USGS National Wildlife Health Center
Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report January 2004 to March 2004 |
Reported State |
Location |
Dates |
Species |
Mortality |
Diagnosis |
Reported By |
AK |
Valdez - Cordova County |
02/25/04-04/25/04 |
Common Murre |
8,800(e) |
Emaciation |
NW |
AL |
Marengo County |
08/29/03-09/05/03 |
Mourning Dove |
50(e) |
Parasitism: trichomoniasis |
SCW |
AZ |
Pima County |
02/18/04-04/23/04 |
Mourning Dove |
108 |
Parasitism: trichomoniasis |
AZ |
CA |
Ventura County |
01/24/04-03/08/04 |
Unidentified Cowbird,
House Sparrow
|
50(e) |
Salmonellosis |
NW |
CA |
Lake County |
01/17/04-02/29/04 |
Ruddy Duck,
Western Gull,
Mallard,
Unidentified Goose,
Western Grebe
|
7,400(e) |
Avian Cholera |
CFG |
CA |
Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR |
02/04/04-04/15/04 |
Ruddy Duck,
Ring-billed Gull,
American Coot,
Eared Grebe,
Herring Gull
|
4,272 |
Avian Cholera |
NW |
FL |
Polk County |
12/20/03-03/01/04 |
Ring-billed Gull,
Laughing Gull
|
225(e) |
Salmonellosis |
FL, NW |
FL |
Duval County |
01/30/04-04/01/04 |
Eastern Brown Pelican |
50(e) |
Open |
NW |
FL |
Gulf County |
03/08/04-04/03/04 |
Bottle-nosed Dolphin |
105(e) |
Toxicosis: domoic acid (red tide) suspect |
FMR |
GA |
Fayette County |
03/08/04-04/03/04 |
Canada Goose |
4 |
Vacuolar myelinopathy |
SCW |
GA |
Monroe County |
09/21/03-09/22/03 |
Mallard,
Canada Goose |
13 |
Necrotizing myocarditis |
SCW |
IN |
Patoka NWR |
03/01/04-03/08/04 |
Common Grackle,
Rock Dove,
Mourning Dove
|
50(e) |
Trauma |
NW |
KY |
Boone County |
01/13/04-01/14/04 |
American Robin,
American Goldfinch
|
56 |
Open |
SCW |
LA |
Jefferson Parish |
01/07/04-01/15/04 |
Eastern Brown Pelican |
50(e) |
Open |
NW |
MS |
Harrison County |
02/10/04-ongoing |
Bullfrog,
Southern Leopard Frog
|
30 |
Parasitism: Perkinsus-like organism |
NW |
NC |
Martin County |
01/19/04-01/21/04 |
Common Grackle |
70(e) |
Open: toxicosis |
SCW |
NM |
Bosque Del Apache NWR |
08/30/03-09/04/03 |
American White Pelican,
Western Grebe
|
4 |
Viral Infection: West Nile,
Trauma: Gunshot,
Viral Infection: West Nile suspect
|
NW |
NM |
Bosque Del Apache NWR |
01/05/04-01/15/04 |
Unidentified Goose,
Unidentified Sandhill Crane |
41 |
Avian cholera |
BDA |
SC |
Anderson County |
01/15/04-01/24/04 |
Common Grackle,
European Starling,
Northern Cardinal
|
40(e) |
Toxicosis: Famphur |
SCW |
TN |
Anderson County |
03/03/04-03/04/04 |
Spring Peeper,
Chorus Frog
|
15(e) |
Toxicosis suspect |
NW |
TX |
Buffalo Lake NWR |
01/10/04-01/30/04 |
Lesser Sandhill Crane |
100(e) |
Mycotoxicosis suspect |
NW |
TX |
Nueces and San Patricio Counties |
01/05/04-01/21/04 |
Eastern Brown Pelican |
26 |
Emaciation: Parasitism,
Trauma: Impact |
NW |
TX |
Deaf Smith County |
02/14/04-02/28/04 |
Unidentified Dove,
Unidentified Hawk,
Barn Owl
|
10(e) |
Open |
NW |
TX |
Nueces County |
02/14/04-02/28/04 |
Northern Gannet |
8(e) |
Open |
NW |
TX, LA, FL, CA, GA, NY |
Multiple Counties |
01/02/04-ongoing |
American Crow,
Northern Cardinal,
Blue Jay,
House Finch,
Unidentified Gull |
20 |
Viral Infection: West Nile |
CDC, NW, ST |
UT |
Salt Lake County |
11/15/77-12/15/77 |
Eared Grebe |
7,500(e) |
Bacterial infection |
UNK |
WI |
Calumet County |
07/11/03-07/07/03 |
Purple Martin |
95(e) |
Starvation |
WI |
WI |
Milwaukee County |
03/13/04-04/16/04 |
Lesser Scaup,
American Coot,
Herring Gull
|
71 |
Parasitism: Cyathocotyle bushiensis,
Parasitism: Sphaeridiotrema globulus |
NW |
WI |
Sauk County |
01/09/04-02/29/04 |
Bald Eagle |
7(e) |
Toxicosis suspect |
NW |
WI |
La Crosse County |
02/02/04-02/29/04 |
Mallard |
6 |
Bacterial infection: Riemerella anatipestifer |
NW |
WI |
Upper Mississippi NWR |
03/21/04-05/01/04 |
Lesser Scaup,
American Coot,
Unidentified Duck,
Ring-necked Duck,
Ruddy Duck
|
1,100(e) |
Parasitism: Cyathocotyle bushiensis,
Parasitism: Sphaeridiotrema globulus |
NW |
WY |
Carbon County |
02/05/04-03/11/04 |
Unidentified Elk |
300(e) |
Toxicosis: Parmelia spp. (lichen) |
WY |
Updates and Corrections: |
Reported State |
Location |
Dates |
Species |
Mortality |
Diagnosis |
Reported By |
CA |
San Joaquin River NWR |
12/01/03-02/18/04 |
Aleutian Canada Goose,
Ross' Goose,
White-fronted Goose,
American Coot,
Snow Goose
|
121 |
Avian cholera |
NW |
FL |
Marion County |
11/15/03-03/15/04 |
Cattle Egret,
Great Egret
|
214(e) |
Salmonellosis |
FL, NW |
MO |
Saline County |
11/15/03-03/30/04 |
Snow Goose,
Mallard
|
200(e) |
Avian Cholera |
NW |
WA |
Whatcom and Skagit Counties |
12/01/03-03/30/04 |
Trumpeter Swan |
400 |
Lead poisoning |
BC, WAS |
WA, OR, CA |
Coast |
10/20/03-03/15/04 |
Northern Fulmar |
10,000(e) |
Emaciation |
NW, SWD |
(e) = estimate; * = morbidity, not mortality
New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (NYS),
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCW), USGS National
Wildlife Health Center (NW), Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources (WI), Unknown
(UNK), various states labsites (ST), Center for Disease Control (CDC), Florida
Marine Research Institute (FMR), Bosque Del Apache NWR (BDA), B.C. Ministry
of Environment (BC), Sea World of San Diego (SWD), Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife (WAS), California Fish and Game Wildlife Investigations
Lab (CFG), Florida Game and Fish Department (FL), Arizona Game and Fish Department
(AZ), Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WY).
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Written and compiled by Kathryn Converse/Rex Sohn =
Western US, Grace McLaughlin - Eastern US, Christine Lemanski, NWHC.
The Quarterly Wildlife
Mortality Report is available at http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov. To report
mortality or receive information about this report, contact the above
NWHC staff,
or for Hawaiian Islands contact Thierry Work. Phone: (608) 270-2400,
FAX:(608) 270-2415 or e-mail: kathy_converse@usgs.gov. USGS National
Wildlife Health
Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI 53711. |
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Quarterly Mortality Reports |
Avian Cholera
at the Salton Sea, California.
Wildlife biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS)
and the Salton Sea Authority identified mortality in Ruddy ducks,
American avocets, and eared grebes at the mouths of agricultural
drains on the northwestern shoreline of the Salton Sea in early
February, 2004. Carcasses of freshly dead Ruddy ducks were submitted
to the
NWHC and intensified airboat surveys and carcass collections on
the Sea were initiated by the USFWS and California Department of
Fish and Game. Pasteurella multocida was isolated from
the liver of five Ruddy ducks submitted to the National Wildlife
Health Center (NWHC). Over the next ninety days, field crews observed
mortality in ducks and other aquatic birds across the expanse of
the Salton Sea. Later in the mortality, NWHC confirmed P. multocida in
herring and ring-billed gulls, and American avocet, black-necked
stilt, and an eared grebe. The NWHC notified waterfowl biologists
of the USFWS and state wildlife management agencies in surrounding
states of the occurrence of avian cholera at the Salton Sea in
species that might migrate through their areas this spring. Of
the total 4,272 bird carcasses retrieved during this die-off, there
were 3,839 ruddy ducks, 95 American coots, 83 eared grebes, and
birds from 21 other species.
Widespread Common
Murre Mortality in Alaska. In late March, 2004 USFWS biologists
reported mortality of common murres along the south central Alaska coast.
Estimating mortality in wide-ranging pelagic birds is a very inexact undertaking
but their estimate was 1,000 to 2,000 dead murres at that time. The USFWS
organized beach surveys to collect suitable specimens and attempt to quantify
the mortality. The NWHC received common murres and one common loon carcass
from two National Wildlife Refuges and the Alaska Sea Life Center. The
observations of emaciation and possible heavy GI parasitism, and traumatic
injuries in
murres from one Refuge, were consistent with those made by pathologists
examining bird submitted for rehabilitation at the Alaska Sea Life Center.
Diagnostic investigation at the NWHC have not identified any significant
toxicological or infectious disease agents in the specimens submitted.
The NWH Epizootic Database contains records of indicates 19 epizootics
in common
murres since 1982 along the Pacific coast from Alaska to central California.
Estimated mortality in these events ranged from 9 birds to 11,000 birds
with one large scale epizootic of 120,000 murres along the south central
Alaska coast in the spring of 1993. The primary diagnoses were emaciation
in 9 epizootics, open in 8 epizootics and petroleum toxicosis in 2 epizootics.
Salmonellosis
Kills Cattle Egrets, Gulls in Florida.
In November 2003, cattle egrets roosting at a retention pond in Marion
County began dying. Specimens submitted to the University of Florida and
to the NWHC were diagnosed with salmonellosis. Cattle egrets using nearby
roosting areas were not affected. The mortality ended in early March 2004.
A total of 214 carcasses were collected over 4 months In January and February
approximately 250 ring-billed and laughing gulls were found dead or dying
at two lakes in Polk county, Florida. They feed at a nearby landfill. There
have been three mortality events in that area involving the two gull species;
botulism was confirmed to suspected in two outbreaks and salmonellosis
was confirmed in one outbreak. Gulls from the latest die-off were submitted
to the University of Florida and to the NWHC and were diagnosed with salmonellosis. |
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