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Gary L. Pearson

Publications and source records attributed to Gary L. Pearson.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1997

Population and movement characteristics of radio-collared striped skunks in North Dakota during an epizootic of rabies

We observed a total of 102 striped skunks ( Mephitis mephitis ) from March to July of both 1991 and 1992 in Stutsman County, North Dakota (USA) during an experiment with food supplementation. Twenty-three apparently healthy skunks in 1991 and 56 in 1992 were equipped with radio-collars. In 1991, one of the 23 was tested and found to be rabid. In 1992, 50 of 56 were tested; 35 (70%) were rabid. Of skunks with ages estimated, 19 (66%) of 29 were first year animals in 1991 compared with nine (22%) of 41 first year animals in 1992. All 18 females captured in 1991 were pregnant or parous compared with 21 (60%) of 35 in 1992. The estimated survival rate of skunks was 0.85 during April to June 1991, but only 0.17 during April to July 1992. In 1992, the survival rate of first year skunks was 0.08, compared with 0.35 for older animals. Eleven (31%) of 36 skunks found dead of rabies or in late clinical stage were located below ground. We detected no differences in 1992 between healthy and rabid skunks in estimated mean (±SE) rate of travel (232 ± 14 m/hr), distance traveled (2,047 ± 141 m/night), or home range size (1.6 ± 0.4 km 2 ) during half-month periods from April through June. Among rabid skunks, mean rate of travel tended to decrease from 298 ± 48 m/hr during the 14 days preceding the clinical period of rabies (pre-clinical) to 174 ± 48 m/hr during the clinical period of rabies (14 days immediately before death). Similar decrease occurred in distance traveled in a night (2,318 ± 281 m, pre-clinical; 1,497 ± 281 m, clinical). Mean home range size of males (2.8 ± 0.4) was greater than of females (1.2 ± 0.4) during the pre-clinical period, but during the clinical period home range sizes of males (1.8 ± 0.4) and females (1.8 ± 0.4) were similar. Mean home range size of females did not differ between pre-clinical (1.2 ± 0.4) and clinical (1.8 ± 0.4) periods ( P = 0.22). Deaths of skunks from rabies in 1992 tended to be more spatially clumped than expected had they been random, mostly due to deaths detected before 8 May. We detected no correlation between locations of animals found dead of rabies and dates of death.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases↗
USGSDate not supplied

Perspectives on the diagnosis, epizootiology, and control of the 1973 duck plague epizootic in wild waterfowl at Lake Andes, South Dakota

An epizootic of duck plague occurred in early 1973 in a population of 163,500 wild waterfowl, primarily mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), wintering on Lake Andes and the nearby Missouri River in southeastern South Dakota (USA). The diagnosis was based on pathologic lesions and confirmed by virus isolation. Control measures included quarantine, attempts to reduce virus contamination of the area, dispersal of waterfowl, and monitoring of wild waterfowl populations for mortality. The epizootic resulted in documented mortality of 18% and estimated mortality of 26% of the waterfowl at risk. Prompt implementation of control measures might have limited mortality to approximately 8%. Losses during the epizootic were equivalent to 0.12% of the annual mortality in the North American 1996 fall population of 80,000,000 wild ducks. The most likely sources of the infection were free-flying wild mallard or American black duck (Anas rubripes) carriers from the upper midwestern or northeastern United States. Duck plague serum neutralization antibodies were demonstrated in 31% of 395 apparently healthy mallards sampled prior to dispersal of the flock at Lake Andes, suggesting that tens of thousands of potential duck plague carriers entered the wild waterfowl populations of all four major flyways. Consequently, the absence of major epizootics of duck plague in wild waterfowl in the subsequent two decades is evidence that substantial numbers of duck plague carriers can occur in wild waterfowl populations without resulting in epizootic mortalities. The failure to isolate duck plague virus from apparently healthy mallards sampled during the epizootic raises questions concerning the validity of conclusions regarding the status of duck plague in wild waterfowl based upon negative results of random surveys conducted in the absence of epizootics. © Wildlife Disease Association 1997.

South Dakota↗