Publications

As an ultimate driver of marine ecosystem processes, climate change is expected to influence proximate disease drivers in marine systems. The observable effects of climate change, including changes in temperature, hypoxia, CO2 accumulation, precipitation, and storm and cyclone frequencies and intensities, may directly act as proximate drivers of marine disease, especially in poikilotherms. These c

This chapter reviews how marine ecosystems respond to parasites. Evidence from several marine ecosystems shows that parasites can wield control over ecosystem structure, function, and dynamics by regulating host density and phenotype. Like predators, parasites can generate or modify trophic cascades, regulate important foundational species and ecosystem engineers, and mediate species coexistence b

Many pathogens interact and evolve in communities where more than one host species is present, yet our understanding of host–pathogen specialization is mostly informed by laboratory studies with single species. Managing diseases in the wild, however, requires understanding how host–pathogen specialization affects hosts in diverse communities. Juvenile salmonid mortality in hatcheries caused by inf

Populations of Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (silver carp) and Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (bighead carp), (together referred to herein as “bigheaded carp”) have increased exponentially in the greater Mississippi River Basin. Detrimental effects on native fish and economically important fisheries have occurred where these invasive, filter-feeding fish are abundant. The Unified Method, a harvest techn

Detection has been a long-standing challenge to monitoring populations of cryptic herpetofauna, which often have detection probabilities that are closer to zero than one. Burmese Pythons (Python bivittatus =Python molurus bivittatus), a recent invader in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem of Florida, are cryptic snakes that have long periods of inactivity. In addition, management actions such as rem

Transect surveys are frequently used to estimate distribution and abundance of species across a landscape, yet a proportion of individuals present will be missed because either they were out of view and unavailable for detection or they were available but not detected because the surveyors missed them. These situations lead to availability and perception bias, respectively, and can result in misle

This Monitoring and Response Plan provides the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) with updates on FWS and USGS modeling efforts for the Spatially Explicit Asian carp Population (SEAcarP) model. For FY2020, efforts are underway to parameterize and analyze the SEAcarP model. Themes: invasive species; Asian carp; Great Lakes.

The Spatially Explicit Asian carp Population (SEAcarP) model was developed to inform management and research decisions with the goal of minimizing the abundance of Bighead Carp and Silver Carp (collectively referred to as “Asian carp” in this document) in the upper Illinois River waterway, thereby reducing risk of population expansion toward the Great Lakes and reducing potential impacts on native

The disease ecology community has struggled to come to consensus on whether biodiversity reduces or increases infectious disease risk, a question that directly affects policy decisions for biodiversity conservation and public health. Here, we summarize the primary points of contention regarding biodiversity–disease relationships and suggest that vector-borne, generalist wildlife and zoonotic patho

Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus and Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella are morphologically similar species native to eastern Asia and imported to North America as biological control organisms. Preferred identification methods are coloration and pharyngeal tooth form. Grass Carp possess serrated teeth and Black Carp molariform teeth. Examination of pharyngeal teeth causes extensive damage to a sp

Prions are misfolded infectious proteins responsible for a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases termed transmissible spongiform encephalopathy or prion diseases. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is the prion disease with the highest spillover potential, affecting at least seven Cervidae (deer) species. The zoonotic potential of CWD is inconclusive and cannot be ruled out. A risk of infection for

Serum iron concentration is usually decreased in true iron deficiency and with inflammatory disease in man and domestic animals. Serum total iron binding capacity (TIBC) may be increased in true iron deficiency and decreased with inflammatory disease. This prospective study was designed to measure serum iron analytes in healthy free-ranging and housed Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostr