Adam Sepulveda
Biography
Education
Ph.D. Ecology. 2010. University of Montana, Missoula, MT
M.S. Science Education. 2004. Teton Science School, Kelly, WY
B.A. Environmental Biology and English. 2002. Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Research Interests
I am an aquatic ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center in Bozeman, MT. My specific research focuses on understanding the ecosystem and community-level consequences of aquatic invasive species and testing new tools for the early detection of aquatic invasive species. My research program consists of a combination of field and laboratory studies.
Science and Products
Using Robots in the River: Biosurveillance at USGS streamgages
For more than a decade, researchers around the world have shown that sampling a water body and analyzing for DNA (a method known as eDNA) is an effective method to detect an organism in the water. The challenge is that finding organisms that are not very abundant requires a lot of samples to locate this needle in a haystack. Enter the "lab in a can", the water quality sampling and processing...
High-Resolution, Interagency Biosurveillance of Threatened Surface Waters in the United States
Advances in information technology now provide large volume, high-frequency data collection which may improve real-time biosurveillance and forecasting. But, big data streams present challenges for data management and timely analysis. As a first step in creating a data science pipeline for translating large datasets into meaningful interpretations, we created a cloud-hosted PostgreSQL database...
Predicting Climate-Induced Expansions of Invasive Fish in the Pacific Northwest: Implications for Climate Adaptation of Native Salmon and Trout
The headwaters of the Columbia River Basin in the Northern Rocky Mountains region is widely recognized as a stronghold for native fish, containing some of the last remaining connected cold-water habitats for species such as the threatened bull trout and native westslope cutthroat trout. However, as temperatures rise, non-native invasive fish species could be poised to prosper in the region as...
Western Waters Invasive Species and Disease Research Program
Researchers at the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center's Western Waters Invasive Species and Disease Research Program work extensively with federal, state, tribal, regional, and local partners to deliver science to improve early detection and prevention of invasive species and disease; understand complex interactions that promote invasive species and disease, and their impacts (and...
Developing a mechanistic understanding between recent climate patterns and Aquatic Vital Signs in the Greater Yellowstone Network
The National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring program was established to provide park managers with a broad understanding of the status of park resources using the best available science. This program acknowledges that NPS managers are confronted with complex challenges associated with the management of dynamic landscapes responding to multiple, interacting drivers of change. To provide...
American bullfrog suppression in the Yellowstone River floodplain
The American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) has recently invaded backwater and side-channel habitats of the Yellowstone River, near Billings, Montana. In other regions, bullfrog invasions have been linked to numerous amphibian declines (e.g., Adams and Pearl 2007). Immediate management actions may be able to suppress or eradicate localized populations of bullfrogs because they are present at low...
Conservation of native salmonids in South-Central Alaska
The proliferation of introduced northern pike in Southcentral Alaska is an urgent fishery management concern because pike are voracious predators that prey heavily on juvenile salmonids. Eradication of pike is not possible in connected freshwater networks, so managers must develop control methods that reduce pike populations to less destructive numbers. We are using field and bioenergetics...
An investigation of aquatic invasive species in pristine sites in the Greater Yellowstone Area
Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are aquatic organisms that move into ecosystems beyond their natural, historic range and cause severe and irreversible damage to the habitats they invade. Most AIS arrive as a direct result of human activity, such as boating and angling. The threat of AIS introduction is especially high in the Greater Yellowstone Area, as humans from all over the world come to...
Robotic environmental DNA bio-surveillance of freshwater health
Autonomous water sampling technologies may help to overcome the human resource challenges of monitoring biological threats to rivers over long time periods and large geographic areas. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has pioneered a robotic Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) that overcomes some of the constraints associated with...
Sepulveda, Adam J.; Birch, Jim M.; Barnhart, Elliott; Merkes, Christopher M.; Yamahara, Kevan; Marin, Roman III; Kinsey, Stacy; Wright, Peter R.; Schmidt, Christian Climate-induced expansions of invasive species in the Pacific Northwest, North America: A synthesis of observations and projections
Climate change may facilitate the expansion of non-native invasive species (NIS) in aquatic and terrestrial systems. However, empirical evidence remains scarce and poorly synthesized at scales necessary for effective management. We conducted a literature synthesis to assess the state of research on the observed and predicted effects of climate...
Gervais, Jennifer; Kovach, Ryan P.; Sepulveda, Adam J.; Al-Chokhachy, Robert K.; Giersch, J. Joseph; Muhlfeld, Clint C. A round-robin evaluation of the repeatability and reproducibility of environmental DNA assays for dreissenid mussels
Resource managers may be hesitant to make decisions based on environmental (e)DNA results alone since eDNA is an indirect method of species detection. One way to reduce the uncertainty of eDNA is to identify laboratory‐based protocols that ensure repeatable and reproducible results. We conducted a double‐blind round‐robin analysis of probe‐based...
Sepulveda, Adam J.; Hutchins, Patrick R.; Jackson, Craig; Ostberg, Carl; Laramie, Matthew; Amberg, Jon J.; Counihan, Timothy; Hoegh, Andrew B.; Pilliod, David Consistent compensatory growth offsets poor condition in trout populations
1. Compensatory growth – when individuals in poor condition grow rapidly to “catch up” to conspecifics – may be a mechanism that allows individuals to tolerate stressful environmental conditions, both abiotic and biotic. This phenomenon has been documented fairly widely in laboratory and field experiments, but evidence for compensatory growth in...
Al-Chokhachy, Robert; Kovach, Ryan; Sepulveda, Adam J.; Strait, Jeff; Shepard, Bradley B.; Muhlfeld, Clint C. Adding invasive species bio-surveillance to the U.S. Geological Survey streamgage network
The costs of invasive species in the United States alone are estimated to exceed US$100 billion per year so a critical tactic in minimizing the costs of invasive species is the development of effective, early-detection systems. To this end, we evaluated the efficacy of adding environmental (e)DNA surveillance to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)...
Sepulveda, Adam J.; Schmidt, Christian; Amberg, Jon J.; Hutchins, Patrick R.; Stratton, Christian; Mebane, Christopher A.; Laramie, Matthew; Pilliod, David Improved detection of rare, endangered and invasive trout using a new large-volume sampling method for eDNA capture
Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection probability increases with volume of water sampled. Common approaches for collecting eDNA samples often require many samples since these approaches usually use fine filters, which restricts the volume of water that can be sampled. An alternative to collecting many, small volume water samples using fine filters...
Sepulveda, Adam J.; Schabacker, Jenna; Smith, Seth; Al-Chokhachy, Robert; Luikart, Gordon; Amish, Stephen J. An integrated framework for ecological drought across riverscapes of North America
Climate change is increasing the severity and extent of extreme droughts events, posing a critical threat to freshwater ecosystems, particularly with increasing human demands for diminishing water supplies. Despite the importance of drought as a significant driver of ecological and evolutionary dynamics, current understanding of drought...
Kovach, Ryan; Dunham, Jason B.; Al-Chokhachy, Robert; Snyder, Craig; Beever, Erik A.; Pederson, Gregory T.; Lynch, Abigail; Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Konrad, Christopher P.; Jaeger, Kristin; Rea, Alan H.; Sepulveda, Adam J.; Lambert, Patrick M.; Stoker, Jason M.; Giersch, J. Joseph; Muhlfeld, Clint C. Wetland drying linked to variations in snowmelt runoff across Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks
In Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks wetlands offer critical habitat and play a key role in supporting biological diversity. The shallow depths and small size of many wetlands make them vulnerable to changes in climate compared with larger and deeper aquatic habitats. Here, we use a simple water balance model to generate estimates of...
Ray, Andrew M.; Sepulveda, Adam J.; Irvine, Kathryn M.; Wilmoth, Siri K.C.; Thoma, David P.; Patla, Debra A. Trophic plasticity and the invasion of a renowned piscivore: A diet synthesis of northern pike (Esox lucius) from the native and introduced ranges in Alaska, U.S.A.
The invasion of non-native fishes is a leading cause of extinction and imperilment of native freshwater fishes. Evidence suggests that introduced species with generalist diets have the potential for greatest impacts through competition and predation even though populations are often comprised of specialist individuals. The northern pike (Esox...
Cathcart, C. Nathan; Dunker, Kristine J.; Quinn, Thomas P.; Sepulveda, Adam J.; von Hippel, Frank A.; Wizik, Andrew; Young, Daniel B.; Westley, Peter A.H. Impacts of nonnative Brown Trout on Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout in a tributary stream
Nonnative trout are a considerable threat to native salmonids, yet our understanding of the mechanisms behind interspecific interactions remains limited. We evaluated the impacts of nonnative Brown Trout Salmo salar on a population of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri in Montana. We contrasted diets,...
Al-Chokhachy, Robert K.; Sepulveda, Adam J. Tradeoffs of a portable, field-based environmental DNA platform for detecting invasive northern pike (Esox lucius) in Alaska
Environmental DNA (eDNA) has improved detection probabilities of aquatic invasive species but lab-based analyticalplatforms for eDNA analyses slow opportunities for rapid response. Effective approaches that address this analyticalbottleneck and improve capacity for rapid response are urgently needed. We tested the sensitivity of a portable, field-...
Sepulveda, Adam J.; Hutchins, Patrick R.; Massengill, Robert L.; Dunker, Kristine J. Improved conventional PCR assay for detecting Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae DNA in fish tissues
Conventional PCR is an established method to detect Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonaeDNA in fish tissues and to confirm diagnosis of proliferative kidney disease (PKD) caused by T. bryosalmonae. However, the commonly used PKX5f‐6r primers were designed with the intention of obtaining sequence information and are suboptimal for determining...
Hutchins, Patrick R.; Sepulveda, Adam J.; Martin, Renee M.; Hopper, Lacey R.
Use of Robotic DNA Samplers That Can Rapidly Detect Invasive Aquatic Species
USGS researchers and their collaborators demonstrated the efficacy of using robotic environmental DNA samplers for bio surveillance in freshwater systems, showing that samples collected, processed, and preserved by robotic sampler detect organism DNA in the environment at rates comparable to those collected traditionally by human technicians.
Detecting Invasive and Rare Species with the National Streamflow Network
Two recently published papers suggest the integration of environmental DNA, or eDNA, sampling at select National Streamflow Network streamgages in the U.S. Northwest is feasible.
Innovation in Addressing Invasive Species and Disease in Montana Waters
Western waters support some of the most intact aquatic ecosystems in North America, yet invasive species and emerging infectious diseases pose significant and immediate threats to these ecosystems.
Bullfrog Genetics Confirm Source and Degree of Spread in Montana
Bozeman - A new U.S. Geological Survey study illustrates the usefulness of genetic approaches to track invasive bullfrog introductions. Results will inform management actions for identifying and controlling importation and secondary spread of invasive bullfrogs in Montana.
Bullfrog Invasion of the Yellowstone River
The American bullfrog has expanded its invasion of the Yellowstone River floodplain in Montana, according to a new study released in “Aquatic Invasions.”
Invasive Pike Persist When Preferred Prey Decline
Invasive northern pike in southcentral Alaska are opportunistic and adaptable predators that feed on multiple native fish species when their preferred prey, native salmonids, are no longer abundant, according to a new study released in Ecology of Freshwater Fish.