Dorothy Ginnett, associate lecturer in the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point�s College of Natural Resources (CNR), has been awarded a $2,000 grant to explore the impact of heartworm on wild canids (wolves and coyotes), as well as to study blood-borne parasites in maternal and yearling American black bears.

UWSP�s University Personnel Development Committee (UPDC) funded the projects to be completed this fall.

"Wildlife disease ecology is a relatively young field of wildlife management and I believe it is a key component for current and future generations of wildlife ecologists," said Ginnett. "

The first phase of the grant focuses on the impact of heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis), on the recovering timber wolf population in Wisconsin.

"A key to this study is whether coyotes are naturally transmitting the heartworm to the wolf packs of our state," said Ginnett.

Heartworm is a mosquito-borne parasite and in the adult stage, may infect a wolf�s heart and impair circulation, respiration and overall endurance. The project will examine blood from living canids, heart and lung data from carcasses, as well as historical databases. Ginnett will collaborate with Jerold Theis of the University of California-Davis, Adrian Wydeven, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) mammalian ecologist and head of the Wolf Population Monitoring Group, and Kerry Beheler, wildlife health specialist for the DNR.

The second grant component will have Ginnett surveying maternal and yearling black bears in northern Wisconsin for the prevalence of Lyme disease and other diseases.

"The data collected will be used to assess the impact of disease on the black bear population, the potential for black bears to serve as a natural reservoir for diseases, and the disease risk factors for humans and domestic livestock," said Ginnett.

Ginnett will collaborate on this phase of the project with her husband, fellow CNR faculty member and wildlife specialist, Timothy Ginnett. He is the principle investigator on a long-term radio-telemetry study of American black bears. The study will focus on black bears in the Clam Lake region of the Chequamegon National Forest.

Ginnett received her Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California-Davis. She joined UWSP�s faculty in 2001.

-30-

tmiller/vc/Ginnett UPDC grant