Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16780
Seasonal development of the coccidian parasite Goussia bayae and hepatobiliary histopathology in white perch Morone americana from Chesapeake Bay
The coccidium Goussia bayae infects the gallbladder and bile ducts of white perch Morone americana from Chesapeake Bay, USA. Seasonal changes in coccidian infections were analyzed from bile specimens of 1588 fish from the Choptank River during 2016-2018 using wet mount preparations with a Sedgwick-Rafter counting chamber. Histopathology of the gallbladder and liver was analyzed from a subset (n =
Authors
Mark A Matsche, Vicki S. Blazer, Patricia M. Mazik
From the oceans to the cloud: Opportunities and challenges for data, models, computation and workflows
Advances in ocean observations and models mean increasing flows of data. Integrating observations between disciplines over spatial scales from regional to global presents challenges. Running ocean models and managing the results is computationally demanding. The rise of cloud computing presents an opportunity to rethink traditional approaches. This includes developing shared data processing workfl
Authors
Tiffany Vance, Micah Wengren, Eugene F. Burger, Debra Hernandez, Timothy Kearns, Encarni Medina-Lopez, Nazila Merati, Kevin O’Brien, Jonathan O’Neil, J. Potemra, Richard P. Signell, Kyle Wilcox
Optimizing an inner-continental shelf geologic framework investigation through data repurposing and machine learning
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have collected approximately 5,400 km2 of geophysical and hydrographic data on the Atlantic continental shelf between Delaware and Virginia over the past decade and a half. Although originally acquired for different objectives, the comprehensive coverage and variety of data (bathymetry, backscatter, imager
Authors
Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Laura L. Brothers, Ed Sweeney
The pathogenesis of H7 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Waterfowl are the natural hosts of avian influenza virus (AIV), and through migration spread the virus worldwide. Most AIVs carried by wild waterfowl are low pathogenic strains; however, Goose/Guangdong/1996 lineage clade 2.3.4.4 H5 highly pathogenic (HP) AIV now appears to be endemic in wild birds in much of the Eastern Hemisphere. Most research efforts studying AIV pathogenicity in waterfowl thu
Authors
Christopher B. Stephens, Diann Prosser, Mary J. Pantin-Jackwood, Alicia Berlin, Erica Spackman
Knowing your limits: Estimating range boundaries and co-occurrence zones for two competing plethodontid salamanders
Understanding threats to species persistence requires knowledge of where species currently occur. We explore methods for estimating two important facets of species distributions, namely where the range limit occurs and how species interactions structure distributions. Accurate understanding of range limits is crucial for predicting range dynamics and shifts in response to interspecific interaction
Authors
S. M. Amburgey, D. A. W. Miller, Adrianne B. Brand, Andrea M. Dietrich, Evan H. Campbell Grant
Assessing water quality from highway runoff at selected sites in North Carolina with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) entered into a cooperative agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to develop a North Carolina-enhanced variation of the national Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) with available North Carolina-specific streamflow and water-quality data and to demonstrate use of the model by documenting selected simulat
Authors
J. Curtis Weaver, Gregory E. Granato, Sharon A. Fitzgerald
Context matters: Using reinforcement learning to develop human-readable, state-dependent outbreak response policies
The number of all possible epidemics of a given infectious disease that could occur on a given landscape is large for systems of real-world complexity. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the control actions that are optimal, on average, over all possible epidemics are also best for each possible epidemic. Reinforcement learning (RL) has been used to develop machine-readable context-dependent
Authors
William J. M. Probert, Sandya Lakkur, Christopher J Fonnesbeck, Katriona Shea, Michael C. Runge, Michael J. Tildesley, Matthew J. Ferrari
Effect of corolla slitting and nectar robbery by the Eastern Carpenter Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on fruit quality of Vaccinium corymbosum, L.; (Ericales: Ericaceae).
Eastern carpenter bees, Xylocopa virginica (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), are among the most abundant native bee visitors to highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L., flowers in the northeastern United States, and they sometimes display corolla-slitting behavior to rob nectar. We studied foraging behavior of X. virginica on 14 blueberry cultivars in an experimental planting in Rhode Island, and as
Authors
Sara K Tucker, Howard S. Ginsberg, Steven R. Alm
Relationships between regional coastal land cover distributions and elevation reveal data uncertainty in a sea-level rise impacts model
Understanding land loss or resilience in response to sea-level rise (SLR) requires spatially extensive and continuous datasets to capture landscape variability. We investigate sensitivity and skill of a model that predicts dynamic response likelihood to SLR across the northeastern U.S. by exploring several data inputs and outcomes. Using elevation and land cover datasets, we determine where dat
Authors
Erika Lentz, Nathaniel G. Plant, E. Robert Thieler
Identifying common decision problem elements for the management of emerging fungal diseases of wildlife
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of wildlife have characteristics that make them difficult to manage, leading to reactive and often ineffective management strategies. Currently, two fungal pathogens, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), are causing declines in novel host species. To improve the application of management strategies addressing the risk o
Authors
R. F. Bernard, Evan H. Campbell Grant
oSCR: A spatial capture–recapture R package for inference about spatial ecological processes
Spatial capture–recapture (SCR) methods have become widely applied in ecology. The immediate adoption of SCR is due to the fact that it resolves some major criticisms of traditional capture–recapture methods related to heterogeneity in detectabililty, and the emergence of new technologies (e.g. camera traps, non‐invasive genetics) that have vastly improved our ability to collection spatially expli
Authors
Chris Sutherland, J. Andrew Royle, Dan Linden
Spatial integration of biological and social objectives to identify priority landscapes for waterfowl habitat conservation
Waterfowl population management and habitat conservation compose one of the oldest and most successful adaptive management frameworks in the world. Since its inception, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) has emphasized strategically targeted conservation investments in regions that most affect waterfowl population dynamics. By 2012, regional conservation had progressively become
Authors
Anastasia Krainyk, James E. Lyons, Michael G. Brasher, Dale D. Humburg, Greg J. Souilliere, John M. Coluccy, Mark J. Petrie, David W. Howerter, Stuart M. Slattery, Mindy B. Rice, Joe C. Fuller