Effects of grazing strategy on facultative grassland bird nesting on native grassland pastures of the Mid-South USA.

Understanding how livestock grazing strategies of native warm season grasses (NWSG) can impact facultative grassland bird nesting can provide insight for conservation efforts. We compared pre and post treatment effects of rotational grazing (ROT) and patch-burn grazing (PBG) for facultative grassland bird species nest success and nest-site selection on NWSG pastures at three Mid-South research sites. We established 14, 9.

Rapid Discovery and Detection of through the Use of Passive Surveillance and Collaboration: Building a State Tick-Surveillance Network.

Between March 2019 and February 2020, Asian long-horned ticks ( Neumann, 1901) were discovered and collected for the first time in one middle and seven eastern Tennessee counties, facilitated by a newly developed passive and collaborative tick-surveillance network. Network collaborators included federal, state, county, university, and private resource personnel working with companion animals, livestock, and wildlife. Specimens were collected primarily from dogs and cattle, with initial detections of female adult stage ticks by stakeholders associated with parasitology positions (e.

Common Cutaneous Bacteria Isolated from Snakes Inhibit Growth of Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola.

There is increasing concern regarding potential impacts of snake fungal disease (SFD), caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Oo), on free-ranging snake populations in the eastern USA. The snake cutaneous microbiome likely serves as the first line of defense against Oo and other pathogens; however, little is known about microbial associations in snakes. The objective of this study was to better define the composition and immune function of the snake cutaneous microbiome.

Environmental investigation following the first human case of babesiosis in Tennessee.

Babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne zoonotic disease in the United States caused by Babesia parasites. In 2009, the first case of babesiosis was documented in Tennessee. Environmental investigation at the reported site of tick exposure included collection of ticks and specimens from eastern cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) and white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) that were tested for piroplasms by molecular and serologic methods.

Enteric helminths of juvenile and adult wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in eastern Kansas.

Viscera of 49 wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) collected in the spring of 2001 and 23 wild turkeys collected in the fall and winter of 2001-02 from 12 counties in eastern Kansas were examined for enteric helminths. Four cestode species, two trematode species, one nematode species, and one acanthocephalan species were identified. Two cestode and two trematode species present in the spring sample also were present in the fall and winter sample.

Prevalence of mycoplasma antibodies in lesser prairie-chicken sera.

Serologic testing by the serum plate agglutination (SPA) procedure was performed to detect the presence of cross-reacting antibodies to Mycoplasma meleagridis, Mycoplasma synoviae, and Mycoplasma gallisepticum in lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) trapped over a 2-yr period in Finney and Kearny counties of southwestern Kansas. Sera examined from birds (n = 50) obtained in March-April 2000 tested positive for M meleagridis, M. synoviae, and M.