The Effect of European Starlings and Ambient Air Temperature on <em>Salmonella enterica</em> Contamination within Cattle Feed Bunks
European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are a known risk factor for the occurrence of microorganisms that are pathogenic to cattle and humans in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Starling use of CAFOs is known to vary in response to weather; starling control operations on CAFOs often are...
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Format: | Article |
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Utah State University
2017-02-01
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Series: | Human-Wildlife Interactions |
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Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol6/iss1/8 |
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author | James C. Carlson Jeremy W. Ellis Shelagh K. Tupper Alan B. Franklin George M. Linz |
author_facet | James C. Carlson Jeremy W. Ellis Shelagh K. Tupper Alan B. Franklin George M. Linz |
author_sort | James C. Carlson |
collection | DOAJ |
description | European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are a known risk factor for the occurrence of microorganisms that are pathogenic to cattle and humans in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Starling use of CAFOs is known to vary in response to weather; starling control operations on CAFOs often are timed to coincide with favorable environmental conditions to maximize take. The totality of this information suggests that disease risks in CAFOs associated with starlings may be influenced by environmental factors, such as temperature. In this study, we assessed the risk of Salmonella enterica contamination of cattle feed by modeling the interaction between starling numbers and ambient air temperatures using data previously reported from Texas CAFOs. We compared these interaction models to the previously published additive models for S. enterica contamination of cattle feed using an information-theoretic approach to model selection that ranked and weighted models in terms of their support by the data, using bias-adjusted Akaike’s Information Criterion (AICc) and Akaike weights (Wi). Our results indicate that the interaction between European starlings and ambient air temperature better explained the occurrence of S. enterica in cattle feed than any of the previously reported models. Specifically, the risk of S. enterica contamination of cattle feed by starlings was greatest when winter temperatures were highest (10°C). Thus, we conclude that the risk of S. enterica contamination of cattle feed by starlings will be worst on the few winter days when daytime high temperatures are above freezing and large numbers of birds are present. Because these conditions will be most common in the late winter and early spring, we recommend that starling control operations on feedlots and dairies be conducted as early in the winter as possible to mitigate the risks of disease created by large foraging flocks of starlings. |
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issn | 2155-3874 2155-3874 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:34:26Z |
publishDate | 2017-02-01 |
publisher | Utah State University |
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series | Human-Wildlife Interactions |
spelling | doaj.art-99db19c1c4494e038d9b427b1aa828c12022-12-22T00:36:13ZengUtah State UniversityHuman-Wildlife Interactions2155-38742155-38742017-02-016110.26077/x2j7-2949The Effect of European Starlings and Ambient Air Temperature on <em>Salmonella enterica</em> Contamination within Cattle Feed BunksJames C. Carlson0Jeremy W. Ellis1Shelagh K. Tupper2Alan B. Franklin3George M. Linz4USDA-APHIS, Wildlife Services’ National Wildlife Research CenterUSDA-APHIS, Wildlife Services’ National Wildlife Research CenterUSDA-APHIS, Wildlife Services’ National Wildlife Research CenterUSDA-APHIS, Wildlife Services’ National Wildlife Research CenterUSDA-APHIS, Wildlife Services’ National Wildlife Research CenterEuropean starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are a known risk factor for the occurrence of microorganisms that are pathogenic to cattle and humans in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Starling use of CAFOs is known to vary in response to weather; starling control operations on CAFOs often are timed to coincide with favorable environmental conditions to maximize take. The totality of this information suggests that disease risks in CAFOs associated with starlings may be influenced by environmental factors, such as temperature. In this study, we assessed the risk of Salmonella enterica contamination of cattle feed by modeling the interaction between starling numbers and ambient air temperatures using data previously reported from Texas CAFOs. We compared these interaction models to the previously published additive models for S. enterica contamination of cattle feed using an information-theoretic approach to model selection that ranked and weighted models in terms of their support by the data, using bias-adjusted Akaike’s Information Criterion (AICc) and Akaike weights (Wi). Our results indicate that the interaction between European starlings and ambient air temperature better explained the occurrence of S. enterica in cattle feed than any of the previously reported models. Specifically, the risk of S. enterica contamination of cattle feed by starlings was greatest when winter temperatures were highest (10°C). Thus, we conclude that the risk of S. enterica contamination of cattle feed by starlings will be worst on the few winter days when daytime high temperatures are above freezing and large numbers of birds are present. Because these conditions will be most common in the late winter and early spring, we recommend that starling control operations on feedlots and dairies be conducted as early in the winter as possible to mitigate the risks of disease created by large foraging flocks of starlings.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol6/iss1/8cattleeuropean starlingsfoodborne pathogenshuman–wildlife conflictsinvasive speciesperidomestic wildlifesalmonella entericawildlife diseasezoonosis |
spellingShingle | James C. Carlson Jeremy W. Ellis Shelagh K. Tupper Alan B. Franklin George M. Linz The Effect of European Starlings and Ambient Air Temperature on <em>Salmonella enterica</em> Contamination within Cattle Feed Bunks Human-Wildlife Interactions cattle european starlings foodborne pathogens human–wildlife conflicts invasive species peridomestic wildlife salmonella enterica wildlife disease zoonosis |
title | The Effect of European Starlings and Ambient Air Temperature on <em>Salmonella enterica</em> Contamination within Cattle Feed Bunks |
title_full | The Effect of European Starlings and Ambient Air Temperature on <em>Salmonella enterica</em> Contamination within Cattle Feed Bunks |
title_fullStr | The Effect of European Starlings and Ambient Air Temperature on <em>Salmonella enterica</em> Contamination within Cattle Feed Bunks |
title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of European Starlings and Ambient Air Temperature on <em>Salmonella enterica</em> Contamination within Cattle Feed Bunks |
title_short | The Effect of European Starlings and Ambient Air Temperature on <em>Salmonella enterica</em> Contamination within Cattle Feed Bunks |
title_sort | effect of european starlings and ambient air temperature on em salmonella enterica em contamination within cattle feed bunks |
topic | cattle european starlings foodborne pathogens human–wildlife conflicts invasive species peridomestic wildlife salmonella enterica wildlife disease zoonosis |
url | https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol6/iss1/8 |
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