Mary E. Whalen

Some Tests of the “Migration Hypothesis” for Anadromous Dolly Varden (Southern Form)

Abstract Some aspects of a previously described migratory paradigm for the southern form of anadromous Dolly Varden Salvelinus malma were investigated with seven 3-year mark–recapture experiments on fish that used lakes in eight watersheds as their winter residence. Weirs on Kodiak Island, around Prince William Sound, and near Juneau, Alaska, were used to capture Dolly Varden as they emigrated to the sea each spring. Dolly Varden (≥200 mm fork length) were individually marked during the first year of each experiment (1989 or 1990), and log-linear models of their capture histories were used to estimate probabilities of capture during the second year (1990 or 1991). Our observations on timing of spring emigration and dispersal of Dolly Varden at sea confirm observations from earlier studies. Our results support the paradigm that Dolly Varden home to the same lacustrine watershed when overwintering in fresh water, as more than 98% of the recaptured fish did so. Our results contradicted the paradigm that Doll...

USGS role and response to highly pathogenic avian influenza

Avian influenza viruses are naturally occurring in wild birds such as ducks, geese, swans, and gulls. These viruses generally do not cause illness in wild birds, however, when spread to poultry they can be highly pathogenic and cause illness and death in backyard and commercial farms. Outbreaks may cause devastating agricultural economic losses and some viral strains have the potential to infect people directly. Furthermore, the combination of avian influenza viruses with mammalian viruses can result in strains with the ability to transmit from person to person, possibly leading to viruses with pandemic potential. All known pandemic influenza viruses have had some genetic material of avian origin. Since 1996, a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, H5N1, has caused infection in wild birds, losses to poultry farms in Eurasia and North Africa, and led to the deaths of several hundred people. Spread of the H5N1 virus and other influenza strains from China was likely facilitated by migratory birds. In December 2014, HPAI was detected in poultry in Canada and migratory birds in the United States. Since then, HPAI viruses have spread to large parts of the United States and will likely continue to spread through migratory bird flyways and other mechanisms throughout North America. In the United States, HPAI viruses have severely affected the poultry industry with millions of domestic birds dead or culled. These strains of HPAI