Conservation strategies and emergent diseases: The case of upper respiratory tract disease in the gopher tortoise

Chelonian Conservation and Biology

Volumn 6, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 170-176

  McCoy, Earl D ^a   Mushinsky, Henry R ^a   Lindzey, Jonathan ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA   (United States)

Author keywords

Conservation; Florida; Gopherus polyphemm; Population decline; Probability of detection; Reptilia; Testudines; Testudinidae; Upper respiratory tract disease; USA

Indexed keywords

GOPHERUS; GOPHERUS POLYPHEMUS; MYCOPLASMA; MYCOPLASMA AGASSIZII; REPTILIA; TESTUDINES; TESTUDINIDAE;

EID: 38349182999     PISSN: 10718443     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2744/1071-8443(2007)6[170:CSAEDT]2.0.CO;2     Document Type: Article

References (49)

1. ALFORD, R.A. 1980. Population structure of Gophems polyphemus in northern Florida. Journal of Herpetology 14:177-182.
2. BASEMAN, J.B. AND TULLY, J.G. 1997. Mycoplasmas: sophisticated, reemerging, and hardened by their notoriety. Emerging Infectious Diseases 3:21-32.
3. BERRY, K.H. 1997. Demographic consequences of disease in two desert tortoise populations in California, USA. In: Abbema, J. van (Ed.), Proceedings: Conservation and Management of Turtles and Tortoises - An International Conference. New York Turtle and Tortoise Society, West Orange, NJ, pp. 91-97.
4. BERRY, K.H., MORAFKA, D.J., AND MURPHY, R.W. 2002. Defining the desert tortoise(s): our first priority for a coherent conservation strategy. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 4:249-262.
5. BEYER, S.M. 1993. Habitat relations of juvenile gopher tortoises and a preliminary report of upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) in gopher tortoises. M.S. Thesis, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
6. BRAMBLE, D.M. 1982. Scaptochelys: generic revision and evolution of gopher tortoises. Copeia 1982:852-867.
7. BROWN, D.R. 2002. Mycoplasmosis and immunity of fish and reptiles. Frontiers in Bioscience 7:1338-1346.
8. BROWN, D.R., SCHUMACHER, I.M., MACLAUGHLIN, G.S., WENDLAND, L.D., BROWN, M.B., KLEIN, P.A., AND JACOBSON, E.R. 2002. Application of diagnostic tests for mycoplasmal infections of desert and gopher tortoises with management recommendations. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 4: 497-507.
9. BROWN, M.B., SCHUMACHER, I.M., KLEIN, P.A., HARRIS, K., CORRELL, T., AND JACOBSON, E.R. 1994. Mycoplasma agassizii causes upper respiratory tract disease in the desert tortoise. Infection and Immunity 62:4580-4586.
10. CUNNINGHAM, A.A. 1996. Disease risks of wildlife translocation. Conservation Biology 10:349-353.
11. DASZAK, P., CUNNINGHAM, A.A., AND HYATT, A.D. 2000. Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife-threats to biodiversity and human health. Science 287:443-449.
12. DAVIDSON, M.K., DAVIS, J.K., GAMBILL, G.P., CASSELL, G.H., AND LINDSEY, J.R. 1994. Mycoplasmas of laboratory rodents. In: Whitford, H.W., Rosenbusch, R.F., and Lauerman, L.H. (Eds.). Mycoplasmas in Animals: Laboratory Diagnosis. Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA, pp. 97-133.
13. DHONDT, A.A., TESSAGLIA, D.L., AND SLOTHOWER, R.L. 1998. Epidemic mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in house finches from eastern North America. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 34: 265-280.
14. DIEMER BERISH, J.E., WENDLAND, L.D., AND GATES, C.A. 2000. Distribution and prevalence of upper respiratory tract disease in gopher tortoises in Florida. Journal of Herpetology 3:5-12.
15. EPPERSON, D.M. 1997. Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) populations: activity patterns, upper respiratory tract disease, and management on a military installation in northeast Florida. M.S. Thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
16. FISCHER, J.R., STALLKNECHT, D.E., LUTTRELL, M.P., DHONDT, A.A., AND CONVERSE, K.A. 1997. Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in wild songbirds: the spread of a new contagious disease in a mobile host population. Emerging Infectious Diseases 3:69-72.
17. FFWCC (FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION). 2001. Available options to address the presence of gopher tortoises on lands slated for development. FFWCC, Tallahassee, FL.
18. HARVELL, C.D., MITCHELL, C.E., WARD, J.R., ALTIZER, S., DOBSON, A.P., OSTFELD, R.S., AND SAMUEL, M.G. 2002. Climate warming and disease risks for terrestrial and marine biota. Science 296: 2158-2162.
19. HOCHACHKA, W.M. AND DHONDT, A.A. 2000. Density-dependent decline of host abundance resulting from a new infectious disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 97: 5303-5306.
20. JACOBSON, E.R., BROWN, M.B., SCHUMACHER, I.M., COLLINS, B.R., HARRIS, R.K., AND KLEIN, P.A. 1995. Mycoplasmosis and the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 1:279-284.
21. JACOBSON, E.R., GASKIN, J.M., BROWN, M.B., HARRIS, R.K., GARDINER, C.H., LAPOINTE, J.L., ADAMS, H.P., AND REGOIARDO, C. 1991. Chronic upper respiratory tract disease of free-ranging desert tortoises (Xerobates agassizii). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 27:296-316.
22. LEDERBERG, J., SHOPE, R.E., AND OAKES, S.C., JR. (EDS.). 1992. Emerging Infections: Microbial Threats to Health in the United States. Institute of Medicine, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 294 pp.
23. LEDERLE, P.E., RAUTENSTRAUCH, K.R., RAKESTRAW, D.L., ZANDER, K.K., AND BOONE, J.L. 1997. Upper respiratory tract disease and mycoplasmosis in desert tortoises from Nevada. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 33:759-765.
24. LEY, D.H., BERKHOFF, J.E., AND LEVISOHN, S. 1997. Molecular epidemiological investigation of Mycoplasma gallisepticum conjunctivitis in songbirds by random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis. Emerging Infectious Diseases 3:375-380.
25. MACPHEE, R.D.E. AND MARX, P.A. 1997. The 40,000-year plague: humans, hyperdisease and first-contact extinctions. In: Goodman, S.M. and Patterson, B.D. (Eds.). Natural Change and Human Impact in Madagascar. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., pp. 169-217.
26. MARTIN, P.L. AND LAYNE, J.N. 1987. Relationship of gopher tortoise body size to burrow size in a south central Florida population. Florida Scientist 50:264-267.
27. MCCOY, E.D. AND MUSHINSKY, H.R. 1988. The demography of Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin) in relation to size of available habitat. Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, Nongame Wildlife Program, Tallahassee, FL.
28. MCCOY, E.D. AND MUSHINSKY, H.R. 1991. A survey of gopher tortoise populations residing on twelve state parks in Florida. Florida Park Service, Technical Report 1, Tallahassee, FL.
29. MCCOY, E.D. AND MUSHINSKY, H.R. 1992. Studying a species in decline: gopher tortoises and the dilemma of "correction factors." Herpetologica 48:402-407.
30. MCCOY, E.D. AND MUSHINSKY, H.R. 2007. Estimates of minimum patch size depend on the method of estimation and the condition of the habitat. Ecology 88:1401-1407.
31. MCCOY, E.D., MUSHINSKY, H.R., AND LINDZEY, J.K. 2006. Population declines of the gopher tortoise on protected lands. Biological Conservation 128:120-127.
32. MCCOY, E.D., MUSHINSKY, H.R., AND MOORE, R.D. 2007. A future with small populations of the gopher tortoise. In: Jung, R.E. and Mitchell, J.C. (Eds.). Urban Herpetology. Herpetological Conservation, Vol. 3. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Salt Lake City (in press).
33. MCCOY, E.D., MUSHINSKY, H.R., AND WILSON, D.S. 1993. Patterns in the compass orientation of gopher tortoise burrows at different spatial scales. Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters 3:33-40.
34. MCLAUGHLIN, G.S. 1997. Upper respiratory disease in gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus: pathology, immune responses, transmission, and implications for conservation and management. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
35. MCSWEEGAN, E. 1996. The infectious disease impact statement: a mechanism for addressing emerging diseases. Emerging Infectious Diseases 2:103-108.
36. MORAFKA, D.J., AGUIRRE, G., AND MURPHY, R.W. 1994. Allozyme differentiation among gopher tortoises (Gopherus)-conservation genetics and phylogenetic and taxonomic implications. Canadian Journal of Zoology 72:1665-1671.
37. MUSHINSKY, H.R. AND MCCOY, E.D. 1994. Comparison of gopher tortoise populations on islands and on the mainland in Florida. In: Bury, R.B. and Germano, D.J. (Eds.). Biology of North American tortoises. National Biological Survey, Fish and Wildlife Research 13, Washington, D.C., pp. 39-47.
38. MUSHINSKY, H.R., MCCOY, E.D., AND WILSON, D.S. 1997. Patterns of gopher tortoise demography in Florida. In: Van Abbema, J. (Ed.). Proceedings, International Conference on Conservation, Restoration, and Management of Tortoises and Turtles. New York Turtle and Tortoise Society, Orange, NJ, pp. 252-258.
39. POUNDS, J.A., FOGDEN, M.P.L., AND CUNNINGHAM, J.H. 1999. Biological response to climate change on a tropical mountain. Nature 398:611-615.
40. SCHUMACHER, I.M., BROWN, M.B., JACOBSON, E.R., COLLINS, B.R., AND KLEIN, P.A. 1993. Detection of antibodies to a pathogenic mycoplasma in desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) with upper respiratory tract disease. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 31:1454-1460.
41. SCHUMACHER, I.M., HARDENBROOK, D.B., BROWN, M.B., JACOBSON, E.R., AND KLEIN, P.A. 1997. Relationship between clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease and antibodies to Mycoplasma agassazii in desert tortoises from Nevada. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 33:261-266.
42. SEIGEL, R.A., SMITH, R.B., AND SEIGEL, N.A. 2003. Swine flu or 1918 pandemic? Upper respiratory tract disease and the sudden mortality of gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) on a protected habitat in Florida. Journal of Herpetology 37: 137-144.
43. SMITH, R.B., SEIGEL, R.A., AND SMITH, K.R. 1998. Occurrence of upper respiratory tract disease in gopher tortoise populations in Florida and Mississippi. Journal of Herpetology 32:426-430.
44. SOULÉ, M.E. AND SIMBERLOFF, D. 1986. What do genetics and ecology tell us about the design of nature-reserves? Biological Conservation 35:19-40.
45. VIDAVER, A.K. 1996. Emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. ASM News 62:583-585.
46. WILLIAMS, E.S., YUILL, T., ARTOIS, M., FISCHER, J., AND HAIGH, S.A. 2002. Emerging infectious diseases in wildlife. Revue Scientifique et Technique de L Office International des Epizootes 21:139-157.
47. WILSON, D.S., MUSHINSKY, H.R., AND MCCOY, E.D. 1991. Relationship between gopher tortoise body size and burrow width. Herpetological Review 22:122-124.
48. WILSON, D.S., MUSHINSKY, H.R., AND MCCOY, E.D. 1994. Home range, activity, and burrow use of juvenile gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) in a central Florida population. In: Bury, R.B. and Germane, D.J. (Eds.). Biology of North American Tortoises National Biological Survey Fish and Wildlife Research 13, Washington, D.C., pp. 147-160.
49. WOODROFFE, R. 1999. Managing disease threats to wildlife. Animal Conservation 2:185-193.