Publications

ObjectiveNonnative fishes can modify ecosystems and harm economies when they are introduced to new environments. Climate change is likely to assist the spread and establishment of some nonnative fishes (e.g., warmwater species), but spatiotemporal gaps in water temperature monitoring and modeling may prevent ecologists and managers from forecasting thermal habitat suitability for these...

Evolutionary theory predicts that parental care is favored when the fitness benefits outweigh the costs of providing care (Klug et al., 2012). In mammals, parental care is generally provided by females, who provide nourishment through lactation, protection from predators, aid in juvenile movement, or otherwise facilitate offspring survival (Balshine, 2012; Lent, 1974). However, in...

Highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza A virus (HP H5N1) cases in wild mammals have been increasing globally. Carnivora has been the most affected mammal order; however, the extent of morbidity and mortality in carnivores exposed to HP H5N1 remains undefined. We assessed the presence of antibodies to H5 and N1 in the sera of 16 live-captured bobcats (Lynx rufus) in New York State, USA...

In the Laurentian Great Lakes, the application of acoustic telemetry to track fish movements has evolved into an important part of multijurisdictional management. Nevertheless, barriers remain in translating telemetry research into management or conservation actions. Here, we synthesize acoustic telemetry literature within the Great Lakes basin to explore factors that have contributed to...

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease infecting cervids. It is highly contagious and caused by misfolded prions that propagate via templated conformational conversion of the cervid’s normal prion protein. Prevalence of CWD in free-ranging deer in North America is mostly low, but in some regions local prevalence has reached 80%. CWD prions can be transmitted...

ObjectiveBest practices for conservation hatcheries to conserve genetic diversity and minimize adaptation to captivity have been established for decades, but how to apply them is not clear in every circumstance. As a growing number of aquatic species are propagated in captive settings, addressing the fit of these practices to each system will help managers operate optimally while...

Due to rapid climate change, arctic ecosystems are experiencing an increase in disturbances including localized land-surface failures caused by melting ground ice (thermokarst failures). These failures result in the mass transport of sediment and organic materials into surface waters, with the potential to dramatically alter aquatic ecosystem function and biotic interactions. We coupled...

Wildlife populations are increasingly threatened by human activities. Most studies, however, are often short in duration or do not encompass the large spatial extent necessary to measure the potential effects of human activities on population vital rates. Furthermore, the life history features of species with high fecundity and excellent dispersal capabilities can act as buffers against...

The San Luis Valley in Colorado, USA, an agriculturally dominated stopover area, is used by the Rocky Mountain population of Antigone canadensis tabida (Greater Sandhill Crane) and some midcontinental individuals of A. c. canadensis (Lesser Sandhill Crane) during migration. While the numbers of both subspecies are stable, the effects of continued water scarcity and declines in grain...

Emerging wildlife pathogens often display geographic variability due to landscape heterogeneity. Modeling approaches capable of learning complex, non-linear spatial dynamics of diseases are needed to rigorously assess and mitigate the effects of pathogens on wildlife health and biodiversity. We propose a novel machine learning (ML)-guided approach that leverages prior physical knowledge...

Effective disease surveillance relies on accurate pathogen testing and robust prevalence estimates. Diagnostic specificity (DSp), the probability that an uninfected animal tests negative, is high when false positives are low. Diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) is the probability an infected animal tests positive; higher DSe means fewer false negatives. However, sensitivity and false negatives...

Introduction: The Sacramento-San Joaquin River system (SSJ) of California includes both riverine, delta, and estuarine habitats and is among the most modified aquatic ecosystems in the United States. Water development projects in the system are associated with declines of many native species, including White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus.Methods: We used White Sturgeon pectoral fin...