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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

Sanderling on sand.

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

Lesser black-backed gull

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: 1632

Ecological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management

Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending near-term changes in ecosystem conditions or dynamics. Managers may use the information in forecasts to minimize the...
Authors
John Bradford, Jake Weltzin, Molly L. McCormick, Jill Baron, Zachary H. Bowen, R. Sky Bristol, Daren M. Carlisle, Theresa Crimmins, Paul C. Cross, Joe DeVivo, Mike Dietze, Mary Freeman, Jason Goldberg, Mevin Hooten, Leslie Hsu, Karen Jenni, Jennifer L. Keisman, Jonathan Kennen, Kathy Lee, David P. Lesmes, Keith Loftin, Brian W. Miller, Peter S. Murdoch, Jana Newman, Karen L. Prentice, Imtiaz Rangwala, Jordan S. Read, Jennifer Sieracki, Helen Sofaer, Steve Thur, Gordon Toevs, Francisco Werner, C. LeAnn White, Timothy White, Mark T. Wiltermuth
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Science Synthesis, Analysis and Research Program, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Quarterly wildlife mortality report July 2020

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...
Authors
Bryan J. Richards, Anne Ballmann, Barbara Bodenstein, Robert J. Dusek, Jonathan M. Sleeman
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

An invasive disease, sylvatic plague, increases fragmentation of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies

ContextA disease can be a source of disturbance, causing population declines or extirpations, altering species interactions, and affecting habitat structure. This is particularly relevant for diseases that affect keystone species or ecosystem engineers, leading to potentially cascading effects on ecosystems.ObjectiveWe investigated the invasion of a non-native disease, plague, to a...
Authors
Krystal M. Keuler, Gebbiena M. Bron, Randall Griebel, Katherine Richgels
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

Possible control of acute outbreaks of a marine fungal pathogen by nominally herbivorous tropical reef fish

Primary producers in terrestrial and marine systems can be affected by fungal pathogens threatening the provision of critical ecosystem services. Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are ecologically important members of tropical reef systems and are impacted by coralline fungal disease (CFD) which manifests as overgrowth of the CCA crust by fungal lesions causing partial to complete mortality...
Authors
B. P. Neal, B. Honish, T. Warrender, G.P. Williams, Thierry M. Work, N. N. Price
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Low-level detection of SFD-causing Ophidiomyces on Burmese Pythons in southwest Florida, with confirmation of the pathogen on co-occurring native snakes

Snake fungal disease (SFD), or ophidiomycosis, is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Allender et al. 2015; Lorch et al. 2015). SFD is widespread across wild populations in the eastern United States (Lorch et al. 2016) and is known to infect more than 30 species of snake in North America and Europe (Lorch et al. 2016; Franklinos et al. 2017). No known phylogenetic or...
Authors
Brad M. Glorioso, Ian A. Bartoszek, Jeffrey M. Lorch
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Safe work practices for working with wildlife

Most wildlife biologists, technicians, and veterinarians complete their tasks safely and uneventfully every day. However, some significant risks exist in this line of work, and injuries, illnesses, and accidental deaths among wildlife workers do occur. Aviation accidents (airplane and helicopter), drownings, and car and truck accidents are the most common causes of fatalities among...
Authors
Tegwin Taylor, Danielle E. Buttke
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Assessing the risks posed by SARS-CoV-2 in and via North American bats — Decision framing and rapid risk assessment

The novel β-coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, may pose a threat to North American bat populations if bats are exposed to the virus through interaction with humans, if the virus can subsequently infect bats and be transmitted among them, and if the virus causes morbidity or mortality in bats. Further, if SARS-CoV-2 became established in bat populations, it could possibly serve as a source for new...
Authors
Michael Runge, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jeremy T.H. Coleman, Jonathan D. Reichard, Samantha E.J. Gibbs, Paul M. Cryan, Kevin J. Olival, Daniel P. Walsh, David S. Blehert, M. Camille Hopkins, Jonathan M. Sleeman
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center

Validation of laboratory tests for infectious diseases in wild mammals: Review and recommendations

Evaluation of the diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) and specificity (DSp) of tests for infectious diseases in wild animals is challenging, and some of the limitations may affect compliance with the OIE-recommended test validation pathway. We conducted a methodologic review of test validation studies for OIE-listed diseases in wild mammals published between 2008 and 2017 and focused on study...
Authors
Jia Beibei, David Colling, David E. Stallknecht, David S. Blehert, John Bingham, Beate Crossley, Debbie Eagles, Ian A Gardner
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

Annual outbreaks of coral disease coincide with extreme seasonal warming

Reef-building corals living in extreme environments can provide insight into the negative effects of future climate scenarios. In hot environments, coral communities experience disproportionate thermal stress as they live very near or at their upper thermal limits. This results in a high frequency of bleaching episodes, but it is unknown whether temperature-driven outbreaks of coral...
Authors
Emily Howells, Grace Vaughan, Thierry M. Work, John Burt, David Abrego
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

Identifying research needs to inform white-nose syndrome management decisions

Ecological understanding of host–pathogen dynamics is the basis for managing wildlife diseases. Since 2008, federal, state, and provincial agencies and tribal and private organizations have collaborated on bat and white‐nose syndrome (WNS) surveillance and monitoring, research, and management programs. Accordingly, scientists and managers have learned a lot about the hosts, pathogen, and...
Authors
Riley Fehr Bernard, Jonathan D. Reichard, Jeremy T.H. Coleman, Julie C. Blackwood, Michelle L. Verant, Jordi L. Segers, Jeffrey M. Lorch, John R. White, M.S. Moore, Amy M. Russell, Rachel A. Katz, Daniel L. Linder, Rick S. Toomey, Gregory G. Turner, Winifred F. Frick, Maarten J. Vonhof, Craig K. R. Willis, Evan H. Campbell Grant
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center

Morphological, elemental, and boron isotopic insights into pathophysiology of diseased coral growth anomalies

Growth anomalies (GAs) impact both coral skeleton and soft tissues and are detrimental to reef health. This tumor-like disease is increasingly found throughout the tropics and is commonly associated with high human population density, yet little is known about the etiology, pathology, or calcification behavior of the disease. Here, we investigate potential mechanisms involved in the...
Authors
Erik R. Andersson, Joseph William Stewart, Thierry M. Work, Cheryl M. Woodley, Tracey B. Schock, Russell D. Day
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

Effects of climate change on plague exposure pathways and resulting disease dynamics

Introduction and Objectives: Sylvatic plague, a zoonotic flea-borne disease, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is relevant to the Department of Defense (DOD), because prairie dogs and other susceptible rodents are present on military installations in several western states. Arthropod-borne diseases, like plague, are thought to be particularly sensitive to local climate conditions...
Authors
Tonie E. Rocke, Robin E. Russell, Michael Samuel, Rachel C. Abbott, Julia E. Poje
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center
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