Publications

BackgroundLittle is known about the transformer stage of the parasitic lampreys, a brief but critical period that encompasses juvenile out-migration from rivers to lakes or oceans to begin parasitic feeding. Information about this life stage could have significant conservation implications for both imperiled and invasive lampreys. We investigated tag retention, survival, wound healing, and swim pe

Recent bacteriological investigations of freshwater mussel mortality events in the southeastern United States have identified a variety of bacteria and differences in bacterial communities between sick and healthy mussels. In particular, Yokenella regensburgei and Aeromonas spp. have been shown to be associated with moribund mussels, although it remains unclear whether these bacteria are causes or

Habitat restoration is an important tool used to conserve biodiversity and restore species, but its effects are notoriously difficult to predict. Although outcomes of restoration projects are usually assessed using indices of species abundance and diversity, phenotypic differences among individuals within species are likely associated with differing responses to restored habitats. Here, we use lak

Breeding habitat selection is a critical component of the annual cycle because of its effect on fitness. Multiple theories of habitat selection can be differentiated by their responses to the quantity of habitat, conspecific density, and habitat quality. Here, we use network analysis to understand the characteristics of fine-scale breeding habitat selected by both immigrant and returning adult pip

Onchocerca lupi (Rodonaja, 1967) is an understudied, vector-borne, filarioid nematode that causes ocular onchocercosis in dogs, cats, coyotes, wolves, and is also capable of infecting humans. Onchocercosis in dogs has been reported with increasing incidence worldwide. However, despite the growing number of reports describing canine O. lupi cases as well as zoonotic infections globally, the disease

Small waterbodies have potentially high greenhouse gas emissions relative to their small footprint on the landscape, although there is high uncertainty in model estimates. Scaling their carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) exchange with the atmosphere remains challenging due to an incomplete understanding and characterization of spatial and temporal variability in CO2 and CH4. Here, we measured

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 current management and conservation plans ai

Bioaccumulation of ionizable pharmaceuticals has been increasingly studied, with most reported aquatic tissue concentrations in field or laboratory experiments being from fish. However, higher levels of antidepressants have been observed in bivalves compared with fish from effluent-dominated and dependent surface waters. Such observations may be important for biodiversity because approximately 70%

Sophisticated animal-borne sensor systems are increasingly providing novel insight into how animals behave and move. Despite their widespread use in ecology, the diversity and expanding quality and quantity of data they produce have created a need for robust analytical methods for biological interpretation. Machine learning tools are often used to meet this need. However, their relative effectiven

Salt marshes in New York City’s Jamaica Bay have been disappearing and deteriorating since early 1900s, resulting in the loss of long-term accumulated carbon storage. However, the spatial variations and mechanisms in vertical accretion and soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration across this highly urbanized estuary remains unclear. In this study, we collected soil cores to a depth of ~ 50 cm acros

Genome assemblies are increasingly being used to identify adaptive genetic variation that can help prioritize the population management of protected species. This approach may be particularly relevant to species like Blainville’s horned lizard, Phrynosoma blainvillii, due to its specialized diet on noxious harvester ants, numerous adaptative traits for avoiding predation (e.g. cranial horns, dorso

Invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in the Everglades of Florida, United States, have drastically reduced populations of mammals, yet populations of some rodents appear unaffected by the invasion. To understand this pattern, we radio-tagged cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) in areas of high and low python occurrence densities (hereafter occurrence) and quantified the effects of python occur