Five Texas universities were selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help early detect New World screwworm infestations in livestock and wildlife.
The universities were among 40 selected nationwide by the USDA to receive a combined total of about $105 million. Funds will be used for a two-year project that will test drone technology as a tool for early detection of infestations.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) received a $2.2 million grant to develop the drone-based technologies.
Other Texas universities receiving grants include Texas Tech, Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Arlington, and the Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
"This grant will be very important for supporting the kind of research that we want to carry out to try to bring new tools for combating screwworm for federal, state agencies, and for producers and land managers," said Dr. Sarah Maestas, assistant professor for UTRGV's School of Integrative Biological and Chemical Sciences.
She said university officials hopes to to develop tools that will aid in monitoring and surveillance efforts and improve targeted response efforts.
Maestas said one goal is to evaluate the use of thermal imagery, initially using handheld thermal imagery units, and then progressing to drone-mounted thermal cameras.
"We'll be evaluating vegetation associations of screwworm flies" she said, "and using that to develop models that will help us to evaluate where the adult flies are going to be distributed on the landscape to evaluate, you know, where animals might be coming into contact with them, or where adults are spending their time; so we can target management efforts."
The initiative was launched by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in June to slow down the infestations surging across the Southwest.
Since then, at least 110 cases have been detected in mainly livestock across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
