Publications

(Munson) Climate variability and change acting at broad scales can lead to divergent changes in plant production at local scales. Quantifying how production responds to variation in climate at local scales is essential to understand underlying ecological processes and inform land management decision-making, but has historically been limited in spatiotemporal scale based on the use of discrete grou

Climate data obtained from global climate models (GCMs) form the basis of most studies of regional climate change and its impacts. Using the northeastern US as a test case, we develop a framework to systematically sub-select reliable models for use in climate change studies in the region. We retain 14 of 36 CMIP5 GCMs that (a) have satisfactory historical performance, and (b) provide diverse clima

Macrophage aggregates (MA s) are focal accumulations of pigmented macrophages in the spleen and other tissues of fish. A central role of MA s is the clearance and destruction of degenerating cells and recycling of some cellular components. Macrophage aggregates also respond to chemical contaminants and infectious agents and may play a role in the adaptive immune response. Tissue damage or physiolo

This study examined morphological, physiological and molecular indicators of smoltification in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) juveniles in a flow-through (FT) and recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). Fish were exposed to 24-h light to initiate smoltification, for 5 (FT) and 7 (RAS) weeks prior to transfer from freshwater (FW) to seawater (SW) and were sampled weekly preceding and following SW tr

Annual bottom trawl surveys were initiated in the 1970s in Laurentian Great Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan and Ontario and in 1990 in Erie to provide annual assessments of the status and trends of prey fish communities. Native Cisco Coregonus artedi and Bloater C. hoyi dominated the prey fish community of Lake Superior. Prey fish communities in lakes Huron and Michigan were dominated by nonnative

Truttaedacnitis truttae is a cucullanid nematode of primarily salmonine fishes. Brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Europe reportedly become parasitized by ingesting lampreys (Lampetra planeri) carrying infective larvae. However, our field and laboratory observations suggested that North American specimens of T. truttae have an alternative life cycle. High abundances and potential impact of T. truttae i

Yellowstone Lake is the site of actions to suppress invasive Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush and restore native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri and natural ecosystem function. Although gill netting is effective (Lake Trout λ ≤ 0.6 from 2012 through 2018), the effort costs more than US$2 million annually and only targets Lake Trout age 2 and older. To increase suppression

The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) once experienced near-extinction but has since rebounded. For decades, bald eagles near the Wisconsin River, USA, have experienced a lethal syndrome with characteristic clinical and pathological features but unknown etiology. Here, we describe a novel hepacivirus-like virus (Flaviviridae: Hepacivirus) identified during an investigation of Wisconsin River e

Coastal regions on the Pacific north coast of North America provide important wintering habitat for many species of sea ducks. Although winter range and habitat preferences are well described for most species, fidelity to coastal wintering sites is generally undocumented. Fidelity is an important factor necessary for understanding interactions with coastal developments and activities and correspon

The delineation of intraspecific units that are evolutionarily and demographically distinct is an important step in the development of species-specific management plans. Neutral genetic variation has served as the primary data source for delineating “evolutionarily significant units,” but with recent advances in genomic technology, we now have an unprecedented ability to utilize information about

Embedded within the North American Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) are millions of small, depressional wetlands that annually support 50–80% of the continent’s waterfowl production. We recently assembled evidence that demonstrates a change towards a wetter climate that is driving a shift in the state of the region’s wetland ecosystems. This ecological state-shift has been primarily the result of a su

A long‐standing goal of invasion biology is to identify factors driving highly variable impacts of non‐native species. Although hypotheses exist that emphasize the role of evolutionary history (e.g., enemy release hypothesis & defense‐free space hypothesis), predicting the impact of non‐native herbivorous insects has eluded scientists for over a century. Using a census of all 58 non‐native conifer