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Publications

The Eastern Ecological Science Center list of publications.

Filter Total Items: 11052

Trends and environmental impacts of virtual water trade

Virtual water describes water embedded in the production of goods and offers meaningful insights about the complex interplay between water, trade and sustainability. In this Review, we examine the trends, major players, traded products and key drivers of virtual water trade (VWT). Roughly 20% of water used in global food production is traded virtually rather than domestically consumed. As such, ag
Authors
Mesfin M. Mekonnen, Mahlet M. Kebede, Betelhem W. Demeke, Joel A. Carr, Ashok Chapagain, Carole Dalin, Peter Debaere, Paolo D'Odorico, Landon Marston, Chittaranjan Ray, Lorenzo Rosa, La Zhuo

A systematic review of laboratory investigations into the pathogenesis of avian influenza viruses in wild avifauna of North America

The lack of consolidated information regarding the response of wild bird species to infection with avian influenza virus (AIV) is a challenge to both conservation managers and researchers alike, with related sectors also impacted, such as public health and commercial poultry. Using two independent searches, we reviewed published literature for studies describing wild bird species experimentally in
Authors
Matthew Brandon Gonnerman, Christina Leyson, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Mary J. Pantin-Jackwood, Erica Spackman, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Diann Prosser

Population structure of Desmophyllum pertusum found along the United States eastern continental margin

ObjectiveThe connectivity and genetic structuring of populations throughout a region influence a species’ resilience and probability of recovery from anthropogenic impacts. By gaining a comprehensive understanding of population connectivity, more effective management can be prioritized. To assess the connectivity and population genetic structure of a common cold-water coral species, Desmophyllum p
Authors
Alexis Marie Weinnig, Aaron Aunins, Veronica J. Salamone, Andrea M. Quattrini, Martha S. Nizinski, Cheryl Morrison

Tissue distribution and temporal and spatial assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in the mid-Atlantic United States

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have become an environmental issue worldwide. A first step to assessing potential adverse effects on fish populations is to determine if concentrations of concern are present in a region and if so, in which watersheds. Hence, plasma from adult smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu collected at 10 sites within 4 river systems in the mid-Atlantic region of t
Authors
Vicki S. Blazer, Heather L. Walsh, Cheyenne R. Smith, Stephanie Gordon, Brandon J. Keplinger, Timothy Wertz

The Interagency Coordinating Committee on the validation of alternative methods (ICCVAM)

Many ICCVAM member agencies are developing new technologies and resources to replace the use of animals for chemical safety testing. These include new platforms such as microphysiological systems (MPS), data resources to support the development of predictive models and quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSARs), and web tools to facilitate data access and visualization.
Authors
Barnett A. Rattner, Timothy Bargar, Paula F. P. Henry

Climate change and animal health.

No abstract available.
Authors
Charles Rupprecht, Glenn R. Guntenspergen

Declines in brook trout abundance linked to atmospheric warming in Maryland, USA

Salmonid fishes provide an important indicator of climate change given their reliance on cold water. We evaluated temporal changes in the density of stream-dwelling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) from surveys conducted over a 36-year period (1988–2023) by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in Eastern North America. Nonparametric trend analyses revealed decreasing densities of adult
Authors
Nathaniel P. Hitt, Karli M Rogers, Zachary A. Kelly

Brodifacoum isomer formulations with potentially lower risk to non-target wildlife

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) have a long history of successful use in controlling vertebrate pest and invasive species. Despite regulatory efforts to mitigate risk, non-target wildlife may be unintentionally exposed to ARs through various trophic pathways, and depending on dose, exposure can result in adverse effects and mortality. Second-generation ARs (SGARs) are mixtures of cis- and trans-d
Authors
Barnett A. Rattner, Richard A. Erickson, Julia S. Lankton, Etienne Benoit, Virginie Lattard

Parasite abundance-occupancy relationships across biogeographic regions: Joint effects of niche breadth, host availability and climate

Changing biodiversity and environmental conditions may allow multi-host pathogens to spread among host species and affect prevalence. There are several widely acknowledged theories about mechanisms that may influence variation in pathogen prevalence, including the controversially debated dilution effect and abundance-occupancy relationship hypotheses. Here, we explore such abundance-occupancy rela
Authors
Konstans Wells, Jeffrey A Bell, Alan Fecchio, Serguei Vyacheslavovich Drovetski, Spencer C Galen, Shannon Hackett, Holly L Lutz, Heather Skeen, Gary Voelker, Wanyoike Wamiti, Jason D Weckstein, Nicholas J. Clark

The value of information is context dependent: A demonstration of decision tools to address multispecies river temperature management under uncertainty

Trade-offs among objectives in natural resource management can be exacerbated in altered ecosystems and when there is uncertainty in predicted management outcomes. Multi-criteria decision analysis and value of information (VOI) are underutilized decision tools that can assist fisheries managers in handling trade-offs and evaluating the importance of uncertainty. We demonstrate the use of these too
Authors
Brian Daniel Healy, Michael C. Runge, Michael P Beakes, Corey C. Phillis, Alexander J. Jensen, Joshua A. Israel

Informative priors can account for location uncertainty in stop-level analyses of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), allowing fine-scale ecological analyses

Ecological inferences are often based on the locations at which species are present, but many species records have substantial uncertainty in spatial metadata, limiting their utility for fine-scale analyses. This is especially prevalent in historical records such as museum specimens, and in some citizen-science data. For example, the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) has 55+ years of bird
Authors
Ryan C. Burner, Alan Kirschbaum, Jeffrey A. Hostetler, David Ziolkowski, Nicholas M. Anich, Daniel Turek, Eli D. Striegel, Neal D. Niemuth

Range-wide population genomic structure of the Karner blue butterfly, Plebejus (Lycaeides) samuelis

The Karner blue butterfly, Plebejus (Lycaeides) samuelis, is an endangered North American climate change-vulnerable species that has undergone substantial historical habitat loss and population decline. To better understand the species' genetic status and support Karner blue conservation, we sampled 116 individuals from 22 localities across the species' geographical range in Wisconsin (WI), Michig
Authors
Jing Zhang, Aaron Aunins, Timothy L. King, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Leina Song, Gregor W. Schuurman, Randy Knutson, Ralph Grundel, Jessica Hellmann, Nick V. Grishin
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