Antifungal bacteria on woodland salamander skin exhibit high taxonomic diversity and geographic variability
Carly R. Muletz-Wolz, Graziella V. DiRenzo, Stephanie A. Yarwood, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Robert C. Fleischer, Karen R. Lips
2017, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (83)
Diverse bacteria inhabit amphibian skin; some of those bacteria inhibit growth of the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Yet there has been no systematic survey of anti-B. dendrobatidis bacteria across localities, species, and elevations. This is important given geographic and taxonomic variations in amphibian susceptibility...
The role of density-dependent and –independent processes in spawning habitat selection by salmon in an Arctic riverscape
Brock M. Huntsman, Jeffrey A. Falke, James W. Savereide, Katrina E. Bennett
2017, PLoS ONE (12) 1-21
Density-dependent (DD) and density-independent (DI) habitat selection is strongly linked to a species’ evolutionary history. Determining the relative importance of each is necessary because declining populations are not always the result of altered DI mechanisms but can often be the result of DD via a reduced carrying capacity. We developed...
Estimated seepage rates from selected ditches, ponds, and lakes at the Camas National Wildlife Refuge, eastern Idaho
Gordon W. Rattray
2017, Journal of Environmental Management (203) 578-591
The Camas National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) in eastern Idaho, established in 1937, contains wetlands, ponds, and wet meadows that are essential resting and feeding habitat for migratory birds and nesting habitat for waterfowl. Initially, natural sources of water supported these habitats. However, during the past few decades, changes in...
Persistence of historical population structure in an endangered species despite near-complete biome conversion in California's San Joaquin Desert
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Dustin A. Wood, Michael F. Westphal, Amy G. Vandergast, Adam D. Leache, Lawrence Saslaw, H. Scott Butterfield, Robert N. Fisher
2017, Molecular Ecology (26) 3618-3635
Genomic responses to habitat conversion can be rapid, providing wildlife managers with time-limited opportunities to enact recovery efforts that use population connectivity information that reflects predisturbance landscapes. Despite near-complete biome conversion, such opportunities may still exist for the endemic fauna and flora of California's San Joaquin Desert, but comprehensive genetic...
Occupancy and abundance of Eleutherodactylus frogs in coffee plantations in Puerto Rico
Kelen D. Monroe, Jaime A. Collazo, Krishna Pacifici, Brian J. Reich, Alberto R. Puente-Rolon, Adam J. Terando
2017, Herpetologica (73) 297-306
Shaded coffee plantations are of conservation value for many taxa, particularly for resident avifauna in the face of extensive landscape changes. Yet, little is known about the value of coffee plantations for amphibians because there are scant demographic data to index their value among species with different habitat preferences. We...
A hierarchical model for estimating the spatial distribution and abundance of animals detected by continuous-time recorders
Robert Dorazio, K. Ullas Karanth
2017, PLoS ONE (12) 1-18
MotivationSeveral spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models have been developed to estimate animal abundance by analyzing the detections of individuals in a spatial array of traps. Most of these models do not use the actual dates and times of detection, even though this information is readily available when using...
Characterization of the juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) microbiome throughout an ontogenetic shift from pelagic to neritic habitats
James T. Price, Frank V. Paladino, Margaret M. Lamont, Blair E. Witherington, Scott T. Bates, Tanya Soule
2017, PLoS ONE (12) 1-13
The gut microbiome of herbivorous animals consists of organisms that efficiently digest the structural carbohydrates of ingested plant material. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) provide an interesting model of change in these microbial communities because they undergo a pronounced shift from a surface-pelagic distribution and omnivorous diet to a neritic distribution...
Estimating loss of Brucella abortus antibodies from age-specific serological data in elk
J. A. Benavides, D. Caillaud, B. M. Scurlock, E. J. Maichak, W.H. Edwards, Paul C. Cross
2017, EcoHealth (14) 234-243
Serological data are one of the primary sources of information for disease monitoring in wildlife. However, the duration of the seropositive status of exposed individuals is almost always unknown for many free-ranging host species. Directly estimating rates of antibody loss typically requires difficult longitudinal sampling of individuals following seroconversion. Instead,...
Local and cross-seasonal associations of climate and land use with abundance of monarch butterflies Danaus plexippus
Sarah P. Saunders, Leslie Ries, Karen S. Oberhasuer, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Elise F. Zipkin
2017, Ecography (40) 001-012
Quantifying how climate and land use factors drive population dynamics at regional scales is complex because it depends on the extent of spatial and temporal synchrony among local populations, and the integration of population processes throughout a species’ annual cycle. We modeled weekly, site-specific summer abundance (1994–2013) of monarch butterflies...
Designing a global assessment of climate change on inland fishes and fisheries: knowns and needs
Craig P. Paukert, Abigail J. Lynch, T. Douglas Beard Jr., Yushun Chen, Steven J. Cooke, Michael S. Cooperman, Ian G. Cowx, Dana M. Infante, Lilian Ibengwe, Bonnie Myers, Phu Hoa Nguyen, Ian J. Winfield
2017, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (27) 393-409
To date, there are few comprehensive assessments of how climate change affects inland finfish, fisheries, and aquaculture at a global scale, but one is necessary to identify research needs and commonalities across regions and to help guide decision making and funding priorities. Broadly, the consequences of climate change on inland...
Challenges for creating a site-specific groundwater-use record for the Ozark Plateaus aquifer system (central USA) from 1900 to 2010
Katherine J. Knierim, Anna M. Nottmeier, Scott C. Worland, Drew A. Westerman, Brian R. Clark
2017, Hydrogeology Journal (25) 1779-1793
Hydrologic budgets to determine groundwater availability are important tools for water-resource managers. One challenging component for developing hydrologic budgets is quantifying water use through time because historical and site-specific water-use data can be sparse or poorly documented. This research developed a groundwater-use record for the Ozark Plateaus aquifer system (central...
Similarity of plant functional traits and aggregation pattern in a subtropical forest
Bo Zhang, Xiaozhen Lu, Jiang Jiang, Donald L. DeAngelis, Zhiyuan Fu, Jinchi Zhang
2017, Ecology and Evolution (7) 4086-4098
The distribution of species and communities in relation to environmental heterogeneity is a central focus in ecology. Co-occurrence of species with similar functional traits is an indication that communities are determined in part by environmental filters. However, few studies have been designed to test how functional traits are selectively filtered...
Biogeographic comparison of Lophelia-associated bacterial communities in the Western Atlantic reveals conserved core microbiome
Christina A. Kellogg, Dawn B. Goldsmith, Michael A. Gray
2017, Frontiers in Microbiology (8)
Over the last decade, publications on deep-sea corals have tripled. Most attention has been paid to Lophelia pertusa, a globally distributed scleractinian coral that creates critical three-dimensional habitat in the deep ocean. The bacterial community associated with L. pertusa has been previously described by a number of studies at sites...
Evaluation of laser ablation double-focusing SC-ICPMS for “common” lead isotopic measurements in silicate glasses and mineral
Aaron J. Pietruszka, Leonid A. Neymark
2017, Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry (32) 1135-1154
An analytical method for the in situ measurement of “common” Pb isotope ratios in silicate glasses and minerals using a 193-nm excimer laser ablation (LA) system with a double-focusing single-collector (SC)-ICPMS is presented and evaluated as a possible alternative to multiple-collector (MC)-ICPMS. This LA-SC-ICPMS technique employs fast-scanning ion deflectors to...
Using variance structure to quantify responses to perturbation in fish catches
Tiffany E. Vidal, Brian J. Irwin, Tyler Wagner, Lars G. Rudstam, James R. Jackson, James R. Bence
2017, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (146) 584-593
We present a case study evaluation of gill-net catches of Walleye Sander vitreus to assess potential effects of large-scale changes in Oneida Lake, New York, including the disruption of trophic interactions by double-crested cormorants Phalacrocorax auritus and invasive dreissenid mussels. We used the empirical long-term gill-net time series and a...
Disturbance of a rare seabird by ship-based tourism in a marine protected area
Timothy K. Marcella, Scott M. Gende, Daniel D. Roby, Arthur Allignol
2017, PLoS ONE (12) 1-23
Managers of marine protected areas (MPAs) must often seek ways to allow for visitation while minimizing impacts to the resources they are intended to protect. Using shipboard observers, we quantified the “zone of disturbance” for Kittlitz’s and marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus brevirostris and B. marmoratus) exposed to large cruise ships...
Population trends and distribution of Common Murre Uria aalge colonies in Washington, 1996-2015
Susan M Thomas, James E. Lyons
2017, Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation (45) 95-102
Periodic assessments of population trends and changes in spatial distribution are valuable for managing marine birds and their breeding habitats, particularly when evaluating long-term response to threats such as oil spills, predation pressure, and changing ocean conditions. We evaluated recent trends in abundance and distribution of the Common Murre Uria...
Using a full annual cycle model to evaluate long-term population viability of the conservation-reliant Kirtland's warbler after successful recovery
Donald J. Brown, Christine Ribic, Deahn M. Donner, Mark D. Nelson, Carol I. Bocetti, Christie M. Deloria-Sheffield
2017, Journal of Applied Ecology (54) 439-449
Long-term management planning for conservation-reliant migratory songbirds is particularly challenging because habitat quality in different stages and geographic locations of the annual cycle can have direct and carry-over effects that influence the population dynamics. The Neotropical migratory songbird Kirtland's warbler Setophaga kirtlandii (Baird 1852) is listed as...
Clearing the waters: Evaluating the need for site-specific field fluorescence corrections based on turbidity measurements
John Franco Saraceno, James B. Shanley, Bryan D. Downing, Brian A. Pellerin
2017, Limnology and Oceanography: Methods (15) 408-416
In situ fluorescent dissolved organic matter (fDOM) measurements have gained increasing popularity as a proxy for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in streams. One challenge to accurate fDOM measurements in many streams is light attenuation due to suspended particles. Downing et al. (2012) evaluated the need for corrections to compensate...
Planting richness affects the recovery of vegetation and soil processes in constructed wetlands following disturbance
Mary M. Means, Changwoo Ahn, Gregory E. Noe
2017, Science of the Total Environment (579) 1366-1378
The resilience of constructed wetland ecosystems to severe disturbance, such as a mass herbivory eat-out or soil disturbance, remains poorly understood. In this study, we use a controlled mesocosm experiment to examine how original planting diversity affects the ability of constructed freshwater wetlands to recover structurally and functionally after a...
The California Seafloor and Coastal Mapping Program – Providing science and geospatial data for California's State Waters
Samuel Y. Johnson, Guy R. Cochrane, Nadine E. Golden, Peter Dartnell, Stephen Hartwell, Susan A. Cochran, Janet Watt
2017, Ocean and Coastal Management (140) 88-104
The California Seafloor and Coastal Mapping Program (CSCMP) is a collaborative effort to develop comprehensive bathymetric, geologic, and habitat maps and data for California's State Waters. CSCMP began in 2007 when the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) allocated funding for high-resolution...
Stable isotopic composition of perchlorate and nitrate accumulated in plants: Hydroponic experiments and field data
Nubia Luz Estrada, J.K. Bohlke, Neil C. Sturchio, Baohua Gu, Greg Harvey, Kent O. Burkey, David A. Grantz, Margaret T. McGrath, Todd A. Anderson, Balaji Rao, Ritesh Sevanthi, Paul B. Hatzinger, W. Andrew Jackson
2017, Science of the Total Environment (595) 556-566
Natural perchlorate (ClO4−) in soil and groundwater exhibits a wide range in stable isotopic compositions (δ37Cl, δ18O, and Δ17O), indicating that ClO4− may be formed through more than one pathway and/or undergoes post-depositional isotopic alteration. Plants are known to accumulate ClO4−, but little is known about their ability to alter...
Amphibian conservation: clarifications to comments from Andreone
Erin L. Muths, Robert N. Fisher
2017, Oryx (51) 216-217
We appreciate the comments from Andreone (2016) regarding our proposed alternative strategy for addressing the amphibian crisis. Andreone recognizes the utility of an Incident Command System approach but doubts the feasibility of implementation at an international level. We stated in our original article, however, that ‘the feasibility of our suggestion...
Evaluation of harvest and information needs for North American sea ducks
Mark D. Koneff, Guthrie S. Zimmerman, Chris P. Dwyer, Kathleen K. Fleming, Paul I. Padding, Patrick K. Devers, Fred A. Johnson, Michael C. Runge, Anthony J. Roberts
2017, PLoS ONE (12) 1-29
Wildlife managers routinely seek to establish sustainable limits of sport harvest or other regulated forms of take while confronted with considerable uncertainty. A growing body of ecological research focuses on methods to describe and account for uncertainty in management decision-making and to prioritize research and monitoring investments to reduce the...
Precipitation collector bias and its effects on temporal trends and spatial variability in National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network data
Gregory A. Wetherbee
2017, Environmental Pollution (223) 90-101
Precipitation samples have been collected by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program's (NADP) National Trends Network (NTN) using the Aerochem Metrics Model 301 (ACM) collector since 1978. Approximately one-third of the NTN ACM collectors have been replaced with N-CON Systems, Inc. Model ADS 00-120 (NCON) collectors. Concurrent data were collected over...
