Utilizing hunter harvest effort to survey for wildlife disease: A case study of West Nile virus in greater sage-grouse

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) are highly susceptible to infection with West Nile virus (WNV), with substantial mortality reported in wild populations and in experimentally infected birds. Although sage-grouse are hunted throughout much of their range, they have also re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wildlife Society bulletin 2014-12, Vol.38 (4), p.721-727
Main Authors: Dusek, Robert J., Hagen, Christian A., Franson, J. Christian, Budeau, David A., Hofmeister, Erik K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal diseases
Animal wings
Antibodies
Centrocercus urophasianus
Deer hunting
filter-paper strip
Fowling
greater sage-grouse
hunter harvest
Hunting
Oregon
Original Articles
Subsistence hunting
Viruses
West Nile virus
Wildlife management
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Summary:Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) are highly susceptible to infection with West Nile virus (WNV), with substantial mortality reported in wild populations and in experimentally infected birds. Although sage-grouse are hunted throughout much of their range, they have also recently been considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act. We used blood samples collected on filter-paper strips during the 2006–2010 Oregon, USA, annual sage-grouse hunt to survey for specific WNV-neutralizing antibodies that indicate a previous infection with WNV. During this period, hunters submitted 1,880 blood samples from sage-grouse they harvested. Samples obtained were proportional for all 12 Oregon sage-grouse hunting units. Laboratory testing of 1,839 samples by the WNV epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA) followed by plaque reduction neutralization test on bELISA-positive samples yielded 19 (1%) and 1 (0.05%) positive samples, respectively. These data provided early baseline information for future comparisons regarding the prevalence of WNV-specific neutralizing antibodies in sage-grouse in Oregon. This methodology may provide other states where sage-grouse (or other species) populations are hunted and where WNV constitutes a species conservation concern with a viable option to track the relative prevalence of the virus in populations.
ISSN:1938-5463
1938-5463
2328-5540
DOI:10.1002/wsb.472