Using wild-animal tracking for detecting and managing disease outbreaks.

Zoonotic diseases increasingly threaten human and wildlife populations, driving a global rise in mass-mortality outbreaks, including the ongoing avian influenza panzootic in wildlife and zoonotic spillovers such as the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in humans. We introduce a new general framework for detecting and managing pathogen outbreaks using animal movement and sensory biologging data to enhance early outbreak detection, provide near-real-time updates on sentinel host health and mortality, and reveal infection-induced behavioral changes. Integrating past and near-real-time biologging with disease surveillance data also enables prospective assessments of spatiotemporal outbreak dynamics, informs management decisions, helps to mitigate spillover risks, and supports both disease control and wildlife conservation.

Social, environmental, and developmental factors affect the microbiota of barn owls (Tyto alba) in a cross-fostering experiment.

Background: Species host diverse microbial communities that can impact their digestion and health, which has led to much interest in understanding the factors that influence their microbiota. We studied the developmental, environmental, and social factors that influence the microbiota of nestling barn owls (Tyto alba) through a partial cross-fostering experiment that manipulated the social and nest environment of the nestlings. We then examined the nestling microbiota before and three weeks after the exchange of nestlings between nests, along with the microbiota of the adults at the nest and nestlings in unmanipulated nests.

Roles of host and environment in shift of primary anthrax host species in Kruger National Park.

Environmental and climatic factors, as well as host demographics and behaviour, significantly influence the exposure of herbivorous mammalian hosts to pathogens such as Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. Until the early 1990s in Kruger National Park (KNP), kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) was the host species most affected by anthrax, with outbreaks occurring predominantly in the dry season, particularly during drought cycles. However, the most affected host species has shifted to impala (Aepyceros melampus), with more frequent anthrax outbreaks during the wet season.

Comparing microbiological and molecular diagnostic tools for the surveillance of anthrax.

The diagnosis of anthrax, a zoonotic disease caused by Bacillus anthracis can be complicated by detection of closely related species. Conventional diagnosis of anthrax involves microscopy, culture identification of bacterial colonies and molecular detection. Genetic markers used are often virulence gene targets such as B.

High-throughput rapid amplicon sequencing for multilocus sequence typing of from archived clinical DNA samples.

Introduction: Spillover events of have devastating effects on the wild sheep populations. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is used to monitor spillover events and the spread of between the sheep populations. Most studies involving the typing of have used Sanger sequencing.

Conserved sequence features in intracellular domains of viral spike proteins.

Viral spike proteins mutate frequently, but conserved features within these proteins often have functional importance and can inform development of anti-viral therapies which circumvent the effects of viral sequence mutations. Through analysis of large numbers of viral spike protein sequences from several viral families, we found highly (>99%) conserved patterns within their intracellular domains. The patterns generally consist of one or more basic amino acids (arginine or lysine) adjacent to a cysteine, many of which are known to undergo acylation.

Unveiling the microbial realm with VEBA 2.0: a modular bioinformatics suite for end-to-end genome-resolved prokaryotic, (micro)eukaryotic and viral multi-omics from either short- or long-read sequencing.

The microbiome is a complex community of microorganisms, encompassing prokaryotic (bacterial and archaeal), eukaryotic, and viral entities. This microbial ensemble plays a pivotal role in influencing the health and productivity of diverse ecosystems while shaping the web of life. However, many software suites developed to study microbiomes analyze only the prokaryotic community and provide limited to no support for viruses and microeukaryotes.

Unveiling the Microbial Realm with VEBA 2.0: A modular bioinformatics suite for end-to-end genome-resolved prokaryotic, (micro)eukaryotic, and viral multi-omics from either short- or long-read sequencing.

The microbiome is a complex community of microorganisms, encompassing prokaryotic (bacterial and archaeal), eukaryotic, and viral entities. This microbial ensemble plays a pivotal role in influencing the health and productivity of diverse ecosystems while shaping the web of life. However, many software suites developed to study microbiomes analyze only the prokaryotic community and provide limited to no support for viruses and microeukaryotes.

Cranes soar on thermal updrafts behind cold fronts as they migrate across the sea.

Thermal soaring conditions above the sea have long been assumed absent or too weak for terrestrial migrating birds, forcing obligate soarers to take long detours and avoid sea-crossing, and facultative soarers to cross exclusively by costly flapping flight. Thus, while atmospheric convection does develop at sea and is used by some seabirds, it has been largely ignored in avian migration research. Here, we provide direct evidence for routine thermal soaring over open sea in the common crane, the heaviest facultative soarer known among terrestrial migrating birds.

Variation in herbivore space use: comparing two savanna ecosystems with different anthrax outbreak patterns in southern Africa.

Background: The distribution of resources can affect animal range sizes, which in turn may alter infectious disease dynamics in heterogenous environments. The risk of pathogen exposure or the spatial extent of outbreaks may vary with host range size. This study examined the range sizes of herbivorous anthrax host species in two ecosystems and relationships between spatial movement behavior and patterns of disease outbreaks for a multi-host environmentally transmitted pathogen.

Development of conjugated secondary antibodies for wildlife disease surveillance.

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 the evidence of disease occurs below detection thresholds for passive surveillance. Primary binding assays, like the indirect ELISA for antibody detection in wildlife, are hampered by a lack of species-specific conjugates.

The persistence of time: the lifespan of Bacillus anthracis spores in environmental reservoirs.

Anthrax is a lethal bacterial zoonosis primarily affecting herbivorous wildlife and livestock. Upon host death Bacillus anthracis vegetative cells form spores capable of surviving for years in soil. Anthrax transmission requires host exposure to large spore doses.

Linking migration and microbiota at a major stopover site in a long-distance avian migrant.

Migration is one of the most physical and energetically demanding periods in an individual bird's life. The composition of the bird's gut or cloacal microbiota can temporarily change during migration, likely due to differences in diets, habitats and other environmental conditions experienced en route. However, how physiological condition, migratory patterns, and other drivers interact to affect microbiota composition of migratory birds is still unclear.

Comparing invasive and noninvasive faecal sampling in wildlife microbiome studies: A case study on wild common cranes.

In ecological and conservation studies, responsible researchers strive to obtain rich data while minimizing disturbance to wildlife and ecosystems. We assessed if samples collected noninvasively can be used for faecal microbiome research, comparing microbiota of noninvasively collected faecal samples to those collected from trapped common cranes at the same sites over the same periods. We found significant differences in faecal microbial composition (alpha and beta diversity), which likely did not result from noninvasive sample exposure to soil contaminants, as assessed by comparing bacterial oxygen use profiles.

PATHOGEN SURVEY AND PREDICTORS OF LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISEASE VIRUS INFECTION IN WILD TURKEYS (MELEAGRIS GALLOPAVO).

Growing populations of Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) may result in increased disease transmission among wildlife and spillover to poultry. Lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) is an avian retrovirus that is widespread in Wild Turkeys of eastern North America, and infections may influence mortality and parasite co-infections. We aimed to identify individual and spatial risk factors of LPDV in Maine's Wild Turkeys.

First detection of avian influenza subtype H4N6 in Israel in a wild mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).

Avian influenza viruses (AIV) are a worldwide threat to animal and human health. As wild waterfowl circulate and spread these viruses around the world, investigations of AIV prevalence in wild populations are critical for understanding pathogen transmission, as well as predicting disease outbreaks in domestic animals and humans. Surveillance efforts in this study have isolated H4N6 for the first time in Israel from a faecal sample of a wild mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).

Immunological Evidence of Variation in Exposure and Immune Response to in Herbivores of Kruger and Etosha National Parks.

Exposure and immunity to generalist pathogens differ among host species and vary across spatial scales. Anthrax, caused by a multi-host bacterial pathogen, , 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 () in KNP and plains zebra () in ENP) is only a minor host in the other.

PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF ANAPLASMA INFECTIONS IN EASTERN MOOSE (ALCES ALCES AMERICANA) AND WINTER TICKS (DERMACENTOR ALBIPICTUS) IN MAINE, USA.

Eastern moose (Alces alces americana) are heavily parasitized by winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus), the dominant cause of increased calf mortality in the northeastern US. Although much work has focused on the direct negative effects of winter tick on moose, it remains unknown whether diseases transmitted by ticks may also affect moose health or pose a risk to other species. We explored the role that moose and winter ticks play in transmission of the tick-borne bacterial pathogens, Anaplasma spp.

The roles of antimicrobial resistance, phage diversity, isolation source and selection in shaping the genomic architecture of .

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.

Drivers of change and stability in the gut microbiota of an omnivorous avian migrant exposed to artificial food supplementation.

Human activities shape resources available to wild animals, impacting diet and probably altering their microbiota and overall health. We examined drivers shaping microbiota profiles of common cranes (Grus grus) in agricultural habitats by comparing gut microbiota and crane movement patterns (GPS-tracking) over three periods of their migratory cycle, and by analysing the effect of artificially supplemented food provided as part of a crane-agriculture management programme. We sampled faecal droppings in Russia (nonsupplemented, premigration) and in Israel in late autumn (nonsupplemented, postmigration) and winter (supplemented and nonsupplemented, wintering).

The roles of environmental variation and parasite survival in virulence-transmission relationships.

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.

Disease or drought: environmental fluctuations release zebra from a potential pathogen-triggered ecological trap.

When a transmission hotspot for an environmentally persistent pathogen establishes in otherwise high-quality habitat, the disease may exert a strong impact on a host population. 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 spatio-temporal patterns in anthrax mortalities in a plains zebra () population in Etosha National Park, Namibia, incorporating remote-sensing and host telemetry data.