Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Commons^™

Frequency And Vehicle Damage Costs Of Wild Pig‑Vehicle Collisions In The United States, 2015–2022, Sophie C. Mckee, Jeremiah L. Psiropoulos, John J. Mayer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The increasing frequency of wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) is a globally recognized problem that can severely impact both the animals and humans involved in these accidents. Introduced wild pigs (Sus scrofa) have been present in various parts of the USA for centuries, but no study on wild pig-vehicle collisions (WPVCs) has been conducted on a national scale for the USA Using data provided by State Farm, we derived the number of vehicle collisions with wild pigs by state in the USA over the 2015–2022 period and the associated vehicle damage costs. In 2022, we estimated that a total of …

An Estimate Of The Marginal Annual Economic Contribution Of Wild-Pig Hunting In Texas, Sophie C. Mckee, Keith M. Carlisle, John Tomeček, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Rachael Connally, Maureen Frank, Mike Bodenchuk, Nicole Didero

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context

Wild-pig (Sus scrofa) hunting is a culturally significant recreational and commercial activity in Texas, but the overall impacts are contested. Except for one 1980s study, there has been no research to formally quantify any economic benefits of wild-pig hunting in Texas, which is an important component for weighing the costs and benefits of wild-pig presence in the state.

Aims and methods

To fill that research gap, we surveyed a sample of resident and non-resident 2018–2019 hunting-license holders in Texas about various topics related to their wild-pig hunting activities, including expenditures

Key results

On the basis of the …

Rapid Point-Of-Care Testing For Detection Of Antibodies To Toxoplasma Gondii In Black Vultures And Ring-Billed Gulls From Pennsylvania, Alexa Rosypal Von Dohlen, Sydney Randall, Jordyan Grays, Mark A. Dugo, Brian J. Hunt, Justin Brown, Kyle Van Why, Sawsan Ammar, Richard Gerhold

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic protozoan parasite that infects most warm-blooded animals, including birds. Scavenging birds are epidemiologically important hosts because they can serve as indicators of environmental T. gondii levels. A rapid point-of-care (POC) test that detects antibodies to T. gondii in humans is commercially available. In this research, we assessed the ability of the human POC test to detect anti–T. gondii antibodies in 106 black vultures (Coragyps atratus) and 23 ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) from Pennsylvania, USA. Serum samples were tested with the POC test and compared to the modified …

What Is Known, Unknown, And Needed To Be Known About Damage Caused By Wild Pigs, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Kim M. Pepin, Seth M. Cook, Sophie Mckee, Abigail Pagels, Keely J. Kohen, Ingrid A. Messner, Michael P. Glow, Nathan P. Snow

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Damage assessments provide evidence for initiating and evaluating management programs that protect natural resources and human livelihoods against invasive species. Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) cause extensive damage in their native and non-native ranges, but the extent of current damage and efficacy of management of the damage (i.e., population control of wild pigs, exclusion fencing, etc.) remains poorly described. We conducted a systematic review of physical damage caused by wild pigs to summarize what is known and identify knowledge gaps for damage assessment. Wild pig damage assessments have been overwhelmingly qualitative (84% of studies) and measured differently across studies, …

Use Of Nest Boxes By European Starlings (Sturnus Vulgaris): Effects Of Perceived Nest Predation Risk, Bradley F. Blackwell, Morgan B. Pfeiffer, Joshua L. Hoblet, Bruce N. Buckingham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) has expanded beyond its native Eurasian range, exploiting both natural cavities and human structures for nesting. We hypothesized that starling exposure to enhanced risk of nest predation at nest boxes (surrogates for nest sites in other structures), due to predator access, would negatively affect occupancy (establishment of a nest and ≥ 1 egg) and subsequent nest success. We also hypothesized that starlings would show no distinction in occupancy between nest boxes relative to the presence/absence of old nest material (i.e., material from the previous season), conditions that can contribute to nest predation risk. …

Discrimination Among Similarly Colored Goose Species In Federal Harvest Surveys, Joshua L. Dooley, Paul F. Doherty Jr., David L. Otis, Gary C. White, Daniel R. Taylor, Doreen L. Griffin, Syephen C. Chandler, Stephanie M. Catino, Kathy K. Fleming, Robert V. Raftovich, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Each year in the United States, fall‐winter (sport) harvests of goose species are estimated from federal surveys coordinated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, including the Migratory Bird Harvest Survey to estimate total goose harvest and the Parts Collection Survey (PCS) to estimate the species and age composition. For the PCS, randomly selected hunters collect tail and wing feathers of each goose shot during the hunting season, and then biologists determine the age class and species of each sample at organized events (Wingbees) in each of the 4 flyways (Pacific, Central, Mississippi, and Atlantic). For similarly colored goose …

Population Growth Rates Of Pronghorn: Influence Of Temporally And Spatially Explicit Conditions, Density Dependence, And Scale, Eric M. Gese, Cole A. Bleke, Shane B. Roberts, Paul Atwood, Patricia A. Terletzky

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Density-independent and density-dependent population regulation has long been a subject of investigation. We examined density-dependent and density-independent factors on growth rates of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana (Ord, 1815)) using a retrospective analysis of population survey data. Across Idaho, we found that as the proportion of the subpopulation harvested the previous year increased, growth rates increased. Similarly, as fawn recruitment increased, growth rates increased. We also found when the growth rate in the previous year increased, the growth rate the subsequent year decreased. When subpopulations were examined independently, we found that in a low-elevation desert subpopulation, growth rates were influenced by …

Natural Selection On Feralization Genes Contributed To The Invasive Spread Of Wild Pigs Throughout The United States, Niek W. G. Barmentlo, Patrick G. Meirmans, William H. Stiver, Joseph G. Yarkovich, Blake E. Mccann, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Dominic Wright, Timothy J. Smyser, Mirte Bosse

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Despite a long presence in the contiguous United States (US), the distribution of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa × domesticus) has expanded rapidly since the 1980s, suggesting a more recent evolutionary shift towards greater invasiveness. Contemporary populations of wild pigs represent exoferal hybrid descendants of domestic pigs and European wild boar, with such hybridization expected to enrich genetic diversity and increase the adaptive potential of populations. Our objective was to characterize how genetic enrichment through hybridization increases the invasiveness of populations by identifying signals of selection and the ancestral origins of selected loci. Our study focused on invasive …

Downed Wood Removal Effects On Survival And Site Fidelity Of Woodrats In A California Oak Woodland, Timothy J. Smyser, Michael A. Hardy, Amy J. Davis, William L. Preston, William D. Tietje

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Owing to the increasing intensity and frequency of wildfires in the western United States, the removal of woody debris (downed dead wood and snags) from fire‐prone landscapes is being evaluated for wildfire mitigation. Consequently, the study of the ecological value of coarse woody debris to sustain dependent species has become of foremost importance. From 2004–2009, we used a before‐after control‐impact (BACI) study design to assess the effects of downed wood removal on a population of big‐eared woodrats (Neotoma macrotis) in an oak woodland (Quercus spp.) in coastal‐central California, USA. Using Pollock's robust design mark‐recapture analyses (with 12 …

Effects Of Lethal Management On Gray Wolf Pack Persistence And Reproduction In Wisconsin, Usa, Alejandra Zubiria Perez, Kenneth F. Kellner, David M. Macfarland, Jennifer L. Price Tack, David B. Ruid, Glenn E. Stauffer, Jerold L. Belant

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Direct human-caused mortality accounts for about half of all large mammal mortality in North America. For social species like gray wolves (Canis lupus), the death of pack members can disrupt pack structure and cause pack dissolution, and mortality of breeding adults or wolves during reproduction and pup-rearing can decrease pup recruitment. We estimated minimum and maximum probability of wolf pack persistence in Wisconsin, USA, during biological years (15 April–14 April) 2011–2019 and evaluated the influence of pack size and legal harvest mortality on pack persistence during 2012–2014. Harvests comprised 75–161 mortalities within 194 monitored packs during 2012–2014, with …

Serological Response To Canine Distemper Vaccination In Wild Caught Raccoons (Procyon Lotor), Molly R. Selleck, Shylo R. Johnson, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a well-known RNA virus that affects domestic dogs and all families of wild terrestrial carnivores. Spillover infections from wildlife to domestic animals are mitigated by preventive vaccination, but there is limited information on the off-label use of veterinary vaccines for wildlife like raccoons (Procyon lotor). Twenty wild-caught raccoons were inoculated with a commercial recombinant DNA canarypox-vectored CDV vaccine, applying a regimen of two serial doses by SC route with an interval of 25-28 days between doses. The CDV serum virus neutralizing antibody (VNA) baseline titers and the postvaccination titers were measured at fixed …

Kit Foxes Demonstrate Adaptive Compromise Characteristics Under Intraguild Predation Pressure By Coyotes In The Great Basin Desert, Nadine A. Pershyn, Eric M. Gese, Erica F. Stuber, Bryan M. Kluever

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are believed to contribute to declining kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) numbers in the Great Basin desert through intraguild predation. Intraguild prey have been shown to exhibit adaptive compromise, whereby an animal increases selection for risky, but food-rich areas during times of food stress (i.e. winter). We evaluated the habitat selection of kit foxes in the Great Basin desert to elucidate if they demonstrated adaptive compromise as a method of coexisting with coyotes. We created 2nd order resource selection functions to analyze kit fox habitat selection associated with coyote relative probability of use (RPU), …

Invasive Wild Pig (Sus Scrofa) Diets On Barrier Islands In The Southeastern United States, Vienna R. Canright, Antoinette J. Piaggio, James C. Beasley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background

Biological invasions are a leading cause of reductions in global biodiversity. Islands are particularly sensitive to invasions, which often result in cascading impacts throughout island communities. Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are globally invasive and pose threats to numerous taxa and ecosystems, particularly for islands where they have contributed to declines of many endemic species. However, the impacts of wild pig diet on the flora and fauna remain understudied in many island systems.

Results

We used DNA metabarcoding of wild pig fecal samples to quantify the seasonal diet composition of wild pigs on three barrier islands in the …

Binding Affinity, Selectivity, And Pharmacokinetics Of The Oxytocin Receptor Antagonist L-368,899 In The Coyote (Canis Latrans), Sara M. Freeman, J. Leon Catrow, James Eric Cox, Alexandra Turano, Mckenna A. Rich, Hillary P. Ihrig, Naveena Poudyal, Cheng-Wei Tom Chang, Eric M. Gese, Julie K. Young, Aaron L. Olsen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

L-368,899 is a selective small-molecule oxytocin receptor (OXTR) antagonist originally developed in the 1990s to prevent preterm labor. Although its utility for that purpose was limited, L-368,899 is now one of the most commonly used drugs in animal research for the selective blockade of neural OXTR after peripheral delivery. A growing number of rodent and primate studies have used L-368,899 to evaluate whether certain behaviors are oxytocin dependent. These studies have improved our understanding of oxytocin’s function in the brains of rodents and monkeys, but very little work has been done in other mammals, and only a single paper in …

Influence Of Habitat And Baiting Strategy On Oral Rabies Vaccine Bait Uptake By Raccoons In The Southeastern United States, Jacob E. Hill, Madison L. Miller, Richard B. Chipman, Amy T. Gilbert, James C. Beasley, Guha Dharmarajan, Olin E. Rhodea

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

terrestrial wildlife species. However, there is currently a limited understanding of how different baiting strategies influence raccoon (Procyon lotor) uptake of ORV baits in non-agricultural habitats in the Southeastern United States, which may hinder the refinement of ORV management for raccoons in this region. Using a combination of new and existing data, we investigated the role of baited area (0.16 vs 3 km²), bait density (75 versus 150 baits/km²) and season (spring versus fall) on placebo ORV bait uptake by raccoons in four rural, non-agricultural habitats in the southeastern United States (bottomland hardwood forest, …

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 …