All Publications

Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling is an increasingly important tool for answering ecological questions and informing aquatic species management; however, several factors currently limit the reliability of ecological inference from eDNA sampling. Two particular challenges are (1) determining species source location(s) and (2) accurately and precisely measuring low concentration eDNA...

Coevolution between plants and their animal predators has led to diverse defensive adaptations. Multiple theories of defense propose that there are resource allocation costs associated with producing chemical defenses. One leading hypothesis, optimal defense theory (ODT), suggests that natural selection will result in the allocation of resources to defenses that optimize the cost-to...

Elucidating factors influencing home range size is fundamental to the ecology and management of wildlife species, particularly those of conservation concern, because they can provide insight into how species utilize and interact with their environment. Variation in home range size can be related to intraspecific competition and social organization, energetic requirements in relation to...

Identifying how species respond to system drivers such as weather, climate, habitat, and resource availability is critical in understanding population change. In coastal areas, the transfer of nutrients across the marine and terrestrial interface increases complexity. Nesting populations of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) along the Pacific coast of North America, although...

In water-limited dryland ecosystems of the Western United States, climate change is intensifying the impacts of heat, drought, and wildfire. Disturbances often lead to increased abundance of invasive species, in part, because dryland restoration and rehabilitation are inhibited by limited moisture and infrequent plant recruitment events. Information on ecological resilience to...

The tire-rubber-derived ozonation product of N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD), N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine-quinone (6PPD-Q), was recently discovered to cause acute mortality in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). para-Phenylenediamines (PPDs) with variable side chains distinct from 6PPD have been identified as potential replacement...

Carbon fluxes in tidal brackish marshes play a critical role in determining coastal wetland carbon sequestration and storage, thus affecting carbon crediting of coastal wetland restoration. In this study, a process-driven wetland biogeochemistry model, Wetland Carbon Assessment Tool DeNitrification-DeComposition was applied to nine brackish marsh sites in Mississippi River (MR) Deltaic...

Traps are used to catch adult sea lampreys during their upstream migration to estimate their abundance in streams and, in turn, provide a measure of the Sea Lamprey Control Program’s effectiveness. During 2015 and 2016, we experimentally compared two components of sea lamprey trap design: trap entrance funnel type and the presence of retention devices, using side-by-side instream test...

Remotely sensed imagery from various collection platforms (e.g., satellites, crewed and uncrewed aircraft) are used by biologists and other conservation personnel to support management activities ranging from monitoring invasive species to assessing land cover and vegetation characteristics. Although remote sensing–based vegetation indices and models have been developed and used for some

Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa) stop at Delaware Bay on the mid-Atlantic coast of North America during northward migration to feed on eggs of horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus). Horseshoe crabs have been harvested for use as bait in eel (Anguilla rostrata) and whelk (Busycotypus canaliculatus and Busycon carica) fisheries since at least 1990. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the...

Sierra Nevada ecosystems have been influenced by fire for millennia; however, increasing wildfire size and frequency may yield unforeseen consequences on wildlife populations and their distribution. Foothill yellow-legged frogs Rana boylii have declined in portions of their range and are considered a species of conservation concern. We surveyed streams for foothill yellow legged frogs in...

The Snake River in Idaho, USA, supports a popular sport fishery for nonnative Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu, but there are limited studies on the population dynamics of this introduced species in Idaho and other water systems in the western United States. The purpose of this study was to describe the population dynamics and demographics of Smallmouth Bass in the Snake River, Idaho...