Molecular and niche modeling approaches to identify potential amplifying hosts for an emerging tick-borne pathogen, Rickettsia rickettsii subsp. californica, the causative agent of Pacific Coast tick fever.

Pacific Coast tick fever is a recently described zoonotic disease in California caused by a spotted fever group rickettsia, Rickettsia rickettsii subsp. californica (formerly Rickettsia 364D) and transmitted by the Pacific Coast tick, Dermacentor occidentalis. Like many emerging vector-borne diseases, knowledge regarding the transmission cycle, contribution from potential amplifying hosts, and geographic distribution of R.

Microreserves are an important tool for amphibian conservation.

Initiatives to protect 30% of Earth by 2030 prompt evaluation of how to efficiently target shortcomings in the global protected area (PA) network. Focusing on amphibians, the most vulnerable vertebrate class, we illustrate the conservation value of microreserves, a term we employ here to refer to reserves of <10 km. We report that the network continues to under-represent threatened amphibians and that, despite this clear shortcoming in land-based conservation, the creation of PAs protecting amphibians slowed after 2010.

Arctos: Community-driven innovations for managing natural and cultural history collections.

More than tools for managing physical and digital objects, museum collection management systems (CMS) serve as platforms for structuring, integrating, and making accessible the rich data embodied by natural history collections. Here we describe Arctos, a scalable community solution for managing and publishing global biological, geological, and cultural collections data for research and education. Specific goals are to: (1) Describe the core features and implementation of Arctos for a broad audience with respect to the biodiversity informatics principles that enable high quality research; (2) Highlight the unique aspects of Arctos; (3) Illustrate Arctos as a model for supporting and enhancing the Digital Extended Specimen concept; and (4) Emphasize the role of the Arctos community for improving data discovery and enabling cross-disciplinary, integrative studies within a sustainable governance model.

Species Delimitation, Phylogenomics, and Biogeography of Sulawesi Flying Lizards: A Diversification History Complicated by Ancient Hybridization, Cryptic Species, and Arrested Speciation.

The biota of Sulawesi is noted for its high degree of endemism and for its substantial levels of in situ biological diversification. While the island's long period of isolation and dynamic tectonic history have been implicated as drivers of the regional diversification, this has rarely been tested in the context of an explicit geological framework. Here, we provide a tectonically informed biogeographical framework that we use to explore the diversification history of Sulawesi flying lizards (the Draco lineatus Group), a radiation that is endemic to Sulawesi and its surrounding islands.

Deep ecomorphological and genetic divergence in Steller's Jays (, Aves: Corvidae).

The relationship between ecology and morphology is a cornerstone of evolutionary biology, and quantifying variation across environments can shed light on processes that give rise to biodiversity. Three morphotypes of the Steller's Jay () occupy different ecoregions in western North America, which vary in climate and landcover. These morphotypes (Coastal, Interior, Rocky Mountain) differ in size, plumage coloration, and head pattern.

A solution to the challenges of interdisciplinary aggregation and use of specimen-level trait data.

Understanding variation of traits within and among species through time and across space is central to many questions in biology. Many resources assemble species-level trait data, but the data and metadata underlying those trait measurements are often not reported. Here, we introduce FuTRES (Functional Trait Resource for Environmental Studies; pronounced few-tress), an online datastore and community resource for individual-level trait reporting that utilizes a semantic framework.

Bridging the Research Gap between Live Collections in Zoos and Preserved Collections in Natural History Museums.

Zoos and natural history museums are both collections-based institutions with important missions in biodiversity research and education. Animals in zoos are a repository and living record of the world's biodiversity, whereas natural history museums are a permanent historical record of snapshots of biodiversity in time. Surprisingly, despite significant overlap in institutional missions, formal partnerships between these institution types are infrequent.

Social Behavior, Community Composition, Pathogen Strain, and Host Symbionts Influence Fungal Disease Dynamics in Salamanders.

The emerging fungal pathogen, (), which can cause a fatal disease called chytridiomycosis, is implicated in the collapse of hundreds of host amphibian species. We describe chytridiomycosis dynamics in two co-occurring terrestrial salamander species, the Santa Lucia Mountains slender salamander, , and the arboreal salamander, . We (1) conduct a retrospective -infection survey of specimens collected over the last century, (2) estimate present-day infections in wild populations, (3) use generalized linear models (GLM) to identify biotic and abiotic correlates of infection risk, (4) investigate susceptibility of hosts exposed to in laboratory trials, and (5) examine the ability of host skin bacteria to inhibit in culture.

Tracking, Synthesizing, and Sharing Global Data at AmphibianDisease.org.

Emerging infectious diseases have been especially devastating to amphibians, the most endangered class of vertebrates. For amphibians, the greatest disease threat is chytridiomycosis, caused by one of two chytridiomycete fungal pathogens and (). Research over the last two decades has shown that susceptibility to this disease varies greatly with respect to a suite of host and pathogen factors such as phylogeny, geography (including abiotic factors), host community composition, and historical exposure to pathogens; yet, despite a growing body of research, a comprehensive understanding of global chytridiomycosis incidence remains elusive.

Resting Energy Expenditure Is Elevated in Asthma.

Asthma physiology affects respiratory function and inflammation, factors that may contribute to elevated resting energy expenditure (REE) and altered body composition. We hypothesized that asthma would present with elevated REE compared to weight-matched healthy controls. Adults with asthma ( = 41) and healthy controls ( = 20) underwent indirect calorimetry to measure REE, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) to measure body composition, and 3-day diet records.

Comment on "Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity".

Scheele (Reports, 29 March 2019, p. 1459) bring needed attention to the effects of amphibian infectious disease. However, the data and methods implicating the disease chytridiomycosis in 501 amphibian species declines are deficient.

Pathogen invasion history elucidates contemporary host pathogen dynamics.

Amphibians, the most threatened group of vertebrates, are seen as indicators of the sixth mass extinction on earth. Thousands of species are threatened with extinction and many have been affected by an emerging infectious disease, chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). However, amphibians exhibit different responses to the pathogen, such as survival and population persistence with infection, or mortality of individuals and complete population collapse after pathogen invasion.

Phylogenetic and Trait-Based Prediction of Extinction Risk for Data-Deficient Amphibians.

Amphibians are among the most highly threatened lineages, with at least 2,000 species estimated to be in danger of extinction [1, 2]. Alarmingly, another ∼2,200 species (∼25% of all ∼7,900 known species) are data deficient or not evaluated (hereinafter termed data deficient) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) [1]. Without an estimate of their status, data-deficient species are usually overlooked in conservation planning and resource allocation [3].

Amphibians.

Since the dawn of history, amphibians have been a part of human culture. Western Europeans built fires for cooking and warmth, adding large logs as needed. What occasionally emerged was astounding: large black animals (which had found shelter in the logs) with four legs and a tail, jet black with striking bright yellow spots.

Introduced bullfrog facilitates pathogen invasion in the western United States.

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a causal agent of the amphibian fungal skin disease chytridiomycosis, has been implicated in the decline and extinction of over 200 species worldwide since the 1970s. Despite almost two decades of research, the history of Bd and its global spread is not well understood. However, the spread of the Global Panzootic Lineage of Bd (Bd-GPL), the lineage associated with amphibian die-offs, has been linked with the American bullfrog (Rana [Aqurana] catesbeiana) and global trade.

Mutualism in museums: A model for engaging undergraduates in biodiversity science.

Museums have an untapped potential to engage students in hands-on learning. Here, we describe the development of a tiered museum-based program at the University of California, Berkeley as a model for engaging undergraduates in biodiversity science. This decade-long effort to increase student participation in collections demonstrates the mutual benefits of undergraduate involvement.

Invasion of the Fungal Pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on California Islands.

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), an amphibian fungal pathogen, has infected >500 species and caused extinctions or declines in >200 species worldwide. Despite over a decade of research, little is known about its invasion biology. To better understand this, we conducted a museum specimen survey (1910-1997) of Bd in amphibians on 11 California islands and found a pattern consistent with the emergence of Bd epizootics on the mainland, suggesting that geographic isolation did not prevent Bd invasion.

Spatially heterogeneous impact of climate change on small mammals of montane California.

Resurveys of historical collecting localities have revealed range shifts, primarily leading edge expansions, which have been attributed to global warming. However, there have been few spatially replicated community-scale resurveys testing whether species' responses are spatially consistent. Here we repeated early twentieth century surveys of small mammals along elevational gradients in northern, central and southern regions of montane California.

The founding charter of the Genomic Observatories Network.

The co-authors of this paper hereby state their intention to work together to launch the Genomic Observatories Network (GOs Network) for which this document will serve as its Founding Charter. We define a Genomic Observatory as an ecosystem and/or site subject to long-term scientific research, including (but not limited to) the sustained study of genomic biodiversity from single-celled microbes to multicellular organisms.An international group of 64 scientists first published the call for a global network of Genomic Observatories in January 2012.

Effectiveness of a national approach to prescribing education for multiple disciplines.

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of a national approach to prescribing education on health professional students' prescribing and therapeutics knowledge, across multiple disciplines.

Methods: In a university examination setting, 83 medical, 40 pharmacy and 13 nurse practitioner students from three different universities completed a set of multiple choice questions (MCQs) before and after completing an online module from the National Prescribing Curriculum (NPC). To minimize overestimation of knowledge, students had to indicate the level of certainty for each answer on a three-point scale.

Quantifying ecological, morphological, and genetic variation to delimit species in the coast horned lizard species complex (Phrynosoma).

Lineage separation and divergence form a temporally extended process whereby populations may diverge genetically, morphologically, or ecologically, and these contingent properties of species provide the operational criteria necessary for species delimitation. We inferred the historical process of lineage formation in the coast horned lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum) species complex by evaluating a diversity of operational species criteria, including divergence in mtDNA (98 specimens; 2,781 bp) and nuclear loci (RAG-1, 1,054 bp; BDNF 529 bp), ecological niches (11 bioclimatic variables; 285 unique localities), and cranial horn shapes (493 specimens; 16 landmarks). A phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA recovers 5 phylogeographic groups arranged latitudinally along the Baja California Peninsula and in California.

Consumer medication information in the United States, Europe, and Australia: a comparative evaluation.

Objective: To evaluate the quality of patient information leaflets provided with dispensed medications in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.

Design: Quantitative survey by an expert panel.

Setting: United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.

Mitochondrial introgression and incomplete lineage sorting through space and time: phylogenetics of crotaphytid lizards.

We investigate the roles of mitochondrial introgression and incomplete lineage sorting during the phylogenetic history of crotaphytid lizards. Our Bayesian phylogenetic estimate for Crotaphytidae is based on analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence data for 408 individuals representing the 12 extant species of Crotaphytus and Gambelia. The mitochondrial phylogeny disagrees in several respects with a previously published morphological tree, as well as with conventional species designations, and we conclude that some of this disagreement stems from hybridization-mediated mitochondrial introgression, as well as from incomplete lineage sorting.