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United States Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Publication Awards

Last Modified: Jun 2, 2020
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Each year the NWRC examines the publications of its scientists and recognizes those papers that are rigorous treatments of topics that addressed important program mission areas and have application to managers and applied science. Because of the nature of delays in the publication process, the awards reflect those papers published during the previous calendar year.

2018 Publication awards:

Best methods/data publication:

 Davis, A.J., B. Leland, M. Bodenchuk, K.C. VerCauteren, K.M. Pepin. 2018. Costs and effectiveness of damage management of an overabundant species (Sus scrofa) using aerial gunning. Wildlife Research 45:696-705. doi: 10.1071/WR17170

This work was acknowledged because of the quantitative rigor, the collaboration between research and operations, and the potential of this methodology to be applied to many aspects of the WS program to improve operational efficiency.  This paper evaluated strategies of aerial gunning pigs (i.e., single pass in an area vs. multiple passes over a short duration) and determined that gunning an area for pigs 3 consecutive times could result in 60% reduction in damage in the area, as compared to a 2% reduction when gunning was conducted just once.  This research was made possible through a productive relationship between NWRC and operations and offers an example of the importance of monitoring for evaluating effectiveness of operational activity. 

Best synthesis/review publication: 

 VerCauteren, K.C., M.J. Lavelle, and H. Campa. 2018. Persistent Spillback of Bovine Tuberculosis From White-Tailed Deer to Cattle in Michigan, USA: Status, Strategies, and Needs. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 5: 301. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00301

 NWRC and Operations have been working on the issue of bTB in deer being spilled back to cattle in Michigan for nearly 20 years.  Over this course in time, many methods have been developed by NWRC to reduce deer contact with cattle including strategies related to fencing, use of dogs, and feeding and watering cattle. NWRC has also conducted basic research to better understand disease transmission and prevention that points the way forward for ridding deer and cattle of the disease. This paper synthesizes this work and highlights how this collective work is being incorporated into mitigation at the farm level and influencing management and policy at the state and federal level. 

Special Recognition: Edited book

W.C. Pitt, J.C. Beasley, and G.W Witmer, editors.  Ecology and Management of terrestrial vertebrate invasive species in the United States. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 403 pp.


Previous Award Winners:

2017
Snow, N.P., M.A. Jarzyna, and K.C. VerCauteren. 2017. Interpreting and predicting the spread of invasive wild pigs. Journal of Applied Ecology.  doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12866 

2016
Shriner, S.A., J.J. Root, M.W. Lutman, J.M. Kloft, K.K. VanDalen, H.J. Sullivan, T.S. White, M.P. Milleson, J.L. Hairston, S.C. Chandler, P.C. Wolf, C.T. Turnage, B.J. McCluskey, A.L. Vincent, M.K. Torchetti, T. Gidlewski, and T.J.DeLiberto. 2016.  Surveillance for highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in synanthropic wildlife associated with poultry farms during an acute outbreak. Scientific reports 6:36237.  doi: 10.1038/srep36237

2015
Root, J.J., S.A. Shriner, J.W. Ellis, K.K. VanDalen, H.J. Sullivan, and A.B. Franklin. 2015. When fur and feather occur together: Interclass transmission of avian influenza A virus from mammals to birds through common resources. Scientific Reports 5:14354.  doi: 10.1038/srep14354

2014
Piaggio, A.J., R.M. Engeman, M.W. Hopken, J.S. Humphrey, K.L. Keacher, W.E. Bruce, and M.L. Avery. 2014. Detecting an elusive invasive species: a diagnostic PCR to detect Burmese python in Florida waters and an assessment of persistence of environmental DNA. Molecular Ecology Resources, 14:374–380. doi:10.1111/1755-0998.12180.

2013
DeVault, T. L., Blackwell, B. F., & Belant, J. L. (2013). Wildlife in Airport Environments: Preventing Animal-Aircraft Collisions through Science-Based Management. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

2012
Blackwell, B. F., T. L. DeVault, T. W. Seamans, S. L. Lima, P. Baumhardt, and E. Fernández-Juricic. 2012.  Exploiting avian vision with aircraft lighting to reduce bird strikes. Journal of Applied Ecology 49:758-766.

Guillaumet, A., B. Dorr, and G. Wang. 2012. Towards optimized population control efficiency in space and time: A modelling framework adapted to a colonial waterbird. Ecological Modelling 235: 95-101.

Savidge, J.A., M.W. Hopken, G.W. Witmer, S.M. Jojola, J.J. Pierce, P.W. Burke, and A.J. Piaggio. 2012.  Genetic evaluation of an attempted Rattus rattus eradication on Congo Cay, U.S. Virgin Islands, identifies importance of eradication units. Biological Invasions 14: 2343-2354. 

2011
Breck, S. W., B. M. Kluever, M. Panasci, J. Oakleaf, T. Johnson, W. Ballard, L. Howery, and D. L. Bergman. 2011. Domestic calf mortality and producer detection rates in the Mexican wolf recovery area: Implications for livestock management and carnivore compensation schemes. Biological Conservation 144:930-936. 

Carlson, J. C., A. B. Franklin, D. R. Hyatt, S. E. Petitit, and G. M. Linz. 2011. The role of starlings in the spread of Salmonella within concentrated animal feeding operations. Journal of Applied Ecology 48:479-486 

2010
Atwood, T. C., and E. M. Gese. 2010. Importance of resource selection and social behavior to partitioning of hostile space by sympatric canids. Journal of Mammalogy 91:490-499.

Da Silva, A. G., J. R. Eberhard, T. F. Wright, M. L. Avery, and M. A. Russello. 2010. Genetic evidence for high propagule pressure and long-distance dispersal in monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) invasive populations. Molecular Ecology 19:3336-3350.

2009
Bradley F. Blackwell, Esteban Fernándex-Juricic, Thomas W. Seamans, and Tracy Dolan. 2009. Avian visual system configuration and behavioural response to object approach. Animal Behavious 77:673-684.

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