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Subject: Mongolia Field Activities
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wkaresh
Posts:18
09/12/2006 6:50 PM  
In August 2006, an international team of scientists led by the Wildlife
Conservation Society's (WCS) Field Veterinary Program, in collaboration
with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and Mongolian State Central
Veterinary Laboratory, and joined by the US Geologic Survey and the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization, undertook the first of two extensive
avian influenza surveys of wetlands in Mongolia. These surveys are being
conducted as part of a broader initiative to understand the role of wild
birds in the spread of the Avian Influenza virus across the globe
(GAINS). This initial phase will began in the eastern aimag (province)
of Dornod, a remote area of grassland steppe in far eastern Mongolia,
near the borders of Russia and China. Work is now continuing in central
and western areas of the country.

In Dornod, data was collected at fourteen lakes, and included
descriptions of geography (size, water level, shore substrate), water
quality (temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity), social impact
(settlements, relative livestock populations) in addition to a detailed
censuses of the live birds present. Shoreline transects were
undertaken to locate dead birds at each site, and all carcasses were
identified according to species, age, sex and approximate time of death
(when the state of decomposition allowed). Live captures were attempted
at three lakes, resulting in the capture and sampling of 46 live birds
of four species: swan goose (Anser cygnoides), whooper swan (Cygnus
cygnus), ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) and common goldeneye
(Bucephala clangula). Fecal samples were also collected during the
surveys.

In addition to morphometrics and sampling, ten Whooper Swans were fitted
with solar powered GPS transmitters provided by FAO using Teflon tape
back-pack harnesses. USGS is preparing maps on a bi-weekly schedule to
allow people to follow the migration of these birds which may be
monitored for several years. Two dead birds found within hours of death
(wood sandpiper (Tringa glareola), and a common pochard (Aythya ferina),
and two sick birds captured (a ruddy shelduck and a common goldeneye)
all tested negative for influenza A using rapid tests (Symbiotics)
donated by the EAI Corporation, a subsidiary of Science Applications
International Corporation, and the Center for Innovative
Technology/Institute for Defense and Homeland Security as part of a
cooperative program with USGS.

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