Publications

Hepatitis B viruses belong to a family of circular, double-stranded DNA viruses that infect a range of organisms, with host responses that vary from mild infection to chronic infection and cancer. The white sucker hepatitis B virus (WSHBV) was first described in the white sucker (Catostomus commersonii), a freshwater teleost, and belongs to the genus Parahepadnavirus. At present, the...

The presence of many pathogens varies in a predictable manner with latitude, with infections decreasing from the equator towards the poles. We investigated the geographic trends of pathogens infecting a widely distributed carnivore: the gray wolf (Canis lupus). Specifically, we investigated which variables best explain and predict geographic trends in seroprevalence across North American...

Choosing whether or not to migrate is an important life history decision for many fishes. Here we combine data from physical captures and detections on autonomous passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag antennas to study migration in an endangered fish, the humpback chub (Gila cypha). We develop hidden Markov mark-recapture models with and without antenna detections and find that the...

In recent years, benthic algae have been increasing in abundance in the littoral zones of oligotrophic lakes, but causality has been hard to assign. We used field and laboratory experiments to explore the implications of increasing water temperature and nutrient availability for benthic algal assemblages and ecosystem processes in a Colorado alpine lake. We tested the effect of nutrient...

The response of macrophage aggregates in fish to a variety of environmental stressors has been useful as a biomarker of exposure to habitat degradation. Total volume of macrophage aggregates (MAV) was estimated in the liver and spleen of white perch Morone americana from Chesapeake Bay using stereological approaches. Hepatic and splenic MAV were compared between fish populations from the...

A Gram-stain-negative, strictly anaerobic, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterium, designated SFB93T, was isolated from the intertidal sediments of South San Francisco Bay, located near Palo Alto, CA, USA. SFB93T was capable of acetylenotrophic and diazotrophic growth, grew at 22–37 °C, pH 6.3–8.5 and in the presence of 10–45 g l−1 NaCl. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing...

Topographic and hydrodynamic complexity in submarine canyons promotes steep gradients in food availability and geophysical parameters which affect ecological assemblages and beta diversity. While habitat heterogeneity in submarine canyons is known to support diverse and abundant megafaunal communities, due to difficulty in sampling little is known about infaunal communities adjacent to...

Unpaved roads make up at least 14 million kilometers of the worldwide road network. Although investigations of road runoff often are focused on paved roads, unpaved roads contribute large volumes of runoff to roadside aquatic habitats and introduce unique constituents to runoff, such as chemical dust suppressants. At least 200 products across five chemical categories are commercially...

Seasonal migrations of fish populations can have large effects on lake nutrient budgets and food web dynamics, but the addition of a migrating non‐native species may alter these dynamics. The Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) arrived in Lake Ontario (USA/Canada) about 20 years ago with a documented history of annual offshore–inshore migrations in its native range. Here we combined...

Daunting amounts of microplastics are present in surface waters worldwide. A main category of microplastics is synthetic microfibers, which originate from textiles. These microplastics are generated and released in laundering and are discharged by wastewater treatment plants or enter surface waters from other sources. The polymers that constitute many common synthetic microfibers are...

Coastal margins are important areas of materials flux that link terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Consequently, climate-mediated changes to coastal terrestrial ecosystems and hydrologic regimes have high potential to influence nearshore ocean chemistry and food web dynamics. Research from tightly coupled, high-flux coastal ecosystems can advance understanding of terrestrial–marine links...

The conservation of biological resources relies on the successful management of ecological and physiological research data. The Western Ecological Research Center of the U.S. Geological Survey is working with researchers, land managers, and decision makers from non-government organizations and city, county, state, and federal resource agencies to develop data management methods. Access...