Book Review of Birds of the Great Plains by Bob Jennings, Ted T. Cable, and Roger Burrows

Though intended as a field guide to the birds of the Great Plains, this book seems to serve best as a general introduction to Great Plains birds and will mostly benefit those casually interested in birds. The definition of Great Plains the book uses is rather broad, and some species are included that, in my opinion, aren't really birds of the Great Plains. For example, several warblers are included as breeding species although they nest within the book's definition of the region only in the conifer or mixed forest of north-central to northwestern Minnesota, which isn't really a part of the Great Plains proper.

Sapro-Zoonotic Risks Posed by Wild Birds in Agricultural Landscapes

There are over 1400 catalogued human pathogens, with approximately 62% classified as zoonotic (Taylor et al., 2001). Most evidence of direct transmission of pathogens to humans involves domestic and companion animals, whereas the reservoir for most zoonoses is wildlife; yet there are relatively few well-documented cases for the direct involvement of transmission from wildlife to humans (Kruse et al., 2004). In part, this absence of evidence reflects the mobility of wildlife, the difficulty accessing relevant samples, and the smaller number of studies focused on characterizing wildlife pathogens relative to the human and veterinary literature (McDiarmid, 1969; Davis et al., 1971; Hubalek, 2004).

Experimental Bolbophorus damnificus (Digenea: Bolbophoridae) Infections in Piscivorous Birds

In order to determine potential definitive hosts of the digenetic trematode, Bolbophorus damnificus, two American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), two Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), two Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias), and two Great Egrets (Ardea alba) were captured, treated with praziquantel, and fed channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) infected with B. damnificus metacercariae. Patent infections of B. damnificus, which developed in both American White Pelicans at 3 days post-infection, were confirmed by the presence of trematode ova in the feces. Mature B. damnificus trematodes were recovered from the intestines of both pelicans at 21 days post-infection, further confirming the establishment of infection. No evidence of B. damnificus infections was observed in the other bird species studied. This study provides further evidence that Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, and Great Egrets do not serve as definitive hosts for B. damnificus.

Use of policy, education, and enforcement to reduce binge drinking among university students: The NU Directions project

This paper describes a program, conducted over a 5-year period, that effectively reduced heavy drinking and alcohol-related harms among university students. The program was organized around strategies to change the environment in which binge drinking occurred and involved input and cooperation from officials and students of the university, representatives from the city and the neighborhood near the university, law enforcement, as well as public health and medical officials. In 1997, 62.5% of the university’s approximately 16,000 undergraduate student population reported binge drinking. This rate had dropped to 47% in 2003. Similar reductions were found in both self-reported primary and secondary harms related to alcohol consumption.