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experimental infection of domestic ferrets (mustela putorius furo) and siberian polecats (mustela eversmanni) with yersinia pestis.eight domestic ferrets (mustela putorius furo) and two siberian polecats (m. eversmanni) were inoculated subcutaneously with 12 to 1.2 x 10(7) yersinia pestis originally isolated during an epizootic of plague in white-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys leucurus) near meeteetse, park county, wyoming (usa) in 1985. none of the ferrets or polecats developed clinical signs of disease which suggested that black-footed ferrets (m. nigripes), a congener, also would be resistant to plague. all animals receivi ...19911920664
a plague epizootic in the white-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys leucurus) of meeteetse, wyoming.surveillance for sylvatic plague (yersinia pestis) was conducted near meeteetse, wyoming (usa) from 24 may to 14 june 1985. ten species of fleas were collected from white-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys leucurus), and from their burrows and associated rodents. five of these flea species and two adult prairie dogs were positive for plague. the progression of this plague epizootic appeared to be slower and the intensity was less than in previous epizootics in other prairie dog colonies. the plague ep ...19883411698
breeding biology of the white-tailed prairie dog, cynomys leucurus, in wyoming. 19676068902
kidney structure and function of obligate and facultative hibernators: the white-tailed prairie dog (cynomys leucurus) and the black-tailed prairie dog (cynomys ludovicianus).the white-tailed prairie dog is an obligate hibernator that enters a heterothermic phase when maintained in the cold with low intensity light and ad libitum food and water. the black-tailed prairie dog (a facultative hibernator) will not hibernate under similar conditions. it has been suggested that the black tailed prairie dog remains active during the winter because it can conserve water more effectively due to a more efficient kidney. the present study revealed no significant differences betw ...19957560310
hearing in prairie dogs: transition between surface and subterranean rodents.behavioral audiograms were determined for four black-tailed and one white-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys ludovicianus and c. leucurus) using a conditioned avoidance procedure. the hearing of black-tailed prairie dogs ranges from 29 hz to 26 khz and that of the white-tailed prairie dog from 44 hz to 26 khz (at sound pressure levels of 60 db). both species have good low-frequency hearing, especially black-tailed prairie dogs which can hear as low as 4 hz and are more sensitive than any other rodent ...19948188546
eimeria spp. (apicomplexa: eimeriidae) from black- and white-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys ludovicianus and cynomys leucurus) in central and southeast wyoming.feces collected from live-trapped black- (cynomys ludovicianus) and white-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys leucurus) from central and southeastern wyoming were examined to determine the presence and prevalence of eimerian species. six species (eimeria adaensis [black-tailed prairie dog prevalence = 33%, white-tailed prairie dog prevalence = 51%], eimeria beecheyi [8%, 28%], eimeria callosper-mophili [64%, 71%], eimeria lateralis [3%, 7%], eimeria morainensis [19%, 8%], and eimeria spermophili [2%, 1 ...19979057719
audiogram of the fox squirrel (sciurus niger).the behavioral audiograms of 2 fox squirrels (sciurus niger) were determined with a conditioned avoidance procedure. the squirrels were able to hear tones ranging from 113 hz to 49 khz at a level of 60 db sound-pressure level or less, with their best sensitivity of 1 db occurring at 8 khz. their ability to hear frequencies below 150 hz indicates that they have good low-frequency hearing, as do the 2 other members of the squirrel family (black-tailed and white-tailed prairie dogs) for which audio ...19979090140
hibernation-induction trigger. ii. in vitro effects of prairie dog plasma albumin on mouse vas deferens contractility.involvement of opioid molecules in hibernation is well established, with the delta opioid receptor implicated in hibernation induction. previous studies have shown that plasma albumin fractions (pafs) from hibernating mammals contain an uncharacterized ligand called "hibernation-induction trigger" (hit), which causes inhibition of induced contractility in the guinea pig ileum (gpi). in part i of this study, we described effects of paf from two species of prairie dogs on induced contractility of ...19979329050
plague in a complex of white-tailed prairie dogs and associated small mammals in wyoming.fleas were collected from white-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys leucurus) and other small mammals trapped on six grids during a field study near meeteetse (wyoming, usa) in 1989 and 1990 to investigate the dynamics of plague in this rodent population. fleas were identified and tested for yersinia pestis by mouse inoculation. yersinia pestis-positive fleas were found on prairie dogs and in their burrows. flea species on prairie dogs changed from spring to late summer. white-tailed prairie dog number ...19979391955
enzymes of adenylate metabolism and their role in hibernation of the white-tailed prairie dog, cynomys leucurus.amp deaminase (ampd) and adenylate kinase (ak) were purified from skeletal muscle of the white-tailed prairie dog, cynomus leucurus, and enzyme properties were assayed at temperatures characteristic of euthermia (37 degrees c) and hibernation (5 degrees c) to analyze their role in adenylate metabolism during hibernation. total adenylates decreased in muscle of torpid individuals from 6.97 +/- 0. 31 to 4.66 +/- 0.58 micromol/g of wet weight due to a significant drop in atp but adp, amp, imp, and ...200010729194
the role of dietary fatty acids in the evolution of spontaneous and facultative hibernation patterns in prairie dogs.the white-tailed prairie dog is a spontaneous hibernator which commences deep torpor bouts during early fall while the black-tailed prairie dog is a facultative hibernator that will only enter shallow torpor when stressed by cold and food deprivation. plant oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (pufas) enhance the duration and depth of mammalian torpor. thus, we tested the hypothesis that black-tailed prairie dogs sampled in the field have less pufas in their diets and that the enhancement of ...200111263729
maintenance of slow type i myosin protein and mrna expression in overwintering prairie dogs (cynomys leucurus and ludovicianus) and black bears (ursus americanus).hibernating mammals have the remarkable ability to withstand long periods of fasting and reduced activity with dramatic maintenance of skeletal muscle function and protein composition. we investigated several hindlimb muscles of white-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys leucurus) and black bears (ursus americanus), two very different hibernators who are dormant and fasting during winter. the black-tailed prairie dog (c. ludovicianus) remains active during winter, but suffers minor skeletal muscle atrop ...200616758215
vector control improves survival of three species of prairie dogs (cynomys) in areas considered enzootic for plague.plague causes periodic epizootics that decimate populations of prairie dogs (pds) (cynomys), but the means by which the causative bacterium (yersinia pestis) persists between epizootics are poorly understood. plague epizootics in pds might arise as the result of introductions of y. pestis from sources outside pd colonies. however, it remains possible that plague persists in pds during interepizootic periods and is transmitted at low rates among highly susceptible individuals within and between t ...201020158328
avoidance of skeletal muscle atrophy in spontaneous and facultative hibernators.smooth and skeletal muscle changes were compared from overwintering white-tailed prairie dogs, spontaneous hibernators that undergo regular, low-temperature torpor bouts, and black-tailed prairie dogs, facultative hibernators that use sporadic, moderate-temperature torpor bouts. the objectives were to assess the abilities of these two species with dramatically different torpor patterns (1) to conserve skeletal muscle morphology, protein, and strength and (2) to use labile protein in the small in ...201020337528
detection of yersinia pestis dna in prairie dog-associated fleas by polymerase chain reaction assay of purified dna.we evaluated, refined, and applied well-established polymerase chain reaction (pcr) techniques for detecting yersinia pestis dna in fleas (mainly oropsylla spp.) collected from prairie dog (cynomys spp.) burrows. based on results from pcr of avirulent y. pestis strain a1122 dna, we used dna purification and primers for the plasminogen activator gene to screen field-collected fleas. we detected y. pestis dna in flea pools from two black-tailed prairie dog (cynomys ludovicianus) colonies with evid ...201020688665
colorado animal-based plague surveillance systems: relationships between targeted animal species and prediction efficacy of areas at risk for humans.human plague risks (yersinia pestis infection) are greatest when epizootics cause high mortality among this bacterium's natural rodent hosts. therefore, health departments in plague-endemic areas commonly establish animal-based surveillance programs to monitor y. pestis infection among plague hosts and vectors. the primary objectives of our study were to determine whether passive animal-based plague surveillance samples collected in colorado from 1991 to 2005 were sampled from high human plague ...200920836802
comparison of the its1 and its2 rdna in eimeria callospermophili (apicomplexa:eimeriidae) from sciurid rodents.the taxonomy of the coccidia has historically been morphologically based. the purpose of this study was to establish if conspecificity of isolates of eimeria callospermophili from 4 ground-dwelling squirrel hosts (rodentia: sciuridae) is supported by comparison of rdna sequence data and to examine how this species relates to eimerian species from other sciurid hosts. eimeria callospermophili was isolated from 4 wild-caught hosts, i.e., urocitellus elegans, cynomys leucurus, marmota flaviventris ...201121506777
permanent genetic resources added to molecular ecology resources database 1 august 2009-30 september 2009.this article documents the addition of 238 microsatellite marker loci and 72 pairs of single nucleotide polymorphism (snp) sequencing primers to the molecular ecology resources database. loci were developed for the following species: adelges tsugae, artemisia tridentata, astroides calycularis, azorella selago, botryllus schlosseri, botrylloides violaceus, cardiocrinum cordatum var. glehnii, campylopterus curvipennis, colocasia esculenta, cynomys ludovicianus, cynomys leucurus, cynomys gunnisoni, ...201021565018
the complete mitochondrial genomes of cynomys leucurus and c. ludovicianus (rodentia: sciuridae).the mitochondrial genomes of the white - tailed praire dog cynomys leucurus and black-tailed prairie dog c. ludovicianus (rodentia: sciuridae) are circular molecules of 16,454 bp and 16,466 bp in length, respectively, containing 37 genes as in other rodentia species. the a + t content of the overall base composition of the h-strand is 63.0% and 62.6% for c. leucurus and c. ludovicianus, respectively. the control region of the c. leucurus and c. ludovicianus mt genome is 1012 bp in length, and th ...201625693710
prairie dogs increase fitness by killing interspecific competitors.interspecific competition commonly selects for divergence in ecology, morphology or physiology, but direct observation of interspecific competition under natural conditions is difficult. herbivorous white-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys leucurus) employ an unusual strategy to reduce interspecific competition: they kill, but do not consume, herbivorous wyoming ground squirrels (urocitellus elegans) encountered in the prairie dog territories. results from a 6-year study in colorado, usa, revealed tha ...201627009223
season of deltamethrin application affects flea and plague control in white-tailed prairie dog (cynomys leucurus) colonies, colorado, usa.in 2008 and 2009, we evaluated the duration of prophylactic deltamethrin treatments in white-tailed prairie dog ( cynomys leucurus ) colonies and compared effects of autumn or spring dust application in suppressing flea numbers and plague. plague occurred before and during our experiment. overall, flea abundance tended to increase from may or june to september, but it was affected by deltamethrin treatment and plague dynamics. success in trapping prairie dogs (animals caught/trap days) declined ...201627195680
precipitation, climate change, and parasitism of prairie dogs by fleas that transmit plague.fleas (insecta: siphonaptera) are hematophagous ectoparasites that can reduce the fitness of vertebrate hosts. laboratory populations of fleas decline under dry conditions, implying that populations of fleas will also decline when precipitation is scarce under natural conditions. if precipitation and hence vegetative production are reduced, however, then herbivorous hosts might suffer declines in body condition and have weakened defenses against fleas, so that fleas will increase in abundance. w ...201728359175
predicting above-ground density and distribution of small mammal prey species at large spatial scales.grassland and shrub-steppe ecosystems are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities. loss of native habitats may negatively impact important small mammal prey species. little information, however, is available on the impact of habitat variability on density of small mammal prey species at broad spatial scales. we examined the relationship between small mammal density and remotely-sensed environmental covariates in shrub-steppe and grassland ecosystems in wyoming, usa. we sampled four s ...201728520757
genetic divergence and morphological convergence in the prairie dogs, cynomys gunnisoni and cynomys leucurus i. morphological and ecological analyses. 197628563037
genetic divergence and morphological convergence in the prairie dogs. cynomys gunnisoni and cynomys leucurus ii. genetic analyses. 197628563049
plague-positive mouse fleas on mice before plague induced die-offs in black-tailed and white-tailed prairie dogs.plague is a lethal zoonotic disease associated with rodents worldwide. in the western united states, plague outbreaks can decimate prairie dog (cynomys spp.) colonies. however, it is unclear where the causative agent, yersinia pestis, of this flea-borne disease is maintained between outbreaks, and what triggers plague-induced prairie dog die-offs. less susceptible rodent hosts, such as mice, could serve to maintain the bacterium, transport infectious fleas across a colony, or introduce the patho ...201930994405
a novel retrovirus (gunnison's prairie dog retrovirus) associated with thymic lymphoma in gunnison's prairie dogs in colorado, usa.as part of research and wildlife disease surveillance efforts, we performed necropsy examinations of 125 free-ranging (n = 114) and captive (n = 11) prairie dogs in colorado from 2009 to 2017. from these cases, we identified three cases of thymic lymphoma in free-ranging gunnison's prairie dogs (cynomys gunnisoni), and we identified a novel retroviral sequence associated with these tumors. the viral sequence is 7700 nucleotides in length and exhibits a genetic organization that is consistent wit ...202032498297
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