Michael Ziccardi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Michael Ziccardi
Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, Dec 19, 2017
Javma-journal of The American Veterinary Medical Association, Oct 15, 2018
Journal of Wildlife Diseases, Jul 5, 2021
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 1996
Western blots and a kinetic enzyme-linked immunosorhent assay (ELISA) were used to characterize a... more Western blots and a kinetic enzyme-linked immunosorhent assay (ELISA) were used to characterize and quantify the prevalence of antibodies to Psoroptes sp. mites in elk (Cervus elaphus) from nine herds in North America. Sera from infested (n 18) and non-infested (n 22) elk were used to optimize test methodology and to define cutoff values for negative, suspect, and positive samples. Among .357 samples, 35 (9.8%) of the animals were seropositive, 259 (73%) were negative, and 63 (18%) were suspect. Six of nine herds (67%) contained positive animals and two additional herds (22%) had suspect animals. Sex was not associated with prevalence of antil)odies, hut adults greater than 2 yr old were approximately five times more likely (95% confidence interval = 2.6-15.4) to be seropositive than calves. Based on these results, we propose that exposure to Psoroptes sp. mites may be widespread in free-ranging elk of North America.
PLOS ONE, Feb 27, 2019
Sublethal effects of oil spills may dampen seabird rehabilitation success due to lingering negati... more Sublethal effects of oil spills may dampen seabird rehabilitation success due to lingering negative impacts of contamination and stress on reproduction and long-term survival. These effects can be difficult to measure while birds are in care as well as once birds are released. Expression of sexually selected traits that are sensitive to condition can provide information on physiological status of birds. We evaluated plumage molt and gular pouch skin color of California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) following oil contamination and rehabilitation to test for differences between previously oiled and rehabilitated (post-spill) and presumably uncontaminated pelicans. Post-spill pelicans released with either color leg bands alone, or bands plus harness-mounted satellite GPS tags, were relocated and visually assessed in the field at non-breeding communal roosts and compared to surrounding unmarked pelicans in the general population. Non-oiled pelicans bearing GPS tags were also included in the study. Post-spill pelicans lagged the general population in molt of ornamental yellow crown feathers but hind neck transition into white plumage was not significantly different. Both post-spill and non-oiled pelicans wearing GPS tags had lower gular redness scores than the unmarked, non-oiled population. Pre-breeding gular pouch redness of post-spill pelicans was more strongly influenced by wearing of a GPS tag than a history of oil contamination and rehabilitation. Gular pouch redness of post-spill pelicans in the first 18 months after release was positively correlated with long term survivorship. If gular pouch color is a condition-dependent sexual signal and overall health influences plumage molt progression, our results indicate that many post-spill pelicans marked with bands alone were in relatively good condition going into the next breeding season, but those released with electronic tags experienced additional stress due to wearing the equipment, introducing a confounding variable to the post-release study.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Dec 1, 2016
FIORELLO ET AL., OPHTHALMIC EFFECTS OF DISPERSANTS ON MURRES 1 2 3 ABSTRACT 4 5 The safety of che... more FIORELLO ET AL., OPHTHALMIC EFFECTS OF DISPERSANTS ON MURRES 1 2 3 ABSTRACT 4 5 The safety of chemical dispersants used during oil spill responses is largely unknown in birds. 6 We captured common murres in Monterey Bay, CA and exposed them to Corexit EC9500a, 7 crude oil, or a combination in artificial seawater. We performed ophthalmic examinations and 8 measured intraocular pressures and tear production before and after exposure. Loglinear analysis 9 found that exposure to oil or dispersant was related to the development of conjunctivitis and 10 corneal ulcers. Odds ratios for birds exposed to oil or dispersant were positive and significant for 11 the development of conjunctivitis, while odds ratios for the development of corneal ulcers were 12 positive and significant only for birds exposed to a high concentration of oil. Ocular exposure to 13 dispersants and petroleum in seabirds may cause conjunctivitis and may play a role in the 14 development of corneal ulcers. These results have implications for policymakers who develop 15 protocols for the use of dispersants during marine oil spills. 16
Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 2001
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Jun 1, 2018
Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, Mar 1, 2004
Proceedings, May 1, 2017
ABSTRACT 2017-311 The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) was established in 1994 to address the n... more ABSTRACT 2017-311 The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) was established in 1994 to address the need for timely, consistent, and professional science-based preparedness and response for wildlife at...
Proceedings, May 1, 2017
A great deal of effort and resources is expended on the cleaning and rehabilitation of oiled wild... more A great deal of effort and resources is expended on the cleaning and rehabilitation of oiled wildlife, but the ultimate fate of these animals is often unknown. Post-release monitoring is essential for improving methodology and directing resources to those animals most likely to survive after release. The Refugio oil spill occurred in May 2015, spilling approximately 100,000 gallons of oil on the California coast near Santa Barbara. Brown pelicans were the most common avian species affected. We instrumented 12 oiled pelicans with solar-powered satellite GPS tags at the time of their release following cleaning and rehabilitation. An additional 8 control (unoiled) pelicans from a nearby area were similarly instrumented and released immediately. All birds survived for at least 12 weeks. In the first 6 months after release, distance traveled and movements were similar between rehabilitated and control pelicans. Several individuals traveled >5000 km, migrating to northern California or central Oregon in the late summer and early fall. In the spring, most birds traveled south, some as far as southern Baja California. Mortality was documented among both rehabilitated and control birds; however, the majority of birds that stopped transmitting were never found. Lack of transmission could represent mortality, tag or battery failure, or tag loss. After at least 40 weeks of tracking, 5 birds (3 rehabilitated and 2 control) were still transmitting. Based on presence in breeding colonies, none of the birds appeared to breed. These results demonstrate that brown pelicans can survive and travel long distances following oiling and rehabilitation.
Animals, Jun 30, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Marine Mammal Science, Nov 8, 2012
MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, **(*): ***-*** (*** 2012)
Conservation Science and Practice
Peninsular bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) are found exclusively in Southern California a... more Peninsular bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) are found exclusively in Southern California and Baja Mexico. They are federally endangered due to multiple threats, including introduced infectious disease. From 1981 to 2017, we conducted surveillance for 16 pathogens and estimated population sizes, adult survival, and lamb survival. We used mixed effects regression models to assess disease patterns at the individual and population levels. Pathogen infection/exposure prevalence varied both spatially and temporally. Our findings indicate that the primary predictor of individual pathogen infection/exposure was the region in which an animal was captured, implying that transmission is driven by local ecological or behavioral factors. Higher Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae seropositivity was associated with lower lamb survival, consistent with lambs having high rates of pneumonia‐associated mortality, which may be slowing population recovery. There was no association between M. ovipneumoniae ...
Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, Sep 20, 2012
Capture myopathy and associated death have been reported with capture and restraint of greater fl... more Capture myopathy and associated death have been reported with capture and restraint of greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus) and lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor). In chickens (Gallus gallus), blood lactate concentration levels have been used as indicators of muscle damage. Lactate has also been used to predict survival in humans and dogs. The goals of this study were to validate two common methods for measuring lactate (i-STAT and VetTest analyzers) in flamingo plasma by comparing measurements to a reference analyzer; and to correlate blood lactate concentration levels in captured flamingos with the duration and difficulty of capture as a possible indicator of capture myopathy. Twenty-seven banked flamingo plasma samples were run in triplicate on each of the three blood analyzers. Values from the i-STAT analyzer were consistently lower than those from the ABL analyzer, while values from the VetTest were consistently higher than those from the ABL analyzer. However, there was a good level of correlation between all three analyzers. Two of the three analyzers were determined to have acceptable total allowable error levels, calculated at 3.6% for the ABL and 10.7% for the VetTest. For clinical purposes, both the i-STAT and the VetTest analyzers provide adequate evaluation of lactate levels when serial samples are measured on the same analyzer. After validating the assay, 34 captive flamingos were captured for routine examinations. Blood lactate concentration levels were positively correlated with the length of time of the individual capture, but lactate did not increase significantly as capture difficulty increased. Only one animal was considered to have a difficult capture. No flamingos demonstrated clinical signs of capture myopathy during this study. Further research is required to determine if blood lactate concentration is a useful indicator of capture myopathy.
Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, Dec 19, 2017
Javma-journal of The American Veterinary Medical Association, Oct 15, 2018
Journal of Wildlife Diseases, Jul 5, 2021
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 1996
Western blots and a kinetic enzyme-linked immunosorhent assay (ELISA) were used to characterize a... more Western blots and a kinetic enzyme-linked immunosorhent assay (ELISA) were used to characterize and quantify the prevalence of antibodies to Psoroptes sp. mites in elk (Cervus elaphus) from nine herds in North America. Sera from infested (n 18) and non-infested (n 22) elk were used to optimize test methodology and to define cutoff values for negative, suspect, and positive samples. Among .357 samples, 35 (9.8%) of the animals were seropositive, 259 (73%) were negative, and 63 (18%) were suspect. Six of nine herds (67%) contained positive animals and two additional herds (22%) had suspect animals. Sex was not associated with prevalence of antil)odies, hut adults greater than 2 yr old were approximately five times more likely (95% confidence interval = 2.6-15.4) to be seropositive than calves. Based on these results, we propose that exposure to Psoroptes sp. mites may be widespread in free-ranging elk of North America.
PLOS ONE, Feb 27, 2019
Sublethal effects of oil spills may dampen seabird rehabilitation success due to lingering negati... more Sublethal effects of oil spills may dampen seabird rehabilitation success due to lingering negative impacts of contamination and stress on reproduction and long-term survival. These effects can be difficult to measure while birds are in care as well as once birds are released. Expression of sexually selected traits that are sensitive to condition can provide information on physiological status of birds. We evaluated plumage molt and gular pouch skin color of California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) following oil contamination and rehabilitation to test for differences between previously oiled and rehabilitated (post-spill) and presumably uncontaminated pelicans. Post-spill pelicans released with either color leg bands alone, or bands plus harness-mounted satellite GPS tags, were relocated and visually assessed in the field at non-breeding communal roosts and compared to surrounding unmarked pelicans in the general population. Non-oiled pelicans bearing GPS tags were also included in the study. Post-spill pelicans lagged the general population in molt of ornamental yellow crown feathers but hind neck transition into white plumage was not significantly different. Both post-spill and non-oiled pelicans wearing GPS tags had lower gular redness scores than the unmarked, non-oiled population. Pre-breeding gular pouch redness of post-spill pelicans was more strongly influenced by wearing of a GPS tag than a history of oil contamination and rehabilitation. Gular pouch redness of post-spill pelicans in the first 18 months after release was positively correlated with long term survivorship. If gular pouch color is a condition-dependent sexual signal and overall health influences plumage molt progression, our results indicate that many post-spill pelicans marked with bands alone were in relatively good condition going into the next breeding season, but those released with electronic tags experienced additional stress due to wearing the equipment, introducing a confounding variable to the post-release study.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Dec 1, 2016
FIORELLO ET AL., OPHTHALMIC EFFECTS OF DISPERSANTS ON MURRES 1 2 3 ABSTRACT 4 5 The safety of che... more FIORELLO ET AL., OPHTHALMIC EFFECTS OF DISPERSANTS ON MURRES 1 2 3 ABSTRACT 4 5 The safety of chemical dispersants used during oil spill responses is largely unknown in birds. 6 We captured common murres in Monterey Bay, CA and exposed them to Corexit EC9500a, 7 crude oil, or a combination in artificial seawater. We performed ophthalmic examinations and 8 measured intraocular pressures and tear production before and after exposure. Loglinear analysis 9 found that exposure to oil or dispersant was related to the development of conjunctivitis and 10 corneal ulcers. Odds ratios for birds exposed to oil or dispersant were positive and significant for 11 the development of conjunctivitis, while odds ratios for the development of corneal ulcers were 12 positive and significant only for birds exposed to a high concentration of oil. Ocular exposure to 13 dispersants and petroleum in seabirds may cause conjunctivitis and may play a role in the 14 development of corneal ulcers. These results have implications for policymakers who develop 15 protocols for the use of dispersants during marine oil spills. 16
Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 2001
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Jun 1, 2018
Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, Mar 1, 2004
Proceedings, May 1, 2017
ABSTRACT 2017-311 The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) was established in 1994 to address the n... more ABSTRACT 2017-311 The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) was established in 1994 to address the need for timely, consistent, and professional science-based preparedness and response for wildlife at...
Proceedings, May 1, 2017
A great deal of effort and resources is expended on the cleaning and rehabilitation of oiled wild... more A great deal of effort and resources is expended on the cleaning and rehabilitation of oiled wildlife, but the ultimate fate of these animals is often unknown. Post-release monitoring is essential for improving methodology and directing resources to those animals most likely to survive after release. The Refugio oil spill occurred in May 2015, spilling approximately 100,000 gallons of oil on the California coast near Santa Barbara. Brown pelicans were the most common avian species affected. We instrumented 12 oiled pelicans with solar-powered satellite GPS tags at the time of their release following cleaning and rehabilitation. An additional 8 control (unoiled) pelicans from a nearby area were similarly instrumented and released immediately. All birds survived for at least 12 weeks. In the first 6 months after release, distance traveled and movements were similar between rehabilitated and control pelicans. Several individuals traveled >5000 km, migrating to northern California or central Oregon in the late summer and early fall. In the spring, most birds traveled south, some as far as southern Baja California. Mortality was documented among both rehabilitated and control birds; however, the majority of birds that stopped transmitting were never found. Lack of transmission could represent mortality, tag or battery failure, or tag loss. After at least 40 weeks of tracking, 5 birds (3 rehabilitated and 2 control) were still transmitting. Based on presence in breeding colonies, none of the birds appeared to breed. These results demonstrate that brown pelicans can survive and travel long distances following oiling and rehabilitation.
Animals, Jun 30, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Marine Mammal Science, Nov 8, 2012
MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, **(*): ***-*** (*** 2012)
Conservation Science and Practice
Peninsular bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) are found exclusively in Southern California a... more Peninsular bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) are found exclusively in Southern California and Baja Mexico. They are federally endangered due to multiple threats, including introduced infectious disease. From 1981 to 2017, we conducted surveillance for 16 pathogens and estimated population sizes, adult survival, and lamb survival. We used mixed effects regression models to assess disease patterns at the individual and population levels. Pathogen infection/exposure prevalence varied both spatially and temporally. Our findings indicate that the primary predictor of individual pathogen infection/exposure was the region in which an animal was captured, implying that transmission is driven by local ecological or behavioral factors. Higher Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae seropositivity was associated with lower lamb survival, consistent with lambs having high rates of pneumonia‐associated mortality, which may be slowing population recovery. There was no association between M. ovipneumoniae ...
Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, Sep 20, 2012
Capture myopathy and associated death have been reported with capture and restraint of greater fl... more Capture myopathy and associated death have been reported with capture and restraint of greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus) and lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor). In chickens (Gallus gallus), blood lactate concentration levels have been used as indicators of muscle damage. Lactate has also been used to predict survival in humans and dogs. The goals of this study were to validate two common methods for measuring lactate (i-STAT and VetTest analyzers) in flamingo plasma by comparing measurements to a reference analyzer; and to correlate blood lactate concentration levels in captured flamingos with the duration and difficulty of capture as a possible indicator of capture myopathy. Twenty-seven banked flamingo plasma samples were run in triplicate on each of the three blood analyzers. Values from the i-STAT analyzer were consistently lower than those from the ABL analyzer, while values from the VetTest were consistently higher than those from the ABL analyzer. However, there was a good level of correlation between all three analyzers. Two of the three analyzers were determined to have acceptable total allowable error levels, calculated at 3.6% for the ABL and 10.7% for the VetTest. For clinical purposes, both the i-STAT and the VetTest analyzers provide adequate evaluation of lactate levels when serial samples are measured on the same analyzer. After validating the assay, 34 captive flamingos were captured for routine examinations. Blood lactate concentration levels were positively correlated with the length of time of the individual capture, but lactate did not increase significantly as capture difficulty increased. Only one animal was considered to have a difficult capture. No flamingos demonstrated clinical signs of capture myopathy during this study. Further research is required to determine if blood lactate concentration is a useful indicator of capture myopathy.