| lead exposure in free-flying turkey vultures is associated with big game hunting in california. | predatory and scavenging birds are at risk of lead exposure when they feed on animals injured or killed by lead ammunition. while lead ammunition has been banned from waterfowl hunting in north america for almost two decades, lead ammunition is still widely used for hunting big game and small game animals. in this study, we evaluated the association between big game hunting and blood lead concentration in an avian scavenger species that feeds regularly on large mammals in california. we compared ... | 2011 | 21494326 |
| impact of the california lead ammunition ban on reducing lead exposure in golden eagles and turkey vultures. | predatory and scavenging birds may be exposed to high levels of lead when they ingest shot or bullet fragments embedded in the tissues of animals injured or killed with lead ammunition. lead poisoning was a contributing factor in the decline of the endangered california condor population in the 1980s, and remains one of the primary factors threatening species recovery. in response to this threat, a ban on the use of lead ammunition for most hunting activities in the range of the condor in califo ... | 2011 | 21494329 |
| seroepidemiologic survey of potential pathogens in obligate and facultative scavenging avian species in california. | throughout the world, populations of scavenger birds are declining rapidly with some populations already on the brink of extinction. much of the current research into the factors contributing to these declines has focused on exposure to drug residues, lead, and other toxins. despite increased monitoring of these declining populations, little is known about infectious diseases affecting scavenger bird species. to assess potential infectious disease risks to both obligate and facultative scavenger ... | 2015 | 26606755 |
| enteric pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in turkey vultures (cathartes aura) feeding at the wildlife-livestock interface. | free-flying turkey vultures (cathartes aura) were sampled in california to investigate the fecal shedding prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of salmonella enterica, campylobacter spp., and escherichia coli. nine different serotypes of salmonella enterica were detected in cloacal swabs from turkey vultures, and 6% of vultures were shedding campylobacter spp.. turkey vultures sampled at a location with range sheep were more likely to shed tetracycline-resistant e. coli, suggesting that pr ... | 2014 | 25632686 |
| multi-locus phylogenetic inference among new world vultures (aves: cathartidae). | new world vultures are large-bodied carrion feeding birds in the family cathartidae, currently consisting of seven species from five genera with geographic distributions in north and south america. no study to date has included all cathartid species in a single phylogenetic analysis. in this study, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships among all cathartid species using five nuclear (nuc; 4060bp) and two mitochondrial (mt; 2165bp) dna loci with fossil calibrated gene tree (27 outgroup ta ... | 2016 | 27601346 |