Fish and Wildlife Disease Investigation and Surveillance
Fish and Wildlife Disease Investigation and Surveillance
Filter Total Items: 84
The Role of Japanese Quail in Ecotoxicology
The Challenge: Wild birds are exposed throughout their lives to natural and synthetic chemicals that are present in the environment, many of which interfere with the animal’s physiological and developmental systems. Relative concentrations, routes, frequency, and the environment in which chemical exposure occurs will determine to a large extent the bird’s response. Well-designed avian field...
Identifying the Genetic Basis of Avian Susceptibility to Mercury
The Challenge: Mercury is a highly toxic element found throughout our environment. Although it occurs naturally in some environments, human industrial pollution has greatly increased the amount of mercury and the range of environments in which mercury is found. Recent studies have confirmed clear differences in the sensitivity of various bird species to methylmercury. Because the causes of these...
Assessing Adverse Outcomes Associated with Exposure of Birds to Flame Retardants
The Challenge: The use of flame retardants (FRs) as additives in a variety of consumer use products, including plastics, textiles, and electronics, is projected to continue and increase for the foreseeable future. Because of unanticipated environmental problems, some FRs have either been banned, restricted, or are being phased-out and replaced by other new and presumably safer FRs. Regrettably...
Do Neonicotinoid Pesticide Seed Coatings Pose a Hazard to Seed-eating Birds?
Treating or “dressing” of seeds with pesticides is a commonly used method to enhance crop yield in agriculture. Regrettably, such treated seeds can be ingested by wildlife, and depending on the extent of exposure, can cause adverse effects.
A Native Earthworm Accumulates Extraordinarily High Concentrations of Lead
The Challenge: As a rule, plants and animals contain lower concentrations of lead than are present in soils that support them. Lead does not biomagnify along trophic levels in ecosystems but instead remains relatively immobile in soil. The exposure of wildlife to soil lead depends mainly on the incidental ingestion of soil. The native earthworm, Eisenoides lonnbergi, is anomalous in its ability to...
Estimation of Density and Abundance of Biological Populations on National Parks and Wildlife Refuges Through Distance Sampling
The Challenge: Assessing the status and trends of populations of biological organisms is an important management goal and a recurrent theme in USGS research. Often, the most basic question of “how many are there?” remains elusive, thus making management decisions more difficult. This study continues a long-term commitment of technical support for the use of distance sampling for wildlife...
Characterization of Avian Hazards Following Chlorophacinone Use for Prairie Dog Control
The Challenge: Black-tailed prairie dogs are considered a keystone species for the prairie habitat. Many avian species are associated with black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) in winter. Raptors feed on prairie dogs and non-raptor avian species forage within prairie dog colonies. However prairie dogs are also considered agricultural pests. The first-generation anticoagulant rodenticide...
Toxicity of the Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Diclofenac
One of the hallmarks of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) is the difficulty in predicting potentially toxic effects.Diclofenac is one such NSAID that devastated Asian vulture populations when they fed upon carcasses of livestock treated with the NSAID diclofenac.Because these drugs are widely used, we studied the potential hazard of diclofenac in New World vultures.
Toxicity of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and Other Flame Retardants to Wildlife
Flame retardants are a class of commonly used household and industrial products. Because of widespread use, there is concern that their presence in the environment can potentially pose a hazard and risk to wildlife.
Contaminant Exposure and Effects—Terrestrial Vertebrates (CEE-TV) Database Summary Findings for Trust Resources in U.S. Coastal Habitats
Scientists and natural resource managers often seek information on the effects various environmental stressors on wildlife.To facilitate this activity, we created a database focused on environmental contaminant exposure and adverse effects in wildlife residing in coastal and estuarine habitat.The Contaminant Exposure and Effects-Terrestrial Vertebrates database is searchable and relatively easy to...
Poisoning of Migratory Birds at Contaminated Sites
The Challenge: The Department of the Interior (DOI) and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration are trustees for a wide variety natural resources that belong to all Americans. Additional natural resources are overseen by Native American tribes, states, and other federal agencies. Migratory birds are an example of a trust species for DOI, under the US Fish and Wildlife Service. When wild...
Endocrine Active Effects on Turtle Embryonic Development
The Challenge: Emerging contaminants may be in part responsible for recent endocrine disruption observed in fish in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Endocrine active compounds implicated in the decline of fish populations may affect other wildlife as well. There are 6 species of turtles and 5 of snakes living within the main-stem and tidal areas of the Bay. As poikilotherms, reptiles are dependent on...