Deborah D Iwanowicz
Biography
Intro
Dr. Deborah D. Iwanowicz is a research biologist that has been trained in molecular diagnostics. Her research principally involves that pertaining to next-generation sequencing incorporated within and beyond the infectious and non-infectious diseases of fish. She is a principle investigator and collaborator on a number of projects involving the effects of contaminants on fish health, the spread of diseases with invasive species, investigating complex microbial communities, and protocol/assay development. Her research includes that of molecular microbiology (parasitology, bacteriology, virology on fishes, amphibians, sea turtles, marine mammals, insects, plants, aquatic and terrestrial gastropods). She leads efforts in the NFHRL for method development on metagenomics analyses of diet from scat, stomach content, or fecal pellets. This work has been modified to identify plant species found in pollen, diets of terrestrial endangered animals, birds, and aquatic animals.
Dr. Iwanowicz received her undergraduate degree in Wildlife Science (minors in Spanish and Anthropology) from Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN), her M.S. in Aquatic Nutrition at Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) and her Ph.D. in Parasitology/Toxicology at the University of Georgia (Athens, GA). Dr. Iwanowicz joined the U.S. Geological Survey, Leetown Science Center, National Fish Health Research Laboratory in August of 2000.
Education
- Ph.D., 2007, University of Georgia
- M.S., 1998, Purdue University
- B.S., 1993, Purdue University
Science and Products
Use of next-generation sequencing for the dietary analyses of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) stomach content
The USGS Leetown Science Center (USGS LSC) scientists are collaborating with the PADEP (SMB) to develop and evaluate a genetic assay for fish diets that will allow us to develop a cost-effective monitoring program for determining the diet of wild fish. We will test the utility of this method and, once fully developed, these methods could be generally applied in many other piscivorous species...
Development of Next Generation Techniques of fecal samples collected from nestling cactus wren
Coastal cactus wren populations have declined in southern California over the last three decades. In San Diego County, this decline has been especially noticeable in the Otay area, which in 2014 supported 14 territories on conserved lands. In the past, there were 25-53 active territories reported for this same area, with the highest estimate in 1992. There is also concern the number of active...
An ecosystem approach to assessing unconventional oil and gas impacts in aquatic ecosystems
The development of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) technology promises economic, societal and national security benefits. However, technological developments in this field have rapidly outpaced scientific studies on potential environmental effects. The effects of accidental UOG-related spills on environmental health are not adequately characterized, often occur in already ecological...
Metabarcoding of stomach contents from the Round Goby (Negobius melanostromus) in Pennsylvania
The Round Goby, Neogobius melanostomus, is a small benthic fish native to the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. The first round goby found in the Pennsylvania waters was in 1996. Since then, round gobies are now the dominant benthic fish in many of the tributary streams in the Pennsylvanian waters of Lake Erie, including French Creek. French Creek is...
Improving Forage for Honey Bees on USDA Conservation Lands: A Pilot Study for Testing Sampling Methods and Hypothesis Development
Commercial beekeepers have been bringing their bees to the Northern Great Prairie (NGP) for many decades due to the availability of nectar and pollen-rich plants in abundant grasslands.
Establishing Molecular Methods to Quantitatively Profile Stomach Diet Items of Fish—Application to the Invasive Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus)
The USGS Leetown Science Center (USGS LSC) scientists are collaborating with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDDNR) to develop and evaluate a genetic assay for blue catfish fish diets that will allow us to design a cost-effective monitoring program for determining the diet of wild fish. We will test the utility of this method and, once fully developed, these methods could be...
Developing Novel Amplicon Sequencing Assays From Scat For Diet Analysis of the pacific pocket mouse (perognathus longimembris pacificus)
Developing Novel Amplicon Sequencing Assays From Scat For Diet Analysis of the pacific pocket mouse (perognathus longimembris pacificus)
Giant African Land Snail
Originally from East Africa, the giant African land snail (Achatina fulica), has been established throughout the Indo-Pacific Basin, including the Hawaiian Islands. Since 2011, these snails have been found in Miami, Florida. Although the current range is limited to the southern latitudes of Florida, this snail can withstand freezing and go into hibernation for as much as a year. This allows...
Influenza A virus detected in native bivalves in waterfowl habitat of the Delmarva Peninsula, USA
We evaluated the prevalence of influenza A virus (IAV) in different species of bivalves inhabiting natural water bodies in waterfowl habitat along the Delmarva Peninsula and Chesapeake Bay in eastern Maryland. Bivalve tissue from clam and mussel specimens (Macoma balthica, Macoma phenax, Mulinia sp., Rangia cuneata, ...
Densmore, Christine L.; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; McLaughlin, Shawn M.; Ottinger, Christopher A.; Spires, Jason E.; Iwanowicz, Luke R.Molecular identification of fecal contamination in the Elks Run Watershed, Jefferson County, West Virginia, 2016–17
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a study using modern methods of molecular analysis aimed at attempting to identify the source(s) of fecal contamination that had been identified in previous studies conducted by the West Virginia Conservation Agency in the Elk Run watershed, Jefferson County, West Virginia. Water samples from multiple sites...
Schill, W. Bane; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.Establishing molecular methods to quantitatively profile gastric diet items of fish—Application to the invasive blue catfish (ictalurus furcatus)
Understanding the diet of invasive species helps researchers to more accurately assess the health, survivorship, growth, and stability of an invasive fish species, as well as their effects on native populations. Techniques capable of identifying multiple prey species from fish stomach contents have been developed. In this study, a multi-locus...
Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; Schill, W. Bane; Sanders, Lakyn R.; Tim Groves; Groves, Mary C.Isolation, characterization and molecular identification of a novel aquareovirus that infects the endangered fountain darter, Etheostoma fonticola
The fountain darter Etheostoma fonticola (FOD) is a federally endangered fish listed under the US Endangered Species Act. Here, we identified and characterized a novel aquareovirus isolated from wild fountain darters inhabiting the San Marcos River. This virus was propagated in Chinook salmon embryo (CHSE)-214, rainbow trout gonad-2 and...
Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; Adams, Cynthia R.; Lewis, Teresa; Brandt, Tom; Sanders, Lakyn R.; Cornman, Robert S.A method for determining avian influenza virus hemagglutinin and neuraminidase subtype association
Methods for grouping specific avian influenza virus (AIV) hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) subtype reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) products into HA:NA subtypes when egg incubation is technically not feasible were evaluated. These approaches were adopted for use as post hoc methods after melt curve analysis. The...
Ottinger, Christopher A.; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Adams, Cynthia R.; Sanders, Lakyn R.; Densmore, Christine L.Exposure to synthetic hydraulic fracturing waste influences the mucosal bacterial community structure of the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) epidermis
Production of natural gas using unconventional technologies has risen as demand for alternative fuels has increased. Impacts on the environment from waste generated from these processes are largely unexplored. In particular, the outcomes of organismal exposure to hydraulic fracturing waste have not been rigorously evaluated. We evaluated the...
Galbraith, Heather S.; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; Spooner, Daniel E.; Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Keller, David; Zelanko, Paula M.; Adams, Cynthia R.Genomic evolution, recombination, and inter-strain diversity of chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 from Florida and Hawaii green sea turtles with fibropapillomatosis
Chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) is a herpesvirus associated with fibropapillomatosis (FP) in sea turtles worldwide. Single-locus typing has previously shown differentiation between Atlantic and Pacific strains of this virus, with low variation within each geographic clade. However, a lack of multi-locus genomic sequence data hinders...
Morrison, Cheryl L.; Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Work, Thierry M.; Fahsbender, Elizabeth; Breitbart, Mya; Adams, Cynthia R.; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; Sanders, Lakyn; Ackermann, Mathias; Cornman, Robert S.Using colony monitoring devices to evaluate the impacts of land use and nutritional value of forage on honey bee health
Colony monitoring devices used to track and assess the health status of honey bees are becoming more widely available and used by both beekeepers and researchers. These devices monitor parameters relevant to colony health at frequent intervals, often approximating real time. The fine-scale record of hive condition can be further related to static...
Smart, Matthew; Otto, Clint R. V.; Cornman, Robert S.; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.Endozoicomonas dominates the gill and intestinal content microbiomes of Mytilus edulis from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey
Blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, Linnaeus 1758 from southern Barnegat Bay, New Jersey were examined to determine the make-up of the normal blue mussel microbiome. Sequencing of 16S ribosomal DNA amplicons from gill and intestinal content microbiomes using the Illumina® MiSeq platform yielded 1,276,161 paired end sequence reads from the gill...
Schill, William B.; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; Adams, Cynthia R.Draft genome sequence of a picorna-like virus associated with gill tissue in clinically normal brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis
Here, we report a draft genome sequence of a picorna-like virus associated with brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, gill tissue. The draft genome comprises 8,681 nucleotides, excluding the poly(A) tract, and contains two open reading frames. It is most similar to picorna-like viruses that infect invertebrates.
Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; Adams, Cynthia R.; Galbraith, Heather S.; Aunins, Aaron W.; Cornman, Robert S.RNA sequencing analysis of transcriptional change in the freshwater mussel Elliptio complanata after environmentally relevant sodium chloride exposure
To identify potential biomarkers of salt stress in a freshwater sentinel species, we examined transcriptional responses of the common mussel Elliptio complanata to controlled sodium chloride (NaCl) exposures. Ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNA-Seq) of mantle tissue identified 481 transcripts differentially expressed in adult mussels exposed to 2 ppt...
Robertson, Laura S.; Galbraith, Heather S.; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; Blakeslee, Carrie J.; Cornman, Robert S.Low pathogenic avian influenza viruses in wild migratory waterfowl in a region of high poultry production, Delmarva, Maryland
Migratory waterfowl are natural reservoirs for low pathogenic avian influenza viruses (AIVs) and may contribute to the long-distance dispersal of these pathogens as well as spillover into domestic bird populations. Surveillance for AIVs is critical to assessing risks for potential spread of these viruses among wild and domestic bird populations....
Prosser, Diann J.; Densmore, Christine L.; Hindman, Larry J.; Iwanowicz, Deborah D.; Ottinger, Christopher A.; Iwanowicz, Luke R. ; Driscoll, Cindy P.; Nagel, Jessica L.Pre-USGS Publications
USGS Leetown Science Center to Host Earth Day Open House
USGS Leetown Science Center (LSC) to host Earth Day Open House on Sunday, April 28 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Snail Trail for Parasites Expands
The invasive giant African land snail is expanding its range in Miami, and with it, the range of the parasitic rat lungworm, according to new U.S. Geological Survey led research.