Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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.

Access Bulletins

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.

Access Case Definitions

Additional Resources

Filter Total Items: 1613

Incorporating environmental heterogeneity and observation effort to predict host distribution and viral spillover from a bat reservoir

Predicting the spatial occurrence of wildlife is a major challenge for ecology and management. In Latin America, limited knowledge of the number and locations of vampire bat roosts precludes informed allocation of measures intended to prevent rabies spillover to humans and livestock. We inferred the spatial distribution of vampire bat roosts while accounting for observation effort and environmenta
Authors
Rita Ribeiro, Jason Matthiopoulos, Finn Lindgre, Carlos Tello, Carlos M. Zariquiey, William Valderrama, Tonie E. Rocke, Daniel G. Streicker
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Plants as vectors for environmental prion transmission

Prions cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases and exhibit remarkable durability, which engenders a wide array of potential exposure scenarios. In chronic wasting disease of deer, elk, moose, and reindeer and in scrapie of sheep and goats, prions are transmitted via environmental routes and the ability of plants to accumulate and subsequently transmit prions has been hypothesized, but not previousl
Authors
Christina M. Carlson, Samuel Thomas, Matthew W. Keating, Nicole M. Gibbs, Haeyoon Chang, Jamie K. Wiepz, Annabel G. Austin, Jay R. Schneider, Christopher J. Johnson, Joel A. Pedersen
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center, Office of Science Quality and Integrity

Considerations for colorblind individuals on selecting colorimetric or fluorescent dye assay outcomes

A disadvantage of colorimetric detection in nucleic acid amplification assays is the possibility that a colorblind individual may interpret colors differently than observers with full-color vision. Using an isothermal amplification assay, the ability of colorblind individuals to distinguish between positive and negative results for four dyes was tested. Five individuals with self-reported colorbli
Authors
Kirstyn Loyva, Erik K. Hofmeister, Fiona Georgousi, Constance Roderick, Rebecca A. Cole
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Broad-scale assessment of methylmercury in adult amphibians

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic contaminant that has been mobilized and distributed worldwide and is a threat to many wildlife species. Amphibians are facing unprecedented global declines due to many threats including contaminants. While the biphasic life history of many amphibians creates a potential nexus for methylmercury (MeHg) exposure in aquatic habitats and subsequent health effects, the broad-scal

Authors
Brian J. Tornabene, Blake R. Hossack, Brian J. Halstead, Collin Eagles-Smith, Michael J. Adams, Adam R. Backlin, Adrianne Brand, Colleen Emery, Robert N. Fisher, Jillian Elizabeth Fleming, Brad Glorioso, Daniel A. Grear, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Patrick M. Kleeman, David Miller, Erin L. Muths, Christopher Pearl, Jennifer Rowe, Caitlin Teresa Rumrill, J. Hardin Waddle, Megan Winzeler, Kelly L. Smalling
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Model-based surveillance system design under practical constraints with application to white-nose syndrome

Infectious diseases are powerful ecological forces structuring ecosystems, causing devastating economic impacts and disrupting society. Successful prevention and control of pathogens requires knowledge of the current scope and severity of disease, as well as the ability to forecast future disease dynamics. Assessment of the current situation as well as prediction of the future conditions, rely on
Authors
Gina Oh, Srikanth Aravamuthan, Ting Fung Ma, Juan Francisco Mandujano Juan Francisco
Reyes, Anne Ballmann, Trevor J. Hefley, Ian McGahan, Robin Russell, Daniel P. Walsh, Juntao Zhu
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, National Wildlife Health Center

Coral reef ecosystem health

No abstract available.
Authors
Thierry M. Work
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Mussel mass mortality in the Clinch River, USA: Metabolomics detects affected pathways and biomarkers of stress

Biologists monitoring freshwater mussel (order Unionida) populations rely on behavioral, often subjective, signs to identify moribund (“sick”) or stressed mussels, such as gaping valves and slow response to probing, and they lack clinical indicators to support a diagnosis. As part of a multi-year study to investigate causes of reoccurring mortality of pheasantshell (Ortmanniana pectorosa; synonym 
Authors
Joel G. Putnam, John Steiner, Jordon Richard, Eric Leis, Tony Goldberg, Christopher D. Dunn, Rose Agbalog, Susan Knowles, Diane L. Waller
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Geographic and taxonomic variation in adaptive capacity among mountain-dwelling small mammals: implications for conservation status and actions

Contemporary climate change is modifying the distribution, morphology, phenology, physiology, evolution, and interspecific interactions of species. Effects of climate change are mediated not only through the magnitude of change experienced (exposure) and an animal's sensitivity to such changes, but also through the ability of the population or species to adjust to climatic variability and change g
Authors
Erik A. Beever, Jennifer L. Wilkening, Peter D. Billman, Lindsey Thurman, Kristina A. Ernest, David H. Wright, Alisha M. Gill, April C. Craighead, Nolan A. Helmstetter, Leona K. Svancara, Meghan J. Camp, Sabuj Bhattacharyya, Jedediah Fitzgerald, Jocelyn M. R. Hirose, Marie L. Westover, Francis D. Gerraty, Kelly B. Klingler, Danielle A. Schmidt, Dylan K. Ryals, Richard N. Brown, Steven L. Clark, Neil Clayton, Gail H. Collins, Kyle A. Cutting, Daniel F. Doak, Clinton W. Epps, Janet E. Foley, Johnnie French, Charles L. Hayes, Zachary A. Mills, Lucas Moyer-Horner, Lyle B. Nichols, Kate B. Orlofsky, Mary M. Peacock, Nicholas C. Penzel, Johnny Peterson, Nathan G. Ramsay, Tom Rickman, Megan M. Robinson, Hillary L. Robison, Karen M. C. Rowe, Kevin C. Rowe, Michael A. Russello, Adam B. Smith, Joseph A. E. Stewart, Will W. Thompson, James H. Thorne, Matthew D. Waterhouse, Shana S. Weber, Kenneth C. Wilson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Development and application of a qPCR-based genotyping assay for Ophidiomyces ophidiicola to investigate the epidemiology of ophidiomycosis

Ophidiomycosis (snake fungal disease) is an infectious disease caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola to which all snake species appear to be susceptible. Significant variation has been observed in clinical presentation, progression of disease, and response to treatment, which may be due to genetic variation in the causative agent. Recent phylogenetic analysis based on whole-genome sequenci
Authors
Ellen Haynes, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Matthew C. Allender
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza clade 2.3.4.4b in wild and domestic birds: Introductions into the United States and reassortments, December 2021–April 2022

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) of the A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage H5 clade 2.3.4.4b continue to have a devastating effect on domestic and wild birds. Full genome sequence analyses using 1369 H5N1 HPAIVs detected in the United States (U.S.) in wild birds, commercial poultry, and backyard flocks from December 2021 to April 2022, showed three phylogenetically distinct H5N1 vi
Authors
Sungsu Youk, Mia Kim Torchetti, Kristina Lantz, Julianna B. Lenoch, Mary Lea Killian, Christina Leyson, Sarah N. Bevins, Krista Dilione, Hon S. Ip, David E. Stallknecht, Rebecca L. Poulson, David L. Suarez, David E. Swayne, Mary J. Pantin-Jackwood
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Frequent transitions in mating-type locus chromosomal organization in Malassezia and early steps in sexual reproduction

Fungi in the basidiomycete genus Malassezia are the most prevalent eukaryotic microbes resident on the skin of human and other warm-blooded animals and have been implicated in skin diseases and systemic disorders. Analysis of Malassezia genomes revealed that key adaptations to the skin microenvironment have a direct genomic basis, and the identification of mating/meiotic genes suggests a capacity
Authors
Marco A. Coelho, Giuseppe Ianiri, Márcia David-Palma, Bart Theelen, Rohit Goyal, Aswathy Narayanan, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Kaustuv Sanyal, Teun Boekhout, Joseph Heitman
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

An introduction to lesions and histology of scleractinian corals

Stony corals (Scleractinia) are in the Phylum Cnidaria (cnidae referring to various types of stinging cells). They may be solitary or colonial, but all secrete an external, supporting aragonite skeleton. Large, colonial members of this phylum are responsible for the accretion of coral reefs in tropical and subtropical waters that form the foundations of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems. Coral
Authors
Aine C. Hawthorn, Ilze K. Berzins, Michelle Dennis, Matti Kiupel, Alisa L. Newton, Esther C. Peters, Vicente Avila Reyes, Thierry M. Work
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center