Publications

Understanding the genetic mechanisms that facilitate adaptive radiation is an important component of evolutionary biology. Here, we genotyped 82 neutral SNPs, seven SNPs in islands of divergence identified in a previous study (island SNPs), and a region of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in 32 populations of sockeye salmon to investigate whether conserved genes and genomic...

Bycatch of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) limits many trawl fisheries in Alaska and greatly concerns stakeholders from local communities and fisheries that rely on Pacific halibut. To reduce Pacific halibut mortality, trawlers in the Bering Sea that target flatfish have been developing expedited release procedures to sort Pacific halibut from catches earlier than current...

Migration is an effective behavioral strategy for prolonging access to seasonal resources and may be a resilient strategy for ungulates experiencing changing climatic conditions. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), elk are the primary ungulate, with approximately 20,000 individuals migrating to exploit seasonal gradients in forage while also avoiding energetically costly snow...

Occupancy models have become a valuable tool for estimating wildlife-habitat relationships and for predicting species distributions. Highly-mobile species often violate the assumption that sampling units are geographically closed shifting the probability of occupancy to be interpreted as the probability of use. We used occupancy models, in conjunction with noninvasive sampling, to...

Abstract: We assessed parentage within and among maternity colonies of the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis Troessart 1897) in north-central Kentucky from 2011–2013 to better understand colony social structure, formation, and membership dynamics. We intensively sampled colonies in close and remote (> 10 km) spatial proximity both before and after targeted day-roost removal...

Sex determination is the first step toward the establishment of phenotypic sex in most vertebrates. Aquatic poikilotherms such as teleost fishes exhibit a high diversity of sex-determination mechanisms and gonadal phenotypes that are remarkably plastic and responsive to a variety of environmental factors (e.g., water temperature, pH, salinity, photoperiod, population density). This...

Growth is arguably the most important dynamic rate function due to its interaction with survival and recruitment. As such, understanding the mechanisms underlying growth is a primary focus of fisheries research. Kokanee Oncorhynchus nerka in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, provide an interesting case study for investigating the factors that influence growth. Early‐run and late‐run kokanee...

Genetic variability in the prion protein (Prnp) gene influences host susceptibility to many pathogenic prion diseases. Understanding the distribution of susceptible Prnp variants and determining factors influencing spatial genetic patterns are important components of many chronic wasting disease mitigation strategies. Here, we describe Prnp variability in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus...

Throughout the Midwestern US, many public lands set aside for conservation engage in management activities (e.g., agriculture) that may act as stressors on wild bee populations. Several studies have investigated how wild bees respond to large-scale agriculture production; however, there has been limited assessment of how wild bees may be impacted by agricultural activity on public lands...

Aggregation of territorial individuals within a species can be facilitated via conspecific signals, wherein settlement implies habitat suitability, ease of resource acquisition and/or increased predator detection. The black-tailed prairie dog is a colonial small mammal with alarm vocalizations that confer benefits via group vigilance against predators and increased foraging time...

Public fishing areas (PFAs) in Georgia are intensively managed freshwater impoundments that provide a variety of fishing opportunities to anglers. Management efforts and fishing regulations at these PFAs depend on understanding basic aspects of recreational fishing pressure, catch, and harvest. Accordingly, we conducted a roving creel survey during January – December 2013 at Marben PFA...

The starvation-predation hypothesis predicts that, during resource shortages, prey forego antipredator behavior and forage as much as possible to avoid starvation, even when risk of predation is high. We tested this hypothesis using GPS locations collected simultaneously from moose (Alces alces) and wolves (Canis lupus) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of North America. We assessed...