Publications

Robust assessments of ecosystem stability are critical for informing conservation and management decisions. Tidal marsh ecosystems provide vital services, yet are globally threatened by anthropogenic alterations to physical and biological processes. A variety of monitoring and modeling approaches have been undertaken to determine which tidal marshes are likely to persist into the future...

Recovering species are often limited to much smaller areas than they historically occupied. Conservation planning for the recovering species is often based on this limited range, which may simply be an artifact of where the surviving population persisted. Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) were hunted nearly to extinction but recovered from a small remnant population on a remote...

The disease ecology community has struggled to come to consensus on whether biodiversity reduces or increases infectious disease risk, a question that directly affects policy decisions for biodiversity conservation and public health. Here, we summarize the primary points of contention regarding biodiversity–disease relationships and suggest that vector-borne, generalist wildlife and...

No abstract available.

Here, we present the results of a taxonomic survey of the nematodes parasitizing fishes from the lagoon flats of Palmyra Atoll, Eastern Indo-Pacific. We performed quantitative parasitological surveys of 653 individual fish from each of the 44 species using the intertidal sand flats that border the atoll’s lagoon. We provide morphological descriptions, prevalence, and mean intensities of...

Noninvasive fecal genotyping can be a useful tool for population monitoring of elusive species. We tested extraction protocols on scat samples from the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, to evaluate whether scat-based mark–recapture and population genetic monitoring studies are feasible.We extracted DNA from G. agassizii scat samples collected in California and Nevada...

Defining boundaries of species' habitat across broad spatial scales is often necessary for management decisions, and yet challenging for species that demonstrate differential variation in seasonal habitat use. Spatially explicit indices that incorporate temporal shifts in selection can help overcome such challenges, especially for species of high conservation concern. Greater sage‐grouse

Exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) can result in detrimental health effects in wildlife. With advances in ecological indicators and analytical techniques for measurement of MeHg in a variety of tissues, numerous processes have been identified that can influence MeHg concentrations in wildlife. This review presents a synthesis of theoretical principals and applied information for measuring...

Long-term research on large ungulate populations typically conjures perceptions of extensive (and expensive) animal capture and telemetry work, and subsequent advanced modeling of resource selection and population dynamics that inform management decisions. In contrast, studies lacking a telemetry component are often limited to animal behavior or natural history. Although compelling from...

Marine methylmercury concentrations vary geographically and with depth, exposing organisms to different mercury levels in unique habitats. Red-legged kittiwakes (Rissa brevirostris), a specialist predator, forage on fish and invertebrates from the mesopelagic zone, a part of the ocean with elevated methylmercury concentrations. We used kittiwakes as bioindicators of MeHg concentrations...

We assessed the impacts of co‐occurring invasive plant species on fire regimes and postfire native communities in the Mojave Desert, western USA. We analyzed the distribution and co‐occurrence patterns of three invasive annual grasses (Bromus rubens, Bromus tectorum, and Schismus spp.) known to alter fuel conditions and community structure, and an invasive forb (Erodium cicutarium) which...

E. Pennisi (“Forest giants are the trees most at risk,” News, 6 September, p. 962) interprets presentations of three studies as suggesting that “for trees, size is not strength, and forest giants are disproportionately vulnerable.” However, this conclusion is not well supported. The observation that lightning is a major cause of large-tree mortality on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) is best