Evaluation of Five Pulicides to Suppress Fleas on Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs: Encouraging Long-Term Results with Systemic 0.005% Fipronil

Eads, David A.; Biggins, Dean E.; Bowser, Jonathan; Broerman, Kristina; Livieri, Travis M.; Childers, Eddie; Dobesh, Phillip; Griebel, Randall L.

doi:10.1089/vbz.2018.2339

Cited by 32 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…, Eads et al. ). An improved understanding of spatial and temporal variation in flea abundance and plague transmission should allow more efficient targeting of flea control to manage the disease.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flea sharing among sympatric rodent hosts: implications for potential plague effects on a threatened sciurid

2020

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For vector‐borne diseases, the abundance and competency of different vector species and their host preferences will impact the transfer of pathogens among hosts. Sylvatic plague is a lethal disease caused by the primarily flea‐borne bacterium Yersinia pestis. Sylvatic plague was introduced into the western United States in the early 1900s and impacts many species of rodents. Plague may be suppressing populations of the threatened northern Idaho ground squirrel (Urocitellus brunneus) if a competent flea community is allowing plague to be maintained within the few extant sites that support this rare ground squirrel. We collected fleas from four species of sympatric rodents in central Idaho: northern Idaho ground squirrels, Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus), yellow‐pine chipmunks (Tamias amoenus), and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). We evaluated which flea species were present and whether fleas were shared among the rodent community. We documented seven species of fleas among 3356 fleas collected from the four host species of rodents, and all seven species of fleas are known vectors of plague. Three of the seven flea species were detected on all four rodent species, demonstrating potential for spillover of plague (bridge vectors) in the rodent community. We used generalized linear mixed models to evaluate which abiotic and biotic factors influence flea abundance (total number of fleas, regardless of flea species, on each individual host of the four rodent host species). Factors that impacted flea abundance varied among the four host species, but flea abundance: (1) changed over summer depending on host species, (2) was greater on males, and (3) was impacted by summer and winter precipitation depending on host species. Our results suggest this diverse flea community has the capacity to transfer Y. pestis among populations of the four rodents if Y. pestis is present. Furthermore, the disease may be more likely to persist in some locations than others, those that have higher flea abundances, more sympatric hosts, or optimal conditions for fleas, and such high‐risk sites can be identified based on their abiotic and biotic factors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flea sharing among sympatric rodent hosts: implications for potential plague effects on a threatened sciurid

2020

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“…(3) PD populations respond to a multitude of other sources of variation including differences in plant communities, differences in predation rates, other diseases, etc. (4) The pulicide treatments are unlikely to have entirely removed plague from the treated plots, and efficiency of flea control likely varied among sites ( Tripp et al, 2017 ; Eads et al, 2019 ). (5) Plague circulates at variable rates due to many factors other than precipitation ( Gage and Kosoy, 2005 ), which doubtless contributes to the high variation noted in our non-dusted plots, at least.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plague transforms positive effects of precipitation on prairie dogs to negative effects

Biggins

Eads

Godbey

2021

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

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Rodents characteristically benefit from increased precipitation, especially in typically dry habitats; “good years” of high precipitation improve their forage and water balance. However, Yersinia pestis (plague), a flea-borne pathogen of mammals that was introduced to western North America, has the greatest negative impact on at least some species of rodents during years of above-average precipitation. In the absence of plague mitigation, negative effects of plague in wet years might overwhelm the otherwise beneficial effects of increased moisture. In Montana and Utah, USA, where plague now occurs enzootically, we investigated the influence of precipitation on finite rates of annual population change (2000–2005) for 3 species of prairie dogs ( Cynomys spp.) in replicated plots treated with deltamethrin dust and in non-treated plots for paired comparisons. There was a significant interaction between precipitation and treatment. When we reduced plague vector fleas, prairie dog visual counts tended to increase with increasing precipitation. Simultaneously, there was a negative relationship between counts and precipitation on paired plots where plague was not managed, suggesting that plague transformed and reversed the otherwise beneficial effect of increased precipitation. Are the good years gone for prairie dogs? Even if the good years are not gone, they are perhaps relatively scarce compared to historic times prior to the invasion of plague. This scenario might apply to other ecosystems and may pose broad conservation challenges in western North America.

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“…Based on our findings, prioritizing dusting to dry years and/or to colonies in which BTPD body conditions are poorer may be one cost‐effective option to mitigate flea parasitism while also reducing the risks of broader preventative use (Eads et al 2016). Orally administered insecticides have also returned encouraging results in controlling flea populations on BTPD and other rodent hosts (Borchert et al 2009, Poché et al 2017, Eads et al 2019), and although further testing is required to verify their safety, their gradual implementation may reduce impacts on non‐target invertebrates and lower costs of plague management (Borchert et al 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enzootic maintenance of sylvatic plague in Canada's threatened black‐tailed prairie dog ecosystem

et al. 2020

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Data paucity can seem to hinder science‐based approaches to the conservation of imperiled species. Yet, even individually limited datasets can improve understanding and management of complex ecological systems when carefully integrated. We demonstrate this approach to gain first insights on the transmission ecology of Yersinia pestis in Grasslands National Park (GNP), Canada, where both the bacterium and its rodent host, the nationally threatened black‐tailed prairie dog (BTPD, Cynomys ludovicianus), reach the northern limit of their distribution in North America. Primarily flea‐borne, Y. pestis causes sylvatic plague, a disease of exceptional relevance to both human health and wildlife conservation. We integrated data collected independently by multiple organizations in 2010–2017 across 17 BTPD colonies, where the species co‐occur with Richardson's ground squirrels (RGS, Urocitellus richardsonii). Available data included estimates of BTPD density and occupancy from visual counts and colony mapping; information on flea distribution, abundance, and prevalence of infection with Y. pestis from burrow swabbing, animal combing, and PCR assays; and the response of these variables to deltamethrin application on BTPD colony sections. Our analyses suggest that sylvatic plague in GNP is maintained at an enzootic level (i.e., chronic presence affecting a low proportion of individuals) with no evidence of widespread mortality, at least partially due to reduced flea activity after spring (percentage of prevalence in burrows: April–May = 11.69–33.89%; June–September: 1.75–3.19%), low prevalence of Y. pestis in flea samples (95% CI = 0.42–2.27%), and relatively low BTPD densities. Nonetheless, reducing flea prevalence through insecticide application had a positive effect on BTPD abundance, suggesting that enzootic plague is causing chronic mortality. Because flea prevalence on hosts was higher following drier years and higher on RGS than on BTPD (26.69% vs. 3.27%), insecticide application may be particularly important during dry periods and may need to take RGS and their movements into consideration. Differences between flea communities sampled by burrow swabbing and host combing suggest that plague surveillance should integrate both methods. Effects of projected climate change on vector life cycles, flea community composition, and host–parasite interactions warrant continued monitoring and an adaptive approach to species recovery actions and plague mitigation measures.

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Evaluation of Five Pulicides to Suppress Fleas on Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs: Encouraging Long-Term Results with Systemic 0.005% Fipronil

Cited by 32 publications

References 22 publications

Flea sharing among sympatric rodent hosts: implications for potential plague effects on a threatened sciurid

Flea sharing among sympatric rodent hosts: implications for potential plague effects on a threatened sciurid

Plague transforms positive effects of precipitation on prairie dogs to negative effects

Enzootic maintenance of sylvatic plague in Canada's threatened black‐tailed prairie dog ecosystem

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