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Lizabeth Bowen

My research program focuses on the interactions among immunology, toxicology, disease ecology, and ecosystem health.

I analyze the physiologic and metabolic effects of stressors on organisms and how subsequent vulnerabilities translate into population and ecosystem health. Stressors can be either chemical (pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons), physical (e.g., elevated water temperature), or biological (toxins, pathogens). My long-term goal is to better understand the effects of anthropogenic and natural stressors on individuals and how those stressors are reflected in an individual organism’s fitness (survival and reproduction), the population level effects of differential survival and reproduction of individuals, and the ecosystem level effects of population change.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Eco-immunology
  • Nearshore marine ecosystem health
  • Conservation biology
  • Eco-toxicology
  • Individual and population level susceptibility

 

Professional Experience

  • Ecologist, U. S. Geological Survey, 2004–present

    Assistant Project Scientist, UC Davis, 2005– 2009

    Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Davis, 2003-2004

    Post Graduate Researcher, UC Davis. 1998-2003

    Post Graduate Researcher, UC Davis, 1998

    Research Assistant, UC Davis, 1996

    Teaching Assistant, UC Davis, 1994-1996

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D., Ecology, University of California, Davis. 2003.

  • Thesis: Immunogenetics in the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus): evolution of the major histocompatibility complex under differential

  • Master of Science, Ecology, University of California, Davis. 1995. 

    Thesis: Defenses of insular endemic plants in the absence of herbivory

  • Bachelor of Arts, Biology. University of California, Santa Cruz. 1989.

Science and Products

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Biologist transferring a muscle biopsy from the sampler to the vial

Assessing heat stress in migrating Yukon River Chinook Salmon

We will examine evidence of heat stress in Yukon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) using heat shock proteins and gene expression.
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Alaska Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Assessing heat stress in migrating Yukon River Chinook Salmon

We will examine evidence of heat stress in Yukon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) using heat shock proteins and gene expression.
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A polar bear walks across rubble ice in the Alaska portion of the southern Beaufort Sea

Polar Bear Health and Disease Diagnostics

In 2012, scientists noticed that nearly a third of polar bears sampled in a study in Alaska were suffering from hair loss and poor health. Drs. Lizabeth Bowen and A. Keith Miles of WERC used new technology to track down and identify the factors responsible for driving disease in Alaskan polar bears.
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Ecosystems, Wildlife Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Polar Bear Health and Disease Diagnostics

In 2012, scientists noticed that nearly a third of polar bears sampled in a study in Alaska were suffering from hair loss and poor health. Drs. Lizabeth Bowen and A. Keith Miles of WERC used new technology to track down and identify the factors responsible for driving disease in Alaskan polar bears.
Learn More
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Close-up of an Agassiz's desert tortoise with tortoise looking towards camera. Tortoise is on a rocky, arid hill slope.

Developing Physiological Diagnostics for the Desert Tortoise

The Mojave desert tortoise is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act and faces threats from habitat loss, predators, and disease. Drs. Lizabeth Bowen and A. Keith Miles with WERC are designing new methods to determine the type and influence of stressors present in the environment for the tortoise and other wildlife.
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Developing Physiological Diagnostics for the Desert Tortoise

The Mojave desert tortoise is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act and faces threats from habitat loss, predators, and disease. Drs. Lizabeth Bowen and A. Keith Miles with WERC are designing new methods to determine the type and influence of stressors present in the environment for the tortoise and other wildlife.
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Photo of WERC scientist Dr. Lizabeth Bowen searching for mussels

Environmental Stressors and Wildlife Health

Environmental stressors such as contaminants and disease can cause physiological imbalance in all types of wildlife. WERC’s Drs. Lizabeth Bowen and A. Keith Miles develop gene transcription profiles to detect organisms’ physiological responses to environmental stressors and provide resource managers with early warnings for potential effects on wildlife and ecosystem health.
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Ecosystems, Wildlife Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Environmental Stressors and Wildlife Health

Environmental stressors such as contaminants and disease can cause physiological imbalance in all types of wildlife. WERC’s Drs. Lizabeth Bowen and A. Keith Miles develop gene transcription profiles to detect organisms’ physiological responses to environmental stressors and provide resource managers with early warnings for potential effects on wildlife and ecosystem health.
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Gene Transcription and Heat Shock Protein 70 Abundance Results from Migrating Adult Chinook Salmon, Yukon Watershed, 2016–2017

This data set documents the gene transcription levels for a panel of 12 selected genes and the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) protein abundance measured in the muscle tissue of individual wild Chinook salmon captured from locations within the U.S. portion of the Yukon River watershed. Chinook salmon were primarily captured in 2016 and 2017 from existing field efforts (n = 477). A small number of ad
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Alaska Science Center

Data for gene transcription patterns in response to low level petroleum contaminants in Mytilus trossulus from field sites and harbors in southcentral Alaska

Marine mussels are a ubiquitous and crucial component of the nearshore environment, and new genomic technologies exist to quantify molecular responses of individual mussels to stimuli, including exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We used gene-based assays of exposure and physiological function to assess lingering oil damage from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill using the Pacific b
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Data for Southern Sea Otter Range Expansion and Habitat Use in the Santa Barbara Channel

The current study was designed to provide critical information for resource managers (specifically the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, henceforth BOEM, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, henceforth USFWS) about the spatial ecology, population status, and potential population threats to sea otters in Santa Barbara Channel, with particular reference to exposure to manmade structures and sour
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
Filter Total Items: 31

Translocations maintain genetic diversity and increase connectivity in sea otters, Enhydra lutris

Sea otters, Enhydra lutris, were once abundant along the nearshore areas of the North Pacific. The international maritime fur trade that ended in 1911 left 13 small remnant populations with low genetic diversity. Subsequent translocations into previously occupied habitat resulted in several reintroduced populations along the coast of North America. We sampled sea otters between 2008 and 2011 throu
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Ecosystems, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Alaska Science Center

Sea otter population collapse in southwest Alaska: Assessing ecological covariates, consequences, and causal factors

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations in southwest Alaska declined substantially between about 1990 and the most recent set of surveys in 2015. Here we report changes in the distribution and abundance of sea otters, and covarying patterns in reproduction, mortality, body size and condition, diet and foraging behavior, food availability, health profiles, and exposure to environmental contaminants
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Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

A manipulative thermal challenge protocol for adult salmonids in remote field settings

Manipulative experiments provide stronger evidence for identifying cause-and-effect relationships than correlative studies, but protocols for implementing temperature manipulations are lacking for large species in remote settings. We developed an experimental protocol for holding adult Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and exposing them to elevated temperature treatments. The goal of the e
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Alaska Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Transcriptomic response to elevated water temperatures in adult migrating Yukon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) declines are widespread and may be attributed, at least in part, to warming river temperatures. Water temperatures in the Yukon River and tributaries often exceed 18°C, a threshold commonly associated with heat stress and elevated mortality in Pacific salmon. Untangling the complex web of direct and indirect physiological effects of heat stress on salmon i
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Alaska Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Evidence of prevalent heat stress in Yukon River Chinook salmon

Migrating adult Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are sensitive to warm water (>18 °C), with a range of consequences from decreased spawning success to early mortality. We examined the proportion of Yukon River Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) exhibiting evidence of heat stress to assess the potential that high temperatures contribute to freshwater adult mortality in a northern Pacific salmon popu
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Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center

Gene transcript profiling in desert bighorn sheep

Respiratory disease is a key factor affecting the conservation and recovery of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis ) populations. Innovative, minimally invasive tools such as gene transcription–based diagnostics have the potential to improve our understanding of the broad range of factors that can affect the health of wild sheep. Evaluation of transcript levels for genes representative of multiple inte
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Monitoring nearshore ecosystem health using Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula) as an indicator species

An emerging approach to ecosystem monitoring involves the use of physiological biomarker analyses in combination with gene transcription assays. For the first time, we employed these tools to evaluate the Pacific razor clam (Siliqua patula), which is important both economically and ecologically, as a bioindicator species in the northeast Pacific. Our objectives were to (1) develop biomarker and ge
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Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Physiological and gene transcription assays to assess responses of mussels to environmental changes

Coastal regions worldwide face increasing management concerns due to natural and anthropogenic forces that have the potential to significantly degrade nearshore marine resources. The goal of our study was to develop and test a monitoring strategy for nearshore marine ecosystems in remote areas that are not readily accessible for sampling. Mussel species have been used extensively to assess ecosyst
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Alaska Science Center

Southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) population biology at Big Sur and Monterey, California --Investigating the consequences of resource abundance and anthropogenic stressors for sea otter recovery

The range of the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) spans most of the central California coast from Half Moon Bay to Gaviota. Some coastal areas within this range are heavily developed and highly impacted by humans, while other areas are wild and largely pristine. Determining the relative importance of food resource abundance, environmental conditions, and anthropogenic increases in pathog
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Complex immune responses and molecular reactions to pathogens and disease in a desert reptile (Gopherus agassizii)

Immune function plays an important role in an animal's defense against infectious disease. In reptiles, immune responses may be complex and counterintuitive, and diagnostic tools used to identify infection, such as induced antibody responses are limited. Recent studies using gene transcription profiling in tortoises have proven useful in identifying immune responses to various intrinsic and extrin
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Using gene transcription to assess ecological and anthropological stressors in brown bears

Increasingly, population- and ecosystem-level health assessments are performed using sophisticated molecular tools. Advances in molecular technology enable the identification of synergistic effects of multiple stressors on the individual physiology of different species. Brown bears (Ursus arctos) are an apex predator; thus, they are ideal candidates for detecting potentially ecosystem-level system
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

MHC class II DRB diversity predicts antigen recognition and is associated with disease severity in California sea lions naturally infected with Leptospira interrogans

We examined the associations between California sea lion MHC class II DRB (Zaca-DRB) configuration and diversity, and leptospirosis. As Zaca-DRB gene sequences are involved with antigen presentation of bacteria and other extracellular pathogens, we predicted that they would play a role in determining responses to these pathogenic spirochaetes. Specifically, we investigated whether Zaca-DRB diversi
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

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