Digital Commons Network^™

Quantifying Amphibian Range Fragmentation In The Southeastern United States, Catherine E. Newman, Christopher C. Austin

Faculty Publications

© the authors. An often overlooked component of research on factors that drive amphibian geographic distributions is description of species range shape. Broad-scale range disjunction has implications for phylogeography, ecology, and conservation, but descriptions of fragmentation are usually based on subjective visual assessment of range maps. Here, we describe a method for objectively quantifying range fragmentation and use this method to describe the patterns of amphibian species range shapes in the southeastern United States, home to the highest amphibian species richness in North America. Species ranges varied widely in degree of fragmentation, from completely contiguous to highly fragmented, and degree …

Developing A Modern Data Workflow For Regularly Updated Data, Glenda M. Yenni, Erica M. Christensen, Ellen K. Bledsoe, Sarah R. Supp, Renata M. Diaz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Food Choice By A Free-Ranging Antillean Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Manatus) In Tabasco, Mexico, Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske, David Olivera-Gomez

Faculty Publications

Understanding foraging ecology is an important element of effective conservation strategies. While West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) have been documented to consume a wide variety of vascular plants and algae, little is known about the diet of the Endangered Antillean subspecies (T. m. manatus) at freshwater sites such as the wetlands of Tabasco, the largest manatee habitat in Mexico. Here we present the results of a study of wild manatee diet in a freshwater site in Mexico. Controlled food choice experiments were conducted on a wild adult manatee during the dry seasons of 2011 and 2012. …

Advancing Dendrochronological Studies Of Fire In The United States, Grant L. Harley, Christopher H. Baisan, Peter M. Brown, Donald A. Falk, William T. Flatley, Henri D. Grissino-Mayer, Amy Hessl, Emily K. Heyerdahl, Margot W. Kaye, Charles W. Lafon, Ellis Q. Margolis, R. Stockton Maxwell, Adam T. Naito, William J. Platt, Monica T. Rother, Thomas Saladyga, Rosemary L. Sherriff, Lauren A. Stachowiak, Michael C. Stambaugh, Elaine Kennedy Sutherland, Alan H. Taylor

Faculty Publications

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Dendroecology is the science that dates tree rings to their exact calendar year of formation to study processes that influence forest ecology (e.g., Speer 2010 [1], Amoroso et al., 2017 [2]). Reconstruction of past fire regimes is a core application of dendroecology, linking fire history to population dynamics and climate effects on tree growth and survivorship. Since the early 20th century when dendrochronologists recognized that tree rings retained fire scars (e.g., Figure 1), and hence a record of past fires, they have conducted studies worldwide to reconstruct [2] the historical range …

Pedestrian Injury Severity Analysis In Motor Vehicle Crashes In Ohio, Majbah Uddin, Fahim Ahmed

Faculty Publications

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 116 pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle crashes in Ohio in 2015. However, no study to date has analyzed crashes in Ohio in order to explore the factors contributing to the pedestrian injury severity resulting from motor vehicle crashes. This study fills this gap by investigating the crashes involving pedestrians exclusively in Ohio. This study uses the crash data from the Highway Safety Information System, from 2009 to 2013. The explanatory factors include the pedestrian, driver, vehicle, crash, and roadway characteristics. Both fixed- and random-parameters ordered probit models of injury severity (where …

Toward Understanding Posttraumatic Stress And Depression Among Trauma-Affected Widows In Sri Lanka, Jessica E. Lambert, Alyssa Banford Witting, Spencer James, Lakmal Ponnamperuma, Thulitha Wickrama

Faculty Publications

Objective: In this study, we applied conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989) to explain high rates of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among war- and disaster-affected Tamil widows in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. We hypothesized exposure to potentially traumatic events and severity of current contextual problems would influence PTSS and depressive symptoms directly and indirectly through loss of psychological (view of self), environmental (sense of community), and energy (physical health) resources. Method: Trained research assistants interviewed a convenience sample (N = 381) of women, using established measures of the constructs of interest. Data were analyzed using …

Spatial Dynamics And Mixing Of Bluefin Tuna In The Atlantic Ocean And Mediterranean Sea Revealed Using Next-Generation Sequencing, Gregory N. Puncher, Alessia Cariani, Gregory E. Maes, Jeroen Van Houdt, Koen Herten, Rita Cannas, Naiara Rodriguez-Ezpeleta, Aitor Albania, Andone Estonba, Molly Lutcavage, Alex Hanke, Jay Rooker, James S. Franks, Joseph M. Quattro, Gualtiero Basilone, Igaratza Fraile, Urtzi Laconcha, Nicolas Goñi, Ai Kimoto, David Macías, Francisco Alemany, Simeon Deguara, Salem W. Zgozi, Fulvio Garibaldi, Isik K. Oray, Firdes Saadet Karakulak, Noureddine Abid, Miguel N. Santos, Piero Addis, Haritz Arrizabalaga, Fausto Tinti

Faculty Publications

The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a highly migratory species emblematic of the challenges associated with shared fisheries management. In an effort to resolve the species’ stock dynamics, a genomewide search for spatially informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was undertaken, by way of sequencing reduced representation libraries. An allele frequency approach to SNP discovery was used, combining the data of 555 larvae and young‐of‐the‐year (LYOY) into pools representing major geographical areas and mapping against a newly assembled genomic reference. From a set of 184,895 candidate loci, 384 were selected for validation using 167 LYOY. A highly discriminatory genotyping panel of 95 …

Coupled Effects Of Oil Spill And Hurricane On Saltmarsh Terrestrial Arthropods, Wokil Bam, Linda M. Hooper-Bui, Rachel M. Strecker, Puspa L. Adhikari, Edward B. Overton

Faculty Publications

Terrestrial arthropods play an important role in saltmarsh ecosystems, mainly affecting the saltmarsh’s primary production as the main consumers of terrestrial primary production and decomposition. Some of these arthropods, including selected insects and spiders, can be used as ecological indicators of overall marsh environmental health, as they are differentially sensitive to ecological stressors, such as land loss, erosion, oil spills, and tropical storms. In the present study, we used terrestrial arthropods collected from seven (three lightly-oiled, four heavily-oiled) sites in Barataria Bay and from three unoiled reference sites in Delacroix, Louisiana, to determine the impacts of the distribution and re-distribution …

Descriptive Density Models Of Scyphozoan Jellyfish In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Katrina T. Aleksa, Redwood W. Nero, Jerry D. Wiggert, William M. Graham

Faculty Publications

Jellyfish play an important role in the food web of many coastal environments but are generally considered a nuisance to scientific fieldwork and industrial and economic trades. A better understanding of how jellyfish densities and distributions are affected by environmental parameters could elucidate population trends and provide assistance in ecological research and undesirable human interactions. In this study, abundance data for scyphozoan medusae, Chrysaora sp. and Aurelia spp., were extracted from Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program trawling surveys for the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM) during the summer and fall months. Both in situ and satellite oceanographic measurements were …

Integrating Nutrition Into Health Systems At Community Level:Impact Evaluation Of The Community‐Based Maternal Andneonatal Health And Nutrition Projects In Ethiopia, Kenya, And Senegal, Jacqueline K. Kung'u, Richard Pendame, Mame Bineta Ndiaye, Mulusew Gerbaba, Sophie Ochola, Adama Faye, Sulochana Basnet, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Sara Wuehler, Luz Maria De‐Regil

Faculty Publications

Maternal undernutrition and mortality remain high in several African countries. Key nutrition andhealth interventions improve maternal and birth outcomes. Evidence is scarce on how tostrengthen health systems to ensure pregnant women and newborns are reached with theseinterventions. We conducted three quasi‐experimental nonrandomized Community BasedMaternal and Neonatal Health and Nutrition projects in regions of Ethiopia, Senegal, and Kenyato demonstrate how proven nutrition interventions could be integrated into health programs toimprove knowledge and practices during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. We evaluated impacton knowledge and practices related to maternal and neonatal care using logistic regression andrepeated‐measures models with districts as a fixed variable …

Stepping It Up: Walking Behaviors In Children Transitioning From 5th To 7th Grade, Sharon E. Taverno Ross, Morgan N. Clennin, Marsha Dowda, Natalie Colabianchi, Russell R. Pate

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to (1) describe children’s walking behaviors in 5th to 7th grade and change over time and (2) examine associations between walking behaviors and Walk Score®. Participants consisted of n = 586 students from the Transitions and Activity Changes in Kids (TRACK) Study. Children reported any walking behavior (e.g., exercise and transportation) over the past five days. Walk Score was calculated based on children’s home address. Descriptive statistics summarized walking behaviors by gender and time, and repeated measure mixed models examined the relationship between walking behaviors and Walk Score. Approximately 46.8% and 19.2% of 5th …

Swing Voting In The 2016 Presidential Election In Counties Where Midlife Mortality Has Been Rising In White Non-Hispanic Americans, Usama Bilal, Emily A. Knapp, Richard S. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Understanding the effects of widespread disruption of the social fabric on public health outcomes can provide insight into the forces that drive major political realignment. Our objective was to estimate the association between increases in mortality in middle-aged non-Hispanic white adults from 1999 to 2005 to 2009–2015, health inequalities in life expectancy by income, and the surge in support for the Republican Party in pivotal US counties in the 2016 presidential election. We conducted a longitudinal ecological study in 2764 US counties from 1999 to 2016. Increases in mortality were measured using age-specific (45–54 years of age) all-cause mortality from …

An Annotated List Of Auchenorrhyncha And Heteroptera Collected In The Coastal Salt Marshes Of The Mississippi Delta In Louisiana, I. M. Sokolov, X. Chen, R. M. Strecker, L. M. Hooper-Bùi

Faculty Publications

Insects that live in the saltwater and brackish marshes, which fringe the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, are largely unstudied. During 2011-2013, a survey of insect fauna of the coastal salt marshes of the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana was conducted. We present the species of terrestrial representatives of Heteroptera and Auchenorrhyncha collected during that study. The Auchenorrhyncha are represented by 33 species in 6 families, with Cicadellidae (16 species) and Delphacidae (13 spp.), and are the most diverse. The terrestrial heteropterans are represented by 11 species in 5 families with the majority of species in Miridae (6 spp.). …

No Consistent Evidence For Advancing Or Delaying Trends In Spring Phenology On The Tibetan Plateau, Xufeng Wang, Jingfeng Xiao, Xin Li, Guodong Cheng, Mingguo Ma, Tao Che, Shaoying Wang, Jinkui Wu

Faculty Publications

Vegetation phenology is a sensitive indicator of climate change and has significant effects on the exchange of carbon, water, and energy between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere. The Tibetan Plateau, the Earth's “third pole,” is a unique region for studying the long‐term trends in vegetation phenology in response to climate change because of the sensitivity of its alpine ecosystems to climate and its low‐level human disturbance. There has been a debate whether the trends in spring phenology over the Tibetan Plateau have been continuously advancing over the last two to three decades. In this study, we examine the trends …

Connecting The Dots: Stopover Strategies Of An Intercontinental Migratory Songbird In The Context Of The Annual Cycle, Kristina Paxton, Frank R. Moore

Faculty Publications

The phases of the annual cycle for migratory species are inextricably linked. Yet, less than five percent of ecological studies examine seasonal interactions. In this study, we utilized stable hydrogen isotopes to geographically link individual black-and-white warblers (Mniotilta varia) captured during spring migration with breeding destinations to understand a migrant's stopover strategy in the context of other phases of the annual cycle. We found that stopover strategy is not only a function of a bird's current energetic state, but also the distance remaining to breeding destination and a bird's time-schedule, which has previously been linked to habitat conditions experienced …

Repeated Evolution Of Vertebrate Pollination Syndromes In A Recently Diverged Andean Plant Clade, Laura P. Lagomarsino, Elisabeth J. Forrestel, Nathan Muchhala, Charles C. Davis

Faculty Publications

© 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution. Although specialized interactions, including those involving plants and their pollinators, are often invoked to explain high species diversity, they are rarely explored at macroevolutionary scales. We investigate the dynamic evolution of hummingbird and bat pollination syndromes in the centropogonid clade (Lobelioideae: Campanulaceae), an Andean-centered group of ∼550 angiosperm species. We demonstrate that flowers hypothesized to be adapted to different pollinators based on flower color fall into distinct regions of morphospace, and this is validated by morphology of species with known pollinators. This supports the existence of …

Economic Growth And Mortality: Do Social Protection Policies Matter?, Usama Bilal, Richard Cooper, Francis Abreu, Claudia Nau, Manuel Franco, Thomas A. Glass

Faculty Publications

Background: In the 20th century, periods of macroeconomic growth have been associated with increases in population mortality. Factors that cause or mitigate this association are not well understood. Evidence suggests that social policy may buffer the deleterious impact of economic growth. We sought to explore associations between changing unemployment (as a proxy for economic change) and trends in mortality over 30 years in the context of varying social protection expenditures. Methods: We model change in all-cause mortality in 21 OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries from 1980 to 2010. Data from the Comparative Welfare States Data Set and …

Capacity Of Blood Plasma Is Higher In Birds Breeding In Radioactively Contaminated Areas, Magdalena Ruiz-Rodríguez, Anders P. Møller, Timothy Mousseau, Juan J. Soler

Faculty Publications

Background Environmental pollution in general, and radioactive contamination in particular, may deeply affect host-parasite relationships and their consequences for the evolution of organisms. The nuclear accident that occurred more than 30 years ago in Chernobyl resulted in significant changes in diversity and richness of microbial communities that could influence characteristics of animal-bacteria interactions, including host immune responses and competitive interference by bacteria. Given the high mortality rate of birds breeding in radioactively contaminated zones, those with stronger defences against infections should experience significant fitness advantages.

Methodology/Principal Findings Here we characterized antimicrobial capacity of barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) from different Ukrainian …

Bacteria Associated With Piezodorus Guildinii (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), With Special Reference To Those Transmitted By Feeding, Claudia Husseneder, Jong Seok Park, Andrea Howells, Chinmay V. Tikhe, Jeffrey A. Davis

Faculty Publications

The redbanded stink bug, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), is a rapidly growing pest damaging southern US agriculture. Pentatomid stink bugs are known to vector bacterial, fungal, and viral plant diseases. However, bacteria associated with redbanded stink bugs and their vector potential have not yet been assessed. In this study, we 1) cultured and identified bacteria transmitted by feeding of redbanded stink bug and 2) described bacteria from guts of redbanded stink bug individuals using next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Nineteen bacteria transmitted by feeding of redbanded stink bug on soybean agar were isolated and identified via Sanger …

Diabetes Prevalence Is Associated With Different Community Factors In The Diabetes Belt Versus The Rest Of The United States, Candice A. Myers, Tim Slack, Stephanie T. Broyles, Steven B. Heymsfield, Timothy S. Church, Corby K. Martin

Faculty Publications

Objective: To investigate differences in community characteristics associated with diabetes prevalence between the Diabetes Belt and the rest of the contiguous United States (U.S.). Methods: County-level adult diabetes prevalence estimates (i.e., percent of people [≥20 years] with diagnosed diabetes 2009) were used from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in addition to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to carry out a spatial regime analysis to identify county-level factors correlated with diabetes prevalence in the Diabetes Belt versus the remainder of the U.S. Results: Counties outside of …

Responses To Prescribed Fire At Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas, Usa, B. P. Oswald, D. M. Boensch, H. M. Williams, I-Kuai Hung

Faculty Publications

US Federal land managers have utilized hand ignited prescribed fire at Big Thicket National Preserve in efforts to restore the structure and diversity of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forest. A fire ecology study was initiated by Rice University in the early 1990’s and the National Park Service has continued monitoring the plots. Ordination was applied to species abundance data to examine changes in vegetation communities from a variety of prescribed fire treatments and controls. The vegetation data was separated by size class to include overstory, small tree, large sapling and seedling data. Across the size classes and treatments, the …

Introduction, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Erik Kristensen, Shing Yip Lee, Robert R. Twilley

Faculty Publications

One of the major issues we currently need to address in mangrove ecological research is the causes (qualitative and quantitative) that drive current mismanagement and degradation of mangrove wetlands; one of the most productive and valuable coastal ecosystems in the world. This is a complex task, and we need to consider the complex interactions between social and ecological systems, including an evaluation of state-of-the-art mangrove ecosystem science. For instance, the attempts to refine and improve the significance of mangrove wetlands’ economic value include not only the most visible and well-recognized mangrove ecosystem services around the world, e.g., fisheries and wood …

Mangrove Ecosystems: A Global Biogeographic Perspective: Structure, Function, And Services, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Erik Kristensen, Shing Yip Lee, Robert R. Twilley

Faculty Publications

This book presents a comprehensive overview and analysis of mangrove ecological processes, structure, and function at the local, biogeographic, and global scales and how these properties interact to provide key ecosystem services to society. The analysis is based on an international collaborative effort that focuses on regions and countries holding the largest mangrove resources and encompasses the major biogeographic and socio-economic settings of mangrove distribution. Given the economic and ecological importance of mangrove wetlands at the global scale, the chapters aim to integrate ecological and socio-economic perspectives on mangrove function and management using a system-level hierarchical analysis framework. The book …

Combining Biodiversity Resurveys Across Regions To Advance Global Change Research, Kris Verheyen, Pieter De Frenne, Lander Baeten, Donald M. Waller, Radim Hédl, Michael P. Perring, Haben Blondeel, Jörg Brunet, Markéta Chudomelová, Guillaume Decocq, Emiel De Lombaerde, Leen Depauw, Thomas Dirnböck, Tomasz Durak, Ove Eriksson, Frank S. Gilliam, Thilo Heinken, Steffi Heinrichs, Martin Hermy, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Michael A. Jenkins, Sarah E. Johnson, Keith J. Kirby, Martin Kopecký, Dries Landuyt, Jonathan Lenoir, Daijiang Li, Martin Macek, Sybryn L. Maes, František Máliš, Fraser J.G. Mitchell, Tobias Naaf, George Peterken

Faculty Publications

More and more ecologists have started to resurvey communities sampled in earlier decades to determine long-term shifts in community composition and infer the likely drivers of the ecological changes observed. However, to assess the relative importance of and interactions among multiple drivers, joint analyses of resurvey data from many regions spanning large environmental gradients are needed. In this article, we illustrate how combining resurvey data from multiple regions can increase the likelihood of driver orthogonality within the design and show that repeatedly surveying across multiple regions provides higher representativeness and comprehensiveness, allowing us to answer more completely a broader range …

Report And Recommendations Concerning Environmental Aspects Of The New York State Constitution, New York State Bar Association Environmental And Energy Law Section, Mary L. Lyndon

Faculty Publications

The purpose of the Report is to inform and enrich understanding of environmental issues which may be considered at a Constitutional Convention (should one occur) or with respect to proposals to amend the Constitution through the legislative process.

Integrating Community Assembly And Biodiversity To Better Understand Ecosystem Function: The Community Assembly And The Functioning Of Ecosystems (Cafe) Approach, Katherine H. Bannar‐Martin, Colin T. Kremer, S.K. Morgan Ernest, Mathew A. Leibold, Harald Auge, Jonathan Chase, Steven A.J. Declerck, Nico Eisenhauer, Stanley Harpole, Helmut Hillebrand, Forest Isbell, Thomas Koffel, Stefano Larsen, Anita Narwani, Jana S. Petermann, Christiane Roscher, Juliano Sarmento Cabral, Sarah R. Supp

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Skills And Knowledge For Data-Intensive Environmental Research, Stephanie E. Hampton, Matthew B. Jones, Leah A. Wasser, Mark P. Schildhauer, Sarah R. Supp

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Isolation And Characterization Of Acidobacterium Ailaaui Sp. Nov., A Novel Member Of Acidobacteria Subdivision 1, From A Geothermally Heated Hawaiian Microbial Mat, Marisa R. Myers, G. M. King

Faculty Publications

© 2016 IUMS. A novel member of Acidobacteria was isolated from a microbial mat growing on a geothermally heated dead tree trunk in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park (HI, USA). The rod-shaped, Gramnegative capsulated cells of strain PMMR2T were non-motile and catalase and oxidase negative. Growth occurred aerobically from 15 to 55 °C (optimum, 40 °C) and at pH values from 4.5 to 7.0 (optimum, 6.5). A limited range of sugars and organic acids supported growth. However, results of a genomic analysis suggested that various polysaccharides might be hydrolysed as carbon sources, and evidence for pectin degradation was observed in liquid …

Association Between 25-Hydroxyvitamin D And Intact Parathyroid Hormone Levels Across Latitude Among Adults With African Ancestry, Holly Kramer, Pauline Camacho, John Aloia, Amy Luke, Pascal Bovet, Jacob Plange Rhule, Terrence Forrester, Vickie Lambert, Regina Harders, Lara Dugas, Richard Cooper, Ramon Durazo-Arvizu

Faculty Publications

Objective: To compare levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) associated with a plateauing of intact parathyroid (iPTH) across latitudes among adults with African ancestry. Methods: This study included approximately 500 adults of African ancestry ages 25 to 45 years living in 4 sites: Chicago, Illinois (41°N), Jamaica (17°N), Ghana (6°N), and South Africa (34°S). Multivariate linear regression models, a nonlinear logistic growth curve model, and piecewise linear models with a single knot were fitted to estimate the 25OHD level associated with a plateauing of iPTH with adjustment for covariates. Goodness of fit was compared using computer intensive permutation tests. Results: Mean …

The Ecologist's Field Guide To Sequence-Based Identification Of Biodiversity, Simon Creer, Kristy Deiner, Serita D. Frey, Dorota Porazinska, Pierre Taberlet, W. Kelley Thomas, Caitlin Potter, Holly M. Bik

Faculty Publications

The past 100 years of ecological research has seen substantial progress in understanding the natural world and likely effects of change, whether natural or anthropogenic. Traditional ecological approaches underpin such advances, but would additionally benefit from recent developments in the sequence-based quantification of biodiversity from the fields of molecular ecology and genomics. By building on a long and rich history of molecular taxonomy and taking advantage of the new generation of DNA sequencing technologies, we are gaining previously impossible insights into alpha and beta diversity from all domains of life, irrespective of body size. While a number of complementary reviews …