Publications
| molecular methods to detect mycoplasma spp. and testudinid herpesvirus 2 in desert tortoises (gopherus agassizii) and implications for disease management. | abstract mycoplasmas are an important cause of upper respiratory tract disease (urtd) in desert tortoises (gopherus agassizii) and have been a main focus in attempts to mitigate disease-based population declines. infection risk can vary with an animal's population of origin, making screening tests popular tools for determining infection status in individuals and populations. to provide additional methods for investigating urtd we developed quantitative pcr (qpcr) assays specific for agents causi ... | 2014 | 25121400 |
| comparison of current methods for the detection of chronic mycoplasmal urtd in wild populations of the mojave desert tortoise (gopherus agassizii). | pathogens that cause subclinical diseases or exhibit low infection intensities are difficult to quantify in wild populations. mojave desert tortoises ( gopherus agassizii ) have been the focus of much research aimed at measuring the presence of upper respiratory disease (urtd) and urtd-associated pathogens, and techniques used to quantify disease in gopherus species have also been used for disease surveillance in other species of turtles and tortoises of conservation concern. published surveys o ... | 2017 | 27788056 |