Avian influenza infection and antibodies not identified in eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) sampled on the Delmarva Peninsula
Jeffery D. Sullivan, Johanna Alexandra Harvey, Rebecca L. Poulson, David E. Stallknecht, C. Robert Long, Cindy P. Driscoll, Diann Prosser, Jennifer M. Mullinax
2025, Avian Diseases (69) 2-5
Although highly pathogenic avian influenza presents a notable threat to domestic turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo domesticus), there have been minimal infections identified in wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) across the United States. Indeed, recent infections in wild turkeys have either been linked back to or suspected to be the result of spillback...
A practical decision tool for marine bird mortality assessments
Johanna Alexandra Harvey, Andrew M. Ramey, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Gregory Robertson, Marc Romano, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Megan Boldenow, Philip W. Atkinson, Diann J. Prosser
2025, Preprint
Given the rise in anthropogenic, environmental, and disease events contributing to marine bird mortality, there is a critical need to improve the rigor of mortality assessments. Deficits in data collection and mortality estimation can hinder a manager’s ability to document event scales and inform population level impacts. Therefore, to inform...
When the wild things are: Defining mammalian diel activity and plasticity
Kadambari Devarajan, Mason Fidino, Zach J. Farris, Solny A. Adalsteinsson, Gabriel Andrade-Ponce, Julia Angstmann, Whitney Anthonysamy, Jesica Aquino, Addisu Asefa, Belen Avila, Larissa L. Bailey, Lyandra Maria de Sousa Barbosa, Marcela de Frias Barreto, Owain Barton, Chloe E Bates, Mayara Guimarães Beltrão, Tori Bird, Elizabeth G Biro, Francesco Bisi, Daniel Bohórquez, Mark S. Boyce, Justin S. Brashares, Grace Bullington, Phoebe Burns, Jessica Burr, Andrew R. Butler, Kendall L. Calhoun, Tien Trung Cao, Natalia Casado, Juan Camilo Cepeda-Duque, Jonathon D. Cepek, Adriano Garcia Chiarello, Merri Collins, Pedro Cordeiro-Estrela, Sebastian Costa, Giacomo Cremonesi, Bogdan Cristescu, Paula Cruz, Anna Carolina Figueiredo de Albuquerque, Carlos De Angelo, Cláudia Bueno De Campos, Liana Mara Mendes De Sena, Mario Di Bitetti, Douglas de Matos Dias, Duane R. Diefenbach, Tim S. Doherty, Thais P dos Santos, Gabriela Teixeira Duarte, Timothy M. Eppley, John Erb, Carolina Franco Esteves, Bryn Evans, Maria L.M. Falcão, Hugo Fernandes-Ferreira, John R. Fieberg, Luiz Carlos Firmino de Souza Filho, Jason Fisher, Marie-Josee Fortin, George A. Gale, Travis Gallo, Laken S Ganoe, Rony Garcia-Anleu, Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Tiziana A. Gelmi-Candusso, Phillys N. Gichuru, Quimey Gomez, Austin M. Green, Luiza Neves Guimarães, Jeffrey D. Haight, Lavendar R. Harris, Zachary D. Hawn, Jordan Heiman, Huy Quoc Hoang, Sarah Huebner, Fabiola Iannarilli, María Eugenia Iezzi, Jacob S. Ivan, Kodi J. Jaspers, Mark J Jordan, Jason Kamilar, Mamadou Kane, Mohammad Hosein Karimi, Marcella J. Kelly, Michel T. Kohl, William P. Kuvlesky, Andrew Ladle, Rachel N. Larson, Quy Tan Le, Duy Le, Van Son Le, Elizabeth W. Lehrer, Patrick E Lendrum, Jesse S. Lewis, Andrés Link, Diego J. Lizcano, Jason V. Lombardi, Robert Long, Eva López-Tello, Camile Lugarini, David Lugo, Paula MacKay, Maria Madadi, Rodolfo Assis Magalhães, Seth B. Magle, Ludmila Hufnagel Regis Diniz Maia, Salvador Mandujano, Taisiia Marchenkova, Paulo Henrique Marinho, Laurie Marker, Julia Martinez Pardo, Adriano Martinoli, Rodrigo Lima Massara, Juliana Masseloux, Dina Matiukhina, Amy E. Mayer, Luis Mazariegos, Maureen R. McClung, Alex McInturff, Darby McPhail, Amy Mertl, Christopher R. Middaugh, David Miller, David Mills, Dale Miquelle, Vivianna Miritis, Remington J. Moll, Peter K. Molnar, Robert Montgomery, Toni Lyn Morelli, Alessio Mortelliti, Rachael I. Mueller, Anna S. Mukhacheva, Kayleigh Mullen, Asia Murphy, Vance Nepomuceno, Dusit Ngoprasert, An Nguyen, Thanh Van Nguyen, Van Thai Nguyen, Hoa Anh Nguyen Quang, Rob Nipko, Ana Clarissa Costa Nobre, Joseph Northrup, Megan A. Owen, Adriano Pereira Paglia, Meredith S. Palmer, Gabriela Palomo-Munoz, Lain E. Pardo, Chrystina Parks, Ana Maria de Oliveira Paschoal, Brent Patterson, Agustin Paviolo, Liba Pejchar, Mary E. Pendergast, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso, Timofei Petrov, Mairi K.P. Poisson, Daiana Jeronimo Polli, Morteza Pourmirzai, Alexander Reebin, Katie R. Remine, Lindsey Rich, Christopher S. Richardson, Facundo Robino, Daniel G Rocha, Fabiana Lopes Rocha, Flávio Henrique Guimarães Rodrigues, Adam T. Rohnke, Travis J. Ryan, Carmen M. Salsbury, Heather A. Sander, Nadia Maria da Cruz Santos-Cavalcante, Cagan H. Sekercioglu, Ivan Seryodkin, Dede Hendra Setiawan, Shabnam Shadloo, Mahsa Shahhosseini, Graeme Shannon, Catherine J. Shier, G. Bradley Smith, Tom Snyder, Rahel Sollmann, Kimberly L. Sparks, Kriangsak Sribuarod, Colleen Cassady St. Claire, Theodore Stankowich, Robert Steinmetz, Cassondra J Stevenson, Sunarto Sunarto, Thilina D. Surasinghe, Svetlana V. Sutyrina, Ronald R. Swaisgood, Atie Taktehrani, Kanchan Thapa, Matthew Thorton, Andrew Tilker, Mathias W. Tobler, Van Bang Tran, Jody Tucker, Russell C. Van Horn, Juan S. Vargas-Soto, Karen L. Velásquez, Jan Venter, Eduardo M. Venticinque, Stijn Verschueren, Erin Wampole, Darcy J. Watchorn, Oliver R. Wearn, Katherine Weiss, Alejandro Welschen, Febri Anggriawan Widodo, Jacque Williamson, Andreas Wilting, George Wittemyer, Arturo Zavaleta, Amanda J. Zellmer, Brian Daniel Gerber
2025, Science Advances (11)
Circadian rhythms are a mechanism by which species adapt to environmental variability and fundamental to understanding species behavior. However, we lack data and a standardized framework to accurately assess and compare temporal activity for species during rapid ecological change. Through a global network representing 38 countries, we leveraged 8.9 million...
The relative influence of climate extremes and species richness on the temporal variability of bird communities
Samantha M. Cady, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Craig A. Davis, Barney Luttbeg, Caleb Powell Roberts, Scott Loss
2025, Ecology (106)
Understanding the relationship between biodiversity and ecological stability is increasingly urgent as rapid species extinction continues. Though evidence of positive diversity–stability relationships is accumulating, empirical results are inconsistent, and effect sizes tend to be small, raising questions about relative contributions of intrinsic (i.e., species composition/interactions) and extrinsic (i.e., environmental) drivers...
Delayed incubation leads to hatching failure of a Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) nest
Carl G. Lundblad, Courtney J. Conway
2025, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (135) 400-405
Birds face strong selective pressures to complete individual nesting attempts as quickly as possible to minimize exposure of nests to predators and weather, maximize renesting potential, and maximize hatching success. As a result, the duration of developmental periods and of overall nest periods are often relatively constant within species. However,...
Note to banders, February 2025
Antonio Celis-Murillo
2025, Newsletter
Note to All Banders was a special extra communication with more urgent information relevant to banders. This Note to All Banders was sent to U.S. bird banders on February 12, 2025. This note includes a review of the 2024 successes at the Bird Banding Laboratory. Throughout 2024, the BBL increased...
Developing research tools for demographic study of Rhynchophanes mccownii (thick-billed longspurs)
Megan M. Ring, Rose J. Swift, Michael J. Anteau, Lawrence D. Igl, Mark E Seamans, Scott G. Somershoe, Jay Alan VonBank, John M. Yeiser, Garrett J. MacDonald
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1002
Like numerous other North American grassland bird species, Rhynchophanes mccownii (thick-billed longspur) has experienced severe population declines in the last 50 years. Little is known about population-limiting factors, and knowledge gaps limit conservation efforts on the species; however, before research studies aimed at improving conservation and management actions can be...
Weather, habitat area, connectivity, and number of patches influence breeding ecology of ring-necked pheasants
Sprih Harsh, Robert Charles Lonsinger, Hilary R. Kauth, Andrew J. Gregory
2025, Journal of Wildlife Management (89)
Understanding habitat selection is critical in habitat prioritization for species of conservation and management concern. Information on habitat selection is particularly important for grassland bird species whose populations have suffered steep declines over the last few decades. We assessed ring-necked pheasants' (Phasianus colchicus) habitat selection in a dynamic agricultural landscape....
Using GPS tracking data to validate the conservation value of bird migration counts
Ron Efrat, Yael Lehnardt, Daniel Berkowic, Yossi Leshem, Roi Dor, Alexander E. Bragin, Evgeny Bragin, Todd E. Katzner, Nir Sapir
2025, Biological Conservation (302)
Effective conservation of migratory birds requires gathering of information about their population trends, often acquired using migratory bird counts. These schemes ideally operate at migratory bottlenecks, through which a significant portion of the counted migratory populations is funneled. Yet it is rare to validate the conservation value of the data...
Climate-related drivers of migratory bird health in the south-central USA
Renee A. McPherson, Katrina E. Alger, Erik K. Hofmeister
2025, Biological Reviews (100) 1272-1293
Migratory birds are species of concern that play important ecological roles while also supporting recreational opportunities for the hunting and birdwatching public. Direct and indirect effects of climate variability, extremes, and change on migratory bird health manifest at the individual, population, species, and community levels. This review focuses on the...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 in double-crested cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) of the Chesapeake Bay, USA
Johanna Alexandra Harvey, Jeffery Dale Sullivan, Rebecca L. Poulson, Deborah L. Carter, Cindy P. Driscoll, Peter C. McGowan, Carl R. Callahan, Amy W. O'Donnell, Jennifer M. Mullinax, David E. Stallknecht, Diann J. Prosser
2025, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (61) 348-356
Double-crested Cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) have historically exhibited low levels of infection and antibodies to avian influenza virus (AIV). The recent global expansion of clade 2.3.4.4b A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 highly pathogenic (HP) avian influenza virus H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) has resulted in large-scale mortalities across diverse waterbird taxa including cormorants. We sampled 32 and...
Video evidence of a Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) preying upon a live Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) duckling in Louisiana
Brad Glorioso, Alex Landry, Gabrielle Mandill
2025, Southeastern Naturalist (23) N90-N93
Most animal matter in the diet of the omnivorous Trachemys scripta (Pond Slider) consists of invertebrate prey items such as insects, crustaceans, and mollusks, but often also includes fish and amphibians. Reptiles, birds, and mammals are less commonly reported, and even when found, it is usually unknown if they were...
Bait trapping of waterfowl increases the environmental contamination of avian influenza virus (AIV)
Cassandra Andrew, Landon McPhee, Kevin Kuchinski, Jordan Wight, Ishraq Rahman, Sarah Mansour, Gabrielle Angelo Cortez, Marzieh Kalhor, Ethan Kenmuir, Natalie Prystajecky, Kathryn Hargan, Andrew Lang, James Leafloor, Catherine Soos, Andrew M. Ramey, Chelsea Himsworth
2025, Journal of Wildlife Management (89)
Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5Nx clade 2.3.4.4b has circulated in North America since late 2021, resulting in higher rates of morbidity and mortality in wild birds than observed in this region before. The objective of this study was to determine whether baiting, which is widely conducted in Canada...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Barry D. Parkin, Betty R. Euliss
2025, Professional Paper 1842-BB
Keys to Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) management include providing shrub-dominated edge habitat adjacent to grasslands or grasslands with a shrub component (both of which must include dense grass and moderately high litter cover) and avoiding disturbances that eliminate woody vegetation. Field Sparrows have been reported to use habitats with 16–134...
Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) abundance in a National Conservation Area in Idaho has increased since the 1970s–1990s
Steven Alsup, James R. Belthoff, Karen Steenhof, Michael N. Kochert, Todd E. Katzner
2025, Journal of Raptor Research (59) 1-13
The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA), in southwestern Idaho, USA supports a large population of breeding Prairie Falcons (Falco mexicanus). Abundance of Prairie Falcons in the NCA was previously monitored in 1976–1978 and 1990–1994. That research indicated maximum counts for each period in 1976...
Perpetuation of avian influenza from molt to fall migration in wild Swan Geese (Anser cygnoides): An agent-based modeling approach
John Takekawa, Chang-Yong Choi, Diann J. Prosser, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Nyambaya Batbayar, Xiangming Xiao
2025, Viruses (17)
Wild waterfowl are considered to be the reservoir of avian influenza, but their distinct annual life cycle stages and their contribution to disease dynamics are not well understood. Studies of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus have primarily focused on wintering grounds, where human and poultry densities are high...
Sulfur-to-iron ratio as a proxy for degree of organic sulfurization
Katherine L. French, Justin E. Birdwell
2025, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (26)
The degree of organic sulfurization is broadly relevant yet underreported. We present a statistically significant correlation between whole rock S/Fe and the measured degree of organic sulfurization in the thermally immature Cenomanian–Turonian Eagle Ford Group. This relationship shows a sink switch for sulfur from pyrite to organic matter. Excess iron...
An enigmatic wild passerine mortality event in the eastern United States
Sabrina S. Greening, Julie C. Ellis, Nicole L. Lewis, David B. Needle, Cristina M. Tato, Susan Knowles, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Jaimie L. Miller, Daniel A. Grear, Jeffrey M. Lorch, David S. Blehert, Caitlin Burrell, Lisa A. Murphy, Erica A. Miller, C. Brandon Ogbunugafor, Andrea J. Ayala, W. Kelley Thomas, Megan S. Kirchgessner, Christine Casey, Ethan P. Barton, Michael J. Yabsley, Eman Anis, Roderick B. Gagne, Patrice Klein, Cindy P. Driscoll, Chelsea Sykes, Robert H. Poppenga, Nicole M. Nemeth
2025, Veterinary Sciences (12)
The ability to rapidly respond to wildlife health events is essential. However, such events are often unpredictable, especially with anthropogenic disturbances and climate-related environmental changes driving unforeseen threats. Many events also are short-lived and go undocumented, making it difficult to draw on lessons learned from past investigations. We report on...
Site-level connectivity identified from multiple sources of movement data to inform conservation of a migratory bird
M. Beal, J. Nightingale, J.R. Belo, C. Batey, H. Belting, P. Bocher, M. Burgess, T.B. Craft, N. Crockford, P. Delaporte, L. Donaldson, G. Gelinaud, J.A. Gill, T.G. Gunnarsson, B. J. Morrison, J.S. Gutierrez, J. Hooijmeijer, R.A. Howison, P. Hunke, L. Jomat, H. Lemke, J. P. Ludwig, F.A. Majoor, C. Marlow, J.A. Masero, J. Melter, I. Nicholson, M. Parejo, B. O'Mahony, E. Pasanen, J. Pessa, T. Piersma, A.D. Rocha, F. Robin, M. Roodbergen, P. Rousseau, V. Salewski, L. Schmidt, J. Smart, A. Staneva, T. Lee Tibbitts, S. Timonen, J.A. Alves, M.P. Dias
2025, Journal of Applied Ecology (62) 303-316
Migratory birds depend on a suite of sites across their annual cycles, making them vulnerable to a wide variety of anthropogenic pressures. Current area-based conservation measures have been found inadequate to safeguard migratory birds, in part due to a lack of consideration for the connectivity between sites mediated by...
Challenges and opportunities for data integration to improve estimation of migratory connectivity
J. A. Hostetler, Emily B. Cohen, Christen M. Bossu, Amy L. Scarpignato, Kristen Ruegg, Andrea Contina, Clark S. Rushing, Michael T. Hallworth
2025, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (16) 362-376
Understanding migratory connectivity, or the linkage of populations between seasons, is critical for effective conservation and management of migratory wildlife. A growing number of tools are available for understanding where migratory individuals and populations occur throughout the annual cycle. Integration of the diverse measures of migratory movements can help...
Hydrologic variability and plant composition drive relative abundance of marsh birds at created and reference marshes in southeastern Louisiana, U.S.A.
Aylett Lipford, Leah L.K. Moran, Drew Nathan Fowler, Sammy L. King
2025, Restoration Ecology (33)
Coastal marsh loss occurs at an alarming pace globally, with extremely high rates along the northern Gulf of Mexico, particularly in Louisiana. In Louisiana, marsh creation projects combat wetland loss; however, biotic responses of vegetation and wildlife receive little to no consideration during and after construction. Habitat characteristics such as...
Sex differences in migration routes and non-breeding areas of a declining shorebird
Ann E. McKellar, Cheri L Gratto-Trevor, T. Lee Tibbitts
2025, Avian Conservation and Ecology (20)
Migratory birds face different threats and pressures across their annual cycle, and understanding the impact of these factors on individuals is critical to the conservation of avian populations. Individuals from the same breeding population may share the same non-breeding areas, and thus experience similar conditions, or they may travel to...
Evaluating effects of tracking device attachment methods on Black Oystercatchers Haematopus bachmani
Cole Rankin, Lena Ware, Brian H. Robinson, Daniel Esler, Heather Coletti, Mark Maftei, J Mark Hipfner, David Green
2025, Wader Study (131) 204-213
Advances in tracking technology are greatly improving our understanding of many aspects of avian ecology. However, the diversity of tracking devices and attachment methods necessitates better evaluation of how they affect particular taxa. We evaluated effects of tracking devices mounted on leg bands or attached using leg-loop harnesses on resighting...
Population estimates and land cover use of wintering Mountain Plovers in Texas
James E. Lyons, Brad A. Andres, Kelli L. Stone, Allison K. Pierce, Kammie L. Kruse
2025, Journal of Field Ornithology (96)
Conservation of migratory birds throughout the full annual cycle requires a comprehensive understanding of abundance and distribution in interconnected breeding, migration, and wintering habitats. The Mountain Plover (Anarhynchus montanus) is a rare endemic breeder of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains regions that migrates to wintering grounds in the southwestern...
Vertebrates in trade that pose high invasion risk to the United States
Wesley Daniel, Helen Sofaer, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Richard A. Erickson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Peder Scott Engelstad, Jonathan A. Freedman, Susan Canavan, Emily M. Dean, Michael J Adams, Charmayne L. Anderson, Mindy Barnett, Marybeth K. Brey, Kyle J. Brumm, Matthew S. Bunting, Emily Caffrey, Laura Cardador, Jacoby Carter, Phillip Cassey, Duane Chapman, Natalie M. Claunch, Timothy D. Counihan, Kristin P. Davis, Anant Deshwal, Andrew K. Douglas, Corey Garland Dunn, Chase Ehlo, Katie Everett, Jason M. Gleditsch, Andrew Grosse, Zoey Hendrickson, Steven C. Hess, Jeffrey E. Hill, Nick D. Holmes, Ana V. Longo, Julie L. Lockwood, Doran M. Mason, Ashley McDonald, Matthew Neilson, Kristen M. Reaver, Robert Reed, Caleb Powell Roberts, Jane S. Rogosch, Christina Romagosa, James C. Russell, Annie Simpson, Scott A. Smith, Jinelle Sperry, Quenton M. Tuckett, Kurt VerCauteren, J. Hardin Waddle, Christian Wanamaker, John D. Willson, Arden Williams, Deah Lieurance
2025, Biological Conservation (302)
The United States imports thousands of live vertebrate species annually as part of legal trade. Escapes and releases from captivity are major pathways of invasion, however, the risk posed by the thousands of imported vertebrate species has not been systematically assessed. We conducted a horizon scan that used a data-driven...
