Using Telemetry to Understand Overlap in Habitat Use Between Waterfowl and Agricultural Birds in North America
USGS researchers are using telemetry to improve our understanding of how wild birds move throughout their environments and the potential implications for disease transmission within and to domestic poultry.
What is the issue?
Interactions between wildlife and livestock can lead to disease transmission between wild and domestic animals, resulting in economic costs and threats to wildlife conservation. Wild waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza viruses, are often abundant near poultry farms, and have been linked to outbreaks of avian influenza virus in poultry. Because waterfowl movements and habitat use varies among bird species and across seasons, the risk of disease transmission between wild birds and poultry inevitably varies across species, space, and time.
What is at stake?
Avian influenza viruses are globally distributed and have the potential to produce highly contagious poultry disease, economically impact both large-scale and backyard poultry producers, and raise the specter of epidemics and pandemics in human populations. Reducing interactions between poultry and wild birds that are known hosts of avian influenza viruses is one strategy to manage the risk of disease transmission.
What is our approach?
Previous research by USGS and partners on Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors), a widely distributed dabbling duck species, demonstrated that avian influenza outbreaks in commercial poultry facilities are associated with proximity to wild birds. The potential that Blue-winged Teal transmitted disease to poultry depended on how long the ducks spent in proximity to poultry farms and how much overlap there was between the habitats ducks used during migratory stopovers and the boundaries of poultry farms. There also were differences between seasons in the likelihood that areas ducks used overlapped with poultry farms, suggesting that a one-size-fits-all approach to management activities to reduce disease transmission risk may be inefficient.
Another recent study by USGS and partners in the California Central Valley found that although waterfowl generally avoided poultry farm locations, the proximity of farms to wetlands, open water, protected areas, and croplands all increased risk that areas waterfowl used overlapped with poultry farms. Also, compared to waterfowl that make long migrations like Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) and geese, wild birds that were local or partial migrants, such as Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) and Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), showed stronger avoidance of areas used by poultry.
USGS researchers are continuing to explore specific landscape features that may increase the likelihood of overlap in habitat use between wild birds and domestic poultry as well as management activities to mitigate identified risk factors.
What are the benefits?
USGS research on the movements of marked birds to understand what landscape factors increase overlap of habitat use with domestic poultry will inform disease management efforts aimed at reducing interactions between wild and domestic birds. Results from this research could be used to prioritize surveillance and biosecurity efforts for regions and times of relatively high risk to allow more efficient use of resources for management of avian influenza viruses.
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Tracking Data for Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
USGS researchers are using telemetry to improve our understanding of how wild birds move throughout their environments and the potential implications for disease transmission within and to domestic poultry.
What is the issue?
Interactions between wildlife and livestock can lead to disease transmission between wild and domestic animals, resulting in economic costs and threats to wildlife conservation. Wild waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza viruses, are often abundant near poultry farms, and have been linked to outbreaks of avian influenza virus in poultry. Because waterfowl movements and habitat use varies among bird species and across seasons, the risk of disease transmission between wild birds and poultry inevitably varies across species, space, and time.
What is at stake?
Avian influenza viruses are globally distributed and have the potential to produce highly contagious poultry disease, economically impact both large-scale and backyard poultry producers, and raise the specter of epidemics and pandemics in human populations. Reducing interactions between poultry and wild birds that are known hosts of avian influenza viruses is one strategy to manage the risk of disease transmission.
What is our approach?
Previous research by USGS and partners on Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors), a widely distributed dabbling duck species, demonstrated that avian influenza outbreaks in commercial poultry facilities are associated with proximity to wild birds. The potential that Blue-winged Teal transmitted disease to poultry depended on how long the ducks spent in proximity to poultry farms and how much overlap there was between the habitats ducks used during migratory stopovers and the boundaries of poultry farms. There also were differences between seasons in the likelihood that areas ducks used overlapped with poultry farms, suggesting that a one-size-fits-all approach to management activities to reduce disease transmission risk may be inefficient.
Another recent study by USGS and partners in the California Central Valley found that although waterfowl generally avoided poultry farm locations, the proximity of farms to wetlands, open water, protected areas, and croplands all increased risk that areas waterfowl used overlapped with poultry farms. Also, compared to waterfowl that make long migrations like Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) and geese, wild birds that were local or partial migrants, such as Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) and Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), showed stronger avoidance of areas used by poultry.
USGS researchers are continuing to explore specific landscape features that may increase the likelihood of overlap in habitat use between wild birds and domestic poultry as well as management activities to mitigate identified risk factors.
What are the benefits?
USGS research on the movements of marked birds to understand what landscape factors increase overlap of habitat use with domestic poultry will inform disease management efforts aimed at reducing interactions between wild and domestic birds. Results from this research could be used to prioritize surveillance and biosecurity efforts for regions and times of relatively high risk to allow more efficient use of resources for management of avian influenza viruses.
<<Back to Avian Influenza Research at EESC