Wildlife Ecology

The UMESC Activity Report is sent out to our partners. The Activity Report has most of the publications and high profile products that our center scientists were involved in and goes to about 1500 different partners.

USGS research on carbon dioxide (CO2 ) has shown its effectiveness and relative selectivity as a control tool for nuisance mussels, zebra and quagga mussels ( Dreissena spp.). Infusing low concentrations of CO2 into water lines can prevent settlement and attachment of larval (veliger) stages of dreissenid mussels. Short-term exposure to higher concentrations of CO2 can cause detachment and...

The Golden-winged Warbler ( Vermivora chrysoptera), a small chickadee-like bird with a distinctive golden-colored cap and wing bars, is a species of considerable conservation concern in North America, primarily due to widespread population declines attributable to habitat loss and hybridization with the Blue-winged Warbler ( V. cyanoptera) in areas of sympatry. Recent concerns extend to the...

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is organismal DNA that can be found in the environment. eDNA originates from cellular material shed by organisms (e.g., skin, hair, saliva, or feces) into aquatic and terrestrial environments. Researchers sample the air, soil, water or other areas to track or detect invasive, endangered, or rare species.

Congratulations to the Monarch Conservation Science Partnership for receiving a 2020 Department of the Interior Natural Resource Conservation Achievement Award. The Team received this award in the Trailblazer category for efforts to address concerns related to the Monarch butterfly including conducting extinction risk research to establish the minimum overwintering population size required to...

A simulation-based power analysis can be used to estimate the sample sizes needed for a successful monitoring program, but requires technical expertise and sometimes extensive computing resources. We developed a web-based lookup app, called TrendPowerTool, to provide guidance for ecological monitoring programs when resources are not available for a simulation-based power analysis (Fig. 1)...

Along the Santa Clara River in California, populations of the federally and state-listed Least Bell's Vireo ( Vireo bellii pusillus) are recovering from near extirpation. Habitat protection and restoration, as well as reducing brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds ( Molothrus ater), are thought to be the primary drivers of this recovery. The challenge going forward is to find the right balance...

Native freshwater mussels play a critical role in aquatic environments and are considered “ecosystem engineers” and indicators of water quality by constantly filtering water. Populations of native freshwater mussels have declined in recent years, and this decline has been attributed to factors such as habitat degradation, pollution, and invasive species, among others. The importance of these...

Assessing Impacts of Emerging and Established Diseases to Aquatic Ecosystems The role of disease in freshwater mussel declines has been largely ignored due to the lack of appropriate diagnostic tools. Furthermore, health assessment of mussels in conjunction with restoration and propagation has not been considered during stocking and augmentation activities. This project will develop standard...

Assessing Impacts of Emerging and Established Diseases to Aquatic Ecosystems The decline of native freshwater mussels has the potential to devastate aquatic communities. Although factors such as habitat degradation, pollution, and invasive species have been linked to this decline, these potential causes cannot fully explain the large-scale mussel die-offs that have occurred in the past 20 years...

Dreissenid mussels have posed an aquatic invasive species challenge in the United States since their arrival in the Great Lakes in the 1980s. Zebra ( Dreissena polymorpha) and Quagga ( D. bugensis) mussels are filter feeders with high reproductive capacity. Their behaviors result in altered nutrient cycles, shifts in trophic structures, and extirpation of some native species in systems where they...

As invasive zebra and quagga mussels ( Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis bugensis, respectively), known as dreissenid mussels, continue their expansion throughout North America, the need to develop selective control tools has become critical for resource managers. Registered molluscicides for dreissenid control are limited, and often must be applied within or under a barrier to achieve...