wild Birds Host Groups During An Outbreak Of Highly Pathogenic Strain Ea/Am H5n1, Jourdan M. Ringenberg, Kelsey Weir, Lee Humberg, Carl Voglewede, Mitch Oswald, J. Jeffrey Root, Krista Dilione, Even Casey, Michael Milleson, Timothy Linder, Juliann Lenoch

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The global outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 Eurasian lineage goose/Guangdong clade 2.3.4.4b virus that was detected in North America in 2021 is the largest in history and has significantly impacted wild bird populations and domestic poultry across the continent. Synanthropic birds may play an important role in transmitting the virus laterally to other wild bird species and domestic poultry. Understanding the dynamics of HPAI in atypical, or nonreservoir, wild bird hosts may help inform management decisions and potential risk factors to both wild and domestic bird populations. Following the confirmation of infections of HPAI H5N1 in domestic …

Population Response Of Eastern Wild Turkey To Removal Of Wild Pigs, Matthew T. Mcdonough, Stephen J. Zenas, Robert A. Gitzen, Mark D. Smith, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Stephen S. Ditchkoff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

There is insufficient understanding of interspecific interactions with the eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) and wild pigs (Sus scrofa). Wild pigs compete with wild turkeys and predate nests and adults; however, population‐level effects on wild turkeys are not clear. Using cameras, we assessed responses of wild turkey populations to wild pig removal in central Alabama, USA, from 2018–2021. We compared wild turkey relative abundance and occupancy on 3 large‐scale pigremoval treatment sites (3,407–5,531 ha) relative to a control site (2,510 ha) during 1 pre‐treatment year and 2 posttreatment years, with analyses including a covariate expressing the cumulative …

Genomic Characterization Of Highly Pathogenic H5 Avian Influenza Viruses From Alaska During 2022 Provides Evidence For Genotype-Specific Trends Of Spatiotemporal And Interspecies Dissemination, Christina A. Ahlstrom, Mia Kim Torchetti, Julianna Lenoch, Kimberlee Beckmen, Megan Boldenow, Evan J. Buck, Bryan Daniels, Krista Dilione, Robert Gerlach, Kristina Lantz, Angela Matz, Rebecca L. Poulson, Laura C. Scott, Gay Sheffield, David Sinnett, David E. Stallknecht, Raphaela Stimmelmayr, Eric Taylor, Alison R. Williams, Andrew M. Ramey

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The ongoing panzootic of highly pathogenic H5 clade 2.3.4.4b avian influenza (HPAI) spread to North America in late 2021, with detections of HPAI viruses in Alaska beginning in April 2022. HPAI viruses have since spread across the state, affecting many species of wild birds as well as domestic poultry and wild mammals. To better understand the dissemination of HPAI viruses spatiotemporally and among hosts in Alaska and adjacent regions, we compared the genomes of 177 confirmed HPAI viruses detected in Alaska during April–December 2022. Results suggest multiple viral introductions into Alaska between November 2021 and August or September 2022, as …

Evaluation Of Mitigation Translocation As A Management Tool To Reduce Conflicts Between Humans And American Kestrels, Brian E. Washburn

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Raptor‐aircraft collisions (bird strikes) pose a serious safety risk to civil aircraft. Even smaller raptors, such as American kestrels (Falco sparverius), can be problematic within airport environments. Given widespread declines in kestrel populations, public interest, logistical and financial constraints, and other factors, managing kestrels at airports presents some unique challenges. I conducted a study to determine which biological (e.g., age and sex of the bird) and logistical factors (e.g., month and translocation distance) might influence the return of American kestrels live‐captured and translocated from 42 civil airports and military airbases within the contiguous USA during 2016–2021. American kestrels …

Wildlife Monitoring With Drones: A Survey Of End Users, Raymond B. Iglay, Landon R. Jones, Jared E. Elmore, Kristine O. Evans, Sathish Samiappan, Morgan B. Pfeiffer, Brad F. Blackwell

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rapid advancements in technology often yield research inquiry into novel applications and drone (i.e., unoccupied aircraft systems or UAS) applications in wildlife management are no exception. We questioned the time lag between drone‐related research and end‐user assessments. We implemented an online, cross‐sectional survey of wildlife professionals to better understand current drone use and benefits or concerns, complemented by a review of contemporary peer‐reviewed and gray literature. We found little disparity between scientific inquiry and end‐user experiences (i.e., similar trends among concerns in published literature and survey results). Exploring new (i.e., advancements in computer vision) and refining original drone applications (i.e., …

Low Secondary Risks For Turkey Vultures From A Sodium Nitrite Toxic Bait For Wild Pigs, Justin A. Foster, John C. Kinsey, Michael J. Lavelle, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan P. Snow

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

An acute and orally‐delivered toxic bait for wild pigs (Sus scrofa) containing sodium nitrite (SN) is being developed and tested for potential registration in the U.S. We evaluated oral toxicity of SN and risk of secondary consumption in a common avian scavenger, the turkey vulture (Carthartes aura), by 1) conducting an acute oral toxicity test (LD₅₀) for turkey vultures by oral gavage, and 2) allowing turkey vultures to feed on whole carcasses and digestive tracts of wild pigs that died from consuming SN‐laden bait. Captive tests were conducted during fall 2016 and spring 2017 in the …

A Method For Characterizing Disease Emergence Curves From Paired Pathogen Detection And Serology Data, Joshua Hewitt, Grete Wilson-Henjum, Derek T. Collins, Jourdan M. Ringenberg, Christopher A. Quintanal, Robert Pleszewski, Jeffrey C. Chandler, Thomas J. Deliberto, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Wildlife disease surveillance programs and research studies track infection and identify risk factors for wild populations, humans and agriculture. Often, several types of samples are collected from individuals to provide more complete information about an animal's infection history. Methods that jointly analyse multiple data streams to study disease emergence and drivers of infection via epidemiological process models remain underdeveloped. Joint-analysis methods can more thoroughly analyse all available data, more precisely quantifying epidemic processes, outbreak status, and risks.

2. We contribute a paired data modelling approach that analyses multiple samples from individuals. We use ‘characterization maps’ to link paired data …

Comparing Efficiencies Of Population Control Methods For Responding To Introductions Of Transboundary Animal Diseases In Wild Pigs, Nathan P. Snow, Benjamin Smith, Michael J. Lavelle, Michael P. Glow, Kayleigh Chalkowski, Bruce R. Leland, Sarah Sherburne, Justin W. Fischer, Keely J. Kohen, Seth M. Cook, Hatton Smith, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Ryan S. Miller, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introductions of transboundary animal diseases (TADs) into free-ranging wildlife can be difficult to control and devastating for domestic livestock trade. Combating a new TAD introduction in wildlife with an emergency response requires quickly limiting spread of the disease by intensely removing wild animals within a contiguous area. In the case of African swine fever virus (ASFv) in wild pigs (Sus scrofa), which has been spreading in many regions of the world, there is little information on the time- and cost-efficiency of methods for intensively and consistently culling wild pigs and recovering carcasses in an emergency response scenario. We compared the …