Publications

Invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) are extremely cryptic animals. Although their conservation status in their native range is Vulnerable, in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem (Florida, USA) they have become a dominant destructive force and usually are immediately removed whenever found. This poses a paradox where removals are occurring, yet the study and understanding of python...

The U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have developed a three-tiered strategy for monitoring eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds at Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, that targets different spatial and temporal scales. The broadest-scale monitoring (tier-1) uses satellite imagery about every 5 years to delineate the spatial extent of eelgrass beds throughout the lagoon. This...

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...

Cambarus chasmodactylus (New River Crayfish) is one of the largest crayfish species occurring in the Appalachian Mountains and occupies a niche similar to several highly imperiled crayfishes within the same region. While conducting a controlled mesocosm study assessing the impacts of contaminants on crayfish growth, development, and reproductive status, we recorded an observation where...

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...

Objective Best 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...

During the burial of mudstones, the associated organic matter undergoes gradual thermal maturation, a key process that can influence the reactivity of organic matter during catagenesis, the formation of hydrocarbon deposits and the chemical weathering of mudstones. Conventional methods for assessing the thermal maturity of organic matter often fail to reflect the geochemical...

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...

Aquatic ecosystems are losing oxygen due to climate change. This deoxygenation can favor microbial methylation of mercury (Hg). To understand the dynamics of Hg under increasing deoxygenation, we simultaneously quantified both Hg and hypoxia ( 2 mg O2/L) lifetime chronologies in fishes. We used a novel combination of chemical biomarkers in ear stones and eye lenses. We compared these...

Dryland organisms exhibit varied responses to changes in precipitation, including event size, frequency, and soil moisture duration, influencing carbon uptake and reserve management strategies. This principle, central to the pulse-reserve paradigm, has not been thoroughly evaluated in biological soil crusts (biocrusts), essential primary producers on dryland surfaces. We conducted two...

Executive Summary The Trinity River is managed in two sections: (1) from the upper 64-kilometer “restoration reach” downstream from Lewiston Dam to the confluence with the North Fork Trinity River, and (2) the 120-kilometer lower Trinity River downstream from the restoration reach. The Stream Salmonid Simulator (S3) has been previously applied to these reaches and the Klamath River. To...