Ethical approvals
This research was conducted under approval of the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center’s Animal Care and Use Committee, protocol numbers EP090325, EP120302, and EP153020 in strict accordance with guidelines set forth in the U.S. Government’s Animal Welfare Act and the National Institutes of Health Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare. Permits for the capture and sampling of wild birds were issued by the Icelandic Institute of Natural History (Permit Numbers 368 and 403). Permits to ship collected cloacal swab samples from Iceland to the United States (U.S.) were obtained from the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. All sampling occurred in conjunction with the Southwest Iceland Nature Research Institute, the University of Iceland, Snæfellsnes Research Centre, the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, and in the case of private lands, with the specific permission of landowners.