A new long-read mitochondrial-genome protocol (PacBio HiFi) for haemosporidian parasites: a tool for population and biodiversity studies.

Background: Studies on haemosporidian diversity, including origin of human malaria parasites, malaria's zoonotic dynamic, and regional biodiversity patterns, have used target gene approaches. However, current methods have a trade-off between scalability and data quality. Here, a long-read Next-Generation Sequencing protocol using PacBio HiFi is presented.

Factors and costs associated with removal of a newly established population of invasive wild pigs in Northern U.S.

The human-mediated spread of exotic and invasive species often leads to unintentional and harmful consequences. Invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are one such species that have been repeatedly translocated throughout the United States and cause extensive damage to natural ecosystems, threatened and endangered species, agricultural resources, and private lands. In 2005, a newly established population of wild pigs was confirmed in Fulton County, Illinois, U.

Locating and eliminating feral swine from a large area of fragmented mixed forest and agriculture habitats in north-central USA.

Illinois is one of the US states where elimination of feral swine (Sus scrofa) was determined practical, as only a few isolated populations were established. A particularly important step towards feral swine elimination from Illinois was to eliminate the population in Fulton County. We describe the approaches applied to systematically detect, locate, and eliminate feral swine in a successful county-wide elimination.

Benefits to rare plants and highway safety from annual population reductions of a "native invader," white-tailed deer, in a Chicago-area woodland.

Overabundant white-tailed deer are one of the most serious threats to woodland plant communities in the Chicago area. Moreover, the abundant deer in a highly populated area causes economic harm and poses hazards to human safety through collisions with vehicles. The artificial conditions causing the overabundance and resulting consequences qualify the white-tailed deer in the Chicago area to be considered as "native invaders".

Egg oiling to reduce hatch-year ring-billed gull numbers on Chicago's beaches during swim season and water quality test results.

A burgeoning ring-billed gull population along Chicago's Lake Michigan beaches contributes to degraded water quality through fecal contamination. Egg oiling was conducted at Chicago's gull colonies to reduce production and the influx of hatch-year (HY) gulls using Chicago's beaches, with a second, long-term objective of eventually reducing adult gull numbers through attrition. We also investigated swim season water quality trends through the course of this work.