McKee, A. M., et al. (2015). "The effect of dilution and the use of a post-extraction nucleic acid purification column on the accuracy, precision, and inhibition of environmental DNA samples." Biological Conservation 183: 70-76.
Anna M Mckee
Biography
Ph.D., Forestry and Natural Resources - University of Georgia
B.Sc., Biological Science - Colorado State University
Research Background and Interests
My research background is primarily in molecular ecology. Early projects as a laboratory technician at the Savannah River Ecology Lab included developing microsatellite loci for a Peromyscus genome mapping project and using microsatellites to estimate the frequency of multiple paternity in alligators. My dissertation research at the University of Georgia focused on investigating the relationships between species and genetic diversity of pond-breeding amphibian communities, and the association between these scales of diversity and surrounding landscape features.
Since joining USGS, my research interests have pivoted to the use environmental DNA for detecting species of interest. Projects have included screening isolated wetlands throughout the southeastern U.S. for imperiled pond-breeding amphibians, comparing results between traditional fish and invertebrate survey methods with eDNA metabarcoding methods, and determining sources of fecal contamination in National Park waterways in the southeastern U.S.
Science and Products
Date published: April 22, 2019
Status: Active Actual evapotranspiration, flash droughts, water deficits, reduced vegetative growth, and wildfires: the effects of seasonally water-limited conditions in a changing climate
The Southeastern U.S. experiences recurring hydrologic droughts, which can reduce water availability for human consumption and ecosystem services, leading to plant stress and reduced plant growth. This project examines relationships between drought and the water cycle in the Southeast with data from the Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) near Atlanta, Georgia and other Southeastern...
Attribution: Land Resources, Land Change Science Program
Date published: June 5, 2018
Status: Completed Environmental DNA (eDNA)
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is organismal DNA that can be found in the environment. Environmental DNA originates from cellular material shed by organisms (via skin, excrement, etc.) into aquatic or terrestrial environments that can be sampled and monitored using new molecular methods. Such methodology is important for the early detection of invasive species as well as the detection of rare and...
Attribution: Water Resources
Year Published: 2020
Microbial source tracking (MST) in Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area: Seasonal and precipitation trends in MST marker concentrations, and associations with E. coli levels, pathogenic marker presence, and land use
Escherichia coli levels in recreational waters are often used to predict when fecal-associated pathogen levels are a human health risk. The reach of the Chattahoochee River that flows through the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), located in the Atlanta-metropolitan area, is a popular recreation area that frequently exceeds...
McKee, Anna M.; Molina, Marirosa; Cyterski, Mike; Couch, Ann
Year Published: 2019
Adapterama II: Universal amplicon sequencing on Illumina platforms (TaggiMatrix)
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of amplicons is used in a wide variety of contexts. In many cases, NGS amplicon sequencing remains overly expensive and inflexible, with library preparation strategies relying upon the fusion of locus-specific primers to full-length adapter sequences with a single identifying sequence or ligating adapters onto PCR...
Glenn, Travis C; Pierson, Todd W; Bayona-Vásquez, Natalia J; Kieran, Troy J.; Hoffberg, Sandra L.; Thomas, Jesse; Lefever, Daniel E.; Finger Jr., John W.; Gao, Bei; Bian, Xiaoming; Louha, Swarnali; Kolli, Ramya; Bentley, Kerin; Rushmore, Julie; Wong, Kelvin; Rothrock, Michael; McKee, Anna M.; Guo, Tai L.; Mauricio, Rodney; Molina, Marirosa; Cummings, Brian; Lash, Lawrence H.; Lu, Kun; Gilbert, Gregory S.; Hubbell, Stephen P.; Faircloth, Brant C.
Year Published: 2019
South Atlantic Water Science Center Strategic Science Plan: 2019–23
Executive SummaryThe South Atlantic Water Science Center Strategic Science Planning Team has developed a unified strategic science plan to guide the science vision of the South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC) in response to the merging of the Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina Water Science Centers. This plan proposes a path forward...
Cuffney, Thomas F.; Garcia, Ana M.; Horowitz, Arthur J.; LaFontaine, Jacob H.; Landmeyer, James E.; McKee, Anna M.; McSwain, Kristen Bukowski; Painter, Jaime A.; Shelton, John M.; Smith, Christopher A.Attribution: South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Water Resources, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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Cuffney, T.F., Garcia, A.M., Horowitz, A.J., LaFontaine, J.H., Landmeyer, J.E., McKee, A.M., McSwain, K.B., Painter, J.A., Shelton, J.M., and Smith, C.A., 2019, South Atlantic Water Science Center strategic science plan—2019–23: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2019–1068, 31 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191068.
Year Published: 2017
New distributional records of the stygobitic crayfish Cambarus cryptodytes (Decapoda: Cambaridae) in the Floridan Aquifer System of southwestern Georgia
Cambarus cryptodytes (Dougherty Plain Cave Crayfish) is an obligate inhabitant of groundwater habitats (i.e., a stygobiont) with troglomorphic adaptations in the Floridan aquifer system of southwestern Georgia and adjacent Florida panhandle, particularly in the Dougherty Plain and Marianna Lowlands. Documented occurrences of Dougherty Plain...
Fenolio, Dante B.; Niemiller, Matthew L.; Gluesenkamp, Andrew G.; McKee, Anna M.; Taylor, Steven J.Attribution: South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Water Resources, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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Southeastern Naturalist 16(2):163-181. 2017
Year Published: 2016
Detection of an enigmatic plethodontid Salamander using Environmental DNA
The isolation and identification of environmental DNA (eDNA) offers a non-invasive and efficient method for the detection of rare and secretive aquatic wildlife, and it is being widely integrated into inventory and monitoring efforts. The Patch-Nosed Salamander (Urspelerpes brucei) is a tiny, recently discovered species of plethodontid salamander...
Pierson, Todd W.; McKee, Anna M.; Spear, Stephen F.; Maerz, John C.; Camp, Carlos D.; Glenn, Travis C.
Year Published: 2015
Assessment of environmental DNA for detecting presence of imperiled aquatic amphibian species in isolated wetlands
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an emerging tool that allows low-impact sampling for aquatic species by isolating DNA from water samples and screening for DNA sequences specific to species of interest. However, researchers have not tested this method in naturally acidic wetlands that provide breeding habitat for a number of imperiled species,...
McKee, Anna M.; Calhoun, Daniel L.; Barichivich, William J.; Spear, Stephen F.; Goldberg, Caren S.; Glenn, Travis CAttribution: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Water Resources, Ecosystems, , Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Region 4: Mississippi Basin
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McKee, A.M., Calhoun, D.L., Barichivich, W.J., Spear, S.F., Goldberg, C.S., and Glenn, T.C., 2015, Assessment of environmental DNA for detecting presence of imperiled aquatic amphibian species in isolated wetlands: Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, v. 6, no. 2, p. 498-510, http://dx.doi.org/10.3996/042014-JFWM-034.