Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling improves occurrence and detection estimates of invasive Burmese pythons
Margaret E. Hunter, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Robert M. Dorazio, Jennifer A. Fike, Brian J. Smith, Charles T. Hunter, Robert N. Reed, Kristen M. Hart
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods are used to detect DNA that is shed into the aquatic environment by cryptic or low density species. Applied in eDNA studies, occupancy models can be used to estimate occurrence and detection probabilities and thereby account for imperfect detection. However, occupancy terminology has been applied inconsistently...
Critical metals in manganese nodules from the Cook Islands EEZ, abundances and distributions
James R. Hein, Francesca Spinardi, Nobuyuki Okamoto, Kira Mizell, Darryl Thorburn, Akuila Tawake
2015, Ore Geology Reviews (68) 97-116
The Cook Islands (CIs) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) encompasses 1,977,000 km2 and includes the Penrhyn and Samoa basins abyssal plains where manganese nodules flourish due to the availability of prolific nucleus material, slow sedimentation rates, and strong bottom currents. A group of CIs nodules was analyzed for mineralogical and chemical composition,...
First record of black band disease in the Hawaiian archipelago: response, outbreak, status, virulence, and a method of treatment
Greta S. Aeby, Thierry M. Work, Christina M. Runyon, Amanda Shore-Maggio, Blake Ushijima, Patrick Videau, Silvia Beurmann, Sean M. Callahan
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
A high number of coral colonies, Montipora spp., with progressive tissue loss were reported from the north shore of Kaua‘i by a member of the Eyes of the Reef volunteer reporting network. The disease has a distinct lesion (semi-circular pattern of tissue loss with an adjacent dark band) that was first observed...
Global trends in emerging viral diseases of wildlife origin
Jonathan M. Sleeman, S. Ip
2015, Conference Paper, Emerging viral dieases: the One Health connection: workshop summary
Fifty years ago, infectious diseases were rarely considered threats to wildlife populations, and the study of wildlife diseases was largely a neglected endeavor. Furthermore, public health leaders at that time had declared that “it is time to close the book on infectious diseases and the war against pestilence won,” a quote attributed to Dr....
Not putting all their eggs in one basket: bet-hedging despite extraordinary annual reproductive output of desert tortoises
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Joshua R. Ennen, Charles B. Yackulic, Kathie Meyer-Wilkins, Mickey Agha, Caleb L. Loughran, Curtis Bjurlin, Meaghan Austin, Sheila V. Madrak
2015, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (115) 399-410
Bet-hedging theory makes the counter-intuitive prediction that, if juvenile survival is low and unpredictable, organisms should consistently reduce short-term reproductive output to minimize the risk of reproductive failure in the long-term. We investigated the long-term reproductive output of an Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) population and conformance to a bet-hedging...
Targeting climate diversity in conservation planning to build resilience to climate change
Nicole E. Heller, Jason R. Kreitler, David Ackerly, Stuart Weiss, Amanda Recinos, Ryan Branciforte, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, Elisabeth Micheli
2015, Ecosphere (6) 1-20
Climate change is raising challenging concerns for systematic conservation planning. Are methods based on the current spatial patterns of biodiversity effective given long-term climate change? Some conservation scientists argue that planning should focus on protecting the abiotic diversity in the landscape, which drives patterns of biological diversity, rather than focusing...
Associations between water physicochemistry and Prymnesium parvum presence, abundance, and toxicity in west Texas reservoirs
Matthew M. VanLandeghem, Mukhtar Farooqi, Greg M. Southard, Reynaldo Patino
2015, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (51) 471-486
Toxic blooms of golden alga (Prymnesium parvum) have caused substantial ecological and economic harm in freshwater and marine systems throughout the world. In North America, toxic blooms have impacted freshwater systems including large reservoirs. Management of water chemistry is one proposed option for golden alga control in these systems. The...
Episodic Holocene eruption of the Salton Buttes rhyolites, California, from paleomagnetic, U-Th, and Ar/Ar dating
Heather M. Wright, Jorge A. Vazquez, Duane E. Champion, Andrew T. Calvert, Margaret T. Mangan, Mark E. Stelten, Kari M. Cooper, Charles Herzig, Alexander Schriener
2015, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (16) 1198-1210
In the Salton Trough, CA, five rhyolite domes form the Salton Buttes: Mullet Island, Obsidian Butte, Rock Hill, North and South Red Hill, from oldest to youngest. Results presented here include 40Ar/39Ar anorthoclase ages, 238U-230Th zircon crystallization ages, and comparison of remanent paleomagnetic directions with the secular variation curve, which indicate...
Relative sensitivity of an amphipod Hyalella azteca, a midge Chironomus dilutus, and a unionid mussel Lampsilis siliquoidea to a toxic sediment
Christopher G. Ingersoll, James L. Kunz, Jamie P. Hughes, Ning Wang, D. Scott Ireland, David R. Mount, J. Russell Hockett, Ted W Valenti
2015, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (34) 1134-1144
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the relative sensitivity of test organisms in exposures to dilutions of a highly toxic sediment contaminated with metals and organic compounds. One dilution series was prepared using control sand (low total organic carbon [TOC; <0.1%, low binding capacity for contaminants]) and...
Characterisation of a natural quartz crystal as a reference material for microanalytical determination of Ti, Al, Li, Fe, Mn, Ga and Ge
Andreas Audetat, Dieter Garbe-Schonberg, Andreas Kronz, Thomas Pettke, Brian G. Rusk, John J. Donovan, Heather Lowers
2015, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research (39) 171-184
A natural smoky quartz crystal from Shandong province, China, was characterised by laser ablation ICP-MS, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and solution ICP-MS to determine the concentration of twenty-four trace and ultra trace elements. Our main focus was on Ti quantification because of the increased use of this element for titanium-in-quartz...
Stratigraphy and morphology of the barrier platform of Breton Island, Louisiana: deltaic, marine and human influences
James G. Flocks, Jack L. Kindinger, Jennifer L. Miselis, Stanley D. Locker
2015, Coastal Sediments
Breton Island, located at the southern end of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, is part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Breton NWR is recognized as an important bird habitat and is host to one of Louisiana's largest historical brown pelican nesting colonies. Loss of island area through relative sea-level...
Changes in distribution of Canada geese nesting in Arkansas
David G. Krementz, M. Eliese Ronke
2015, Human-Wildlife Interactions (9) 101-109
The reintroduced Canada goose (Branta canadensis) population in Arkansas has grown in range and abundance in recent decades. We determined the geographic range of Arkansas resident Canada geese from 2004 to 2012 using volume contour maps from citizen science observations using eBird, a citizen science website, and hunter recovery locations...
Predicting ecological responses of the Florida Everglades to possible future climate scenarios: Introduction
Nicholas G. Aumen, Karl E Havens, G. Ronnie Best, Leonard Berry
2015, Environmental Management (55) 741-748
Florida’s Everglades stretch from the headwaters of the Kissimmee River near Orlando to Florida Bay. Under natural conditions in this flat landscape, water flowed slowly downstream as broad, shallow sheet flow. The ecosystem is markedly different now, altered by nutrient pollution and construction of canals, levees, and water control structures...
Consequences of habitat change and resource selection specialization for population limitation in cavity-nesting birds
Thomas E. Martin
2015, Journal of Applied Ecology (52) 475-485
Resource selection specialization may increase vulnerability of populations to environmental change. One environmental change that may negatively impact some populations is the broad decline of quaking aspen Populus tremuloides, a preferred nest tree of cavity-nesting organisms who are commonly limited by nest-site availability. However, the long-term consequences of...
Using stable isotopes of carbon to investigate the seasonal variation of carbon transfer in a northwestern Arkansas cave
Katherine J. Knierim, Erik Pollock, Phillip D. Hays, Jam Khojasteh
2015, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies (77) 12-27
Stable-isotope analyses are valuable in karst settings, where characterizing biogeochemical cycling of carbon along groundwater flow paths is critical for understanding and protecting sensitive cave and karst water resources. This study quantified the seasonal changes in concentration and isotopic composition (δ13C) of aqueous and gaseous carbon species—dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)...
Coastal evidence for Holocene subduction-zone earthquakes and tsunamis in central Chile
Tina Dure, Marco Cisternas, Benjamin Horton, Lisa Ely, Alan R. Nelson, Robert L. Wesson, Jessica Pilarczyk
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 93-111
The ∼500-year historical record of seismicity along the central Chile coast (30–34°S) is characterized by a series of ∼M 8.0–8.5 earthquakes followed by low tsunamis (<4 m) occurring on the megathrust about every 80 years. One exception is the AD 1730 great earthquake (M 9.0–9.5) and high tsunami (>10 m), but the...
A comparison between boat-based and diver-based methods for quantifying coral bleaching
David G. Zawada, Rob Ruzicka, Michael A. Colella
2015, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (467) 39-44
Recent increases in both the frequency and severity of coral bleaching events have spurred numerous surveys to quantify the immediate impacts and monitor the subsequent community response. Most of these efforts utilize conventional diver-based methods, which are inherently time-consuming, expensive, and limited in spatial scope unless they deploy large teams...
Variables and potential models for the bleaching of luminescence signals in fluvial environments
Harrison J. Gray, Shannon Mahan
2015, Quaternary International (362) 42-49
Luminescence dating of fluvial sediments rests on the assumption that sufficient sunlight is available to remove a previously obtained signal in a process deemed bleaching. However, luminescence signals obtained from sediment in the active channels of rivers often contain residual signals. This paper explores and attempts to build theoretical models...
Hydrologic remediation for the Deepwater Horizon incident drove ancillary primary production increase in coastal swamps
Beth A. Middleton, Darren Johnson, Brian J Roberts
2015, Ecohydrology (8) 838-850
As coastal wetlands subside worldwide, there is an urgency to understand the hydrologic drivers and dynamics of plant production and peat accretion. One incidental test of the effects of high rates of discharge on forested wetland production occurred in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident, in which all diversions...
Mark-recapture and mark-resight methods for estimating abundance with remote cameras: a carnivore case study
Robert S. Alanso, Brett T. McClintock, Lisa M. Lyren, Erin E. Boydston, Kevin R. Crooks
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Abundance estimation of carnivore populations is difficult and has prompted the use of non-invasive detection methods, such as remotely-triggered cameras, to collect data. To analyze photo data, studies focusing on carnivores with unique pelage patterns have utilized a mark-recapture framework and studies of carnivores without unique pelage patterns have used...
Pairing call-response surveys and distance sampling for a mammalian carnivore
Sara J. K. Hansen, Jacqueline L. Frair, Harold B. Underwood, James P. Gibbs
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (79) 662-671
Density estimates accounting for differential animal detectability are difficult to acquire for wide-ranging and elusive species such as mammalian carnivores. Pairing distance sampling with call-response surveys may provide an efficient means of tracking changes in populations of coyotes (Canis latrans), a species of particular interest in the eastern United States....
Direct detection of fungal siderophores on bats with white-nose syndrome via fluorescence microscopy-guided ambient ionization mass spectrometry
Samantha J. Mascuch, Wilna J. Moree, Cheng-Chih Cheng-Chih Hsu, Gregory G. Turner, Tina L. Cheng, David S. Blehert, A. Marm Kilpatrick, Winifred F. Frick, Michael J. Meehan, Pieter C. Dorrestein, Lena Gerwick
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the pathogenic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans is decimating the populations of several hibernating North American bat species. Little is known about the molecular interplay between pathogen and host in this disease. Fluorescence microscopy ambient ionization mass spectrometry was used to generate metabolic profiles from the wings of both...
Presence of amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in rainwater suggests aerial dispersal is possible
Jonathan E. Kolby, Sara D. Ramirez, Lee Berger, Dale W. Griffin, Merlijn Jocque, Lee F. Skerratt
2015, Aerobiologia (31) 411-419
Abstract Global spread of the pathogenic amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) may involve dispersal mechanisms not previously explored. Weather systems accompanied by strong wind and rainfall have been known to assist the dispersal of microbes pathogenic to plants and animals, and we considered a similar phenomenon might occur with...
Priority pollutants and associated constituents in untreated and treated discharges from coal mining or processing facilities in Pennsylvania, USA
III Cravotta, Keith B.C. Brady
2015, Applied Geochemistry (62) 108-130
Clean sampling and analysis procedures were used to quantify more than 70 inorganic constituents, including 35 potentially toxic or hazardous constituents, organic carbon, and other characteristics of untreated (influent) and treated (effluent) coal-mine discharges (CMD) at 38 permitted coal-mining or coal-processing facilities in the bituminous coalfield and 4 facilities...
Modeling climate change, urbanization, and fire effects on Pinus palustris ecosystems of the southeastern U.S.
Jennifer Costanza, Adam J. Terando, Alexa McKerrow, Jaime A. Collazo
2015, Journal of Environmental Management (151) 186-199
Managing ecosystems for resilience and sustainability requires understanding how they will respond to future anthropogenic drivers such as climate change and urbanization. In fire-dependent ecosystems, predicting this response requires a focus on how these drivers will impact fire regimes. Here, we use scenarios of climate change, urbanization and management to...
