Species and population specific gene expression in blood transcriptomes of marine turtles
Shreya M. Banjeree, Jamie Adkins Stoll, Camryn D. Allen, Jennifer M. Lynch, Heather S. Harris, Lauren Kenyon, Richard E. Connon, Eleanor J. Sterling, Eugenia Naro-Maciel, Kathryn McFadden, Margaret Lamont, James Benge, Nadia B. Fernandez, Jeffrey A. Seminoff, Scott R. Benson, Rebecca L. Lewison, Tomoharu Eguchi, Tammy M. Summers, Jessy R. Hapdei, Marc R. Rice, Summer Martin, T. Todd Jones, Peter H. Dutton, George H. Balazs, Lisa M. Komoroske
2021, BMC Genomics (22)
BackgroundTranscriptomic data has demonstrated utility to advance the study of physiological diversity and organisms’ responses to environmental stressors. However, a lack of genomic resources and challenges associated with collecting high-quality RNA can limit its application for many wild populations. Minimally invasive blood sampling combined with de novo transcriptomic...
What's left before participatory modeling can fully support real-world environmental planning processes: A case study review
B. Hedelin, S. Gray, S. Woehlke, T. K. BenDor, A. Singer, R. Jordan, M. Zellner, P. Giabbanelli, P. Glynn, K. Jenni, A Jetter, N. Kolgani, B. Laursen, K. M. Leong, L. Schmitt Olabisi, E. Sterling
2021, Environmental Modelling & Software (143)
In environmental participatory modeling (PM), both computer and non-computer-based modeling techniques are used to aid participatory problem description, solution, and decision-making actions in environmental contexts. Although many PM case studies have been published, few efforts have sought to systematically describe and understand dominant PM processes or establish best practices for...
Rapid monitoring of the abundance and spread of exotic annual grasses in the western United States using remote sensing and machine learning
Neal Pastick, Bruce Wylie, Matthew B. Rigge, Devendra Dahal, Stephen P. Boyte, Matthew O. Jones, Brady W Allred, Sujan Parajuli, Zhuoting Wu
2021, AGU Advances (2)
Exotic annual grasses (EAG) are one of the most damaging agents of change in western North America. Despite known socio-environmental effects of EAG there remains a need to enhance monitoring capabilities for better informing conservation and management practices. Here, we integrate field observations, remote sensing and climate data with machine-learning...
Trophic transfer efficiency in the Lake Superior food web: Assessing the impacts of non-native species
Bryan G. Mathias, Thomas R. Hrabik, Joel C. Hoffman, Owen Gorman, Michael J. Seider, Michael E. Sierszen, Mark R. Vinson, Daniel L. Yule, Peder M. Yurista
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) 1146-1158
Ecosystem-based management relies on understanding how perturbations influence ecosystem structure and function (e.g., invasive species, exploitation, abiotic changes). However, data on unimpacted systems are scarce; therefore, we often rely on impacted systems to make inferences about ‘natural states.’ Among the Laurentian Great Lakes, Lake Superior provides a unique case study to address non-native...
Biogeography and ecology of Ostracoda in the U.S. northern Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas
Laura Gemery, Thomas M. Cronin, Lee W. Cooper, Harry J. Dowsett, Jacqueline M. Grebmeier
2021, PLoS ONE (16)
Ostracoda (bivalved Crustacea) comprise a significant part of the benthic meiofauna in the Pacific-Arctic region, including more than 50 species, many with identifiable ecological tolerances. These species hold potential as useful indicators of past and future ecosystem changes. In this study, we examined benthic ostracodes from...
Dynamic landscapes in northwestern North America structured populations of wolverines (Gulo gulo)
Dianna M Krejsa, Sandra L. Talbot, George K. Sage, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Thomas S Jung, Audrey J Magoun, Joseph A. Cook
2021, Journal of Mammology (102) 891-908
Cyclic climatic and glacial fluctuations of the Late Quaternary produced a dynamic biogeographic history for high latitudes. To refine our understanding of this history in northwestern North America, we explored geographic structure in a wide-ranging carnivore, the wolverine (Gulo gulo). We examined genetic variation in populations across mainland Alaska, coastal...
Intensity of grass invasion negatively correlated with population density and age structure of an endangered dune plant across its range
Scott Jones, Anna Kennedy, Chase M. Freeman, Karen M. Thorne
2021, Biological Invasions (23) 2451-2471
Invasive species are a global threat to ecosystem biodiversity and function; non-native grass invasion has been particularly problematic in sparsely vegetated ecosystems such as open dunes. Native plant population responses to invasion, however, are infrequently translated to landscape scales, limiting the effectiveness of these data for addressing conservation issues. We...
Cross-ecosystem fluxes of pesticides from prairie wetlands mediated by aquatic insect emergence: Implications for terrestrial insectivores
Johanna M. Kraus, Kathryn Kuivila, Michelle L. Hladik, Neil Shook, David M. Mushet, Kelen Dowdy, Rachel Harrington
2021, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (40) 2282-2296
Contaminants alter the quantity and quality of insect prey available to terrestrial insectivores. In agricultural regions, the quantity of aquatic insects emerging from freshwaters can be impacted by insecticides originating from surrounding croplands. We hypothesized that, in such regions, adult aquatic insects could also act as vectors of pesticide transfer...
Quick and dirty (and accurate) 3-D paleoseismic trench models using coded scale bars
Jaime Delano, Richard W. Briggs, Christopher DuRoss, Ryan D. Gold
2021, Seismological Research Letters (92) 3526-3537
Structure‐from‐motion (SfM) modeling has dramatically increased the speed of generating geometrically accurate orthophoto mosaics of paleoseismic trenches, but some aspects of this technique remain time and labor intensive. Model accuracy relies on control points to establish scale, reduce distortion, and orient 3D models. Traditional SfM...
Freshwater cyanotoxin mixtures in recurring cyanobacterial blooms in Voyageurs National Park
Victoria Christensen
2021, Thesis
Algal and cyanobacterial blooms can foul water systems, inhibit recreation, and produce cyanotoxins, which can be toxic to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Blooms that recur yearly present a special challenge, in that chronic effects of most cyanotoxins are unknown. To better understand cyanotoxin timing, possible environmental triggers, and inter-relations...
Exploring the factors controlling the error characteristics of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission discharge estimates
Renato Frasson, Michael T. Durand, Kevin Lanier, Colin Gleason, Konstantinos Andreadis, Mark Hageman, Robert W. Dudley, David M. Bjerklie, Hind Oubanas, Pierre-Andre Garambois, Pierre-Olivier Malaterre, Peirong Lin, Tamlin M. Pavelsky, Jerome Monnier, Craig Binkerhoff, Cedric H. David
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will measure river width, water surface elevation, and slope for rivers wider than 50-100 m. SWOT observations will enable estimation of river discharge by using simple flow laws such as the Manning-Strickler equation, complementing in-situ streamgages. Several discharge inversion algorithms...
Using uncrewed aerial vehicles for identifying the extent of invasive Phragmites australis in treatment areas enrolled in an adaptive management program
Colin N. Brooks, Charlotte B. Weinstein, Andrew F. Poley, Amanda G. Grimm, Nicholas P. Marion, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Dana Hansen, Kurt P. Kowalski
2021, Remote Sensing (13)
Higher spatial and temporal resolutions of remote sensing data are likely to be useful for ecological monitoring efforts. There are many different treatment approaches for the introduced European genotype of Phragmites australis, and adaptive management principles are being integrated in at least some long-term monitoring efforts. In this paper, we...
Rapid observations of ocean dynamics and stratification along a steep island coast during Hurricane María
Olivia M. Cheriton, Curt D. Storlazzi, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Clark E. Sherman, Wilford Schmidt
2021, Science Advances (7)
Hurricanes are extreme storms that affect coastal communities, but the linkages between hurricane forcing and ocean dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we present full water column observations at unprecedented resolution from the southwest Puerto Rico insular shelf and slope during Hurricane María, representing a rare set of high-frequency, subsurface, oceanographic...
Evaporation from Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, Nevada and Arizona, 2010–2019
Katherine J. Earp, Michael T. Moreo
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1022
Evaporation-rate estimates at Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, Nevada and Arizona, were based on eddy covariance and available energy measurements from March 2010 through April 2019 at Lake Mead and May 2013 through April 2019 at Lake Mohave. The continuous data needed to compute monthly evaporation were collected from floating-platform...
Comparison of sample types from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for DNA extraction and analyses
Jessie Edson, Justin Brown, William L. Miller, W. David Walter
2021, Scientific Reports (11)
Collection of biological samples for DNA is necessary in a variety of disciplines including disease epidemiology, landscape genetics, and forensics. Quantity and quality of DNA varies depending on the method of collection or media available for collection (e.g., blood, tissue, fecal). Blood is the most common sample collected in vials...
A renewed philosophy about supplemental sea lamprey controls
Michael J. Siefkes, Nicholas S. Johnson, Andrew M. Muir
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) S742-S752
Invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) populations in the Laurentian Great Lakes have been reduced by up to 90% through the use of selective pesticides (lampricides) and physical sea lamprey barriers that block spawning migrations. Nevertheless, other control methods are needed to achieve integrated pest management objectives, delay biological resistance, and address societal pressure...
Managing wildlife at landscape scales
John W. Connelly, Courtney J. Conway
2021, Book chapter
Managing wildlife populations on a landscape is not a new concept to the field of wildlife management. However, a variety of barriers exist to effectively manage wildlife species at landscape scales. For example, competing management objectives for the same population can occur in parts of two adjoining states and 3-4...
Great Lakes harmful algal blooms: Current knowledge gaps
Gregory L. Boyer, Mary Anne Evans, Timothy Maguire, Silvia Newell, Heather Raymond, Dale M. Robertson, Katie Stammler, Nicole Zacharda, Kenneth J. Gibbons
2021, Report
Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) pose serious risks throughout the world to drinking water, recreation, and ecosystem health. The Great Lakes, which contain nearly 20% of the world’s available surface freshwater, have been experiencing an increase in HABs since the 1990s. Knowledge gaps relating to HABs remain even after extensive...
Functional connectivity in a continuously distributed, migratory species as revealed by landscape genomics
Melanie E. F. LaCava, Roderick B. Gagne, Kyle D. Gustafson, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Kevin L. Monteith, Hall Sawyer, Matthew J. Kauffman, Daniel J. Thiele, Holly B. Ernest
Simon Creer, Miguel B. Araujo, editor(s)
2021, Ecography (44) 987-999
Maintaining functional connectivity is critical for the long-term conservation of wildlife populations. Landscape genomics provides an opportunity to assess long-term functional connectivity by relating environmental variables to spatial patterns of genomic variation resulting from generations of movement, dispersal and mating behaviors. Identifying landscape features associated with...
Do contrasting patterns of migration movements and disease outbreaks between congeneric waterfowl species reflect differing immunity?
Shenlai Yin, Yanjie Xu, Nyambyar Batbayar, John Y. Takekawa, Yali Si, Diann Prosser, Scott H. Newman, Herbert H.T. Prins, Willem F. de Boer
2021, Geospatial Health (16) 223-230
Long-distance migrations influence the dynamics of hostpathogen interactions and understanding the role of migratory waterfowl in the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) is important. While wild geese have been associated with outbreak events, disease ecology of closely related species has not been studied to...
Assessing the population impacts and cost‐effectiveness of a conservation translocation
Charles B. Yackulic, David R. Van Haverbeke, Maria C. Dzul, Lucas S. Bair, Kirk L. Young
2021, Journal of Applied Ecology (58) 1602-1612
Managers often move, or translocate, organisms into habitats that are assumed to be suitable, however the consequences of these translocations are usually not rigorously assessed. Robust assessment of these management experiments should consider impacts to both donor and recipient populations and compare the cost‐effectiveness of translocations to other actions.Here...
Climate drivers of large magnitude snow avalanche years in the U.S. northern Rocky Mountains
Erich H. Peitzsch, Gregory T. Pederson, Karl W. Birkeland, Jordy Hendrikx, Daniel B. Fagre
2021, Scientific Reports (11)
Large magnitude snow avalanches pose a hazard to humans and infrastructure worldwide. Analyzing the spatiotemporal behavior of avalanches and the contributory climate factors is important for understanding historical variability in climate-avalanche relationships as well as improving avalanche forecasting. We used established dendrochronological methods to develop a long-term (1867–2019) regional avalanche...
Principles for collaborative risk communication: Reducing landslide losses in Puerto Rico
Jocelyn West, Lindsay A. Davis, Raquel Lugo Bendezu, Yahaira Alvarez Gandia, K. Stephen Hughes, Jonathan W. Godt, Lori Peek
2021, Journal of Emergency Management (19) 41-61
Landslides are frequent and damaging natural hazards that threaten the people and the natural and built environments of Puerto Rico. In 2017, more than 70,000 landslides were triggered across the island by heavy rainfall from Hurricane María, prompting requests by local professionals for landslide education and outreach materials. This article...
Gradient self-potential logging in the Rio Grande to identify gaining and losing reaches across the Mesilla Valley
Scott Ikard, Andrew Teeple, Delbert Humberson
2021, Water (13)
The Rio Grande/Río Bravo del Norte (hereinafter referred to as the “Rio Grande”) is the primary source of recharge to the Mesilla Basin/Conejos-Médanos aquifer system in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico and Texas. The Mesilla Basin aquifer system is the U.S. part of the Mesilla Basin/Conejos-Médanos...
Seasonal activity and diets of bats at uranium mines and adjacent areas near the Grand Canyon
Ernest W. Valdez, Mollie K Hanttula, Jo Ellen Hinck
2021, Western North American Naturalist (81) 1-18
Little information exists on the habitat use and feeding ecology of insectivorous bats in arid ecosystems, especially at and near uranium mines in northern Arizona, within the Grand Canyon watershed. In 2015–2016, we conducted mist-netting, nightly acoustic monitoring (>1 year), and diet analyses of bats,...
