Publications

Freshwater mussels are a species‐rich group with biodiversity patterns strongly shaped by a life history strategy that includes an obligate parasitic larval stage. In this study, we set out to reconstruct the life history evolution and systematics in a clade of freshwater mussels adapted to parasitizing a molluscivorous host fish. Anchored hybrid enrichment and ancestral character reconstruction r

The Laurentian Great Lakes have experienced recent ecosystem changes that could lead to reductions in adaptive capacity and ultimately a loss of biodiversity and production throughout the food web. Observed changes in Great Lakes benthic communities include declines of native species and widespread success of invasive species like dreissenid mussels in all but Lake Superior. Understanding the ecol

Accelerating declines of an increasing number of animal populations worldwide necessitate methods to reliably and efficiently estimate demographic parameters such as population density and trajectory. Standard methods for estimating demographic parameters from noninvasive genetic samples are inefficient because lower-quality samples cannot be used, and they assume individuals are identified withou

Reliable age estimation is an essential tool to assess the status of wildlife populations and inform successful management. Aging methods, however, are often limited by too few data, skewed demographic representation, and by single or uncertain morphometric relationships. In this study, we synthesize age estimates in southern sea otters Enhydra lutris nereis from 761 individuals across 34 years of

Primary producers in terrestrial and marine systems can be affected by fungal pathogens threatening the provision of critical ecosystem services. Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are ecologically important members of tropical reef systems and are impacted by coralline fungal disease (CFD) which manifests as overgrowth of the CCA crust by fungal lesions causing partial to complete mortality of the CC

1. The spatial organization of a population can influence the spread of information, behaviour, and pathogens. Territory size and territory overlap, components of spatial organization, provide key information as these metrics may be indicators of habitat quality, resource dispersion, contact rates, and environmental risk (e.g., indirectly transmitted pathogens). Furthermore, sociality and behaviou

Species introductions provide opportunities to quantify rates and patterns of evolutionary change in response to novel environments. Alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) are native to the East Coast of North America where they ascend coastal rivers to spawn in lakes and then return to the ocean. Some populations have become landlocked within the last 350 years and diverged phenotypically from their anc

Identifying robust environmental predictors of infection probability is central to forecasting and mitigating the ongoing impacts of climate change on vector‐borne disease threats. We applied phylogenetic hierarchical models to a data set of 2,171 Western Palearctic individual birds from 47 species to determine how climate and landscape variation influence infection probability for three genera of

Drylands are Earth's largest terrestrial biome and support one‐third of the global population. However, they are also highly vulnerable to land degradation. Despite widespread demand for dryland restoration and rehabilitation, little information is available to help land managers effectively re‐establish native perennial vegetation across drylands.RestoreNet is an emerging dryland restoration netw

Four lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, Walbaum 1792 morphs occur in Lake Superior: lean, siscowet, humper, and redfin. Diets of lean and siscowet have been relatively well described. However, less is known about diets of humper and redfin, and overall few studies have been conducted at offshore shoals. We compared gut content data among mature (357–867 mm) sympatric lake trout morphs caught at two

Prescribed fire is an increasingly important management tool for eastern deciduous forests, but relativity little is known about the direct effects of fire on the eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina). We used very high frequency (VHF) transmitters to monitor mortality, movement, and spatial ecology of 118 box turtles in response to 17 prescribed fires across 4 seasons and 3 sites in ea

Water management practices in tidal marshes of the San Francisco Bay Estuary, California are often aimed at increasing suitable habitat for threatened fish species and sport fishes. However, little is known about how best to manage habitat for other sensitive status species like the semiaquatic freshwater Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata) that is declining throughout much of its range. Her