Poxvirus in Scaled Quail and Prevalences of Poxvirus-like Lesions in Northern Bobwhites and Scaled Quail from Texas

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Prevalences of poxvirus-like lesions were determined for 177 northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus)

Increasing prevalence of avian poxvirus in Darwin's finches and its effect on male pairing success

“…In this study, the prevalence of avian poxvirus did not vary with sex, which is consistent with juvenile red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa (Buenestado et al 2004), northern bobwhites Colinus virginianus, and scaled quail Calipepla squamata (Wilson and Crawford 1988). However, male Galápagos mockingbirds were shown to be more prone to pox than females, which is possibly explained by the occurrence of male aggressive encounters that lead to more contact between skin abrasions (Curry and Grant 1989).…”

“…Similarly, prevalence of pox lesions in quail was found to peak during the period of greatest annual rainfall (Wilson and Crawford 1988). It is plausible that the relationship between rainfall and vector numbers may explain some of the variation in pox prevalence observed across species and habitats in this study, not least given the extreme climatic fluctuations characteristic of the Galápagos Islands (Grant 1999, Grant et al 2000b, including the recent 1998 El Niñ o followed by three relatively dry years (Kleindorfer unpubl.…”

“…Avian poxvirus Poxvirus avium occurs in at least 60 species of wild birds (Kirmse 1967a), though few studies describe the effects of avian pox on wild bird populations (Kirmse 1969, Kirmse and Loftin 1969, Vargas 1987, Wilson and Crawford 1988, Curry and Grant 1989, Docherty et al 1991, Forrester 1991, Buenestado et al 2004.…”

Annotated Draft Genome Assemblies for the Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and the Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata) Reveal Disparate Estimates of Modern Genome Diversity and Historic Effective Population Size

“…Hypotheses regarding the potential origins of bobwhite and scaled quail declines have often pointed to an array of complex interactions between various environmental and human factors including weather, habitat fragmentation or loss, predation, disease, toxins, and harvest intensity, particularly during a drought ( Clawson and Baker 1959 ; Wilson and Crawford 1988 ; Brennan 1991 , 1994 ; Bridges et al 2001 ; Rollins and Carroll 2001 ; Williams et al 2004 ; Hernández et al 2013 ; Dunham et al 2014 ). However, most quail biologists agree that habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation are primary causes of bobwhite and scaled quail declines ( Roseberry and Klimstra 1984 ; Peterson 2001 ; Williams et al 2004 ; Tomeček et al 2015 ).…”

“…, eyeworms, Oxyspirura petrowi ; avian poxvirus; West Nile Virus), as well as environmental toxins ( i.e. , heptachlor and dieldrin; now banned in the United States of America) have also been suggested as potential factors influencing more recent quail population declines ( Clawson and Baker 1959 ; Wilson and Crawford 1988 ; Reed and Schrader 1989 ; Syracuse Research Corporation 2002, 2007; Komar et al 2003 ; Dunham et al 2014 ). However, no specific infectious or parasitic diseases, including eyeworms, have been shown to be causal for broad-scale declines among bobwhites or scaled quail ( Peterson 2007 ).…”