Wisconsin Wildlife Research: Projects, Research Publications, Presentations, Thesis and Dissertations, Technical Publications

Wisconsin Wildlife Research Activities

Three neotropical birds: Magnolia warbler, Wilson's warbler, Canada warbler that were caught in a mist net for banding.

Unit research is done on a wide variety of topics having to do with natural resource issues and conservation at the state, regional, national, or international level. State projects are developed in collaboration with the state Department of Natural Resources. Other projects are developed to meet the needs of federal partners.

Projects

Project	Completion Date
CWD Deposition and Environmental Reservoirs	February 2016	Potential management of CWD has been hindered by the lack of key information about disease transmission. First, little information exists about when and in what amounts infected animals shed CWD agent, thereby infecting other animals and depositing infectious agent into the environment. Second, although the environmental route of transmission is known to be important in captive deer, no information exists on potential environmental deposition by infectious deer or potential environmental reservoirs of CWD infection for susceptible wild deer. The primary reason these issues have not been addressed is the lack of robust and sensitive methods to detect CWD in animal or environmental samples. However, with funding provided by the National Science Foundation and USGS, we have recently developed highly sensitive laboratory diagnostic methods (called protein misfolding cyclic amplification or PMCA) that provide a practical solution to this problem. We propose to investigate the environmental deposition of CWD agent in the infected area of south-central Wisconsin. Specifically, we will evaluate the presence and level of CWD prions at mineral licks frequented by deer, at deer scrape sites, and in feces of wild deer. The goal of our study is to identify and determine the relative importance of alternative environmental sources of CWD that function as potential reservoirs for infection in deer, or potentially other domestic animals that contact these reservoirs.	None
Valuing Wildlife in the US	October 2015	Based in large part on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, free-ranging wildlife has always been considered a public trust resource and not a marketable commodity. While there are many merits to this model, it is extremely difficult to economically value wildlife when necessary. This study will conduct a preliminary assessment of the economic value of free-ranging wildlife resources in the United States. Among the metrics we may summarize are levels of participation, direct expenditures, indirect economic benefits, and expenditures for management of the wildlife within the United States. Our goal is to provide a basic summary of the economic importance of wildlife resources for use in policy and management decisions.	None
Further Development of Forester Resonance Energy Transfer Methods for Detection of Botulinum Neurotoxin with Application to the Ecology of Type E Botulism in Lake Michigan	August 2014	To gain a greater understanding of the environmental factors that contribute to botulism outbreaks among wild birds and to protect public health, a rapid and sensitive diagnostic test is needed to facilitate ecological research on the scale necessary to understand the BoNT/E cycle in the Great Lakes and develop appropriate management strategies. The goals of this research are to complete development and validation of FRET technology for the in vitro detection of BoNTs (especially BoNTs C and E) in biological and environmental samples. This will be accomplished by developing similar methods for the detection BoNT/C as were developed for BoNT/E activity. FRET methodology will be further developed and validated on archived animal and environmental samples that have been previously characterized for BoNT/C and BoNT/E. And following successful test development the FRET assays will be used to identify the degree to which various environmental samples, invertebrates, and vertebrates are associated with the occurrence of BoNTs in the aquatic food web, initially focusing efforts near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.	In North America, avian botulism is the most significant killer of wild birds both in frequency and magnitude of mortality events. Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is also considered to be the most poisonous substances known, and botulism outbreaks with losses of up to 50,000 wild birds are common. C. botulinum produces seven distinct BoNTs designated as A to G, but BoNT types C and E are of primary concern to wildlife, and type E intoxication of humans can result from ingestion of improperly prepared fish products. Since the fall of 2000, type E botulism mortality resurged among fish-eating birds of the North American Great Lakes and caused significant mortality in common loons, mergansers, and gulls. It is proposed that environmental conditions following blooms of the native algae cladophora may promote growth of C. botulinum within Great Lakes sediments and subsequent BoNT/E production. BoNT/E may then be mobilized from the lake bed through food chains consisting of exotic species, such as zebra and quagga (dreissinid) mussels. BoNT/E may also be concentrated by the exotic round goby, a natural predator of dreissinid mussels. Fish-eating birds prey on both dreissinid mussels and round gobies, linking toxin-producing C. botulinum in lake-bed sediments and bird mortality. The current “gold standard” diagnostic test for BoNTs requires the use of live animals and takes up to four days. To gain a greater understanding of the environmental factors that contribute to botulism outbreaks among wild birds and to protect public health, a rapid and sensitive diagnostic test is needed to facilitate ecological research on the scale necessary to understand the BoNT/E cycle in the Great Lakes and develop appropriate management strategies. The goals of this research are to complete development and validation of FRET technology for the in vitro detection of BoNTs (especially BoNTs C and E) in biological and environmental samples. This will be accomplished by developing similar methods for the detection BoNT/C as were developed for BoNT/E activity. FRET methodology will be further developed and validated on archived animal and environmental samples that have been previously characterized for BoNT/C and BoNT/E. And following successful test development the FRET assays will be used to identify the degree to which various environmental samples, invertebrates, and vertebrates are associated with the occurrence of BoNTs in the aquatic food web, initially focusing efforts near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Vulnerability of Hawaiian forest birds to climate change	June 2016	The introduced mosquito vector and avian malaria are considered to be primary factors contributing to population declines and changes in the distribution of many native Hawaiian forest birds. Avian malaria dynamics is strongly influenced by climatic components (rainfall and temperature) and successful conservation of the Hawaiian avifauna requires strategies that consider future disease risk posed by climate change. Key objectives of our research will be to evaluate predicted temporal and spatial changes in avian malaria as a result of anticipated climatic changes, evaluate the potential for additional species extinctions, consider genetic adaptation to malaria, and evaluate the effectiveness and costs of conservation strategies to mitigate anticipated population impacts. This project will provide the first quantitative assessment of the long-term impact of climate change on avian malaria distribution and impacts on endemic Hawaiian forest birds, and provide a crucial tool to adaptively manage population recovery and promote disease resistance.	None
CWD shedding across cervid species and natural deposition	January 2014	Potential management of CWD has been hindered by the lack of key pieces of information about disease transmission. First, little information exists about when and in what amounts infected animals shed CWD agent, thus infecting other animals and depositing agent into the environment. Second, although the environmental route of transmission is known to be important in captive deer, no information exists on potential environmental deposition by infectious deer or reservoirs of CWD infection for susceptible wild deer. The primary reason these issues have not been addressed is the lack of robust methods to detect CWD in animal or environmental samples. We have recently developed highly sensitive laboratory diagnostic methods that provide a practical solution to this problem. We will utilize these new methods to: 1) determine the time course and amount of CWD shedding by infected white-tailed deer, mule deer, and elk; 2) compare CWD shedding patterns among species; and 3) investigate potential environmental reservoirs of CWD.	None
Development of PMCA for detection of CWD prions	August 2013	The objective of the proposed research is to develop highly sensitive PMCA methods for testing soil and animal secretions/excreta for the presence of prions, specifically CWD. The proposed study will supplement funding from the National Science Foundation to develop PMCA methods for prion detection in deer secretions/excreta (feces and other tissues). We will test samples collected at the Hall Farm in Portage County, Wisconsin using cervidized transgenic Tg(CerPrP) mice to detect CWD prions from feces of infected animals from this premise. This project will contribute to the development of PMCA methods for detecting CWD prions in deer secretions/excreta. Development of these methods will provide a crucial tool for efficiently measuring the presence and abundance of prions in animal samples and will enhance our scientific ability to address important research on the role of the environmental as a reservoir and in transmission of CWD.	Protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) has emerged as an important technique for detecting low levels of pathogenic prion protein in biological samples. The method exploits the ability of the pathogenic prion protein to convert the normal prion protein to a proteinase K-resistant conformation. Inclusion of TeflonH beads in the PMCA reaction (PMCAb) has been previously shown to increase the sensitivity and robustness of detection for the 263 K and SSLOW strains of hamster-adapted prions. Here, we demonstrate that PMCAb with saponin dramatically increases the sensitivity of detection for chronic wasting disease (CWD) agent without compromising the specificity of the assay (i.e., no false positive results). Addition of TeflonH beads increased the robustness of the PMCA reaction, resulting in a decrease in the variability of PMCA results. Three rounds of serial PMCAb allowed detection of CWD agent from a 6.7610213 dilution of 10% brain homogenate (1.3 fg of source brain). Titration of the same brain homogenate in transgenic mice expressing cervid prion protein (Tg(CerPrP)1536+/2 mice) allowed detection of CWD agent from the 1026 dilution of 10% brain homogenate. PMCAb is, thus, more sensitive than bioassay in transgenic mice by a factor exceeding 105. Additionally, we are able to amplify CWD agent from brain tissue and lymph nodes of CWD-positive white-tailed deer having Prnp alleles associated with reduced disease susceptibility.
Landscape-scale management of forest wildlife populations in Wisconsin	July 2024	Conservation of species has shifted from single site efforts to landscape-scale approaches due to the scale at which forest management operates. US Forest Service national forest managers conduct monitoring activities on populations according to the Forest Plan but lack time and expertise to analyze the data to help inform their management actions. The project is a collaboration of researchers and managers across multiple agencies and includes the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, US Forest Service Northern Research Station, and managers from the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The project will evaluate several long-term wildlife monitoring programs to provide science-based information to support inventory and monitoring efforts that contribute to the management of ecosystems and activities on the national forests in Wisconsin.	Conservation of species has shifted from single site efforts to landscape-scale approaches due to the scale at which forest management operates. US Forest Service national forest managers conduct monitoring activities on populations according to the Forest Plan but lack time and expertise to analyze the data to help inform their management actions. The project is a collaboration of researchers and managers across multiple agencies and includes the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, US Forest Service Northern Research Station, and managers from the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The project will evaluate several long-term wildlife monitoring programs to provide science-based information to support inventory and monitoring efforts that contribute to the management of ecosystems and activities on the national forests in Wisconsin.
Landscape-scale management of grassland birds in Wisconsin	April 2022	It is widely recognized that grassland obligate birds are declining faster than any other bird community in the Upper Midwest. Recently, conservation delivery has changed from focusing on individual sites at the local scale to focusing on landscape-scale conservation areas. This project is a collaboration across the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and state natural resource managers in the Midwest. State-level densities will be estimated for a suite of grassland birds in the Midwest and then used to evaluate the importance of current landscape-scale conservation areas in Wisconsin for grassland bird populations.	It is widely recognized that grassland obligate birds are declining faster than any other bird community in the Upper Midwest. Recently, conservation delivery has changed from focusing on individual sites at the local scale to focusing on landscape-scale conservation areas. This project is a collaboration across the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and state natural resource managers in the Midwest. State-level densities will be estimated for a suite of grassland birds in the Midwest and then used to evaluate the importance of current landscape-scale conservation areas in Wisconsin for grassland bird populations.
Wolf Predation and Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin	July 2026	Chronic wasting disease is a fatal, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that uniquely affects free-ranging deer. There are no prophylactic or therapeutic treatments. The potential impact of selective removal of chronic wasting disease-positive deer by canids like wolves and coyotes on chronic wasting disease transmission dynamics is under-investigated, yet an important consideration for wildlife managers. For example, it is unknown whether canids might preferentially target chronic wasting disease infected prey, and what the consequences could be for long term population dynamics of predators, prey and disease. However, given the chronic nature of chronic wasting disease and its neurological and physical effects, symptomatic individuals are expected to have a heightened risk of predation. This is a collaboration between University of Wisconsin - Madison, the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, the Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. This research will provide scientific results to enable managers and conservationists to evaluate the degree to which coyote and wolf predation enhances human-hunter-based management of chronic wasting disease.	None
Investigating environmental transmission of chronic wasting disease	July 2026	Chronic wasting disease is a fatal prion disease affecting deer species, which has negative effects on affected populations and wildlife conservation. Chronic wasting disease is caused by an infectious misfolded protein, called a prion, that can be transmitted directly, from an infected to a susceptible host through close contact, or indirectly, through host contact with prions in the environment. Little is currently known about the environmental transmission pathway, and its importance in disease spread in deer populations. This project investigates environmental transmission of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>) in southwestern Wisconsin. This project is a collaboration between the Wisconsin and Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Units, the University of Wisconsin - Madison, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the National Wildlife Health Center, and the University of Minnesota. This investigation of transmission risk at potential environmental reservoirs will provide results to help guide managers’ decision-making and help focus response efforts on high-impact transmission mechanisms and site types.	None
Mechanisms of chronic wasting disease transmission	December 2029	Chronic wasting disease is a major management concern for wildlife agencies and understanding the principles of chronic wasting disease transmission is crucial for developing effective disease control strategies. Many fundamental questions critical to managing this important wildlife disease remain unanswered, including aspects of prion variation, prion survival in the environment, chronic wasting disease transmission, disease processes in infected hosts, and spillover risk to other species. This project is a collaboration between the US Geological Survey's Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit and National Wildlife Health Center, and the University of Wisconsin - Madison. The project will generate a graduate dissertation on chronic wasting disease transmission, providing scientific results that will inform decision making.	None
Antarctic Marine Predators in a Dynamic Climate	December 2024	The accelerating pace of global change creates urgency to understand and predict climate impacts on ecosystems. In the Antarctic region, sea ice is a fundamental feature of the environment; projected sea ice loss has the potential to alter all levels of the food chain, from primary and secondary productivity to seabirds and marine mammals. A predictive capacity for ecosystems is critical to enable decision-making for conservation and resource management; such a capacity requires clear understanding of ecosystem function in the context of dynamic environmental conditions.<br><br>This project is a collaboration between the USGS, NASA the University of Wisconsin - Madison and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. We use a comprehensive dataset on the abundance and distribution of four Antarctic key marine predators, made possible via satellite imagery, to captures the spatial and temporal population dynamics at the pan-Antarctic scale. We use this to evaluate the conditions sustaining marine “hotspots” -regions where biomass is exceptionally concentrated- which will contribute to our capacity to forecast the long-term resilience of Antarctic marine predators.	None
Identifying Population Tipping Points Through Imagery Super-Resolution	May 2025	The Landsat satellite archive provides an extraordinary time series of environmental change, but many key processes occur at spatial scales too small to be studied at its native resolution. However, techniques for image super-resolution provide an exciting opportunity to infer environmental changes occurring at smaller spatial scales and, in doing, unlock the potential to study sub-pixel changes in biodiversity going back nearly 50 years.<br><br>This project is a collaboration between the USGS, NASA, the University of Wisconsin - Madison and Stony Brook University. We will leverage the temporal repeat imaging capability of Landsat and the statistical regularity of Earth’s features to infer sub-pixel scale patterns in the population dynamics of Adelie penguins, colonially nesting seabirds whose guano stain is visible in satellite imagery. In doing so, we will address fundamental questions about the long-term dynamics of Adelie penguins and develop an image super-resolution methodology with wide applicability to other biodiversity applications.	None
Advancing Trail Camera Monitoring Through Simulation	August 2027	The Snapshot Wisconsin trail camera network provides continuous photo data across Wisconsin to better understand the status of wildlife populations. These data can potentially be used to estimate populations metrics, such as the distributions, sex and age ratios, and relative abundances of both focal game and nongame species. However, Snapshot Wisconsin trail cameras are set up non-randomly and are spaced far apart relative to most home range sizes of Wisconsin’s wildlife. These factors can complicate or impede our ability to get unbiased metrics from existing trail camera modeling methods.<br><br>This project is a collaboration between the USGS, the University of Wisconsin - Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. We will build animal movement models to simulate movement of focal species across Wisconsin landscapes with the Snapshot Wisconsin network of trail camera. These simulations will help answer long-standing questions about how the distribution, social structure and population dynamics of animal populations affect our ability to derive accurate population metrics given a distribution of trail cameras.	None
Building Ecological Data Pipelines for Listed Species Permit Data	January 2025	To more effectively manage federally endangered, threatened, and at-risk species, The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) seeks to use data it has collected from permit holders to help address critical recovery and management needs. To accomplish this task, reproducible data pipelines and workflows must be developed and implemented that can deliver a standardized data product easily vetted and used by USFWS biologists and field staff. These need to be extensible to additional taxa beyond the scope of this project and can ultimately serve as potential precursors to larger data standardization and database initiatives currently underway at the USFWS.<br><br>This project is a collaboration between the USGS, the University of Wisconsin - Madison and the USFWS Region 3 Ecological Services program. Under this collaboration, data pipelines and workflows will be developed for freshwater mussels, bats and bee USFWS permit data. A key output from these efforts will be an updatable spatial database available to staff biologists tasked with managing these species that can be easily maintained by USFWS staff.	None
Assessing chronic wasting disease environmental prion reservoirs	August 2025	The prevalence of chronic wasting disease continues to increase endemically and spread broadly over North America. However, transmission risks and chronic wasting disease dynamics associated with environmental prion reservoirs remain poorly understood due to the lack of efficient diagnostic tools. With advances in prion assay technology (RT-QuIC), the proposed research can fill key gaps in knowledge about ecologically- and management-relevant environmental sources of CWD transmission. This project builds off previous work funded by the WI-DNR to leverage prion assay technology (real-time quaking-induced conversion; RT-QuIC) to detect chronic wasting disease prions in environmental reservoirs and considers the role of scavengers. Our aim is to 1) assess the effects of chronic wasting disease-positive carcasses and vertebrate scavengers on prion deposition and distribution in soils at deer carcass sites, and 2) quantify animal activity at deer carcass sites and scavenger movement ecology to evaluate host exposure risk and the effects of scavengers on carcass consumption and prion removal or dissemination. Outcomes will provide an understanding of the extent and significance of prion contamination in the environment, which can subsequently inform management actions and disease prediction models.	The prevalence of CWD continues to increase endemically and spread broadly over North America. However, transmission risks and CWD dynamics associated with environmental prion reservoirs remain poorly understood due to the lack of efficient diagnostic tools. With advances in prion assay technology (RT-QuIC), the proposed research can fill key gaps in knowledge about ecologically- and management-relevant environmental sources of CWD transmission. This project builds off previous work funded by the WI-DNR to leverage prion assay technology (real-time quaking-induced conversion; RT-QuIC) to detect chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions in deer tissues and environmental reservoirs. Our aim is to evaluate prion loads in tissues and biotic and abiotic environmental sources (e.g., soil, feces from scavenger species) that are ecologically relevant for CWD dynamics. To better understand environmental CWD dynamics, we aim to semi-quantitatively characterize CWD prion loads in a range of deer tissues, deer scent glands, soils at CWD-infected deer carcass sites, and scavenger scats. Outcomes will provide an understanding of the extent and significance of prion contamination in the environment, which can subsequently inform management actions and disease prediction models.
Chronic Wasting Disease - Evaluation of Disease Patterns and Management Actions	June 2011	Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was discovered in Wisconsin white-tailed deer harvested from Deer Management Unit 70A in fall 2001. Actions taken by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) include testing to determine the geographic distribution of CWD, depopulation of deer in the area known to be infected, reduction of deer populations in areas surrounding the infected area to prevent spread of CWD, banning baiting and feeding to reduce CWD transmission and conducting research to increase understanding of CWD. In 2002, CWD was also discovered in southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. This second disease area is separate from the first disease area in south-central Wisconsin, and the proximity of infected animals indicates this outbreak spans the Wisconsin-Illinois boarder. The goals of this project are to provide technical information, scientific guidance, and related assistance to WDNR managers and policy makers, University researchers, and other cooperators and agencies managing CWD in Wisconsin; provide analytical evaluation of management activities to control CWD including assessment of surveillance programs, spatial and demographic analysis of disease patterns, temporal changes in disease prevalence, and monitoring of changes in response to management programs; and provide scientific guidance and technical advice on the development and implementation of disease monitoring and surveillance programs focused on disease control efforts.	None
Landscape Genetics to Investigate CWD in Wisconsin White-Tailed Deer Population	June 2011	Recent improvements in molecular genetics in combination with powerful computers and new analytical tools (spatial analysis and Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods) has lead to the development of the field of landscape genetics; an integration of population genetics and landscape ecology. The goal of landscape genetics is to understand and resolve the interaction between landscape features and genetics process (continuous gene flow, genetic barriers, habitat permeability, connectivity, and meta-populations) across different geographic scales. We will use methods based on genetic isolation by distance or matrix models and methods of spatial analysis to evaluate gene flow as a spatial predictor of disease prevalence. The goal of this research project is to further develop and apply the tools of landscape ecology and landscape genetics to the spread of wildlife diseases, in particular chronic wasting disease. . Genetics data collected on > 3,500 deer from the CWD affected area in south-central Wisconsin (approximately 120 m2) will provide the baseline genetics information in this research proposal for establishing gene flow patterns beyond this core affected area. This research will build upon these studies by applying landscape genetics to address broad geographic questions on gene flow and disease spread. This approach will evaluate gene flow patterns across the landscape, how landscape structure affects gene flow, and current disease patterns to evaluate and model the factors associated with the geographic distribution of CWD infection. These analyses will consider how distance for the disease focus, gene flow, and landscape features influence disease spread. Specific landscape features (riparian areas, river barriers, highway barriers, cities) and habitat types (forested areas, agricultural areas, urban areas) that result in landscape friction or permeability will also be evaluated as potential corridors and/or barriers to gene flow and thus to predicting disease spread.	One of the pervasive challenges in landscape genetics is detecting gene flow patterns within continuous populations of highly mobile wildlife. Understanding population genetic structure within a continuous population can give insights into social structure, movement across the landscape and contact between populations, which influence ecological interactions, reproductive dynamics or pathogen transmission. We investigated the genetic structure of a large population of deer spanning the area of Wisconsin and Illinois, USA, affected by chronic wasting disease. We combined multiscale investigation, landscape genetic techniques and spatial statistical modelling to address the complex questions of landscape factors influencing population structure. We sampled over 2000 deer and used spatial autocorrelation and a spatial principal components analysis to describe the population genetic structure. We evaluated landscape effects on this pattern using a spatial autoregressive model within a model selection framework to test alternative hypotheses about gene flow. We found high levels of genetic connectivity, with gradients of variation across the large continuous population of white-tailed deer. At the fine scale, spatial clustering of related animals was correlated with the amount and arrangement of forested habitat. At the broader scale, impediments to dispersal were important to shaping genetic connectivity within the population. We found significant barrier effects of individual state and interstate highways and rivers. Our results offer an important understanding of deer biology and movement that will help inform the management of this species in an area where overabundance and disease spread are primary concerns. Keywords: generalized linear model, landscape genetics, model
Predicting the Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease in an Agricultural Landscape	September 2011	The goal of this project is to integrate genetic tools (measurement of gene flow across geographic populations) with landscape ecology (identification of habitat friction/permeability and landscape features) and CWD disease patterns to develop models for predicting the geographic pathways and relative rates of CWD transmission across areas of southern Wisconsin. Emphasis will be placed on development of models of disease spread and prediction of geographic spread of CWD to aid the long-term management of CWD and to identify areas of risk of CWD exposure in human and livestock systems. Specific project objectives include: 1) Utilize current landscape, deer range, and GIS maps to identify contiguous patches of deer habitat, disjunct deer populations, potential migration corridors, and potential movement barriers to optimize collection of genetic samples and facilitate landscape connectivity modeling; 2) Evaluate potential barriers (rivers, highways, extensive agricultural areas) and corridors (riparian areas, forested landscape) to deer movement patterns and gene flow; 3) Determine whether CWD positive deer from spark areas (areas of CWD infection separated from the high prevalence core area) originated locally or dispersed from the core area. Genetic methods would be used to compare relatedness from CWD positive deer in the spark areas to deer from spark and core areas; and 4) Develop integrated models of geographic gene flow, landscape features, and habitat permeability that affect deer movement, link these models to CWD prevalence patterns, and predict potential geographic spread and relative rate of CWD infection beyond the current distribution.	None
The Role of Environmental and Direct Transmision in Chronic Wasting Disease Dynamics	September 2012	NSF has funded a portion of our larger-scale proposal to focus our research efforts on adapting, validating and applying a novel, biochemical method to detect the pathogenic prion protein (PrPTSE) associated with chronic wasting disease in environmental samples. The pathogenic prion protein co-purifies with prion infectivity and constitutes the major, if not sole, component of the prion. PrPTSE refers to pathogenic prion protein in general, and PrPCWD to PrPTSE specifically associated with chronic wasting disease (CWD). Our goal will be to detect PrPCWD in environmental samples using the protein misfolding cyclical amplification (PMCA) technique. PMCA ranks among the most important recent developments in prion measurement. PMCA exploits the ability of PrPTSE to seed the conversion of the normal, cellular form of the prion protein (PrPC) to the misfolded isoform in a manner conceptually similar to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amount of PrPTSE is increased by successive cycles of sonication (to disrupt PrPTSE aggregates) and incubation with PrPC from brain homogenate as a substrate. Sensitivity can be increased by replenishing the substrate after a round of PMCA, this method has been recently automated allowing PMCA to be applied to large numbers of samples simultaneously. PMCA has been successfully employed to detect prions in blood, urine and tissues of presymptomatic animals. The sensitivity depends on the number of PMCA rounds; successive rounds of PMCA dramatically increase the level of amplification. The lowest detection limit reported to date for infected brain homogenate is ~26 molecules or 1.3 ag, a thousand-fold more sensitive than the next most sensitive animal bioassay of 5.3 fg. The exquisite sensitivity of PMCA and the recent automation of the method make it a particularly attractive candidate to adapt for application to environmental matrices.	Protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) has emerged as an important technique for detecting low levels of pathogenic prion protein in biological samples. The method exploits the ability of the pathogenic prion protein to convert the normal prion protein to a proteinase K-resistant conformation. Inclusion of TeflonH beads in the PMCA reaction (PMCAb) has been previously shown to increase the sensitivity and robustness of detection for the 263 K and SSLOW strains of hamster-adapted prions. Here, we demonstrate that PMCAb with saponin dramatically increases the sensitivity of detection for chronic wasting disease (CWD) agent without compromising the specificity of the assay (i.e., no false positive results). Addition of TeflonH beads increased the robustness of the PMCA reaction, resulting in a decrease in the variability of PMCA results. Three rounds of serial PMCAb allowed detection of CWD agent from a 6.7610213 dilution of 10% brain homogenate (1.3 fg of source brain). Titration of the same brain homogenate in transgenic mice expressing cervid prion protein (Tg(CerPrP)1536+/2 mice) allowed detection of CWD agent from the 1026 dilution of 10% brain homogenate. PMCAb is, thus, more sensitive than bioassay in transgenic mice by a factor exceeding 105. Additionally, we are able to amplify CWD agent from brain tissue and lymph nodes of CWD-positive white-tailed deer having Prnp alleles associated with reduced disease susceptibility.
GIS/HRA	June 2013	This project is involved in conducting surveys of breeding grassland/farmland birds, pheasants, roadside habitat surveys and vegetation sampling for a research project evaluating the effects of landscape-scale habitat management on pheasants, waterfowl, and non-game grasslands birds in the glacial habitat restoration area in east-central Wisconsin.	None
Bioenergy and Wildlife Conservation in Wisconsin	December 2012	In anticipation of using environmentally sensitive land for production of bioenergy crops, the state of Wisconsin has developed voluntary guidelines for safe and sustainable bioenergy crop production. Upward of six million acres of open land not currently in row crop production may be available, potentially providing a substantial contribution to Wisconsin’s energy needs. However, these lands currently contribute other ecosystem services such as clean water and wildlife habitat. Initial discussions of guidelines and standards have identified gaps in knowledge necessary to provide practical guidance to growers; including nutrient requirements of bioenergy crops such as switch grass and short rotation woody crops, and methods for identifying and quantifying wildlife habitat impacts. The overall goal of this research is to understand the conservation implications changes in land use for bioenergy production.	None
Title: Application of landscape genetic techniques to investigation of CWD dynamics and transmission in Wisconsin white-tailed deer populations	December 2009	This research will build on previous studies by using genetic techniques to measure connectivity between white-tailed deer populations and thus assess the role of migration in CWD spread, and to evaluate the importance of social relationships in local disease transmission. Specific research objectives include: 1) Determine whether CWD spreads first through family groups when introduced to a new area (i.e. are nearby pairs of infected deer more closely related than random deer pairs), 2) Determine the genetic connectivity of spark deer outside of CWD core areas, and assess likely origin of disease in these spark deer (WDEZ, EDEZ or other).	None
Spatial modeling of Chronic Wasting Disease epizootiology and disease management strategies	June 2012	The goal of this proposal is to use computer simulation modeling to evaluate a number of objectives related to CWD spatial epizootiology and management. Researchers will use an integrated approach by combining simulation modeling and maximum likelihood methods to evaluate alternative disease transmission models with CWD prevalence data collected in Wisconsin and Illinois during 2002-2008. Researchers have currently developed and evaluated simulation models that estimate CWD transmission rates and deer demographics using frequency- (FD) and density-dependent (DD) transmission. They will address the following objectives: 1) Extend the models to evaluate non-linear transmission that represents more realistic contact structures and transmission rates that are intermediate to FD and DD transmission, using maximum likelihood to estimate transmission parameters from CWD infection data collected in Wisconsin and Illinois. Researchers will evaluate how these transmission modes affect CWD epizootiology, deer demographics, and management responses based on different culling strategies. Because little is known about the relative importance of direct and indirect transmission on CWD dynamics they will also consider the implications of environmental sources contributing different levels (e.g., 0%, 25%, and 50%) of CWD transmission. 2) Use simulation models, current CWD prevalence, and historical deer abundance to develop maximum likelihood estimates of the time when CWD was introduced (or time disease has been present) at selected locations in Wisconsin and Illinois. Based on the suspected disease foci in both areas researchers will use regression analysis to determine the relationship between distance from suspected introduction locations and time disease has been present. This analysis will provide an estimate of the rate of CWD spread across the landscape (distance/time relationship). 3) Utilize spatially explicit simulation models with published deer dispersal parameters to evaluate the relative potential for CWD spread between uniform deer habitats (e.g., south-central WI) and fragmented deer habitats (e.g., IL-WI area). Researchers will use spatially explicit models to consider a three-zoned ring buffer for CWD management. These zones will include a core infected area, a surrounding buffer with lower prevalence, and a third concentric buffer without disease. They will simulate differential harvest strategies and buffer sizes to evaluate different management and surveillance strategies. Use the spatial simulation model to evaluate alternative surveillance strategies for detecting and monitoring CWD at the landscape level. Researchers will evaluate trade-offs between surveillance based on clinical animals (so called targeted surveillance), hunter shot animals (random surveillance), and from both sources combined. They will also evaluate sample sizes and times required to detect CWD in new areas or in areas adjacent to outbreaks. Based on the results above investigators will evaluate alternative surveillance strategies related to increases in CWD prevalence through time and with requirements for early detection of disease to achieve successful disease management.	Animal movement across the landscape plays a critical role in the ecology of infectious wildlife diseases. Dispersing animals can spread pathogens between infected areas and naive populations. While tracking free-ranging animals over the geographic scales relevant to landscape-level disease management is challenging, landscape features that influence gene flow among wildlife populations may also influence the contact rates and disease spread between populations. We used spatial diffusion and barriers to white-tailed deer gene flow, identified through landscape genetics, to model the distribution of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the infected region of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, USA. Our generalized linear model (GLM) showed that risk of CWD infection declined exponentially with distance from current outbreaks, and inclusion of gene flow barriers dramatically improved fit and predictive power of the model. Our results indicate that CWD is spreading across the Midwestern landscape from these two endemic foci, but spread is strongly influenced by highways and rivers that also reduce deer gene flow. We used our model to plot a risk map, offering important information for CWD management by considering likely routes of disease spread and providing a tool for prioritizing disease monitoring and containment efforts. The current analysis may serve as a framework for modeling future risk drawing on genetic information to investigate barriers to disease spread and extending disease management and monitoring beyond currently affected regions. Few studies have evaluated the mode and rate of transmission, and implications of alternative management strategies for wildlife diseases. We used hunter harvest data to address how these processes affect chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a Wisconsin white-tailed deer population. Uncertainty regarding demographic impacts of CWD on cervid populations, human and domestic animal health concerns, and potential economic consequences underscore the need for strategies to control CWD distribution and prevalence. Using maximum likelihood methods to evaluate alternative multi-state deterministic models of CWD transmission, harvest data strongly supports a frequency-dependent transmission structure with sex-specific transmission rates that are two times higher in males than females. We show that harvest focused on the greater-affected sex (males) can result in stable population dynamics and control of CWD within the next 50 years. We also provide a quantitative estimate of geographic disease spread in southern Wisconsin, validating qualitative assessments that CWD spreads relatively slowly. As transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are an important and difficult-to-study class of diseases with major economic and ecological implications, our work provides strong support for frequency-dependent transmission in wild deer at a broad spatial scale and indicates that effective harvest management can be implemented to control CWD. Given increased discovery and distribution of CWD throughout North America, insights from our study are valuable to management agencies and to the general public concerned about the impacts of CWD on white-tailed deer populations. Considering individual variation in disease transmission is critical for understanding epizootic dynamics, evaluating the risk of pathogen dispersal, and identifying efficient control strategies. We developed a stage-structured matrix model to evaluate individual heterogeneity in transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in two epizootic areas in Wisconsin (WI) and Illinois (IL). Using surveillance data collected from deer harvested during 2002-2011, we applied profile likelihood methods to determine the transmission mode and evaluate age/stage- and sex-specific infection rates. Our study showed strong support for frequency-dependent (FD) transmission in both epizootic areas, with higher infection rates in adult males than adult females and yearlings, likely reflecting the variation in social behavior and interactions between sexes. While transmission coefficients in adult females and yearlings were similar in both epizootic areas, we found a lower infection rate in adult males in the IL epizootic. Potential explanations of this pattern include differences in contact structure and movement patterns in the more fragmented IL landscape, variations in harvest pressure (due to different control policies), or differential routes of CWD exposure, including a potential environmental reservoir. Our simulations predicted that control of CWD is unlikely with the current population reduction strategies or female-oriented hunting (due to the FD transmission). In contrast, male-focused harvest could decrease CWD prevalence in both areas before mid-century; however, this strategy will also reduce the density of adult males, impacting hunting opportunities. CWD management may be faster in IL, where lower infection rate in adult males and higher dispersal rates could increase the rate of disease spread over the landscape, while reducing transmission on a local scale. The fact that CWD is under similar FD mechanisms in different habitats suggests that similar CWD management strategies could be implemented in different areas. However, the mechanisms underlying CWD transmission, especially in adult males, through social contact and/or environmental sources of prions, and diffusion across the landscape need further investigation to better understand and predict long-term CWD dynamics.
Modeling the dynamics of avian influenza in wild birds and potential transmission with domestic fowl	December 2010	The main objective of this project is to develop a simplified epidemiological model of AI transmission among wild birds and wetland ecosystems and to consider potential routes of transmission between wild and domestic birds. Currently little is currently known about the many factors that likely influence the dynamics of AI in wild birds, thus, researchers will focus on simple models that incorporate rates of virus shedding, infection, and recovery for wild bird populations; input and turnover of virus in wetland systems; and alternative routes of transmission between wild and domestic birds (e.g., common wetlands, use of contaminated water, exposure via field contamination). Model development, complexity, and initial parameter estimation will be based on information or data obtained from published and unpublished reports and on knowledge provided by wildlife disease experts. Initially, models will be constructed based on ecological and geographical separation of waterbirds into breeding, fall migration, wintering, and spring migration components. Development of this modeling framework for AI will provide a number of expected benefits: 1) summary and quantification of epidemiological information about AI infection in wild birds, 2) systematic sensitivity evaluation to identify areas where scientific research will have the highest impacts on predicting disease dynamics, 3) evaluate the potential impact of alternative hypotheses about AI transmission and reservoir dynamics, 4) guide and focus scientific investigations by identifying key factors and interactions that should be studied, 5) provide a preliminary modeling framework that can be enhanced as additional scientific information is discovered, 6) provide a simple framework for evaluating alternative monitoring and detection strategies, and 7) provide an initial framework to determining relative risk of AI transmission between wild and domestic species.	Despite the recognized importance of fecal/oral transmission of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) via contaminated wetlands, little is known about the length, quantity, or route of AI virus shed by wild waterfowl. We used published laboratory challenge studies to evaluate the length and quantity of low pathogenic (LP) and highly pathogenic (HP) virus shed via oral and cloacal routes by AI-infected ducks and geese, and how these factors might influence AI epidemiology and virus detection. We used survival analysis to estimate the duration of infection (from virus inoculation to the last day virus was shed) and nonlinear models to evaluate temporal patterns in virus shedding. We found higher mean virus titer and longer median infectious period for LPAI-infected ducks (10-11.5 days in oral and cloacal swabs) than HPAI-infected ducks (5 days) and geese (7.5 days). Based on the median bird infectious dose (BID50), we found that environmental contamination is two times higher for LPAI- than HPAI-infectious ducks, which implies that susceptible birds may have a higher probability of infection during LPAI than HPAI outbreaks. Less environmental contamination during the course of infection, and previously documented shorter environmental persistence for HPAI than LPAI suggests that the environment is a less favorable reservoir for HPAI. The longer infectious period, higher virus titers, and subclinical infections with LPAI viruses favor the spread of these viruses by migratory birds in comparison to HPAI. Given the lack of detection of HPAI viruses through worldwide surveillance, we suggest monitoring for AI should aim at improving our understanding of AI dynamics (in particular, the role of the environment and immunity) using long-term comprehensive live bird, serologic, and environmental sampling at targeted areas. Our findings on LPAI and HPAI shedding patterns over time provide essential information to parameterize environmental transmission and virus spread in predictive epidemiologic models of disease risks. Although wild waterfowl are the main reservoir for low pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIv), the environment is considered an important reservoir for the circulation and persistence of AIv. LPAIv may persist for extended periods in cold environments, suggesting that waterfowl breeding areas in the northern hemisphere may be an important reservoir for AIv in contrast to the warmer southern wintering areas. We evaluated whether southern wetlands, with relatively small populations (thousands) of resident waterfowl, maintain AIv in the summer, prior to the arrival of millions of migratory birds. We collected water and fecal samples at ten wetlands in two regions (Yolo Bypass and Sacramento Valley) of the California Central Valley during three bi-weekly intervals beginning in late July, 2010. We detected AIv in 29/367 fecal samples (7.9%) and 12/597 water samples (2.0%) by matrix real time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR). We isolated two H3N8, two H2N3, and one H4N8 among rRT-PCR positive fecal samples but no live virus from water samples. Detection of AIv RNA in fecal samples was higher from wetlands in the Sacramento Valley (11.9%) than in the Yolo Bypass (0.0%), but no difference was found for water samples (2.7 vs. 1.7%, respectively). Our study showed that low densities of hosts and unfavorable environmental conditions did not prevent LPAIv circulation during summer in California wetlands. Our findings justify further investigations to understand AIv dynamics in resident waterfowl populations, compare AIv subtypes between migratory and resident waterfowl, and assess the importance of local AIv as a source of infection for migratory birds. Although there is strong interest in avian influenza (AI) epidemiology to predict disease risk in wild and domestic birds, and prevent transmission to humans, understanding the epidemic dynamics of highly pathogenic (HPAI) viruses remains challenging because they have rarely been detected in wild birds. We used modeling to integrate available scientific information from laboratory and field studies, evaluate AI dynamics in individual hosts and waterfowl populations, and identify key areas for future research. We developed a Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered (SEIR) model and used published laboratory challenge studies to estimate epidemiological parameters (rate of infection, latency period, recovery and mortality rates), considering the importance of age classes, and virus pathogenicity. Infectious contact leads to infection and virus shedding within 1-2 days, followed by relatively slower period for recovery or mortality. We found a shorter infectious period for HPAI than low pathogenic (LP) AI, which may explain that HPAI has been much harder to detect than LPAI during surveillance programs. Our model predicted a rapid LPAI epidemic curve, with a median duration of infection of 50-60 days and no fatalities. In contrast, HPAI dynamics had lower prevalence and higher mortality, especially in young birds. Based on field data from LPAI studies, our model suggests to increase surveillance for HPAI in post-breeding areas, because the presence of immunologically naïve young birds is predicted to cause higher HPAI prevalence and bird losses during this season. Our model results indicate a better understanding of the transmission, infection, and immunity-related processes is required to refine predictions of AI risk and spread, improve surveillance for HPAI in wild birds, and develop disease control strategies to reduce potential transmission to domestic birds and/or humans. Although estimating AI transmission in wildlife populations is critical to understand host–pathogen dynamics and predict disease risks, it is extremely challenging because infection data from free-ranging populations are usually incomplete. AI surveillance programs may routinely miss the onset or end of epizootics and peak prevalence, limiting the ability to evaluate infectious processes and estimate rates of AI infection. We used a profile likelihood approach to estimate the force of infection (FOI) for our low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) epizootic model from censored time-series of LPAI virus prevalence in hatch-year waterfowl (order Anseriformes) at post breeding and migration sites in North America. We also applied this modeling framework to investigate potential LPAI virus immunity in adult waterfowl in North America and validated our findings using observed seroprevalence. We found a mean LPAI FOI of 0.12 day-1 [95% CI: 0.00-0.39], corresponding to an incidence rate of 0.11 day-1, with geographic heterogeneity (min-max: 0.02-0.23 day-1) among study sites. Comparison of model-predicted proportions of immune birds and field seroprevalence validated our assumption of no prior immunity in hatch-year waterfowl, but indicated the need for further scientific investigation of immunity processes in adult birds. Using the mean LPAI incidence rate, we predict a shorter and lower epizootic curve for HPAI (5 weeks and peak prevalence of 28%) than LPAI (8 weeks with peak prevalence of 50%). This finding indicates it is harder to detect HPAI than LPAI viruses with swabs from live birds, which are commonly used during disease surveillance. In general our study highlights the potential of integrating laboratory and field data using an epizootic model framework to estimate rates of disease transmission, epizootic dynamics, and potential risk of AI spread. Our general approach can handle various types of disease data, as illustrated by the estimation of infection rate with HPAI virus in mute swans (Cygnus olor) in Europe. Such a modeling approach provides an important tool to evaluate epizootic dynamics and inform disease surveillance and control programs.
Has CWD produced genetic selection in the Wisconsin white-tailed deer populations?	December 2013	The goal of this project is to investigate whether there is evidence of genetic selection in the CWD affected core area of Wisconsin, where disease has been present for at least 20 years.	None
Factors affecting CWD transmission: A comparison of CWD epizootics in Wisconsin and Illinois	August 2010	The broad objectives of this research are to identify landscape and biological factors associated with the patterns of CWD infection in white-tailed deer across southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. An important aspect of this study is to compare differences in disease transmission between the relatively continuous deer habitat of south-central Wisconsin and the fragmented habitat of south-eastern Wisconsin/northern Illinois. Specific project objectives include: 1) Evaluate existing spatial deer populations, habitat characteristics, and disease prevalence data to identify study sites, evaluate helicopter and Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) aerial survey methods to estimate deer density, and compile data on deer harvest and removal for study sites. Evaluate biases in deer age from tooth wear and cementum annuli ages on estimation of disease transmission rates. 2) Assemble comprehensive GIS data layers that include land cover/land use, topography, soil types, deer habitat, and features such as waterways, highways, and railroad right-of-ways. 3) Develop maps which relate the deer density, GIS, and the CWD prevalence data for study sites and evaluate spatial-temporal age-prevalence relationships to determine factors affecting disease transmission rates, with emphasis on density vs frequency dependent transmission and difference between continuous and fragmented deer habitats. 4) Based on the results in Objective 3, develop predictive models to develop and evaluate adaptive approaches for CWD management or control.	None
Development of F�rster Resonance Energy Transfer Methods for Detection of Botulinum Neurotoxin with Application to the Ecology of Type E Botulism in Lake Michigan	July 2011	1. Complete development and validation of FRET technology for the in vitro detection of BoNTs in biological and environmental samples. This will be accomplished by developing pull-down methods for the detection BoNT/E proteolytic activity. FRET methodology will be further developed and validated on archived animal and environmental samples that have been previously characterized for BoNT/E. 2. Following successful test development the FRET assay will be used to identify the degree to which cladophora blooms and the presence of exotic species, such as dreissenid mussels and round gobies, are associated with the occurrence of BoNT/E in the aquatic food web, initially focusing efforts near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore	The BoTest Matrix E assay was used to measure the BoNT/E activity in archived avian blood samples (n=87) previously tested with the mouse bioassay. BoTest™ Matrix E detected picomolar quantities of BoNT/E following a two–hour incubation and femtomolar quantities of BoNT/E following extended incubation (24 hours) with 100% diagnostic specificity and 91% diagnostic sensitivity. Further, there was a linear correlation between BoNT activity, as determined by the BoTest™ Matrix E assay, with total BoNT/E protein concentration contained within avian blood samples, as measured by sandwich ELISA (slope = 1.2). The BoTest™ Matrix E assay also detected BoNT/E in spiked mussels, fish, and seaweed samples suggesting its utility for analysis of food web components.
Computer modeling of conservation strategies for avian malaria in Hawaiian forest birds	September 2010	As part of the Biocomplexity project, researchers have developed a multi-host, single pathogen computer simulation model incorporating important dynamics of the malaria disease cycle in Hawaiian forest ecosystems (Ahumada et al., in review), implemented in a spatially explicit (1 km2) framework. This model is based on a series of ordinary differential equations describing the interactions and demographics among hosts, vectors, and the malaria pathogen. As in many disease models, pathogen dynamics are modeled implicitly by dividing hosts and vectors into susceptible, latent, infectious, and recovered classes. The time step used for model simulations is one day. Although this is a rather short time from the host point of view, it is appropriate for the vectors which have a much shorter life span. Weekly averages of temperature and rainfall are used to drive the vector population and malaria dynamics including larval development and survival rates, gonotropic cycle, and the intrinsic incubation rate for malaria parasites (Ahumada et al., in review). This model framework considers the effects of vector dynamics influenced by altitudinal and climatic drivers and provides the bases for evaluation of more complex multi-host, multi-pathogen models which will facilitate evaluation of pox and pox-malaria infection dynamics, disease transmission, and potential impact on host communities. This project will use computer simulation modeling to evaluate the importance of disease transmission rates, host demographic rates, multiple hosts systems, pathogen characteristics, vector demographic rates, and environmental conditions on the potential dynamics of avian malaria in Hawaiian forest birds. The evaluation will be based on a multi-host (four host species) computer simulation model that has been developed for this disease system. It is projected that this work will require at least 4 months of effort from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. Researchers will conduct computer simulation studies to evaluate the following conservation actions on malaria transmission, vector demographics, and bird demographics at different elevations in Hawaii: 1) management to remove feral pigs and thus reduce mosquito larval sites for 5, 10, and 15 year periods; and 2) the effects of long-term climate change on various components of the disease system	Avian malaria is an important cause of the decline of endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers. Because of the complexity of this disease system we used a computer model of avian malaria in forest birds to evaluate how two proposed conservation strategies: 1) reduction of habitat for mosquito larvae and 2) establishment of a low-elevation, malaria-tolerant honeycreeper (Hawaii Amakihi) to mid-elevation forests would affect native Hawaiian honeycreeper populations. We evaluated these approaches in mid-elevation forests, where malaria transmission is seasonal and control strategies are more likely to work. Our model suggests the potential benefit of larval habitat reduction depends on the level of malaria transmission, abundance of larval cavities, and the ability to substantially reduce these cavities. Permanent reduction in larval habitat of .80% may be needed to control abundance of infectious mosquitoes and benefit bird populations. Establishment of malaria-tolerant Amakihi in mid-elevation forests increases Amakihi abundance, creates a larger disease reservoir, and increases the abundance of infectious mosquitoes which may negatively impact other honeycreepers. For mid-elevation sites where bird populations are severely affected by avian malaria, malaria-tolerant Amakihi had little impact on other honeycreepers. Both management strategies may benefit native Hawaiian honeycreepers, but benefits depend on specific forest characteristics, the amount of reduction in larval habitat that can be achieved, and how malaria transmission is affected by temperature.
Wisconsin's wildlife and a changing climate	September 2023	Grassland ecosystems originally dominated central North America, but now, prairies in general, and tall-grass prairies in particular, are one of the most extensively human-altered ecosystems and one of the most vulnerable to changing climate. Grassland bird conservation focuses on habitat restoration, but there is little understanding of how effects of changing climate on grassland birds might be mitigated by management actions. Understanding if habitat microclimates might help nesting grassland birds avoid some of the impacts from events such as drought and heat waves will help inform the development of new habitat management strategies for grassland birds. This project is a collaboration across multiple organizations and includes the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, US Fish and Wildlife Service, non-governmental organizations, and State natural resource managers in Wisconsin. A report documenting the importance of habitat microclimates for grassland bird productivity will be developed to inform natural resource managers in Wisconsin.	Grassland ecosystems originally dominated central North America, but now, prairies in general, and tall-grass prairies in particular, are one of the most extensively human-altered ecosystems and one of the most vulnerable to changing climate. Grassland bird conservation focuses on habitat restoration, but there is little understanding of how effects of changing climate on grassland birds might be mitigated by management actions. Understanding if habitat microclimates might help nesting grassland birds avoid some of the impacts from events such as drought and heat waves will help inform the development of new habitat management strategies for grassland birds. This project is a collaboration across multiple organizations and includes the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, US Fish and Wildlife Service, non-governmental organizations, and State natural resource managers in Wisconsin. A report documenting the importance of habitat microclimates for grassland bird productivity will be developed to inform natural resource managers in Wisconsin.
Modeling host behavior and environmental transmission of chronic wasting disease	July 2027	Chronic wasting disease (CWD) threatens cervids across North America and impacts human communities that hunt, raise, or subsist on deer. This emerging disease is caused by an infectious, misfolded protein, known as a prion, that can be transmitted directly between hosts or via environmental reservoirs. Understanding the principles of infectious disease transmission is crucial for identifying management tools for disease control and prevention. Elucidating such principles is challenging in host-pathogen systems when transmission occurs both directly and indirectly through the environment. Researchers must disentangle diverse multi-scale drivers, from fine-scale host interactions with pathogens in environmental reservoirs to large-scale movements of natural populations in heterogeneous landscapes. This project is a collaboration among researchers across multiple agencies and universities including USGS Cooperative Wildlife Research Units (Wisconsin and Montana), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Montana, and Utah State University. This project proposes a deterministic model scaffold that formally incorporates heterogeneities in social behavior and movement with pathogen retention, transport, and infection potential in complex landscapes. A novel application of multi-scale homogenization to these models will analytically link fine-scale pathways of infection with large-scale population processes. These models will be developed using novel datasets based on new diagnostic techniques to determine the spatial extent and transmission potential of prions in the environment, and modern observation methods to give unprecedented insight into how host behavior and movement, in concert with individual interactions with environmental prion reservoirs, lead to disease transmission in complex environments. Predicted and forecasted prevalence surfaces, with measures of uncertainty, will guide future CWD prevention and control efforts.	Chronic wasting disease (CWD) threatens cervids across North America and impacts human communities that hunt, raise, or subsist on deer. This emerging disease is caused by an infectious, misfolded protein, known as a prion, that can be transmitted directly between hosts or via environmental reservoirs. Understanding the principles of infectious disease transmission is crucial for identifying management tools for disease control and prevention. Elucidating such principles is challenging in host-pathogen systems when transmission occurs both directly and indirectly through the environment. Researchers must disentangle diverse multi-scale drivers, from fine-scale host interactions with pathogens in environmental reservoirs to large-scale movements of natural populations in heterogeneous landscapes. This project is a collaboration among researchers across multiple agencies and universities including USGS Cooperative Wildlife Research Units (Wisconsin and Montana), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Montana, and Utah State University. This project proposes a deterministic model scaffold that formally incorporates heterogeneities in social behavior and movement with pathogen retention, transport, and infection potential in complex landscapes. A novel application of multi-scale homogenization to these models will analytically link fine-scale pathways of infection with large-scale population processes. These models will be developed using novel datasets based on new diagnostic techniques to determine the spatial extent and transmission potential of prions in the environment, and modern observation methods to give unprecedented insight into how host behavior and movement, in concert with individual interactions with environmental prion reservoirs, lead to disease transmission in complex environments. Predicted and forecasted prevalence surfaces, with measures of uncertainty, will guide future CWD prevention and control efforts.
Chronic Wasting Disease management in the Midwest	August 2023	Wildlife management agencies have historically applied a variety of disease control strategies to slow the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD; a fatal disease of deer, elk and moose), but manipulation of harvest regulations has been the primary tool used to reduce density and presumably slow the spread of CWD. Despite the wide spread use of harvest as a CWD management tool, rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of harvest regulations to significantly change deer harvest and CWD risk has not been conducted, owing to the difficulty in measuring the impacts of varying harvest approaches within a single jurisdiction. This project is a collaboration between the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. A critical examination of the impact of harvest regulations on harvest and CWD dynamics will be done and will be used to guide a regional application of adaptive management strategies for wildlife agencies to coordinate disease mitigation efforts.	Wildlife management agencies have historically applied a variety of disease control strategies to slow the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD; a fatal disease of deer, elk and moose), but manipulation of harvest regulations has been the primary tool used to reduce density and presumably slow the spread of CWD. Despite the wide spread use of harvest as a CWD management tool, rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of harvest regulations to significantly change deer harvest and CWD risk has not been conducted, owing to the difficulty in measuring the impacts of varying harvest approaches within a single jurisdiction. This project is a collaboration between the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. A critical examination of the impact of harvest regulations on harvest and CWD dynamics will be done and will be used to guide a regional application of adaptive management strategies for wildlife agencies to coordinate disease mitigation efforts.
Strategies for reducing the vulnerability of grassland birds to climate change within the Central Flyway	January 2022	The management and conservation of grassland birds often focuses on habitat protection and restoration, but there is growing recognition that grassland birds are sensitive to climate variability such as drought, heat waves, and flooding. A synthesis of climate change vulnerability for grassland birds is needed in the Central Flyway to identify information gaps and management strategies useful for developing climate adaptation plans for grassland birds and their habitats. The project is a collaboration of managers and researchers across multiple agencies and includes the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, the USFWS Habitat and Population Evaluation Team, and State, Federal, and NGO natural resource managers in the Central Flyway. A report documenting adaptation strategies and information gaps needed for implementing those strategies will be developed to inform managers in the Central Flyway.	The management and conservation of grassland birds often focuses on habitat protection and restoration, but there is growing recognition that grassland birds are sensitive to climate variability such as drought, heat waves, and flooding. A synthesis of climate change vulnerability for grassland birds is needed in the Central Flyway to identify information gaps and management strategies useful for developing climate adaptation plans for grassland birds and their habitats. The project is a collaboration of managers and researchers across multiple agencies and includes the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, the USFWS Habitat and Population Evaluation Team, and State, Federal, and NGO natural resource managers in the Central Flyway. A report documenting adaptation strategies and information gaps needed for implementing those strategies will be developed to inform managers in the Central Flyway.
Conservation of the Kirtland's Warbler	September 2019	The population of the federally endangered Kirtland’s Warbler has stabilized over the last 5 years around 1800 singing males, nearly double the population goal of 1000 males targeted in the 1976 Recovery Plan. As a result of this biological recovery, the species has expanded into new breeding areas and the USFWS is compiling information for potential delisting of this “conservation-reliant” species. However, evaluating how the species is using these new habitats and assessing how climate change might affect conservation of Kirtland’s warbler has not been done. This project is a collaboration across the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service Northern Research Station, and state natural resource managers in the Midwest. A population viability assessment will be developed by linking how Kirtland’s Warbler survivorship and productivity will be altered from changing climate conditions (i.e., drought) and changing habitat availability and distribution.	The population of the federally endangered Kirtland’s Warbler has stabilized over the last 5 years around 1800 singing males, nearly double the population goal of 1000 males targeted in the 1976 Recovery Plan. As a result of this biological recovery, the species has expanded into new breeding areas and the USFWS is compiling information for potential delisting of this “conservation-reliant” species. However, evaluating how the species is using these new habitats and assessing how climate change might affect conservation of Kirtland’s warbler has not been done. This project is a collaboration across the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service Northern Research Station, and state natural resource managers in the Midwest. A population viability assessment will be developed by linking how Kirtland’s Warbler survivorship and productivity will be altered from changing climate conditions (i.e., drought) and changing habitat availability and distribution.
Impacts of CWD on white-tailed deer populations in Wisconsin	June 2022	Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was discovered in Wisconsin white-tailed deer harvested in fall 2001 and CWD prevalence has increased in all sex and age classes and increased in spatial extent ever since. It is uncertain what impact CWD is currently having on deer populations and what impact it may have as prevalence increases. This project is a collaboration between the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. A robust modeling framework will be developed to understand spatiotemporal patterns in CWD prevalence and deer demographic rates to provide technical information to state natural resource managers regarding deer population dynamics in the CWD-endemic region of southwestern Wisconsin.	Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was discovered in Wisconsin white-tailed deer harvested in fall 2001 and CWD prevalence has increased in all sex and age classes and increased in spatial extent ever since. It is uncertain what impact CWD is currently having on deer populations and what impact it may have as prevalence increases. This project is a collaboration between the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. A robust modeling framework will be developed to understand spatiotemporal patterns in CWD prevalence and deer demographic rates to provide technical information to state natural resource managers regarding deer population dynamics in the CWD-endemic region of southwestern Wisconsin.
Effects of Climate Change on Plague Exposure Pathways and Resulting Disease Dynamics	January 2019	Periodic outbreaks of sylvatic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, has had near catastrophic impacts on prairie dogs and the endangered black-footed ferret. Although human plague cases in the U.S. are relatively infrequent, the disease can be fatal, and its occurrence generates considerable public concern and media attention. Sylvatic plague is relevant to the Department of Defense (DOD) as prairie dogs, ground squirrels and other susceptible rodents are present on military installations in several western states, and the occurrence of plague has curtailed military exercises in the past. Furthermore, plague still occurs in many parts of the world where troops might be deployed, and Y. pestis has the potential to be developed as a biological weapon. Arthropod-borne diseases, like plague, are thought to be particularly sensitive to local climate conditions, and expected changes in temperature and humidity over the next several decades will likely increase the eastern and northern expansion of plague outbreaks in wildlife. Through a combination of field and laboratory work, along with data-driven modeling, we will evaluate the potential effects of climate change on plague exposure pathways in prairie dogs and other rodents, and provide guidance to DOD partners regarding the potential for future outbreaks. We will also validate the use of an orally-delivered sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV) for use as a management tool to prevent outbreaks.	None

Research Publications

Research Publications	Publication Date
Şen, B., C. Che-Castaldo, H. J. Lynch, F. Ventura, M. A. LaRue, and S. Jenouvrier. 2024. Detecting stochasticity in population time series using a non-parametric test of intrinsic predictability. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 15:1834–1846. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14423. \| Abstract \| Download \| Publisher Website	August 2024	1. Many ecological systems dominated by stochastic dynamics can produce complex time series that inherently limit forecast accuracy. The ‘intrinsic predictability’ of these systems can be approximated by a time series complexity metric called weighted permutation entropy (WPE). While WPE is a useful metric to gauge forecast performance prior to model building, it is sensitive to noise and may be biased depending on the length of the time series. Here, we introduce a simple randomized permutation test (rWPE) to assess whether a time series is intrinsically more predictable than white noise.<br><br>2. We apply rWPE to both simulated and empirical data to assess its performance and usefulness. To do this, we simulate population dynamics under various scenarios, including a linear trend, chaotic, periodic and equilibrium dynamics. We further test this approach with observed abundance time series for 932 species across four orders of animals from the Global Population Dynamics Database. Finally, using Adélie (<i>Pygoscelis adeliae</i>) and emperor penguin (<i>Aptenodytes forsteri</i>) time series as case studies, we demonstrate the application of rWPE to multiple populations for a single species.<br><br>3. We show that rWPE can determine whether a system is significantly more predictable than white noise, even with time series as short as 10 years that show an apparent trend under biologically realistic stochasticity levels Additionally, rWPE has statistical power close to 100% when time series are at least 30 time steps long and show chaotic or periodic dynamics. Power decreases to ~10% under equilibrium dynamics, irrespective of time series length. Among four classes of animal taxa, mammals have the highest relative frequency (28%) of time series that are both longer than 30 time steps and indistinguishable from white noise in terms of complexity, followed by insects (16%), birds (16%) and bony fishes (11%).<br><br>4. rWPE is a straightforward and useful method widely applicable to any time series, including short ones. By informing forecasters of the inherent limitations to a system's predictability, it can guide a modeller's expectations for forecast performance.
Zuckerberg, B., C.A. Ribic, and L.A. McCauley. 2018. Effects of temperature and precipitation on grassland bird nesting success as mediated by patch size. Conservation Biology 32:872-882.	August 2018
Zuckerberg, B. and C. Ribic. 2018. Extended Abstract: Fitting the Climate Lens to Grassland Bird Conservation: Assessing Climate Change Vulnerability Using Demographically-Informed Species Distribution Models. Summary for NE Climate Adaptation Science Center.	December 2018
Wu, H., C. Flynn, C. Hall, C. Che-Castaldo, D. Samaras, M. Schwaller and H. J. Lynch. 2024. Penguin colony georegistration using camera pose estimation and phototourism. PLOS ONE 9(10): e0311038. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311038 \| Abstract \| Download \| Publisher Website	October 2024	Satellite-based remote sensing and uncrewed aerial imagery play increasingly important roles in the mapping of wildlife populations and wildlife habitat, but the availability of imagery has been limited in remote areas. At the same time, ecotourism is a rapidly growing industry and can yield a vast catalog of photographs that could be harnessed for monitoring purposes, but the inherently ad-hoc and unstructured nature of these images make them difficult to use. To help address this, a subfield of computer vision known as phototourism has been developed to leverage a diverse collection of unstructured photographs to reconstruct a georeferenced three-dimensional scene capturing the environment at that location. Here we demonstrate the use of phototourism in an application involving Antarctic penguins, sentinel species whose dynamics are closely tracked as a measure of ecosystem functioning, and introduce a semi-automated pipeline for aligning and registering ground photographs using a digital elevation model (DEM) and satellite imagery. We employ the Segment Anything Model (SAM) for the interactive identification and segmentation of penguin colonies in these photographs. By creating a textured 3D mesh from the DEM and satellite imagery, we estimate camera poses to align ground photographs with the mesh and register the segmented penguin colony area to the mesh, achieving a detailed representation of the colony. Our approach has demonstrated promising performance, though challenges persist due to variations in image quality and the dynamic nature of natural landscapes. Nevertheless, our method offers a straightforward and effective tool for the georegistration of ad-hoc photographs in natural landscapes, with additional applications such as monitoring glacial retreat.
Wolcott, D.M., D.M. Donner, D.J. Brown, and C.A. Ribic. 2018. Kirtland’s warbler winter habitat changes across the Bahamian Archipelago in response to future climate condition scenarios. Caribbean Naturalist 49:1-20.	July 2018
Woehler, E. J., M. J. Riddle, and C. A. Ribic. 2003. Long-term population trends in southern giant petrels in east Antarctica. IN Antarctic biology in a global context (A. H. L. Huiskes, W. W. C. Gieskes, J. Rozema, R. M. L. Schorno, S. M. Van der Vies, and W. J. Wolff, eds. ), Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 290-295.	December 2003
Woehler, E. J, J. Cooper, J. P. Croxall, W. R. Fraser, G. L. Kooyman, G. D. Miller, D. C. Nel, D. L. Patterson, H-U. Peter, C. A. Ribic, K. Salwicka, W. Z. Trivelpiece, and H. Weimerskirch. 2001. A statistical assessment of the status and trends of Antarctic and Subantarctic seabirds. Report to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Cambridge, England. (peer-reviewed)	September 2001
Wilson, H. M., J. S. Hall, P. L. Flint. C. J. Franson, C. R. Ely, J. Schmutz, and M. Samuel. 2013. High seroprevalence of avian influenza among wild waterfowl in Alaska indicates elevated historical exposure rates. PLoS ONE 8(3): e58308. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0058308	January 2013
Williams, C. K., M. D. Samuel, V. V. Baranyuk, E. G. Cooch, and D. Kraege. 2008. Winter fidelity and apparent survival of lesser snow goose populations in the Pacific flyway. Journal of Wildlife Management 72:159-167.	January 2008
Walsh, D. P., and M. D. SAMUEL. 2012. Factors affecting chronic wasting disease: a deer is not a deer is not a deer. Pages 1-9 in D. P. Walsh, ed. Enhanced surveillance strategies for detecting and monitoring chronic wasting disease in free-ranging cervids: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012–1036.	January 2012
Vos, S.M. and C.A. Ribic. 2011. Grassland bird use of oak barrens and dry prairies in Wisconsin. Natural Areas Journal 31: 26-33.	January 2011
Vos, S. M. and C.A. Ribic. 2013. Nesting success of grassland birds in oak barrens and dry prairies in west central Wisconsin. Northeastern Naturalist 20: 131-142.	November 2013
Vegter, A. M. Barletta, C. Beck, J. Borrero, H. Burton, M.L. Campbell, M. Eriksen, C. Eriksson, A. Estrades, K. Gilardi, B.D. Hardesty, J. Assunção Ivar do Sul, J.L. Lavers, B. Lazar, L. Lebreton, W. J. Nichols, C.A. Ribic, P. Ryan, Q.A. Schuyler, S.D.A. Smith, H. Takada, K. Townsend, C. C.C. Wabnitz, C. Wilcox, L. Young, and M. Hamann. 2014. Global research priorities to mitigate plastic pollution impacts on marine wildlife. Endangered Species Research 25: 225-247.	November 2014
Turner, W.C., S. Périquet, C.E. Goelst, K. Vera, E.Z. Cameron, K.A. Alexander, J.L. Belant, C.C. Cloete, P. du Preez, W.M. Getz, R.S. Hetem, P.L. Kamath, M. Kasaona, M. Mackenzie, J. Mendelsohn, J.K.E. Mfune, J.R. Muntifering, R. Portas, H.A. Scott, W. M. Strauss, W. Versfeld, B. Wachter, G. Wittemyer, and J.W. Kilian. 2022. Africa’s drylands in a changing world: Challenges for wildlife conservation under climate and land-use changes in the Greater Etosha Landscape. Global Ecology and Conservation, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02221. \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	July 2022	Proclaimed in 1907, Etosha National Park in northern Namibia is an iconic dryland system with a rich history of wildlife conservation and research. A recent research symposium on wildlife conservation in the Greater Etosha Landscape (GEL) highlighted increased concern of how intensification of global change will affect wildlife conservation based on participant responses to a questionnaire. The GEL includes Etosha and surrounding areas, the latter divided by a veterinary fence into large, private farms to the south and communal areas of residential and farming land to the north. Here, we leverage our knowledge of this ecosystem to provide insight into the broader challenges facing wildlife conservation in this vulnerable dryland environment. We first look backward, summarizing the history of wildlife conservation and research trends in the GEL based on a literature review, providing a broad-scale understanding of the socioecological processes that drive dryland system dynamics. We then look forward, focusing on eight key areas of challenge and opportunity for this ecosystem: climate change, water availability and quality, vegetation and fire management, adaptability of wildlife populations, disease risk, human-wildlife conflict, wildlife crime, and human dimensions of wildlife conservation. Using this model system, we summarize key lessons and identify critical threats highlighting future research needs to support wildlife management. Research in the GEL has followed a trajectory seen elsewhere reflecting an increase in complexity and integration across biological scales over time. Yet, despite these trends, a gap exists between the scope of recent research efforts and the needs of wildlife conservation to adapt to climate and land-use changes. Given the complex nature of climate change, in addition to locally existing system stressors, a framework of forward-thinking adaptive management to address these challenges, supported by integrative and multidisciplinary research could be beneficial. One critical area for growth is to better integrate research and wildlife management across land-use types. Such efforts have the potential to support wildlife conservation efforts and human development goals, while building resilience against the impacts of climate change. While our conclusions reflect the specifics of the GEL ecosystem, they have direct relevance for other African dryland systems impacted by global change.
Turner, W.C., P.L. Kamath, H. van Heerden, Z. Barandongo, Y.-H. Huang, S.A. Bruce and K. Kausrud. 2021. The roles of environmental variation and parasite survival in virulence-transmission relationships. Royal Society Open Science, 8: 210088. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.210088 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	June 2021	Disease outbreaks are a consequence of interactions among the three components of a host-parasite system: the infectious agent, the host, and the environment. While virulence and transmission are widely investigated, most studies of parasite life history trade-offs are conducted with theoretical models or tractable experimental systems where transmission is standardized and the environment controlled. Yet, biotic and abiotic environmental factors can strongly affect disease dynamics, and ultimately, host-parasite coevolution. Here we review research on how environmental context alters virulence-transmission relationships, focusing on the off-host portion of the parasite life cycle, and how variation in parasite survival affects the evolution of virulence and transmission. We review three inter-related “approaches” that have dominated the study of the evolution of virulence and transmission for different host-parasite systems: i) evolutionary trade-off theory, ii) parasite local adaptation, and iii) parasite phylodynamics. These approaches consider the role of the environment in virulence and transmission evolution from different angles, which entail different advantages and potential biases. We suggest improvements to how to investigate virulence-transmission relationships, through conceptual and methodological developments and taking environmental context into consideration. By combining developments in life history evolution, phylogenetics, adaptive dynamics, and comparative genomics, we can improve our understanding of virulence-transmission relationships across a diversity of host-parasite systems that have eluded experimental study of parasite life history.
Thompson, S.J., D.H. Johnson, N.D. Niemuth, and C.A. Ribic. 2015. Avoidance of unconventional oil wells and roads exacerbates habitat loss for grassland birds in the North American Great Plains. Biological Conservation 192: 82-90.	December 2015
Thompson, F.R. and C.A. Ribic. 2012. Conservation implications when the nest predators are known.Studies in Avian Biology 43:23-34.	November 2012
Thompson, A. K., and M. D. Samuel. Alternative bait marker systems for white-tailed deer. Pages 223-231 in Proceedings of the 12th Wildlife Damage Management Conference. D. L. Nolte, W. M. Arjo, and D. H. Stalman, eds.	January 2008
Thompson, A. K., M. D. Samuel, and T. R. Van Deelen. 2008. Alternative feeding strategies and potential disease transmission in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. Journl of Wildlife Management72:416-421	February 2008
Themelin, M., C. A. Ribic, K. Melillo-Sweeting, and K. M. Dudzinski. 2020. A new approach to the study of relationship quality in dolphins: framework and preliminary results. Behavioural Processes 181:104260. doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104260	December 2020
Şen, B., C. Che-Castaldo, and H. R. Akçakaya. 2024. The potential for species distribution models to distinguish source populations from sinks. Journal of Animal Ecology, 00:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365- 2656.14201 \| Abstract \| Download \| Publisher Website	October 2024	1. While species distribution models (SDM) are frequently used to predict species occurrences to help inform conservation management, there is limited evidence evaluating whether habitat suitability can reliably predict intrinsic growth rates or distinguish source populations from sinks. Filling this knowledge gap is criti- cal for conservation science, as applications of SDMs for management purposes ultimately depend on these typically unobserved population or metapopulation dynamics.<br><br>2. Using linear regression, we associated previously published population level es- timates of intrinsic growth and abundance derived from a Bayesian analysis of mark-recapture data for 17 bird species found in the contiguous United States with SDM habitat suitability estimates fitted here to opportunistic data for these same species. We then used the area under the ROC curve (AUC) to measure how well SDMs can distinguish populations categorized as sources and sinks. We built SDMs using two different approaches, boosted regression trees (BRT) and generalized linear models (GLM), and compared their source/sink predictive per- formance. Each SDM was built with presence points obtained from eBird (a web- available database) and 10 environmental variables previously selected to model intrinsic growth rates and abundance for these species.<br><br>3. We show that SDMs built with opportunistic data are poor predictors of species demography in general; both BRT and GLM explained very little spatial variation of intrinsic growth rate and population abundance (median R2 across 17 species was close to 0.1 for both SDM methods). SDMs, however, estimated higher suit- ability for source populations as compared to sinks. Out of 13 species which had both source and sink populations, both BRT and GLM had AUC values greater than 0.7 for 7 species when discriminating between sources and sinks.<br><br>4. Habitat suitability have the potential to be a useful measure to indicate a popula- tion's ability to sustain itself as a source population; however more research on a diverse set of taxa is essential to fully explore this potential. This interpreta- tion of habitat suitability can be particularly useful for conservation practice, and identification of explicit cases of when and how SDMs fail to match population demography can be informative for advancing ecological theory.
Sundar, N., I. M. Asmundsson, N. J. Thomas, M. D. Samuel, J. P. Dubey, and B. M. Rosenthal. 2008. Modest genetic differentiation among North American populations of Sarcocystis neurona may reflect expansion in its geographic range. Veterinary Parasitology 152:8-15.	January 2008
Strauss, E., C. A. Ribic, and W. D. Shuford. 2002. Abundance and distribution of migratory shorebirds at Mono Lake, California. Western Birds 3:222-240.	December 2003
Storm, D. J., M. D. Samuel, T. R. Van Deelen, K. D. Malcolm, R. E. Rolley, N. A. Frost, D. P. Bates, and B. J. Richards. 2011. Comparison of Visual-based Helicopter and Fixed-wing Forward-looking Infrared Surveys for Counting White-tailed Deer. Wildlife Biology 17:431-440.	October 2011
Storm D. J., M. D. Samuel, R. E. Rolley, P. Shelton, N. S. Keuler, B. J. Richards, and T. R. Van Deelen. 2013. Deer density and disease prevalence influence transmission of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer. Ecosphere. January 2013.	January 2013
Stears, K., M.H. Schmitt, W.C. Turner, D.J. McCauley, E.A. Muse, H. Kiwango, D. Matheyo and B.M. Mutayoba. Hippopotamus movements structure the spatiotemporal dynamics of an active anthrax outbreak, Ecosphere, 12(6):e03540. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3540 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	June 2021	Anthrax outbreaks across Africa pose serious threats to people, livestock, and wildlife and can be exacerbated by environmental change. However, little is known about how the quantitative spatial dynamics of host movement and environmental change may affect the spread of <i>Bacillus anthracis</i> – the causative agent of anthrax. Here, we use real-time observation and high-resolution tracking data from a population of common hippopotamus (<i>Hippopotamus amphibius</i>) to explore the relationship between changing river hydrology, <i>H. amphibius</i> movement, and the spatiotemporal dynamics of an active anthrax outbreak. We found that changes in water availability indirectly facilitated the spread of <i>B. anthracis</i> by modulating <i>H. amphibius</i> movements. Our findings reveal that anthrax spread upstream in the Great Ruaha River, which followed the movement patterns of infected <i>H. amphibius</i>, who moved upstream as the river dried in search of remaining aquatic refugia. Moreover, infection by <i>B. anthracis</i> did not appear to influence <i>H. amphibius</i> movement behaviours. Contact rates between <i>H. amphibius </i>and <i>B. anthracis-</i>infected river pools are heterogeneous and the frequency and duration of contacts increase the probability of mortality. While difficult to obtain, the quantitative insights that we gathered during a real-time anthrax outbreak are critical to better understand, predict, and manage future outbreaks.
Starkloff, N. C., W. C. Turner, A. M. FitzGerald, M. C. Oftedal, E. S. Martinsen, and J. J. Kirchman. 2021. Disentangling the effects of host relatedness and elevation on haemosporidian parasite turnover in a clade of songbirds. Ecosphere. 12(5):e03497 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	May 2021	The persistence of a parasite species in an ecological community is determined together by its environmental tolerance and host breadth. The relative contribution of these niche characteristics to parasite community structure is challenging to parse because host persistence is also a consequence of extrinsic environmental factors. We investigated haemosporidian parasites (genera Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon and Haemoproteus) in a clade of avian hosts in eastern North America. This clade of Catharus thrushes contains species that occupy specific elevational bands in a non-phylogenetically determined manner. This allowed us to tease apart the effects of host relatedness and elevation on parasite diversity, community structure and infection prevalence. We screened blood and tissue samples from 414 birds from four mountain ranges in the Appalachian Highlands for blood parasites using a cytochrome-b nested PCR protocol and identified parasite lineages by sequencing. We found an overall infection prevalence of 88.4% and identified a total of 38 parasite lineages including seven novel lineages. Host relatedness rather than elevational zone predicted the beta turnover and phylobetaturnover of Leucocytozoon parasites, where closely related host species had more similar parasites. While this pattern was not seen in Plasmodium parasites, the diversity of this parasite genus varied considerably in the high elevational zones among mountain ranges, i.e. a sky-island effect. Additionally, the alpha diversity of Haemosporidians did not vary by host species or elevational zone, Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon infection prevalence was determined by one or two of these predictors, respectively. Haemoproteus parasites were rare in this study system. Our study suggests that the mechanisms that underlie the community structuring vary between haemosporidian genera due to differences in the degree of host sharing among lineages.
Slay, C. M., K. S. Ellison, C. A. Ribic, K. G. Smith, and C. M. Schmitz. 2012. Nocturnal activity of nesting shrubland and grassland passerines. Studies in Avian Biology 43: 105-116.	November 2012
Shorey, R. I., K. T. Scribner, J. Kanefsky, M. D. SAMUEL, and S. V. Libants. 2011. Inter-continental gene flow among Western Arctic populations of lesser snow geese. Condor 113:1-12.	October 2011
Samuel, M. D., and B. J. Richards. Chronic wasting disease in free-ranging North American cervids. Pages 324-328 in Proceedings of the 22nd Vertebrate Pest Conference. Published.	May 2007
Samuel, M. D., R. G. Botzler, and G. A. Wobeser. 2007. Avian cholera. Pages 239-269 In Infectious Diseases of Wild Birds. N. J. Thomas, B. J. Hunter, and C. T. Atkinson(eds). Blackwell Press. Published.	February 2007
Samuel, M. D., P. H. F. Hobbelen, F. DeCastro, J. A. Ahumada, D. A. LaPointe, C. T. Atkinson, B. L. Woodworth, P. J. Hart, and D. C. Duffy. 2011. The dynamics, transmission, and population impacts of avian malaria in native Hawaiian birds – a modeling approach. Ecological Applications 21:2960-2973.	December 2011
Samuel, M. D., J. Hall, J. D. Brown, D. R. Goldberg, and V. V. Baranyuk. The Dynamics of Avian Influenza in Western Arctic Snow Geese: Implications for Annual and Migratory Infection Patterns. Ecological Applications doi:10.1890/ES14-00393.1.	July 2015
Samuel, M. D., D. J. Shadduck, and D. R. Goldberg. 2005. Avian cholera exposure and carriers in greater white-fronted geese breeding in Alaska. Journal of Wildlife Disease 41(3): 498-502. 2005	July 2005
Samuel, M. D., D. J. Shadduck, and D. R. Goldberg. 2005. Avian cholera exposure and carriers in greater white-fronted geese breeding in Alaska. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 41:498-502.	July 2005
Samuel, M. D., D. J. Shadduck, and D. R. Goldberg. 2004. Are wetlands the reservoir for avian chloera? Journal of Wildlife Diseases 40:377-382.	December 2004
Samuel, M. D., D. J. Shadduck, D. R. Goldberg, and W. P. Johnson. 2005. The role of lesser snow and Ross's geese as carrieers of avian cholera in the Playa Lakes Region. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 41:48-57.	July 2005
Samuel, M. D., D. J. Shadduck, D. R. Goldberg, M. A. Wilson, D. O. Joly, and M. A. Lehr. 2003. Characterization of Pasteurella multocida isolates from wetland ecosystems during 1996 to 1999. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 39:798-807.	December 2003
Sample, D. w., C. A. Ribic, and R. B. Renfrew. 2003. Linking landscape management with the conservation of grassland birds in Wisconsin. IN Landscape ecology and resource management: linking theory and practice. (J. Bissonette and I. Storch, eds. ). Island Press, Washington, DC. pages 359-385.	July 2003
Rupp, S. P. and C. A. Ribic. 2019. Second-generation bioenergy production from dedicated energy crops: implications for wildlife and wildlife habitat. IN U.S. Renewable Energy and Wildlife Conservation (C. E. Moorman, S. M. Grodsky, and S. P. Rupp, Editors), John Hopkins University Press, pp. 64-92.	October 2019
Roth, A. M., C. A. Ribic, L. Paine, D. W. Sample, D. J. Undersander, and G. A. Bartelt. 2005. Grassland bird response to harvesting switchgrass as a biomass energy crop. Biomass and Bioenergy 28:490-498.	July 2005
Rogers, K. G., S. J. Robinson, and M. D. SAMUEL. 2011. Diversity and distribution of white-tailed deer mtDNA lineages in CWD outbreak areas in southern Wisconsin, USA. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health 74:1521-1535.	October 2011
Robinson, S. J., M. D. Samuel, R. E. Rolley, P. Shelton. Using landscape epidemiological models to understand the distribution of chronic wasting disease in the Midwestern USA. Landscape Ecology 28:1923-1935. \| Abstract	October 2013	Animal movement across the landscape plays a critical role in the ecology of infectious wildlife diseases. Dispersing animals can spread pathogens between infected areas and naive populations. While tracking free-ranging animals over the geographic scales relevant to landscape-level disease management is challenging, landscape features that influence gene flow among wildlife populations may also influence the contact rates and disease spread between populations. We used spatial diffusion and barriers to white-tailed deer gene flow, identified through landscape genetics, to model the distribution of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the infected region of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, USA. Our generalized linear model (GLM) showed that risk of CWD infection declined exponentially with distance from current outbreaks, and inclusion of gene flow barriers dramatically improved fit and predictive power of the model. Our results indicate that CWD is spreading across the Midwestern landscape from these two endemic foci, but spread is strongly influenced by highways and rivers that also reduce deer gene flow. We used our model to plot a risk map, offering important information for CWD management by considering likely routes of disease spread and providing a tool for prioritizing disease monitoring and containment efforts. The current analysis may serve as a framework for modeling future risk drawing on genetic information to investigate barriers to disease spread and extending
Robinson, S. J., M. D. SAMUEL, K. I. O’Rourke, and C. J. Johnson. The role of genetics in chronic wasting disease of North American cervids. Prion 6:155-164 .	January 2012
Robinson, S. J., M. D. SAMUEL, D. L Lopez, and P. Shelton. The walk is never random: subtle landscape effects shape gene flow in a continuous white-tailed deer population in the Midwestern United States. Molecular Ecology. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05681.x	July 2012
Robinson, S. J., M. D. SAMUEL, C. J. Johnson, M. Adams, and D. I. McKenzie. Emerging prion disease drives host selection in a wildlife population. Ecological Applications 22:1050-1059.	April 2012
Robertson, B.A., R.A. Rice, T. S. Sillett, B.A. Babcock, D.A. Landis, C.A. Ribic, J. R. Herkert, R.J. Fletcher, Jr., Joseph J. Fontaine, P.J. Doran, and D.W. Schemske. 2012. Agroenergy and the fate of grassland birds in the United States. . Condor 114: 679-688.	December 2012
Ribic, C.A., S.B. Sheavly, and J. Klavitter. 2012. Baseline for beached marine debris on Sand Island, Midway Atoll. Marine Pollution Bulletin 64: 1726-1729.	November 2012
Ribic, C.A., S.B. Sheavly, and D.J. Rugg. 2011. Trends in Marine Debris in the U.S. Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico 1996-2003. Journal of Integrated Coastal Zone Management 11:7-19.	March 2011
Ribic, C.A., S.B. Sheavly, D.J. Rugg, and E.S. Erdmann. 2012. Trends in marine debris along the US Pacific coast and Hawai’i 1998-2007. Marine Pollution Bulletin 64: 994-1004.	August 2012
Ribic, C.A., S.B. Sheavly, D.J. Rugg, and E.S. Erdmann. 2010. Trends and drivers of marine debris on the Atlantic coast of the United States 1997-2007. Marine Pollution Bulletin 60: 1231-1242.	November 2010
Ribic, C.A., D.M. Donner, A.J. Beck, D.J. Rugg, S. Reinecke, and D. Eklund, Beaver colony density trends on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, 1987 – 2013. 2017. PLoS ONE 12(1):e0170099. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0170099.	January 2017
Ribic, C.A., D.J. Rugg, N. Koper, K. Ellison, and C. Ng. 2019. Behavior of adult and young grassland songbirds at fledging. Journal of Field Ornithology 90:143-153. DOI: 10.1111/jofo.12289	June 2019
Ribic, C.A., D.J. Rugg, K. E. Ellison, N. Koper, and P.J. Pietz. 2021. Diel patterns of predation and fledging at nests of four species of grassland songbirds. Ecology and Evolution 11:6913–6926, DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7541.	June 2021
Ribic, C.A., D.J. Rugg, D.M. Donner, A.J. Beck, and BJ Byers. 2016. The Moquah Barrens Research Natural Area: loss of a pine barrens ecosystem. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station General Technical Report NRS-161.	May 2016
Ribic, C.A., D.G. Ainley, R. G. Ford, W. R. Fraser, C. T. Tynan, and E. J. Woehler. 2011. Water masses, ocean fronts, and the structure of Antarctic seabird communities: putting the eastern Bellingshausen Sea in perspective. Deep Sea Research II 58: 1695-1709.	August 2011
Ribic, C.A., C. Ng, N. Koper, K. Ellison, P.J. Pietz, and D. J. Rugg. 2018. Diel fledging patterns in grassland passerines: relative impacts of energetics and predation risk. The Auk 135: 1100-1112.	November 2018
Ribic, C. A., and D. W. Sample. 2001. Associations of grassland birds with landscape factors in southern Wisconsin. American Midland Naturalist 146:105-121.	September 2001
Ribic, C. A., R. R. Koford, J. R. Herkert, D. H. Johnson, N. D. Niemuth, D. Naugle, K. K. Bakker, D.W. Sample, and R.B. Renfrew. 2009. Area sensitivity in North American grassland birds: patterns and processes. The Auk 126: 233-244.	April 2009
Ribic, C. A., M. J. Guzy, and D. W. Sample. 2009. Grassland bird use of remnant prairie and Conservation Reserve Program fields in an agricultural landscape in Wisconsin. American Midland Naturalist 161: 110-122.	January 2009
Ribic, C. A., M. J. Guzy, T. A. Anderson, D. W. Sample, and J. L. Nack. 2012. Bird productivity and nest predation in agricultural grasslands. Studies in Avian Biology 43: 119-134.	November 2012
Ribic, C. A., E. W. Chapman, W. R. Fraser, G. L. Lawson, and P. H. Wiebe. 2008. To predators in relation to bathymetry, ice, and krill during austral winter in Marguerite Bay, Antarctica. Deep-Sea Research II 55:485-499.	August 2008
Ribic, C. A., D. Curson, and K. Lewandowski. 1998. Baseline bird surveys of six USFWS Waterfowl Production Areas in Polk and Dunn counties, June 1996. The Passenger Pigeon 60: 313-319.	November 1998
Ribic, C. A. 1999. Rails in Wisconsin with a focus on Sora and Virginia Rail. The Passenger Pigeon 61:277-289.	November 1999
Ribic, C. 2006. Virginia Rail in Atlas of the breeding birds of Wisconsin (N. J. Cutright, B. R. Harriman, and R. W. Howe, eds. ). The Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, Inc. Waukesha, WI. p. 182.	May 2007
Ribic, C. 2006. Sora in Atlas of the breeding birds of Wisconsin (N. J. Cutright, B. R. Harriman, and R. W. Howe, eds. ). The Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, Inc., Waukesha, WI, p. 184.	May 2007
Ribic, C. 2004. A layperson's guide to the Southern Ocean; The Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife (book review). BioScience 54:164-165.	June 2004
Ribic, C. 2002. The Worst Journey in the World. The Passenger Pigeon 64: 75-76.	November 2002
Renfrew, R. B., and C. A. Ribic. Multi-scale models of grassland passerine abundance in a fragmented system in Wisconsin. Landscape Ecology 23:181-193.	February 2008
Renfrew, R. B., and C. A. Ribic. 2003. Gassland passerine nest predators near edges based on video footage. Auk 120:371-383.	December 2003
Renfrew, R. B., and C. A. Ribic. 2002. Influence of topography on density of grassland passerines in pastures. American Midland Naturalist 147:315-325.	November 2002
Renfrew, R. B., and C. A. Ribic. 2001. Grassland birds associated with agricultural riparian practices in southwestern Wisconsin. Journal of Range Management 54:546-552.	January 2001
Renfrew, R. B., C. A. Ribic, J. L. Nack. 2005. Edge avoidance by nesting grassland birds: a futile strategy in a fragmented landscape. Auk 122:618-636.	October 2005
Prentice, M.B., M.L.J. Gilbertson, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner, D.P. Walsh, M.E. Pinkerton, P.L Kamath. 2024. Metagenomic sequencing sheds light on microbes putatively associated with pneumonia-related fatalities of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Microbial Genomics, 10:001214. https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.001214	March 2024
Pietz, P.J., D.A. Granfors, and C.A. Ribic. 2012. Knowledge gained from video-monitoring grassland passerine nests. Studies in Avian Biology 43:3-22.	November 2012
Pasternak, G.,C.A. Ribic, E. Spanier, A. Ariel, B. Mayzel, S. Ohayon, and D. Zviely. 2019. Nearshore survey and cleanup of benthic marine debris using citizen science divers along the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Ocean and Coastal Management 175: 17-32. doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.03.016	April 2019
Pasternak, G., D. Zviely, C.A. Ribic, A. Ariel, and E. Spanier. 2017. Sources, composition and spatial distribution of marine debris along the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Marine Pollution Bulletin 114:1036-1045.	March 2017
Pasternak, G., D. Zviely, A. Ariel, E. Spanier, and C.A. Ribic. 2018. Message in a Bottle - the story of floating plastic in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Waste Management 77:67-77.	May 2018
Pasternak, G., C.A. Ribic, E. Spanier, and D. Zviely. Stormwater systems as a source of marine debris: a case study from the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Journal of Coastal Conservation 25: article 27 (Online). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-021-00818-3	February 2021
Paine, L. K., and C. A. Ribic. 2002. Comparison of riparian plant communities under four land management systems in southwestern Wisconsin. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 92:93-105.	July 2002
Osnas, E. E., D. M. Heisey, R. E. Rolley, and M. D. Samuel. 2009. Spatial and temporal patterns of an emerging epidemic: fine scale mapping of a wildlife epidemic in Wisconsin. Ecological Applications 19:1311-1322.	April 2009
Olah, A. M., C. A. Ribic, K. Grveles, S. Warner, D. Lopez, and A. M. Pidgeon. 2022. Kirtland’s Warbler breeding productivity and habitat use in red pine-dominated habitat in Wisconsin, USA. Avian Conservation and Ecology 17(1):3. [online] https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-02009-170103	February 2022
Ochai, S.O., J.E. Crafford, P.L. Kamath, W.C. Turner, H. van Heerden. 2023. Development of conjugated secondary antibodies for wildlife disease surveillance. Frontiers in Immunology, 14: 1221071. \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	July 2023	Disease monitoring in free-ranging wildlife is a challenge and often relies on passive surveillance. Alternatively, proactive surveillance that relies on the detection of specific antibodies could give more reliable and timely insight into disease presence and prevalence in a population, especially if it occurs below detection thresholds for passive surveillance. An example is the Bacillus anthracis protective antigen (PA)-ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) that was used for surveillance of anthrax exposure in impala (Aepyceros melampus) and kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. However, serological biosurveillance is hampered by a lack of species-specific conjugates that can be used in assays. In this study we developed anti-kudu and anti-impala immunoglobulin specific conjugates in chickens and examined their binding, compared to the binding of commercially available protein-G and -AG conjugates, to different herbivore species using an ELISA-based avidity index. The conjugates were evaluated for cross-reaction with other wild herbivores to assess future use in diagnostic ELISAs for other species. The developed conjugates had a high relative avidity of > 70% against kudu and impala sera. The commercial conjugates (protein -G and -AG) had significantly low relative avidity (<20%) against these species. Eighteen other wildlife species demonstrated cross-reactivity with a mean relative avidity of >50% with the impala and kudu conjugates and <40% with the commercial conjugates. These results demonstrate the need for species-specific conjugates to improve the quality of immunoassays currently in use in wildlife, thus providing better tools for the surveillance of zoonotic agents along the livestock-wildlife-human interface.
Ochai, S.O., J. Crafford, A. Hassim, C. Byaruhanga, Y.-H. Huang, A. Hartmann, E.H. Dekker, O.L. van Schalkwyk, P.L. Kamath, W.C. Turner, and H. van Heerden. 2022. Immunological evidence of variation in exposure and immune response to Bacillus anthracis in herbivores of Kruger and Etosha National Parks. Frontiers in Immunology, 13:814031. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.814031 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	February 2022	Exposure and immunity to generalist pathogens differ among host species and vary across spatial scales. Anthrax, caused by a multi-host bacterial pathogen, <i>Bacillus anthracis,</i> is enzootic in Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa and Etosha National Park (ENP), Namibia. These parks share many of the same potential host species, yet the main anthrax host in one (greater kudu (<i>Tragelaphus</i> <i>strepsiceros</i>) in KNP and plains zebra (<i>Equus</i> <i>quagga</i>) in ENP) is only a minor host in the other. We investigated species and spatial patterns in anthrax mortalities,<i> B. anthracis</i> exposure, and the ability to neutralise the anthrax lethal toxin to determine if observed host mortality differences between locations could be attributed to population-level variation in pathogen exposure and/or immune response. Using serum collected from 20 individuals per primary host species (zebra, kudu), except for kudu in KNP (low incidence = 18, high incidence = 19) in high and low incidence areas of each park, we estimated pathogen exposure from anti-protective antigen (PA) antibody response using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and lethal toxin neutralisation with a toxin neutralisation assay (TNA). Serological evidence of pathogen exposure followed mortality patterns within each system (kudus: 95% positive in KNP versus 40% in ENP; zebras: 83% positive in ENP versus 63% in KNP). Animals in the high-incidence area of KNP had higher anti-PA responses than those in the low-incidence area, but there were no significant differences in exposure by area within ENP. Toxin neutralizing ability was higher for host populations with lower exposure prevalence, i.e., higher in ENP kudus and KNP zebras than their conspecifics in the other park. These results indicate that host species differ in their exposure to and adaptive immunity against <i>B. anthracis</i> in the two parks. These patterns may be due to environmental differences such as vegetation, rainfall patterns, landscape or forage availability between these systems and their interplay with host behaviour (foraging or other risky behaviours), resulting in differences in exposure frequency and dose, and hence immune response.
Nunes, L.A., C.A. Ribic, and B. Zuckerberg. 2021. Integration of citizen science and spatial simulations identifies mismatches between conservation area networks and hotspots of declining grassland birds. Ecology and Evolution 11:16006-16020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8270	November 2021
Nack, J. L., and C. A. Ribic. 2005. Cattle disturbance to ground-nesting grassland bird nests in southwestern Wisconsin pastures. Wilson Bulletin 117:56-62.	March 2005
Murray, L.D., C.A. Ribic, W.E. Thogmartin, and M.G. Knutson. 2008. Accuracy assessment of predictive models of grassland bird abundances in the prairie hardwood transition. Condor 110: 747-755.	November 2008
Murray, L.D., C. A. Ribic, and K. Ellison. 2009. Red-headed woodpecker habitat associations in southwest Wisconsin. Passenger Pigeon 71: 367-373.	December 2009
Murray, L. D., C. A. Ribic, and W. E. Thogmartin. 2008. Relationship of obligate grassland birds to landscape structure in Wisconsin. Journal of Wildlife Management 72:463-467.	January 2008
Michael D. Samuel, Bethany L. Woodworth, Carter T. Atkinson, Patrick J. Hart, and Dennis A. LaPointe. submitted. Avian Malaria in Hawaiian Forest Birds: Infection and Population Impacts across Species and Elevations. Ecosphere6:104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES14-00393.1	June 2015
McCauley, L.A., C.A. Ribic, L.Y. Pomara, and B. Zuckerberg. 2017. The future demographic niche of a declining grassland bird fails to shift poleward in response to climate change. Landscape Ecology 32: 807-821.	November 2017
Matsumoto, T., M. D. Samuel, T. Bolinger, M. Pybus, and D. W. Coltman. Association mapping of genetic risk factors for chronic wasting disease in wild deer. Evolutionary Applications. doi:10.1111/eva.12003	July 2012
Magle, S. B., M. D. Samuel, T. R. Van Deelen, S. J. Robinson, and N. E. Mathews. 2013. Evaluating spatial overlap and relatedness of white-tailed deer in a chronic wasting disease management zone. PLoS ONE. 8(2): e56568. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056568	January 2013
Liao, W., M. D. Samuel, O. E. Timm, C. Zhang, C. T. Atkinson, D. A. LaPointe. Will A Warmer and Wetter Future Cause Extinction of Native Hawaiian Forest Birds? Global Change Biology doi: 10.1111/gcb.13005	July 2015
Lehr, M. A., R. G. Botzler, M. D. Samuel and D. J. Shadduck. 2005. Associations between water quality, Pasteurella multocida, and avian cholera at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 41:291-297.	May 2005
LeDee, O.E., W.H. Karasov, K.J. Martin, M.W. Meyer, C.A. Ribic, and T.R. Van Deelen. 2011. Envisioning the future of wildlife in a changing climate: collaborative learning for adaptation planning. Wildlife Bulletin 35: 508-513.	January 2012
LeDee, O.E., S. Hagell, K. Martin, D. McFarland, M. Meyer, A. Paulios, C. A. Ribic, D. Sample, and T. Van Deelen. 2013. Climate change impacts on Wisconsin’s wildlife: a preliminary assessment. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Technical Bulletin No. 197.	December 2013
LeDee, O.E. and C.A. Ribic. 2015. Determining candidates for climate change management action: a case study from Wisconsin. Journal of Conservation Planning 11:1-12.	January 2015
LaPointe, D. A., C. T. Atkinson, and M. D. SAMUEL. Ecology and conservation biology of avian malaria. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1249:211-226.	April 2012
Keane, D. P., D. J. Barr, P. N. Bochsler, S. M. Hall, T. Gidlewski, K. O. O'Rourke, T. R. Spraker, and M. D. Samuel. Chronic wasting disease in a Wisconsin white-tailed deer farm. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 20:698-703 (2008).	March 2008
Joly, D. O., M. D. Samuel, J. A. Langenberg, R. E. Rolley, and D. P. Keane. Surveillance to detect chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 45:989-997.	October 2009
Joly, D. O., M. D. Samuel, J. A. Langenberg, J. A. Blanchong, C. A. Batha, R. E. Rolley, D. P. Keane, and C. A. Ribic. Spatial epidemiology of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. Journal of Wildlife Disease 42:578-588. Published.	May 2006
Joly, D. O., D. M. Heisey, M. D. Samuel, C. A. Ribic, N. J. Thomas, S. D. Wright, and I. E. Wright. 2009. Estimating cause specific mortality rates using recovered carcasses. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 45: 122-127.	January 2009
Joly, D. O., C. A. Ribic, J. A. Langenberg, K. Beheler, C. A. Batha, B. H. Dhuey, R. E. Rolley, G. Bartelt, T. R. Van Deelen, and M. D. Samuel. 2003. Chronic wasting disease in free-ranging Wisconsin white-tailed deer. Emerging Infectious Diseases 9:599-601.	May 2003
Johnson, D.H., J.P. Gibbs, M. Herzog, S, Lor, N.D. Niemuth, C.A. Ribic, M. Seamans, T.L. Shaffer, W.G. Shriver, S.V. Stehman, and W.L. Thompson. 2009. A sampling design framework for monitoring secretive marshbirds. Waterbirds 32: 203-215.	April 2009
Johnson, D. H., C. Anderson, R. Applegate, L. Bailey, E. Cooch. J. Fieberg, A. Franklin, R. Gutierrez, K. Miller, J. D. Nichols, N. Niemuth, D. Otis, C. A. Ribic, M. M. Rowland, and T. L. Shaffer. 2021. A perspective on the Journal of Wildlife Management. Journal of Wildlife Management 85:1305–1308. DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22110	September 2021
Johnson, C. J., J. M. Aiken, D. McKenzie, M. D. SAMUEL, and J. A. Pedersen. Highly efficient amplification of chronic wasting disease agent by protein misfolding cyclic amplification wit beads (PMCAb). PLos ONE e35383.	January 2012
Jennelle, C. S., V. Henaux, G. Wasserberg, B. Thiagarajan, R. E. Rolley, and M. D. Samuel. Transmission of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer: Implications for disease spread and management. PLoSONE 9(3): e91043. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091043	March 2014
Jennelle, C. S., M. D. Samuel, C. A. Nolden, and E. A. Berkley. 2009. White-tailed deer carcass decomposition and potential exposure of scavengers to chronic wasting disease. Journal of Wildlife Management. 73: 655-662.	April 2009
Jennelle, C. S., M. D. Samuel, C. A. Nolden, D. P. Keane, D. J. Barr, C. Johnson, J. P. Vanderloo, and J. M. Aiken. Surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy in scavengers of white-tailed deer carcasses in the chronic wasting disease area of Wisconsin. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. 72:1018-1024.	October 2009
Jara, R., C. Sepúlveda, H. S. IP, and M. D. Samuel. Serum protein concentration and diagnostic tests results using Nobuto filter paper strips for gray wolf (Canis lupus) serum. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 51:475-478.	April 2015
Inzalaco, H.N., F. Bravo Risi, R. Morales, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner, S.S. Lichtenberg. 2023. Ticks harbor and excrete chronic wasting disease prions. Scientific Reports, 13:7838. \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	May 2023	Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by infectious prions (PrP<sup>CWD</sup>) affecting cervids. Circulating PrP<sup>CWD</sup> in blood may pose a risk for indirect transmission by way of hematophagous ectoparasites acting as mechanical vectors. Cervids can carry high tick infestations and exhibit allogrooming, a common tick defense strategy between conspecifics. Ingestion of ticks during allogrooming may expose naïve animals to CWD, if ticks harbor PrP<sup>CWD</sup>. This study investigates whether ticks can harbor transmission-relevant quantities of PrP<sup>CWD</sup> by combining experimental tick feeding trials and evaluation of ticks from free-ranging white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>). Using the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay, we show that black-legged ticks (<i>Ixodes scapularis</i>) fed PrP<sup>CWD</sup>-spiked blood using artificial membranes ingest and excrete PrP<sup>CWD</sup>. Combining results of RT-QuIC and protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA), we detected seeding activity from 6 of 15 (40%) pooled tick samples collected from wild CWD-infected white-tailed deer. Seeding activities in ticks were analogous to 10 –1,000 ng of CWD-positive retropharyngeal lymph node collected from deer upon which they were feeding. Estimates revealed a median infectious dose range of 0.3 – 42.4 per tick, suggesting that ticks can take up transmission-relevant amounts of PrP<sup>CWD</sup> and may pose a CWD risk to cervids.
Inzalaco, H.N., E.E. Brandell, S. Wilson, M. Hunsaker, D.R. Stahler, K. Woelfel, D.P. Walsh, T. Nordeen, D.J. Storm, S.S. Lichtenberg, W.C. Turner. 2024. Detection of prions from spiked and free-ranging carnivore feces, Scientific Reports, 14: 3804. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44167-7 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	February 2024	We assessed recovery and detection of PrP<sup>CWD</sup> by experimental spiking of PrP<sup>CWD </sup>into carnivore feces from 9 species sourced from CWD-free populations or captive facilities. We then applied this technique to detect PrP<sup>CWD</sup> from feces of predators and scavengers in free-ranging populations. Our results demonstrate that spiked PrP<sup>CWD</sup> is detectable from feces of free-ranging mammalian and avian carnivores using RT-QuIC. Results show that PrP<sup>CWD </sup>acquired in natural settings is detectable in feces from free-ranging carnivores, and that PrP<sup>CWD </sup>rates of detection in carnivore feces reflect relative prevalence estimates observed in the corresponding cervid populations. This study adapts an important diagnostic tool for CWD, allowing investigation of the epidemiology of CWD at the community-level.
Hénaux, V., M. D. Samuel, J. Parmley, and C. Soos. 2013. Estimating transmission of avian influenza in wild birds from incomplete epizootic data: implications for surveillance and disease spread. Journal of Applied Ecology 50: 223–231.	January 2013
Hénaux, V., M. D. SAMUEL, R. J. Dusek, J. P. Fleskes, and H. S. Ip. 2012. Presence of Avian Influenza Viruses in Waterfowl and Wetlands during Summer 2010 in California: Are Resident Birds a Potential Reservoir? PLoS ONE: e31471. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031471	January 2012
Huang, Y.-H., N. Owen-Smith, M.D. Henley, P.L. Kamath, J.W. Kilian, S.O. Ochai, H. van Heerden, J.K.E. Mfune, W.M. Getz, W.C. Turner. 2023. Variation in herbivore space use comparing two savanna ecosystems with different anthrax outbreak patterns in southern Africa. Movement Ecology, 11:46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-023-00385-2 \| Abstract	July 2023	<u>Background</u><br>The distribution of resources can affect animal range sizes and, hence, may alter infectious disease dynamics in heterogenous environments. The risk of pathogen exposure or the spatial distribution of disease outbreaks may vary as a result of changing host range size. This study examined the host range sizes of mammalian herbivore species in two ecosystems with different observed patterns for disease outbreaks of a multi-host environmentally transmitted pathogen.<br><u>Methods</u><br>We examined the spatial extent of anthrax outbreaks and range sizes for seven host species in Etosha National Park, Namibia and Kruger National Park, South Africa, where the main host species and outbreak sizes differ. We estimated the spatial distribution of annual anthrax mortalities using the local convex hull (LoCoH) method and evaluated whether outbreak distribution was correlated with case numbers of a given host species. We estimated host range sizes at different temporal scales, individual temporal range overlap, and evaluated relationships between range size and resource availability by species.<br><u>Results</u><br>The spatial distribution of anthrax mortalities was similar between parks but less variable in Etosha than Kruger, where outbreaks varied from locally clustered to large areas, with more cases and species affected. Herbivore space use differed among species and study areas, with individuals in Etosha having larger ranges than in Kruger due to an inverse relationship between range size and resource productivity. In Kruger the main host species had small range sizes and high range overlap, which may heighten exposure when outbreaks occur in their ranges. In contrast, the main host in Etosha had large range sizes. Case numbers of secondary host species with larger range sizes were positively correlated with the extent of anthrax outbreaks.<br><u>Conclusions</u><br>Our results provide new information on the spatiotemporal structuring of ranging movements of prominent mammalian herbivores in two savanna ecosystems, with comparative values for four species in both systems. While our anthrax results are correlative, they suggest that differences in host space use may have implications for disease dynamics; and, though partial and proximate, space use factors likely contribute to other factors known to affect disease transmission.
Huang, Y.-H., K. Kausrud, A. Hassim, S.O. Ochai, O.L. van Schalkwyk, E.H. Dekker, A. Buyantuyev, C.C. Cloete, J.W. Kilian, P.L. Kamath, H. van Heerden, and W.C. Turner. 2022. Environmental drivers of biseasonal anthrax outbreak dynamics in two multi-host savanna ecosystems. Ecological Monographs. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1526 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	April 2022	Seasonality in wildlife infectious diseases is common, however bi-seasonality or bimodal seasonality in infections is less commonly reported. Bi-seasonality may involve multi-host interactions and environmental drivers, with multiple triggers. We explored patterns in anthrax infections in two multi-host systems in southern Africa: Etosha National Park, Namibia, and Kruger National Park, South Africa. We assessed possible transmission mechanisms behind anthrax dynamics, by examining 1) within- and between-species correlations of cases, and 2) associations between anthrax mortalities and environmental factors (rainfall and a remotely-sensed vegetation index). Anthrax cases in Kruger had wide inter-annual variation in intensity, and large outbreaks seemed to follow a largely decadal cycle. In contrast, anthrax outbreaks in Etosha were smaller in magnitude and occurred annually. In Etosha, the host species composition of outbreaks remained consistent over several decades, although plains zebra (<i>Equus quagga</i>) became more dominant. In Kruger, turnover of the main host species occurred, where the previously dominant host species, greater kudu (<i>Tragelaphus strepsiceros</i>), was replaced by impala (<i>Aepyceros melampus</i>), a species that rarely contributed to historical outbreaks. In both parks, anthrax infections showed two seasonal peaks, with each species having only one peak in a year. Anthrax mortalities in host species shared between the two parks peaked in the same season in both systems. Even though the relationships among species may be complex, especially in Kruger, species within the same seasonal (wet or dry) group could have synchronization of anthrax mortalities, implying common or similar transmission mechanisms or infectious sources. We found that with higher vegetation greenness, there were more zebra anthrax mortalities in Etosha, whereas there were fewer elephant cases in both parks. These suggest that host behavioral responses to environmental conditions are important for anthrax transmission. Comparing across species and systems, different seasonal peaks are potentially governed by divergent mechanisms of anthrax transmission and dynamics. This divergence of mechanisms is likely to lead to the multi-host anthrax seasonality and dynamics. This study reveals anthrax dynamics and potentially their driving forces in the two parks, which may help us better understand anthrax transmission worldwide.<br>
Huang, Y.-H., H. Joel, M. Küsters, Z. Barandongo, C.C. Cloete, W.M. Getz, A. Hartmann, P.L. Kamath, J.W. Kilian, J.K.E. Mfune, G. Shatumbu, R. Zidon, and W.C. Turner. 2021. Disease or drought: environmental fluctuations release zebra from a potential pathogen-triggered ecological trap. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B. Biological Sciences, 288: 20210582. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0582 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	June 2021	Habitat selection that exposes hosts to areas of high disease risk can have an adverse effect on host populations. When a transmission hotspot for an environmentally persistent pathogen establishes in otherwise high-quality habitat, the disease may exert stronger impact on the host population, and potentially forms an ecological trap. However, fluctuating environmental conditions lead to heterogeneity in habitat quality and animal habitat preference, which may interrupt the overlap between selected and risky habitats. We evaluated spatiotemporal patterns in anthrax mortalities in a plains zebra (<i>Equus quagga</i>) population in Etosha National Park, Namibia, incorporating remote-sensing and host telemetry data. A higher proportion of anthrax mortalities was detected in open habitats than in other habitat types. Resource selection functions showed that the zebra population shifted habitat selection in response to changes in vegetation productivity and rainfall. Average to high rainfall years supported larger anthrax outbreaks, with animals congregating in preferred open habitats, while a severe drought forced animals into otherwise less preferred habitats, leading to few anthrax mortalities. Thus, the timing of anthrax outbreaks was congruent with preference for open plains habitats and a corresponding increase in pathogen exposure. Given shifts in habitat preference, the overlap in high-quality habitat and high-risk habitat is intermittent, reducing the adverse consequences for the population.
Hoff, S., C.J. Pendergast, L. Johnson, E. Olson, D. O'Dell, Z. Dowling, K.M. Gorman, C. Herzog and W.C. Turner. 2024. Seasonal roost characterization and fall behavior of coastal northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) populations, Journal of Mammalogy, 105:(2): 277-288. DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyad102 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	November 2023	Temperate bats exhibit seasonal and sex differences in resource selection and activity patterns that are associated with ambient conditions. During fall, individuals face energetic tradeoffs as they make choices relating to migration, mating and hibernation that may diverge for populations throughout their range. However, research efforts in North America have largely focused on the summer maternity and winter hibernation seasons, whereas the pre-hibernation period remains understudied. Northern myotis (<i>Myotis septentrionalis</i>) have experienced precipitous population declines from white-nose syndrome (WNS), leading to their protected status in the United States and Canada. Therefore, understanding their behavioral patterns is paramount to inform conservation efforts. Our study compared seasonal roosts and documented fall behaviors between study sites and sexes on three islands: Long Island, New York, and Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Between 2017 – 2020, we radio-tracked 54 individuals to analyze activity patterns and characterize fall roosts to compare with summer roosts documented in previous studies on each island. Summer tree roosts were of smaller diameter, later stages of decay, and lower canopy closure, while bats of both sexes selected trees of similar diameter and decay stage during fall. Anthropogenic roost use was documented in both seasons but use of anthropogenic structures was greater during fall and increased as the season progressed. Bats made short inter-roost movements with males traveling greater distances than females on average. Activity on the landscape occurred until late November, with males exhibiting a longer active period than females. Current timing of restrictions on forest management activities may be mismatched based on the pre-hibernation bat activity observed in these coastal populations. A portion of tagged bats were tracked to local hibernacula in subterranean anthropogenic structures and the farthest distance traveled from capture location to hibernaculum was 6 km. Use of anthropogenic structures for roosts and hibernacula may facilitate survival of this species in coastal regions despite the presence of WNS infections.
Hoff, S., B.A. Mosher, M. Watson, L. Johnson, E. Olson, D. O'Dell, C.J. Pendergast, D.A. Bogan, C.J. Herzog and W.C. Turner. 2024. Widespread occupancy of the Endangered northern myotis on Northeastern Atlantic Coastal Plain islands, Endangered Species Research, 54:141-153. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01335 \| Abstract	June 2024	Northern myotis <i>Myotis septentrionalis</i> are one of the bat species most affected by white-nose syndrome (WNS), and disease-induced declines may cause compounding effects when combined with other threats such as habitat loss and fragmentation. Recent evidence suggests that peripheral populations are persisting in post-WNS years, however the environmental factors that influence the occurrence of this species along the Atlantic Coastal Plain are virtually unknown. We conducted a large-scale acoustic survey on three islands: Long Island, New York, and Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA, and used a multi-scale occupancy modeling approach to determine the landscape and abiotic factors affecting the distribution of northern myotis. Our estimates of occupancy and detection probability suggest widespread presence across the islands. At the local (200 m) scale, we identified strong negative effects of development on Long Island and Nantucket and a strong positive effect of forest habitat on Martha’s Vineyard. None of the variables we measured sufficiently explained the landscape (1 km<sup>2</sup>) occupancy of this species, which was very high ( = 0.81-0.97), representing an outlier for this species in the post-WNS landscape. The lack of association at the landscape scale suggests that general differences in land cover are not a driving factor of higher occupancy of peripheral northern myotis populations, while local site-specific conditions may be supporting critical foraging or roosting habitat. Because islands are particularly vulnerable to human-driven habitat alteration due to the constraint of limited space, and development pressure is likely to increase, this study provides a baseline to enable managers to assess the effects of future environmental disturbances and monitor population trends to support long-term survival of northern myotis.
Hobbelen, P. H. F., M. D. Samuel, D. Foote, L. Tango, and D. A. LaPointe. 2012. Modeling the impacts of global warming on predation and biotic resistance: mosquitoes, damselflies, and avian malaria in Hawaii. Theoretical Ecology. DOI 10.1007/s12080-011-0154-9.	January 2012
Hobbelen, P. H. F., M. D. Samuel, D. A. LaPointe, and C. T. Atkinson. Modeling future conservation of Hawaiian honeycreepers by mosquito management and translocation of disease-tolerant Amakihi. PLos ONE 7(11): e49594. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049594.	October 2012
Hill, D. E., M. D. Samuel, C. A. Nolden, N. Sundar, D. S. Zarlenga, and J. P. Dubey. 2008. Tichinella murrelli in scavenging mammals from south-central Wisconsin, USA. Journal of Wildlife Diseases.	September 2008
Hess, N. A., C. A. Ribic, and I. Vining. 1999. Benthic marine debris, with an emphasis on fishery-related items, surrounding Kodiak Island, Alaska, 1994-1996. Marine Pollution Bulletin 38:885-890.	November 1999
Henaux, V., and M. D. Samuel. 2011. Avian influenza shedding patterns in waterfowl: Implications for surveillance, environmental transmission, and disease spread. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 47:566-578.	July 2011
Henaux, V., M. D. Samuel, and C. M. Bunck. Model-Based Evaluation of HP and LP Avian Influenza Dynamics in Wild Birds. PLoS ONE 5(6): e10997. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010997.	June 2010
Hart, P. J., B. L. Woodworth, R. Camp, K. Turner, K. McClure, K. Goodall, C. Henneman, C. Spiegel, J. LeBrun, E. Tweed, J. Citta, and M. Samuel. Bird and resource variability across and elevational gradient in Hawaii. Auk. In	April 2011
Hagell, S. and C.A. Ribic. 2014. Barriers to climate-adaptive wildlife management: A survey of researchers and managers in Wisconsin. Wildlife Society Bulletin 38: 672-681.	December 2014
Guzy, M., C. A. Ribic, and D. W. Sample. 2002. Helping at a Henslow's Sparrow (Ammondramus henslowii) nest in Wisconsin. Wilson Bulletin 114:222-240.	December 2002
Guzy, M. J., and C. A. Ribic. 2007. Post-breeding season habitat use and movements of adult female and juvenile Eastern Meadowlarks in southwestern Wisconsin. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 119:198-204.	November 2007
Guttery, M.R., C.A. Ribic, D. Sample, A. Paulios, C. Trosen, J. Dadisman, D. Schneider, and J.A. Horton. 2017. Scale-specific habitat relationships influence patch occupancy: defining neighborhoods to optimize the effectiveness of landscape-scale grassland bird conservation. Landscape Ecology 32:515-529	April 2017
Grear, D. A., M. D. Samuel, K. T. Scribner, B. V. Weckworth, and J. A. Langenberg. Influence of genetic relatedness and spatial proximity on chronic wasting disease infection among female white-tailed deer. Journal of Applied Ecology. In Press.	April 2010
Grear, D. A., M. D. Samuel, J. A. Langenberg, and D. Keane. Demographic patterns and harvest vulnerability of CWD infected white-tailed deer in Wisconsin. Journal of Wildlife Management 70:546-553.	April 2006
Gomez, L.M., V.A. Meszaro, W.C. Turner and C.B. Ogbunugafor. 2020. The epidemiological signature of pathogen populations that vary in the relationship between free-living survival and virulence. Viruses, 12(9):1055. https://doi.org/10.3390/v12091055 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	September 2020	The relationship between parasite virulence and transmission is a pillar of evolutionary theory that has implications for public health. Part of this canon involves the idea that virulence and free-living survival (a key component of transmission) may have different relationships in different host–parasite systems. Most examinations of the evolution of virulence-transmission relationships—Theoretical or empirical in nature—Tend to focus on the evolution of virulence, with transmission being a secondary consideration. Even within transmission studies, the focus on free-living survival is a smaller subset, though recent studies have examined its importance in the ecology of infectious diseases. Few studies have examined the epidemic-scale consequences of variation in survival across different virulence–survival relationships. In this study, we utilize a mathematical model motivated by aspects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) natural history to investigate how evolutionary changes in survival may influence several aspects of disease dynamics at the epidemiological scale. Across virulence–survival relationships (where these traits are either positively or negatively correlated), we found that small changes (5% above and below the nominal value) in survival can have a meaningful effect on certain outbreak features, including R<sub>0</sub>, and on the size of the infectious peak in the population. These results highlight the importance of properly understanding the mechanistic relationship between virulence and parasite survival, as the evolution of increased survival across different relationships with virulence may have considerably different epidemiological signatures.
Goldberg, D. R., M. D. Samuel, T. E. Rocke, K. M. Johnson and G. Linz. 2004. The risk of avian botulism outbreaks from avicide DRC-1339 in North Dakota wetlands. Wildlife Society Bulletin 32:870-880.	December 2004
Gilbertson, M.L.J., L.J. Long, H.N. Inzalaco, W.C. Turner, D.J. Storm. 2024. Effective field sampling of rectoanal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue for antemortem chronic wasting disease testing in white-tailed deer, Journal of Wildlife Diseases. https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-24-00020 \| Abstract	July 2024	Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease of cervids which has spread across much of North America. While gold standard CWD diagnostics involve postmortem testing of medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes or obex (brainstem), a key tissue sample for antemortem testing is rectoanal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT). However, collection of an adequate sample (i.e., enough lymphoid follicles) may be affected by factors such as deer age, repeated sampling, skill of the sampler, and adverse conditions during collection. Here, we document the protocol used to train personnel for RAMALT collection in a large study of free-ranging white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>) in Wisconsin, USA, and determine factors that contributed to the occurrence of inadequate RAMALT samples. Our training protocol included hands-on experience with postmortem tissues, as well as a mentored collection process in the field. RAMALT collection under field conditions was highly successful, with 763 of 806 (94.7%) samples deemed adequate for subsequent testing. While inadequate samples were rare, they were more likely to occur with older deer and when samples were collected at dusk (i.e., limited ambient lighting). We conclude that RAMALT collection can be highly successful under adverse field conditions, including with technicians with limited prior veterinary experience, and we provide details of our training program to facilitate repeatability in other ante-mortem CWD testing efforts.
Gilbertson, M.L.J., E.E. Brandell, M. Pinkerton, N. Meaux, M. Hunsaker, D. Jarosinski, W. Ellarson, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. 2022. Cause of death, pathology, and chronic wasting disease status of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) mortalities in Wisconsin, Journal of Wildlife Diseases, https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-21-00202 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	October 2022	White-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus) are a critical species for ecosystem function and wildlife management. As such, studies of cause-specific mortality among WTD have long been used to understand population dynamics. However, detailed pathological information is rarely documented for free-ranging WTD, especially in regions with a high prevalence of chronic wasting disease (CWD). This leaves a critical gap in understanding how CWD affects the prevalence of other disease processes or comorbidities which may subsequently alter broader population dynamics. In this study, we investigated unknown mortalities among GPS or VHF collared WTD in southwestern Wisconsin, an area of high CWD prevalence. We tested for associations between CWD and other disease processes and used a network approach to test for clusters of co-occurrences of disease processes. Predation and infectious disease were top causes of death, with high prevalence of CWD (42.4%; n = 245) and pneumonia (51.2%; n = 168) in our sample. CWD prevalence increased with age, before decreasing among older individuals, with more older females than males in our sample. Females were more likely to be CWD positive, and while this was not statistically significant when accounting for age, females were significantly more likely to die with end-stage CWD than were males and may consequently be an underrecognized source of CWD transmission. Diagnosis of CWD was associated with emaciation, atrophy of marrow fat, and ectoparasitism (lice, ticks). Occurrences of severe infectious disease pathologies clustered together (e.g., pneumonia, CWD), as compared to non-infectious or low severity processes (e.g., sarcocystosis). However, pneumonia cases were not fully explained by CWD status. With the prevalence of CWD increasing across North America, our results highlight the critical importance of understanding the role of CWD in favoring or maintaining disease processes of importance for deer population health and dynamics.
Gilbertson, M.L.J., A. Ketz, M. Hunsaker, D. Jarosinski, W. Ellarson, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. 2022. Agricultural land use shapes dispersal in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Movement Ecology, 10:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-022-00342-5 \| Abstract	October 2022	<b>Background:</b> Dispersal is a fundamental process to animal population dynamics and gene flow. In white-tailed deer (WTD; <i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>), dispersal also presents an increasingly relevant risk for the spread of infectious diseases. Across their wide range, WTD dispersal is believed to be driven by a suite of landscape and host behavioral factors, but these can vary by region, season, and sex. Our objectives were to (1) identify dispersal events in Wisconsin WTD and determine drivers of dispersal rates and distances, and (2) determine how landscape features (e.g., rivers, roads) structure deer dispersal paths.<br><b>Methods: </b>We developed an algorithmic approach to detect dispersal events from GPS collar data for 590 juvenile, yearling, and adult WTD. We used statistical models to identify host and landscape drivers of dispersal rates and distances, including the role of agricultural land use, the traversability of the landscape, and potential interactions between deer. We then performed a step selection analysis to determine how landscape features such as agricultural land use, elevation, rivers, and roads affected deer dispersal paths.<br><b>Results: </b>Dispersal predominantly occurred in juvenile males, of which 64.2% dispersed, with dispersal events uncommon in other sex and age classes. Juvenile male dispersal probability was positively associated with the proportion of the natal range that was classified as agricultural land use, but only during the spring. Dispersal distances were typically short (median 5.77km, range: 1.3 - 68.3km), especially in the fall. Further, dispersal distances were positively associated with agricultural land use in potential dispersal paths but negatively associated with the number of proximate deer in the natal range. Lastly, we found that, during dispersal, juvenile males typically avoided agricultural land use but selected for areas near rivers and streams.<br><b>Conclusions: </b>Land use—particularly agricultural—was a key driver of dispersal rates, distances, and paths in Wisconsin WTD. In addition, our results support the importance of deer social environments in shaping dispersal behavior. Our findings reinforce knowledge of dispersal ecology in WTD and how landscape factors—including major rivers, roads, and land-use patterns—structure host gene flow and potential pathogen transmission.
Gauthier-Clerc, M., J. P. Gendner, C. A. Ribic, W. R. Fraser, E. J. Woehler, S. Descamps, C. Gillyl, C. LeBohec, and Y. LeMano. 2004. Long-term effects of flipper-bands on penguins. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B (Suppl. ), Online, doi:10. 1098/rsbl. 2004. 0201.	July 2004
Fraser, W.R., D. L. Patterson-Fraser, C. A. Ribic., O. Schofield., and H. Ducklow. 2013. A non-marine source of variability in Adélie Penguin demography. Oceanography 26(3): 77-79.	November 2013
Erdmann, E.S., C.A. Ribic, D.L. Patterson-Fraser, and W.R. Fraser. 2011. Characterization of winter foraging locations of Adelie Penguins along the Western Antarctic Peninsula, 2001-2002. Deep Sea Research II 58: 1710-1718.	August 2011
Ellison, K.S. and C.A. Ribic. 2012. Nest defense: grassland bird responses to snakes. Studies in Avian Biology 43:149-160.	November 2012
Ellison, K., E. K. Hofmeister, C. A. Ribic, and D. W. Sample. 2014. Relatively high prevalence of pox-like lesions in Henslow’s Sparrow among nine species of migratory grassland passerines in Wisconsin. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 50: 810-816.	December 2014
Ellison, K., C.A. Ribic, D.W. Sample, M.J. Fawcett, and J.D. Dadisman. 2013. Impacts of tree rows on grassland birds and potential nest predators: a removal experiment. PLOS One 8(4): e59151.	November 2013
Dudzinski, K.M., J.D. Gregg, C.A. Ribic, and S.A. Kuczaj. 2009. A comparison of pectoral fin contact between two different wild dolphin populations. Behavioural Processes 80: 182-190	October 2009
Dudzinski, K.M., C.A. Ribic, H.M. Manitzas Hill, and T.T. Bolton. 2021. Bottlenose dolphin calf initiated pectoral fin contact exchanges with mother, other kin and non-kin. Animal Behavior and Cognition 8:376-390. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.08.03.04.2021	August 2021
Dudzinski, K.M. and C.A. Ribic. 2017. Pectoral fin contact as a mechanism for social bonding among dolphins. Animal Behavior and Cognition 4:30-48.	March 2017
Dudzinski, K. M., C. A. Ribic, H. M. Hill, and T. T. Bolton. 2021. Evidence for maternal style among adult female dolphins when sharing pectoral fin contacts with their calves. Animal Behavior and Cognition 8: 52-68. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.08.01.05.2021	February 2021
Ducklow, H. W., M. Erickson, J. Kelly, M. Montes-Hugo, C. A. Ribic, R. C. Smith, S. E. Stammerjohn, and D. M. Karl. 2008. Particle export from the upper ocean over the continental shelf of the west Antarctic Peninsula: a long-term record, 1992-2007. Deep Sea Research II 55: 2118-2131	December 2008
Dubey, J. P., N. Sundar, C. A. Nolden, M. D. Samuel, G. V. Velmurugan, L. A. Bandini, O. C. H. Kwok, B. Bodenstein, and C. Su. Characterization of Toxoplasma gondii from raccoons (Procyon lotor), coyotes (Canis latrans), and stripped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) in Wisconsin identified several atypical genotypes. 2007. Journal of Parasitology 93:1524-1527.	December 2007
Drum, R. G., C.A. Ribic, K. Koch, E. Lonsdorf, E. Grant, M. Alhering, L. Barnhill, T. Daily, S. Lor, C. Mueller, D. Pavlecky, C. Rideout, and D. Sample. 2015. Strategic Grassland Bird Conservation throughout the annual cycle: Linking policy alternatives, landowner decisions, and biological population outcomes. PLoS ONE DOI: 10.1371/ journal.pone.0142525.	November 2015
Dougherty, E.R., D.P. Seidel, J.K. Blackburn, W.C. Turner, W.M Getz. 2022. A framework for integrating inferred movement behavior into disease risk models. Movement Ecology, 10, 31. \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	July 2022	Movement behavior is an important contributor to habitat selection and its incorporation in disease risk models has been somewhat neglected. The habitat preferences of host individuals affect their probability of exposure to pathogens. If preference behavior can be incorporated in ecological niche models (ENMs) when data on pathogen distributions is available, then variation in such behavior may dramatically impact exposure risk. Here we use data from the anthrax endemic system of Etosha National Park, Namibia, to demonstrate how integrating inferred movement behavior alters the construction of disease risk maps. We used a Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model that associated soil, bioclimatic, and vegetation variables with the best available pathogen presence data collected at anthrax carcass sites to map areas of most likely <i>Bacillus anthracis</i> (the causative bacterium of anthrax) persistence. We then used a hidden Markov model (HMM) to distinguish foraging and non-foraging behavioral states along the movement tracks of nine zebra (<i>Equus quagga</i>) during the 2009 and 2010 anthrax seasons. The resulting tracks, decomposed on the basis of the inferred behavioral state, formed the basis of step-selection functions (SSFs) that used the MaxEnt output as a potential predictor variable. Our analyses revealed different risks of exposure during different zebra behavioral states, which were obscured when the full movement tracks were analyzed without consideration of the underlying behavioral states of individuals. Pathogen (or vector) distribution models may be misleading with regard to the actual risk faced by host animal populations when specific behavioral states are not explicitly accounted for in selection analyses. To more accurately evaluate exposure risk, especially in the case of environmentally transmitted pathogens, selection functions could be built for each identified behavioral state and then used to assess the comparative exposure risk across relevant states. The scale of data collection and analysis, however, introduces complexities and limitations for consideration when interpreting results.
Donner, D.M., D.J. Brown, C.A. Ribic, M. Nelson, and T. Greco. 2018. Managing forest habitat for conservation-reliant species in a changing climate: the case of the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler. Forest Ecology and Management 430:265-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.08.026	December 2018
Donner, D.M., C.A. Ribic, and J.R. Probst. 2010. Patch dynamics and the timing of colonization-abandonment events by male Kirtland’s Warblers in an early succession habitat. Biological Conservation 143: 1159-1167.	August 2010
Donner, D.M., C.A. Ribic, and J.R. Probst. 2009. Male Kirtland’s warblers' patch-level response to landscape structure during periods of varying population size and habitat amounts. Forest Ecology and Management 258: 1093-1101.	October 2009
Donner, D.M., C.A. Ribic, A.J. Beck, D. Higgins, D. Eklund, and S. Reinecke. 2015. Woodland pond salamander abundance in relation to forest management and environmental conditions in northern Wisconsin. Journal of North American Herpetology 2015(1): 34-42.	March 2015
Donner, D. M., J. R. Probst, and C. A. Ribic. 2008. Influence of habitat amount, arrangement, and use on population trend estimates of male Kirtland's Warblers. Landscape Ecology 23: 467-480.	November 2008
Dolfi, A., K. Kausrud, K. Rysava, C. Champagne, Y-H Huang, Z.R. Barandongo, W.C. Turner. 2024. Season of death, pathogen persistence and wildlife behavior alter the number of anthrax secondary infections from environmental reservoirs, Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences, 291: 20232568. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2568 \| Abstract	February 2024	An important part of infectious disease management is predicting factors that influence disease outbreaks, such as <i>R</i>, the number of secondary infections arising from an infected individual. Estimating <i>R</i> is particularly challenging for environmentally transmitted pathogens given time lags between cases and subsequent infections. Here, we calculated <i>R</i> over a decade of <i>Bacillus anthracis</i> infections arising from anthrax carcass sites in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Combining host behavioral data, pathogen concentrations, and simulation models, we show that <i>R</i> is spatially and temporally variable, driven by spore concentrations at death, host visitation rates and early preference for foraging at infectious sites. While spores were detected a decade after death, most secondary infections occurred within two years. Transmission simulations under scenarios combining site infectiousness and host exposure risk under different environmental conditions led to dramatically different outbreak dynamics, from pathogen extinction (<i>R</i><1) to explosive outbreaks (<i>R</i>>10). These heterogeneities in transmission may explain variation in anthrax outbreak dynamics observed globally, and more generally, the critical importance of environmental variation underlying host-pathogens interactions. Notably, our approach allowed us to estimate the lethal dose of a highly virulent pathogen non-invasively from observational studies and epidemiological data, useful when experiments on wildlife are undesirable or impractical.
Docherty, D. E., M. D. Samuel, K. F. Egstad, K. M. Griffin, C. A. Nolden, L. Karwal, and H. S. Ip. 2009. Changes in West Nile seroprevalence and antibody titers among Wisconsin mesopredators 2003-2006. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 81:177-179.	January 2009
Docherty, D. E., M. D. Samuel, C. A. Nolden, K. E. Egstad, and K. M. Griffn. 2006. West Nile Virus Antibody Prevalence in Medium-sized mammals in southern Wisconsin. Emerging Infectoius Diseases 12:1978-1980.	December 2006
Docherty, D. E., M. D. Samuel, C. A. Nolden, K. E. Egstad, and K. M. Griffin. The Prevalence of West Nile Virus in Medium-sized mammals in southern Wisconsin. Emerging Infectious Diseases 12:1978-1980. Published.	December 2006
Davis, R. W., J. G. Ortega-Ortiz, C. A. Ribic, W. E. Evans, D. C. Biggs, P. H. Ressler, J. H. Wormuth, R. R. Leben, K. D. Mullin, and B. Wursig. 2002. Cetacean habitat in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Deep-Sea Research Part I 49:121-142.	September 2002
Daniel J. Storm, Michael D. Samuel, Robert E. Rolley, Thomas Beissel, Bryan J. Richards, and Timothy R. Van Deelen. Estimating ages of White-tailed deer: age and sex patterns of error using tooth wear-and-replacement and consistency of cementum annuli. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 38:849-856. DOI: 10.1002/wsb.457.	October 2014
Cross, P. C., J. Drewe, V. Patrek, G. Pearce, M. D. Samuel, and R. J. Delahay. 2009. Host population structure and implications for disease management. Pages 9-29 in R. J. Delahay, G. C. Smith, and M. R. Hutchings (eds.) Management of Disease in Wild Mammals. Springer-Verlag Tokyo, Inc. Tokyo.	January 2009
Creuwels, J. C. S., J. S. Stark, E. J. Woehler, J. A. van Franeker, and C. A. Ribic. 2005. Monitoring of a Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) population on the Frazier Island, Wilkes Land, Antarctica. Polar Biology 28:483-493.	October 2005
Conner, M. M., J. E. Gross, P. C. Cross, M. R. Ebinger, R. R. Gillies, M. D. Samuel, and M. M. Miller. Scale-dependent approaches to modeling spatial epidemiology of chronic wasting disease. Utah Division of Wildlife, United States Geologic Survey, and Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies Report, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Available at: or all of the websites/CWD_Spatial_Modeling. pdf.	March 2007
Conn, P. B., W. L. Kendall, and M. D. Samuel. 2004. A general model for the analysis of mark-resight, mark-recapture, and band recovery data under tag loss. Biometrics 60:900-909	December 2004
Chapman, E.W., E.E. Hofmann, D.L. Patterson, C.A. Ribic, and W.R. Fraser. 2011. Marine and terrestrial factors affecting Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) chick growth and recruitment off the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Marine Ecology Progress Series 436: 273-289.	November 2011
Chapman, E. W., and C. A. Ribic. 2002. The impact of buffer strips and stream-side grazing on small mammals in southwestern Wisconsin. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 88:49-59.	September 2002
Chapman, E. W., C. A. Ribic and W. R. Fraser. 2004. The distribution of seabirds and pinnipeds in Marguerite Bay and their relationship to physical features during austral winter 2001. Deep Sea Research Part II 51:2261-2278.	November 2004
Byers, C.M., C. A. Ribic, D. W. Sample., J.D. Dadisman, and M. R. Guttery. 2017. Grassland bird productivity in warm season grass fields in southwest Wisconsin. American Midland Naturalist 178:47-63.	November 2017
Bruce, S.A., Y-H. Huang, P.L. Kamath, H. van Heerden and W.C. Turner. 2021. The roles of antimicrobial resistance, phage diversity, isolation source and selection in shaping the genomic architecture of Bacillus anthracis, Microbial Genomics, 7:000616. DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000616 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	August 2021	<i>Bacillus anthracis</i>, the causative agent of anthrax disease, is a worldwide threat to livestock, wildlife and public health. While analyses of genetic data from across the globe have increased our understanding of this bacterium’s population genomic structure, the influence of selective pressures on this successful pathogen is not well understood. In this study, we investigate the effects of antimicrobial resistance, phage diversity, geography and isolation source in shaping population genomic structure. We also identify a suite of candidate genes potentially under selection, driving patterns of diversity across 356 globally extant <i>B. anthracis </i>genomes. We report ten antimicrobial resistance genes and eleven different prophage sequences, resulting in the first large-scale documentation of these genetic anomalies for this pathogen. Results of random forest classification suggest genomic structure may be driven by a combination of antimicrobial resistance, geography and isolation source, specific to the population cluster examined. We found strong evidence that a recombination event linked to a gene involved in protein synthesis may be responsible for phenotypic differences between comparatively disparate populations. We also offer a list of genes for further examination of <i>B. anthracis </i>evolution, based on high-impact single nucleotide polymorphisms and clustered mutations. The information presented here sheds new light on the factors driving genomic structure in this bacterium and may act as a road map for future studies aimed at understanding functional differences in terms of <i>B. anthracis</i> biogeography, virulence, and evolution.
Brown, D.J., C.A. Ribic, D.M. Donner, M.D. Nelson, C.I. Bocetti, C.M. Deloria-Sheffeld. 2017. Using a full annual cycle model to evaluate long-term population viability of the conservation-reliant Kirtland’s warbler after successful recovery. Journal of Applied Ecology 54: 439–449	June 2017
Brown, D. J., D. M. Donner, C. A. Ribic, and C. I. Bocetti. 2019. Influence of climate change and postdelisting management on long-term population viability of the conservation-reliant Kirtland’s warbler. Ecology and Evolution 9:10263–10276. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5547	October 2019
Brandell, E.E., D.J. Storm, T.R. Van Deelen, D.P. Walsh, W.C. Turner. A call to action: standardizing white-tailed deer harvest data in the Midwestern United States and implications for quantitative analysis and disease management, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10:943411. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.943411 \| Abstract	October 2022	Recreational hunting has been the dominant wildlife management and conservation mechanism in the United States for the past century. However, there are numerous modern-day issues that reduce the viability and efficacy of hunting-based management, such as fewer hunters, overabundant wildlife populations, and emerging infectious diseases in wildlife. Quantifying the drivers of recreational harvest by hunters is necessary to identify potential solutions for these issues, but this is seldom accomplished because data collection practices limit analytical applications. Additionally, managing large-scale issues, such as infectious diseases, requires collaborations across management agencies, which is challenging or impossible if data are not standardized. Here we discuss modern issues with the prevailing wildlife management framework from an analytical point of view with a case study of white-tailed deer in the Midwest. We have four aims: (1) describe the interrelated processes that comprise hunting and suggest improvements to current data collections systems, (2) summarize data collection systems employed by state wildlife management agencies in the Midwestern United States and discuss potential for large-scale data standardization, (3) assess how aims 1 and 2 influence managing infectious diseases in wildlife, and (4) suggest actionable steps to help guide data collection standards and management practices. To achieve these goals, we designed and disseminated a questionnaire to state wildlife agencies, and we report and compare their harvest management structures, data collection practices, and responses to chronic wasting disease. We hope our “call to action” encourages re-evaluation, coordination and improvement of harvest and management data collection practices with the goal of improving the analytical potential of these data. A deeper understanding of the strengths and deficiencies of our current management systems is critical for developing comprehensive and collaborative management and research initiatives (e.g., adaptive management) for wildlife and their diseases into the future.
Blehert, D. S., K. L. Jefferson, D. M. Heisey, M. D. Samuel, B. M. Berlowski, and D. J. Shadduck. 2008. Using amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis to differentiate isolates of Pasteurella multocida Serotype 1. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 44:209-225.	January 2008
Blanchong, J. A., S. J. Robinson, M. D. Samuel, and J. T. Foster. Application of Genetics and Genomics to Wildlife Epizootiology	April 2016
Blanchong, J. A., M. D. Samuel, K. T. Scribner, B. V. Weckworth, J. A. Langenberg, and K. Filcek. 2008. Landscape genetics and the spatial distribution of chronic wasting disease. Biology Letters 4:130-133. doi:10. 1098/rsbl. 2007. 0523	January 2008
Blanchong, J. A., M. D. Samuel, D. R. Goldberg, D. J. Shadduck, and M. A. Lehr. 2006. Persistence of Pasteurella multocida in wetlands following avian cholera outbreaks. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 42:33-39.	January 2006
Blanchong, J. A., M. D. Samuel, D. R. Goldberg, D. J. Shadduck, and L. H. Creekmore. 2006. Wetland environmental conditions associated with the risk of avian cholera outbreaks and the abundance of Pasteurella multocida. Journal of Wildlife Management 70:54-60.	January 2006
Blanchong, J. A., J. D. Samuel and G. Mack. 2006. Multi-species patterns of avian cholera mortality in Nebraska's Rainwater Basin. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 42:81-91.	January 2006
Blanchong, J. A., D. O. Joly, M. D. Samuel, J. A. Langenberg, R. E. Rolley, and J. F. Sausen. 2006. White-tailed deer harvest from the chronic wasting disease zone in south-central Wisconsin. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34:725-731.	November 2006
Blanchong, J. A., D. M., Heisey, K. T. S. Libants, Scribner, C. Johnson, J. M. Aiken, J. A. Langenberg, and M. D. Samuel. 2009. Genetic susceptibility to chronic wasting disease in free-ranging white-tailed deer: Complement component C1q and Prnp polymorphisms. Infection, Genetics, and Evolution 9:1329-1335.	October 2009
Blanchong, J. A., D. A. Grear, B. V. Weckworth, D. P. Keane, K. T. Scribner, and M. D. SAMUEL. Effect of chronic wasting disease on reproduction and fawn harvest vulnerability in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 48:361-370.	April 2012
Barandongo, Z.R. A.C. Dolfi, Y-H. Huang, K. Rysava, S.A. Bruce, P.L. Kamath, H. van Heerden and W.C. Turner. 2023. The persistence of time: the lifespan of Bacillus anthracis spores in environmental reservoirs, Research in Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resmic.2023.104029 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	January 2023	Anthrax is a lethal bacterial zoonosis primarily affecting herbivorous wildlife and livestock. Upon host death<i> Bacillus anthracis</i> vegetative cells form spores capable of surviving for years in soil. Anthrax transmission requires host exposure to large spore doses. Thus, conditions that facilitate higher spore concentrations or promote spore survival will increase the probability that a pathogen reservoir infects future hosts. We investigated abiotic and pathogen genomic variation in relation to spore concentrations in soils at 40 plains zebra <i>(Equus quagga)</i> anthrax carcass sites in Namibia. Specifically, how initial spore concentrations and spore survival were affected by seasonality, temperature and rainfall associated with the timing of host mortality, local soil characteristics, and pathogen genomic variation. Zebras dying of anthrax in wet seasons—the peak season for anthrax—had soil spore concentrations 1.36 orders of magnitude higher than those that died in dry seasons. No other variables considered affected spore concentrations, and spore survival rates did not differ among sites. Soils at these pathogen reservoirs remained culture positive for 3.8 – 10.4 years. Future research could evaluate if seasonal patterns in spore concentrations are driven by differences in sporulation success or levels of terminal bacteremia.
Ballerini, T. E.E. Hofmann, D.G. Ainley, K. Daly, M. Marrari, C.A. Ribic, W.O. Smith, and J.H. Steele. 2014. Productivity and linkages of the food web of the southern region of the western Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf. Progress in Oceanography 122:10-29.	March 2014
Ballard, G., D. G. Ainley, C. A. Ribic, and K. Barton. 2001. Effect of instrument attachment on foraging trip duration and nesting success of Adelie penguins. Condor 103: 481-490.	May 2001
Atkinson, C. T., Lease, J. K., R. J. Dusek, and M. D. Samuel. 2005. Prevalence of pox-like lesions and malaria in forest bird communities on leeward Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaii. The Condor 107:537-546.	September 2005
Atkinson, C. A., and M. D. Samuel. Avian Malaria (Plasmodium relictum) in Native Hawaiian Forest Birds: Epizootiology and Demographic Impacts on `Apapane (Himatione sanguinea). Journal of Avian Biology. In Press.	June 2010
Anthony, N. M., C. A. Ribic, R. Bautz, and T. Garland, Jr. 2005. Comparative effectiveness of Longworth and Sherman live-traps. Wildlife Society Bulletin 33:1018-1026.	September 2005
Anderson, J. L., J. K. Meece, J. J. Koziczkowski, J. L. Clark, Jr., R. D. Radcliff, C. A. Nolden, M. D. Samuel, and J. L. E. Ellingson. Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis in scavenging mammals in Wisconsin. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 43:302-308.	April 2007
Anderson, D. R., E. G. Cooch, R. J. Gutierrez, C. J. Krebs, M. S. Lindberg, K. H. Pollock, C. A. Ribic, and T. M. Shenk. 2003. IN MY OPINION Rigorous science: suggestions on how to raise the bar. Wildlife Society Bulletin 31(1):296-305.	August 2003
Ainley, D.G., C.A. Ribic and E.J. Woehler. 2012. Adding the ocean to the study of seabirds: a brief history of at-sea seabird research. Marine Ecology Progress Series 451: 231-243.	April 2012
Ainley, D. G., C. A. Ribic, G. Ballard, S. Heath, I. Gaffney, B. J. Karl, K. Barton, P. Wilson and S. Webb. 2004. Geographic structure of Adelie Penguin populations: overlap in colony-specific foraging areas. Ecological Monographs 74:159-178.	March 2004
Ainley, D. G., Ballard, K. J., Barton, B. J., Karl, G. H. Rau, C. A. Ribic and P. R. Wilson. 2003. Spatial and temporal variation of diet within a presumed metapopulation of Adelie penguins. Condor 105:95-106.	May 2003
Ahumada, J. A., M. D. Samuel, D. C. Duffy, A. Dobson, and P. H. F. Hobbelen. 2009. Modeling the epidemiology of avian malaria and pox in Hawaii. Page 331-335 in Conservation Biology of Hawaiian Forest Birds. T. K. Pratt, C. T. Atkinson, P. C. Banko, J. Jacobi, and B. L. Woodworth (eds.). Yale University Press, New Haven.	October 2009
Ahumada, J. A., D. LaPointe, and M. D. Samuel. 2004. Modeling the populaion dynamics of Culex quinqueasciatu (Diptera: Culicidae) along an elevation gradient in Hawaii. Journal of Medical Entomology 41:1157-1170	December 2004
Wasserberg, G., E. E. Osnas, R. E. Rolley, and M. D. Samuel. 2009. Host culling as an adaptive management tool for chronic wasting disease – a modeling study. Journal of Applied Ecology 46:457-466.	April 2009
Piazza, T. M., D. S. Blehert, F. M. Dunning, B. M. Berlowski-Zier, F. N. Zeytin. M. D. SAMUEL, and W. C. Tucker. 2011. In vitro detection and quantification of botulinum neurotoxin type E activity in avian blood. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 77:7815-7822.	December 2011

Presentations

Presentations	Presentation Date
Zuckerberg, B., C.A. Ribic, and L.A. McCauley. 2015. Assessing climate change vulnerability of grassland birds using demographically informed species distribution models. NE Climate science Center webinar series, 18 November 2015 [Invited]	November 2015	We used demographically informed species distribution models to project the relative impact of future climate change on grassland bird populations and distribution.
Wolcott, D.M., C. A. Ribic, R.R. Renfrew, and D.W. Sample. 2017. Potential impacts of Wisconsin public land management on grassland bird productivity. Presentation, The Wildlife Society Wisconsin State Chapter Annual meeting, Milwaukee, WI, 28 February-2 March 2017.	March 2017	We used 20 years of grassland bird nesting data from Wisconsin (2,252 nests) to determine the potential impact of disturbances on bird productivity. Current recommendations for restricting disturbance on grasslands appear to limit potential nest mortality, however, if late-season disturbances increase, these timelines may need to be reassessed to consider fledglings to protect overall bird productivity.
Wolcott, D.M., C. A. Ribic, R.R. Renfrew, J. Herkert, and D.W. Sample. 2017. Taking fledglings into consideration when assessing management impacts on grassland bird productivity. Presentation, The Wildlife Society 77th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE, 5-8 February 2017.	February 2017	We used 20 years of grassland bird nesting data from Wisconsin and Illinois (3,350 nests) to determine the potential impact of early- and late-season mowing on bird productivity. Current recommendations for restricting disturbance on grasslands appear to limit potential nest mortality, however, if late-season disturbances (e.g., late-season fires) increase, these timelines may need to be reassessed to consider fledglings (which are dependent on parents for 2-3 weeks post-fledging) to protect ov
Wolcott, D.M., C. A. Ribic, D. M. Donner, D. J. Rugg, A. J. Beck, S. Reinecke, and D. Eklund. 2016. Factors affecting lodge site selection by colonizing beavers in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin. Poster, The Wildlife Society 2016 Annual Meeting, 15-19 October, Raleigh, NC.	October 2016	We investigated stream and habitat factors that influence beaver colonization events and found that colonization increased with increasing amounts of lowland shrubs and open grassy habitats and declined with increasing upland conifer. This information can be used by managers to protect streams from beaver impacts using habitat management.
Winchell, C. S., M. A. Pavelka, R. C. Graham, and C. A. Ribic. 1999. Pacific pocket mouse distribution in relation to soil type. Paper presented at the Sixth Annual Wildlife Society Meeting, Austin, TX, 7-11 September 1999.	November 1999
Williams, C.L., C.A. Ribic, D.W. Sample, and C. Kucharik. 2010. Identifying potential wildlife impacts of biomass production for bioenergy: future landscape scenarios in a case study of planned biomass co-firing in Wisconsin. US-IALE annual meeting, Athens, GA, 5-9 April 2010.	April 2010
Williams, C., M. D. Samuel, V. Baranyuk, E. cooch, and d. Kraege. 2005. Winter fidelity and apparent survival of lesser snow goose populations in the Pacific Flyway. North American Arctic Goose Conference, Reno, Nevada, January 2005.	January 2005
Williams, C. L., C. A. Ribic, and D. W. Sample. 2010. Bioenergy and the renewal of the Agricultural Ecosystems Research Group: focus on ecosystem services and enhanced communications. Poster submitted to the Wisconsin Chapter of the Wildlife Society, Winter Meeting, Stevens Point, March 4-5, 2010.	March 2010
Wasserberg, G., M. D. Samuel, J. A. Langenberg, M. Verdon and D. Keane. 2005. Transmission rates and patterns of Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. The Wildlife Society 12th Annual Conference, Madison, Wisconsin, September 2005.	September 2005
W.C. Turner & J.W. Kilian. Challenges for wildlife conservation under climate and land-use changes in the Greater Etosha Landscape, Namibia. Wisconsin Chapter of The Wildlife Society Winter Meeting March, 2022 (online).	March 2022	This study reviews the history of research supporting wildlife conservation in the Great Etosha Landscape, Namibia, and how future research efforts can support the development of an adaptive management framework for the region. It identifies eight current and future challenges and opportunities for the future of wildlife conservation, and where research efforts can be used to support conservation under climate and land-use changes.
Vos, S., C. Ribic, and D. Sample. 2000. Distribution and abundance of grassland birds at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Poster presented at the 62nd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 3-6 December 2000.	December 2000
Vos, S. M., C. A. Ribic, and D. W. Sample. 2003. Fort McCoy Military Base as a resource for grassland birds in Wisconsin. Presentation made at the 10th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society, Burlington, VT, 6-10 September 2003.	September 2003
Vos, S. M., C. A. Ribic, and D. W. Sample. 2003. Distribution and productivity of grassland birds on Fort McGoy Military Base. Presentation made athe 121st Meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union, Champaign-Urbana, IL, 6-9 August 2003.	August 2003
Vos S. M. and C. A. Ribic. 2004. The bird community of Fort McCoy's native grassland habitat. Invited presentatin, 19th North American Prairie Conference, 8-12 August 2004, Madison, WI.	August 2004
Undersander, D.J., J. Bartelt, J. Lyons, T. Peterson, C.A. Ribic, and D.W. Sample. 1999. Grazing cattle in riparian zones. Invited presentation, 61st Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, 5-8 December 1999, Chicago, IL. (Invited)	December 1999
Turner, W.C., A.C. Dolfi, Z.R. Barandongo. Anthrax transmission dynamics: heterogeneity in pathogen survival and host behavior affects secondary infections arising from infectious carcass sites. W71st Annual International Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association, July 29-August 4th, 2023, Athens, Georgia.	July 2023	We investigated anthrax exposure doses relevant in free-ranging wildlife and suggest mechanisms for why anthrax disease dynamics can vary dramatically in different ecosystems. These results emphasize the importance of spatial and temporal transmission heterogeneity for persistent environmentally transmitted pathogens.
Turner, W.C. and Y.-H. Huang. 2022. Environmental variation and host behaviors alter spatiotemporal patterns of anthrax outbreaks contrasting two African savannas. 10th International Conference on Bacillus anthracis, B. cereus and B. thuringiensis in Paris, France, April 24-28, 2022.	April 2022	This presentation summarizes two studies of spatiotemporal patterns in anthrax infections in southern Africa. These studies provide a better understanding of how environmental fluctuations and host interactions with a changing environment together drive variation in anthrax dynamics among ecosystems.
Turner, W.C. 2024. Highly persistent environmentally-mediated pathogens reveal key drivers of transmission heterogeneity. Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases Annual Conference, Palo Alto, CA, 24-27 June 2024. Invited keynote talk.	June 2024	Spatial and temporal environmental variation can have profound impacts on infectious disease outbreaks through interactions between hosts and pathogens and their environment. My research group investigates host-pathogen dynamics for environmentally-mediated pathogens with a focus on interactions occurring at discrete pathogen reservoirs in the environment. This talk will draw on anthrax in Namibian wildlife as a case study of a highly persistent environmentally-mediated pathogen.
Thompson, S.J., D. Johnson, N. Niemuth, and C. Ribic. 2012. Direct and indirect impacts of oil development on grassland birds. The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting, Poster presentation, October 15, 2012.	October 2012
Thompson, A. K., and M. D. Samuel. alternative bait marker systems for white-tailed deer. Proceedings of the 12th Wildlife Damage Management Conference. In Press.	May 2007
Thompson, A. K., M. D. Samuel, and T. R. Van Deelen. 2005. Risk of CWD transmission associated with supplemental feeding and baiting of free-ranging white-tailed deer. The Wildlife Society 12th Annual Conference, Madison, Wisconsin, September 2005.	September 2005
Thompson, A. K., M. D. Samuel and T. R. Van Deelen. 2005. Risk of CWD transmission associated with supplemental feeding and baiting of free-ranging white-tailed deer. Poster. Second International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium, Madison, Wisconsin, July 2005.	September 2005
Thiagarajan, B., C. Jennelle, G. Wasserberg, and M. D. Samuel. Modeling transmission dynamics of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. Mathbio 3: Modeling, Madison, WI, Sept 29-30, 2011.	September 2011
Thiagarajan, B., C. Jennelle, G. Wasserberg, and M. D. Samuel. Modeling transmission dynamics of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. The Wildlife Society’s 18th Annual Conference, Kona, HI, Nov 5-10, 2011.	October 2011
Storm, D., M. Samuel, K. Malcolm, R. Rolley, T. Van Deelen, and B. Richards. 2009. Comparison of helicopter and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) surveys for counting white-tailed deer. Wisconsin Wildlife Society Conference, Wausau, WI, March 3-5 2010.	March 2010
Storm, D., M. Samuel, K. Malcolm, R. Rolley, T. Van Deelen, and B. Richards. 2009. Comparison of helicopter and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) surveys for counting white-tailed deer. Midwest Wildlife Society Conference, Springfield, IL, Dec 7-9, 2009.	December 2009
Storm, D. J., M. Samuel, T. Beissel, R. Osborn, B. Richards, and T. Van Deelen. Error in age estimates of deer obtained by the wear-and-replacement method. Emerging Issues in White-tailed Deer Management and Conservation Conference. Lafayette, IN. Feb 25-27, 2009.	February 2009
Storm, D. J., M. Samuel, T. Beissel, R. Osborn, B. Richards, and T. Van Deelen. Accuracy and precision of age estimates of white-tailed deer using the wear-and-replacement method: age and sex patterns, consequences, and corrections. The Wildlife Society 15 Annual Conference, Miami, FL. Nov. 8-12, 2008.	November 2008
Sheavly, S.B., C. A. Ribic , and D. J. Rugg. 2010. Composition of marine debris on Midway Island, 2008-2009. Presentation submitted to the American Geophysical Union 2010 Ocean Sciences Meeting, 22-26 February 2010, Portland, Oregon.	February 2010
Schmitz, C.M., C.M. Slay, K.S. Ellison, C.A. Ribic, and K.G. Smith. 2012. Nocturnal activity of nesting shrubland and grassland passerines. Presentation, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology 73rd annual meeting, Middleton, WI, May 10-13, 2012.	May 2012
Schmitz, C., J. Dadisman, C.A. Ribic, D.W. Sample, and D. Schneider. 2011. Impacts of potential herbaceous bioenergy crops on wildlife: grassland bird use across a diversity gradient of native warm season grass fields in southwestern Wisconsin. Poster at the Midwest Bird Conservation and Monitoring Conference, Zion, IL, 2-4 August 2011.	August 2011
Schmitz, C., J. Dadisman, C.A. Ribic, D.W. Sample, and D. Schneider. 2011. Impacts of potential herbaceous bioenergy crops on wildlife: grassland bird use across a diversity gradient of native warm season grass fields in southwestern Wisconsin. Poster at America’s Grasslands: Status, Threats, and Opportunities Conference, Sioux Falls, SD, 15-17 August 2011.	August 2011
Schmitz, C., J. Dadisman, C.A. Ribic, D.W. Sample, and D. Schneider. 2010. Impacts of potential herbaceous bioenergy crops on wildlife: grassland bird use across a diversity gradient of native warm season grass fields in southwestern Wisconsin. Poster, 71st Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 12-15 Dec. 2010.	December 2010
Schmitz, C., J. Dadisman, C. A. Ribic, D. W. Sample, and D. Schneider. 2012. An assessment of Henslow’s Sparrow density and nesting productivity in native warm season grass fields spanning a vegetation diversity gradient in southwestern Wisconsin. Presentation, Wisconsin Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Winter Meeting, Feb. 28-March 1, 2012, Rothschild, WI..	February 2012
Schmitz, C., J. Dadisman, C. A. Ribic, D. W. Sample, and D. Schneider. 2011. Henslow’s Sparrow in native warm season grass fields in southwestern Wisconsin. Presentation, 72nd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Des Moines, IA, December 4-7, 2011.	December 2011
Schmitz, C., A. Cassini, and C. Ribic. 2012. Circadian rhythm in nesting male and female Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). Poster, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology 73rd annual meeting, Middleton, WI, May 10-13, 2012.	May 2012
Schmitz, C. C.A. Ribic, and D.W. Sample. 2012. Factors affecting grassland bird density in warm season grass fields in Southwest Wisconsin. Presentation, The Wildlife Society Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Wichita, KS, December 9-12, 2012.	December 2012
Samuel, M.D., D.E. Docherty, K.F. Egstad, K.M. Grififn, and C. A. Nolden. West Nile Virus in Wisconsin scavenging mammals. Midwest Fish and Wildlife conference, Madison, WI, 10-12 December, 2007.	December 2007
Samuel, M.D., C.T. Atkinson, B.L. Woodworth, D.A. LaPointe, and P.J. Hart. 2007. The impact of avian malaria on endemic Hawaiian forest birds. 77th Cooper Ornithological Society Meeting, Moscow, Idaho, June 2007. (Invited)	June 2007
Samuel, M.D., C. T. Atkinson, J. A. Ahumada, and D. A. LaPointe. 2004. Impacts of avian malaria on endemic Hawaiian forest birds. Ecological Society of America, Portland, Oregon, August 2004. (Invited).	August 2004
Samuel, M.D., C. S. Jennelle, V. Henaux, S. J. Robinson, and D. J. Storm. 2013. Transmission, Spread, and Management of CWD in White-tailed Deer. Wildlife Society Conference, Mulwaukee, WI, 5-10 October, 2013.	October 2013	Future management efforts should focus primarily on reducing CWD prevalence to reduce the rate of infection. In addition, strategies that also help reduce deer abundance will likely help reduce the number of dispersing animals that may be responsible for CWD spread.
Samuel, M.D., B. L. Woodworth, C. T. Atkinson, and P. J. Hart. Application of Bayesian Multi-State Models to Avian Malaria in Hawaiian Forest Birds Using Longitudinal and Cross-sectional Data. The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, October 2014.	October 2014	We used a novel Bayesian state-space model to determine the dynamics of avian malaria in three species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. Our approach combines longitudinal and cross-sectional capture-recapture data to estimate capture probabilities, malaria infection and mortality rates, and survival for susceptible and recovered (chronically infected) birds
Samuel, M.D., B. L. Woodworth, C. T. Atkinson, P. J. Hart, and D. A. LaPointe. The Perplexing Problem of Avian Pox in Hawaiian Forest Birds. Hawaii Conservation Conference	July 2014	Pox infection rates were highest in low-elevation forests, intermediate at mid-elevation, and lowest at high-elevation. Infection with avian pox had no demonstrable impact on survival rates of the three species.
Samuel, M.D. Avian cholera. Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, Wildlife Disease Workshop, uSGS National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI, 30 January-1 February, 2008.	January 2008
Samuel, M.D. 2007. Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer: Is there a practical solution? Prion 2007, Edinburgh, Scotland, September 2007. (Invited)	September 2007
Samuel, M.D. 2007. CWD in Wisconsin ? Lessons Learned. PrP Canada 2007 Canada?s Prion Research Conference. Calgary, Alberta, 19-20 February 2007. (Invited)	February 2007
Samuel, M. D., P. Hobbelen, F. de Castro, J. Ahumada, D. LaPointe, and C. Atkinson, 2010. Modeling avian malaria in Hawaiian birds – disease, climate, and geographic interactions. 3rd USGS Modeling Conference, Broomfield, CO, June 7-11, 2010.	June 2010
Samuel, M. D., D. R. Goldberg, D. J. Shadduck, W. Johnson and M. Spindler. 2005. Reservoirs for avian cholera: wetlands vs. birds. North American Arctic Goose Conference, Reno, Nevada, January 2005.	January 2005
Samuel, M. D., D. O. Joly, M. A. Wild, S. D. Wright and R. W. Werge. Detecting Chronic Wasting Disease in Free-ranging Cervids: Report of an Inter-agency Workshop. International Chronic Wasting Disease Workshop. Wildlife Disease Association Conference. August 2003.	August 2003
Samuel, M. D., D. Joly, D. Grear, and J. Langenberg. 2003. Chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer: integrating disease management and disease research. 3rd International Wildlife Congress, Chrstichurch, New Zealand, December 2003.	December 2003
Samuel, M. D., C. T. Atkinsons, J. A. Ahumada, D. A. LaPointe, B. W. woodworth, and D. C. Duffy. 2005. Ecology of avian malaria in native Hawaiian forest birds. International Wildlife Disease Congress, Cairns, Australia, July 2005. (Invited).	July 2005
Samuel, M. D., C. T. Atkinson, J. A. Ahumada, and D. A. LaPointe. 2005. Impacts of avian malaria on endemic Hawaiian forest birds. The Wildlife Society 12th Annual Conference, Madison, Wisconsin, September 2005 (invited).	September 2005
Samuel, M. D., C. T. Atkinson, J. A. Ahumada, B. L. Woodworth. Transmission Models and Population Effects of Vector-Borne Diseases: Avian Malaria in Hawaiian Forest Birds. Wildlife Disease Association Conference. August 2003.	August 2003
Samuel, M. D., C. T. Atkinson, D. LaPointe, and P. Hobbelen. 2010. Avian malaria and conservation in Hawaiian birds. The Wildlife Society’s 17th Annual Conference, Snowbird, UT, Oct 2-6, 2010.	October 2010
Samuel, M. D., C. T. Atkinson, D. A. LaPointe, B. L. Woodworth, J. Liao, and P.J. Hart. 2014. Disease in Hawaiian Forest Birds: Current Patterns and Future Threats. The American Ornithologists' Union Meeting. September 2014.	September 2014	The introduction of mosquito vectors, avian pox, and avian malaria to the Hawaiian Islands provides a strategic example of the potentially devastating effects of exotic disease on island ecosystems. Understanding disease dynamics and key drivers facilitates the future prediction of disease risk resulting from climate change and allows proactive evaluation of alternative conservation strategies.
Samuel, M. D., C. T. Atkinson, B. Woodworth, and P. Hart. Avian malaria in Hawaiian forest birds: elevation and species differences in disease transmission and population impacts. The Wildlife Society’s 18th Annual Conference, Kona, HI, Nov 5-10, 2011.	November 2011
Samuel, M. D., C. T. Atkinson and J. A. Ahumada. Transmission models for vector-borne diseases: avian malaria in Hawaiian forest birds. West Nile Virus and Wildlife Health Workshop, Smithsonian Institute. February 2003.	February 2003
Samuel, M. D., C. Ribic, D. Joly, D. Grear, and J. Langenberg. 2003. Chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer: preliminary findings and future research. Midwest Wildlife Society Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, December 2003. (Invited).	December 2003
Samuel, M. D., C. A. Ribic, D. O. Jol, D. Grear, and J. Langenberg. 2003. Chroic wasting disese in isconsin white-tailed deer: Preliminar findings and future research. Invited presentation, The 64th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conferece, Kansas City, MO.	December 2003
Samuel, M. D., B. L. Woodworth, C. T. Atkinson, and P. J. Hart. Application of Bayesian multi-state models to avian malaria in Hawaiian forest birds using longitudinal and cross sectional data. Research and Policy for Infectious Disease Dynamics (RAPIDD) workshop. January 2015, Fort Collins, CO.	January 2015	Discusses methods to combine cross sectional and latitudinal capture data.
Samuel, M. D., B. L. Woodworth, C. T. Atkinson, P. J. Hart, and D. A. LaPointe. The Perplexing Problem of Avian Pox in Hawaiian Forest Birds Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Milwaukee, WI, October 2013.	October 2013	Our primary finding was that infection with avian pox had no demonstrable impact on survival rates of the three species we studied. High recovery rates indicate that pox infections may be similar to those for malaria.
Samuel, M. D., B. L. Woodworth, C. T. Atkinson, P. J. Hart, and D. A. LaPointe. The Perplexing Problem of Avian Pox in Hawaiian Forest Birds Wildlife Disease Association International Conference, Knoxville, TN, July 2013.	July 2013	Our primary finding was that infection with avian pox had no demonstrable impact on survival rates of the three species we studied. High recovery rates indicate that pox infections may be similar to those for malaria.
Samuel, M. D., B. L. Woodworth, C. T. Atkinson, and P. J. Hart. Avian Malaria in Hawaiian Forest Birds: Infection and Population Impacts across Species and Elevations. Hawaii Conservation Conference.	July 2014	Our results support the hypothesis that avian malaria is the primary factor influencing the distribution of forest birds: 1) Amakihi across the elevational gradient; 2) Apapane at mid and high elevations; 3) Iiwi restricted to high elevations; and 4) malaria-tolerant Amakihi in low-elevation forests. These results demonstrate the key role of malaria on these relatively common native species and in the decline and extinction of Hawaiian forest birds.
Samuel, M. D. Initial epidemiological analysis of Wisconsin's CWD outbreak. Midwest Deer-Turkey Study Group Meeting. August 2003.	August 2003
Samuel, M. D. 2005. USGS National Wildlife Health Center. Fenner Conference on the Environment, Wildlife Health Workshop, Canberra, Australia, July 2005. (Invited).	July 2005
Samuel, M. D. 2005. The epidemiology of Chronic Wasting Disease, a transmissible encephalopathy, in white-tailed deer in Wisconsin. Fenner Conference on the Environment, Wildlife Health Workshop, Canberra, Australia, July 2005 (invited).	July 2005
Samuel, M. D. 2005. Ecology of introduced avian malaria in native Hawaiian forest birds. Fenner Conference on the Environment, Wildlife Health Workshop, Canberra, Australia, July 2005 (invited).	July 2005
Samuel, M. D. 2004. Snow goose over abundance increase avian cholera mortality in other species. Poster. Water Birds Around the World, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, April 2004.	April 2004
Samuel, M. D. Spatial analysis and disease ecology: Pattern, process, and challenges. The Wildlife Society 15 Annual Conference, Miami, FL. Nov. 8-12, 2008.	November 2008
Samuel, M. D. Overview and next directions for CWD in the wild. Western States Deer and Elk Conference, May, 2015, Canmore, AB, Canada. (Invited Plenary Presentation)	May 2015	Summary of CWD science and management impacts.
Samuel, M. D. CWD in Wild Cervids: Where We’ve Been and What’s Next. Webinar hosed by USGS Ecosystems and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. July 7, 2015.	July 2015	Summary of science and management of CWD.
Samuel, M. D. 2012. What you always wanted to know about chronic wasting disease, but were afraid to ask. Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society, Portland, OR, 13-18 Oct. (INVITED)	October 2012	In nearly all cases, management efforts to eradicate CWD have been unsuccessful, which suggests future spread and higher infection rates are likely. This presentation will review key biological features of CWD relative to deer ecology, discuss recent research findings, and discuss future concerns about CWD and big game management.
Sample, D.W., and C.A. Ribic. 2007. Biofuels in Wisconsin: boon or bane for birds? ESA/SER Joint Meeting, San Jose, CA, 5-10 August 2007. (Invited)	August 2007
Sample, D.W., and C. A. Ribic. 2009. Removing wooded fencerows as a management strategy for grassland bird conservation. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 2009 Wildlife Management Statewide Meeting, January 13-15, Appleton, WI.	January 2009
Sample, D.W. and C. A. Ribic. 2011. Strategic Grassland Bird Conservation: A Case Study. Invited presentation, Midwest Bird Conservation and Monitoring Conference, Zion, IL, August 2-4, 2011.	August 2011
Sample, D.W. and C. A. Ribic. 2010. Bioenergy in Wisconsin: boon or bane for wildlife? Invited Plenary, Wisconsin Chapter of the Wildlife Society annual meeting, Wausau, WI, March 3-5, 2010	March 2010
Sample, D.W. and C. A. Ribic. 2010. Bioenergy in Wisconsin: boon or bane for grasslands and wildlife? Invited Presentation, The Wisconsin Grasslands Bioenergy Symposium, Madison, WI, February 16, 2010.	February 2010
Sample, D. W., and C. A. Ribic. 2007. Biofuels in Wisconsin: boon or bane for birds? ESA/SER Joint Meeting, San Jose, CA, 5-10 August 2007.	August 2007
Sample, D. W., C. A. Ribic, W. E. Lanyon, M. J. Guzy, J. D. Dadisman, and S. J. Knetter. 2004. A compariso of the relative abundance of Eastern and Western Meadowlarks in southern Wisconsin in 1952-53 and 2003. Invited presentation at Grassland Birds in North America: Current and Future Currencies symposium. The Wildlife Society 11th Annual Conference, Calgary, Canda, 18-22 September 2004.	September 2004
Sample, D. W. and C. A. Ribic. 2007. Biofuels development in Wisconsin: what will it mean for birds? Presented at BIOFUELS: Breaking the Barriers for Biomass Conversion-Challenges and Opportunities, University of Minesota, St. Paul, MN, 19 July 2007. (Invited)	July 2007
Rogers, K., S. Robinson, M. Samuel, J. Langenberg, and D. Grear. 2009. Mitochondrial DNA sequencing of white-tailed deer within Wisconsin’s CWD management zone, detailing population distribution and movement. Poster at Midwest Wildlife Society Conference, Springfield, IL, Dec 7-9, 2009.	December 2009
Robinson, S., M. Samuel, J. Blanchong, K. Scribner, P. Shelton, J. Langenberg, and D. Grear. Applications of genetic methods to tracking the spread of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer. The Wildlife Society 15 Annual Conference, Miami, FL. Nov. 8-12, 2008.	November 2008
Robinson, S., M. Samuel, J. Blanchong, J. Langenberg, K. Scribner, and D. Grear. 2009. Application of spatial genetic analyses to reveal correlations between white-tailed deer dispersal and CWD spread in Wisconsin. Midwest Wildlife Society Conference, Springfield, IL, Dec 7-9, 2009.	December 2009
Robinson, S., M. Samuel, D. Lopez, and P. Shelton. Landscape genetics shed light on deer dispersal and population contact in Wisconsin – Illinois chronic wasting disease zone. The Wildlife Society’s 18th Annual Conference, Kona, HI, Nov 5-10, 2011.	November 2011
Robinson, S., M. Samuel, D. Lopez, and P. Shelton. Dispersal across an infected landscape: landscape genetics informs landscape epidemiological models of chronic wasting disease spread in the Midwest. 61st International conference of the Wildlife Disease Association, Lyons, France, July 22-27, 2012	July 2012
Robinson, S., M. Samuel, C. Johnson, J. Aiken, J. Blanchong, D. Grear, and M. Adams. The power of good genes – Prion protein genotype impacts CWD infection and survival of Wisconsin white-tailed deer. Wisconsin Ecology, 14th Annual Spring Symposium, Madison, WI, April 7-8, 2011.	April 2011
Robinson, S., M. Samuel, C. Johnson, J. Aiken, J. Blanchong, D. Grear, and M. Adams. 2010. The power of good genes – Prion protein genotype impacts CWD infection and survival of Wisconsin white-tailed deer. The Wildlife Society’s 17th Annual Conference, Snowbird, UT, Oct 2-6, 2010.	October 2010
Robinson, S., M. D. Samuel, C. Johnson, J. A. Blanchong, D. J. Grear, and M. Adams. 2013. Evolutionary impacts of wildlife disease: selective pressure of CWD in white-tailed deer. Wildlife Society Conference, Milwaukee, WI, 5-10 October, 2013.	October 2013	Our results have direct bearing on the epidemiology, dynamics, and future trends in CWD transmission and spread. Further, our research demonstrates a link between CWD and evolutionary processes in deer populations, with selective pressure favoring the PRNP variant with decreased CWD susceptibility.
Robinson, S. J., and M. D. Samuel. Modeling the spread of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer using genetic data. Annual Wildlife Society Conference, October 2014.	October 2014	Our results indicate that CWD is spreading across the Midwestern landscape from two endemic foci, but spread is strongly influenced by highways and rivers that also reduce deer gene flow. We used our model to plot a risk map identifying likely routes of disease spread to prioritizing disease monitoring and containment efforts.
Robinson, S. J., M. D. Samuel, C. J. Johnson, M. Adames, and D. I. McKenzie. The power of good genes: Rapid host evolution driven by an emerging prion disease. 60th Annual International Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, Aug 14-19, 2011.	August 2011
Robinson, S. J., M. D. Samuel*, C. J. Johnson, M. Adams, and D. I. McKenzie. Differential CWD Infection and Mortality of PRNP Genotypes in White-tailed Deer: Implications for Genetic Selection, Disease Modeling and Management . Prion 2011, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 16-19, 2011.	May 2011
Robinson S., M. Samuel, D. Lopez, P. Shelton. 2013. The walk is never random: using novel modeling approaches to detect subtle landscape effects with in a continuous white-tailed deer population in the Midwestern United States. Wildlife Society Conference, Milwaukee, WI, 5-10 October, 2013.	October 2013	At a broader scale, landscape features shaped genetic connectivity within the population. We found that individual state and interstate highways and rivers were significant barriers to gene flow.
Ribon, R., M. R. Guttery, C. A. Ribic, D. M. Donner, A. J. Beck, and M. Â. Marini. 2016. Effects of habitat conversion on the Atlantic dry forest bird community in Brazil. Presentation, XXIII Congresso Brasileiro de Ornitologia, 31 July-4 August, 2016, Pirenópolis, Goiás, Brazil. (in Portuguese)	August 2016	This study investigated how bird species richness in Atlantic dry forest fragments differs from that in eucalyptus plantations. This study provides information to managers for managing biodiversity in Brazilian forests
Ribon, R., M. R. Guttery, C. A. Ribic, D. M. Donner, A. J. Beck, and M. Â. Marini. 2013. Effects of habitat conversion on the Atlantic dry forest bird community in Brazil. Presentation, Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, August 4-9, 2013, Minneapolis, MN.	August 2013	This study investigated how bird species richness in Atlantic dry forest fragments differs from that in eucalyptus plantations. This study provides information to managers for managing biodiversity in Brazilian forests.
Ribic, C.A., Sample, D.W., W.E. Lanyon, M.J. Guzy, J.D. Dadisman, and S. J. Knetter. 2004. Changes in relative abundance of Eastern and Western Meadowlarks in southern Wisconsin in between 1952-53 and 2003. Presentation made at the Ecological Society Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, 1-6 August 2004.	August 2004
Ribic, C.A., S.B. Sheavly, D. J. Rugg, and E.S. Erdmann. 2010. Trends in Marine Debris on the East Coast of the United States 1997-2007. Presentation submitted to the American Geophysical Union 2010 Ocean Sciences Meeting, 22-26 February 2010, Portland, Oregon.	February 2010
Ribic, C.A., S. B. Sheavly, and D. J. Rugg. 2011. Trends in marine debris along the coast of the continental United States 1996-2007. Presentation, Fifth International Marine Debris Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, 20-25 March 2011.	March 2011
Ribic, C.A., S. B. Sheavly, and D. J. Rugg. 2011. Trends in beach debris on Hawai’i 2000-2007. Poster, Fifth International Marine Debris Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, 20-25 March 2011.	March 2011
Ribic, C.A., S. B. Sheavly, and D. J. Rugg. 2011. Midway Island as a sentinel site for Pacific Region marine debris. Presentation, Fifth International Marine Debris Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, 20-25 March 2011.	March 2011
Ribic, C.A., N. Koper, C. S. Ng, K. Ellison, and D. J. Rugg. 2018. Behavior of nestling and adult grassland passerines at fledging. Presentation, American Ornithological Society Meeting, Tucson, AZ, 9-14 April 2018.	April 2018	Using video recordings, we analyzed the fledging behavior of nestlings and adults from 127 nests of 15 bird species nesting in grasslands of southwest Wisconsin and Alberta, Canada. Overall, we found little support for the parent manipulation hypothesis, and some support for the energetics hypothesis. We suggest that fledging for grassland birds should be viewed as a transition from the family unit being place-based to one that is mobile to facilitate teaching the young survival skills and pre
Ribic, C.A., M.R. Guttery, D. Sample, C. Trosen, and A. Paulios. 2018. Defining neighborhoods to optimize the effectiveness of landscape-scale grassland bird conservation. Invited, Symposium presentation, US-IALE 2018 Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 8-12, 2018.	April 2018	We evaluated scale-specific effects of landscape composition (idle grass, pasture, cropland, hay, forest) on patch occupancy of Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Henslow's Sparrow. Bobolink selected for grassland habitats in the surrounding landscape at all spatial scales while selecting against other cropland and forest, Eastern Meadowlark displayed evidence of scale sensitivity for all habitat types, Grasshopper Sparrow showed a strong positive response to pasture and id
Ribic, C.A., L.D. Murray, and K. Ellison. 2007. Red-headed woodpecker occurrence in southwest Wisconsin. Presentation made at the 68th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, 9-12 December, Madison, WI.	December 2007
Ribic, C.A., L.A. McCauley, and B. Zuckerberg. 2016. Climate impacts on grassland bird demography are mediated by patch size. Invited symposium presentation, North American Ornithological Congress, 16-20 August, Washington D.C.	August 2016	We analyzed nest success of grassland birds across North America to quantify sensitivity to climate variability and its interaction with grassland patch size. We found that effects of precipitation and temperature were moderated by larger patch sizes, suggesting that conservation of larger grassland patches might help reduce the deleterious consequences of future warming.
Ribic, C.A., K.S. Ellison, and D.W. Sample. 2008. Effects of enlarging grassy habitat patches on grassland birds and their predators. Presentation made at the US IALE 23rd annual symposium, Madison, WI, 6-11 April 2008.	April 2008
Ribic, C.A., D.W. Sample, K. Ellison, and P.J. Pietz. 2008. Spatial complexity of the predator community: examples from grasslands. The 2008 AOU-COS-ACO annual meeting, Portland, OR, August 4-8, 2008. (Invited)	August 2008
Ribic, C.A., D.W. Sample, J. Dadisman, and D. Schneider. 2010. Nest success of grassland birds in warm season Conservation Reserve Program fields in southwestern Wisconsin. Poster submitted to the Wisconsin Chapter of the Wildlife Society, Winter Meeting, Stevens Point, March 4-5, 2010.	March 2010
Ribic, C.A., D.M. Donner, A.J. Beck, S. Reinecke, and D. Ekland. 2014. Beaver management in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin. Presentation, 3rd Science in the Northwoods Conference, Boulder Junction, WI, October 15-17.	October 2014	We found that beaver management is reducing the population throughout both sides of the Forest. This information can be used by managers to determine what level of harvest should be used in the future.
Ribic, C.A., D.M. Donner , A.J. Beck, D. Eklund, D. Higgins , and S. Reinecke. 2013. Blue-spotted salamanders in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin. Presentation, The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, 5-10 Oct. 2013.	October 2013	This study investigates the use of vernal pools by breeding salamanders. Forest managers can use this information to inform their management decisions.
Ribic, C.A., D.J. Brown, Donner, D.M., and C.I. Bocetti. 2019. Conservation of Kirtland’s Warbler in a changing world. Presentation, American Ornithological Society Meeting, Anchorage, AK, 24-28 June 2019.	June 2019	We developed a population-level model that simulates the full annual cycle, and parameterized the model using previously established empirical relationships to quantify the vulnerability of Kirtland's Warbler to projected environmental changes on both the breeding and wintering grounds. Our results indicate that probability of long-term persistence for Kirtland's Warbler will depend heavily on wintering grounds habitat quality, and underscores the importance of considering the full annual cycle
Ribic, C.A., D.J. Brown, D.M. Donner, C.I. Bocetti, and C.M. DeLoria-Sheffeld. 2016. Proactive management of Kirtland’s Warbler under changing environmental and management conditions. Presentation, North American Ornithological Congress, 16-20 August, Washington D.C.	August 2016	We conducted population viability analyses for Kirtland’s Warbler to evaluate potential management strategies for this species after delisting and to infer how climate change might impact future management decisions. These analyses will help managers evaluate the trade-offs of different management scenarios, while also incorporating the uncertainties and variability of environmental factors to ensure long-term viability of the Kirtland’s Warbler.
Ribic, C.A., D.G. Ainley, W. R. Fraser, E. J. Woehler, R. G. Ford, and C. T. Tynan. 2010. Water masses, ocean fronts, and the structure of Antarctic seabird communities: putting the eastern Bellingshausen Sea in perspective. Poster presented at the 1st World Seabird Conference, Sept. 7-11, 2010, Victoria, Canada.	September 2010
Ribic, C.A., Chapman, E.W., W. R. Fraser, G. L. Lawson, P. H. Wiebe, and C. J. Ashjian. 2004. Associations betwen seabird distribution and physiucal and biological oceanographic features during winter 2001-2002 in the Marguerite Bay area on the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Presentation made at the XXVIII SCAR Open Science Conference, Bremen, Germany, 25-31 July 2004.	July 2004
Ribic, C.A., C.M. Byers, D.W. Sample, J.D. Dadisman, and M.R. Guttery. 2017. Grassland bird productivity in warm season grass fields in southwest Wisconsin. Presentation, The Wildlife Society 77th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE, 5-8 February 2017.	February 2017	We studied the nesting activity of obligate grassland bird species in relation to field vegetation and fire management in warm-season CRP fields in southwest Wisconsin 2009-2011. The diversity of vegetation and management by fire on warm-season CRP fields provides a continuum of structure for obligate grassland birds to utilize for breeding and habitat for a diversity of nest predators.
Ribic, C.A., A. Paulios, and D. Sample. 2013. An overview of grassland bird ecology and conservation. Presentation, The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, 5-10 Oct. 2013.	October 2013	Grassland bird conservation has changed from a patch-based activity to a landscape-scale issue with landscape composition determined by private landowner decisions. Grassland bird conservation thus becomes not only an ecological problem, but a social and economic one.
Ribic, C.A. and S.P. Rupp. 2019. Bioenergy production – overlooked opportunity or overlooked challenge for natural resource conservation? Symposium presentation, AFS and TWS Joint Conference, Reno, NV, 29 Sept. – 3 Oct. 2019	October 2019	Native wildlife and other ecosystem services may be affected by increasing bioenergy development regardless of the feedstock used because the characteristics of ideal bioenergy crops can be in direct conflict with characteristics that make habitat attractive to wildlife. Principles to reduce negative effects and enhance positive effects of bioenergy production on biodiversity include conserving priority biodiversity areas, including tradeoffs between environmental resources and energy producti
Ribic, C.A. and S. B. Sheavly. 2011. What makes a good marine debris monitoring program? Presentation, Fifth International Marine Debris Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, 20-25 March 2011.	March 2011
Ribic, C.A. and R. Koford. 2011. Landscapes, grassland birds, and agroecosystems. Invited Presentation, 72nd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference: "Landscapes and Grassland Birds", Des Moines, IA, December 4-7, 2011.	December 2011
Ribic, C.A. and K. S. Ellison. 2007. Effects of removing wooded fencerows on grassland birds and their predators in southwest Wisconsin. Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society Invasive Woody Vegetation Control Workshop, 2 August 2007, Spicer, MN. (Invited)	August 2007
Ribic, C.A. and E.W. Chapman. 1999. Riparian zones as habitat and corridors for mammals. Invited presentation, 61st Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, 5-8 December 1999, Chicago, IL. (Invited)	December 1999
Ribic, C.A. and D.W. Sample. 2015. Landscapes, grassland birds, and agroecosystems, a Wisconsin perspective. Invited presentation, American Ornithologists' Union (133rd Stated Meeting) and Cooper Ornithological Society (85th Stated Meeting), Norman, OK, 28 July-1 August, 2015.	July 2015	This presentation reviews grassland bird work done in Wisconsin and how that work has been used by managers to help conserve these species.
Ribic, C.A. and D.W. Sample. 2010. Southwest Wisconsin: an important landscape for grassland birds. Invited presentation, USFWS Grassland Bird Workshop, Morris, MN, 20-22 July 2010.	July 2010
Ribic, C.A. W.R. Fraser, and E. Erdmann. 2007. Winter foraging areas of Adelie Penguins in the Western Antarctic Peninsula Region. Poster presented at the 6th International Penguin Conference, Hobart Tasmania, 3-7 September 2007.	September 2007
Ribic, C.A. 2020. Spatial structure considerations for conserving grassland species of conservation concern. Invited webinar, AFWA Mississippi Flyway Grasslands Summit, 1-3 September (virtual).	September 2020	This presentation reviews the importance of spatial structure in developing conservation strategies for grassland vertebrates.
Ribic, C.A. 2012. Area sensitivity in grassland birds: patterns and processes. USDA Natural Resource Conservation Biology Webinar, April 18, 2012.	April 2012
Ribic, C.A. 2000. Life's a Beach: The Dynamics of Adelie Penguin Colonies in the Antarctic. University of Wisconsin-Madison Ecology Group Campus-Wide Symposium, State Historical Society, Madison, WI, 6 October 2000.	October 2000
Ribic, C.A. 1999. Grassland bird conservation in active agricultural lands of Wisconsin. USGS BRD/USFWS meeting, Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Chicago, IL, 5 Dec. 1999. (Invited)	December 1999
Ribic, C.A. ,D.W. Sample, and K. Ellison. 2010. Removing tree rows as a way to improve habitat for grassland birds. Invited presentation, USFWS Grassland Bird Workshop, Morris, MN, 20-22 July 2010.	July 2010
Ribic, C.A. 2008. The role of monitoring in understanding the marine debris problem. National Academies Committee on the Effectiveness of International and National Measures to Reduce and Prevent Marine Debris and Its Impacts, Irvine, CA, 20-22 Feb. 2008. (Invited)	February 2008
Ribic, C.A. 2007. Effects of removing wooded fence rows on grassland birds and their predators. Presentation made at the Wisconsin Society of Ornithologists 68th annual convention, 19 May 2007, Richland Center, WI. (Invited)	May 2007
Ribic, C., R. Renfrew, and J. Drossel. 2000. Predators of grassland bird nests in southwestern Wisconsin. Paper presented at the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology annual meeting, Baraboo, WI 18-21 May, 2000.	May 2000
Ribic, C., J. Herkert, and M. Winter. 2000. Area sensitivity in grassland birds: processes behind the pattern. Symposium organized for the 62nd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 3-6 December 2000 (published abstract).	December 2000
Ribic, C., D. Sample, and K. Koch. 2012. A Landscape Scale Framework for Cooperative Grassland Bird Conservation. Midwest Bird Conservation and Monitoring Workshop, Milwaukee, WI, July 31-August 2, 2012.	July 2012
Ribic, C., D. Donner, D. Brown, and C. Bocetti. 2017. Viability of Kirtland’s Warbler under changing management conditions. Symposium presentation, American Ornithology 2017, Joint Meeting of the American Ornithological Society, East Lansing, MI, 31 July - 5 August, 2017.	August 2017	We developed a population simulation model for the Kirtland’s warbler that incorporated both breeding and wintering grounds habitat dynamics, and projected population viability based on current environmental conditions and potential future management scenarios. Our study will assist managers with understanding the importance and influence of different Kirtland’s Warbler management strategies on population stability.
Ribic, C., C. S. Ng, N. Koper, K. Ellison, and P. J. Pietz. 2017. Diel fledging patterns in grassland birds. Presentation, American Ornithology 2017, Joint Meeting of the American Ornithological Society and the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, East Lansing, MI, 31 July - 5 August, 2017.	August 2017	We used video from nest surveillance systems to determine fledging dates and times of grassland passerines from 206 nests of 17 species and found that time of the first chick to fledge varied by species and date and that fledging duration increased with number of chicks in the nest. Theories based on assumptions that all birds fledge at similar times of day will need to be re-examined as more data on basic life history traits become available with the use of video surveillance systems in nestin
Ribic, C. A., E. Chapman, R. Renfrew, G. Bartelt, J. Lyons, D. Sample, B. Weigel, L. Paine, and D. Undersander. 203. Grazing in riparian buffers: aquatic and terrestrial effects. Invited presentation at Ribbons of Life in the Heartland: Riparian Ecosystems in Transitin sympsium, The 64th Midwest Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Kansas City, MO, 7-10 December 2003.	December 2003
Ribic, C. A., C. C. Kern, M. Bushman, D. J. Rugg, D. M. Donner, and H. J. Jensen. 2020. Mesophication of a Wisconsin pine barrens. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting 3-7 August 2020, virtual meeting.	August 2020	We studied woody density and community composition changes between 1979 and 2016 in the Moquah Barrens Research Natural Area, Wisconsin. Overall, the density and composition changes in trees, saplings, and shrubs in the RNA indicate that mesophication has occurred over the 80 years of fire exclusion, and resulted in greater importance of mesic species within all forest layers and higher densities of understory mesic saplings and shrubs.
Ribic, C. A. The importance of volunteers in environmental monitoring. 2005 International coastal Cleanup Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, 22-24 May 2005.	February 2005
Ribic, C. A. September/2002, Population trends in Antarctic seabirds: separating the pattern from the noise. Modern regression methods: new tools for wildlifers symposium, Bismarck, ND	September 2002
Ribic, C. A. K. S. Ellison, M. E. Jones, and D. W. Sample. 2009. Removal of wooded fencerows as a conservation strategy for grassland birds. Presentation, The Wildlife Society 16th Annual Conference, September 20-24, 2009, Monterey, California.	September 2009
Ribic, C. A. December/2001, Trees admist the trees: modern and traditional methods for classification and regression. 63rd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Des Moines, IA.	December 2001
Ribic, C. A. 2009. Overview of beach monitoring on Midway Atoll. Midway Atoll: Beach Debris Monitoring Pilot Project brown-bag debriefing. Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument, Federal Building, Honolulu, Hawaii, 5 Nov. 2009.	November 2009
Ribic, C. A. 2009. Beach monitoring on Midway Atoll. Midway Atoll: Beach Debris Monitoring Workshop. NOAA Sanctuaries, Honolulu, Hawaii, 6 Nov. 2009.	November 2009
Ribic, C. A. 2004. The importance of monitoring programs for learning about marine debris. Ivited presentation. International Coastal Cleanup Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 14-18 May 2004.	May 2004
Ribic, C. A. 2004. Learning about marine debris from monitoring programs. 2004. Invited presentation. International Coastal Cleanup Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 14-18 May 2004.	May 2004
Ribic, C. A. 2003. Life on the Ice: perspectives on Adelie Penguin Ecology. Invited presentation made to the Riveredge Bird Club, 5 August 2003.	August 2003
Ribic, C. 2008. An update on grassland bird research and management in Wisconsin-landscape-level concerns. Wisconsin DNR 1st Annual Grassland Symposium, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin 16-17 January, 2008. (Invited)	January 2008
Renfrew, R.B., J. Drossel, and C. A. Ribic. 2001. Predator activity and nest depredation: making the connection. Presentation at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, 4-9 August, 2001.	August 2001
Renfrew, R.B. and C.A. Ribic. 2001. The importance of wooded and non-wooded edges for birds nesting in pastures. Presentation made at the 8th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society, Reno, NV, 25-29 September 2001.	September 2001
Renfrew, R.B. and C. A. Ribic. 2001. Edge effects in grassland passerines: are larger pastures greener? Presentation made at the 119th Stated Meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union, Seattle, WA, 16-18 August 2001.	August 2001
Renfrew, R., J. Drossel, and C.A. Ribic. 2001. Effects of landscape on grassland bird nests and nest predators. Invited presentation. The 2001 Agricultural Ecosystems Research Group Winter Meeting, Madison, WI, 30 January 2001.	January 2001
Renfrew, R., C. Ribic, and J. Drossel. 2000. Grassland bird nest predators in southwestern Wisconsin pastures: a plethora of villains. Paper presented at the 62nd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 3-6 December 2000.	December 2000
Renfrew, R. B. and C. A. Ribic. 2003. Multi-scale models of grassland passerine density in pastures. Presentation made athe 10th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society, Burlington, VT, 6-10 September 2003.	September 2003
Ramisch, J., D. Undersander, C.A. Ribic, R. Renfrew, B. Weigel, E. Chapman, and J. Lyons. 2000. Riparian research retrospective. Invited presentation. The 2000 Agricultural Ecosystems Research Group Winter Meeting, Madison, WI, 7 March 2000. Abstract published in The Agriculture Ecosystems Research Group 1999 Annual Report, pp. 5-8. (Invited)	March 2000
Prentice, M.B., M.L.J. Gilbertson, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner, D.P. Walsh, M.E. Pinkerton, P.L. Kamath. Metagenomic sequencing to identify the etiologic agent responsible for pneumonia-related mortality in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. 70^th Annual International Conference, Wildlife Disease Association, Madison, Wisconsin, 23-29 July 2022.	July 2022	We present results of a pilot study that used metagenomic sequencing of white-tailed deer lung tissue to identify the etiologic agent responsible for pneumonia mortalities in Wisconsin. Ultimately, this information will help inform management strategies and developing disease surveillance systems for the Wisconsin deer population.
Plummer, I., C. Johnson, S. Wright, J. Pedersen, and M. Samuel. Temporal Chronic Wasting Disease Prion Shedding Patterns via Urine and Feces of Three Species of North American Cervids. The Wildlife Society Annual Conference October 2014.	October 2014	Urine from 18-month p.i. animals had a higher prevalence of prion detection compared to urine from the 6, 12, or 24-month p.i. groups. Feces had a high prevalence of prion detection at 18 and 24-months p.i.
Plummer, I. C. Johnson, J. Peterson, and M. D. Samuel. DETECTION OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE PRIONS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL SOURCES BY PROTEIN MISFOLDING CYCLIC AMPLIFICATION. Wildlife Disease Association International Conference, Knoxville, TN, July 2013.	July 2013	Currently, highly sensitive PMCA methods of prion detection in environmental samples–soil, organic matter, and excreta–are lacking due to inhibitory compounds present in both the sample and the extraction buffer selected. We have been developing methods of efficient prion extraction and amplification from environmental samples by PMCA.
Pietz, P. J. and C. A. Ribic. 2004. Nest predators of grassland birds and implications for management. Invited presentation at Grassland Birds in North America: Current and Future Currencies symposium. The Wildlife Society 11th Annual Conference, Calgary, Canada, 18-22 September 2004.	September 2004
Piazza, T.M., D.S. Blehert, M.D. Samuel, F.M. Dunning, F.N. Zeytin, and W.C. Tucker. Development of an in vitro assay for detecting botulinum neurotoxin type E with application to avian botulism in the Great Lakes. 7th International Conference on Basic and Therapeutic Aspects of Botulinum and Tetanus Toxins, Santa Fe, NM, Oct 2-5, 2011.	October 2011
Piazza, T.M., D.S. Blehert, M.D. Samuel, F.M. Dunning, F.N. Zeytin, and W.C. Tucker. A new in vitro method for detecting botulinum neurotoxin type E. Avian botulism in distressed Great Lakes environments project planning meeting. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office, Chicago, IL, Jan 10, 2012.	January 2012
Piazza, T. M., F. M. Dunning, W. C. Tucker, F. N. Zeytin, M. D. Samuel, and D. S. Blehert. 2010. Development of In Vitro Assays for the Detection of Avian Botulism Type E in the Great Lakes. Interagency Botulism Research Coordinating Committee Meeting, Atlanta, GA, Nov 1-5, 2010.	November 2010
Piazza, T. M., F. M. Dunning, W. C. Tucker, F. N. Zeytin, M. D. Samuel, and D. S. Blehert. 2010. Development of In Vitro Assays for the Detection of Avian Botulism Type E in the Great Lakes. 48th Annual Interagency Botulism Research Coordinating Committee (IBRCC) Meeting, Santa Fe, NM, Oct 5-7, 2011.	October 2011
Paxton, E., C. T. Atkinson, D. Ball, J. Burgett, C. Cole, L. Crampton, J. Kraus, D. A. LaPointe, L. Mehrhoff, and M. D. Samuel. Keeping Hawaii’s forest birds one step ahead of diseases in a warming world. The Wildlife Society’s 18th Annual Conference, Kona, HI, Nov 5-10, 2011.	November 2011
Pasternak, G., D. Zviely, C. A. Ribic, A. Ariel, and E. Spanier. 2015. Classification and spatial distribution of plastic debris along the Israeli coast. Poster presentation, A Wake of Plastics marine conference, Venice, Italy, 13-15 October 2015.	October 2015	This study characterized the types of marine debris, its origins and distribution in space and time, on the Israeli coast. This information can be used by managers to evaluate how well the Clean Coast Index reflects the cleanliness of beaches.
Pasternak, G., D. Zviely, A. Ariel, E. Spanier, and C. A. Ribic. 2018. Single-use debris on the Israeli coast. Sixth International Marine Debris Conference, San Diego, CA, 12-16 March 2018.	March 2018	This study characterized the composition of marine debris on Israeli beaches and evaluated the possible effect of a new levy on plastic grocery bags. We found that the majority of items on beaches were food-related items and plastic bags but after the new levy went into effect, the relative amount of plastic bags decreased by half. Our study indicates that changing people's behavior to reduce the use of disposable items (i.e., reduction in origin) will likely significantly reduce the amount of
Pasternak, G., B. Mayzel, S. Ohayon, and C. A. Ribic. 2018. Citizen science: divers survey marine debris on the seabed of the Israeli Mediterranean coast. Sixth International Marine Debris Conference, San Diego, CA, 12-16 March 2018.	March 2018	This project used a diver’s volunteer program to document marine debris on the Israeli seafloor and found debris was primarily fishing-related debris. With all the sites used for recreational fishing, most debris likely originates from the adjacent coast. The information collected by the divers is crucial to understanding debris sources and finding solutions for the problem.
Paine, L.K. and C. A. Ribic. July 2002. Well-managed grazing of riparian areas increases plant community biodiversity. American Forage and Grassland Council Annual Conference, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.	July 2002
Osnas, E.E., and M.D. Samuel. 2007. Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer: Implications for control. Wildlife Disease Association Conference, Estes Park, Colorado, August 2007.	August 2007
Osnas, E. E., G. Wasserberg, J. A. Blanchong, and M. D. Samuel. 2005. Spatial and demographic patterns of chronic wasting disease prevalence in the south-central Wisconsin disease eradication zone. Second International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium, Madison, Wisconsin, July 2005 (Invited).	July 2005
Ortega-Ortiz, J. G., R. W. Davis, C. A. Ribic, D. C. Biggs, K. D. Mullin, R. R. Leben, W. E. Evans, and B. Wursig. 1999. Cetacean habitat associations in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Paper presented at the XII Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Maui, Hawaii, 29 Nov.-3 Dec. 1999.	November 1999
Olah, A., K. Grveles, S. Warner, D. Lopez, C. A. Ribic, and A. Pidgeon. 2020. Nest visitation rates and fledging patterns in Kirtland’s Warblers. North American Ornithological Conference, 10-14 August, 2020, virtual meeting.	August 2020	We documented nest visitation rates and fledging behavior in the Wisconsin population of Kirtland’s Warblers using continuously recording video cameras placed at nests. Our results suggest that Kirtland’s warblers do not exhibit parent-offspring conflict, but instead that energetics and nestling choice influence how and when fledglings leave the nest.
Olah, A., C. A. Ribic, S. Warner, and A. Pidgeon. 2021. Kirtland’s Warbler habitat use, reproductive success, and fledgling survival in red pine-dominated plantations in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Chapter of The Wildlife Society Virtual Winter Meeting, 22-25 February 2021.	February 2021	We characterized habitat use at territories, nest sites, and fledgling locations, estimated reproductive success, and fledgling survival of Kirtland's Warblers in red pine-dominated habitat plantations in central Wisconsin. We found that nest productivity was similar to rates in typical jack pine stands used in Michigan and fledgling survival, while not high, was within the range of survival of other songbird species, indicating that red-pine dominated plantations are suitable nesting habitat f
Olah, A. M., K. Grveles, S. Warner, D. Lopez, C. A. Ribic, and A. Pidgeon. 2019. Movement patterns, habitat use, and survival of dependent Kirtland’s warbler fledglings in Wisconsin. Presentation, 2019 joint meeting of the Association of Field Ornithologists and the Wilson Ornithological Society, Cape May, NJ, October 27 - 30, 2019.	October 2019	We characterized habitat use, survival, and movement patterns of Kirtland’s warbler fledglings in red pine dominated habitat in Wisconsin. Overall, use of red pine dominated plantations does not negatively impact survival of Kirtland’s warbler fledglings during the dependent period.
Ochai, S.O., Turner, W.C., and van Heerden, H. 2021. Immunological evidence of host variation in exposure and resistance to anthrax in Kruger and Etosha National Parks. 9th International Conference on Bacillus anthracis, B. cereus and B. thuringiensis, Paris, France, April 26-28, 2021 (virtual).	April 2021	Anthrax is a globally distributed zoonotic disease affecting wildlife, livestock and humans, yet outbreak characteristics are quite variable across its range. This study investigated differences among wildlife host species in their ability to resist or tolerate anthrax infections, to understand why species differ in their anthrax risk in different locations.
Ochai, S.O., J. Crafford, A. Hassim, C. Byaruhanga, Y.-H. Huang, A. Hartmann, E.H. Dekker, O.L. van Schalkwyk, P.L. Kamath, W.C. Turner, and H. van Heerden. 2022. Immunological evidence of variation in exposure and immune response to Bacillus anthracis in herbivores of Kruger and Etosha National Parks. 19^th Annual Congress, Southern African Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventative Medicine, East London, South Africa, 24-26 August 2022.	August 2022	This study investigated anthrax in two ecosystems, toward understanding why a host species can be the main disease host in one system and only a minor host in another. Host species differed in their exposure to and adaptive immunity against <i>Bacillus anthracis </i>in different areas, suggesting that interactions between environment and host behavior lead to differences in pathogen exposure, infectious dose, and immune response.
Nunes, L.A., C.A. Ribic, and B. Zuckerberg. 2020. The value of citizen science in optimizing spatial conservation planning for grassland birds. Presentation, British Ecological Society Annual Meeting, 14-18 December, 2020 [Virtual]	December 2020	Because citizen science and large-scale monitoring efforts could be valuable for informing and evaluating conservation actions, we used data from Wisconsin's Breeding Bird Atlas to estimate baselines of grassland bird abundance and used spatial null models to assess existing grassland conservation networks. The spatial placement of conservation areas were more aligned with grassland bird species preferring moderately tall grass compared to grassland specialists preferring short or tall grass; d
Nunes, L.A., C. Ribic, and B. Zuckerberg. 2021. Using citizen science to optimize spatial conservation planning for grassland birds. American Ornithological Society and Society of Canadian Ornithologists Virtual Meeting, 9-14 August 2021.	August 2021	We used data from Wisconsin’s Breeding Bird Atlas to assess existing grassland conservation networks and found that the spatial placement of conservation areas were more aligned with grassland bird species preferring moderately tall grass compared to grassland specialists preferring short or tall grass. Data from citizen science initiatives offer the opportunity for conservation assessments over broad spatial scales.
Nunes, L.A., C. Ribic, and B. Zuckerberg. 2021. The value of citizen science in optimizing spatial conservation planning for grassland birds. Presentation at the Wisconsin Chapter of The Wildlife Society Virtual Winter Meeting, 22-25 February 2021.	February 2021	We used data from Wisconsin’s Breeding Bird Atlas to assess existing grassland conservation networks and found that the spatial placement of conservation areas were more aligned with grassland bird species preferring moderately tall grass compared to grassland specialists preferring short or tall grass. Data from citizen science initiatives offer the opportunity for conservation assessments over broad spatial scales.
Nolden, C. A., M. D. Samuel, and J. Aiken. 2005. Potential for exposure of Wisconsin scavenging mammals to chronic wasting disease. Poster. Second International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium, Madison, Wisconsin, July 2005.	July 2005
Neagari, Y., and M.D. Samuel. 2007. Wildlife health management challenges in Japan - past, present, and future. Wildlife Disease Association Conference, Estes Park, Colorado, August 2007.	August 2007
Murray, L.D., R. Stepnoski, and C. A. Ribic. 2015. Using motion-sensing video analysis to study behavior of nesting birds. Poster presentation, Joint meeting of the Association of Field Ornithologists, the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, and the Wilson Ornithological Society, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, 15 – 19 July 2015.	July 2015	This study looked at using computer-aided imaging to process video nest recordings. We found that motion-sensing analysis could allow for more efficient use of nest video data to study nesting behavior by reducing the amount of personnel time needed to review video files.
Murray, L. D., C. A. Ribic and W. E. Thogmartin. 2003. Grassland Bird Abundance in Landscapes of Southwest Wisconsin. Poster presented at the 64th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Kansas City, MO, 7-10 December 2003.	December 2003
Miranda, B.R., B.R. Sturtevant, S.I. Stewart, R.B. Hammer, E.J. Gustafson, D.J. Mladenoff, D.J. Brown, D.M. Donner, and C.A. Ribic. 2015. Balancing conservation with public safety: Landscape planning for fire-dependent communities. Invited symposium presentation (Applications in Forest Landscape Ecology: Evolution, Progress and Challenges), 9th IALE World Congress, Portland, OR, 5-10 July 2015.	July 2015	This project evaluated whether fire-dependent communities be restored/maintained without increasing risk to human safety in the context of a changing climate and mixed-ownership landscape with continued development. Land managers can use this information to understand where fire as a management tool can be used to achieve their restoration goals.
McGahan, I., F. Mandujano, D. Storm, M. Gilbertson, S. Lichtenberg, J. Powell, D. Walsh, J. Zhu, W.C. Turner. Modeling host behavior and environmental transmission of chronic wasting disease. Annual Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD), Chicago, Illinois, USA, January 20-23, 2024.	January 2023	This poster presents the objective of a research project that will quantify the relative contribution of direct and environmental transmission to spread of the ongoing chronic wasting disease epidemic in central Wisconsin.
McCauley, L., B. Zuckerberg, and C. A. Ribic. 2014. Assessing climate change vulnerability using demographically informed species distribution models. Presentation (plenary), Midwest Bird Conservation and Monitoring Workshop, August 4-8, 2014, Port Washington, WI.	August 2014	We used a demographically informed species distribution models to project the relative impact of future climate change on Henslow’s Sparrow populations and distribution. This approach will allow us to incorporate management scenarios into the models to provide guidance on the future management of grassland birds and selection of grassland conservation areas.
McCauley, L., B. Zuckerberg, and C. A. Ribic. 2014. Assessing climate change vulnerability using demographically informed species distribution models. Poster, National Workshop on Large Landscape Conservation, October 23-24, 2014, Washington, DC.	October 2014	We used a demographically informed species distribution models to project the relative impact of future climate change on Henslow’s Sparrow populations and distribution. This approach will allow us to incorporate management scenarios into the models to provide guidance on the future management of grassland birds and selection of grassland conservation areas.
Matsumoto, T., M. Samuel, B. Johannes, and D. Coltman. Association mapping of genetic risk factors for chronic wasting disease in wild deer. PrioNet Canada, Edmonton, Alberta. Mar 1-3, 2009.	March 2009
Matsumoto, T., M. Samuel, B. Johannes, and D. Coltman. 2010. Association mapping of genetic risk factors for chronic wasting disease in wild deer. PrP Canada Conference, Ottawa, Canada, March 8-10, 2010.	March 2010
Maresh Nelson, S. B., C. A. Ribic, and B. Zuckerberg. 2021. Climate change in US grasslands: impacts on birds and opportunities for climate adaptation. Presentation at the Wisconsin Chapter of The Wildlife Society Virtual Winter Meeting, 22-25 February 2021.	February 2021	We reviewed the literature to determine the challenges climate change poses for grassland birds and to determine the array of climate-adaptation options to retain ecosystem function. Managers have a variety of options at multiple scales to sustain wildlife habitat quality, including, at a regional scale, proactively protecting areas predicted as core future habitats or restoring grasslands across a diverse set of ecological conditions to hedge bets about future climate effects and within indivi
Lisa A. McCauley, L.A., B. Zuckerberg, and C.A. Ribic. 2015. Assessing climate change vulnerability of grassland birds using demographically informed species distribution models. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Indianapolis, IN, 9 Feb. 2015.	February 2015	We used a demographically informed species distribution models to project the relative impact of future climate change on Henslow’s Sparrow populations and distribution. This approach will allow us to incorporate management scenarios into the models to provide guidance on the future management of grassland birds and selection of grassland conservation areas.
Liao, W., M. Samuel, O. Timm, C. Zhang, C. Atkinson, and D. LaPointe. The Effects Of Climate Change On Avian Malaria And Hawaiian Forest Birds. The Wildlife Society Annual Coniference, October 2014.	October 2014	Our model concludes that future global warming will negatively impact native Hawaiian bird communities in mid- and high-elevation forests and the magnitude of these population changes depend on future rainfall predictions for Hawaii. Fortunately, these effects appear unlikely before mid-century.
Liao, W., M. D. Samuel, O. E. Timm, C. Zhang, C. Atkinson, and D. LaPointe. Preliminary evaluation of mitigation strategies for avian malaria in Hawaii. 2015 Conservation of Hawaiian Forest Birds Forum, September, 2015, Honolulu, HI.	September 2015	Future climate impacts on avian malaria and Hawaiian forest birds.
Liao, W., M. D. Samuel, O. E. Timm, C. Zhang, C. Atkinson, and D. LaPointe. Preliminary evaluation of mitigation strategies for avian malaria in Hawaii. 2015 Climate Science Symposium, February, 2015, Honolulu, HI.	February 2015	Climate impacts on future Hawaiian forest birds.
Liao, W., M. D. Samuel, O. E. Timm, C. Zhang, C. Atkinson, and D. LaPointe. The Effects of Climate Change on Avian Malaria and Hawaiian Forest Birds. Hawaii Conservation Conference	July 2014	Our results indicate malaria transmission and bird abundance will remain relatively constant until mid-Century, when infection rates increase. In middle- and high-elevation forests, malaria transmission and bird impacts during the last half of the century will be significant in areas with higher mosquito abundance compared to areas where mosquitoes are managed.
LeDee, O.E., C.A. Ribic, K.J. Martin, and M.W. Meyer. 2009. Assessment of impacts of climate change on Wisconsin wildlife. The Wildlife Society 16th Annual Conference, September 20-24, 2009, Monterey, California.	September 2009
LeDee, O., C. Ribic, K. Martin, and M. Meyer. 2009. Assessment of climate change impacts on Wisconsin Wildlife. Wisconsin DNR, Wildlife and Forestry Research Section seminar series, November 2009. (Invited)	November 2009
LeDee, O., C. Ribic, K. Martin, and M. Meyer. 2009. Assessment of climate change impacts on Wisconsin Wildlife. Climate, People, and Environment Program seminar series, University of Wisconsin, Madison, November 2009.(Invited)	November 2009
LeDee, O. E., C. A. Ribic, K. J. Martin, and M. W. Meyer. 2010. Collaborative learning to address the impacts of climate change on Wisconsin wildlife. Presentation, 71st Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 12-15 Dec. 2010.	December 2010
Lawson, G.L., P.H. Wiebe, C.J. Ashjian, C.A. Ribic, E. Chapman, A.S. Friedlaender, and D. Thiele. 2007. Antarctic krill aggregation structure and vertical migration in relation to features of the physical and biological environment. Presentation made at the 4th International Zooplankton Production Symposium, 28 May - 1 June 2007, Hiroshima, Japan.	May 2007
Langenberg, J., C. Batha, T. Hauge, R. Rolley, J. Blanchong, and M. D. Samuel. 2005. Wisconsn's control strategies for chronic wasting disease in wild deer. Second International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium, Madison, Wisconsin, July 2005.	July 2005
Langenberg, J. and M. D. Samuel. Management of Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin White Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus). International Chronic Wasting Disease Workshop. Wildlife Disease Association Conference. August 2003.	August 2003
LaPointe, D., P. Hobbelen, and M. D. Samuel. Between a rock and a warm place: Climate change and the fate of endemic Hawaiian forest birds. The Wildlife Society’s 18th Annual Conference, Kona, HI, Nov 5-10, 2011.	November 2011
LaPointe, D. A., M. D. Samuel, and T. L. Thompson. Cascading impacts: Feral pigs, mosquitoes, and avian disease in Hawaii. The Wildlife Society’s 18th Annual Conference, Kona, HI, Nov 5-10, 2011.	November 2011
LaPointe, D. A., C. T. Atkinson, and M. D. Samuel. 2009. Climate Change and Avian Disease in Hawaii: Is the future now? Hawaiian Conservation Conference. Honolulu, HI. July 28-30, 2009.	July 2009
LaPointe, D. A., C. T. Atkinson, P. Banko, R. J. Camp, P. M. Gorresen, J. D. Jacobi, T. K. Pratt, and M. D. Samuel. Hawaiian Forest Birds: The Past, Present and Future Status of an Endangered Avifauna. Climate Variability of the Eastern North Pacific and Western North America Workshop, Pacific Grove, CA, March 6-9, 2011.	March 2011
Koch, K., S. Lor, E. Lonsdorf, E. Grant, M. Ahlering, L. Barnhill, T. Dailey, R. Drum, M. Knutson, C. Mueller, D. Pavlacky, C. Ribic, C. Rideout, D. Sample, D. C. Brewer, and M. Runge. 2012. Delivering grassland bird conservation throughout the Eastern and Central United States. Poster, the Southeastern Prairie Symposium, May 14-17, 2012, Starkville, Mississippi.	May 2012
Koch, K., C. Rideout, M. Ahlering, R. Drum, and C. Ribic. 2012. A Landscape Scale Framework for Cooperative Grassland Bird Conservation. USFWS Joint Venture and LCC Webinar, June 21, 2012.	June 2012
Knutson, M.G., T. J. Fox, J.R. Sauer, E.M. Kirsch, B. Gray, C. Ribic, and T. Will. March 2002. Modeling bird habitat associations within an ecoregion: linking science and conservation planning in the Prairie Hardwood Transition Bird Conservation Region. Third International Partners in Flight Conference: A Workshop on Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration, Monterey, CA.	March 2002
Knutson, M. and C.A. Ribic. 1999. Management of riparian habitat for mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Invited speaker, NRCS Management and Restoration of Midwestern Riparian Systems Workshop Report, Chicago, IL, Dec. 8, 1999, pp. 22-24. (Invited)	December 1999
Ketz, A. C., D. J. Storm, W. C. Turner, and D. P. Walsh. 2023. Progression of a chronic wasting disease epizootic: A spatiotemporal integrated population model. 4th International CWD Symposium. Denver, Colorado, USA. May 31- June 2, 2023.	May 2023	The dynamics of chronic wasting disease (CWD) are driven by spatially and temporally varying processes that operate on multiple scales leading to complicated population effects. We have developed a novel method that provides a rigorous tool for increasing understanding of disease and population dynamics, which is critical to mitigate disease impacts.
Keane, D., D. Barr, P. Bochsler, M. Hall, T. Gidlewski, K. O'Rourke, T. Spreaker, and M. Samuel. CWD in a Wisconsin captive white-tailed deer farm. Prion 2007, Edinburgh, Scotland, September 2007.	September 2007
Kausrud, K., W. Turner, R. Easterday, M. Feiring, T. Skjerdal, J. Whittington, Y. Kausrud, B. Ogbunu, M. Norström, H. Schønhaug, N.C. Stenseth. Evolving at the speed of risk. One Health EJP Annual Scientific Meeting 2021, June, Copenhagen	June 2021	This study examines the risk of emerging infectious diseases or antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Results include development of evolutionary models to predict virulence and transmission trajectories in emerging infections.
Kausrud, K., K. Lagesen, J.D. Whittington, W.R. Easterday, C. Wolff, W. Turner, M. Feiring, N.C. Stenseth. How much time have we got? One Health EJP Annual Scientific Meeting Satellite Workshop 2021 Software Fair, 9-11 June 2021 in Copenhagen, Denmark.	June 2021	As demonstrated by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and other emerging infectious diseases, there is a need for scenario exploration for assessing mitigation, surveillance and preparedness strategies. Here we present a developing probabilistic simulation model to assess likely lead times from emergence to detection and arrival for new emerging infectious diseases.
Katircioglu, S., M. Hunsaker, A. Herbst, S.S. Lichtenberg, D.J. Storm, D.P. Walsh, W.C. Turner. Comparing relative PrP(CWD) loads in soil from deer scrapes and food plots in southern Wisconsin. 4th International Conference on Chronic Wasting Disease	May 2023	Prions causing chronic wasting disease in deer can be transmitted to susceptible hosts via contact with contaminated soils. This study compares prion detection in soils from different sites where deer aggregate, to evaluate if these areas are a risk for prion accumulation and disease transmission.
Jones, M.E., K.S. Ellison, C.A. Ribic, and D.W. Sample. 2009. Role of the 13-lined ground squirrel as an important grassland bird predator in CRP fields. Presentation at the Winter Meeting of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Wildlife Society, March 3-4, 2009, Madison, WI.	March 2009
Jones, M.E., K.S. Ellison, C.A. Ribic, and D.W. Sample. 2009. Role of the 13-lined ground squirrel as an important grassland bird predator in CRP fields. Poster presentation, Wisconsin DNR 2009 Science Services Statewide Meeting and Training Session, Feb. 11-12, 2009, Rothschild, WI.	February 2011
Jones, M.E., K.S. Ellison, C.A. Ribic, and D.W. Sample. 2008. Role of the 13-lined ground squirrel as an important grassland bird predator in CRP fields. Poster presented at the 69th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Columbus Ohio, Dec. 14-17, 2008.	December 2008
Jones, M.E., K.S. Ellison, C.A. Ribic, and D.W. Sample. 2007. Effects of removing wooded fencerows on grassland birds and their predators. Presentation submitted to the 68th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, 9-12 December, Madison, WI.	December 2007
Jones, M.E. and C.A. Ribic. 2009. Role of the 13-lined ground squirrel as an important grassland bird predator in CRP fields. Poster presentation, The Wildlife Society 16th Annual Conference, September 20-24, 2009, Monterey, California.	September 2009
Joly, D.O., J.A. Langenberg, K. Beheler, G. Bartelt, M.D. Samuel, R. E. Rolley, T. Van Deelen, and C. A. Ribic. July 2002. Emergence of Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin White-tailed Deer: Information from the field and preliminary analysis. Wildlife Disease Association 51st Annual Meeting, Humboldt, CA.	July 2002
Joly, D. O., N. J. Thomas, and M. D. Samuel. 2004. Using carcass data to estimate cause-specific mortality rates in sea otters. The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Calgary, Canada, September 2004.	September 2004
Joly, D. O., N. J. Thomas, and M. D. Samuel. 2004. Using carcass data to estimate cause-specific mortality rates in sea otters. The Wildlife Society 11th Annual Conference, Calgary, Canada, September 2004.	September 2004
Joly, D. O., M. D. Samuel, J. Sausen, R. E. Rolley, J. A. Langenberg, T. Hauge, D. Keane and P. Bochsler. Spatial Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in Free-Ranging White-tailed deer in Wisconsin. Wildlife Disease Association Conference. August 2003.	August 2003
Joly, D. O., C. A. Ribic, and M. D. Samuel. Spatial epidemiology in practice: Research and management of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer in Wisconsin. The Wildlife Society Conference, September 2003.	September 2003
Johnson, SJ, DH Johnson, ND Niemuth, and CA Ribic. 2013. Quantifying the impact of oil development on grassland birds. Presentation at The Wildlife Society 20th Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, October 5-10, 2013.	October 2013	We studied how oil development may affect grassland bird populations. This work will help managers more accurately predict the impact of oil development on grassland birds and their habitats.
Johnson, D.H., C.A. Ribic, and R. Koford. 2011. Grassland birds: understanding landscape patterns and processes. Invited Presentation, 72nd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference: "Landscapes and Grassland Birds", Des Moines, IA, December 4-7, 2011.	December 2011
Johnson, C. J., M. Thompson, C. B. Smith, M. Samuel, and J.A. Pedersen. Protein associated with cervid chronic wasting disease in environmental samples. Prion 2013, Baniff, Canada, May 26-29, 2013. (poster)	May 2013	Of the extraction buffers we tested, 1% Sark pH 7.4 is the most promising. The presence of even low levels of SRHA (NOM) inhibited PMCAb. PTA precipitation increases PMCAb effectiveness on extracts from environmental samples. Additional separation of humic acid may be needed for high organic samples.
Johnson, C. J., C. J. Booth, C. B. Smith, J. M. Aiken, M. D. Samuel, and J. A. Pedersen. Detection of prion protein associate with cervid chronic wasting disease in environmental samples. National Science Foundation, EEID program, annual PI meeting, Berkeley, CA, March 25-28, 2012.	March 2012
Johnson, C. J., C. J. Booth, C. B. Smith, J. M. Aiken, M. D. Samuel, and J. A. Pedersen. Detection of prion protein associate with cervid chronic wasting disease in environmental samples. 61st International conference of the Wildlife Disease Association, Lyons, France, July 22-27, 2012.	July 2012
Johnson, C. J., C. J. Booth, C. B. Smith, J. M. Aiken, M. D. Samuel, and J. A. Pedersen. Detection of Prion Protein Associated with Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease in Environmental Samples. NSF - Ecology of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Annual Principal Investigators Meeting. Madison, WI, March 26-28, 2011.	March 2011
Johnson, C. J., C. J. Booth, C. B. Smith, J. M. Aiken, M. D. Samuel*, and J. A. Pedersen. 2010. Detection of prion protein associated with cervid chronic wasting disease in environmental samples. Ecology and evolution of infectious disease – PI meeting, Atlantic City, NJ, March 23-25, 2010.	March 2010
Johnson, C. J., C. J. Booth*, C. B. Smith, J. M. Aiken, M. D. Samuel, and J. A. Pedersen. 2010. Detection of prion protein associated with cervid chronic wasting disease in environmental samples. 13th Annual Spring Ecology Symposium, Madison, WI, April 14-15, 2010.	April 2010
Jennelle, C.S., M.D. Samuel, C.A. Nolden, and E.A. Berkley. White-tailed deer carcass decomposition and risk of chronic wasting disease exposure to scavenger communities in Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Ecology Symposium. Oct 16-17, 2008.	October 2008
Jennelle, C.S., M.D. Samuel, C. A. Nolden, and E.A. Berkley. White-tailed deer carcass decomposition and risk of chronic wasting disease exposure to scavenger communities in Wisconsin. 93rd Ecological Society of America Annual Conference, Milwaukee, WI, 3-8 August, 2008.	August 2008
Jennelle, C., B. Thiagarajan, G. Wasserberg, and M. D. Samuel. Modeling transmission dynamics of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. 60th Annual International Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, Aug 14-19, 2011.	August 2011
Jennelle, C. J., V. Henaux, M. D. Samuel, B. Thiagarajan, G. Wasserberg, and R. E. Rolley. Modeling transmission of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin white-tailed deer: Making models useful for management. Western States Deer and Elk Conference, May, 2015, Canmore, AB, Canada.	May 2015	CWD population impacts on Wisconsin deer.
Jarvi, S. I., D. A. LaPointe, C. T. Atkinson, and M. D. Samuel. Avian malaria: Can GPM save endangered species? Genetic manipulation of pest species: Ecological and Social Challenges. Raleigh, NC. Mar. 4-6, 2009.	March 2009
Jara, R. F., and M. D. Samuel. Seroprevalence of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis and heartworm in Gray Wolves from Wisconsin between 1985 and 2008. Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society, Portland, OR, 13-18 Oct. (Poster)	October 2012	The high prevalence of these diseases, particularly Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, in wild wolves suggests that they could represent a health risk to wolf populations, although further information on the effects of these diseases on wolves is required.
Jara, R. F., M. D. Samuel, R. Schultz, and A. Wydeven. Spatial and temporal pattern of Gray Wolf exposure to vector-borne diseases in Wisconsin. Ecological Society of America. Baltimore, MD, August, 2015.	August 2015	Summary of historical wolf serology in Wisconsin.
Inzalaco, H.N., S.S. Lichtenberg, F. Bravo Risi, R. Morales, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner, J.A. Pedersen. Black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) harbor and excrete chronic wasting disease prions from infected blood meals. 70^th Annual International Conference, Wildlife Disease Association, Madison, Wisconsin, 23-29 July 2022.	July 2022	This study investigated whether ticks could serve as mechanical vectors of chronic wasting disease prions. Experimental and observational results support that prions can be detected in ticks and that ticks could be a source of indirect transmission of chronic wasting disease.
Inzalaco, H.N., S.S. Lichtenberg, F. Bravo Risi, R. Morales, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner, J.A. Pedersen. Black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) harbor and excrete chronic wasting disease prions from infected blood meals. 29^th Annual Conference, The Wildlife Society, Spokane, Washington, 6-10 November 2022.	November 2022	This study investigated whether ticks could serve as mechanical vectors of chronic wasting disease prions. Experimental and observational results support that prions can be detected in ticks and that ticks could be a source of indirect transmission of chronic wasting disease.
Inzalaco, H.N., M.L.J. Gilbertson, S. Katircioglu, K. Lepard, J. McEarl, A. Bibb, J. Dennison, D. Grove, A. Houston, D.J. Storm, D.P. Walsh, W.C. Turner, S.S. Lichtenberg. Artificial mineral sites that pre-date endemic chronic wasting disease become prion hotspots. 4th International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium. Denver, Colorado, USA. May 30 – June 2, 2023.	May 2023	Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly contagious, fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by infectious prions (PrPCWD) affecting wild and captive cervids. This study investigates the role of historical artificial mineral lick sites as sources of prion aggregation and deer chronic wasting disease risk.
Inzalaco, H.N., E.E. Brandell, S. Wilson, M. Hunsaker, D.R. Stahler, K. Woelfel, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, S.S. Lichtenberg, W.C. Turner. A prion in a poop-stack: detection tools and carnivore-based surveillance of chronic wasting disease. 4th International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium. Denver, Colorado, USA. May 30 – June 2, 2023.	May 2023	What role scavengers and predators may play in chronic wasting disease epidemiology remains poorly understood. Here we adapt tools for prion detection in a range of carnivore feces, to advance surveillance approaches and management of chronic wasting disease.
Huang, Y.-H., H. Joel, M. Küsters, Z.R. Barandongo, C.C. Cloete, A. Hartmann, P.L. Kamath, J.W. Kilian, J.K.E. Mfune, G. Shatumbu, R. Zidon, W.M. Getz and W.C. Turner. Disease or drought: environmental fluctuations release zebra from a potential pathogen-triggered ecological trap, Research Frontiers in Animal Behavior and Parasitism, A Virtual Symposium at the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, May 20-21, 2021, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.	May 2021	This study evaluated spatiotemporal patterns in anthrax mortalities in a plains zebra (<i>Equus quagga</i>) population in Etosha National Park, Namibia. The results describe how fluctuating environmental conditions affect host habitat selection, which in turn affect the magnitude of disease outbreaks.
Huang, Y.-H., H. Joel, M. Küsters, Z.R. Barandongo, C.C. Cloete, A. Hartmann, P.L. Kamath, J.W. Kilian, J.K.E. Mfune, G. Shatumbu, R. Zidon, W.M. Getz and W.C. Turner. Disease or drought: environmental fluctuations release zebra from a potential pathogen-triggered ecological trap, 18th Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (online) meeting, 14-17 June, Montpellier, France	June 2021	This study evaluated spatiotemporal patterns in anthrax mortalities in a plains zebra (Equus quagga) population in Etosha National Park, Namibia. The results describe how fluctuating environmental conditions affect host habitat selection, which in turn affect the magnitude of disease outbreaks.
Henaux, V., M. Samuel, and C. Bunck. 2009. Model-based evaluation of HP and LP avian influenza dynamics in wild birds. Midwest Wildlife Society Conference, Springfield, IL, Dec 7-9, 2009.	December 2009
Henaux, V., M. D. Samuel, and J. Parmley. Transmission of avian influenza virus in wild waterfowl. The Wildlife Society’s 18th Annual Conference, Kona, HI, Nov 5-10, 2011.	November 2011
Henaux, V., M. D. Samuel, and J. Parmley. Predicting transmission rate of avian influenza virus in wild waterfowl. 60th Annual International Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, Aug 14-19, 2011.	August 2011
Henaux, V. M. D. Samuel, B. Thiagarajan, and C. Jennelle. Differential age and sex-specific rates of chronic wasting disease infection in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. 61st International conference of the Wildlife Disease Association, Lyons, France, July 22-27, 2012.	July 2012
Henaux, V. C., M. D. Samuel, and C. M. Bunck. 2010. Model-Based evaluation of highly and low pathogenic avian influenza dynamics in wild birds. 3rd USGS Modeling Conference, Broomfield, CO, June 7-11, 2010.	June 2010
Henaux, V. C., M. D. Samuel, C. M. Bunck, and J. Parmley. 2010. Model-Based evaluation of highly and low pathogenic avian influenza dynamics in wild birds. The Wildlife Society’s 17th Annual Conference, Snowbird, UT, Oct 2-6, 2010.	October 2010
Harms, N. J., J. Foster, A. Dallaire, G. Gilchrist, J. Hill, S. Iverson, S. Lair, F. Leighton, S. McBurney, G. Robertson, M. Samuel, G. Séguin, H. Whitney, M. Wille, and C. Soos 2014. MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY OF AVIAN CHOLERA IN NORTHERN CANADA. 63rd Internationial Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association, Albuquerque, New Mexico.	July 2014	These results suggest that P.multocida strains may be exchanged among northern outbreaks, and that there may be some connections among P. multocida strains from northern and southern Canada. In addition, most US isolates were distinct from Canadian isolates.
Harms, N. J., J. Foster, A. Dallaire, G. Gilchrist, J. Hill, S. Iverson, S. Lair, F. Leighton, S. McBurney, G. Robertson, M. Samuel, G. Séguin, H. Whitney, M. Wille, and C. Soos. 2014. Tracking aviani cholera in northern Canada. 5th Intrnational Sea Duck Conference, 8-12 September, 2014.	September 2014	Avian cholera serotype 1 isolates from Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, southern Quebec, and the eastern Arctic were related; these isolates also showed some genetic similarity to isolates from California and Nebraska, but most US isolates were distinct from Canadian isolates. Serotype 3, 4 and 3x4 isolates from southern Quebec were not related to isolates from the eastern Arctic.
Hannah, A., K. Grveles, S. Warner, D. Lopez, C. Ribic, and A. Pidgeon. 2018. Characterizing adult and juvenile use of red-pine dominated plantations in Wisconsin’s population of Kirtland’s warblers. Poster, Presentation, American Ornithological Society Meeting, Tucson, AZ, 9-14 April 2018.	April 2018	We investigated the breeding ecology of Kirtland’s Warbler in Wisconsin from 2015-2017. This study contributes insights that will be useful for fine-tuning management actions and increasing efficacy of habitat management for this conservation-reliant species.
Hannah, A., K. Grveles, S. Warner, D. Lopez, A. Pidgeon, and C. Ribic. 2016. Characterizing breeding habitat selection and reproductive success of the Wisconsin population of the Kirtland’s warbler; preliminary results. Poster presentation, North American Congress for Conservation Biology, Madison, WI, 17-20 July 2016.	July 2016	This study will contribute to basic knowledge about the Kirtland’s warbler, and is likely to provide insights that can be used to fine-tune targeted management actions for the species in Wisconsin.
Hagell, S., S.D. Hull, M.J. Reetz, K.J. Martin, M.W. Meyer, and C.A. Ribic. 2012. Enhancing the capacity for climate change adaptation in natural resource management at the state level. Poster, Fourth International EcoSummit - Ecological Sustainability, Columbus, OH, 30 Sept.- 5 Oct. 2012.	October 2012
Hagell, S., O. LeDee, K.J. Martin, M.W. Meyer, and C.A. Ribic. 2012. The challenges of climate change adaptation for wildlife managers in Wisconsin. Poster, The Ecological Society of America’s 2012 Emerging Issues Conference, Shepardstown, WV, Feb. 27-March 1, 2012.	February 2012
Hagell, S. and C.A. Ribic. 2012. Climate Change Adaptation in Wildlife Management, Policy, and Research in Wisconsin. Presentation, The Wildlife Society Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Wichita, KS, December 9-12, 2012.	December 2012	This study was done to understand how wildlife professionals in Wisconsin view adaptation to climate change impacts in relation to management, policy, and research. This study can be used to help develop climate change training that is relevant to the user.
Hagell S., S.D. Hull, M.R. Reetz, K.J. Martin, M.W. Meyer, and C.A. Ribic. 2012. Enhancing the Capacity for Climate Change Adaptation in Conservation Planning at the State Level. Poster, North American Congress for Conservation Biology, Oakland, CA, July 15-18, 2012.	July 2012
Guzy, M.H., C. A. Ribic, and D. W. Sample. 2002. Grassland birds and their habitat associations in southwestern Wisconsin. 9th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society, Bismarck, ND.	September 2002
Guzy, M., C. Ribic and D. Sample. March/2002, Grassland bird conservation in an agricultural landscape. Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Wildlife Society, Madison, WI.	March 2002
Guzy, M., C. Ribic and D. Sample. March/2002, Grassland bird conservation in an agricultural landscape. 2002 Agricultural Ecosystems Research Group Winter Meeting, Madison, WI.	March 2002
Guzy, M., C. A. Ribic, and D. W. Sample. 2003. Grassland bird habitat use and productivity in an agricultural landscape. Presentation made at the 10th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society, Burlington, VT, 6-10 September 2003.	September 2003
Guzy, M. J., D. W. Sample, and C. A. Ribic. 2004. Grassland birds in southwestern Wisconsin: the importance of prairie remnants. Invited presentation, 19th North American Prairie Conference, 8-12 August 2004, Madison, WI	August 2004
Guzy, M. J., C. A. Ribic, and D. W. Sample. 2004. Breeding and post-breeding habitat use and movements of Eastern Meadowlarks in Wisconsin. Invited presentation at Grassland B irds in North America: Current an dFuture Currencies symposium. The Wildlife Society 11th Annual Conference, Calgary, Canada, 18-22 September 2004.	September 2004
Guzy, M. J., C. A. Ribic, and D. W. Sample. 2003. Grassland bird habitat use, productivity, and movements in an agricultural landscape. Presentation made at the 64th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Kansas City, MO, 7-10 December 2003.	December 2003
Guttery, M.R., C.A. Ribic, D. Sample, C. Trosen, A. Paulios, J. Dadisman, D. Schneider, and J. Horton. 2015. Habitat-specific scale dependencies influence patch occupancy: defining neighborhoods to optimize the effectiveness of landscape-scale grassland bird conservation. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Indianapolis, IN, 11 Feb. 2015.	February 2015	Our project found that grassland bird species are influenced by different landscape scales. This information can be used by managers for effective landscape conservation planning for grassland birds.
Guttery, M.R., C.A. Ribic, D. Sample, C. Trosen, A. Paulios, J. Dadisman, D. Schneider, and J. Horton. 2014. Habitat-specific scale dependencies influence patch occupancy: defining neighborhoods to optimize the effectiveness of landscape-scale grassland bird conservation. Presentation (plenary), Midwest Bird Conservation and Monitoring Workshop, August 4-8, 2014, Port Washington, WI.	August 2014	Our project found that grassland bird species are influenced by different landscape scales. This information can be used by managers for effective landscape conservation planning for grassland birds.
Guttery, M.R., C. Ribic, A. Paulios, D. Sample, and C. Trosen. 2013. Evaluating Wisconsin’s grassland bird conservation area model. Presentation, Wisconsin Chapter of The Wildlife Society-Winter Meeting, Wisconsin Dells, WI, 12-14 March.	March 2013	This study examined the effectiveness of the grassland bird conservation area model in three focal landscapes. It will assist wildlife managers in developing effective management for grassland bird populations.
Guttery, M.R., C. Ribic, A. Paulios, D. Sample, and C. Trosen. 2012. Evaluating Wisconsin’s Grassland Bird Conservation Area Model. Poster, The Wildlife Society Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Wichita, KS, December 9-12, 2012.	December 2012
Guttery, M.R., C. Ribic, A. Paulios, D. Sample, and C. Trosen. 2012. Evaluating Wisconsin’s Grassland Bird Conservation Area Model. Poster presented at the 2012 Midwest Bird Conservation and Monitoring Workshop, Milwaukee, WI, 31 July-2 August, 2012.	August 2012
Guttery, M.R., C. A. Ribic, D. Sample, A. Paulios, C. Trosen, J. Dadisman, D. Schneider, and J. A. Horton. 2016. Scale-specific habitat relationships influence patch occupancy: defining neighborhoods to optimize the effectiveness of grassland bird conservation. Presentation, North American Congress for Conservation Biology, Madison, WI, 17-20 July 2016.	July 2016	We evaluated scale-specific effects of landscape composition (idle grass, pasture, cropland, hay, forest) on grassland bird patch occupancy. Managers can use our work when designing strategies for landscape-level grassland bird conservation.
Guillaumet, A., W. Kuntz, M. Samuel, and E. Paxton. Distributional patterns in Iʻiwi: seasonal movements and distribution of disease. Hawaii Conservation Conference, Hilo, HI, August, 2015.	July 2015	Movement and disease impacts on Hawaiian Iiwi.
Grear, D. C. Jennelle, M. Samuel, B. Weckworth, K. Scribner, and J. Langenberg. CWD infection patterns in female deer. International WDA Conference. Blaine, WA, Aug 2-6, 2009.	August 2009
Grear, D. A., M. M. Conner, M. D. Samuel and M. W. Miller. 2005. Epidemiology of chornic wasting disease in free-ranging deer: common factors that driver transmisson. Second International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium, Madison, Wisconsin, July 2005 (invited).	July 2005
Grear, D. A., M. D. Samuel, D. O. Joly, J. A. Langenberg, M. J. Verdon, and D. Keane. Demographic patterns of CWD prevalence in a high-density white-tailed deer population. Wildlife Disease Association Conference. August 2003.	August 2003
Grear, D. A., M. D. Samuel, D. O. Joly, J. A. Langenberg, M. J. Verdon, and D. Keane. 2004. Demographic patterns of chronic wasting disease infection in a high-density white-tailed deer population. The Wildlife Society 11th Annual Conference, Calgary, Canada, September 2004.	September 2004
Gilbertson, M.L.J., E.E. Brandell, M.E. Pinkerton, N.M. Meaux, M. Hunsaker, D. Jarosinski, W. Ellarson, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. Cause of death, pathology, and chronic wasting disease status of white-tailed deer mortalities in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Chapter of The Wildlife Society Winter Meeting March, 2022 (online).	March 2022	This study investigated causes of mortality among collared white-tailed deer in southwestern Wisconsin, an area of high chronic wasting disease (CWD) prevalence. Results show how CWD affects the prevalence of other disease processes or comorbidities and highlight the critical importance of understanding the role of CWD in deer population health and dynamics.
Gilbertson, M.L.J., E.E. Brandell, M.E. Pinkerton, N.M. Meaux, M. Hunsaker, D. Jarosinski, W. Ellarson, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. Cause of death, pathology, and chronic wasting disease status of white-tailed deer mortalities in Wisconsin. 70^th Annual International Conference, Wildlife Disease Association, Madison, Wisconsin, 23-29 July 2022.	July 2022	This study investigated causes of mortality among collared white-tailed deer in southwestern Wisconsin, an area of high chronic wasting disease (CWD) prevalence. Results show how CWD affects the prevalence of other disease processes or comorbidities and highlight the critical importance of understanding the role of CWD in deer population health and dynamics.
Gilbertson, M.L.J., A. Ketz, M. Hunsaker, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. Seasonal variation in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) habitat selection, encounter locations, and chronic wasting disease transmission potential. 4^th International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium. Denver, Colorado, USA. May 30 – June 2, 2023.	May 2023	This study quantifies seasonal habitat selection and pairwise encounter rates among 563 white-tailed deer in southwest Wisconsin in a chronic wasting disease (CWD) endemic area. Results suggest that focusing on individual behavior in isolation can underestimate the importance of specific habitat types in the context of animal space use and subsequent transmission risk between individuals.
Gilbertson, M.L.J., A. Ketz, M. Hunsaker, D. Jarosinski, W. Ellarson, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. Land use shapes dispersal in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). 29^th Annual Conference, The Wildlife Society, Spokane, Washington, 6-10 November 2022.	November 2022	Dispersal is fundamental to animal population dynamics and gene flow, and it also can be a mechanism for disease spread across a landscape. This study identifies dispersal events among Wisconsin white-tailed deer, determines drivers of dispersal rates and distances, and evaluates how landscape features alter deer dispersal paths.
Gerber, L., J. Ames, M. Checkowitz, D. Doak, J. Estes, M. Harris, B. Hatfield, D. Jessup, C. Ribic, M. Samuel, N. Thomas, and T. Tinker. 2000. Disease impacts in California sea otter demography. Invited presentation at the 7th Joint U.S.-Russia Sea Otter Workshop, Monterey, CA, 16 November 2000.	November 2000
Fraser, W. R., E. W. Chapman, D. L. Patterson, and C. A. Ribic. 2004. Winter Foraging Movements of Adelie Penguins in the Western Antarctic Peninsula Region. Presentation made at the XXVIII SCAR Open Science Conference, Bremen, Germany, 25-31 July 2004.	July 2004
Ellison, K., E.K. Hofmeister, C.A. Ribic, and D.W. Sample. 2011. Pox seroprevalence and missing digits in the Henslow’s Sparrow. Poster at America’s Grasslands: Status, Threats, and Opportunities Conference, Sioux Falls, SD, 15-17 August 2011.	August 2011
Ellison, K., C.A. Ribic, D.W. Sample, and M.E. Jones. 2011. Effects of fencerow vegetation removal on grassland birds & their predators – 4 year summary. Presentation at America’s Grasslands: Status, Threats, and Opportunities Conference, Sioux Falls, SD, 15-17 August 2011.	August 2011
Ellison, K. and C.A. Ribic. 2008. Passerine nest defense: general versus specific responess. The 2008 AOU-COS-ACO annual meeting, Portland, OR, August 4-8, 2008. (Invited)	August 2008
Ellison, K. S., C. A. Ribic, and D. W. Sample. 2007. Effects of removing wooded fencerows on grasland birds and their predators. Presentation made at teh 125th stated meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union, 8-11 August, 2007, Laramie, WY.	August 2007
Dudzinski, K.M., H.M. Hill, C.A. Ribic, and T.T. Bolton. 2019. Evidence for Maternal Style in Pectoral Fin Contact in Dolphins. Presentation, Behaviour 2019, joint meeting of the 56th Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society and the 36th International Ethological Conference, Chicago, IL, July 23-27, 2019.	July 2019	We investigated how pectoral fin contact is used between mom-calf pairs from in 10 matrilines housed in a natural lagoon setting at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences, Honduras. We found that that pectoral fin contact is used on a limited basis in mother/calf dyads, although with distinct patterns of use suggesting evidence for maternal style in how adult females care for their offspring.
Dudzinski, K.M., H.M. Hill, C.A. Ribic, and T.T. Bolton. 2017. Maternal style and sibling choice: pectoral fin contact shared within mother/calf pairs and between siblings. Presentation, European Association for Aquatic Mammals 45th Annual Symposium, 8 – 11 March, Acquario di Genova, Italy.	March 2017	We found that adult female dolphins vary in their maternal style and dolphin siblings show a partner preference. Understanding how and with whom dolphins communicate can help managers provide better care for captive dolphins.
Dudzinski, K.M. and C.A. Ribic. 2015. Pectoral fin contact between bottlenose dolphins - a tool for social bonding among non-kin. Invited Presentation, 41st Annual Symposium of the European Association for Aquatic Mammals, Kolmårdens, Sweden, 25-27 March 2015.	March 2015	Pectoral fin contact among dolphins is a conserved behavior consistently documented between individuals. Our results suggest that pectoral fin contact is a tool used to establish and maintain relationships between individuals, with patterns varying slightly between the sexes and age groups.
Dudzinksi, K.M., S. Kuczaj, and C.A. Ribic. 2007. Flipper's flipper-a comparison of how, where, and why spotted and bottlenose dolphins from two locations use their pectoral fins to exchange contact. Poster presented at the 17th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Cape Town, South Africa, 28 Nov.-3 Dec. 2007.	December 2007
Drossel, J.L. and C. A. Ribic., September/2002, Grassland bird nest predators and their use of pasture edges in southwestern Wisconsin. Presentation made at the 9th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society, Bismarck, ND.	September 2002
Drossel, J.L. and C. A. Ribic., January/2002, Grassland bird nest predators and their use of pasture edges in southwestern Wisconsin. State Wildlife Managers Meeting, Cable, WI.	January 2002
Drossel, J., C.A. Ribic, and R. Renfrew. 2000. Effects of landscape on grassland bird nests and nest predators. Invited presentation. The 2000 Agricultural Ecosystems Research Group Winter Meeting, Madison, WI, 7 March 2000. Abstract published in The Agriculture Ecosystems Research Group 1999 Annual Report, p 11. (Invited)	March 2000
Drossel, J., C. Ribic, and R. Renfrew. 2000. Activity of predators of around pastures in southwest Wisconsin. Poster presented at the 62nd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 3-6 December 2000.	December 2000
Drossel, J. and C. A. Ribic. March/2002, Predators of grassland birds in and around pastures in southwest Wisconsin. 2002 Agricultural Ecosystems Research Group Winter Meeting, Madison, WI.	March 2002
Drossel, J. and C. A. Ribic. December/ 2001, Predators of grassland bird nests and their edge preferences in southwestern Wisconsin. 63rd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Des Moines, IA.	December 2001
Donner, D.M., M. St. Pierre, R.S. Zalesny, Jr., D.R. Coyle, C.A. Ribic, and D. Eklund. 2010. Impacts of harvesting forest residues for bioenergy on nutrient cycling and community assemblages in northern hardwood forests. Poster presented at the IEA Bioenergy Conference, Kamloops, BC, Canada, June 1-4, 2010.	June 2010
Donner, D.M., J.R. Probst, and C.A. Ribic. 2007. Spatiotemporal response of male Kirtland's warbler population to 26 years of forest management. 68th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conferene, Madison, WI, 9-12 December 2007. (Invited)	December 2007
Donner, D.M., C.A. Ribic, M. St. Pierre, and D. Eklund. 2011. Impacts of woody biomass harvesting on amphibian assemblages in northern hardwood forests, Wisconsin. Invited presentation, The Wildlife Society18th Annual Conference, Waikoloa, Hawaii, November 5-10, 2011.	November 2011
Donner, D.M., C.A. Ribic, M. St. Pierre, and D. Eklund. 2011. Impacts of harvesting forest residues for bioenergy on herpetofauna and herbaceous plant community assemblages in northern hardwood forests. Poster, Wisconsin Chapter of the Wildlife Society winter meeting, Wisconsin Dells, March 1-3, 2011.	March 2011
Donner, D.M., C.A. Ribic, D.J. Brown, D.M. Wolcott, C. Bocetti, T. Greco, and M. Nelson. 2017. Kirtland’s Warbler summer and winter habitat changes in response to future climate condition scenarios. Symposium presentation, American Ornithology 2017, Joint Meeting of the American Ornithological Society and the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, East Lansing, MI, 31 July - 5 August, 2017.	August 2017	We assessed impacts of changing environmental conditions on the Kirtland's Warbler breeding and wintering grounds by modeling jack pine occupancy and growth under current and future climate scenarios and projecting winter precipitation and temperature across the Bahamian archipelago. Our model results that up to 50% of current Kirtland's Warbler Management Areas had the potential to become unsuitable for jack pine and that the Bahamian islands used by Kirtland's Warbler may become dryer in Marc
Donner, D.M., C. A. Ribic, and J.R. Probst. 2008. Male Kirtland's warblers response to landscape structure during periods of varying habitat amount and population size. Presentation made at the US IALE 23rd annual symposium, Madison, WI, 6-11 April 2008.	April 2008
Donner, D.M. and C.A. Ribic. 2012. Conservation implications of converting open-lands to hybrid poplar plantations across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Presentation, The Wildlife Society Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Wichita, KS, December 9-12, 2012.	December 2012
Donner, D., M. St. Pierre, C. Ribic, D. Eklund, and B. Quinn. 2012. Impacts of harvesting forest residues at different intensities in northern hardwood forests. Indiana Society of American Foresters, Madison, IN, Sept. 26-28, 2012.	September 2012
Donner, D., C. A. Ribic, D.J. Brown, D. M. Wolcott, C. Bocetti, T. Greco, and M. Nelson. 2018. Managing breeding and wintering habitat for the conservation of the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler in a changing climate. The Wildlife Society 78th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Milwaukee, WI, 28-31 January 2018.	January 2018	Conservation and recovery of the endangered Kirtland's Warbler requires knowledge on how changing environmental conditions can impact essential summer and wintering habitat.From a conservation perspective, the central Bahamian islands, which currently contain the majority of the wintering population, will be critical islands on which to focus climate adaptation efforts. In the Great Lakes region, the potential loss and redistribution of jack pine habitat may require establishing additional habi
Donner, D., C. A. Ribic, D.J. Brown, D. M. Wolcott, C. Bocetti, T. Greco, and M. Nelson. 2018. Managing breeding and wintering habitat for the conservation of the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler in a changing climate. Presentation, US-IALE 2018 Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 8-12, 2018.	April 2018	We modeled jack pine occupancy and growth in relation to several environmental variables under current and future climate scenarios to determine if shifts in distribution and growth rate may occur and projected winter precipitation and temperature across the Bahamian archipelago to determine how much winter habitat (open lands) was susceptible to 1- and 2-m sea-level rise. From a conservation perspective, the central Bahamian islands, which currently contain the majority of the wintering popula
Dadisman, J., D. Sample, C. Ribic, and K. Ellison. 2007. Effects of wooded fencerow removal on grassland birds and their predators. Presentation made at the Wisconsin chapter of the Wildlife Society annual meeting, 6-7 March 2007, Madison, WI.	March 2007
Conn, P. B., W. L. Kendall, and M. D. Samuel. 2005. The analysis of mark-resight, mark-recapture, and band recovery data under tag loss. North American Arctic Goose Conference, Reno, Nevada, January 2005.	January 2005
Conn, P. B., W. L. Kendall, and M. D. Samuel. 2004. A general model for the analysis of mark-resight, mark-recapture, and band recovery data under tag loss. The Wildlife Society 11th Annual Conference, Calgary, Canada, September 2004.	September 2004
Clark, R G., M. D. Samuel, and G. Wobeser. 2003. Impacts of disease on duck populations. 3rd North American Duck Symposium, Sacramento, California, November 2003. (Invited).	November 2003
Che-Castaldo, C., M. Schwaller and H. Lynch. 2024. Identifying Population Tipping Points Through Imagery Super-resolution. NASA Biological Diversity and Ecological Conservation Team Meeting, Silver Spring, MD.	July 2024	This work highlights how remote sensing can be used for large scale species monitoring in near real-time by focusing on new statistical methods for modeling Antarctic penguin guano shape and extent from Landsat imagery.
Che-Castaldo, C. & M. Schwaller. 2024. Scaling Up: Satellite Super-Resolution Modeling for Large-Scale Penguin Population Monitoring. International Statistical Ecology Conference, Swansea, UK.	July 2024	This work highlights how remote sensing can be used for large scale species monitoring in near real-time by focusing on new statistical methods for modeling Antarctic penguin guano shape and extent from Landsat imagery.
Chapman, E.W., W. R. Fraser, E.E. Hofmann, and C.A. Ribic. 2008. A modeling study of Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) chick growth and foraging energetics. Talk given to SCAR/IASC IPY Open Science Conference: Polar Research-Arctic and Antarctic perspectives in the International Polar Year, St. Petersburg, Russia, 8-11 July 2008.	July 2008
Chapman, E. W., C. A. Ribic, W. R. Fraser, G. L. Lawson, P. H. Wiebe, and C. J. Ashjian. 2004. Associations between seabird distribution and physical and biological oceanographic features during winter 2001 in the Marguerite Bay area on the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Presentation made at the Ocean Sciences Meeting, Portland, OR, 26-30 January 2004.	January 2004
Chapman, E. W. and C. A. Ribic. 2002. Associations between seabird distribution and biological and physical oceanographic features during winter in the Marguerite Bay area on the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Presentation made at GLBOEC Open Science Meeting, Qingdao, 15-18 October 2002.	October 2002
Byers, Jr., BJ, A.J. Beck, D.J. Rugg, C.A. Ribic, and D.M. Donner. 2012. Moquah Barrens Research Natural Area: a data archiving case study. Poster, The Wildlife Society Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Wichita, KS, December 9-12, 2012.	December 2012
Byers, BJ, C.A. Ribic, J. Lutes, P. Charland, and D. Williams. 2012. Biodiversity implications of using herbaceous biomass harvest for management on the Leopold Wetland management District, Wisconsin. Poster, The Wildlife Society Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Wichita, KS, December 9-12, 2012.	December 2012
Byers, BJ and C. A. Ribic. 2017. Grassland bird response to annual herbaceous biomass harvest on the Leopold Wetland Management District, Wisconsin. Presentation, The Wildlife Society Wisconsin State Chapter Annual meeting, Milwaukee, WI, 28 February-2 March 2017.	March 2017	Our project evaluated the responses of grassland birds to annual fall haying as a management tool compared with current management practices. Annual fall haying appears to create conditions more favorable to grassland bird species such as Grasshopper Sparrow which prefer short grass and less litter cover for breeding.
Byers, BJ and C. A. Ribic. 2017. Grassland bird response to annual herbaceous biomass harvest on the Leopold Wetland Management District, Wisconsin. Presentation, The Wildlife Society 24th Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM, 23-27 September.	September 2017	Our project evaluated the responses of grassland birds to annual fall haying as a management tool compared with current management practices. Annual fall haying appears to create conditions more favorable to grassland bird species which prefer short grass and less litter cover for breeding.
Bunck, C., S.L. Sheriff, and C.A. Ribic. 2007. Advances in Biometrical Methods Over the Last Decade and the Consequences. The Wildlife Society 14th Annual Conference, Tucson, AZ, 22-26 September 2007. (Invited)	September 2007
Brown, D. J., C.A. Ribic, and D.M. Donner. 2014. Impacts of Climate Change on the Endangered Migratory Songbird Kirtland’s Warbler and Jack Pine Species Viability in Michigan and Wisconsin. Presentation, 3rd Science in the Northwoods Conference, Boulder Junction, WI, October 15-17.	October 2014	We are investigating the impacts of these projected changes on the Kirtland’s Warbler population using a full annual cycle approach. This research will assist the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with proactive planning and management of Kirtland’s Warbler under changing environmental conditions.
Brown, D. J., C.A. Ribic, D.M. Donner, M.D. Nelson, C.I. Bocetti, and C.M. Deloria-Sheffeld. 2015. Population Viability Analyses to evaluate post-delisting management of Kirtland’s Warbler. Minnesota/Wisconsin Wildlife Society Joint State Chapter Meeting, Duluth, MN, February 17-19, 2015.	February 2015	We conducted population viability analyses for Kirtland’s Warbler to evaluate potential management strategies for this species after delisting and to infer how climate change might impact future management decisions. These analyses will help managers evaluate the trade-offs of different management scenarios, while also incorporating the uncertainties and variability of environmental factors to ensure long-term viability of the Kirtland’s Warbler.
Brown, D. J., C.A. Ribic, D.M. Donner, M.D. Nelson, C.I. Bocetti, and C.M. Deloria-Sheffeld. 2015. Population Viability Analyses to evaluate post-delisting management of Kirtland’s Warbler. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Indianapolis, IN, 11 Feb. 2015.	February 2015	We conducted population viability analyses for Kirtland’s Warbler to evaluate potential management strategies for this species after delisting and to infer how climate change might impact future management decisions. These analyses will help managers evaluate the trade-offs of different management scenarios, while also incorporating the uncertainties and variability of environmental factors to ensure long-term viability of the Kirtland’s Warbler.
Brown, D. J., C. A. Ribic, D. M. Donner, and C. I. Bocetti. 2015. Proactive management of the Kirtland’s Warbler under changing environmental and management conditions. Presentation, The Wildlife Society 22nd Annual Meeting, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 17-21 October 2015.	October 2015	We conducted population viability analyses for Kirtland’s Warbler to evaluate potential management strategies for this species after delisting and to infer how climate change might impact future management decisions. These analyses will help managers evaluate the trade-offs of different management scenarios, while also incorporating the uncertainties and variability of environmental factors to ensure long-term viability of the Kirtland’s Warbler.
Brandell, E.E., D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. White-tailed deer management structures and the effects of management on harvest. Wisconsin Chapter of The Wildlife Society Winter Meeting March, 2022 (online).	March 2022	White-tailed deer are managed at the state-level, and deer harvest by hunters is the primary management tool. Here we investigate the drivers of hunter demand for white-tailed deer tags and the probability of successful harvest in Wisconsin under changing management practices; we then contrast how Midwestern states collect data on deer management, deer harvest, and chronic wasting disease, with a focus on identifying limitations for regional collaboration and adaptive management.
Brandell, E. E., W. Turner, D. P. Walsh, D. Storm, B. Wojcik and T. Van Deelen. 2023. Evaluating white-tailed deer harvest in Wisconsin and relationships to management practices and chronic wasting disease. 4^th International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium. Denver, Colorado, USA. May 30 – June 2, 2023.	May 2023	For game species, voluntary harvest by hunters is the dominant management and conservation mechanism in the United States. Quantifying the drivers of harvest is critical for determining the limitations of hunter harvest, which can inform management actions. We separated harvest into its component processes, and analyzed these processes individually to identify factors influencing the number of tags a hunter acquired, and the probability a hunter harvested a deer (i.e., “filled their tag”).
Blanchong, J.A., M.D. Samuel, K.T. Scribner, and B.V. Weckworth. 2007. Landscape genetics and the spatial distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease. Wildlife Disease Association Conference, Estes Park, Colorado, August 2007.	August 2007
Blanchong, J.A., M. D. Samuel, D. R. Goldberg, and D. J. Shadduck. 2004. Environmental conditions associated with isolation of avian cholera bacteria from North American wetlands. The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Calgary, Canada, September 2004.	September 2004
Blanchong, J., M. D. Samuel, and G. Mack. 2005. Multi-species patterns of avian cholera mortality in Nebraska's Rainwater Basin. North American Arctic Goose Conference, Reno, Nevada, January 2005.	January 2005
Blanchong, J. D. Grear, B. Weckworth, D. Keane, K. Scribner, and M. Samuel. Effects of chronic wasting disease on reproduction and recruitment in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. The Wildlife Society’s 18th Annual Conference, Kona, HI, Nov 5-10, 2011.	November 2011
Blanchong, J. D. Grear, B. Weckworth, D. Keane, K. Scribner, and M. Samuel. Effects of chronic wasting disease on reproduction and recruitment in Wisconsin white-tailed deer. 60th Annual International Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, Aug 14-19, 2011.	August 2011
Beckman, C., S. Weick, M. G. Knutson, J.R. Sauer, T.J. Fox, E.M. Kirsch, B. Gray, and C. Ribic. July 2002. Science support for regional and refuge bird conservation planning. Proceedings of the Mississippi River Research Consortium.	June 2002
Beck, A.J., D.M. Donner, C.A. Ribic, and D. Eklund. 2012. Impacts of localized land management activities on breeding salamanders in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin. Poster, The Wildlife Society Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Wichita, KS, December 9-12, 2012.	December 2012
Beck, A.J., D.M. Donner, C.A. Ribic, D. Eklund, and S. Reinecke. 2013. Beaver management in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin. Poster, The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, 5-10 Oct. 2013.	October 2013	This study looks at how beaver colonizations and removal of dams have changed over time. Forest managers can use this information to assess the impact of their programs to control beaver populations.
Barandongo, Z.R., Huang, Y.-H., Dolfi, A.C., Bruce, S.A. and Turner, W.C. 2021. Environmental and genetic factors affecting Bacillus anthracis spore concentrations at anthrax carcass sites. 9th International Conference on Bacillus anthracis, B. cereus and B. thuringiensis, Paris, France, April 26-28, 2021 (virtual).	April 2021	Anthrax transmission requires host exposure to high dose of spores, thus conditions that promote spore formation and survival increase the changes of future disease outbreaks. This study investigates environmental and pathogen genetic factors affecting spore concentrations over a decade at anthrax carcass sites.
Ballerini, T., D. Ainley, K. Daly, E. Hofmann, M. Marrari, C. Ribic, W. Smith, and J. Steele. 2010. An end-to-end food web model for the western Antarctic Peninsula. Presentation made at the Fourth Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Open Science Conference (OSC), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 3-6 August 2010.	August 2010
Atkinson, C.T., D. A. LaPointe, B.L., Woodworth, and M.D. Samuel. Climate change, avian malaria, and endemic Hawaiian forest birds: Dynamics of a changing system. 89th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Division of AAAS, Waimea, HI, 15-20 June, 2008.	June 2008
Atkinson, C.T., B.L. Woodworth, D.A. LaPointe, and M.D. Samuel. 2007. Climate change, vector-borne avian diseases and endemic Hawaiian forest birds ? what will the future bring. American Society of Parasitologists, Mexico, June 2007.	June 2007
Atkinson, C. T., D. A. LaPointe, T. Giambelluca, R. Camp, S. I Jarvi, and M. D. Samuel. Ecology of avian pox and malaria in the Hawaiian Islands: an ongoing conservation crisis. Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Bonito, Brazil, June 18-22, 2012.	June 2012
Asper, S. and C. Ribic. 2017. Grassland bird species abundance on grazed and non-grazed lands at Buena Vista Wildlife Area, WI. Presentation, The Wildlife Society Wisconsin State Chapter Annual meeting, Milwaukee, WI, 28 February-2 March 2017.	March 2017	Our study determined how grassland birds respond to the two grazing regimes, continuous grazing and managed-intensive rotational grazing, used at Buena Vista Wildlife Area. Preliminary results suggest that there are differences in grassland bird species abundance among the grazing regimes and the non-grazed fields.
Anderson, T., M. J. Guzy, C. Nolden, C. A. Ribic and D. W. Sample. 2003. Edge activity and habitat use of grassland nest prdators in southwestern Wisconsin. Poster presented at the 64th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Kansas City, MO, 7-10 December 2003.	December 2003
Anderson, T. J. and C. A. Ribic. 2004. Edge activity and habitat use by grassland bird nest predators in southwestern Wisconsin. Invited presentation, 19th North American Prairie Conference, 8-12 August 2004, Madison, WI.	August 2004
Alstad, A., P. Zedler, H. Spaul, C. Ribic, J. Miesel, R. Henderson, J. Harrington, and P. Charland. 2011. Development of a fire science network and delivery system for the Northern Tallgrass Prairie, Central Tallgrass Prairie, Prairie Forest Border, and North Central Till Plain Ecoregions of the Upper Midwest U.S. Poster at America’s Grasslands: Status, Threats, and Opportunities Conference, Sioux Falls, SD, 15-17 August 2011.	August 2011
Allen, C., J. Foster, C. Soos, D. Blehert, M. Samuel, and P. Keim. Classifying Avian Cholera Epizootics with MLST and SNP Genotyping. 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, New Orleans, LA, May 20-24, 2011. Poster.	May 2011
Ainley, D., E. Woehler, C. Ribic, and L. Balance. 2010. Advances in the at-sea study of seabirds. First World Seabird Conference, Victoria, Canada, 7-11 September 2010.	September 2010
Ahumada, J. A., M. D. Samuel, C. Atkinson, B. Woodworth, D. LaPointe, and A. P. Dobson. 2004. Avian malaria dynamics along an elevational gradient in Hawaii: a model simulation. Poster. Ecological Society of America, Portland, Oregon, August 2004.	August 2004
Ahumada, J. A., M. D. Samuel, A. P. Dobson, D. LaPointe, and C. Atkinson. A simple individual-based model for the transmission of avian malaria in Hawaii. Ecological Society of America. August 2003.	February 2003

Theses and Dissertations

Theses and Dissertations	Publication Date
Zoe Barandongo. 2023. Anthrax in African wildlife: Bacillus anthracis spore survival, bacteriophages and genetic diversity in southern Africa, PhD Dissertation, University of Wisconsin - Madison	December 2023
Yen-Hua Huang. 2022. Effects of Environmental Fluctuations and Herbivore Ecology on Anthrax Dynamics in Southern Africa. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison.	May 2022
Sunday Ochai. 2022. Exposure to anthrax in Kruger and Etosha National Parks and the effect of haemoparasite coinfections, MS Thesis, University of Pretoria.	April 2022
Storm, D. J. 2011. Chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer: Evaluation of aerial surveys; age-estimation; and the role of deer density and landscape in disease transmission. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison.	January 2011
Samantha Hoff. 2023. Refugia from white-nose syndrome: ecology and behavior of northern myotis coastal populations. PhD Dissertation, University at Albany, State University of New York	May 2023
S J Robinson - Landscape genetics and epidemiology of chronic wasting diseae in midwestern white-tailed deer	January 2012
Prudent Mokgokong, 2023. Comparative genomics of Bacillus anthracis strains from anthrax outbreaks in Kruger National Park, South Africa. MS Thesis, University of Pretoria	April 2023
Ochai, S. 2024. Diagnoses and the roles of host and environment in the transmission of anthrax in Kruger National Park. Ph.D. dissertation, Veterinary Tropical Diseases at University of Pretoria.	April 2024
Matthew Hunsaker. 2023. Movement ecology of male white-tailed deer during the breeding season in southwest Wisconsin, MS thesis, University of Wisconsin - Madison	May 2023
Kamini Govender. 2023. Investigation of Bacillus anthracis spore survival in soils from Kruger National Park in South Africa and Etosha National Park in Namibia. MS Thesis, University of Pretoria	April 2023
Jones, M.E. 2009. The effects of tree row removal on the predators of grassland bird nests. M.S. thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison.	August 2009
Hendrina Joel. 2022. Effects of elephant carcasses on vegetation cover, herbivore behavior, and potential anthrax transmission in central Etosha National Park. MS Thesis, University of Namibia.	April 2022
Heather Inzalaco. 2023. Soil, scat, and (Ixodes) scapularis: Assessing environmental factors in the chronic wasting disease system, PhD Dissertation, University of Wisconsin - Madison	May 2023
Erdmann, E.S. 2009. Using GIS in the analysis of seabird foraging behavior. M.S. thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison.	December 2009
Dolfi, A. 2024. Using simulation models to determine mechanisms driving outbreak dynamics and spatial distribution of environmentally transmitted pathogens. Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison.	August 2024
Casey Pendergast. 2023. Hibernation behavior and winter feeding of northern myotis in coastal populations after white-nose syndrome invasion, MS thesis, University at Albany, State University of New York	May 2023
Byers, Jr., BJ. 2017. Avian response to fall biomass harvest on the Leopold Wetland Management District, Wisconsin. M.S. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison.	August 2017
Byers, Carolyn M. 2013. Grassland bird use of warm season grass fields in southwest Wisconsin. M.S. thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison.	August 2013
Byers, C. M. 2013. Grassland bird use of warm season grass fields in Southwest Wisconsin. M.S. thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison.	August 2013
Asper, S. 2017. Report: Grassland bird species abundance on grazed and non-grazed land at Buena Vista Wildlife Area, WI. M.S.(Agroecology), University of Wisconsin, Madison.	August 2017

Technical Publications

Technical Publications	Publication Date
Samuel, M. D., D. O. Joly, M. A. Wild, S. D. Wright, D. L. Otis, R. W. Werger, and M. W. Miller. 2003. Surveillance strategies for detecting chronic wasting disease in free-ranging deer and elk: Results of a CWD surveillance workshop. National Wildlife Health Center website. 43pp.	May 2003
Ribic, C. A., S. Lewis, S. Melvin, J. Bart, and B. Peterjohn. 1999. Proceedings of the marsh bird monitoring workshop. USFWS/USGS Administrative Report, Denver, CO.	January 2000
Ribic, C. A. 2001. Regional evaluation of area sensitivity in grassland birds workshops I and II. Final report, USGS BRD, Leetown Science Center, Kearneysville, WV.	March 2001
Ribic, C. A. 2000. Trends in indicator and non-indicator items of marine debris on a New Jersey beach, 1991-1999. Final Report, US EPA Office of Water, Washington, D.C.	September 2000
Ribic, C. A. 2000. Power analysis for GOM Regions 4 and 5 of the National Marine Debris Monitoring Program. Final Report, US EPA Office of Water, Washington, D.C.	September 2000
Ribic, C. A. 2000. An evaluation of the National Marine Debris Monitoring Program as implemented in the Gulf of Mexico. Final Report, US EPA Office of Water, Washington, D.C.	September 2000
Ribic, C. A. 1999. A report on the regional evaluation of area sensitivity in grassland birds workshop I. Final report, USGS BRD, Reston, Virginia.	September 1999
Ribic, C. 2006. Predator Activity and Grassland Bird Nesting Success in an Agricultural Landscape	September 2006
Ribic, C. 2006. Field Validation of GIS-based Models for Regional and Refuge Bird Conservation Planning	June 2006
Ribic, C. 2005. Demographic Analysis on the Causes of Mortality and Related Factors Affecting the California Sea Otter Population	December 2005
Johnson, D.H., J.P. Gibbs, M. Herzog, S. Lor, N.D. Niemuth, C.A. Ribic, M. Seamans, T.L. Shaffer, G. Shriver, S. Stehman, and W.L. Thompson. 2008. A sampling design framework for monitoring secretive marshbirds. Final Report, US Geological Survey, Status and Trends of Biological Resources, Reston, VA.	June 2009
Hess, N. A. and C. A. Ribic. 1999. Seabird ecology, chapter 8 in Distribution and Abundance of Cetaceans in the northern Gulf of Mexico Volume II: Technical Report (R. Davis, W. Evans, and B. Wursig, eds.), USGS/BRD/CR-1999-2001.	January 2000
Davis, R., J. Ortega-Ortiz, C. Ribic, W. Evans, D. Biggs, P. Ressler, J. Wormuth, R. Leben, K. Mullin, and B. Wursig. 1999. Cetacean habittat on the Northern Gulf of Mexico, Chapter 6 in Distribution and Abundance of Cetaceans in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Volume II: Technical Report (R.Davis, W. Evans, and B. Wursig, eds.), SGS/BRD/CR-1999-2001.	January 2000
Conner, M.M., J. E. Gross, P. C. Cross, M. R. Ebinger, R. R. Gillies, M. D. Samuel, and M. M. Miller. Scale-dependent approaches to modeling spatial epidemiology of chronic wasting disease. Utah Division of Wildlife, United States Geologic Survey, and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Report, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Available at: or all of the websites/CWD_Spatial_Modeling.pdf.	July 2007
Buehler, D., D. Moss, B. Minser, C. Ribic, and S. Vos. 2000. Monitoring and managing grassland birds for sustainable populations. US DOD Legacy Program 2000 Annual Report.	September 2000
Bollinger, T., P. Caley, E. Merrill, F. Messier, M. W. Miller, M. D. Samuel, and E. Vanopdenbosch. 2004. Chronic wasting disease in Canadian Wildlife: An expert opinion on the epidemiology and risks to wild deer. Final report to the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre. July 2004.	July 2004
Paxton, E. H., J. Burgett, E. McDonald-Fadden, E. Bean, C. T. Atkinson, D. Ball, C. Cole, L. H. Crampton, J. Kraus, D. A. LaPointe, L. Mehrhoff, M. D. SAMUEL, D. C. Brewer, S. J. Converse, and S. Morey. 2012. Keeping Hawai’i’s Forest Birds One Step Ahead of Avian Diseases in a Warming World: a focus on Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge: A Case Study from the Structured Decision Making Workshop, February 28-March 4, 2011, Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii USA. http://nctc.fws.gov/CSP/Resources/Decision_Analysis/feb_2011/2011%20SDM%20workshop%20Hawaii%20forest%20birds%20under%20climate%20change.pdf	August 2012

Data or Software Releases

Type	Citation	Publication Date
Data Release	Turner, W. C. and Barandongo, Z. R., 2023. Zebra anthrax carcass site pathogen and soil data from Namibia, 2010-2021: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9TDAY91.	March 2022
Data Release	Turner, W. C. and Barandongo, Z. R., 2023. Zebra anthrax carcass site pathogen and soil data from Namibia, 2010-2021: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9TDAY91.	January 2023
Data Release	Inzalaco, H. N., and Lichtenberg, S. S., 2023, Real-time quaking-induced conversion assay data for membrane-fed ticks and wild-fed tick and deer tissues from hunter harvested white-tailed deer from Wisconsin, 2021: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9CAMSWN.	March 2022
Data Release	Inzalaco, H. N., and Lichtenberg, S. S., 2023, Real-time quaking-induced conversion assay data for membrane-fed ticks and wild-fed tick and deer tissues from hunter harvested white-tailed deer from Wisconsin, 2021: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9CAMSWN.	January 2023
Data Release	Gilbertson, M.L., Turner, W.C., and Storm, D., 2022, White-tailed deer necropsy data from Wisconsin, 2017-2021: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9BXKOI2	January 2023

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Wisconsin Wildlife Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Wisconsin Wildlife Research Activities

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Wisconsin Wildlife
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources