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Element content in tissues of four rodent species sampled in the Geysers geothermal steamfield.

Liver and kidney tissue samples from four rodent species collected in the Geysers geothermal steamfield of northern California were analyzed for content of 28 elements. Element concentrations in samples from the developed region of the Geysers were compared with samples from undeveloped reference regions to determine the influence of geothermal power development on element content in small mammal tissues. Eight elements (B, Ca, Cu, Mg, Mn, P, Sr, Ti) were enriched in samples from the Geysers, 12 (Ag, Al, Co, Cr, Fe, K, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Si, Zn) were decreased within the Geysers, Ba and Li were inconclusive, and six (As, Be, Cd, Hg, Sn, V) were below the minimum analytical limits. The longest-lived species (Neotoma fuscipes) had the greatest occurrence of statistically significant differences in element content. Sites in grassland habitat produced more significant differences in element content than either chaparral or streamside habitats for samples from Peromyscus maniculatus. Peromyscus boylii and P. truei provided additional data, but no distinct advantages for element monitoring. The data indicate regional influences from geothermal power development on element levels in rodent tissues.

Journal Article↗

Down-regulation of muscarinic receptors and the m3 subtype in white-footed mice by dietary exposure to parathion.

The effect of ad libitum dietary exposure (as occurs in the field) to parathion for 14 d was investigated on the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) in brains and submaxillary glands of adults of a field species, the white-footed mouse Peromyscus leucopus. Immunoprecipitation using subtype selective antibodies revealed that the relative ratios of the m1-m5 mAChR subtypes in Peromyscus brain were similar to those in rat brain. There was little variability in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in control mice brains but large variability in 39 exposed mice, resulting from differences in food ingestion and parathion metabolism. Accordingly, data on radioligand binding to mAChRs in each mouse brain were correlated with brain AChE activity in the same mouse, and AChE inhibition served as a biomarker of exposure reflecting in situ paraoxon concentrations. Exposure to parathion for 14 d reduced maximal binding (Bmax) of [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate ([3H]QNB), [3H]-N-methylscopolamine ([3H]NMS), and [3H]-4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methiodide ([3H]-4-DAMP) by up to approximately 58% without affecting receptor affinities for these ligands. Maximal reduction in Bmax of [3H]QNB and [3H]-4-DAMP binding occurred in mice with highest AChE inhibition, while equivalent maximal reduction in Bmax of [3H]NMS occurred in mice with only approximately 10% AChE inhibition, without further change at higher parathion doses. This is believed to be due to the hydrophilicity of [3H]NMS, which limits its accessibility to internalized desensitized receptors. In submaxillary glands (mAChRs are predominantly m3 subtype), there were significant dose-dependent reductions in [3H]QNB binding and m3 mRNA levels in exposed mice, revealed by Northern blot analyses. The reduction in m3 receptors is suggested to result mostly from reduced synthesis at the transcription level, rather than from translational or posttranslational events. The data suggest that down-regulation of mAChRs occurs after dietary exposure for 14 d to sublethal concentrations of parathion in a field rodent species, and that significant though incomplete recovery in AChE and mAChRs occurs in 7 d following termination of exposure.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

Distribution of the Lyme disease vector, Ixodes dammini (Acari: Ixodidae) and isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi in Ontario, Canada.

Ixodes dammini Spielman, Clifford, Piesman & Corwin was confirmed at Long Point, Lake Erie, Ontario, on small mammals and white-tailed deer and by dragging for ticks. Mean intensities of up to 16.2 larvae and 2.1 nymphs were found on Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque), with an overall prevalence of infestation up to 92%. Adult I. dammini (101.6 +/- 77.63) (mean +/- SD) were found on 8 white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmerman). The seasonal pattern of recovery of ticks from hosts and the environment resembled that described elsewhere. I. dammini was not found on 952 small mammals trapped at 25 other localities throughout Ontario, although other ticks (Derma-centor variabilis (Packard), Ixodes angustus Neumann, I. marxi Banks, I. muris Bishopp & Smith) were encountered sporadically. I. dammini is not widespread or common in Ontario other than at Long Point. Borrelia burgdorferi was isolated from 10 of 151 P. leucopus; from larval and nymphal I. dammini; and from nymphal and adult D. variabilis, all from Long Point. B. burgdorferi was not recovered from 116 small mammals from localities other than Long Point. Seropositive P. leucopus (indirect fluorescent antibody test titer > or = 1:20) were common (up to 30% prevalence in July 1988, n = 23) on Long Point. Where I. dammini was not found, the prevalence of seroreactors among Peromyscus was 0 (15 sites), < 12% (5 sites), and 29% (1 site); seroprevalence at 1:20 could not be calculated for a further 4 sites examined in 1987. Antibody to B. burgdorferi was also detected in other small mammals at some sites. Such antibody was interpreted as possibly cross-reacting or caused by direct transmission.

Animals↗

Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) at the edge of its range in southern Wisconsin.

This study examined the density and distribution of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, at the edge of its range in southern Wisconsin in 1988 and 1989. The study area encompassed sites with ticks at densities ranging from the highest recorded in the state to no ticks detected, as known from previous surveys of white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman, infestation. Ticks were collected from trapped mice, Peromyscus spp., and hunter-killed white-tailed deer. A sharp west-to-east decline in I. scapularis density was identified based on deer infestation rates. At the edge of the ticks range in southern Wisconsin, I. scapularis infestation of Peromyscus Gloger was 1-2 orders of magnitude less than in the middle of the range. In this study, white-tailed deer were more effective than mice for sampling ticks at low density, as is expected given the home range of the hosts and the spatial pattern of ticks. This data set is a baseline for judging changes in the distribution and density of I. scapularis in southern Wisconsin.

Animals↗

Bartonella strains from ground squirrels are identical to Bartonella washoensis isolated from a human patient.

The most likely animal source of a human case of cardiac disease in Washoe County, Nev., was identified by comparison of DNA sequences of three genes (citrate synthase gltA, 60-kDa heat shock protein gene groEL, and 16S rRNA gene) of Bartonella washoensis cultured from the human patient in question and of Bartonella isolates obtained from the following Nevada rodents: Peromyscus maniculatus (17 isolates), Tamias minimus (11 isolates), Spermophilus lateralis (3 isolates), and Spermophilus beecheyi (7 isolates). Sequence analyses of gltA amplicons obtained from Bartonella from the rodents demonstrated considerable heterogeneity and resulted in the identification of 16 genetic variants that were clustered within three groups in phylogenetic analysis. Each of the three groups was associated with a rodent genus, Peromyscus, Tamias, or Spermophilus: The gltA, 16S rRNA gene, and groEL sequences of a Bartonella isolate obtained from a California ground squirrel (S. beecheyi) were completely identical to homologous sequences of B. washoensis, strongly suggesting that these animals were the source of infection in the human case.

Animal Diseases↗

Effects of vaginal-cervical stimulation in seven species of muroid rodents.

Six species of muroid rodents (Peromyscus californicus, P. eremicus, P. gossypinus, Mesocricetus auratus, Rattus norvegicus and R. rattus) were given artificlal vaginal-cervical stimulation in an attempt to induce pseudopregnancy. Some females of each species became pseudopregnant, but it was not clear that stimulation patterns mimicking the copulatory patterns of conspecific males were more effective than other patterns of stimulation. In the non-domesticated species (Peromyscus and R. rattus) a few females responded to a variety of stimulus conditions, and no species differences in responsiveness among the wild species were evident. The established laboratory rodents (R. norvegicus, M. auratusy were markedly more responsive to artificial stimulation, suggesting possible effects of domestication on fecundity and reactions to handling- Microtus ochrogaster, an induced ovulator, ovulated in response to vaginal-cervical stimulation only if one intromission from a male was also provided. No other differences in the responses of reflex and spontaneous ovulators were apparent.

Animals↗

Ecology of Borrelia burgdorferi in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae), rodents, and birds in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Placer County, California.

This study examined the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner in host-seeking adult and nymphal Ixodes pacificus Cooley & Kohls and estimated the I. pacificus infestation and B. burgdorferi infection of rodent and avian hosts in the western Sierra Nevada foothills of northern California. Additionally, we identified species likely to participate in an enzootic cycle for B. burgdorferi in this yellow pine transition habitat. Evidence of infection with B. burgdorferi was identified in 7.3 and 5.4% of host-seeking I. pacificus adults and nymphs, respectively. Mean numbers of I. pacificus observed on rodents were 1.15 for Neotoma fuscipes Baird and 0.18 for Peromyscus spp. One of 104 ear punch tissues obtained from woodrats and none from 49 Peromyscus spp. yielded B. burgdorferi. A total of 291 collected birds representing 34 species had a mean of 0.27 I. pacificus per bird. The mean I. pacificus infestation of ground-dwelling birds was 2.5 ticks per bird. Forty-nine of 92 (53%) blood smears collected from birds were reactive to a B. burgdorferi specific antibody. This study presents the identification of a B. burgdorferi-like spirochete in birds in western North America. The tick burden and spirochete infection of birds suggests that birds may be involved in a local B. burgdorferi enzootic cycle and likely participate in the transport of ticks and spirochetes to other locations while rodents from this site do not appear to be major contributors.

Animals↗

Small mammals and forest fuel reduction: national-scale responses to fire and fire surrogates.

Forest fuel reduction treatments are increasingly used by managers to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire and to manage changes in the ecological function of forests. However, comparative ecological effects of the various types of treatments are poorly understood. We examined short-term patterns in small-mammal responses to mechanical thinning, prescribed-fire, and mechanical thinning/prescribed-fire combination treatments at eight different study areas across the United States as a part of the National Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) Project. Research questions included: (1) do treatments differ in their effect on small mammal densities and biomass? and (2) are effects of treatments consistent across study areas? We modeled taxa-specific densities and total small-mammal biomass as functions of treatment types and study area effects and ranked models based on an information-theoretic model selection criterion. Small-mammal taxa examined, including deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), yellow-pine chipmunks (Tamias amoenus), and golden-mantled ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis), as well as all Peromyscus and Tamias species, had top-ranked models with responses varying both by treatment type and study area. In each of these cases, the top-ranked model carried between 69% and 99% of the total weight in the model set, indicating strong support for the top-ranked models. However, the top-ranked model of total small-mammal biomass was a model with biomass varying only with treatment (i.e., treated vs. untreated), not by treatment type or study area; again, this model had strong support, with 75% of the total model weight. Individual species and taxa appear to have variable responses to fuel reduction treatment types in different areas; however, total small-mammal biomass appears generally to increase after any type of fuel reduction. These results suggest that there is substantial variability in taxa-specific responses to treatments and indicate that adaptive management policies may be necessary when applying fuel reduction treatments in areas where management of small-mammal populations is of interest. Adaptive management can be used by managers who are conducting fuel reduction treatments to reduce uncertainty as to which treatments are locally optimal for meeting objectives for the management of small-mammal populations.

Animals↗

A longitudinal study of Sin Nombre virus prevalence in rodents, southeastern Arizona.

We determined the prevalence of Sin Nombre virus antibodies in small mammals in southeastern Arizona. Of 1,234 rodents (from 13 species) captured each month from May through December 1995, only mice in the genus Peromyscus were seropositive. Antibody prevalence was 14.3% in 21 white-footed mice (P. leucopus), 13.3% in 98 brush mice (P. boylii), 0.8% in 118 cactus mice (P. eremicus), and 0% in 2 deer mice (P. maniculatus). Most antibody-positive mice were adult male Peromyscus captured close to one another early in the study. Population dynamics of brush mice suggest a correlation between population size and hantavirus-antibody prevalence.

Animals↗

A survey of hantavirus antibody in small-mammal populations in selected United States National Parks.

Hantavirus activity in 39 National Parks in the eastern and central United States was surveyed by testing 1,815 small mammals of 38 species for antibody reactive to Sin Nombre virus. Antibody-positive rodents were found throughout the area sampled, and in most biotic communities. Antibody was detected in 7% of 647 deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), 2% of 590 white-footed mice (P. leucopus), 17% of 12 rice rats (Oryzomys palustris), 3% of 31 cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus), and 33% of 18 western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis). Antibody was also found in three of six species of voles, and in one of 33 chipmunks (Tamias minimus). Prevalence among Peromyscus was highest in the northeast. Although few cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome have been identified from the eastern and central regions, widespread infection in reservoir populations indicates that potential exists for human infection throughout much of the United States.

Animals↗

Serosurvey of wild rodents for hantaviruses in Panama, 2000-2002.

Five hundred fifty-six samples representing 24 species of small mammals (two species of marsupials and 22 rodents) were collected in Panama between February 2000 and July 2002. The samples were examined for antibodies to hantaviruses by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or immunoblot assays. The serologic results indicated that several rodent species might act as hantaviral reservoirs in Panama: Costa Rican pygmy rice rat (Oligoryzomys fulvescens costaricensis), four positive of 72 tested (5.6%); Cherrie's cane rat (Zygodontomys brevicauda cherriei), five of 108 (4.6%); Mexican deer mouse (Peromyscus mexicanus), one of 22 (5%); Mexican harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys mexicanus), one of seven (14%); Chiriquí harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys creper), one of two (50%); and Sumichrast's harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys sumichrasti), three of four (75%). Hantavirus infection in Peromyscus mexicanus and the three species of Reithrodontomys was caused by Rio Segundo hantavirus, a species of virus not previously reported from Panama. At least three hantaviruses, therefore, are known to infect populations of wild rodents in the country. However, given the total number of animals tested, the role of these rodent species in the epidemiology and epizootiology of hantavirus infections remains unclear.

Animals↗

Babesia microti and Borrelia bissettii transmission by Ixodes spinipalpis ticks among prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster, in Colorado.

An endemic transmission cycle of Babesia microti was discovered in Colorado in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. B. microti were found by PCR in 4 of 25 Ixodes spinipalpis tick pools tested (a 3.2 % minimum infection rate) and in 87% (13 of 15) of Microtus ochrogaster (the prairie vole) spleen and blood samples. Using naturally infected I. spinipalpis collected from wild-caught M. ochrogaster as vectors, B. microti and Borrelia bissettii were successfully transmitted to laboratory-born M. ochrogaster. Neither I. spinipalpis, nor M. ochrogaster (the prairie vole) have been previously reported as a vector or a reservoir host of B. microti. Unlike the east coast of the United States where Peromyscus leucopus is an important reservoir for B. microti, evidence for Peromyscus spp. (neither P. maniculatus nor P. difficilis) as B. microti reservoirs was not found in this study.

Animals↗

Tick infestations of the eastern cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus) and small rodentia in northwest Alabama and implications for disease transmission.

Studies were conducted over a four-county area of northwest Alabama to determine the association of eastern cottontail rabbits with Dermacentor variabilis, the eastern United States vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. A secondary objective was to compare infestations of this tick on rabbits with infestations on commonly encountered rodent species as a means of determining the relative importance of each in the disease transmission cycle. These epidemiologic surveys were conducted in response to reported fatal cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in two counties of the study area. From 202 eastern cottontail rabbits, 3,956 ticks were collected. Of this total, 79.87% were Haemphysalis leporispalustris, 9.15% Amblyomma americanum, 8.22% Ixodes dentatus, and 2.76% D. variabilis. Only immature stages of D. variabilis were collected from cottontail rabbits. Ticks were collected on rabbits in all months except November, and only one specimen was taken in January. Based on the average number of ticks per host collected in each month, April was the peak month for D. variabilis and I. dentatus. High values for H. leporispalustris also occurred at this time, but even higher values occurred in October and December. The heaviest infestation of A. americanum occurred during the month ofAugust and coincides with the activity period for the larvae of this species. Two hundred sixty-nine of the smaller Rodentia, comprising 13 species, yielded 264 ticks, all D. variabilis, and all but two were immature stages. Five rodent species, Microtus ochragaster Orozomys palustris, Peromyscus gossypinus, Peromyscus leucopus, and Sigmodon hispidus accounted for 95.83% of the ticks collected, and appeared to be preferred hosts for D. variabilis; all five had higher infestation levels per host than did the eastern cottontail rabbit. Data on host relationships in association with seasonal activity are presented.

Alabama↗

[Biology of the volcano mouse (N. a. alstoni). XVII. Blood chemistry of animals born in the laboratory (F1)].

This work reports an initial study of the blood chemistry of young adult (between 129 to 155 days of age), laboratory born (F1) volcano mouse (Neotomodon alstoni alstoni). The blood biochemical values determined were glucose, cholesterol, total bilirubin, total protein, albumin and globulin, as well as the electrolytes sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and phosphorus. In most of the values there were no differences statistically significant between males and females; only the values of total bilirubin and potassium were slightly higher in females, with differences statistically significant. The values of glucose and cholesterol showed a wide range of variation in the animals of both sexes. Although several studies dealing with the blood chemistry of various laboratory rodents have been published, the experimental conditions in which these investigations were carried out were so different to the ones of the present work that cannot be compared; neither a comparison can be made of the present results with those of the blood chemistry of the members of the Peromyscus genus, which is the most phylogenetically close to the Neotomodon genus, since, as far as we know, there has been no studies reported on this subject on Peromyscus.

Animals↗

Coccidian parasites (Apicomplexa) from snakes in the southcentral and southwestern United States: new host and geographic records.

Four hundred thirty-five leptotyphlopid, colubrid, elapid, and viperid snakes were collected from various localities in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, and their feces were examined for coccidian parasites. Of these, 131 (30%) were passing oocysts or sporocysts of at least 1 coccidian; 88 (67%) of the infected snakes had only 1 species of coccidian when they were examined. Aquatic and semiaquatic snakes accounted for 48% of the infections, whereas strictly terrestrial snakes comprised the other 52%. There was more than a 2-fold difference in prevalence among these 2 groups as 63 of 129 (49%) of the aquatic and semiaquatic snakes versus 68 of 306 (22%) of the terrestrial snakes harbored coccidia. Most terrestrial snakes were infected by species of Caryospora and Sarcocystis that are either facultatively or obligatorily heteroxenous. The aquatic and semiaquatic species most often harbored eimerians. Attempts to transmit some of the Sarcocystis spp. experimentally from Crotalus atrox to Mus musculus, Peromyscus leucopus, Peromyscus maniculatus, or Microtus ochrogaster were unsuccessful. This report documents 27 new host and several distributional records for coccidians from snakes in the southcentral and southwestern United States.

Animals↗

Babesiosis in Wisconsin. A new focus of disease transmission.

A confirmed case of human babesiosis was identified in August 1983 in a 54-year-old asplenic Wisconsin resident. Babesia microti was identified as the causative agent by blood smear morphology and hamster inoculation techniques. The patient's wife had clinically confirmed Lyme disease in 1981 and had serologic evidence (immunofluorescent antibody to a B microti titer of 1:1,024) of recent Babesia infection in August 1983. Mice (Peromyscus species) trapped on the patients' property and elsewhere in their Wisconsin county of residence were infected with B microti. Lyme disease and babesiosis have the same tick vector and animal reservoir; serum samples from 116 Wisconsin and Minnesota residents with clinically confirmed Lyme disease between 1980 and 1983 were tested, and none were found to have concurrent Babesia infection. This area of Wisconsin is identified as a new focus for babesiosis transmission, but the risk of transmission seems to be low.

Animals↗

Hantavirus S RNA sequence from a fatal case of HPS in New York.

In April, 1995, the second fatal case of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) occurred in the northeast in a New York State resident. Using the patient's lung tissue obtained at autopsy, the S genomic RNA segment of a hantavirus, designated H-NY1, was amplified by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), cloned, and sequenced. The S RNA was found to contain 2084 nucleotides, 6 nucleotides longer than reported by Hjelle et al. (1995) for the virus associated with the first northeastern case (RI-1). There were 101 nucleotide differences in the S RNA between the H-NY1 and RI-1, which result in the prediction of a single amino-acid change in the nucleocapsid (N) protein. Rodents were trapped for serologic and virologic studies at the patient's residence and work site. The white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) was the most frequently captured species and more than 50% of those trapped near the patient's residence showed serologic evidence of hantavirus infection. Using RT-PCR it was possible to amplify hantavirus S RNA sequence from the lung tissues of 8 out of 11 seropositive animals. No difference in nucleotide sequence was found between the HPS patient sequence and the P. leucopus sequence (nucleotides 189 to 599). These data are consistent with those of Hjelle et al. (1995) in suggesting that P. leucopus is the primary rodent vector for the etiologic agent of HPS in the northeastern United States.

Adult↗

Feasibility of micronucleus methods for monitoring genetic damage in two feral species of small mammals.

Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mouse) and Cryptotis parva (least shrew) possess desirable attributes for biomonitoring contamination of terrestrial ecosystems, but few studies have examined the potential use of these species for monitoring exposure to genotoxic contaminants. The susceptibility of laboratory-reared C. parva, P. leucopus, and Mus musculus (house mouse, strain CD-1) to micronucleus (MN) induction by known clastogens was evaluated. Animals were exposed for 24 hr to methyl methanesulfonate (MMS; 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg), 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO; 7.5, 15, and 30 mg/kg), or mercuric chloride (HgCl2; 6, 12, and 24 mg/kg). Both MMS and 4-NQO induced dose-related increases in micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPCE) in all three species, whereas HgCl2 induced a weak response only in P. leucopus. P. leucopus and C. parva were more sensitive than M. musculus to MMS. Similar micronucleus responses to 4-NQO were seen in each of the species. The feasibility of using blood for MN assessment was evaluated by comparing MN frequencies in bone marrow (BM) PCE, and blood PCE and normochromatic erythrocytes (NCE) in untreated animals, and following daily treatment for 1, 2, 3, and 10 days with 0.4 mg/kg triethylenemelamine (TEM). The results indicated that micronucleated erythrocytes were removed from the circulating blood in P. leucopus, but not in C. parva. Measurement of BM and blood MN levels appears feasible for monitoring exposure to genotoxic agents in C. parva and P. leucopus, and for distinguishing between acute and chronic exposure in C. parva.

4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide↗