Publications

Insufficient water sample volumes can be a limiting factor for detecting species with environmental DNA (eDNA) from aquatic habitats. We compared detections of freshwater mussel (Unionidae) communities using large water sample volumes and dead-end hollow fiber ultrafiltration (D-HFUF or DEUF) with traditional eDNA filtration methods that use relatively small water sample volumes. Unionid...

Executive Summary North America is a global center for native freshwater mussel (order Unionida, hereinafter “mussels”) diversity, with more than 350 species. Mussels are among the most imperiled fauna on the planet. Reasons for both local and widespread declines in mussels are mostly unknown, although the threats may include habitat loss and fragmentation, diseases, environmental...

The dynamics of wintering waterfowl populations at the landscape scale are the result of complex interactions of environmental, behavioral and energetic drivers. Agent-based models provide a method to directly link these factors in a spatially explicit framework and allow the emergence of patterns from the aggregation of individual agent actions. We adapted the Spatially-explicit...

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are used as models to track and predict NP fates and effects in ecosystems. Previous work found that aquatic macrophytes and their associated biofilm primarily drove the fate of AuNPs within aquatic ecosystems and that seasonality was an important abiotic factor in the fate of AuNPs. Therefore, the present work aims to study if grazers, by feeding on these...

Environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys are a promising alternative to traditional monitoring of invasive species, rare species, and biodiversity. Detecting organism-specific eDNA reduces the need to collect physical specimens for population estimates, and the high sensitivity of eDNA assays may improve detection of rare or cryptic species. However, correlating estimated concentrations of eDNA...

The burgeoning population of feral horses in the American west is due to high population growth, resulting from low adult mortality and high foal survival. In two populations of feral horses in western Utah, USA only 15 foals died (5%; mean age

Public land management agencies in the US are committed to using science-informed decision making, but there has been little research on the types and topics of science that managers need most to inform their decisions. We used the National Environmental Policy Act to identify four types of science information needed for making decisions relevant to public lands: (1) data on resources of...

Agricultural headwater streams and ditches commonly host dense stands of aquatic vegetation that grow and decay over seasons and exert physical and biological controls on the transport of nutrients from cropland to larger rivers. This study examined changes in the transport of phosphorus (P) in an agricultural drainage ditch in the Maumee River Basin (Ohio, USA) by conducting constant...

Biologists monitoring freshwater mussel (order Unionida) populations rely on behavioral, often subjective, signs to identify moribund (“sick”) or stressed mussels, such as gaping valves and slow response to probing, and they lack clinical indicators to support a diagnosis. As part of a multi-year study to investigate causes of reoccurring mortality of pheasantshell (Ortmanniana pectorosa...

The overarching goal of the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Project for Protected Species: sea turtles (GOMMAPPS) study was to collect broad-scale information on the distribution and abundance of sea turtles in the Gulf to inform seasonally- and spatially-explicit density estimates for priority species. GOMMAPPS represents a multi-agency partnership between BOEM, USFWS, NOAA, and USGS...

Data resulting from environmental monitoring programs are valuable assets for natural resource managers, decision-makers, and researchers. These data are often collected to inform specific reporting needs or decisions with a specific timeframe. While program-oriented data and related publications are effective for meeting program goals, sharing well-documented data and metadata allows...

Rangelands comprise 40% of the conterminous United States and they supply essential ecosystem services to society. A scenario assessment was conducted to determine how accelerating biophysical and societal drivers may modify their future availability. Four scenarios emerged: two may maintain rural communities by sustaining the prevailing ecosystem service of beef cattle production, and...