Publications

prevalence of encysted toxoplasma gondii in raptors from alabama.	little is known about the prevalence of encysted toxoplasma gondii in wild birds. we examined the hearts and breast muscles from 101 raptors for encysted t. gondii. all of the raptors had been submitted for necropsy to the state veterinary diagnostic laboratory, auburn, alabama. tissues were digested in acid-pepsin solution and inoculated into groups of 3-5 laboratory mice. toxoplasma gondii was isolated from 27 of 101 (26.7%) raptors: 8 of 12 (66.7%) red-shouldered hawks (buteo lineatus), 13 of ...	1993	8277379
prevalence of encysted apicomplexans in muscles of raptors.	an acid-pepsin digestion technique was used to examine portions of breast muscle and heart from raptors for encysted protozoans. apicomplexan zoites were present in 52 (45.6%) of the 114 samples examined: 11 of 12 (91.7%) red-shouldered hawks (buteo lineatus), 20 of 34 (58.8%) red-tailed hawks (buteo jamaicensis), two of seven (28.6%) cooper's hawks (accipiter cooperi), three of four (75%) sharp-shinned hawks (accipiter striatus), one (100%) mississippi kites (ictinia misisippiensis), one of two ...	1999	9950339
environmental contaminants in freshwater fish and their risk to piscivorous wildlife based on a national monitoring program.	organochlorine chemical residues and elemental concentrations were measured in piscivorous and benthivorous fish at 111 sites from large u.s. river basins. potential contaminant sources such as urban and agricultural runoff, industrial discharges, mine drainage, and irrigation varied among the sampling sites. our objectives were to provide summary statistics for chemical contaminants and to determine if contaminant concentrations in the fish were a risk to wildlife that forage at these sites. co ...	2009	18594997
lead and eagles: demographic and pathological characteristics of poisoning, and exposure levels associated with other causes of mortality.	we conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate demographic and pathologic characteristics in 484 bald eagles (haliaeetus leucocephalus) and 68 golden eagles (aquila chrysaetos) diagnosed with lead poisoning at the u.s. geological survey national wildlife health center. as part of our analysis, we compared characteristics of lead poisoned eagles with those that died of other causes. odds of lead poisoning were greater for bald eagles versus golden eagles, females versus males, adults versus ju ...	2014	25173769
patterns and trends in brominated flame retardants in bald eagle nestlings from the upper midwestern united states.	we report on patterns and trends in polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes) in the plasma of 284 bald eagle nestlings sampled between 1995 and 2011 at six study areas in the upper midwestern united states. geometric mean concentrations of total pbdes (σ of nine congeners) ranged from 1.78 ng/ml in the upper st. croix river watershed to 12.0 ng/ml on the mississippi river. lake superior nestlings fell between these two extremes. between 2006 and 2011, trends differed among study areas with three d ...	2014	25272197
antibody prevalence and isolation of viable toxoplasma gondii from raptors in the southeastern usa.	raptors are good indicators of the prevalence of toxoplasma gondii in the environment because they prey on small mammals and birds. these prey species are a major source of infection in domestic cats ( felis catus ), which shed the environmentally resistant oocysts. we assessed t. gondii infection in 281 opportunistically available raptors at a rehabilitation facility between 2012 and 2014. antibodies to t. gondii were assayed by a modified agglutination test (cutoff 1:25) and found in serum of ...	2016	27243150
influence of snowfall on blood lead levels of free-flying bald eagles (haliaeetus leucocephalus) in the upper mississippi river valley.	lead poisoning of scavenging raptors occurs primarily via consumption of game animal carcasses containing lead, which peaks during fall firearm hunting seasons. we hypothesized that snowfall would mitigate exposure by concealing carcasses. we categorized blood lead level (bll) for a subsample of bald eagles (haliaeetus leucocephalus) from the upper mississippi river valley and described bll with respect to age, sex, and snowfall. we captured bald eagles overwintering in the upper mississippi riv ...	2017	28753412