Publications

a role for molecular genetics in biological conservation.	the recognition of recent accelerated depletion of species as a consequence of human industrial development has spawned a wide interest in identifying threats to endangered species. in addition to ecological and demographic perils, it has become clear that small populations that narrowly survive demographic contraction may undergo close inbreeding, genetic drift, and loss of overall genomic variation due to allelic loss or reduction to homozygosity. i review here the consequences of such genetic ...	1994	7912434
prevalence of bartonella henselae antibody in florida panthers.	serum samples from 28 free-ranging florida panthers (puma concolor coryi) and seven mountain lions from texas (p. concolor stanleyana) living in south florida (usa) between 1997 to 1998 were tested for antibodies to bartonella henselae. twenty percent (7/35) of the samples were reactive to b. henselae antisera with a subspecies prevalence of 18% (5/ 28) for florida panthers and 28% (2/7) for cougars from texas (usa). there was not a significant sex related difference in infection rates among the ...	2000	10682759
anthelmintic resistant haemonchus contortus in a giraffe (giraffa camelopardalis) in florida.	a young male giraffe (giraffa camelopardalis) recently acquired by the lion country safari in loxahatchee, florida, was diagnosed and successfully treated for haemonchus infection while in quarantine. seven weeks after introduction into a group of resident giraffes, this giraffe presented with diarrhea. fecal evaluation revealed an extremely high count of 16,700 eggs/g, with larval identification of the parasite as haemonchus. a larval development assay showed resistance to the three classes of ...	2009	19368252
canine schistosomiasis in north america: an underdiagnosed disease with an expanding distribution.	heterobilharzia americana, a digenean trematode in the family schistosomatidae, is the etiologic agent of canine schistosomiasis in the southeastern united states.1 a few cases of canine schistosomiasis have been reported in florida, louisiana, north carolina, texas, and, recently, kansas.1-6 the natural definitive host for the fluke is the raccoon1; however, infections have been detected in nutrias, bobcats, mountain lions, opossums, white-tailed deer, swamp rabbits, armadillos, coyotes, red wo ...	2010	20473851
a new machairodont from the palmetto fauna (early pliocene) of florida, with comments on the origin of the smilodontini (mammalia, carnivora, felidae).	south-central florida's latest hemphillian palmetto fauna includes two machairodontine felids, the lion-sized machairodus coloradensis and a smaller, jaguar-sized species, initially referred to megantereon hesperus based on a single, relatively incomplete mandible. this made the latter the oldest record of megantereon, suggesting a new world origin of the genus. subsequent workers variously accepted or rejected this identification and biogeographic scenario. fortunately, new material, which pres ...	2013	23516394
individual behaviors dominate the dynamics of an urban mountain lion population isolated by roads.	large carnivores can be particularly sensitive to the effects of habitat fragmentation on genetic diversity [1, 2]. the santa monica mountains (smms), a large natural area within greater los angeles, is completely isolated by urban development and the 101 freeway to the north. yet the smms support a population of mountain lions (puma concolor), a very rare example of a large carnivore persisting within the boundaries of a megacity. gps locations of radio-collared lions indicate that freeways are ...	2014	25131676
novel gammaherpesviruses in north american domestic cats, bobcats, and pumas: identification, prevalence, and risk factors.	gammaherpesviruses (ghvs) are a diverse and rapidly expanding group of viruses associated with a variety of disease conditions in humans and animals. to identify felid ghvs, we screened domestic cat (felis catus), bobcat (lynx rufus), and puma (puma concolor) blood cell dna samples from california, colorado, and florida using a degenerate pan-ghv pcr. additional pan-ghv and long-distance pcrs were used to sequence a contiguous 3.4-kb region of each putative virus species, including partial glyco ...	2014	24453374
feline immunodeficiency virus cross-species transmission: implications for emergence of new lentiviral infections.	owing to a complex history of host-parasite coevolution, lentiviruses exhibit a high degree of species specificity. given the well-documented viral archeology of human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) emergence following human exposures to simian immunodeficiency virus (siv), an understanding of processes that promote successful cross-species lentiviral transmissions is highly relevant. we previously reported natural cross-species transmission of a subtype of feline immunodeficiency virus, puma lent ...	2017	28003486