Propagule size and structure, life history, and environmental conditions affect establishment success of an invasive species.

Population dynamics of species that are recently introduced into a new area, e.g., invasive species and species of conservation concern that are translocated to support global populations, are likely to be dominated by short-term, transient effects.

Modeling the distributions of tegu lizards in native and potential invasive ranges.

Invasive reptilian predators can have substantial impacts on native species and ecosystems. Tegu lizards are widely distributed in South America east of the Andes, and are popular in the international live animal trade. Two species are established in Florida (U.

Variation in Plant Defense Suppresses Herbivore Performance.

Defensive variability of crops and natural systems can alter herbivore communities and reduce herbivory [1, 2]. However, it is still unknown how defense variability translates into herbivore suppression. Nonlinear averaging and constraints in physiological tracking (also more generally called time-dependent effects) are the two mechanisms by which defense variability might impact herbivores [3, 4].

Structural changes within trophic levels are constrained by within-family assembly rules at lower trophic levels.

Historical contingency broadly refers to the proposition that even random historical events can constrain the ecological and evolutionary pathways of organisms and that of entire communities. Focusing on communities, these pathways can be reflected into specific structural changes within and across trophic levels - how species interact with and affect each other - which has important consequences for species coexistence. Using the registry of the last 2000 years of plant introductions and their novel herbivores encountered in Central Europe, we find that the order of arrival of closely related (but not of distantly related) plant species constrained the structural changes within the trophic level formed by herbivore species across the observation period.

A comparison of a novel time-based summary measure of dairy cow health against cumulative disease frequency.

Background: There is an increasing push for dairy production to be scientifically grounded and ethically responsible in the oversight of animal health and well-being. Addressing underlying challenges affecting the quality and length of productive life necessitates novel assessment and accountability metrics. Human medical epidemiologists developed the Disability-Adjusted Life Year metric as a summary measure of health addressing the complementary nature of disease and death.

Heterogeneous responses of temperate-zone amphibian populations to climate change complicates conservation planning.

The pervasive and unabated nature of global amphibian declines suggests common demographic responses to a given driver, and quantification of major drivers and responses could inform broad-scale conservation actions. We explored the influence of climate on demographic parameters (i.e.

Economic impacts of urban flooding in South Florida: Potential consequences of managing groundwater to prevent salt water intrusion.

High-value urban zones in coastal South Florida are considered particularly vulnerable to salt water intrusion into the groundwater-based, public water supplies caused by sea level rise (SLR) in combination with the low topography, existing high water table, and permeable karst substrate. Managers in the region closely regulate water depths in the extensive South Florida canal network to control closely coupled groundwater levels and thereby reduce the risk of saltwater intrusion into the karst aquifer. Potential SLR adaptation strategies developed by local managers suggest canal and groundwater levels may have to be increased over time to prevent the increased salt water intrusion risk to groundwater resources.

Environmental and behavioral changes may influence the exposure of an Arctic apex predator to pathogens and contaminants.

Recent decline of sea ice habitat has coincided with increased use of land by polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the southern Beaufort Sea (SB), which may alter the risks of exposure to pathogens and contaminants. We assayed blood samples from SB polar bears to assess prior exposure to the pathogens Brucella spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Coxiella burnetii, Francisella tularensis, and Neospora caninum, estimate concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and evaluate risk factors associated with exposure to pathogens and POPs.

Molecular Detection of Haemosporidian Parasites of Birds in Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) in Kuwait.

A molecular surveillance of haemosporidian parasites from 19,521 Culex pipiens (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) from Kuwait detected 2 pools with a unique Haemoproteus ( Haemoproteus) sp. (Haemospororida: Haemoproteidae) most likely parasitizing columbiform birds and probably representing contaminated blood meals or aborted infections in mosquitoes.

In vivo isotopic fractionation of zinc and biodynamic modeling yield insights into detoxification mechanisms in the mayfly Neocloeon triangulifer.

Diversity and biomass of aquatic insects decline in metal-rich aquatic environments, but the mechanisms by which insects from such environments cope with potentially toxic metal concentrations to survive through adulthood are less well understood. In this study, we measured Zn concentrations and isotopes in laboratory-reared diatoms and mayflies (Neocloeon triangulifer) from larval through adult stages. The larvae were fed Zn-enriched diatoms, and bio-concentrated Zn by a factor of 2.

Sylvatic Plague Vaccine Partially Protects Prairie Dogs (Cynomys spp.) in Field Trials.

Sylvatic plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, frequently afflicts prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), causing population declines and local extirpations. We tested the effectiveness of bait-delivered sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV) in prairie dog colonies on 29 paired placebo and treatment plots (1-59 ha in size; average 16.

Dairy cow disability weights.

Over the past 175 years, data related to human disease and death have progressed to a summary measure of population health, the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY). As dairies have intensified there has been no equivalent measure of the impact of disease on the productive life and well-being of animals. The development of a disease-adjusted metric requires a consistent set of disability weights that reflect the relative severity of important diseases.

Designing ecological climate change impact assessments to reflect key climatic drivers.

Identifying the climatic drivers of an ecological system is a key step in assessing its vulnerability to climate change. The climatic dimensions to which a species or system is most sensitive - such as means or extremes - can guide methodological decisions for projections of ecological impacts and vulnerabilities. However, scientific workflows for combining climate projections with ecological models have received little explicit attention.

Case Series of Turkey Farms from the H5N2 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak in the United States During 2015.

Between December 2014 and June 2015, an outbreak of H5N2 HPAI caused the largest and most expensive agriculture emergency in U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service history.

Debris Flow Occurrence and Sediment Persistence, Upper Colorado River Valley, CO.

Debris flow magnitudes and frequencies are compared across the Upper Colorado River valley to assess influences on debris flow occurrence and to evaluate valley geometry effects on sediment persistence. Dendrochronology, field mapping, and aerial photographic analysis are used to evaluate whether a 19th century earthen, water-conveyance ditch has altered the regime of debris flow occurrence in the Colorado River headwaters. Identifying any shifts in disturbance processes or changes in magnitudes and frequencies of occurrence is fundamental to establishing the historical range of variability (HRV) at the site.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Clostridium difficile isolated from food animals on farms.

Clostridium difficile is commonly associated with a spectrum of disease in humans referred to as C. difficile-associated disease (CDAD) and use of antimicrobials is considered a risk factor for development of disease in humans. C.

Integrating subsistence practice and species distribution modeling: assessing invasive elodea's potential impact on Native Alaskan subsistence of Chinook salmon and whitefish.

Alaska has one of the most rapidly changing climates on earth and is experiencing an accelerated rate of human disturbance, including resource extraction and transportation infrastructure development. Combined, these factors increase the state's vulnerability to biological invasion, which can have acute negative impacts on ecological integrity and subsistence practices. Of growing concern is the spread of Alaska's first documented freshwater aquatic invasive plant Elodea spp.

Area contact networks and the spatio-temporal spread of infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) in Chile.

Area management, the coordination of production and biosecurity practices across neighboring farms, is an important disease control strategy in aquaculture. Area management in aquaculture escalated in prominence in response to outbreaks of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) internationally. Successes in disease control have been attributed to the separation achieved through area-level synchronized stocking, fallowing, movement restrictions, and fomite or pest control.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus introduction into the United States: Root cause investigation.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) was identified in the United States in the spring of 2013, and professionals from many parts of the U.S. swine industry responded rapidly to understand and control the newly emerging disease.

Habitat availability and gene flow influence diverging local population trajectories under scenarios of climate change: a place-based approach.

Ecological niche theory holds that species distributions are shaped by a large and complex suite of interacting factors. Species distribution models (SDMs) are increasingly used to describe species' niches and predict the effects of future environmental change, including climate change. Currently, SDMs often fail to capture the complexity of species' niches, resulting in predictions that are generally limited to climate-occupancy interactions.

Exposure of native bees foraging in an agricultural landscape to current-use pesticides.

The awareness of insects as pollinators and indicators of environmental quality has grown in recent years, partially in response to declines in honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations. While most pesticide research has focused on honey bees, there has been less work on native bee populations. To determine the exposure of native bees to pesticides, bees were collected from an existing research area in northeastern Colorado in both grasslands (2013-2014) and wheat fields (2014).

A cooperative approach to animal disease response activities: Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and vvIBD in California poultry.

Very virulent infectious bursal disease virus (vvIBDv) was first detected in the United States at the end of 2008. Since its detection, Federal and State animal health officials, the poultry industry and the research/academic community have led response activities through a collaborative effort. By June 2011, much still remained unknown regarding the basic epidemiology and ecology of vvIBD in California, although there were a number of potential activities to fill this information gap.