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Publications

View citations of publications by National Wildlife Health Center scientists since our founding in 1975.  Access to full-text is provided where possible.

Wildlife Health Bulletins

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Wildlife Health Bulletins are distributed to natural resource/conservation agencies to provide and promote information exchange about significant wildlife health threats.

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Wildlife Disease Case Definitions

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Case definitions provide a standardized, science-based set of criteria for diagnosing disease and pathogens. This manual provides case definitions for selected diseases of importance to wildlife in Canada and the United States.

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Additional Resources

Filter Total Items: 1606

Microbial ecology of coral-dominated reefs in the Federated States of Micronesia

Microorganisms are central to the functioning of coral reef ecosystems, but their dynamics are unstudied on most reefs. We examined the microbial ecology of shallow reefs within the Federated States of Micronesia. We surveyed 20 reefs surrounding 7 islands and atolls (Yap, Woleai, Olimarao, Kosrae, Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro, and Pohnpei), spanning 875053 km2. On the reefs, we found consistently high
Authors
Amy Apprill, Henry Holm, Alyson E. Santoro, Cynthia Becker, Matthew Neave, Konrad Hughen, Angela Richards Donà, Greta Aeby, Thierry M. Work, Laura Weber, Sean McNally
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Domoic acid and saxitoxin in seabirds in the United States between 2007 and 2018

As harmful algal blooms (HABs) increase in magnitude and duration worldwide, they are becoming an expanding threat to marine wildlife. Over the past decade, blooms of algae that produce the neurotoxins domoic acid (DA) and saxitoxin (STX) and documented concurrent seabird mortality events have increased bicoastally in the United States. We conducted a retrospective analysis of HAB related mortalit
Authors
Corinne Gibble, Raphael Kudela, Susan Knowles, Barbara Bodenstein, Kathi Lefebvre
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Risks posed by SARS‐CoV‐2 to North American bats during winter fieldwork

The virus that causes COVID‐19 likely evolved in a mammalian host, possibly Old‐World bats, before adapting to humans, raising the question of whether reverse zoonotic transmission to bats is possible. Wildlife management agencies in North America are concerned that the activities they authorize could lead to transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 to bats from humans. A rapid risk assessment conducted in Apri

Authors
Jonathan D Cook, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Michael C. Runge
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center

Investigation of algal toxins in a multispecies seabird die-off in the Bering and Chukchi seas

Between 2014 and 2017, widespread seabird mortality events were documented annually in the Bering and Chukchi seas, concurrent with dramatic reductions of sea ice, warmer than average ocean temperatures, and rapid shifts in marine ecosystems. Among other changes in the marine environment, harmful algal blooms (HABs) that produce the neurotoxins saxitoxin (STX) and domoic acid (DA) have been identi
Authors
Caroline R. Van Hemert, Robert J. Dusek, Matthew M. Smith, Robert Kaler, Gay Sheffield, Lauren M. Divine, Kathy J. Kuletz, Susan Knowles, Julia S. Lankton, D. Ransom Hardison, R. Wayne Litaker, Timothy Jones, Hillary K. Burgess, Julia K. Parrish
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center, Alaska Science Center

Sea turtles across the North Pacific are exposed to perfluoroalkyl substances

Perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) are global, persistent, and toxic contaminants. We assessed PFAS concentrations in green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles from the North Pacific. Fifteen compounds were quantified via liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry from 62 green turtle and 6 hawksbill plasma samples from Hawai’i, Palmyra Atoll, and the Northern
Authors
Cathryn Wood, George H. Balazs, Marc Rice, Thierry M. Work, T. Todd Jones, Eleanor J. Sterling, Tammy M. Summers, John Brooker, Lauren Kurpita, Cheryl S. King, Jennifer M. Lynch
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Emergence and molecular characterization of pigeon Paramyxovirus-1 in non-native Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) in California, USA

Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) were introduced into Florida in the 1980s and have since established populations throughout the continental United States. Pigeon paramyxovirus-1 (PPMV-1), a species-adapted genotype VI Avian orthoavulavirus 1, has caused periodic outbreaks among collared doves in the U.S. since 2001 with outbreaks occasionally involving native doves. In California,
Authors
Krysta Rogers, Ash Mete, Hon S. Ip, Mia K. Torchetti, Mary L. Killian, Beate Crossley
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Animal reservoirs and hosts for emerging alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses

The ongoing global pandemic caused by coronavirus disease has once again demonstrated the role of the family Coronaviridae in causing human disease outbreaks. Because severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was first detected in December 2019, information on its tropism, host range, and clinical manifestations in animals is limited. Given the limited information, data from other coronaviru
Authors
Ria R. Ghai, Ann Carpenter, Amanda Y. Liew, Krystalyn B. Martin, Meghan K. Herring, Susan I. Gerber, Aron J. Hall, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Sophie VonDobschuetz, Casey Barton Behravesh
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Analysis of archival specimens confirms White-nose syndrome in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) from New York, USA, in spring 2007

White-nose syndrome (WNS), an emerging fungal disease of North American bats, was first diagnosed in January 2008, although mortality and photo-documentation suggest the disease may have been present earlier. Using archived samples, we describe a definitive case of WNS in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) from New York, USA, in spring 2007.
Authors
Saskia Keller, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Brenda M. Berlowski-Zier, Anne Ballmann, David S. Blehert
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

SARS-CoV-2 exposure in escaped mink, Utah, USA

In August 2020, outbreaks of coronavirus disease were confirmed on mink farms in Utah, USA. We surveyed mammals captured on and around farms for evidence of infection or exposure. Free-ranging mink, presumed domestic escapees, exhibited high antibody titers, suggesting a potential severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmission pathway to native wildlife.
Authors
Susan A. Shriner, Jeremeny E. Ellis, J. Jeffrey Root, Annette Roug, Scott R. Stopak, Gerald W. Wiscomb, Jared R. Zierenberg, Hon S. Ip, Mia K. Torchetti, Thomas J. DeLiberto
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Enzootic plague reduces survival of Mexican woodrats (Neotoma mexicana) in Colorado

Plague is a flea-vectored disease introduced to North America c. 1900. It is lethal to many American mammal species, causes major die-offs (epizootics) in some populations, and may be ecologically disruptive even at lower interepizootic (enzootic) levels of transmission. We sought to determine the effects of enzootic plague on survival of Mexican woodrats (Neotoma mexicana) and to test the hypothe
Authors
Dean E. Biggins, Shantini Ramakrishnan, Tonie E. Rocke, Judy L. Williamson, Jeffrey Wimsatt
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center

Quarterly wildlife mortality report January 2021

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) Quarterly Mortality Report provides brief summaries of epizootic mortality and morbidity events by quarter. The write-ups, highlighting epizootic events and other wildlife disease topics of interest, are published in the Wildlife Disease Association quarterly newsletter. A link is provided in this WDA newsletter to the Wildlife Health Information Sha
Authors
Bryan J. Richards, Barbara Bodenstein, Daniel A. Grear, Hon S. Ip, Anne Ballmann, Julia S. Lankton, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Laboratory maintenance and culture of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes bat white-nose syndrome

Pseudogymnoascus destructans is a fungal pathogen that causes white‐nose syndrome, an emerging and fatal disease of North American bats that has led to unprecedented population declines. As a psychrophile, P. destructans is adapted to infect bats during winter hibernation, when host metabolic activity and core body temperature are greatly reduced. The ability to maintain and cultivate isolates of 
Authors
David S. Blehert, Jeffrey M. Lorch
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center
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