Life Sciences Commons^™

Review Of The Speyeria Egleis Complex In Montana, With The Description Of Two New Subspecies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae), Steve Kohler

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Four phenotypically and geographically distinct sets of populations of Speyeria egleis are identified in Montana. Two new subspecies are named from northwestern and northcentral Montana. Two existing names are recognized (S. e. macdunnoughi from southwestern Montana, southeastern Idaho, and northwestern Wyoming, and S. e. albrighti from central Montana. S. e. near macdunnoughi from Oregon and Washington is discussed.

Core Commitments For Field Trials Of Gene Drive Organisms, Kanya C. Long, Luke Alphey, George J. Annas, Cinnamon S. Bloss, Karl J. Campbell, Jackson Champer, Chun-Hong Chen, Amit Choudhary, George M. Church, James P. Collins, Kimberly L. Cooper, Jason A. Delborne, Owain R. Edwards, Claudia I. Emerson, Kevin Esvelt, Sam Weiss Evans, Robert M. Friedman, Valentino M. Gantz, Fred Gould, Sarah Hartley, Elizabeth Heitman, Janet Hemingway, Hirotaka Kanuka, Jennifer Kuzma, James V. Lavery, Yoosook Lee, Marce Lorenzen, Jeantine E. Lunshof, John M. Marshall, Philipp W. Messer, Craig Montell, Kenneth A. Oye, Megan J. Palmer, Philippos Aris Papathanos, Prasad N. Paradkar, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jason L. Rasgon, Gordana Rašić, Larisa Rudenko, J. Royden Saah, Maxwell J. Scott, Jolene T. Sutton, Adam E, Vorsino, Omar S. Akbari

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We must ensure that trials are scientifically, politically, and socially robust, publicly accountable, and widely transparent.

Gene drive organisms (GDOs), whose genomes have been genetically engineered to spread a desired allele through a population, have the potential to transform the way societies address a wide range of daunting public health and environmental challenges. The development, testing, and release of GDOs, however, are complex and often controversial. A key challenge is to clarify the appropriate roles of developers and others actively engaged in work with GDOs in decision-making processes, and, in particular, how to establish partnerships with relevant authorities and other …

Taxonomic Review Of South American Butter Frogs: Phylogeny, Geographic Patterns, And Species Delimitation In The Leptodactylus Latrans Species Group (Anura: Leptodactylidae), Felipe De M. Magalhães, Mariana L. Lyra, Thiago R. De Carvalho, Diego Baldo, Francisco Brusquetti, Pamela Burella, Guarino R. Colli, Marcelo C. Gehara, Rafael O. De Sá, Et Al.

Biology Faculty Publications

The Leptodactylus latrans species group currently comprises eight medium- to large-sized frog species with a convoluted taxonomic history, particularly related to the specific limits of the L. latrans complex, and the species pair Leptodactylus chaquensis–Leptodactylus macrosternum. Their homogeneous external morphology and continental geographic distribution in South America have posed severe limitations to a comprehensive review, such that taxonomic consensus and species limits remain uncertain. This is further worsened by the presence of chromatic polymorphism among coexisting species that can hardly be distinguished by external morphology. Based on a large-scale geographic sampling including multilocus DNA analyses, and acoustic …

Spectral Properties Of A Non-Compact Operator In Ecology, Matthew Reichenbach

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ecologists have used integral projection models (IPMs) to study fish and other animals which continue to grow throughout their lives. Such animals cannot shrink, since they have bony skeletons; a mathematical consequence of this is that the kernel of the integral projection operator T is unbounded, and the operator is not compact. A priori, it is unclear whether these IPMs have an asymptotic growth rate λ, or a stable-stage distribution ψ. In the case of a compact operator, these quantities are its spectral radius and the associated eigenvector, respectively. Under biologically reasonable assumptions, we prove that the non-compact operators in …

Fall Field Report, August-November 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Two issues were of concern this fall, and both appeared to have consequences or at least similarities in Nebraska. A major die-off in New Mexico made national news: https://www.aba.org/the-data-behind-mysterious-bird-deaths-in-new-mexico/. On Sep 9, 2020, the temperature dropped from 96°F to 40°F in the Albuquerque area, a record low, winds reached 70 mph, and several inches of snow fell, killing large numbers of birds directly. Over the next few days, hundreds more dead birds were picked up. Some have linked this high mortality to birds displaced from the mountains due to fire and unfortunately being caught in the severe weather. While fire …

Index To Volume 88

Nebraska Bird Review

Index to The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 (2020)

From: Aden, Scott 95

to: Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii 158 leucophrys 70, 158 oriantha 70

History Of The Seward-Branched Oak Lake Christmas Bird Count, 1993-2020, Joseph A. Gubanyi

Nebraska Bird Review

The Seward-Branched Oak Lake Christmas Bird Count (Seward-BOL CBC) began in 1993 and has been conducted every year since then except for 2010 for a total of 27 counts. Weather conditions prevented the count on the selected date in 2010 and a backup date could not be set up. The count was started for several reasons. The area west of Lincoln has a diversity of habitats including all or part of four public lakes (Branched Oak, Pawnee, Twin Lakes, and Meadowlark) as well as a diversity of terrestrial habitats on both public and private land. The circle is close to …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 December 2020 Number 4

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August - November 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …13.8

History of the Seward - Branched Oak Christmas Bird Count, 1993-2020, by Joseph Gubanyi …162

Index to Volume 88 … 173

Subscription and Organization Information …187

Hunting Contests In New York State, Tyler Caffrey

Honors College Theses

The world is currently in a biodiversity crisis and hunting contests cannot continue. Hunting contests are not legitimate wildlife management tools, but exist for entertainment and killing for a prize. Many of the species targeted can be killed without bag limits. Additionally, many wildlife management practices are retroactive, meaning they are in response to an issue. Within New York State, these contests are not regulated by the NYSDEC beyond adhering to hunting regulations. With these factors together, animals targeted by these contests can be hunted to a detrimental point, and then management agencies would step in. These contests face significant …

Linking Mosquito Surveillance To Dengue Fever Through Bayesian Mechanistic Modeling, Clinton B. Leach, Jennifer A. Hoeting, Kim M. Pepin, Alvaro E. Eiras, Mevin B. Hooten, Colleen T. Webb

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Our ability to effectively prevent the transmission of the dengue virus through targeted control of its vector, Aedes aegypti, depends critically on our understanding of the link between mosquito abundance and human disease risk. Mosquito and clinical surveillance data are widely collected, but linking them requires a modeling framework that accounts for the complex non-linear mechanisms involved in transmission. Most critical are the bottleneck in transmission imposed by mosquito lifespan relative to the virus’ extrinsic incubation period, and the dynamics of human immunity. We developed a differential equation model of dengue transmission and embedded it in a Bayesian hierarchical …

Genomic Evidence Suggests Further Changes Of Butterfly Names, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Pal A. Opler, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Further genomic sequencing of butterflies by our research group expanding the coverage of species and specimens from different localities, coupled with genome-scale phylogenetic analysis and complemented by phenotypic considerations, suggests a number of changes to the names of butterflies, mostly those recorded from the United States and Canada. Here, we present evidence to support these changes. The changes are intended to make butterfly classification more internally consistent at the genus, subgenus and species levels. That is, considering all available evidence, we attempt to assign similar taxonomic ranks to the clades of comparable genetic differentiation, which on average is correlated with …

Investigating The Population Dynamics Of An Avian Apex Predator Across An Urban Gradient, Donna Marain

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Predators are often the focus of conservation efforts. They can be useful sentinel species, umbrella species, and flagship species. Predators can also be the first guild lost when ecosystems are under stress, especially from anthropogenic land-use change. Avian predators (raptors) can be an exception to this trend, filling the role of apex predators across the urban gradient. South Florida contains the Everglades ecosystem and one of the fastest growing human populations in the country. In the current study, I investigated the population dynamics of South Florida’s most abundant hawk: the Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus, RSHA) across the urban …

Coyotes, Rick Tischaefer

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

The coyote (Canis latrans; Figure 1) is a medium-sized member of the canid family. Once primarily found in western deserts and grasslands, coyotes have expanded their range across North America and into diverse habitats, including urban areas. This expansion occurred during a time of extensive habitat change and efforts by people to suppress coyote populations to prevent damage. Coyotes can cause a variety of conflicts related to agriculture, natural resources, property, and human health and safety. This document highlights a variety of methods for reducing those conflicts. Coyotes are a highly adaptable species and may become habituated to some management …

Adaptive Divergence, Neutral Panmixia, And Algal Symbiont Population Structure In The Temperate Coral Astrangia Poculata Along The Mid-Atlantic United States, Hannah E. Aichelman, Daniel J. Barshis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Astrangia poculata is a temperate scleractinian coral that exists in facultative symbiosis with the dinoflagellate alga Breviolum psygmophilum across a range spanning the Gulf of Mexico to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Our previous work on metabolic thermal performance of Virginia (VA) and Rhode Island (RI) populations of A. poculata revealed physiological signatures of cold (RI) and warm (VA) adaptation of these populations to their respective local thermal environments. Here, we used whole-transcriptome sequencing (mRNA-Seq) to evaluate genetic differences and identify potential loci involved in the adaptive signature of VA and RI populations. Sequencing data from 40 A. poculata individuals, including 10 …

Spotted Owls And Forest Fire: Comment, Gavin M. Jones, R. J. Gutiérrez, William M. Block, Peter C. Carlson, Emily J. Comfort, Samuel A. Cushman, Raymond J. Davis, Stephanie A. Eyes, Alan B. Franklin, Joseph L. Ganey, Shaula Hedwall, John J. Keane, Rodd Kelsey, Damon B, Lesmeister, Malcolm P. North, Susan L. Roberts, Jeremy T. Rockweit, Jamie S. Sanderlin, Sarah C. Sawyer, Ben Solvesky, Douglas J. Tempel, Ho Yi Wan, A. Leroy Westerling, Gary C. White, M. Zachariah Peery

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Western North American forest ecosystems are experiencing rapid changes in disturbance regimes because of climate change and land use legacies (Littell et al. 2018). In many of these forests, the accumulation of surface and ladder fuels from a century of fire suppression, coupled with a warming and drying climate, has led to increases in the number of large fires (Westerling 2016) and the proportion of areas burning at higher severity (Safford and Stevens 2017, Singleton et al. 2018). While the annual area burned by fire is still below historical levels (Taylor et al. 2016), some forest types in the west …

Loci Associated With Antibody Response In Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa) Infected With Brucella Suis, Courtney F. Pierce, Vienna R. Brown, Steven C. Olsen, Paola Boggiatto, Kerri Pedersen, Ryan S. Miller, Scott E. Speidel, Timothy J. Smyser

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are a destructive invasive species widespread throughout the United States that disrupt ecosystems, damage crops, and carry pathogens of concern for the health of domestic stock and humans including Brucella suis—the causative organism for swine brucellosis. In domestic swine, brucellosis results in reproductive failure due to abortions and infertility. Contact with infected feral swine poses spillover risks to domestic pigs as well as humans, companion animals, wildlife, and other livestock. Genetic factors influence the outcome of infectious diseases; therefore, genome wide association studies (GWAS) of differential immune responses among feral swine can provide …

A Review Of Avian Influenza A Virus Associations In Synanthropic Birds, Susan A. Shriner, J. Jeffrey Root

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian influenza A viruses (IAV) have received significant attention due to the threat they pose to human, livestock, and wildlife health. In this review, we focus on what is known about IAV dynamics in less common avian species that may play a role in trafficking IAVs to poultry operations. Specifically, we focus on synanthropic bird species. Synanthropic species, otherwise known as peridomestic, are species that are ecologically associated with humans and anthropogenically modified landscapes, such as agricultural and urban areas. Aquatic birds such as waterfowl and shorebirds are the species most commonly associated with avian IAVs, and are generally considered …

Geographic And Intra-Racial Disparities In Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer In The Seer 18 Registries Of The United States, Wesal H. Abualkhair, Meijiao Zhou, Carolina O. Ochoa, Leonel Lacayo, Caitlin Murphy, Xiao Cheng Wu, Jordan J. Karlitz

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Although early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) incidence rates (IRs) are increasing, geographic and intra-racial IR disparities are not well defined. Methods: 2000-2015 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program CRC IR Analysis (170,434 cases) was performed from ages 30 to 60 in four US regions, 18 individual registries, metropolitan and nonmetropolitan locations and stratified by race. Analyses were conducted in 1-year and 5-year age increments. Results: Wide US regional EOCRC IR variations exist: For example, age 45 IRs in the south are 26.8/100,000, 36.0% higher than the West, 19.7/100,000 (p < 0.0001). Disparities magnify between individual registries: EOCRC IRs in highest risk registries were 177-348% (Alaska Natives), 75-200% (Hawaii), 76-128% (Louisiana), and 61-125% (Kentucky) higher than lowest risk registries depending on age. EOCRC IRs are 18.2%-25.6% higher in nonmetropolitan versus metropolitan settings. Wide geographic intra-racial disparities exist. Within the White population, the greatest IR difference (78.8%) was between Kentucky (5.9/100,000) and Los Angeles (3.3/100,000) in 30- to 34-year-olds (p <.0001). Within the Black population, the greatest difference (136.2%) was between rural Georgia (30.7/100,000) and California excluding San Francisco-Oakland/San Jose-Monterey/Los Angeles (13/100,000) in 40- to 44-year-olds (p = 0003). Conclusion: Marked geographic EOCRC disparities exist with disproportionately high IRs in Alaska Natives, Hawaii, and southern registries. Geographic intra-racial disparities are present within White and Black populations. In Blacks, there are disproportionately high EOCRC IRs in rural Georgia. Although vigilance is required in all populations, attention must be paid to these higher risk populations. Potential interventions include assuring early investigation of symptoms, targeting modifiable risk factors and utilizing earlier age 45 screening options supported by some guidelines.

Instability Of Glucocorticoid Metabolites In Coyote Scats: Implications For Field Sampling, Erika T. Stevenson, Eric M. Gese, Lorin A. Neuman-Lee, Susannah S. French

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Studying physiologic stress responses can assist in understanding the welfare of animals. One method of measuring the physiologic stress response is evaluating concentrations of glucocorticoid metabolites in feces. Previously, using an adrenocorticotropic hormone challenge, we found fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels were a reliable indicator of physiologic stress response in coyotes (Canis latrans). We determine whether glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations remain stable when collecting feces over a 2-week period, a timeframe commonly used in scat surveys for wild canids. We collected feces from 6 captive coyotes maintained at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Predator …

Tools, Techniques And Teamwork: Transferring New Technologies For Wildlife Management, Conservation And Economic Development, John Eisemann, Gail Keirn

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Did you ever wonder who invented radio telemetry? Or breakaway snares? What about the bird repellent methyl anthranilate or the livestock protection collar? These and many other tools used in wildlife damage management resulted from creative thinking by biologists, technicians, researchers and managers working to solve complex wildlife issues. Over the past 90 years, these “aha moments” within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program have ranged from developing novel scare devices, traps and vaccines to exploiting an animal’s visual capabilities to stop unwanted behaviors. Once discovered, these unique ideas may lead to practical, feasible and cost-effective wildlife damage …

Evidence For Height And Immune Function Trade-Offs Among Preadolescents In A High Pathogen Population, Angela R. Garcia, Aaron Blackwell, Benjamin C. Trumble, Jonathan Stieglitz, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

Background

In an energy-limited environment, caloric investments in one characteristic should trade-off with investments in other characteristics. In high pathogen ecologies, biasing energy allocation towards immune function over growth would be predicted, given strong selective pressures against early-life mortality.

Methodology

In the present study, we use flow cytometry to examine trade-offs between adaptive immune function (T cell subsets, B cells), innate immune function (natural killer cells), adaptive to innate ratio and height-for-age z scores (HAZ) among young children (N = 344; aged 2 months–8 years) in the Bolivian Amazon, using maternal BMI and child weight-for-height z scores (WHZ) as …

Summer Field Report, June-July 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Overall, this was a fairly routine summer although birders in Nebraska know that “routine” still holds promise of a few happenings out of the ordinary. The summer season primarily examines new breeding records, range expansions, and changes in numbers, up or down. Mississippi Kites were conspicuous, a pair providing Scottsbluff’s first breeding record, but a repeating pair in Lincoln, Lancaster lost its nest in a windstorm. The first nesting record for Violet-Green Swallow for Sheridan, 7th nesting for White-winged Dove, and 9th for Short-eared Owl were all encouraging, as was an apparent family group of Northern Saw-whet Owls in Sioux. …

Robert Wolcott And The Art Of Nest Records, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

The autumn of 1894 was fortuitous for Nebraska ornithology because it is when Robert Henry Wolcott accepted an assistantship at the University of Nebraska, moving to Lincoln from the University of Michigan (Swenk 1935). Wolcott, from that point onward, made significant contributions to our knowledge of Nebraska birds (Bruner et al. 1903, Wolcott 1909, 1919), was a founding member of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union (NOU), and was editor for the first three Proceedings of the NOU from 1899-1902. His work expanded beyond local focus and he eventually authored a text on animal biology (Wolcott 1933). The topic of this paper, …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 September 2020, Number 3

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June - July 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …94.

Robert Wolcott and the Art of Nest Records, by Thomas E. Labedz …112

2019 (31st) Report of the NOU Records Committee, by Mark A. Brogie …124

Subscription and Organization Information …135

Vampire Bats: Preparing For Range Expansion Into The U.S., Michael J. Bodenchuk, David L. Bergman

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The common vampire bat apparently is expanding its range northwards in Mexico and seems poised to enter the southern United States. Climate models predict suitable habitat in the U.S. in south Texas and parts of southern Arizona. While vampire bats’ northward range expansion is not unexpected, the fact that this species brings a strain of rabies that impacts livestock and people warrants a strategic response. Annual economic damages from bats are estimated between $7M and $9M, largely associated with deaths of livestock from rabies. To prepare for the emerging rabies issue, USDA Wildlife Services programs in Texas and Arizona have …

Ecology And Evolution, David J. Lohman

Open Educational Resources

Introduction to the basic principles of ecology and evolutionary biology emphasizing quantitative approaches and hypothesis testing. Scientific reasoning, computer literacy, and writing skills are developed in the laboratory.

Feral Swine, Michael P. Glow, Nathan P. Snow, Kurt C. Vercauteren

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Feral swine (Sus scrofa; Figure 1), also known as feral hogs, feral pigs, wild pigs, wild boar, or other similar derivations, are a non-native species considered to be one of the most destructive invasive terrestrial vertebrates in North America. While feral swine populations remained relatively small and confined in the continental United States following initial introductions by European explorers during the 15th century, substantial range expansion has occurred across every geographical region of the United States (Figure 2). This expansion has primarily been attributed to human-mediated movements, predominately for the purpose of establishing populations for recreational hunting, and facilitated by …

2019 (31st) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) are described in its bylaws (NOURC 2010). The committee’s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. Species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website www.NOUbirds.org. Starting in 2020, the NOURC will deal mainly with those species deemed as Accidental on the “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska”. Casual species and out-ofrange species will continue to be summarized in the “Seasonal Reports” of the …

An Evaluation Of Bird And Bat Mortality At Wind Turbines In The Northeastern United States, Daniel Y. Choi, Thomas W. Wittig, Bryan M. Kluever

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wind energy offers substantial environmental benefits, but wind facilities can negatively impact wildlife, including birds and bats. Researchers and managers have made major efforts to chronicle bird and bat mortality associated with wind facilities, but few studies have examined the patterns and underlying mechanisms of spatial patterns of fatalities at wind facilities. Understanding the horizontal fall distance between a carcass and the nearest turbine pole is important in designing effective search protocols and estimating total mortality. We explored patterns in taxonomic composition and fall distance of bird and bat carcasses at wind facilities in the Northeastern United States using publicly …

Estimation Of Wildlife Damage From Federal Crop Insurance Data, Sophie Mckee, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Aaron M. Anderson

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

BACKGROUND: Wildlife damage to crops is a persistent and costly problem for many farmers in the USA. Most existing estimates of crop damage have relied on direct assessment methods such as field studies conducted by trained biologists or surveys distributed to farmers. In this paper, we describe a new method of estimating wildlife damage that exploits federal crop insurance data. We focused our study on four crops: corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton, chosen because of their economic importance and their vulnerability to wildlife damage.

RESULTS: We determined crop-raiding hot spots across the USA over the 2015–2019 period and identified the …