Analysis of the trap gene provides evidence for the role of elevation and vector abundance in the genetic diversity of Plasmodium relictum in Hawaii
Margaret E.M. Farias, Carter T. Atkinson, Dennis A. LaPointe, Susan I. Jarvi
2012, Malaria Journal (11)
Background: The avian disease system in Hawaii offers an ideal opportunity to investigate host-pathogen interactions in a natural setting. Previous studies have recognized only a single mitochondrial lineage of avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) in the Hawaiian Islands, but cloning and sequencing of nuclear genes suggest a higher degree of genetic...
Plant allocation of carbon to defense as a function of herbivory, light and nutrient availability
Donald L. DeAngelis, Shu Ju, Rongsong Liu, John P. Bryant, Stephen A. Gourley
2012, Theoretical Ecology (5) 445-456
We use modeling to determine the optimal relative plant carbon allocations between foliage, fine roots, anti-herbivore defense, and reproduction to maximize reproductive output. The model treats these plant components and the herbivore compartment as variables. Herbivory is assumed to be purely folivory. Key external factors include nutrient availability, degree of...
Ecology and conservation biology of avian malaria
Dennis A. LaPointe, Carter T. Atkinson, Michael D. Samuel
2012, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (1249) 211-226
Avian malaria is a worldwide mosquito-borne disease caused by Plasmodium parasites. These parasites occur in many avian species but primarily affect passerine birds that have not evolved with the parasite. Host pathogenicity, fitness, and population impacts are poorly understood. In contrast to continental species, introduced avian malaria poses a substantial...
Bleaching, disease and recovery in the threatened scleractinian coral Acropora palmata in St. John, US Virgin Islands: 2003-2010
C.S. Rogers, E. M. Muller
2012, Coral Reefs (31) 807-819
A long-term study of the scleractinian coral Acropora palmata in the US Virgin Islands (USVI) showed that diseases, particularly white pox, are limiting the recovery of this threatened species. Colonies of A. palmata in Haulover Bay, within Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, were examined monthly in situ for signs...
Eastern mosquitofish resists invasion by nonindigenous poeciliids through agonistic behaviors
Kevin A. Thompson, Jeffrey E. Hill, Leo G. Nico
2012, Biological Invasions (14) 1515-1529
Florida is a hotspot for nonindigenous fishes with over 30 species established, although few of these are small-bodied species. One hypothesis for this pattern is that biotic resistance of native species is reducing the success of small-bodied, introduced fishes. The eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki is common in many freshwater habitats...
Preliminary geologic map of the Stanardsville 7.5' quadrangle, Greene and Madison Counties, Virginia
William C. Burton, Christopher M. Bailey, E. Allen Crider
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1190
The Stanardsville 7.5-minute quadrangle is located about 30 kilometers north of Charlottesville, Virginia, in the eastern foothills of the Blue Ridge and within the Blue Ridge physiographic province. The quadrangle contains a small part of the eastern margin of Shenandoah National Park along Saddleback Mountain just north of Swift...
Diet and conservation implications of an invasive chameleon, Chamaeleo jacksonii (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae) in Hawaii
Fred Kraus, Arthur Medeiros, David Preston, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Gordon H. Rodda
2012, Biological Invasions (14) 579-593
We summarize information on current distribution of the invasive lizard Chamaeleo jacksonii and predict its potential distribution in the Hawaiian Islands. Potential distribution maps are based on climate models developed from known localities in its native range and its Hawaiian range. We also present results of analysis of stomach contents...
Health assessment and seroepidemiologic survey of potential pathogens in wild Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus)
Kathryn Sulzner, Christine Kreuder Johnson, Robert K. Bonde, Nicole Auil Gomez, James Powell, Klaus Nielsen, M. Page Luttrell, A.D.M.E. Osterhaus, A. Alonso Aguirre
2012, PLoS ONE (7)
The Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus), a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, inhabits fresh, brackish, and warm coastal waters distributed along the eastern border of Central America, the northern coast of South America, and throughout the Wider Caribbean Region. Threatened primarily by human encroachment, poaching, and habitat degradation, Antillean...
Birds in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park: Summary of the 2010 inventory and monitoring program survey
Richard J. Camp, Seth W. Judge, Patrick J. Hart, Greg Kudray, Jacqueline M. Gaudioso, Bobby H. Hsu
2012, 'Elepaio (72) 1-5
The National Park Service (NPS) created the Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program in 1998 to establish baseline information and assess long-term trends in "vital signs" or key abiotic and biotic elements of National Parks (Fancy et al. 2009). The Pacific Island Network of the I&M Program developed a Landbirds Monitoring...
Bird populations on the Island of Tinian: persistence despite wholesale loss of native forests
Richard J. Camp, Frederick A. Amidon, Ann P. Marshall, Thane K. Pratt
2012, Pacific Science (66) 283-298
Bird habitat on the island of Tinian, Mariana Islands, has been substantially altered, and only around 5% of the island has native forest today. The modern bird fauna is likely to be a subset of the original avifauna where only species tolerant to native forest loss and human disturbance have...
Discordant introgression in a rapidly expanding hybrid swarm
Jessica L. Ward, Mike J. Blum, David M. Walters, Brady A. Porter, Noel Burkhead, Byron Freeman
2012, Evolutionary Applications (5) 380-392
The erosion of species boundaries can involve rapid evolutionary change. Consequently, many aspects of the process remain poorly understood, including the formation, expansion, and evolution of hybrid swarms. Biological invasions involving hybridization present exceptional opportunities to study the erosion of species boundaries because timelines of interactions and outcomes are frequently...
The genome of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 harbors atypical genes
Mathias Ackermann, Maxim Koriabine, Fabienne Hartmann-Fritsch, Pieter J. de Jong, Teresa D. Lewis, Nelli Schetle, Thierry M. Work, Julie Dagenais, George H. Balazs, Jo-Ann C. Leong
2012, PLoS ONE (7)
The Chelonid fibropapilloma-associated herpesvirus (CFPHV; ChHV5) is believed to be the causative agent of fibropapillomatosis (FP), a neoplastic disease of marine turtles. While clinical signs and pathology of FP are well known, research on ChHV5 has been impeded because no cell culture system for its propagation exists. We have cloned...
Feeding habitats of the Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, in the Suwannee and Yellow rivers, Florida, as identified by multiple stable isotope analyses
Kenneth J. Sulak, James J. Berg, Michael T. Randall
2012, Environmental Biology of Fishes (95) 237-258
Stable 13C, 15N, and 34S isotopes were analyzed to define the feeding habitats of Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee and Yellow River populations. For the majority (93.9%) of Suwannee subadults and adults, 13C and 34S signatures indicate use of nearshore marine waters as primary winter feeding habitat, probably due...
Dendrochemistry of multiple releases of chlorinated solvents at a former industrial site
Jean Christophe Balouet, Joel G. Burken, Frank Karg, Don Vroblesky, Kevin T. Smith, Hakan Grudd, Anders Rindby, Francois Beaujard, Michel Chalot
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 9541-9547
Trees can take up and assimilate contaminants from the soil, subsurface, and groundwater. Contaminants in the transpiration stream can become bound or incorporated into the annual rings formed in trees of the temperate zones. The chemical analysis of precisely dated tree rings, called dendrochemistry, can be used to interpret past...
New plant records from Hawai'i Island
Linda W. Pratt, Keali’i F. Bio
2012, Bishop Museum Occasional Papers (113) 75-80
The following plant records from the island of Hawai'i include 2 new state records, 6 new island records, 3 new records of naturalized species previously known to be present on the island, and 1 range extension of an orchid recently reported as naturalized. All cited voucher specimens are deposited at...
Discovery of South American suckermouth armored catfishes (Loricariidae, Pterygoplichthys spp.) in the Santa Fe River drainage, Suwannee River basin, USA
Leo G. Nico, Peter L. Butt, Gerald R. Johnston, Howard L. Jelks, Matthew Kail, Stephen J. Walsh
2012, BioInvasions Records (1) 179-200
We report on the occurrence of South American suckermouth armored catfishes (Loricariidae) in the Suwannee River basin, southeastern USA. Over the past few years (2009-2012), loricariid catfishes have been observed at various sites in the Santa Fe River drainage, a major tributary of the Suwannee in the state of Florida....
Influence of space use on fitness and the reintroduction success of the Laysan teal
M.H. Reynolds, Jeff S. Hatfield, L.P. Laniawe, M.S. Vekasy, J.L. Klavitter, P. Berkowitz, L.H. Crampton, J. R. Walters
2012, Animal Conservation (15) 305-317
Translocation is an important tool for wildlife conservation and biodiversity restoration, but an inefficient one because of the unpredictability of success. Predictors of success such as habitat quality of the release site and number of individuals released have been identified, but the dynamics of successful translocations remain poorly understood. In...
Short seed longevity, variable germination conditions, and infrequent establishment events provide a narrow window for Yucca brevifolia (Agavaceae) recruitment
M. Bryant, J. Reynolds, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque
2012, American Journal of Botany (99) 1647-1654
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The future of long-lived stand-forming desert plants such as Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree) has come into question in light of climate variation and landscape-scale disturbances such as wildfire. Understanding plant establishment dynamics is important for mitigating the impacts of disturbances and promoting revegetation. • METHODS: We...
The driving forces of land change in the Northern Piedmont of the United States
Roger F. Auch, Darrell E. Napton, Steven Kambly, Thomas R. Moreland Jr., Kristi L. Sayler
2012, Geographical Review (102) 53-75
Driving forces facilitate or inhibit land-use/land-cover change. Human driving forces include political, economic, cultural, and social attributes that often change across time and space. Remotely sensed imagery provides regional land-change data for the Northern Piedmont, an ecoregion of the United States that continued to urbanize after 1970 through conversion of...
Polyplacophora (Mollusca) from the San Diego Formation: A remarkable assemblage of fossil chitons from the Pliocene of southern Califoria
Michael J. Vendrasco, Douglas J. Eernisse, Charles L. Powell II, Christine Z. Fernandez
2012, Contributions in Science (520) 15-72
A rich chiton assemblage consisting of more than 15,000 valves (shell plates) was collected by George P. Kanakoff (1897–1973) from Pliocene exposures of the San Diego Formation just north of the U.S./Mexican border. The assemblage includes 16 extant species, three extinct species (Callistochiton sphaerae n. sp., Lepidozona kanakoffi n. sp.,...
A sampling design and model for estimating abundance of Nile crocodiles while accounting for heterogeneity of detectability of multiple observers
Matthew H. Shirley, Robert M. Dorazio, Ekramy Abassery, Amr A. Elhady, Mohammed S. Mekki, Hosni H. Asran
2012, Journal of Wildlife Management (76) 966-975
As part of the development of a management program for Nile crocodiles in Lake Nasser, Egypt, we used a dependent double-observer sampling protocol with multiple observers to compute estimates of population size. To analyze the data, we developed a hierarchical model that allowed us to assess variation in detection probabilities...
Lake trout status in the main basin of Lake Huron, 1973-2010
Ji X. He, Mark P. Ebener, Stephen C. Riley, Adam Cottrill, Adam Kowalski, Scott Koproski, Lloyd Mohr, James E. Johnson
2012, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (32) 402-412
We developed indices of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush status in the main basin of Lake Huron (1973-2010) to understand increases in the relative abundance of wild year-classes during 1995-2010. Sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus wounds per 100 lake trout declined from 23.63 in 2000 to 5.86-10.64 in 2002-2010. The average age-7...
Towards a theory of ecotone resilience: coastal vegetation on a salinity gradient
Jiang Jiang, Daozhou Gao, Donald L. DeAngelis
2012, Theoretical Population Biology (82) 29-37
Ecotones represent locations where vegetation change is likely to occur as a result of climate and other environmental changes. Using a model of an ecotone vulnerable to such future changes, we estimated the resilience of the ecotone to disturbances. The specific ecotone is that between two different vegetation types, salinity-tolerant...
American alligator digestion rate of blue crabs and its implications for stomach contents analysis
James C. Nifong, Adam E. Rosenblatt, Nathan A. Johnson, William Barichivich, Brian Silliman, Michael R. Heithaus
2012, Copeia (2012) 419-423
Stomach contents analysis (SCA) provides a snap-shot observation of a consumer's diet. Interpretation of SCA data can be complicated by many factors, including variation in gastric residence times and digestion rates among prey taxa. Although some SCA methods are reported to efficiently remove all stomach contents, the effectiveness of these...
A two-phase sampling design for increasing detections of rare species in occupancy surveys
Krishna Pacifici, Robert M. Dorazio, Michael J. Dorazio
2012, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (3) 721-730
1. Occupancy estimation is a commonly used tool in ecological studies owing to the ease at which data can be collected and the large spatial extent that can be covered. One major obstacle to using an occupancy-based approach is the complications associated with designing and implementing an efficient survey. These...
