Lizabeth Bowen
Biography
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
EDUCATION
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 ecological pressures
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.
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
Science and Products
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.
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.
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.
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.
Davis Field Station
The Davis Field Station is home to research programs that focus on coastal ecosystem dynamics, ecological stressors, and their effects on wildlife populations. These studies primarily take place along the Pacific coast from the Aleutian Islands to southern California. Current projects investigate sea-level rise along both coasts of North America, landscape-scale aquatic and terrestrial ecology...
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,...
Tinker, M. Tim; Tomoleoni, Joseph A.; Weitzman, Benjamin P.; Staedler, Michelle; Jessup, Dave; Murray, Michael J.; Miller, Melissa; Burgess, Tristan; Bowen, Lizabeth; Miles, A. Keith; Thometz, Nicole; Tarjan, Lily; Golson, Emily; Batac, Francesca; Dodd, Erin; Berberich, Eva; Kunz, Jessica; Bentall, Gena; Fujii, Jessica; Nicholson, Teri; Newsome, Seth; Melli, Ann; LaRoche, Nicole; MacCormick, Holly; Johnson, Andy; Henkel, Laird; Kreuder-Johnson, Chris; Conrad, Pat
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...
Drake, K. Kristina; Aiello, Christina M.; Bowen, Lizabeth; Lewison, Rebecca L.; Esque, Todd C.; Nussear, Kenneth E.; Waters, Shannon C.; Hudson, Peter J. 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...
Bowen, Lizabeth; Miles, A. Keith; Waters, Shannon C.; Gustine, Dave; Joly, Kyle; Hilderbrand, Grant V. 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....
Acevedo-Whitehouse, Karina; Gulland, Frances; Bowen, Lizabeth
An evaluation of the efficacy of using environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas)
Detecting populations of rare or cryptic species is essential for their conservation. For species like giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas), conventional survey methods can be expensive and inefficient. These sampling difficulties might be overcome by modern techniques that detect deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) shed by organisms into the environment...
Halstead, Brian J.; Wood, Dustin A.; Bowen, Lizabeth; Waters, Shannon C.; Vandergast, Amy G.; Ersan, Julia S.; Skalos, Shannon M.; Casazza, Michael L. Gene transcription patterns in response to low level petroleum contaminants in Mytilus trossulus from field sites and harbors in southcentral Alaska
The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill damaged a wide range of natural resources, including intertidal communities, and post-spill studies demonstrated acute and chronic exposure and injury to an array of species. Standard toxicological methods to evaluate petroleum contaminants have assessed tissue burdens, with fewer assays providing...
Bowen, Lizabeth; Miles, A. Keith; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Waters, Shannon C.; Bodkin, James L.; Lindeberg, Mandy; Esler, Daniel N. Coupling gene-based and classic veterinary diagnostics improves interpretation of health and immune function in the Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)
The analysis of blood constituents is a widely used tool to aid in monitoring of animal health and disease. However, classic blood diagnostics (i.e. hematologic and plasma biochemical values) often do not provide sufficient information to determine the state of an animal’s health. Field studies on wild tortoises and other reptiles have had limited...
Drake, K. Kristina; Bowen, Lizabeth; Lewison, Rebecca L.; Esque, Todd C.; Nussear, Kenneth E.; Braun, Josephine; Waters, Shannon C.; Miles, A. Keith Cessation of oil exposure in harlequin ducks after the Exxon Valdez oil spill: Cytochrome P4501A biomarker evidence
The authors quantified hepatic hydrocarbon-inducible cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) expression, as ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, in wintering harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) captured in Prince William Sound, Alaska (USA), during 2011, 2013, and 2014 (22–25 yr following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill). Average EROD activity...
Esler, Daniel N.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Bowen, Lizabeth; Miles, A. Keith; Dickson, Rian D.; Henderson, John D.
Southern sea otter range expansion and habitat use in the Santa Barbara Channel, California
The re-colonization of the Santa Barbara channel by sea otters brings these ESA-listed marine mammals closer to active oil and gas production facilities, shipping lanes and naturally occurring oil and gas seeps. However, the degree to which sea otters may actually be affected by human-caused oil spills or exposure to natural oil seeps is currently...
Tinker, M. Tim; Tomoleoni, Joseph; LaRoche, Nicole; Bowen, Lizabeth; Miles, A. Keith; Murray, Mike; Staedler, Michelle; Randell, Zachary 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...
Tinker, M. Tim; Tomoleoni, Joseph; Staedler, Michelle M.; LaRoche, Nicole L.; Randell, Zachary; Bowen, Lizabeth; Murray, Michael J.; Miles, A. Keith Negative impacts of invasive plants on conservation of sensitive desert wildlife
Habitat disturbance from development, resource extraction, off-road vehicle use, and energy development ranks highly among threats to desert systems worldwide. In the Mojave Desert, United States, these disturbances have promoted the establishment of nonnative plants, so that native grasses and forbs are now intermixed with, or have been replaced...
Drake, K. Kristina; Bowen, Lizabeth; Nussear, Kenneth E.; Esque, Todd C.; Berger, Andrew J.; Custer, Nathan; Waters, Shannon C.; Johnson, Jay D.; Miles, A. Keith; Lewison, Rebecca L. Gene transcript profiling in sea otters post-Exxon Valdez oil spill: A tool for marine ecosystem health assessment
Using a panel of genes stimulated by oil exposure in a laboratory study, we evaluated gene transcription in blood leukocytes sampled from sea otters captured from 2006–2012 in western Prince William Sound (WPWS), Alaska, 17–23 years after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS). We compared WPWS sea otters to reference...
Bowen, Lizabeth; Miles, A. Keith; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Waters, Shannon C.; Bodkin, James L.