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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Species-Level Correlates Of Susceptibility To The Pathogenic Amphibian Fungus Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis In The United States, Betsy Bancroft, Barbara Han, Catherine Searle, Lindsay Biga, Deanna Olson, Lee Kats, Joshua Lawler, Andrew Blaustein
Species-Level Correlates Of Susceptibility To The Pathogenic Amphibian Fungus Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis In The United States, Betsy Bancroft, Barbara Han, Catherine Searle, Lindsay Biga, Deanna Olson, Lee Kats, Joshua Lawler, Andrew Blaustein
Lee Kats
Disease is often implicated as a factor in population declines of wildlife and plants. Understanding the characteristics that may predispose a species to infection by a particular pathogen can help direct conservation efforts. Recent declines in amphibian populations world-wide are a major conservation issue and may be caused in part by a fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). We used Random Forest, a machine learning approach, to identify species-level characteristics that may be related to susceptibility to Bd. Our results suggest that body size at maturity, aspects of egg laying behavior, taxonomic order and family, and reliance on water are good …
The Scent Of Danger: Tetrodotoxin (Ttx) As An Olfactory Cue Of Predation Risk, Richard Zimmer, Daniel Schar, Ryan Ferrer, Patrick Krug, Lee Kats, William Michel
The Scent Of Danger: Tetrodotoxin (Ttx) As An Olfactory Cue Of Predation Risk, Richard Zimmer, Daniel Schar, Ryan Ferrer, Patrick Krug, Lee Kats, William Michel
Lee Kats
Larvae of the California newt (Taricha torosa) exhibit striking predator- avoidance behavior, escaping to refuges in response to a chemical cue from cannibalistic adults. In laboratory flow-tank experiments, stream water collected near free-ranging adults induced hiding responses in 100% of the larvae tested. Solutions prepared by bathing adults (in field and laboratory) also evoked strong hiding behaviors. Insensitive to adult feeding status (fed or starved), and clearly not an excretory product, the chemical cue was released from adult skin (i.e., in swabs of adult backs, sides, and bellies). Tetrodotoxin (TTX) was found in skin swabs of adults and in bathwater …
Barriers And Flow As Limiting Factors In The Spread Of An Invasive Crayfish (Procambarus Clarkii) In Southern California Streams, Jacob Kerby, Seth Riley, Lee Kats, Paul Wilson
Barriers And Flow As Limiting Factors In The Spread Of An Invasive Crayfish (Procambarus Clarkii) In Southern California Streams, Jacob Kerby, Seth Riley, Lee Kats, Paul Wilson
Lee Kats
Invasive crayfish are a major threat to stream ecosystems, yet research has seldom identified successful ways of preventing their spread. Thirty-two stream sections were surveyed during 2000 and 2001 in the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California to determine the distribution of the invasive crayfish Procambarus clarkii. Streams with large barriers (waterfalls, culverts) often did not have crayfish present upstream of barriers. A mark-recapture study indicated that P. clarkii moved both up and downstream between pools, but that barriers significantly reduced movement between pools. Seasonal high flow velocities likely increase passive movement downstream and reduce movement upstream. Results indicate that …