CANCELED: Emerging Diseases in the Birds of Wisconsin and Beyond

press release:  In the effort to protect the health of the community and residents of Capitol Lakes, we are canceling the Evenings with Audubon presentation scheduled for Wednesday, March 18.

We hope to reschedule the talk for a later date, but in the meantime, take care and enjoy the return of spring birds!

Thank you and be well,

the Madison Audubon crew

Emerging diseases of animals that can infect humans are the subject of intense global concern.  But what about the effects of emerging diseases on wildlife themselves?  This talk describes what we know and don't know about emerging infectious diseases in the birds of Wisconsin and beyond, including the newly discovered bald eagle hepacivirus, found here in Wisconsin, connected with what is called the Wisconsin River eagle syndrome (WRES). Other examples from passerines to penguins highlight how disease can alter the ecology and viability of avian populations, and how these populations are evolving in response to disease threats.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: TONY GOLDBERG

Tony Goldberg is faculty in the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine and is associate director for research at the UW-Madison Global Health Institute, where he studies the ecology, epidemiology and evolution of infectious disease. His research combines field and laboratory studies to understand how disease-causing agents are transmitted among hosts, across complex landscapes, and over time. He combines these techniques with methods from the social sciences to understand the root drivers of disease emergence in real world settings. His overarching goal is to improve the health and well-being of animals and people while helping to conserve the rapidly changing ecosystems we share.

Tony was recently the lead author of a publication in the journal Scientific Reports, which describes a novel hepacivirus-like virus identified during an investigation of Wisconsin River eagle syndrome (WRES).

This talk is free, open to the public, and family-friendly. Free parking is available in the ramp across Main Street (when you enter the ramp, you'll need to take a ticket, but by the time you leave the gates will be open and you won't need to pay)