Preparing for the Emergence of White Nose Syndrome in Iowa

Since its discovery in 2006, White Nose Syndrome (WNS) has caused the death of millions of bats and infected more than 100 bat hibernacula throughout at least 22 states and 5 Canadian provinces. This disease, caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, infests caves and infects the exposed dermal tissue of hibernating bats causing frequent periods of arousal, the depletion of critical fat stores, and death. As it spreads westward, WNS has become a threat to the agricultural services bats provide through the predation of pest insects to communities throughout the Midwest, including Iowa. The first step in making sure we are prepared to address this threat is to determine the current status of Iowa bat populations. In order to do this, we designed an acoustic monitoring study to record bat calls and the locations of these calls along a series of drive transects in eight counties in Iowa during the summer of 2013. In this talk, we will a) discuss the methodology associated with acoustic monitoring to document bat activity and identify bat species, b) describe the development of the drive-transect surveys that we used to monitor Iowa bats, and c) discuss our results. The data collected from this study will serve as a foundation for the future monitoring of Iowa bat populations and to monitor the recovery of affected populations

Minimum Tillage Corn Trial

Minimum tillage practices have tremendous potential to reduce expenses and potential negative environmental effects caused by intensive cropping operations. Conventional tillage practices require heavy machinery to work and groom the soil surface in preparation for the planter. The immediate advantage of reduced tillage for the farm operator is less fuel expense, equipment, time, and labor required. It’s also clear that intensive tillage potentially increases nutrient and soil losses to our surface waterways. By turning the soil and burying surface residue, more soil particles are likely to detach from the soil surface and run off from agricultural fields. Reducing the amount and intensity of tillage can help build soil structure and reduce soil erosion

Minimum Tillage Corn Trial

Minimum tillage practices have significant potential to reduce expenses and the potential negative environmental effects caused by intensive tillage operations. Conventional tillage practices require heavy machinery to work and groom the soil surface in preparation for the planter. The immediate advantage of reduced tillage for the farm operator is less fuel expense, equipment, time, and labor required. It’s also clear that intensive tillage potentially increases nutrient and soil losses to our surface waterways. By turning the soil and burying surface residue, more soil particles are likely to detach from the soil surface and increase the potential for run off from agricultural fields. Reducing the amount and intensity of tillage can help build soil structure and reduce soil erosion

Invasive Wild pigs as primary nest predators for Wild turkeys

Depredation of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) nests is a leading cause of reduced recruitment for the recovering and iconic game species. invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are known to depredate nests, and have been expanding throughout the distributed range of wild turkeys in north America. We sought to gain better insight on the magnitude of wild pigs depredating wild turkey nests. We constructed simulated wild turkey nests throughout the home ranges of 20 GPS-collared wild pigs to evaluate nest depredation relative to three periods within the nesting season (i.e., early, peak, and late) and two nest densities (moderate = 12.5-25 nests/km2, high = 25-50 nests/km2) in south-central Texas, USA during March–June 2016. Overall, the estimated probability of nest depredation by wild pigs was 0.3, equivalent to native species of nest predators in the study area (e.g., gray fox [Urocyon cinereoargenteus], raccoon [Procyon lotor], and coyote [Canis latrans]). female wild pigs exhibited a constant rate of depredation regardless of nesting period or density of nests. However, male wild pigs increased their rate of depredation in areas with higher nest densities. Management efforts should remove wild pigs to reduce nest failure in wild turkey populations especially where recruitment is low

Interactions between anionic radionuclides (129I, 79Se and 99Tc) and soil geocolloids

The aim of this work was to investigate the interactions of anionic radionuclides 129I, 77Se (as a proxy for 79Se) and 99Tc with soil geocolloids under a range of conditions. These anionic fission products are of specific concern to policy makers regarding human and environmental risk assessments. Previous research has demonstrated strong links between soil organic matter (SOM) content and reduced mobility of these radionuclides. Negatively charged humic substances (HS), such as humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA), may constitute 80% of organic matter and the mechanisms that allow anionic radionuclide to interaction with these HSs are not well understood. In the case of all three radionuclides, speciation plays a significant role in controlling their environmental mobility, therefore HPLC and SEC coupled to ICP-MS was used to monitor the speciation changes as the isotopes were progressively incorporated into HA. X-ray absorption spectroscopy was also employed in order to establish the solid phase speciation of Se after reaction with soil geocolloids. Surface charge development of the HA significantly affected reaction with iodate (129IO3-) and iodide (129I-). Iodide added to HA systems demonstrated slow oxidation and formation of organically bound iodine (Org-129I) predominantly at higher pH (pH 6). Conversely IO3-, was rapidly transformed to form both I- and Org-I. As pH decreased, the rate of this reduction reaction increased. Increasing HA concentration also increased the rate of IO3- reduction and formation of Org-I. Previous research has suggested that the most likely mechanism is IO3- reduction to I2 or HOI which then binds with phenolic groups on OM forming Org-I species. However, IO3- was observed to rapidly bind to HA forming Org-I species with no initial evidence of I- formation; I- concentration then increased over time as Org-I decreased. Where Fe2+/Fe3+ was present increased reduction of IO3- to I- was observed, mediated by association with HA, resulting in less Org-I formation overall. Instantaneous reaction of I- with HA was observed in the presence of Fe2+/Fe3+, with bonding via cation bridging. Some I- was subsequently re-released as I- likely due to ongoing Fe hydrolysis. Modelling of the systems alone was successful and will assist the improvement of whole soil assemblage models. Selenite (Se(IV)) reaction with HA was most rapid at low pH, with minimal/no reduction occurring at > pH 6. Reduction of selenate (Se(VI)) also occurred but this was less than for Se(IV), at low pH. No formation of Se(VI) from Se(IV) was observed, suggesting no oxidation took place, however some formation of Se(IV) from Se(VI ) was observed, also the formation of an unknown Se species suspected to be organic in nature. Humic acid concentration had no significant effect on the rate of Se(IV) or Se(VI) reduction, suggesting that HA itself was not responsible for the reduction. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) demonstrated the potential for significant reduction to Se(0) at pH 4 and bonding through a Se-O-C chain. The role of microbial communities on Se(IV) and Se(VI) reduction in the HA systems was demonstrated through the use of soil inoculum and glucose additions in sterile and non-sterile systems. No reduction of Se(IV) or Se(VI) and bonding to HA was observed in filter and -irradiation systems. Additions of inoculum and glucose increased the rate of reduction. Additions of Fe2+ did not increase reduction of Se(IV) or Se(VI) when compared to non-sterile HA systems, however XAS analysis demonstrated formation of HA-Fe cation bridges. No reaction of pertechnetate (99Tc(VII)) with HA was observed in these aerobic systems. An unknown Tc species was occasionally observed (<0.005 µ L-1) and it is possible that this is an organic-Tc species. Significant incorporation of Tc into the solid phase was observed in aerobic soils, with most Tc(VII) being retained in soils with high OM contents and low pH. The mechanisms considered here build upon the basic processes considered in current biosphere models for I and Se. Assemblage models must be used in order to reliably model the interactions of elements within soils due to the complexity of the systems. In order to understand the long-term radiological risks associated with geological repositories, the fine-scale mechanisms must be understood geochemically across a range of different soil types and conditions. The effect of I and Se speciation on bioavailability in soils determines both the potential transfer of radioactive isotopes to the food chain from GDF’s and from aerial sources of contamination. Alongside this, the work also has significant implications for advising on cost-effect fertiliser application methods for both I and Se, in order to tackle nutrient deficiencies worldwide

Normal sleep bouts are not essential for C. elegans survival and FoxO is important for compensatory changes in sleep

Additional file 6: Decreased lag-2 function does not slow vulval development. The progeny of wild type and lag-2(q420) animals raised at 25.5 °C were selected at the L4 stage, prior to lethargus entry. Vulval eversion was scored after 3 h; the percentage of animals completing vulval eversion was recorded. Significance was assessed by student’s two-tailed t-test p value < 0.5; error bars represents SEM from 3 trials. Total number of animals: wild type n = 45 and lag-2(q420) n = 42

Small Projects Rapid Integration and Test Environment (SPRITE): Application for Increasing Robutness

Over the past few years interest in the development and use of small satellites has rapidly gained momentum with universities, commercial, and government organizations. In a few years we may see networked clusters of dozens or even hundreds of small, cheap, easily replaceable satellites working together in place of the large, expensive and difficult-to-replace satellites now in orbit. Standards based satellite buses and deployment mechanisms, such as the CubeSat and Poly Pico-satellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD), have stimulated growth in this area. The use of small satellites is also proving to be a cost effective capability in many areas traditionally dominated by large satellites, though many challenges remain. Currently many of these small satellites undergo very little testing prior to flight. As these small satellites move from technology demonstration and student projects toward more complex operational assets, it is expected that the standards for verification and validation will increase

Interactions between anionic radionuclides (129I, 79Se and 99Tc) and soil geocolloids

The aim of this work was to investigate the interactions of anionic radionuclides 129I, 77Se (as a proxy for 79Se) and 99Tc with soil geocolloids under a range of conditions. These anionic fission products are of specific concern to policy makers regarding human and environmental risk assessments. Previous research has demonstrated strong links between soil organic matter (SOM) content and reduced mobility of these radionuclides. Negatively charged humic substances (HS), such as humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA), may constitute 80% of organic matter and the mechanisms that allow anionic radionuclide to interaction with these HSs are not well understood. In the case of all three radionuclides, speciation plays a significant role in controlling their environmental mobility, therefore HPLC and SEC coupled to ICP-MS was used to monitor the speciation changes as the isotopes were progressively incorporated into HA. X-ray absorption spectroscopy was also employed in order to establish the solid phase speciation of Se after reaction with soil geocolloids. Surface charge development of the HA significantly affected reaction with iodate (129IO3-) and iodide (129I-). Iodide added to HA systems demonstrated slow oxidation and formation of organically bound iodine (Org-129I) predominantly at higher pH (pH 6). Conversely IO3-, was rapidly transformed to form both I- and Org-I. As pH decreased, the rate of this reduction reaction increased. Increasing HA concentration also increased the rate of IO3- reduction and formation of Org-I. Previous research has suggested that the most likely mechanism is IO3- reduction to I2 or HOI which then binds with phenolic groups on OM forming Org-I species. However, IO3- was observed to rapidly bind to HA forming Org-I species with no initial evidence of I- formation; I- concentration then increased over time as Org-I decreased. Where Fe2+/Fe3+ was present increased reduction of IO3- to I- was observed, mediated by association with HA, resulting in less Org-I formation overall. Instantaneous reaction of I- with HA was observed in the presence of Fe2+/Fe3+, with bonding via cation bridging. Some I- was subsequently re-released as I- likely due to ongoing Fe hydrolysis. Modelling of the systems alone was successful and will assist the improvement of whole soil assemblage models. Selenite (Se(IV)) reaction with HA was most rapid at low pH, with minimal/no reduction occurring at > pH 6. Reduction of selenate (Se(VI)) also occurred but this was less than for Se(IV), at low pH. No formation of Se(VI) from Se(IV) was observed, suggesting no oxidation took place, however some formation of Se(IV) from Se(VI ) was observed, also the formation of an unknown Se species suspected to be organic in nature. Humic acid concentration had no significant effect on the rate of Se(IV) or Se(VI) reduction, suggesting that HA itself was not responsible for the reduction. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) demonstrated the potential for significant reduction to Se(0) at pH 4 and bonding through a Se-O-C chain. The role of microbial communities on Se(IV) and Se(VI) reduction in the HA systems was demonstrated through the use of soil inoculum and glucose additions in sterile and non-sterile systems. No reduction of Se(IV) or Se(VI) and bonding to HA was observed in filter and -irradiation systems. Additions of inoculum and glucose increased the rate of reduction. Additions of Fe2+ did not increase reduction of Se(IV) or Se(VI) when compared to non-sterile HA systems, however XAS analysis demonstrated formation of HA-Fe cation bridges. No reaction of pertechnetate (99Tc(VII)) with HA was observed in these aerobic systems. An unknown Tc species was occasionally observed (<0.005 µ L-1) and it is possible that this is an organic-Tc species. Significant incorporation of Tc into the solid phase was observed in aerobic soils, with most Tc(VII) being retained in soils with high OM contents and low pH. The mechanisms considered here build upon the basic processes considered in current biosphere models for I and Se. Assemblage models must be used in order to reliably model the interactions of elements within soils due to the complexity of the systems. In order to understand the long-term radiological risks associated with geological repositories, the fine-scale mechanisms must be understood geochemically across a range of different soil types and conditions. The effect of I and Se speciation on bioavailability in soils determines both the potential transfer of radioactive isotopes to the food chain from GDF’s and from aerial sources of contamination. Alongside this, the work also has significant implications for advising on cost-effect fertiliser application methods for both I and Se, in order to tackle nutrient deficiencies worldwide