Edward H. Burtt
Ohio Wesleyan University
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Featured researches published by Edward H. Burtt.
The Auk | 1999
Edward H. Burtt; Jann M. Ichida
We sampled bacteria from the plumage of 1,588 individuals of 83 species of birds. Feather-degrading bacteria, those able to extract energy and nutrients by breaking up 3-keratin, were isolated from 134 individuals in 32 species. Nine of 11 samples of feather- degrading (keratinolytic) bacteria were identified as Bacillus licheniformis, one as B. pumilus, and one as a Bacillus of undetermined species. A strong correlation between occurrence of keratinolytic bacilli and the number of birds sampled per species suggests that feather-de- grading bacilli are widespread among birds. The bacillus occurred on 6.7 to 10.7% of birds and showed little annual variation. The incidence of birds with feather-degrading bacilli was highest in late fall and winter and lowest in early spring and late summer. The bacilli oc- curred most frequently on the venter and less commonly on the dorsum and tail. They oc- curred most frequently on ground-foraging species and least frequently on aerial-foraging species. Regardless of avian species, time of year, or area of the bird from which the bacilli were isolated, the rate at which bacilli degraded feathers was similar. Because bacilli are active only when conditions are warm and humid, we suggest that they degrade feathers during the summer when the bird becomes wet, for example during thunderstorms. Such feather degradation may contribute to the deterioration of feathers and be a selective force in the evolution and timing of molt. Received 6 October 1997, accepted 29 July 1998.
Journal of Microbiological Methods | 2001
Jann M. Ichida; Lucie Krizova; Colleen A LeFevre; Harold M. Keener; David Elwell; Edward H. Burtt
Native microbial populations can degrade poultry waste, but the process can be hastened by using feather-degrading bacteria. Strains of Bacillus licheniformis and a Streptomyces sp. isolated from the plumage of wild birds were grown in a liquid basal medium and used to inoculate feathers in compost bioreaction vessels. Control vessels had only basal medium added to the feathers, litter and straw. Temperature, ammonia, carbon and nitrogen were monitored for 4 weeks. Scanning electron microscopy of the feather samples showed more complete keratin-degradation, more structural damage, and earlier microbial biofilm formation on inoculated feathers than on uninoculated feathers. A diverse community of aerobic bacteria and fungi were cultured early, but declined rapidly. Thermophilic B. licheniformis and Streptomyces spp. were abundant throughout. Enteric gram-negative bacteria, (e.g., Salmonella, E. coli) originally found on waste feathers were not recovered after day 4. Vessel temperatures reached 64-71 degrees C within 36 h and stabilized at 50 degrees C. When tumble-mixed at day 14, renewed activity peaked at 59 degrees C and quickly dropped as available carbon was used. Feathers soaked in an inoculum of B. licheniformis and Streptomyces degraded more quickly and more completely than feathers that were not presoaked. Inoculation of feather waste could improve composting of the large volume of feather waste generated every year by poultry farms and processing plants.
Microbial Ecology | 2007
Isabelle-Anne Bisson; Peter P. Marra; Edward H. Burtt; Masourneh Sikaroodi; Patrick M. Gillevet
We used molecular methods to determine the microbial community of soil and avian plumage across biogeographic, ecological, and taxonomic scales. A total of 17 soil and 116 feather samples were collected from five avian species across multiple habitat types within one Neotropical and one temperate locality. Hypotheses regarding patterns of microbial composition relative to acquisition and dispersal of plumage bacteria in the ecosystem were tested by comparing microbial communities within and between soil and plumage. Samples from the plumage of American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) were collected across both habitat types and geographic scales for intraspecific comparisons. The microbial diversity in avian plumage was moderately diverse and was dominated by Pseudomonas species. Despite a highly significant individual bird effect on microbial composition of the plumage, we detected significant biogeographic and type of habitat effects. Pseudomonas species were more abundant on the temperate site when all avian species were included in the analysis, and Bacillus subtilis and Xanthomonas groups were more abundant on the Neotropical site for redstarts alone. However, 16S rDNA sequence libraries were not significantly different between Jamaican and Maryland redstarts. Biogeographic and habitat effects were significant and more pronounced for soil samples indicating lower dispersal of soil microbiota. We detected a significant difference between soil and plumage microbial communities suggesting that soil plays a small role in plumage bacterial acquisition. Our results suggest bacterial communities on the plumage of birds are dynamic and may change at different stages in a bird’s annual cycle.
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology | 2005
S. M. Tiquia; Jann M. Ichida; Harold M. Keener; D. L. Elwell; Edward H. Burtt; F. C. Michel
Composting is one of the more economical and environmentally safe methods of recycling feather waste generated by the poultry industry, since 90% of the feather weight consists of crude keratin protein, and feathers contain 15% N. However, the keratin in waste feathers is resistant to biodegradation and may require the addition of bacterial inocula to enhance the degradation process during composting. Two keratin-degrading bacteria isolated from plumage of wild songbirds and identified as Bacillus licheneformis (OWU 1411T) and Streptomyces sp. (OWU 1441) were inoculated into poultry feather composts (1.13×108 cfu g−1 feathers) and co-composted with poultry litter and straw in 200-l compost vessels. Composting temperatures, as well as CO2 and NH3 evolution, were measured in these vessels to determine the effects of inoculation on the rate and extent of poultry feather decomposition during composting. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms of 16S rRNA genes were used to follow changes in microbial community structure during composting. The results indicated that extensive carbon conversion occurred in both treatments (55.5 and 56.1%). The addition of the bacterial inocula did not enhance the rate of waste feather composting. The microbial community structure over time was very similar in inoculated and uninoculated waste feather composts.
Biology Letters | 2011
Edward H. Burtt; Max R. Schroeder; Lauren A. Smith; Jenna E. Sroka; Kevin J. McGraw
The brilliant red, orange and yellow colours of parrot feathers are the product of psittacofulvins, which are synthetic pigments known only from parrots. Recent evidence suggests that some pigments in bird feathers function not just as colour generators, but also preserve plumage integrity by increasing the resistance of feather keratin to bacterial degradation. We exposed a variety of colourful parrot feathers to feather-degrading Bacillus licheniformis and found that feathers with red psittacofulvins degraded at about the same rate as those with melanin and more slowly than white feathers, which lack pigments. Blue feathers, in which colour is based on the microstructural arrangement of keratin, air and melanin granules, and green feathers, which combine structural blue with yellow psittacofulvins, degraded at a rate similar to that of red and black feathers. These differences in resistance to bacterial degradation of differently coloured feathers suggest that colour patterns within the Psittaciformes may have evolved to resist bacterial degradation, in addition to their role in communication and camouflage.
Microbial Ecology | 2009
Isabelle-A. Bisson; Peter P. Marra; Edward H. Burtt; Masoumeh Sikaroodi; Patrick M. Gillevet
Migratory birds can be efficient dispersers of pathogens, yet we know little about the effect of migration and season on the microbial community in avian plumage. This is the first study to describe and compare the microbial plumage community of adult and juvenile migratory birds during the annual cycle and compare the plumage community of migrants to that of resident birds at both neotropical and nearctic locations. We used length heterogeneity PCR (16S rRNA) to describe the microbial assemblage sampled from the plumage of 66 birds in two age classes and from 16 soil samples. Resident birds differed significantly in plumage microbial community composition from migrants (R ≥ 0.238, P < 0.01). Nearctic resident birds had higher plumage microbial diversity than nearctic migrants (R = 0.402, P < 0.01). Plumage microbial composition differed significantly between fall premigratory and either breeding (R ≥ 0.161, P < 0.05) or nonbreeding stages (R = 0.267, P < 0.01). Six bacterial operational taxonomic units contributed most to the dissimilarities found in this assay. Soil microbial community composition was significantly different from all samples of plumage microbial communities (R ≥ 0.700, P < 0.01). The plumage microbial community varies in relation to migration strategy and stage of the annual cycle. We suggest that plumage microbial acquisition begins in the first year at natal breeding locations and reaches equilibrium at the neotropical wintering sites. These data lead us to conclude that migration and season play an important role in the dynamics of the microbial community in avian plumage and may reflect patterns of pathogen dispersal by birds.
The Auk | 2009
Ashley M. Peele; Edward H. Burtt; Max R. Schroeder; Russell Greenberg
ABSTRACT. The Southern Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana georgiana) breeds in northeastern North America in montane, freshwater marshes and fens. Its close relative, the Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow (M. g. nigrescens), breeds in northeastern North America, but in coastal salt marshes. Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrows are darker than Southern Swamp Sparrows. Darkly colored feathers are more resistant to bacterial degradation by bacilli, which are unusually salt-tolerant. We tested whether the difference in feather color of the pale montane Southern Swamp Sparrow and the dark Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow could be an adaptive response to differences in the occurrence and activity of bacilli in habitats that differ in salinity. Southern Swamp Sparrows were caught and sampled in cranberry fens in western Maryland, whereas Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrows were sampled in salt marshes on the western shore of the Delaware River, just where it broadens into Delaware Bay. The number of birds with feather-degrading bacteria in their plumage was significantly greater among Swamp Sparrows in salt marshes than among those in freshwater fens. The number of colonies of feather-degrading bacilli per bird was also higher for salt-marsh Swamp Sparrows than for those from freshwater fens. We conclude that the dark plumage of Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrows evolved to resist feather-degradation by salt-tolerant bacilli that occur more frequently and abundantly in their plumage than in the pale plumage of the Southern Swamp Sparrow.
The Auk | 2016
Cody M. Kent; Edward H. Burtt
ABSTRACT The study of feather-degrading microorganisms in avian plumage is steadily growing, but it is still a poorly understood field. Feather-degrading microorganisms were first isolated from chicken feathers in 1992, and their presence in wild birds was first described in 1997. The bulk of research in this area has focused on the possible selection pressures generated by these organisms. Yet we still lack detailed knowledge about the pattern of distribution among species of birds, ecological associations of the birds and feather-degrading microbes, and the effects of these bacteria and fungi on live wild birds. We sampled 3,548 birds representing 154 species for a group of 3 closely related bacilli that are well known to degrade feathers. We found these bacilli to be widespread among birds, occurring in the plumage of 39% of sampled individuals. Furthermore, these bacteria occur in most, if not all, avian taxa at similar frequencies, though variation exists. We found that ground-foraging species had a higher prevalence of feather-degrading bacilli, and tree-probing and nectivorous species had a lower prevalence. Additionally, fly-catching and foliage-gleaning birds were more likely to have feather-degrading bacilli than tree-probing species. Furthermore, the presence of feather-degrading bacilli, but not the abundance of bacteria in general, was correlated with our measure of plumage condition. A correlation cannot separate cause from effect, but it suggests that the presence of these bacteria is related to degradation of feathers in wild birds. This relationship implies that these bacteria may indeed constitute an important selection pressure that broadly influences the evolution of color, timing of molt, and behaviors such as preening and other maintenance activities in birds.
The Wilson Journal of Ornithology | 2017
Edward H. Burtt
Wilson’s entire scientific and ornithological career is contained within the pages of American Ornithology. Yet its publication not only established American ornithology on the world stage, it gave the science a taxonomic framework in North America and a distinctive emphasis on natural history, on observing live birds going about their daily activities in the wild. That emphasis was new to science and distinctly American (Burtt and Davis 2013). To close this series on the life of Alexander Wilson, consider briefly his fundamental contributions to ornithology.
The Wilson Journal of Ornithology | 2017
Frank A. Stabile; Gregory J. Watkins-Colwell; Jon A. Moore; Michael Vecchione; Edward H. Burtt
ABSTRACT Ornithologists have observed migratory landbirds from offshore ships for over a century. These birds are often in poor condition and thrown off course by storms. We report observations of migratory landbirds on a research vessel that was 320 km offshore in the western North Atlantic Ocean, shortly after Hurricane Gonzalo moved through the area. Between 19 and 25 October 2014, we observed nine passerine species and one falcon species. Two of these passerine species have not previously been observed on offshore ships. We also describe passerine and falcon foraging behaviors that have not been reported before. We examined six passerine birds found dead on the ship and concluded that they likely died of starvation and exhaustion. The passerines we observed may have been disturbed by Hurricane Gonzalo, forcing birds in poor condition to land on the ship. We encourage ornithologists to publish offshore accounts of migratory landbirds to improve our understanding of avian migration.