Publications

Many studies have shown that environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling can be more sensitive than traditional sampling. For instance, past studies found a specific qPCR probe of a water sample is better than a seine for detecting the endangered northern tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi. Furthermore, a metabarcoding sample often detects more fish species than a seine detects. Less consideration has

Increasingly, genomic data are being used to supplement field-based ecological studies to help evaluate recovery status and trends in endangered species. We collected genomic data to address two related questions regarding the Least Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii), an endangered migratory songbird restricted to southern California riparian habitat for breeding. First, we sought to delineate the range

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a wildlife disease that has decimated hibernating bats since its introduction in North America in 2006. As the disease spreads westward, assessing the potentially differential impact of the disease on western bat species is an urgent conservation need. The statistical challenge is that the disease surveillance and species response monitoring data are not co-located, av

ContextWildland-urban interface (WUI) areas are facing increased forest fire risks and extreme precipitation events due to climate change, which can lead to post-fire flood events. The city of Flagstaff in northern Arizona, USA experienced WUI forest thinning, fire, and record rainfall events, which collectively contributed to large floods and damages to the urban neighborhoods and city infrastruc

The Buffalo National River (BNR), on karst terrain in Arkansas, is considered an extraordinary water resource. Water collected in Spring 2017 along BNR was metagenomically analyzed using 16S rDNA, and for 17 months (5/2017–11/2018), bacterial responses were measured in relation to nutrients sampled along a stretch of BNR near a concentrated animal feed operation (CAFO) on Big Creek. Because cell c

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are at the center of state and national land-use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for health of sagebrush ecosystems. This updated population trend analysis provides state and federal land and wildlife managers with best-available science to help guide management and conservation plans aimed at b

Climate-induced expansion of invasive hybridization (breeding between invasive and native species) poses a significant threat to the persistence of many native species worldwide. In the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains, hybridization between native cutthroat trout and non-native rainbow trout has increased in recent decades due, in part, to climate-driven increases in water temperature. It has been p

Climate warming has facilitated the expansion of black mangrove Avicennia germinans (hereafter ‘Avicennia’) into smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora (hereafter ‘Spartina’) salt marshes in southeastern Louisiana (USA). As macrophytes contribute to soil organic matter (SOM) and primary production, this transition could alter the basal energy pathways supporting salt marsh food webs. We used bulk-

Terrestrial soils in forested landscapes represent some of the largest mercury (Hg) reserves globally. Wildfire can alter the storage and distribution of terrestrial-bound Hg via reemission to the atmosphere or mobilization in watersheds where it may become available for methylation and uptake into food webs. Using data associated with the 2007 Moonlight and Antelope Fires in California, we examin

Effective ecological restoration requires empirical assessment to determine outcomes of projects, but conclusions regarding the effects of restoration treatments on the whole ecosystem remain rare. Control of invasive shrubs and trees in the genus Tamarix and associated riparian restoration in the American Southwest has been of interest to scientists and resource managers for decades; dozens of st

Oceanic seabirds have suffered population declines and extirpations due to human disturbance and still face multiple threats. Here, we assessed the potential genetic vulnerability of the red-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, a seabird species threatened by human disturbance and listed as ‘least concern’ by the IUCN. Using Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) we evaluated the genetic popula

Legacy contaminants and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) were assessed in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) tissue and diet samples from three drainages in the Milwaukee estuary, Wisconsin, USA, to understand exposures and possible biomarker responses. Two remote Wisconsin lakes were assessed for comparative purposes. Bioaccumulative classes of contaminants, such as polybrominated diphenyl