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Geology topics

J. C. Franson

Publications and source records attributed to J. C. Franson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1999

Chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides

Chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides (OCs) are diverse synthetic chemicals that belong to several groups, based on chemical structure. DDT is the best known of these insecticides. First synthesized in 1874, DDT remained obscure until its insecticidal properties became known in 1939, a discovery that earned a Nobel Prize in 1948. The means of synthesizing the cyclodiene group, the most toxic of the OCs, was discovered in 1928 and resulted in a Nobel Prize in 1950. The insecticidal properties of cyclodienes, which include aldrin, dieldrin, and endrin (Table 40.1), were discovered about 1945. OCs became widely used in the United States following World War II. Their primary uses included broad spectrum applications for agricultural crops and forestry and, to a lesser extent, human health protection by spraying to destroy mosquitoes and other potential disease carriers. These compounds also became widely used to combat insect carriers of domestic animal diseases.

Information and Technology Report↗
USGS1999

Chlamydiosis

Chlamydiosis refers to an infection with organisms of the genus Chlamydia sp., which are bacteria that live within animal cells. Chlamydia psittaci is the species generally associated with this disease in birds. The severity of the disease differs by the strain of C. psittaci and the susceptibility of different species of birds. As a result, chlamydiosis may range from an inapparent infection to a severe disease with high mortality. The organism is excreted in the feces and nasal discharges of infected birds and can remain infective for several months. Infection commonly occurs from inhaling the bacteria in airborne particles from feces or respiratory exudates. Because of the organism’s resistance to drying, infected bird feces at roosts are especially hazardous.

Information and Technology Report↗
USGS1999

Polychlorinated biphenyls

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are industrial compounds with multiple industrial and commercial uses (Table 41.1). PCBs are chemically inert and stable when heated. These properties contribute greatly to PCBs having become environmental contaminants. The chemical inertness and heat stability properties that make PCBs desirable for industry also protect them from destruction when the products in which they are used are discarded. These same properties also enable PCB residues to persist in the environment for long periods of time and to be transported worldwide when contaminated particulate matter travels through waters, precipitation, wind, and other physical forces. PCBs have a physical structure similar to DDT, and, like DDT, they are classified as aromatic hydrocarbons which contain one or more benzene rings. The presence of chlorine results in DDT, PCBs, and other compounds with similar structures commonly being referred to as chlorinated hydrocarbons. The toxicity of these compounds is associated with the amount of chlorine they contain. The trade name of Aroclor® for PCBs that were produced by a manufacturer in the United States contains a numerical designation that specifies the amount of chlorine present in a particular formulation. For example, Aroclor® 1221 contains 21 percent chlorine while Aroclor® 1254 contains 54 percent chlorine. The first two digits designate the number of carbons in the formulation. The chemical structure of PCBs results in the possibility of many different forms or isomers, (more commonly called congeners) of these compounds. PCBs in other countries have different trade names than Aroclor® (Table 41.2).

Information and Technology Report↗
USGS1999

Salt

Animals become victims of salt poisoning or toxicosis when toxic levels of sodium and chloride accumulate in the blood after they ingest large amounts of salt or, in some species, are deprived of water. For birds, salt sources may include saline water and road salt. Normally, the salt glands of birds (Fig. 47.1) excrete sodium and chloride to maintain the proper physiologic chemical balance. However, when there has been insufficient time for acclimation of the salt gland to the saline environment, or when salt gland function is compromised by exposure to certain pesticides or oil, the electrolyte balance of the blood may be upset by the excess sodium and chloride, resulting in toxicosis. Salt accumulation on the outside of the body, or salt encrustation, is a greater problem for waterbirds that use very saline waters than is salt toxicosis. Salt encrustation can lead to exertion, acute muscle degeneration, and eventual drowning during the struggle to escape entrapment.

Information and Technology Report↗
USGS1999

Disease control operations

Individual disease outbreaks have killed many thousands of animals on numerous occasions. Tens of thousands of migratory birds have died in single die-offs with as many as 1,000 birds succumbing in 1 day. The ability to successfully combat such explosive situations is highly dependent on the readiness of field personnel to deal with them. Because many disease agents can spread through wildlife populations very quickly, advance preparation is essential for preventing infected animals from spreading disease to additional species and locations. Carefully thought-out disease contingency plans should be developed as practical working documents for field personnel and updated as necessary. Well-designed plans can prove invaluable in minimizing wildlife losses and the costs associated with disease control activities. Although requirements for disease control operations vary and must be tailored to each situation, all disease contingency planning involves general concepts and basic biological information. This chapter, which is intended to be a practical guide, identifies the major activities and needs of disease control operations, and relates them to disease contingency planning.

Information and Technology Report↗
USGS1999

Intestinal coccidiosis

Coccidia are a complex and diverse group of protozoan (single-celled organisms) parasites; the coccidia group contains many species, most of which do not cause clinical disease. In birds, most disease-causing or pathogenic forms of coccidia parasites belong to the genus Eimeria. Coccidia usually invade the intestinal tract, but some invade other organs, such as the liver and kidney (see Chapter 27). Clinical illness caused by infection with these parasites is referred to as coccidiosis, but their presence without disease is called coccidiasis. In most cases, a bird that is infected by coccidia will develop immunity from disease and it will recover unless it is reinfected. The occurrence of disease depends, in part, upon the number of host cells that are destroyed by the juvenile form of the parasite, and this is moderated by many factors. Severely infected birds may die very quickly. Often, tissue damage to the bird’s intestine results in interrupted feeding; disruption of digestive processes or nutrient absorption; dehydration; anemia; and increased susceptibility to other disease agents. In cranes, coccidia that normally inhabit the intestine sometimes become widely distributed throughout the body. The resulting disease, disseminated visceral coccidiosis (DVC) of cranes, is characterized by nodules, or granulomas, on the surface of organs and tissues that contain developmental stages of the parasite. Collectively, coccidia are important parasites of domestic animals, but, because each coccidia species has a preference for parasitizing a particular bird species and because of the self-limiting nature of most infections, coccidiosis in freeranging birds has not been of great concern. However, habitat losses that concentrate bird populations and the increasing numbers of captive-reared birds that are released into the wild enhance the potential for problems with coccidiosis.

Information and Technology Report↗
USGS1999

Specimen collection and preservation

Specimens are used to provide supporting information leading to the diagnosis of a cause of disease or death. A specimen may be an intact carcass, tissues removed from carcasses, parasites, ingested food, feces, or environmental samples. The specimen should be as fresh and undamaged as possible.

Information and Technology Report↗
USGS1999

Recording and submitting specimen history data

History can be defined as a chronological record of significant events. In wildlife disease investigations, determining the history or background of a problem is the first significant step toward establishing a diagnosis. The diagnostic process is often greatly expedited by a thorough history accompanying specimens submitted for laboratory evaluation. This information is also important for understanding the natural history or epizootiology of disease outbreaks, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain the history after the outbreak has occurred. Detailed field observations during the course of a die-off and an investigation of significant events preceding it also provide valuable information on which to base corrective actions. The most helpful information is that which is obtained at the time of the die-off event by a perceptive observer.

Information and Technology Report↗
USGS1999

Specimen shipment

Procedures for shipping specimens vary with different disease diagnostic laboratories. Therefore, it is important to contact the receiving laboratory and obtain specific shipping instructions. This will facilitate processing of specimens when they reach the laboratory and assure that the quality of specimens is not compromised. Time spent on field investigation, specimen collection, and obtaining an adequate history will be of little value if specimens become contaminated, decomposed, or otherwise spoiled during shipping to the diagnostic laboratory. There are five important considerations for proper specimen shipment: (l) prevent cross-contamination from specimen to specimen, (2) prevent decomposition of the specimen, (3) prevent leakage of fluids, (4) preserve individual specimen identity, and (5) properly label the package. Basic supplies needed for specimen shipment are shown in Fig. 3.l.

Information and Technology Report↗
USGS1998

Lead poisoning and trace elements in common eiders Somateria mollissima from Finland

We collected carcasses of 52 common eider Somateria mollissima adults and ducklings and blood samples from 11 nesting eider hens in the Gulf of Finland near Helsinki in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Samples of liver tissue were analysed for arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium and zinc. Blood was analysed for lead, mercury and selenium. Most of the 21 adults examined at necropsy were emaciated with empty gizzards, and no ingested shotgun pellets or other metal were found in any of the birds. Three adult females had a combination of lesions and tissue lead residues characteristic of lead poisoning. Two of these birds had acid-fast intranuclear inclusion bodies in renal epithelial cells and high concentrations of lead (73.4 and 73.3 ppm; all liver residues reported on dry weight basis) in their livers. The third was emaciated with a liver lead concentration of 47.9 ppm. An adult male had a liver lead concentration of 81.7 ppm, which is consistent with severe clinical poisoning. Two other adults, one male and one female, had liver lead concentrations of 14.2 and 8.03 ppm, respectively. Lead concentrations in the blood of hens ranged from 0.11 to 0.63 ppm wet weight. Selenium residues of A?60 ppm were found in the livers of five adult males. Selenium concentrations in the blood of hens ranged from 1.18 to 3.39 ppm wet weight. Arsenic concentrations of 27.5-38.5 ppm were detected in the livers of four adult females. Detectable concentrations of selenium, mercury and molybdenum were found more frequently in the livers of adult males arriving on the breeding grounds than in incubating females, while the reverse was true for arsenic, lead and chromium. Mean concentrations of selenium, copper and molybdenum were higher in the livers of arriving males than in the livers of incubating hens, but hens had greater concentrations of iron and magnesium. Concentrations of trace elements were lower in the livers of ducklings than in the livers of adults.

Wildlife Biology↗
USGS1997

Diagnostic findings in the 1992 epornitic of neurotropic velogenic Newcastle disease in double-crested cormorants from the upper midwestern United States

Neurotropic velogenic Newcastle disease (NVND) occurred in juvenile double-crested cormorants, Phalacrocorax auritus , simultaneously in nesting colonies in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska and in Lakes Michigan, Superior, Huron, and Ontario during the summer of 1992. Mortality as high as 80%-90% was estimated in some of the nesting colonies. Clinical signs observed in 4- to -6 wk-old cormorants included torticollis, tremors, ataxia, curled toes, and paresis or weakness of legs, wings or both, which was sometimes unilateral. No significant mortality or unusual clinical signs were seen in adult cormorants. Necropsy of 88 cormorants yielded no consistent gross observations. Microscopic lesions in the brain and spinal cord were consistently present in all cormorants from which Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was isolated. Characteristic brain lesions provided rapid identification of new suspect sites of NVND. Lesions were also present in the heart, kidney, proventriculus, spleen, and pancreas but were less consistent or nonspecific. NDV was isolated at the National Wildlife Health Center from 27 of 93 cormorants tested. Virus was most frequently isolated from intestine or brain tissue of cormorants submitted within the first 4wk of the epornitic. Sera collected from cormorants with neurologic signs were consistently positive for NDV antibody.The NDV isolate from cormorants was characterized as NVND virus at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories Ames, Iowa. The NVND virus was also identified as the cause of neurologic disease in a North Dakota turkey flock during the summer of 1992. Although no virus was isolated from cormorants tested after the first month of submissions, brain and spinal cord lesions characteristic of NVND were observed in cormorants from affected sites for 2 mo, at which time nesting colonies dispersed and no more submissions were received. Risk to susceptible populations of both wild avian species and domestic poultry makes early recognition and confirmation of NVND in wild birds a priority.

Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota↗
USGS1997

Winter mortality of common loons in Florida coastal waters

Diagnostic findings are presented for 434 common loons (Gavia imrner) found sick or dead on Florida beaches from 1970 through 1994, primarily during the months of December to April. The most commonly recognized problem was an emaciation syndrome (66%), followed by oiling (18%), aspergillosis (7%), trauma (5%) and miscellaneous disease entities (1%). The cause-of-death for 3% of the birds was not determined. Many of the carcasses examined (n = 173) were obtained during an epizootic which occurred from January to March of 1983 in which more than 13,000 loons were estimated to have died. An emaciation syndrome, characterized by severe atrophy of pectoral muscles, loss of body fat and hemorrhagic enteritis, was the primary finding in this epizootic. It was postulated to have a complex etiologic basis involving synergistic effects and energy costs of migration, molting and replacement of flight feathers, food resource changes, salt-loading, intestinal parasitism, environmental contaminants, and inclement weather.

Florida↗
USGS1996

The efficacy of protoporphyrin as a predictive biomarker for lead exposure in canvasback ducks: effect of sample storage time

We used 363 blood samples collected from wild canvasback dueks ( Aythya valisineria ) at Catahoula Lake, Louisiana, U.S.A. to evaluate the effect of sample storage time on the efficacy of erythrocytic protoporphyrin as an indicator of lead exposure. The protoporphyrin concentration of each sample was determined by hematofluorometry within 5 min of blood collection and after refrigeration at 4 °C for 24 and 48 h. All samples were analyzed for lead by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Based on a blood lead concentration of ≥0.2 ppm wet weight as positive evidence for lead exposure, the protoporphyrin technique resulted in overall error rates of 29%, 20%, and 19% and false negative error rates of 47%, 29% and 25% when hematofluorometric determinations were made on blood at 5 min, 24 h, and 48 h, respectively. False positive error rates were less than 10% for all three measurement times. The accuracy of the 24-h erythrocytic protoporphyrin classification of blood samples as positive or negative for lead exposure was significantly greater than the 5-min classification, but no improvement in accuracy was gained when samples were tested at 48 h. The false negative errors were probably due, at least in part, to the lag time between lead exposure and the increase of blood protoporphyrin concentrations. False negatives resulted in an underestimation of the true number of canvasbacks exposed to lead, indicating that hematofluorometry provides a conservative estimate of lead exposure.

Louisiana↗
USGS1995

Heavy metals in seaducks and mussels from Misty Fjords National Monument in southeast Alaska

Quartz Hill, in Misty Fjords National Monument near Ketchikan, Alaska, is the site of a proposed molybdenum-producing mine. To provide baseline data for use in post-development comparisons, we analyzed tissues of Barrow's goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica), common mergansers (Mergus merganser), and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) for seven heavy metals that could potentially be released into the environment as a result of mining operations. Specimens were collected in 1980, 1981, and 1982 from two fjords likely to be used for discharge of tailings from the proposed mine and from two control fjords. Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, molybdenum, lead, and zinc were measured in soft tissues of mussels and in kidney, liver, and muscle of birds. The highest mean concentrations of metals found in bird tissues were 55.7 ppm dry weight cadmium in kidneys and 154 ppm dry weight zinc in livers of Barrow's goldeneyes. Concentrations of several metals in blue mussels differed among seasons and locations, but the most significant finding in mussels was a maximum mean cadmium concentration of 9.6 ppm dry weight, a level higher than normally found in undisturbed areas. With the exception of 104 ppm dry weight cadmium in the kidney of one common merganser and 12.7 ppm dry weight lead in the kidney of another, concentrations of other metals in seaduck and mussel tissues were low, consistent with what would be expected for a pre-development environment. Molybdenum was found in low concentrations ( 10 ppm dry weight) in all avian kidney samples and most liver samples, but was not detected in blue mussels.

Alaska↗
USGS1994

Prevalence of eustrongylidosis in wading birds from colonies in California, Texas, and Rhode Island, USA

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) and Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) nestlings from colonies in Texas, Rhode Island, and California and Great Egret (Casmerodius albus) nestlings from Texas were examined for eustrongylidosis, or infection by the parasitic nematode Eustrongylides spp. In 31% (24/77) of all broods examined, at least one nestling was infected. Snowy Egret broods from Texas were more frequently (100%) infected than those from California (20%) or Rhode Island (10%), and the prevalence of eustrongylidosis in 5- and 10-day-old Snowy Egret nestlings was higher in the Texas colony than the other two. Within the Texas colony, the frequency of eustrongylidosis was greater for Snowy Egret (100%) and Great Egret (80%) broods than for Black-crowned Night-Heron broods (12.5%). Also in Texas, eustrongylidosis was more frequent in 5-day-old Snowy Egret nestlings than 5-day-old Black-crowned Night-Heron or Great Egret nestlings, and in 10-day-old Snowy Egret nestlings than in 10-day-old Black-crowned Night-Heron nestlings. Eustrongylides spp. caused perforations of the gastrointestinal tract and peritonitis, particularly in Snowy Egrets.

California, Rhode Island, Texas↗
USGS1988

Septicemic pasteurellosis in elk (Cervus elaphus) on the United States National Elk Refuge, Wyoming

Septicemic pasteurellosis caused by Pasteurella multocida is believed responsible for the deaths of 48 elk (Cervus elaphus) on the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming (USA) during 1986 and 1987. Clinical signs included depression and salivation; necropsy findings included congestion and petechial and ecchymotic hemorrhages in lymph nodes, diaphragm, lungs and endocardium. Pasteurella multocida was isolated from femur marrow of eight carcasses and a variety of tissues from eight others.

Wyoming↗