Do Something Wild!
Keystone Wild! Notes
Fall 2012 Edition
Amphibian Diseases on the Rise:
Check out
this issue:
It’s Not Easy Being Green
by Greg Czarnecki, WRCP Director
Cover Story: Amphibian
Diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The WRCP Board . . . . . . . . 2
From the Editor's Desk. . . . 3
Our Changing Climate:
Record Arctic Ice Loss. . . . 4
Cover Story continued . . . .5
Eastern Hellbender
Salamanders . . . . . . . . . . . .6
WRCP Grants in Action:
PA Farmland Raptor Project . . 9
A Slow and Certain Death:
Chronic Wasting Disease. .11
Avian Botulism . . . . . . . . . 13
Wild! Watch: White Nose
Syndrome Update. . . . . . . 14
Rabies: A Semi Success
Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Wild! Words:
Animal Afflictions. . . . . . . 20
WRCPeople:
Roger Latham, Ph.D. . . . . 22
Weed It and Reap:
Jimsonweed. . . . . . . . . . . .24
t's a tough time to be a frog, or
a salamander, or pretty much
any kind of amphibian. When
you have a permeable, highly
sensitive skin, which you use to breathe,
regulate fluid levels and maintain optimum
body temperature, and you are exposed to
many environmental stressors, it can make
for a tough day.
I
Worldwide about a
third of the 6,300
known amphibian
species are
threatened,
according to the
International Union
for the Conservation
of Nature (IUCN),
and 168 species
have gone extinct
over the past two
decades. In
addition to the
causes mentioned
above, emerging
infectious diseases (ones that are newly
discovered, expanding their geographic
range, affecting more species or becoming
more prevalent) are increasingly playing a
role in amphibian declines. Two of those
Wild! Buys . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
diseases, one caused by a virus and the
other a fungus, are especially troubling.
Ranavirus affects many types of ectothermic
vertebrates, including fish, reptiles and
amphibians. Ecotherms are species that rely
on an outside source of heat, like sunlight, to
maintain their body temperature and sustain
an appropriate metabolic rate. The first
large scale mortality events associated with
ranavirus were
observed in the
1980s, and today it's
been reported on
every continent
except Antarctica.
In the U.S.,
according to the
United States
Geologic Survey,
die-offs from
ranavirus have
occurred in more
than 25 states and
impacted more than
20 species, including 16 species of frogs, six
types of salamander, one species of toad and
one type of turtle. Twenty-two of
Pennsylvania's amphibian species are known
to be at risk, but thus far it's only been
detected in one population of spotted newts.
article continues on page 5
Wild Resource Conservation Program
400 Market Street, 6th floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717)783-1639
Visit us at www.dcnr.state.pa.us/wrcp
Administered by the
PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
in cooperation with the PA Game Commission and
PA Fish & Boat Commission
Keystone Wild! Notes 1
Pennsylvania
Wild Resource Conservation Program
Do Something Wild!
Tom Corbett, Governor
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Richard J. Allan, Secretary
Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
Greg Czarnecki, Executive Director
Wild Resource Conservation Program
Wild Resource
Conservation Board
Honorable Richard J. Allan
Secretary, Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
Honorable John Arway
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission
Honorable Carl Roe
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Game Commission
Senator Mary Jo White, Majority Chairman
Pennsylvania
Wild Resource
Conservation
Program
Advisory Committee
J. Merlin Benner
Dr. Cynthia Morton
Wellsboro
Pittsburgh
Dr. Timothy Block
Mark Pennell
Philadelphia
Carlisle
Dr. Roger Latham
Dr. Sarah Sargent
Rose Valley
Meadville
Nate McKelvie
Lebanon
Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee
Senator John T. Yudichak, Minority Chairman
Senate Environmental Resources and & Energy Committee
Rep. Scott E. Hutchinson, Majority Chairman
House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee
Rep. Camille George, Minority Chairman
Keystone WILD! Notes
400 Market Street, 6th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17101
717-787-3212
Website: www.dcnr.state.pa.us/wrcp
Jessica Sprajcar, Editor
Design/Layout, DEP Graphics
House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee
Keystone Wild! Notes is the official online publication of the
Pennsylvania Wild Resource Conservation Program. Its goal is to inform
people about the activities of the program, which supports research and
protection efforts for the state’s natural heritage—its unique collection
of native nongame animals and wild plants. The program is funded by
the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
and by public contributions: voluntary checkoffs on the state income
tax return form, direct donations or the purchase of the Wild Resource license plate. If you have comments about Keystone
WILD! Notes, please send them to The Editor, Wild Resource Conservation Program, 400 Market Street, 6th floor, Harrisburg,
PA 17101 or e-mail to [email protected]. To subscribe, go to www.dcnr.state.pa.us/wrcp/subscribe.html and enter
your e-mail address.
Do Something Wild!
Keystone
Wild! Notes
Keystone Wild! Notes 2
From the Editor’s Desk
by Jessica Sprajcar, Editor of Keystone Wild!Notes
H
ow do you put together an issue full of stories about animals dying
without getting totally bummed out? It's very difficult, let me tell you!
Reading Greg Czarnecki's articles on amphibian diseases and avian botulism, as well
as Heidi Mullendore's update on white nose syndrome in bats, and writing my own
article about chronic wasting disease, left me feeling a little bit hopeless. Sure, the
article on rabies has a small silver lining, but what about all the other zoonotic
illnesses in the world?
What kept me going through the process of writing and editing this issue was the
knowledge that there are thousands of people out there researching these and other
diseases, searching for answers and cures. The Wild Resource Conservation Program
is helping to fund some of those researchers. Their findings will help protect native
Pennsylvania wildlife and the habitats in which they live.
Editor Jessica Sprajcar
is an Ecological Program
Specialist in DCNR’s Bureau
of Forestry, Conservation
Science and Ecological
Resources Division
Plus it was fun learning about hellbenders and Roger Latham's passion for serpentine
barrens. All is not gloom and doom in this issue. I hope you learn a lot from this
issue of Keystone Wild!Notes and will pass it on to your friends and colleagues.
Thanks for reading!
2013 WRCP Calendar
is Now Online!
Looking for a colorful way to track the days?
Look no further than the 2013 WRCP calendar.
This year's theme is native plants and the
pollinators that love them. Each month you'll
see a photo of a beautiful native wildflower
and learn which insect, bird and mammal
species use them for food. From the red
cardinal flower to the orange butterfly
milkweed, each plant is unique and important.
Download and print out this free 12-month
calendar on our website.
Keystone Wild! Notes 3
T
his hasn't been a good
year for ice. From the
Arctic to mountain-top glaciers,
ice has been melting at a record
rate nearly everywhere on the
planet. Particularly noteworthy
was what happened on
September 16. That was the
day arctic sea ice reached the
lowest recorded extent since
satellite monitoring began
in 1979.
On that day only half as much
ice covered the top of the world
as did just over a decade ago.
An area twice the size of
Alaska—well over a million
square miles—went from
reflecting the sun's energy back
into space to absorbing it and
converting it into heat (known
as the Albedo Effect).
And it wasn't an anomaly; the
six lowest recorded seasonal ice
minimums have occurred in the
last six years. The previous
record low was set in 2007, a
year that was slightly warmer
than this year. How can it be
that an area of ice the size of
Texas, which remained frozen in
2007, melted this summer? It's
because the ice is changing.
There are two types of sea ice.
Seasonal ice forms in the winter
and melts in the summer. Multiyear ice, as the name implies,
persists for many years and is
significantly thicker than its
seasonal counterpart.
According to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), during
the mid-1980s, 75 percent of
the ice present in March, when
the ice pack reaches its
maximum extent, was multiyear
2012—Record Arctic
Ice Loss
by Greg Czarnecki
Director of the Wild Resource Conservation Program
This year ice has been melting at a
record rate nearly everywhere on Earth.
(Photo: Matthew Strausser, U.S. FWS)
These images show minimum arctic sea
ice coverage in 1979 (left) and 2012
(right). (Images: NASA)
Most of Antarctica's ice occurs on land.
Only a small fraction is sea ice, unlike
in the Arctic. (Photo: NASA)
ice. Today that number has
fallen to 45 percent! On top of
that, the multi-year ice is
rapidly thinning, making it more
susceptible to melting. To see
how the ice has changed, check
out this animation from NOAA.
So what does the future hold
for arctic sea ice? Just a few
years ago scientists were
predicting that the worse-case
scenario was an ice-free arctic
within 30 years. Based on the
speed with which the ice is now
thinning and disappearing, they
now estimate that could occur
within a decade.
Now let's look at Antarctica.
The total amount of ice in
Antarctica is truly staggering. It
contains 85 percent of the
world's ice, accounting for more
than 60 percent of the world’s
freshwater. Unlike the arctic,
where the ice is formed from
and floats on sea water, most of
Antarctica's ice occurs on land,
with a relatively small
percentage being sea ice.
While the sea ice has been
expanding slightly, about one
percent every year, the landbased glacial ice has been
melting at the rate of 14.5
gigatons per year! And unlike
sea ice, which doesn't add
volume to sea water as it melts,
melting glacial ice contributes to
sea level rise.
So while the two icecaps may
be reacting to climate change in
different ways, the bottom line
is the same—a significant net
loss of polar ice that is
increasing each year as the
climate changes.
Keystone Wild! Notes 4
Cover Story “Amphibian Viruses”
continued...
While the virus can affect these species at any stage of their life, it's the larval stages
that are most at-risk. Young salamanders and tadpoles with the disease are often
lethargic, swim in circles and have buoyancy problems. Infected individuals are easy to
identify by the red patches on their underside caused by hemorrhages beneath their
skin.
Tadpoles affected by
ranavirus will display red
patches of infected skin and
may swim in circles or have
trouble staying afloat. (Photo:
Scott Farnsworth, Maryland DNR)
When the virus appears in a wetland or pond it will spread rapidly. Within a one to five
day period many of the amphibians will begin showing symptoms and mortality can
reach 90 percent. In some cases only one species within the wetland will be affected,
while in others all or most of the amphibian species will succumb. There is no
treatment for the disease, so prevention is key.
There are a number of ways that the virus can be transmitted. Infected animals can
transmit the virus from one wetland or pond to another either by natural movement or
by fishermen using the animals as bait. Ranavirus can also be spread by contaminated
water, from a parent to its offspring, or through ingestion of contaminated individuals.
There are two species that can be carriers of the disease while not showing any
symptoms. One is the North American bullfrog, which is both a common wetland
species and also raised commercially and shipped around the world as food (i.e. frog
legs). The other is the African clawed frog, which is widely available in pet stores and
also used for scientific research. To prevent the spread of ranavirus it's important to
avoid moving amphibians from one wetland or pond to another, never release pet
amphibians into the wild and avoid moving water from infected wetlands and ponds.
The African clawed frog, a
carrier of ranavirus, is
popular in the pet trade.
When people release these
animals into the wild, the
disease can spread to native
frog species.
(Photo: Wikipedia)
North American bullfrogs
are carriers of both
chytridiomycosis and ranavirus.
The commercial trade in frog
legs for food is one reason for
the pathogen’s spread.
(Photo: Andrew Shiels, FBC)
A more recently detected emerging infectious disease, and a potentially more
devastating one, is chytridiomycosis. According to Lee Francis Skerratt and colleagues
at James Cook University in Australia, “The global emergence and spread of the
pathogenic, virulent and highly transmissible fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis,
resulting in the disease chytridiomycosis, has caused the decline or extinction of up to
200 species of frogs . . . The impact of chytridiomycosis on frogs is the most spectacular
loss of biodiversity due to disease in recorded history.”
The disease is spread in a number of different ways, including exportation of frogs for
food, their use as bait or in the pet trade, in contaminated water, and even inadvertently
during the export of produce. By some estimates as many as 50,000 frogs stow away in
produce (usually bananas) every year. As with the ranavirus, the North American
bullfrog is a carrier of the disease. One study showed that 62 percent of commerciallytraded bullfrogs carried the fungus.
The pathogen, an aquatic fungus that swims using a flagellum, infects skin cells that
contain the protein keratin. Eventually the animal's skin thickens and sloughs off. As
the disease progresses the animal loses its ability to regulate osmotic pressure (which
keeps the animal's internal fluids at optimum levels) and dies from cardiac arrest.
Symptoms of infection include tadpoles with unpigmented areas around their mouths,
lethargy and adult frogs with their hind legs extended in an awkward posture. To
positively identify the infection, tissue samples must be examined for fungal spores in
the keratinized skin cells.
Once the fungus enters a water body, it spreads rapidly. In an outbreak in Panama in
2004, more than half of the amphibian species were extirpated within six months, and
the populations of the remaining species declined as much as 80 percent. Unfortunately,
like ranavirus, chytridiomycosis has no cure and is found on every continent except
Antarctica. In Pennsylvania the disease has only been found in hellbenders living in the
Allegheny and Susquehanna watersheds, as well as in some newts.
Chytridiomycosis is caused by
a fungus. Infected frogs
become lethargic, extend their
hind legs in an awkward
position, and eventually die.
(Photo: University of California –
Riverside)
While these two diseases have not caused widespread mortality in Pennsylvania, they're
probably much more common than we realize. In order to better understand their
geographic distribution and develop preventative measures, these diseases were listed
as one of the research priorities in this year's WRCP grant solicitation.
Much of the information for this article came from amphibiaweb.org, which has more
information on both of these diseases and how they're impacting amphibians worldwide.
Check out the site to lean more.
Keystone Wild! Notes 5
Eastern Hellbender:
Salamanders of a Special Size
by Eric J. Chapman – Director of Aquatic Science, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy,
Ryan Miller – Zoologist, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy,
and Alysha Trexler – Watershed Scientist, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
E
astern hellbenders are an amazing
species of amphibian that can live for a
very long time—up to 50 years. They are a testament
to how important water quality is to the long-term
health of a stream. If a stream has adult hellbenders
thriving in it, it has a history of stable water quality.
In addition to being long lived, hellbenders have
evolved specific predation habits, which focus almost
exclusively on crayfish. In winter, when crayfish
become less active, hellbenders will feed on several
minnow species and hellgrammites—a large aquatic
insect. A common misconception is that hellbenders
feed on gamefish, specifically young trout, which is
not true. Recent studies have actually shown that
stocked trout actively feed upon young hellbenders,
potentially causing lower recruitment in hellbender
populations.
Pennsylvania Academic Standards
that apply to this article:
4.1.10.A. – Examine the effects of limiting factors
in population dynamics.
4.1.12.A. – Analyze the significance of biological
diversity in an ecosystem.
4.1.10.E. – Analyze how humans influence the
patterns of natural changes in ecosystems over
time.
4.2.3.C. – Identify plants and animals that live in
lakes, streams and wetlands.
4.2.10.C – Explain the relationship between water
quality and the diversity of life in a freshwater
ecosystem.
4.5.4. and 7.C. – Describe and explain how human
activities affect the health of the environment.
4.5.3.D. – Identify organisms that are dependent
on one another in a given ecosystem.
Pennsylvania lies within the Ohio, Allegheny and
Susquehanna watersheds, with most animals being
found in tributaries to these large systems due to water
quality issues and habitat degradation. The Western
Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) has been focusing
research efforts on hellbender population distributions
within the Allegheny National Forest in northwestern
Pennsylvania. This much-needed research was funded,
in part, by the Wild Resource Conservation Program, and
without this welcomed funding, our research efforts
would be limited in breadth and scope.
Hellbenders require clean water to thrive. The
Allegheny River watershed is home to a large
population of these large salamanders.
Eastern hellbenders, which can grow to 30 inches in
length, are the largest salamander species found in
the United States. Hellbenders are a totally aquatic
species that inhabit large streams and rivers
throughout the state. Their distribution in
The Allegheny River watershed contains some of the
highest population densities of hellbenders in the United
States. As a result of survey efforts in 2011 and 2012,
hellbenders were found in four previously unknown
locations, which add greatly to our knowledge of this
reclusive animal's distribution in Pennsylvania.
WPC is spearheading efforts to study and protect the
Eastern hellbender salamander by working with partners
to ascertain the status of this elusive salamander in
Keystone Wild! Notes 6
Eastern Hellbender: Salamanders of a Special Size continued...
western Pennsylvania. WPC is collaborating with the
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium to document
population dynamics, the Smithsonian National
Zoological Park to examine stress levels in hellbender
blood, Purdue University to study regional population
genetics, and Clarion University to test hellbenders for
Chytrid fungus, which has been decimating other
amphibians worldwide. In addition to academic
partners, numerous volunteers representing eight
organizations aided survey efforts for a total of over
526 hours of volunteer survey time. Besides
documenting hellbender locations, WPC is protecting
and improving the quality of streams that harbor the
hellbender. Protection efforts include streambank
stabilization projects, dirt and gravel road
improvements, and riparian buffer plantings.
Hellbenders are difficult to survey for several reasons.
First, hellbenders require excellent water quality in
order to survive and reproduce, and finding the ideal
habitat is a challenge within itself. Habitat loss due to
Second, hellbenders live under large, heavy rocks that
require numerous people to lift (think car hood size).
When a suitable rock is identified, the team of searchers
positions themselves around the rock, where anywhere
from two to five people lift. A couple of people place big
nets on the sides of the rock while searchers reach under
the raised rock to grasp blindly for the hellbender.
When a hellbender is captured, researchers
take measurements of weight, length and
gender, as well as a physical sample for
genetic analysis.
Lastly, catching an 18-inch long hellbender living under
said large rock is similar to blindly trying to grab a slimy
wet water balloon covered with mucus, while
underwater—definitely a learned skill and not for the
squeamish. So, there is a certain amount of human
error that contributes to capture success rates.
It takes many strong hands to lift the rocks
under which hellbenders can be found.
dams, poor agricultural practices, heavy logging,
abandoned mine drainage, and sedimentation from
dirt and gravel roads has greatly reduced hellbender
populations. The number of streams that
hellbenders are currently found in Pennsylvania is
unknown. Historically, hellbenders were found in
many locations that, today, are in varying stages of
recovery from human-caused disturbance. For
example, the Conemaugh River in Cambria County in
the early 1900s was ideal for habitat and had a large
number of hellbenders, but is now degraded by acid
mine drainage and has only small isolated
populations.
Data collected from the hellbenders include weight,
length, gender and notes on overall physical appearance.
The animals are also swabbed for bacteria and fungi, and
a physical sample is taken for genetic analysis. This
information is shared among the partners, as well as
entered into the state's Scientific Collectors database.
When the animals are done being studied they are
returned to the exact rock under which they were found.
Rock data, including size measurements, is recorded to
aid future habitat studies. No correlations were found
between hellbender size and rock size—sometimes the
largest hellbenders were found under small rocks.
All of the locations where WPC staff has encountered
hellbenders have been compiled and entered into the
Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program database. This
information is painting a range-wide picture for the
Keystone Wild! Notes 7
Eastern Hellbender: Salamanders of a Special Size continued...
hellbender in Pennsylvania. Eventually, all of the
aforementioned data could contribute to a
Pennsylvania hellbender protection and recovery plan.
amphibians. Unlike macroinvertebrates and fish species,
hellbenders have a long reproductive cycle and take
years to reach sexual maturity. The more that can be
learned about the hellbender, including its life cycle and
habitat needs, the more that can be done to protect this
important indicator species. Western Pennsylvania
Conservancy, local, state and federal partners, and
volunteers are all assisting with the collection of
information that can contribute to the well being and
protection of this salamander of a special size.
Hellbenders and other amphibians, in general, are
often used as bioindicators due to their inability to
tolerate contaminants due to the fact that they
breathe through their very porous skin. If a pollution
event has occurred, some of the first species to
disappear from an aquatic system are the
Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
The Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) is a member of NatureServe, an international network
of natural heritage programs that gather and provide information on the location and status of important
ecological resources (plants, vertebrates, invertebrates, natural communities and geologic features). Its
purpose is to provide current, reliable, objective information to help inform environmental decisions. PNHP
information can be used to guide conservation work and land-use planning, ensuring the maximum
“Information for the
conservation benefit with the minimum cost. To learn more about what we do, and about species of special
Conservation of Biodiversity” concern, visit us on the web at Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program.
PNHP
Answers to Wild! Words Puzzle on page 20.
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Keystone Wild! Notes 8
WRCP Grants in Action:
The PA Farmland Raptor Project
by Jessica Sprajcar
Ecological Program Specialist for DCNR
s I walked across a fallow farm field in
Lancaster County, a shadow racing across
the ground made me glance skyward.
Soaring high over my head was a Northern harrier
(Circus cyaneus). The Northern harrier is a longwinged and long-tailed raptor of open grasslands and
marshes. A friend to farmers, this bird of prey feeds on
a variety of small animals, especially mice. While these
birds provide many benefits to farmers, their numbers
are dwindling. Our friends at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
have created a new program - the PA Farmland
Raptor Project – to protect Northern harriers and their
grassland raptor brethren.
A
The Northern
harrier is a long-
Pennsylvania Academic Standards
that apply to this article:
4.1.4.A – Explain how living things are dependent
upon other living and nonliving things.
4.1.7.A – Describe the relationship between biotic
and abiotic components of an ecosystem.
4.1.12.A – Analyze the significance of biological
diversity in an ecosystem.
4.4.10.B – Analyze the effects of agriculture on
society's economy, environment, etc.
4.5.3.D – Identify organisms that are dependent on
one another in a given ecosystem.
4.5.6.D – Identify reasons why organisms become
threatened, endangered and extinct.
4.5.10.D – Research practices that impact
biodiversity in specific ecosystems.
American kestrels
are one of four
winged raptor of
grassland raptors
open grasslands
being helped through
and marshes.
Harriers benefit
farmers by eating
the PA Farmland
Raptor Project.
(Photo: Greg Czarnecki)
pests like mice.
(Photo: Sarah
Nystrom, NPS)
Grassland raptors like the Northern harrier, barn owl
(Tyto alba), American kestrel (Falco sparverius) and
short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) all benefit agricultural
areas by preying on mice, voles and insects. For
instance, a family of barn owls can consume up to 3,000
rodents during one breeding season! However, all
except the kestrel show widespread, long-term decline
across the state. Grassland and farmland habitat loss is
the number one reason for the decline, although
changes in farming practices and the increased use of
pesticides have also made their mark.
To educate the agricultural community about the
importance of these birds, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary,
with support from the Wild Resource Conservation
Program, developed the PA Farmland Raptor Project.
The goal of the program is to “engage private
landowners to help conserve farmland raptors and to
learn more about these birds and their distribution.”
Hawk Mountain is also encouraging landowners to
improve or enhance suitable habitat to increase the
populations of these grassland raptors.
Keystone Wild! Notes 9
WRCP Grants in Action: The PA Farmland Raptor Project continued...
Landowners who notice any of these species on their
property can fill out a simple form and submit their
observations to Hawk Mountain. Sanctuary staff will
then compile sightings and nesting locations into a
database to provide them with important information on
significant breeding and wintering sites across the state.
To become a part of the project, fill out the online form
at http://www.hawkmountain.org/farmland-raptorinformation/raptor-farmland~farmlandSightings.aspx.
You can also download and print out a paper version of
the form from the Hawk Mountain website.
Short-eared owls are
endangered in
Pennsylvania and
rare across the U.S.,
due in part to habitat
loss. (Photo: Fish and
Wildlife Service)
Haven't seen any grassland raptors on your property? Is
there anything you can do to encourage more grassland
raptors to use your land for nesting and feeding? Yes!
Both the American kestrel and barn owl are cavity
nesters, building their nests in dead trees, holes in
buildings or within man-made nest boxes. Hawk
Mountain provides nest box building instructions on their
website. Click here to download the instructions.
Barn owls are
cavity nesters.
They will nest in
hollow trees,
barns or manmade nest boxes.
(Photo:
Joe Kosack, PGC)
Short-eared owls and Northern harriers, on the other
hand, nest on the ground. They require large expanses
of undisturbed grasslands in order to successfully fledge
their young. There are several cash incentives for
landowners who set aside and improve some of their
land for these birds, including the Conservation Reserve
Enhancement Program (CREP). Check with your local
conservation district to see if there are any programs
specific to your county.
If you have young children, download a copy of the
Grassland Raptor Coloring Book here. Kids will get
to learn about each of the four raptors, then color them
in. It's never too early for children to gain an
appreciation for the natural world.
So whether you already have grassland raptors on your
property or want to attract them, the PA Farmland
Raptor Project can help you out. When you improve
habitat for these species, they will help you out with
pest control. It's a win-win scenario!
Grassland Raptor Profiles
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Barn owls are medium-sized, with a tawny, spotted back
and white heart-shaped face. They are classified as near
threatened and a species of greatest conservation need in
Pennsylvania. Loss of barns and removal of standing dead
trees has reduced their cavity-nesting habitat, and changes
in farming practices have caused a decline in meadow vole
populations, upon which the owls feed.
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Also known as the sparrow hawk or killy hawk, these small
falcons are no larger than a blue jay. The male has bluegray wings and cap, with a reddish-colored back. The
female's back is also reddish but her wings have black bars.
Like barn owls, kestrels build their nests in cavities. They
are common raptors in Pennsylvania but have shown a
decline over the last 10 years, especially in the south.
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
This is a medium-sized but slender owl with a mottled
brown back and pale, streaked breast. It gets its name
from the small ear tufts on its head. These ground nesters
need open fields in excess of 100 acres for potential
breeding habitat. Short-eared owls are listed as
endangered in Pennsylvania and uncommon across the U.S.
The last Breeding Bird Atlas records found only a few nests
in the state.
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Also known as the marsh hawk, this ground nesting raptor
has long wings and a long tail. The male has a pale or
white belly with a light gray back and head. The female is
brown with a lighter, brown-streaked breast. Both the male
and female have an owl-shaped head. Northern harriers
are listed as a species of special concern in Pennsylvania.
Loss of wetlands and open fields due to development and
changes in farming practices have led to this bird's recent
population declines.
Keystone Wild! Notes 10
A Slow and Certain Death: Chronic Wasting Disease
by Jessica Sprajcar, Ecological Program Specialist for DCNR
abies, white-nose syndrome, avian botulism:
these are all animal maladies that are present
within Pennsylvania. Chronic wasting disease
(CWD), until just a few weeks ago, was not found in the
state, but now this is issue could affect deer and elk in
Pennsylvania.
R
CWD is contagious among four species of cervids
(hoofed mammals): mule deer, white-tailed deer, moose
and elk. CWD is a spongiform encephalopathy similar to
scrapie in domestic sheep and goats and mad cow
disease in cattle. For the past 30-odd years scientists
have known that it exists in wild mule deer populations
in the western half of the U.S., including Wyoming,
Colorado and Nebraska. The disease first appeared in
the east in West Virginia, New York, Virginia and
Maryland between 2010 and 2011—right on our
doorstep. In October 2012, CWD was discovered in
Adams County. To see a timeline of the disease's spread,
click here.
affected animals may exhibit any of the following
symptoms: a wide, unstable stance, head tremors,
head down and ears lowered, staggering or falling.
Jessica
Sprajcar
Even though the sick animal Editor
continues
to eat
it will
is an Ecological
Program
gradually lose body mass. Excessive
drinking
and
Specialist in DCNR’s Bureau
urinating are common symptoms
of late stage
of Forestry, Conservation
infections due to lesions in the
animal's
brain. Once
Science and Ecological
Resources
Division
CWD reaches the terminal stage the animal may also
show excessive drooling. At this point death is
inevitable, however, given the word “chronic,” these
final symptoms could last a few days to as long as a
year. As the animal continues to get sicker and
sicker, it sheds more and more of the protein,
increasing the chances of other animals becoming
infected.
Infected animals, like
this elk at Rocky
Mountain National
Park in Colorado,
droop their head and
loose significant
Hoofed mammals like elk
and white-tailed deer are
susceptible to chronic
wasting disease.
(Photo: Hal Korber, PGC)
CWD is spread from one animal to another via a
protease resistant protein, also known as a prion, that
can be found in infected animal saliva, fecal matter and
decomposing carcasses. The protein is very stable in the
environment, allowing animals to become infected
months or years after the infected animal was in the
area. This makes eradication of CWD difficult, if not
impossible.
CWD can affect both young and old animals, but usually
affects those three to five years of age. The incubation
period is usually a year or two. In the early stages
amounts of body fat.
(Photo: NPS)
These symptoms alone cannot definitely diagnose CWD,
however. Currently the only way to be sure an animal is
infected is to examine the medulla oblongata portion of
the brain for lesions or the accumulation of the CWDassociated protein in the brain and lymph nodes.
Therefore an animal must die or be killed in order to
obtain a diagnosis.
There is no treatment for animals affected with CWD,
and no vaccine to prevent its spread. Once the
symptoms become apparent, the animal will die. When
CWD appears on game farms, management options are
limited to quarantining or putting down the affected
animals. Experience has shown that even after a farm
has been cleaned up, residual contamination by the
protein that causes CWD is still possible. No one is
certain if contaminated environments can ever be
completely disinfected. Unexposed animals should
therefore be kept out of previously contaminated areas.
Keystone Wild! Notes 11
“A Slow and Certain Death: Chronic Wasting Disease” continued...
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has
developed a Herd Certification Program for cervid farms
in the state to ensure they stay CWD-free. Herds that
complete five years of the program are certified. More
than 1,100 herds representing 23,000 animals
participate in this mandatory program. To view the
state's “Chronic Wasting Disease Response Plan for
2011,” click here.
Managing CWD in natural areas is more difficult, as the
animals are difficult to monitor and their habitats are
spread out. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has
been actively searching for CWD in hunter-killed deer
since 1998. They test close to 4,000 hunter-harvested
deer annually and all hunter-harvested elk.
What can you do to help stop the spread of CWD? If
you are a hunter of deer or elk, do not shoot, handle or
consume any animal that appears sick. Wear gloves
while dressing game and wash your hands and
instruments thoroughly after field dressing. Also
minimize exposure to the animal's head and spinal
tissue, which would harbor the greatest risk of prion
contamination. Have your animal processed within the
state where it was hunted and do not consume high-risk
body parts. If you see a deer or elk that exhibits the
symptoms of CWD within Pennsylvania, do not kill it or
approach it. Contact your local Game Commission office
to report it.
If you hunt deer or elk, be sure to follow
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is
actively searching for CWD among deer
the appropriate cleaning guidelines.
(photo: Joe Kosack, PGC)
harvested within the state.
(Photo: Joe Kosack, PGC)
While no CWD-infected deer have been found in the wild
in Pennsylvania, in the fall of 2012 a captive-born and
raised deer on a farm in Adams County tested positive
for CWD. As a result, the Game Commission created a
600-square-mile disease management area in Adams
and York counties, which carries special restrictions in
relation to all deer in that area. Hunters within that area
are prohibited from moving high-risk deer parts outside
the area, hunters who get a deer during rifle season are
required to bring their deer to a mandatory check
station for sample collection, and hunters are banned
from using deer attractants in the area to prevent
possibly-infected animals from congregating in large
groups. To learn more about this disease management
area and what the Game Commission is doing to contain
the disease, visit their website at www.pgc.state.pa.us.
Chronic wasting disease affects not just the hunting
community, but all Pennsylvania residents. According to
Dr. David Zellner, epizootiologist with the PA Department
of Agriculture, “All Pennsylvania citizens should be
concerned because it (CWD) can affect the local wild
deer populations to the point that they could find thin,
dead deer, creating general discomfort from seeing ill
animals, and an increase in deer/automobile accidents.”
Therefore everyone should do their part to ensure that
this dangerous disease does not spread throughout our
state.
The information for this article was obtained through the
Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance, the Pennsylvania Game
Commission, and from Dr. David Zellner, Epizootiology
Programs Manager for the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture.
Keystone Wild! Notes 12
Avian Botulism
by Greg Czarnecki, Director of the Wild Resource Conservation Program
otulism. The word used to terrify me as a child,
because of news stories about people dying
after eating canned mushrooms that had been
contaminated with the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. The
bacterium produces a toxin so deadly that one gram is
enough to kill a million people!
B
Most kids growing up today have probably never heard of
botulism. The Clostridium bacteria is still commonly found
in soil and aquatic sediments around the world, but modern
medicine and food processing technology have nearly
eliminated widespread outbreaks. In fact, the neurotoxin
produced by Type A botulism is now commonly used by
Hollywood stars and people trying to reverse the effects of
aging—it's called Botox.
Avian botulism is caused by
the bacterium Clostridium
botulinum.
(Photo: www.en.wikipedia.org)
Human botulism is relatively uncommon now, with only 145
cases reported annually in the U.S. according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but cases of
avian botulism, which is a paralytic disease that affects
primarily waterfowl, shorebirds, colonial water birds, gulls
and loons, are increasing.
The bacteria that causes avian botulism occurs in soil and
sediments as a spore: a dormant state that is resistant to
environmental extremes and that can last for years. When
conditions are right—high temperatures, decaying plant and
animal matter, and no oxygen (anaerobic)—the bacteria
become active and produce a neurotoxin.
Rather than occurring as isolated cases, avian botulism
generally occurs as an outbreak in areas where birds
congregate, such as nesting, resting or roosting areas. The
birds either ingest the toxin directly while feeding or eat
invertebrates, such as fly larva, which have concentrated
levels of the toxin in their bodies from eating decomposing
material.
The toxin prevents nerve impulses from reaching the bird's
muscles, with one of the first symptoms being an inability
to fly. As the disease progresses the animal loses control of
its neck muscles (giving rise to the alternative name of
“limberneck disease”) and is likely to drown. If the bird
manages to survive beyond this stage it will eventually die
from respiratory failure or predation.
Outbreaks of avian botulism have occurred throughout the
U.S. and are most common from July to September. The
number of birds affected can range from thousands to as
Birds that are affected by avian
botulism lose control of their neck
muscles, leading to drowning or
respiratory failure.
(Photo: Dan Tallman)
many as a million in a large outbreak. Here in Pennsylvania
the disease occurs most often along the Lake Erie
shoreline, probably as a result of fish die-offs. The
affliction first appeared in the Great Lakes in the 1960s,
likely a result of excess nutrient pollution. As pollution
control laws were enacted and the waters became cleaner,
avian botulism became less common.
It began to reappear, however, in the 1990s. Some
hypothesize that the introduction of three invasive species zebra mussel, quagga mussel and round goby fish—led to
the resurgence. Mussels are filter feeders and the toxin
concentrates within their flesh. The birds then ingest the
toxin by either eating the mussels or eating round gobies
that ate the mussels.
Some believe that the introduction of invasive
species like zebra and quagga mussels and round
gobies have led to an increase in cases of avian
botulism. (Photos: www.invasive.org)
In addition to the possible influence of invasive species,
other factors may be increasing the occurrence of the
disease. A study published by the Journal of Great Lakes
Research last year reported that outbreaks of type E avian
botulism occurred most frequently in years with low water
levels and above average surface water temperatures. Since
climate change scenarios for the Great Lakes predict lower
water levels and warmer temperatures, the frequency and
magnitude of type E botulism outbreaks in the Great Lakes
may increase.
Avian botulism doesn't pose a threat to humans unless they
eat an infected bird or a fish that wasn't cooked properly.
To prevent the spread of the disease it is critical to remove
and dispose of dead birds to break the cycle of transmission.
To learn more about avian botulism or report dead or dying
birds exhibiting the disease's symptoms, contact PA Sea
Grant or the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Keystone Wild! Notes 13
ild!Watch
by
Heidi Mullendore
Environmental
Education Specialist at
Canoe Creek State Park
Update on White Nose Syndrome
he sky fades to indigo earlier now. Each year
the slide into autumn seems to catch me by
surprise. The night air has a chill that tells
me the first frost is coming soon. I watch as two bats
wheel across the sky, claiming their share of insects;
the moths and beetles will soon be gone as frost hits
and greenery gives way to the cold season.
T
Pennsylvania Academic Standards that
apply to this article:
In years past I used to watch hundreds of bats in the
darkening sky. My daughter and I would lie on our
backs to watch the winged insectivores twisting and
whirling in search of bugs. Now I am lucky if I see
three bats on a given night. Friends from all over
Pennsylvania are reporting the same thing—the bats
don't appear like they once did.
4.1.4.A – Explain how living things are dependent
upon other living and nonliving things.
4.1.7.A – Describe the relationship between biotic and
abiotic components of an ecosystem.
4.1.12.A – Analyze the significance of biological
diversity in an ecosystem.
4.5.3.D – Identify organisms that are dependent on
one another in a given ecosystem.
4.5.6.D – Identify reasons why organisms become
threatened, endangered and extinct.
Hundreds of bats
used to fill the sky
as they hunted for
insect prey. Now
thanks to WNS,
cave bats are in
serious trouble,
their numbers
diminished.
(Photo: USGS)
To say bats have had a hard time lately is an
understatement. Our bat population has been
devastated. Of Pennsylvania's nine bat species, six are
cave bats. The cave bats have been hit by White Nose
Syndrome (WNS), a fungus that has infected millions of
bat in their hibernation sites throughout the eastern
United States and Canada.
Recent Game Commission surveys of bat hibernacula
have shown a 99 percent decline in the northern longeared bat (now called the northern myotis), 98 percent
decline in tri-colored bat, and a 99 percent decline in
what until recently was the most common bat in the
Commonwealth, the little brown bat. With bats usually
only having one pup per year, some of our cave dwelling
bat species may not be able to recover and are facing
the real threat of extinction.
I shiver as I watch the figures of the two bats swirl high
overhead; they are survivors of what is called White
Nose Syndrome. WNS first reared its ugly head the
winter of 2006/07 when folks noticed dead and dying
bats outside a known hibernation site in New York state.
The fungus has spread quickly since, killing more than
5.5 million bats. As the devastation spread quickly just
in a few years, scientists realized they were dealing with
an epizootic disease. I had to haul my old Webster's
collegiate dictionary down off the shelf, to look up the
term epizootic: 'A disease attacking a large number of
animals simultaneously.' Such a drab description does
not invoke the reality of such a disease.
Keystone Wild! Notes 14
Wild Watch “Update on White Nose Syndrome” continued...
The little brown bat
The fungus that causes
was, up until recently,
WNS leaves fuzzy white
Pennsylvania's most
patches on the nose
common bat, but
and wings of a little
because of WNS,
brown bat.
there has been a 99
(Photo: Marvin Moriarty, NPS)
percent decline in its
(Photo: Cal Butchkoski, PGC)
population.
Just a year and a half ago, I stood in the snow in the
park where I work, looking on helplessly as bats lay
dead and dying at my feet. It was 2011 when we saw
WNS-afflicted bats emerging in February, starved and
searching in vain for insects. Dead bats were found
throughout the park, and there were a steady stream of
visitors reporting bats in their neighborhoods and
backyards while temperatures were in the 20s. At
hibernation sites, biologists reported seeing hundreds
and thousands of bats dead and dying at the entryways.
Crows and broad winged hawks feasted on the
gruesome and unexpected buffet.
So how does such an illness arise? WNS had humble
beginnings on another continent as a common soil
fungus. The spores of that fungus were carried to the
United States where scientists christened the strain as
Geomyces destructans. The fungus thrives in the
conditions at which bats hibernate. In caves, mines,
tunnels—where air is humid and temperatures are in the
40s—G. destructans reproduces and spreads quickly,
infecting the bats that hibernate there.
Looking back through bat survey reports on our
hibernation site, the numbers reflect the precipitous
spread of WNS. Years ago the old deep mine had been
fitted with a 'bat gate'—a series of horizontal steel bars
keeping people out while allowing bats to come and go.
With this protective gate the population had climbed
from 3,000 to 30,000 bats of six species. With the
arrival of WNS however, the population dropped from
30,000 to 15,000, and then to just over 200 bats, all in
under two years. Devastating, to say the least.
How does WNS wreak such deadly results? Hibernation
is the key. Bats are true hibernators; their body
temperature drops to that of the ambient temperature in
their hibernaculum. Their heart and respiration slows
significantly. Digestion has for the most part ceased. In
this state, bats can afford to live on the two grams of
stored fat that has to last them for winter. When bats
are in hibernation, it is crucial for them to find a
hibernation site that has fairly steady temperatures and
few interruptions from predators, since stress causes
bats to quickly use precious reserves of body fat.
Normally, hibernating bats may awaken every two weeks
on average, in unstressed conditions, but with WNS, the
fungus acts as an irritant, eating away at their skin.
Studies show bats with WNS are awakening on average
every four days in these stressed conditions. Bats
awakened by the fungus are leaving the cave, usually in
winter when the temperatures are freezing. The bats
are either depleting stored fat supplies because no bugs
are available to eat, or they are dying from dehydration.
More than half of 45 bat species in the U.S. rely on
hibernation for winter survival. Eleven cave hibernating
bats, including four endangered species, are already
affected by or are at risk from WNS.
Where I live and work, this past winter could hardly be
called winter. We had a few days after the New Year
when we had a skim of ice over the lake, but other than
that the ice fishermen were out of luck. Game
Commission biologists speculate this may have given our
few survivors of WNS a boost, since February and March
provided an unexpected advantage to the bats in terms
of temperature and insects, possibly helping them
survive until spring.
The evening news is full of West Nile virus stories now.
There are also reports of farmers who lost their hay
crops due to a plague of caterpillars. I'm guessing we're
just seeing the tip of the iceberg as insect populations
rise in the face of the severe decline in bat populations.
Initially it was hoped that the Appalachian Mountains
would provide a natural barrier in halting or slowing the
Keystone Wild! Notes 15
Wild Watch “Update on White Nose Syndrome” continued...
When bats are
Check out this
brief video of bats
leaving the “bat
church” at Canoe
Creek State Park.
(Video by Chet
Gottfried)
infected with WNS,
they wake up in the
middle of winter,
are unable to find
insects for food,
and perish. (Photo:
Nancy Heaslip, NY
progress of WNS westward. Sadly, that has proved to
be a false hope. WNS has been confirmed in Oklahoma
and Missouri, and is suspected in Iowa.
Scientists in Europe have confirmed the presence of the
G. destructans fungus in their hibernating bats.
However, the fungus does not irritate European bats like
it does in North America. Scientists believe that at some
point in the European bats’ history they were subjected
to the fungus but have evolved over a long time to live
with it.
One characteristic of an epizootic disease is that it is
new to the animals in an area. In this age of global
trade and travel, it is inevitable that more diseases of
such nature are popping up. Although WNS has killed
upwards of 5.5 million bats in the U.S. and Canada,
we're just seeing the beginning of the indirect effects
that increased insect populations will have on our
ecosystem and society. Epizootic diseases such as WNS
are just another reminder of how closely we are
intertwined with our environment. The two bats
wheeling high overhead in the darkening sky are among
the first survivors to pass their genes to the next
generation in the long battle in achieving balance with
WNS. It may take decades or even hundreds of years to
see bat populations rise again to what I remember from
past summer nights in Pennsylvania.
Heraclitus said “there is nothing permanent except
change.” Geomyces destructans is quietly spreading
across North America and will surely wipe out millions
more hibernating bats. We cannot seem to stop its
inevitable spread, but we can add to our store of
knowledge about the vectors of epizootic disease and
how to deal with such plagues. For now, as the bats
overhead catch their fill of insects, I can only hope the
tide has turned for the bats of the eastern U.S. Maybe
next summer we'll see a few more bats, the newly
minted survivors for whom WNS will be just a memory.
The colored counties are those
wheere white nose syndrome
has been found.
(Image: Game Commission)
Keystone Wild! Notes 16
Rabies: A Semi-Success Story
by Jessica Sprajcar, Ecological Program Specialist for DCNR
B
y now you have read about a variety of
illnesses that affect wild (and sometimes
domestic) animals, for many of which there is no vaccine
or cure. Thankfully not all the news is negative. Rabies
is one virus that we have a much better handle on
today, and that can be considered a semi-success story.
More than just about any other zoonotic affliction, rabies
is well known worldwide. We have heard the tales of
people being bitten by a rabid dog and had to get eight
or more shots to keep the sickness away. Most of us are
familiar with Old Yeller and Cujo, two famous fictional
dogs that contracted rabies and had to be put down.
One of my favorite movies as a kid was “The Goonies,”
and even that movie makes mention of rabies, albeit in
passing. Chuck Palahniuk, best known for his book
“Fight Club,” delves into the life of a fictional man who
knowingly transmits rabies to other people in the
entertaining, but highly unrealistic, book “Rant.”
Rabies appears
throughout pop
culture, including
films like “Cujo”
and “Old Yeller.”
(Image: Google Images)
Pop culture aside, rabies has a long history of negative
interactions with humankind and wildlife. For at least
four thousand years, until 1885 when Louis Pasteur
created a vaccination for the affliction, people lived in
fear of walking down the street on the chance that a
stray rabid dog might bite them. Publications warned
people not to let their beloved lap dog lick their face for
fear of contracting “the rage”. Stray dogs were killed by
the thousands throughout Europe and elsewhere to try
to keep the disease from spreading. Rabies meant a
death sentence for victims and perceived carriers alike,
and still does in much of the developing world. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that
worldwide, dog bites are still responsible for 90 percent
of human exposure to rabies and more than 99 percent
of human deaths attributed to rabies (roughly 55,000
people per year).
Rabies is caused by a virus that can attack the brain and
spinal cord of any mammal. There are two forms of the
illness: a “Furious” form and a “Paralytic” or “Dumb”
form. Animals may show signs of one type or progress
from one to the other. To complicate matters even
further, some animals will show no signs of rabies at all,
other than death. The Furious form is what popular
culture has honed in on: the aggression, loss of fear,
daytime activity by nocturnal animals, restlessness,
drooling and biting. The Dumb form causes animals to
move around less, stumble and act dull. An animal's jaw
may hang open, it might also drool, become paralyzed
and finally die. Both the Furious and Dumb forms of
rabies kill their victims.
The incubation period—the time from exposure to the
virus until the animal becomes sick and can infect
others—ranges from two weeks on average to one year,
although only in very rare cases does it take that long.
During the incubation period the animal will act normal
and cannot transmit rabies. It is prior to exposure, or
sometimes during the incubation period, that vaccination
may prevent the animal from developing the disease and
transmitting the virus. Once the virus reaches the brain
it also gets into the saliva of the animal and can be
spread through a direct bite from a contagious rabid
animal, a scratch from the animal that breaks the skin
(allowing the infectious saliva to enter the body) or
saliva from the animal contacting an open wound or part
of the body like the eyes, nose or mouth.
Keystone Wild! Notes 17
“Rabies: A Semi-Success Story” continued...
1989 when 702 cases of rabies were verified, more than
half of them in raccoons.
Once an animal is bitten by a rabid host, the virus
travels through the nervous system up the spinal
cord to the brain. The animal's saliva then becomes
infectious and the disease can continue to spread.
(Image: Indiana State Board of Animal Health)
In the late 1970s a rabies epidemic surged through the
Mid-Atlantic region. At least 11 states and D.C. were
affected. The culprit was not man's best friend,
however, it was Procyon lotor, the common raccoon.
How did rabid raccoons, until that point confined to
Florida and neighboring states, reach so far north?
People were to blame. In 1977, more than 3,500
raccoons were legally trapped in Florida and sent to
private hunting clubs in Virginia, where they inevitably
migrated into the wild. Within 30 years, rabid raccoons
could be found throughout the entire eastern U.S. as far
west as Ohio. The epidemic peaked in Pennsylvania in
Raccoons from Florida brought rabies to the
northeastern U.S. and beyond.
(Photo: Jake Dingel, PGC)
While the rabies virus can still be found in Pennsylvania
and the northeast it has become a much more
preventable and controllable disease than it was in the
1800s. Approved rabies vaccines exist for dogs, cats,
ferrets, horses, sheep, cattle and people (highly
recommended for veterinarians, animal handlers,
spelunkers and others with high exposure risk). Dr.
David Zellner, epizootiologist for the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture, said that “The fear that once
existed of rabies from 100 years ago has subsided
because of education of people and vaccination of
animals. Recent vaccinations of wild animals have
slowed the spread of rabies in some wildlife species,
with the attempt to reduce exposure to people and their
pets, leading to savings in health care costs and the
development of clinical cases.”
The disease was historically linked to dogs, but
according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, since 1975 roughly 80 percent of reported
cases of rabies were in wild animals, a third of which
were raccoons. Feral cats have taken over for dogs as
the domestic animal most commonly diagnosed with
rabies. In 2009, 57 of the 65 rabid domestic animals
reported in Pennsylvania were cats. That year rabies
was also found in dogs, cows and captive deer. Under
state law, dogs and cats must be vaccinated for rabies at
three months of age and vaccinations must be kept up
to date according to the vaccine manufacturer's
guidelines. If you have a mammalian pet or farm animal
for which there is not an approved rabies vaccine,
discuss your options with your veterinarian.
While rabid raccoons and cats are reported to U.S.
authorities the most of any animals, and while the
majority of human rabies cases worldwide are attributed
to dog bites, bats are the number one cause of human
rabies cases contracted in the U.S. One reason for this
is that bat bites are so small and may happen while the
person is sleeping, so people are not aware that they
have been in contact with a bat at all until the symptoms
of rabies start to appear. By then it is usually too late to
do anything about it.
Keystone Wild! Notes 18
“Rabies: A Semi-Success Story” continued...
The majority of
According to the
human rabies cases
USDA, the costs
in the U.S. are
associated with
attributed to bats,
mainly because
people may be
unaware that they
were bitten by a
rabies are
estimated to be
more than $300
million in the U.S.
alone. (Map: CDC)
bat until it is too
late. (Photo: PNHP)
In 2001, USDA Wildlife Services National Wildlife
Research Center started delivering oral rabies vaccine
hidden inside fish meal packets to wild raccoons. The
vaccination program runs from Maine through
Pennsylvania and West Virginia and as far south as
Alabama. Western Pennsylvania is home to the largest
baiting effort in an attempt to keep rabid raccoons from
spreading into western states. Research is also taking
place in Cleveland, Ohio to study how raccoon rabies
moves through an urban area to help develop a more
effective vaccination strategy to stop the westward
spread. Cases of reported rabies in the counties
bordering Ohio have dropped as a result of the program.
USDA researchers are also looking at ways to combine
contraceptives with the oral vaccine to curb raccoon
populations, an idea that worked well on dogs in Bali
during a rabies outbreak there in the early to mid 2000s.
Yet with all the successful efforts at controlling the
disease, rabies is still out there, so you should know
what to do if you encounter an animal that appears to
have rabies, or worse yet, if you are bitten by a
potentially rabid animal. In 2009, four people in the
U.S. contracted rabies; three died. The USDA estimates
that nearly 40,000 people are treated with postexposure rabies vaccines annually and the total public
health costs associated with rabies is $300 million a
year.
If you think you have been bitten, scratched or exposed
to the saliva of a rabid animal, it must be tested for
rabies. Unfortunately, like chronic wasting disease, the
animal must be euthanized in order to determine
whether or not it is infected. The Pennsylvania
Department of Health and Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture are responsible for testing the potentially
infected samples. If the animal cannot be captured for
testing (contact your local Game Commission office for
assistance is trapping the animal – do not approach it
yourself), prompt medical attention is required - the
vaccination must be given prior to the onset of any
rabies symptoms to be effective. If a pet or farm animal
is exposed to a rabid animal it must be quarantined for a
length of time that is determined by whether or not the
animal had been vaccinated for rabies. The
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture sets the
quarantine duration.
According to a new book by Bill Wasik and Monica
Murphy, Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most
Diabolical Virus, where much of the information for this
article came from, nearly 60 percent of new diseases are
zoonotic, meaning that they originate in non-human
animals but then can spread to people. Rabies is one
zoonotic disease that we have been able to understand
and take some control over. While it hasn't been
completely eradicated like small pox, and too many
people in the developing world still succumb to the
disease, the creation of a highly effective vaccine is no
small feat. The semi-success with rabies provides hope
that we can conquer other zoonotic diseases too.
Thanks go to two staff members at the PA Department
of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic
Services, for their assistance in reviewing this article:
Dr. David Zellner - Epizootiologist, and
Dr. Aliza Simeone, Veterinarian.
Keystone Wild! Notes 19
Animal Afflictions
ild!
1
2
3
4
5
6
8
7
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
DOWN
1. A fungal infection that typically occurs in pet
snakes and other reptiles, although some limited
infections in the wild have been observed.
(two words)
2. A viral disease with high mortality in ducks, geese
and swans. Migratory waterfowl spread the virus
through contaminated water bodies. (two words)
4. An emerging virus that affects amphibians and
reptiles. Suspected of causing major amphibian
die-offs worldwide.
5. A disease in fish caused by a parasite. The
neurological damage causes young fish to swim in
a corkscrew pattern, making them easy prey.
ACROSS
1. Also known as “parrot disease,” this infection
caused by bacteria is often found in pet birds but
also pigeons, ducks, gulls and other wild birds.
8. A non-native fungal syndrome in bats that leaves
fuzzy white blotches on their nose and ears and
is highly fatal. (two words)
9. This infectious disease of birds and occasionally
mammals is caused by the inhalation of fungi
spores. It affects the respiratory system.
10. This viral disease found in squirrels causes skin
tumors. The virus is related to myxomatosis,
which affects rabbits. (two words)
Puzzle continues on next page 8.
Keystone Wild! Notes 20
Animal Afflictions
ild!
DOWN continued...
ACROSS continued...
6. This infection is caused by breathing in fungal
spores, which affect the lungs. Domestic dogs
and cats as well as skunks, foxes, opossums and
other animals can be affected.
7. Caused by a protozoan parasite found in infected
water sources. Beavers are one known carrier of
the parasite, leading to its nickname,
“beaver fever.”
8. This disease causes swelling of the brain in birds,
horses and humans. It is spread by mosquitoes
and only recently arrived in Pennsylvania.
(two words)
11. Caused by a virus that attacks the brain and
spinal cord of mammals, including people. Two
forms exist: Furious and Dumb.
12. This disease is caused by an abnormal protein
called a prion. It causes a neurological disease
that affects white-tailed deer, elk and moose.
(two words)
13. A bacterial disease that primarily affects wild
muskrats and cottontail rabbits.
16. This tick-borne bacterial disease relies heavily on
white-footed mice and deer for its spread.
14. Caused by a strain of Salmonella bacteria, this is
an important disease of songbirds that congregate
at bird feeders.
15. This viral disease attacks wild and domestic birds.
This disease has caused major mortality events in
wild double-crested cormorants in the U.S.
17. An infectious disease of amphibians caused by a
fungus. This has been linked to dramatic
population declines of various amphibian species in
the Americas and beyond.
19. A viral disease that affects freshwater and marine
fish species, first identified in rainbow trout,
causing redness and a swollen abdomen.
(two words)
20. This infectious disease of domestic and wild birds
is caused by bacteria. One outbreak of this can kill
thousands of birds and symptoms can come on so
suddenly that dead birds may fall out of the sky.
(two words)
21. This disease, one of the world's oldest, is caused
by bacterial spores found in the soil. It can affect
many mammal species, including human, but birds
seem immune to its effects.
18. This skin disease of mammals is caused by a tiny
burrowing mite. Extreme hair loss can result.
Answer key located on page 8.
19. This disease, which can be fatal to humans, is
spread by the droppings of rodents like whitefooted mice. Pennsylvania has the most cases of
any state east of the Mississippi.
WRCP Videos Available Online
www.pacast.com.
00:00 l 00:00
Keystone Wild! Notes 21
eople
Roger Latham, Ph.D.
I
was born in Centre County, Pennsylvania—the youngest and only boy
of four kids—while my father was working on one of his degrees in
zoology and wildlife management at Penn State. By the time I was
seven years old, we had lived in Huntingdon, Perry and Centre counties as well
as a part of Allegheny County that was still rural. I was lucky enough to grow
up at a time—the 1950s and early '60s—when it was considered safe for a kid
to wander around in the woods and fields alone. I was also lucky to have a
dad who could answer most of my relentless questions about the natural world
and a mom who had the patience to let me roam and bring home muddy,
slithery or otherwise unhouse-trained finds from my expeditions.
I've had a series of environmentally related positions leading up to what I do
now, which is my dream job. I started out working for an environmental
planning firm near Pittsburgh, learning on the job by soaking up knowledge
from experts. In my nine years there I got to tramp the woods and fields of
federal, state and conservation land trust properties all over western and
central Pennsylvania, as well as parts of four bordering states, helping out with
ecological inventories and conservation management plans. That's when I fell
in love with the disciplines of ecology and conservation biology. At age 30, I
resumed my formal education at two Pennsylvania institutions: Swarthmore
College and the University of Pennsylvania.
Ecologist for
Continental Conservation
(Photo credit to Ed Cunicelli)
Before starting grad school I was lucky enough to spend two summers doing
rare plant survey work with Dr. Ann Rhoads as my mentor, exploring some of
Pennsylvania's most interesting ecosystems across 25 eastern and central
counties. Two years before completing my doctoral dissertation, I began the
first of three four-year job stints: first as Director of Science and Stewardship
for The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania, then as a post-doc leading a team
of two grad students and six undergrads conducting research on the
biogeochemistry and fire ecology of the Pocono glacial till barrens, and later
teaching ecology at Swarthmore College.
In 2000 I fulfilled a longtime dream by setting up my own consulting business
as an ecologist and conservation biologist. My clients have kept me busy ever
since then, including the National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy,
Natural Lands Trust, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Audubon,
Pennsylvania DCNR, and other agencies and organizations involved in wildland
restoration and management.
One of my most recent projects involves a desired condition analysis for the
1,400 acres of grasslands and meadows in Valley Forge National Historical Park.
I have also developed a restoration and adaptive management plan for the
Unionville Barrens (part of a nature preserve owned and managed by Natural
Lands Trust, where 70 acres of ancient serpentine grasslands full of imperiled
species had shrunk over the last half-century with fire exclusion to seven acres,
and a DCNR Wild Plant Sanctuary), and designed and implemented a long-term
monitoring program to track the effects of deer management on forest
ecosystem recovery and sustainability for a 200-acre college-owned forest
preserve. I love my work!
In my spare time I love native plant gardening, nature photography, birding,
botanizing (which is like birding but for plant nerds like me) and hiking in
interesting natural areas worldwide. Over the years I've developed a special
affinity for the various ecosystems in Pennsylvania that fall in the category of
“barrens.” The serpentine barrens of the southeast, glacial till barrens in the
northeast, limestone prairie remnants in the Great Valley and Ridge and Valley
regions, Appalachian shale barrens and pitch pine-scrub oak barrens in the
mountains, sandplain grasslands along Lake Erie's shore: I can't get enough of
article continues on next page
Keystone Wild! Notes 22
eople continued...
Roger Latham, Ph.D.
these hotbeds of rare plant and animal species and fascinating, unusual
scenery. Even though my grad school research was entirely focused on forest
ecology, more than half of my professional life has been spent trying to solve
the riddles of these barrens ecosystems or working to save them. And still, I
enjoy doing nothing better in my leisure time than sightseeing, photographing
and hiking in them.
Dr. Latham has spent more than
half his professional life studying
barrens. (Photos: Mary Ann Furedi;
PNHP (top), WPC (center), DCNR
(bottom))
I've been a fan of WRCP from its inception and a member of its Advisory
Committee since 2007. That means I get to review all of the grant proposals
each year and help evaluate their merits with other committee members, the
WRCP director and state conservation agency staff. As a research scientist
myself, I know first-hand how crucial this peer-review process is. Making good
decisions on how to allocate scarce funds for conservation-related research and
other activities supported by WRCP couldn't be more important. It's fun to
brainstorm with the rest of the evaluation panel. Each member brings a
different set of knowledge and experience to the table, and I always learn a lot
during our discussions as we work toward consensus.
WRCP is a key source of funding for research crucial to the conservation of
biodiversity in Pennsylvania. Wild!Notes readers should know that there are
very few other sources of money to conduct this very important research.
WRCP is also a conduit of information on biodiversity conservation issues of
concern to citizens and it provides funds to others to promote effective ways of
getting kids outdoors and making them aware of how vitally important
biodiversity conservation is to our health and well being. As Richard Louv
wrote in his book, Last Child in the Woods, “If we are going to save
environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered
indicator species: the child in nature.”
Follow us on Twitter!
The Wild Resource Conservation Program is tweeting about
important conservation-related topics like climate change
and habitat protection. Our Twitter feed will also be the first
place to find out about new Wild! Notes issues, our festivals
and other upcoming events. To become one of our
followers, go to Twitter and search for “PAWRCP.”
“Like” us on Facebook
WRCP has revamped our
Facebook page and we hope that
you “like” it. When you click on
the “like” button, you will become
a member of our online presence
and be the first to know about
upcoming events, publication
debuts and important news in the
world of WRCP and conservation.
So please find us on Facebook by
searching for “PA Wild Resource
Conservation Program”
and join our group.
Keystone Wild! Notes 23
Weed It & Reap
This is one “apple”
that you definitely
don't want to eat!
Weed It & Reap
Have You Seen This Weed?
Jimsonweed
Text and illustration by
Jessica Sprajcar
Ecological Program Specialist,
Department of Conservation &
Natural Resources
Bureau of Forestry
Conservation Science and
Ecological Resources Division
Jimsonweed
Aliases: Datura stramonium, devils' trumpet, thorn apple,
devil's apple, fireweed, Jamestown lily, mad apple, moonflower,
dewtry, stinkwort
Last Seen: Growing in pastures, roadsides, railroad
rights-of-way, disturbed areas and even people's yards in every
state except Alaska and Wyoming.
Description:
Jimsonweed can form dense
colonies, especially on cultivated
farm fields and other disturbed
soils. All plant parts are toxic,
making this one of PA's noxious
weeds. (Photo: Jan Samanek,
www.invasive.org).
This densely stemmed herb can grow up to
five feet tall and has large white funnel-shaped flowers that
bloom from May to September. Leaves are wavy, coarselyserrated and give off an unpleasant odor when bruised. The
prickly four-segmented seed pods burst open when ripe,
scattering numerous black kidney-shaped seeds.
This plant is on the Pennsylvania noxious weed list because all
parts of jimsonweed are poisonous to both people and animals.
It is therefore illegal to plant or transplant it. To control it, small
plants can be hand-pulled, while larger ones should be controlled
with an herbicide like glyphosate. For more information on this
noxious weed, go to:
http://www.naturalbiodiversity.org/biobullies/downloads/
Jimsonweed.pdf.
Keystone Wild! Notes 24
Use Order Form on Page 28
ild! Buys
Show Your
Wild Side!
SALE!—Many Items Limited—SALE!
COSMO'S WORLD T-SHIRTS
The WRCP logo is on the front (see above) and
Cosmo and Terra are on the back (at right). The
T-shirt is 100% cotton, pre-shrunk and available
in both Tangerine and Natural.
Children's sizes: M, L -- $15
X $10
Adult sizes: S, M, L -- $17
X $10
WRCP Logo Long-sleeved Faded Blue
Denim Shirt
Men's sizes: 3XL -- $25
X $20
Ladies' sizes: S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL -- $25
X $20
This 100% cotton shirt features double-needle
stitching and a button-down collar. WRCP logo
is embroidered above the patch pocket (no
pockets on ladies' shirt).
WRCP Logo T-shirt (Youth)
The WRCP logo is embroidered
on a 100% cotton T-shirt
available in Sand.
Youth sizes: S, M, L -- $10
X $5
Quantities of these
shirts are limited.
Quantities of these apparel
items are limited. Before
ordering, please call
Deb at 717-787-3212 or email
at [email protected] to make
sure that we have your size.
Keystone Wild! Notes 25
Use Order Form on Page 28
ild! Buys
Show Your
Wild Side!
PRICES
Colorful Embroidered
Patches to Wear
or Collect
2009 Massasauga Rattlesnake --$4(+ .24 tax)
2009 Cosmo's World Patch - $4(+.24 tax)
2008 Presque Isle Festival -- $8 (+ .48 tax)
2008 Serpentine Barrens -- $4 (+ .24 tax)
2007 Northern Flying Squirrel Festival -- $8(+.48 tax)
2007 Rachel Carson Centennial -- $4 (+.24 tax)
2006 Wine-capped Stropharia Festival -- $ 8 (+.48 tax)
2006 Yellow Morel -- $4 (+.24 tax)
2005 American Kestrel Festival -- $8 (+.48 tax)
2005 American Kestrel -- $4 (+.24 tax)
2004 Allegheny Crayfish -- $4 (+.24 tax)
2003 Spreading Globeflower -- $4 (.24 tax)
2002 Red Eft -- $4 (+.24 tax)
2001 Luna Moth -- $4 (+.24 tax)
1999 Wood Thrush -- $4(+.24 tax)
1998 Dogwood -- $4 (+.24 tax)*
1997 Bog Turtle -- $4 (+.24 tax)*
* Limited quantities
Keystone Wild! Notes 26
Use Order Form on Page 28
ild! Buys
Show Your
Wild Side!
Read All About It—In Wild! Books
WILDFLOWERS OF
PENNSYLVANIA
This book is for all who enjoy
nature and would like to
become more acquainted with
wildflowers. It will help the
observer to identify the plants
seen on a spring, summer or
fall hike in a natural area. The
book uses photographs of the
plants, as photos reveal much
more detail than can be found
in drawings.
Price: $20 (+ $1.20 tax)
OUTSTANDING MOSSES
AND LIVERWORTS OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Botanist Susan Munch brings
us the first full-color field
guide for mosses in the MidAtlantic region. The guide's 89
pages contain detailed color
photographs allowing for easy
ID of many of the most
common, yet striking, mosses
and liverworts. No microscope
is necessary. The guide is
suitable for both professionals
and non-botanists.
Price: $20 (+ $1.20 tax)
POCKET GUIDE TO
PENNSYLVANIA SNAKES
and POCKET GUIDE TO
PENNSYLVANIA FROGS
AND TOADS
WRCP teamed up with the
State Museum to produce
these affordable and
informative little books that
provide photos and natural
history information about all
of the state's serpents, frogs
and toads.
Price: $4.72 (+ $.28 tax) each
FUNGI: A KINGDOM OF
THEIR OWN
This colorful children's book
teaches kids about the variety
of fungi in the state. Follow
the Stone Family's adventures
in the Kingdom of Fungi.
Through photos, watercolor
illustrations and stories, the
tale of mushrooms and their
brethren is told. Written and
illustrated by Wendy Plowman
and geared toward late
elementary school students.
Price: $7 (+ $.42 tax)
Keystone Wild! Notes 27
Use Order Form Below for All Orders
Show Your
Wild Side!
ild! Buys
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Keystone Wild! Notes 28