Publications

Renal coccidiosis is caused by protozoal parasites that infect the kidneys and associated tissues. Most of the coccidia that infect the tissues in birds are Eimeria sp. As with most other parasitic infections, this infection is not synonymous with clinical or apparent disease. Asymptomatic infections are far more common than those that are severe and cause mortality.

Eustrongylidosis is caused by the nematodes or roundworms Eustrongylides tubifex, E. ignotus, and E. excisus. Eustrongylides sp. can cause large die-offs of nestlings in coastal rookeries, especially of egrets and other wading birds.

Infection by tracheal worms often results in respiratory distress due to their location in the trachea or bronchi and their obstruction of the air passage. Infections by these parasitic nematodes or roundworms in waterbirds, primarily ducks, geese, and swans, are usually due to Cyathostoma bronchialis and infection of land birds are usually due to Syngamus trachea. However, both genera infect a va

Avian cholera, caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, is one of the most important diseases affecting waterfowl in North America but little is known about the epizootiology of this disease or its impacts on annual survival rates. We ringed Lesser Snow Geese Anser caerulescens nesting at Wrangel Island, Russia and Banks Island, Canada with metal rings and individually coded plastic neck-col

Four species of lichen (Cladina rangiferina, Evernia mesomorpha, Hypogymnia physodes, and Parmelia sulcata) were sampled at six locations in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness three times over a span of 11 years and analyzed for concentrations of 16 chemical elements to test the hypotheses that corticolous species would accumulate higher amounts of chemical elements than terricolous species

Hematologic and serum chemistry values are reported for 105 brown boobies (Sula leucogaster) from Johnston Atoll, Central Pacific. Hematocrit, estimated total plasma solids, total and differential white cell counts, serum glucose, calcium, phosphorus, uric acid, total protein, albumin, globulin, aspartate aminotransferase, and creatinine phosphokinase were analyzed. Hematologic and serum chemistry

Unusual numbers of wedge-tailed shearwater (Puffinus pacificus) chicks stranded on Oahu (Hawaii, USA) in 1994. Compared to healthy wedge-tailed shearwater (WTSW) chicks, stranded chicks were underweight, dehydrated, leukopenic, lymphopenic, eosinopenic, and heterophilic; some birds were toxemic and septic. Stranded chicks also were hypoglycemic and had elevated aspartate amino transferase levels.

We evaluated the effects of three translocation trials on Common Amakihi (Hemignathus virens) and Japanese White-eyes (Zosterops japonicus). Trial 1 involved capturing birds, transporting them on rough roads for 4 hr followed by holding in an aviary for 48 hr without overnight thermal support prior to release. Trial 2 involved capture, then holding in an aviary for 48 hr with overnight thermal sup

Spontaneous mastocytomas studied in 18 axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) and six tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) were gray-white, uni- to multilobular cutaneous protrusions from 2 mm to 2 cm in diameter. Tumors were moderately cellular unencapsulated masses that usually infiltrated the dermis and hypodermis with the destruction of intervening tissues. Some tumors were invading superficial bund

Iridoviruses infect invertebrates (primarily insects and crustaceans) and ectothermic vertebrates (fish, amphibians, and reptiles). Identical, or nearly identical viruses, have been isolated from different animals within the same taxonomic class, indicating that infection by a given virus is not limited to a single species. Although inter-class infections have been documented following experimenta

We review recent research on the pathology, ecology, and biogeography of two emerging infectious wildlife diseases, chytridiomycosis and ranaviral disease, in the context of host-parasite population biology. We examine the role of these diseases in the global decline of amphibian populations and propose hypotheses for the origins and impact of these panzootics. Finally, we discuss emerging infecti

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) in green turtles Chelonia mydas is a debilitating, neoplastic disease that has reached worldwide epizootic levels. The etiology of FP is unknown but has been linked to oncogenic viruses. Toxic benthic dinoflagellates (Prorocentrum spp.) are not typically considered tumorigenic agents, yet they have a worldwide distribution and produce a tumor promoter, okadaic acid (OA). P