Evidence of Extensive Home Range Sharing Among Mother-Daughter Bobcat Pairs in the Wildland-Urban Interface of the Tucson Mountains.

Urbanization impacts the structure and viability of wildlife populations. Some habitat generalists, such as bobcats (Lynx rufus), maintain populations at the intersection of wild and urban habitats (wildland urban interface, WUI), but impacts of urbanization on bobcat social structure are not well understood. Although commonly thought to establish exclusive home ranges among females, instances of mother-daughter home range sharing have been documented.

Prion Gene Sequencing in Florida Panthers (Puma concolor coryi) Suggests No Differential Susceptibility to Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, or prion disease, poses a serious threat to wildlife; however, the susceptibility of apex predators is still being assessed. We investigated variation in the prion protein gene in Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) and found that admixture from Central American pumas probably introduced a novel, albeit benign, prion allele.

The dual timescales of gait adaptation: initial stability adjustments followed by subsequent energetic cost adjustments.

Gait adaptation during bipedal walking allows people to adjust their walking patterns to maintain balance, avoid obstacles and avoid injury. Adaptation involves complex processes that function to maintain stability and reduce energy expenditure. However, the processes that influence walking patterns during different points in the adaptation period remain to be investigated.

Interplay of race and neighborhood deprivation on resting and ambulatory blood pressure in young adults.

Nighttime blood pressure (BP) and BP dipping (daytime-nighttime BP) are prognostic for cardiovascular disease. When compared with other racial/ethnic groups, Black Americans exhibit elevated nighttime BP and attenuated BP dipping. Neighborhood deprivation may contribute to disparities in cardiovascular health, but its effects on resting and ambulatory BP patterns in young adults are unclear.

Integration of Indigenous Research Methodologies, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and molecular scatology in an assessment of mesocarnivore presence, diet and habitat use on Yurok Ancestral Lands.

Partnerships between Tribes and researchers in wildlife monitoring and application of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) have taken a variety of forms, and some scholars have noted a need for culturally sensitive approaches. Guided by Indigenous Research Methodologies, this research is coupled with Yurok TEK, or hlkelonah 'ue-megetohl ('to take care of the earth'), enabling an applied, culturally sensitive approach in partnership with the Yurok Tribe. We present results from a molecular scatology study of wildlife within the ancestral territory of the Yurok Tribe.

Surgically induced aortic coarctation in a neonatal porcine model allows for longitudinal assessment of cardiovascular changes.

Noncritical aortic coarctation (COA) typically presents beyond early childhood with hypertension. Correction of COA does not ensure a return to normal cardiovascular health, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. Therefore, we developed a porcine COA model to study the secondary cardiovascular changes.

Effects of hunting on mating, relatedness, and genetic diversity in a puma population.

Hunting mortality can affect population abundance, demography, patterns of dispersal and philopatry, breeding, and genetic diversity. We investigated the effects of hunting on the reproduction and genetic diversity in a puma population in western Colorado, USA. We genotyped over 11,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), using double-digest, restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) in 291 tissue samples collected as part of a study on the effects of hunting on puma population abundance and demography in Colorado from 2004 to 2014.

Adjusting for muscle strength and body size attenuates sex differences in the exercise pressor reflex in young adults.

Females typically exhibit lower blood pressure (BP) during exercise than males. However, recent findings indicate that adjusting for maximal strength attenuates sex differences in BP during isometric handgrip (HG) exercise and postexercise ischemia (PEI; metaboreflex isolation). In addition, body size is associated with HG strength but its contribution to sex differences in exercising BP is less appreciated.

Genomic insights into isolation of the threatened Florida crested caracara (Caracara plancus).

We conducted a population genomic study of the crested caracara (Caracara plancus) using samples (n = 290) collected from individuals in Florida, Texas, and Arizona, United States. Crested caracaras are non-migratory raptors ranging from the southern tip of South America to the southern United States, including a federally protected relict population in Florida long thought to have been isolated since the last ice age. Our objectives were to evaluate genetic diversity and population structure of Florida's apparently isolated population and to evaluate taxonomic relationships of crested caracaras at the northern edge of their range.

Interplay of Race and Neighborhood Deprivation on Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Young Adults.

Background: Ambulatory blood pressure () monitoring measures nighttime BP and BP dipping, which are superior to in-clinic BP for predicting cardiovascular disease (), the leading cause of death in America. Compared with other racial/ethnic groups, Black Americans exhibit elevated nighttime BP and attenuated BP dipping, including in young adulthood. Social determinants of health contribute to disparities in CVD risk, but the contribution of neighborhood deprivation on nighttime BP is unclear.

Identification of a novel polyomavirus in wild Sonoran Desert rodents of the family Heteromyidae.

Rodents are the largest and most diverse group of mammals. Covering a wide range of structural and functional adaptations, rodents successfully occupy virtually every terrestrial habitat, and they are often found in close association with humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Although a significant amount of research has focused on rodents' prominence as known reservoirs of zoonotic viruses, there has been less emphasis on the viral ecology of rodents in general.

Scat as a source of DNA for population monitoring.

Sampling fecal droppings (scat) to genetically identify individual animals is an established method for monitoring mammal populations and could be highly useful for monitoring reptile populations. Whereas existing protocols for obtaining DNA from reptile scat focus on analyses of whole, fresh scat deposited during animal handling, the collection of scat naturally deposited by reptiles in situ, as required for non-invasive population monitoring, requires protocols to extract highly degraded DNA. Using surface swabs from such scats can reduce PCR inhibition and increase genotyping success.

Self-recorded heart rate variability profiles are associated with health and lifestyle markers in young adults.

Purpose: To quantify associations between self-recorded heart rate variability (HRV) profiles and various health and lifestyle markers in young adults.

Methods: Otherwise healthy volunteers (n = 40, 50% male) recorded 60-s, post-waking HRV with a cost-free mobile application in supine and standing positions for 7 days. The 7-day average and coefficient of variation (CV, reflects daily fluctuation) for the mean RR interval and root mean square of successive differences (LnRMSSD) were assessed.

Give and take: Effects of genetic admixture on mutation load in endangered Florida panthers.

Genetic admixture is a biological event inherent to genetic rescue programs aimed at the long-term conservation of endangered wildlife. Although the success of such programs can be measured by the increase in genetic diversity and fitness of subsequent admixed individuals, predictions supporting admixture costs to fitness due to the introduction of novel deleterious alleles are necessary. Here, we analyzed nonsynonymous variation from conserved genes to quantify and compare levels of mutation load (i.

Fan Cooling Improves Submaximal Exercise Capacity in an Indoor Thermoneutral Environment.

We compared physiological and perceptual responses to submaximal, moderate-vigorous, heart rate-based cycle ergometry with and without a fan. Sixteen recreationally active adults (25 ± 3 years; 8 men and 8 women) participated in the study. After an initial visit to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, each participant performed two 40-min training sessions on a cycle ergometer, either with or without a fan (~4 m/s), while workload was continually adjusted to elicit and maintain 70% of heart rate reserve.

Physical fitness, but not physical activity, is associated with mental health in apparently healthy young adults.

Background: The prevalence of mental health disorders is rising globally. Despite the popularity of exercise as a strategy to improve mental health in individuals with anxiety or depression, there is a paucity of literature on this topic in apparently healthy young individuals who are free from mental illness.

Methods: We characterized relationships between actigraphy-derived physical activity levels and cardiorespiratory fitness (V̇O2max; via maximal graded exercise testing), with mental health assessed using psychometric questionnaires (POMS and PSS) in apparently healthy young adults (26±4.

Acute Physiological Responses to Moderate-Intensity Continuous, High-Intensity Interval, and Variable-Intensity Intermittent Exercise.

This study examined acute physiological responses to moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE), variable-intensity intermittent exercise (VIIE), and high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) protocol, matched for total work output in healthy adults (n = 8, age = 25.1 ± 6.0 yrs).

CARMIL3 is important for cell migration and morphogenesis during early development in zebrafish.

Cell migration is important during early animal embryogenesis. Cell migration and cell shape are controlled by actin assembly and dynamics, which depend on capping proteins, including the barbed-end heterodimeric actin capping protein (CP). CP activity can be regulated by capping-protein-interacting (CPI) motif proteins, including CARMIL (capping protein Arp2/3 myosin-I linker) family proteins.

Complex evolutionary history of felid anelloviruses.

Anellovirus infections are highly prevalent in mammals, however, prior to this study only a handful of anellovirus genomes had been identified in members of the Felidae family. Here we characterise anelloviruses in pumas (Puma concolor), bobcats (Lynx rufus), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), caracals (Caracal caracal) and domestic cats (Felis catus). The complete anellovirus genomes (n = 220) recovered from 149 individuals were diverse.

Agriculture creates subtle genetic structure among migratory and nonmigratory populations of burrowing owls throughout North America.

Population structure across a species distribution primarily reflects historical, ecological, and evolutionary processes. However, large-scale contemporaneous changes in land use have the potential to create changes in habitat quality and thereby cause changes in gene flow, population structure, and distributions. As such, land-use changes in one portion of a species range may explain declines in other portions of their range.