• Support PDP
  • About Us
  • Wild Prairie Dogs
  • City Prairie Dogs
  • Volunteer
  • Shop
  • History
  • PDP Documentation
  • Contact PDP

Prairie Dog Pals

Dedicated to the Preservation of Prairie Dogs and their Habitat

Burrowing Owls, Pulex irritans, and Plague.

April 22, 2017 by PDP

LinkedIn0
Twitter0
Facebook0
Google+0
Pinterest0

This message contains search results from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). Do not reply directly to this message

Sent on: Sat Apr 22 08:14:51 2017

1 selected item: 26367482

PubMed Results

Item 1 of 1    (Display the citation in PubMed)

1. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2015 Sep;15(9):556-64. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2015.1772. Epub 2015 Sep 14.

Belthoff JR1, Bernhardt SA2, Ball CL3, Gregg M4, Johnson DH5, Ketterling R6, Price E7, Tinker JK7.

Author information:

11 Department of Biological Sciences and Raptor Research Center, Boise State University , Boise, Idaho.22 Department of Biology, Utah State University , Logan, Utah.33 Idaho Bureau of Laboratories , Boise, Idaho.44 US Fish and Wildlife Service, Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex , Burbank, Washington.55 Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho and Global Owl Project , Alexandria, Virginia.66 Idaho Bureau of Laboratories and Idaho State University , Boise, Idaho.77 Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University , Boise, Idaho.

Abstract

Western Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) are small, ground-dwelling owls of western North America that frequent prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) towns and other grasslands. Because they rely on rodent prey and occupy burrows once or concurrently inhabited by fossorial mammals, the owls often harbor fleas. We examined the potential role of fleas found on burrowing owls in plague dynamics by evaluating prevalence of Yersinia pestis in fleas collected from burrowing owls and in owl blood. During 2012-2013, fleas and blood were collected from burrowing owls in portions of five states with endemic plague-Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and South Dakota. Fleas were enumerated, taxonomically identified, pooled by nest, and assayed for Y. pestis using culturing and molecular (PCR) approaches. Owl blood underwent serological analysis for plague antibodies and nested PCR for detection of Y. pestis. Of more than 4750 fleas collected from owls, Pulex irritans, a known plague vector in portions of its range, comprised more than 99.4%. However, diagnostic tests for Y. pestis of flea pools (culturing and PCR) and owl blood (PCR and serology) were negative. Thus, even though fleas were prevalent on burrowing owls and the potential for a relationship with burrowing owls as a phoretic host of infected fleas exists, we found no evidence of Y. pestis in sampled fleas or in owls that harbored them. We suggest that studies similar to those reported here during plague epizootics will be especially useful for confirming these results.

PMID: 26367482 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
Icon for Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Email this page
Print Friendly

News, Wildlife Tagged: Burrowing Owls, plague

Donate Now
Tweets by @CynomysRex

Categories

  • Conservation
  • Donate
  • Fun
  • How You Can Help
  • Information about Prairie Dogs
  • News
  • PDP Operations
  • Shop
  • Wildlife

Tags

artificial burrows behavior black-footed ferret black-tailed prairie dogs breeding Burrowing Owls burrows cage caps colonies Conservation disease ecology Endangered Species Act events feeding flushing fundraising gophers Gunnison habitat handouts hantavirus hibernation humane pest control keystone species landscape design language newsletter outreach owls photos plague poison Prairie Dog Coalition Prairie Dog Day predators rabies relocation Sevilleta shooting squirrels trapping videos volunteer white-tailed prairie dogs

Links

  • Albuquerque Pet Memorial Service
  • Animal Protection New Mexico
  • Animal Protection Voters
  • Bosque Farm Relocation Project
  • Great Plains Restoration Council
  • Midwest Prairie Dog Shelter
  • New Mexico House Rabbit Society
  • New Mexico Wilderness Alliance
  • Pathways: Wildlife Corridors of NM
  • Prairie Dog Coalition
  • Southwest Veterinary Medical Center
  • VCA Veterinary Hospital
  • Wild Earth Guardians

© Copyright 2015 PrairieDogPals.org | Help a Prairie Dog Today!