Analysis of Response Calls to Diverse Ground Predators from Three Geographically Separate Florida Scrub-Jay (\u3ci\u3eAphelocoma coerulescens\u3c/i\u3e) Subpopulations

Dialectic variation occurs in many bird species. Different factors have been investigated regarding dialectic variation, including cultural and genetic transmission of songs or calls, and geographic separation. In this study, the predator alarm call of the Florida Scrub-Jay to ground predators was recorded in three geographically separate subpopulations across Florida—Canaveral National Seashore/Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Lyonia Preserve and Leisure Lakes/Lake June in Winter Scrub State Park—to examine any dialectic occurrence between these three subpopulations. Additionally, many bird species are recognized as having highly evolved predator recognition systems, often with different calls for specific predators. The Florida Scrub Jay has exhibited such varied call responses to predators. Three different ground predator treatments, an artificial snake, a live snake, and a live cat, were used to elicit alarm calls. Responses to each predator were then compared within a subpopulation. This study revealed that significant differences existed between subpopulations responding to the cat and artificial snake treatment, but no significant differences existed between subpopulations for the live snake treatment. These results indicate dialectic divergence between subpopulations in response to some species of ground predators, but not to the snake, with which the birds have evolved and are most familiar. Florida Scrub-Jay responses to the three ground predators were significantly different within two subpopulations, at Leisure Lakes/Lake June in Winter Scrub State Park and Lyonia Preserve, but not within the Canaveral National Seashore/Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge subpopulation. Results from this study could be valuable to scientists, wildlife managers, and communities striving to improve their conservation efforts

Freshwater mollusk sampling along the southern I-294 corridor.

Sampled 8 sites at 6 stream crossings• Spent 13.5 person-hours surveying (average of 2.3 mussels collected/hr)• Encountered 31 live individuals of 3 mussel species• Only 2 of the 8 sites had mussels• Recorded the following species:▷Giant Floater, Pyganodon grandis (n=29, 94%), most common▷Paper Pondshell, Utterbackia imbecillus (n=1, 3%)▷Lilliput, Toxolasma parvum (n=1, 3%)▷One native snail, Liver Elimia, Elimia livescens, was abundant in Salt Creek• Invasive Asian Clams, Corbicula fluminea, were common at sites▷Upstream reach of I-294 to Bemis Woods littered with relict shells of native unionidsIllinois State Toll Highway Authorityunpublishednot peer reviewe

Modeling historic distributions of Illinois’s freshwater mussels using Maximum Entropy

A component of State Wildlife Grant T-82-R-1 (Defining expectations for mussel communities in Illinois wadeable streams) is to evaluate species’ abundance, distribution, habitat requirements, ecological role and amount of information available regarding the species for all mussel Species in Greatest Need of Conservation (SGNC) in Illinois. This information will be used to update the freshwater mussel SGNC accounts included in the Illinois Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan developed in 2005. This document updates Appendix I and II and Actions for the Streams Campaign for mussel SGNC to include in the 2015 revised Illinois Comprehensive Wildlife Action Plan. Additionally, distribution maps and host fish information for mussel SGNC and other species found currently or historically in Illinois are included.Illinois Department of Natural Resources, State Wildlife Grant/Project Number (T-82-R-1)unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Status revision and update for Illinois' freshwater mussel Species in Greatest Need of Conservation

unpublishednot peer reviewe

Freshwater Mussels of the Spoon River Basin

While broad geographic information is available on the distribution and abundance of mussels in Illinois, systematically collected mussel-community data sets required to integrate mussels into aquatic community assessments do not exist. In 2009, a project funded by a US Fish and Wildlife Service State Wildlife Grant was undertaken to survey and assess the freshwater mussel populations at wadeable sites from 33 stream basins in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) / Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) basin surveys. Inclusion of mussels into these basin surveys contributes to the comprehensive basin monitoring programs that include water and sediment chemistry, instream habitat, macroinvertebrate, and fish, which reflect a broad spectrum of abiotic and biotic stream resources.These mussel surveys will provide reliable and repeatable techniques for assessing the freshwater mussel community in sampled streams. These surveys also provide data for future monitoring of freshwater mussel populations on a local, regional, and watershed basis.unpublishednot peer reviewe

Using Bayesian decision networks to guide restoration of freshwater mussels in Illinois: a step-by-step guide to creating and using BDNs for ecological applications

We highlight the use of Bayesian Decision Networks to formalize the decision process and suggest a management strategy for restoring Ellipse and Spike to target areas. A BDN is particularly useful in complicated situations like this, because it allows for the combination of prior knowledge of mussel distributions and habitat relationships in Illinois with expected value of management outcomes. To build the Bayesian Decision Network, we used long term mussel presence data paired with a suite of environmental and biotic variables to elucidate important factors for each focal species and structure preliminary models (Chiavacci et al. 2018). We then built multiple versions for each species using three levels of information 1) data subset (target streams, non-target streams, or both; Figure 9), 2) expert opinion values (median, minimum, or maximum), and 3) precision of mussel data (long term presence, 2018 presence or 2018 density). All model versions were compared using sensitivity analyses to determine sources of potential model performance bias and decide whether a need for quantitative mussel density sampling in future model iterations was needed. All models built in this project were created using Netica by Norsys Software Corp., a program specifically designed to create Bayesian networks. Netica is available for download for 285 dollars for an individual application, or for 600 dollars for commercial applications (as of 2019).The 7 following walk-through serves as a step-by-step tutorial of how to build BDNs using Netica, while also detailing the methods and results of the Ellipse and Spike models created for this project. For each step, we outline a “General Description”, which is a broad description for managers to consider for their own projects, and “Applied Project Result” is a detailed explanation of the process completed for this project.Illinois Department of Natural Resources State Wildlife Grant project # T-99-R-1unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Freshwater mussel survey prior to the Ellsworth Dam removal, Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois

This report is submitted in response to a request from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) for the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) to conduct a freshwater mussel survey in the North Fork Vermilion River (Wabash River drainage) in the vicinity of the Ellsworth Dam, Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. IDNR proposes to remove this dam, and needs updated survey data prior to the removal per the requirements of Authorization item #7 in the Ellsworth Park Dam Removal Incidental Take Authorization. Freshwater mussels were collected by hand-­‐picking and visual detection (e.g., trails, siphons, exposed shell) in the three zones (Impounded area, Construction zone, and Plunge pool). One live individual was found alive in the construction zone in three person hours, whereas 372 individuals representing ten species were found alive in the impounded area upstream of the construction in approximately 25 person-­‐hours. A total of 46 individuals representing eight species were found alive in the plunge pool in 2.25 person-­‐hours. All species collected are common inhabitants of central Illinois streams that are not listed as endangered or threatened at the state or federal level, and all live individuals were relocated to areas outside the predicted zone of influence.Prepared for Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Water Resourcesunpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Intercontinental Movement of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Clade 2.3.4.4 Virus to the United States, 2021

We detected Eurasian-origin highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus belonging to the Gs/GD lineage, clade 2.3.4.4b, in wild waterfowl in 2 Atlantic coastal states in the United States. Bird banding data showed widespread movement of waterfowl within the Atlantic Flyway and between neighboring flyways and northern breeding grounds

The role of salt bridges, charge density, and subunit flexibility in determining disassembly routes of protein complexes

Mass spectrometry can be used to characterize multiprotein complexes, defining their subunit stoichiometry and composition following solution disruption and collision-induced dissociation (CID). While CID of protein complexes in the gas phase typically results in the dissociation of unfolded subunits, a second atypical route is possible wherein compact subunits or subcomplexes are ejected without unfolding. Because tertiary structure and subunit interactions may be retained, this is the preferred route for structural investigations. How can we influence which pathway is adopted? By studying properties of a series of homomeric and heteromeric protein complexes and varying their overall charge in solution, we found that low subunit flexibility, higher charge densities, fewer salt bridges, and smaller interfaces are likely to be involved in promoting dissociation routes without unfolding. Manipulating the charge on a protein complex therefore enables us to direct dissociation through structurally informative pathways that mimic those followed in solution

A Cloud-Ozone Data Product from Aura OMI and MLS Satellite Measurements

Ozone within deep convective clouds is controlled by several factors involving photochemical reactions and transport. Gas-phase photochemical reactions and heterogeneous surface chemical reactions involving ice, water particles, and aerosols inside the clouds all contribute to the distribution and net production and loss of ozone. Ozone in clouds is also dependent on convective transport that carries low troposphereboundary layer ozone and ozone precursors upward into the clouds. Characterizing ozone in thick clouds is an important step for quantifying relationships of ozone with tropospheric H2O, OH production, and cloud microphysicstransport properties. Although measuring ozone in deep convective clouds from either aircraft or balloon ozonesondes is largely impossible due to extreme meteorological conditions associated with these clouds, it is possible to estimate ozone in thick clouds using backscattered solar UV radiation measured by satellite instruments. Our study combines Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite measurements to generate a new research product of monthly-mean ozone concentrations in deep convective clouds between 30oS to 30oN for October 2004 April 2016. These measurements represent mean ozone concentration primarily in the upper levels of thick clouds and reveal key features of cloud ozone including: persistent low ozone concentrations in the tropical Pacific of 10 ppbv or less; concentrations of up to 60 pphv or greater over landmass regions of South America, southern Africa, Australia, and Indiaeast Asia; connections with tropical ENSO events; and intra-seasonalMadden-Julian Oscillation variability. Analysis of OMI aerosol measurements suggests a cause and effect relation between boundary layer pollution and elevated ozone inside thick clouds over land-mass regions including southern Africa and Indiaeast Asia