Protection and restoration of salmon bearing streams in agricultural landscapes of the Puget Sound basin: a synthesis of approaches to reach-scale planning for eight focus areas

In 2015 the Department of Ecology led development of a new initiative to protect and restore riparian areas on salmon bearing streams across agricultural landscapes of the Puget Sound Basin. Using Environmental Protection Agency National Estuary Program funding through the Watershed Lead Organization, the initiative solicited grant proposals from local organizations to develop reach-scale plans for river reaches that provide the strategic basis for a subsequent phase of implementation funding to acquire riparian zones from willing landowners either through conservation easement or fee-simple purchase. Grants were awarded to an array of partnerships between land trusts, Native American tribes, local governments, Conservation Districts and non-profit organizations. In the development of the reach-scale plans for each focus area these partners conducted a number of different activities to identify, prioritize, and lay the groundwork for the acquisitions and additional restoration actions. Activities ranged from complex geospatial modeling, to development of landowner outreach and recruitment programs and tools, to beaver management planning. This presentation compares and contrasts the approaches in each of the eight focus areas and outlines some lessons learned from the initial phase of this initiative to develop an innovative approach to permanently protect and restore riparian zones in agricultural landscapes

Phase 2 Development of a Hydrologic Condition Index for the Puget Sound Basin

The Department of Ecology is developing a Hydrologic Condition Index (HCI) for the Puget Sound Basin. Building on the Puget Sound Watershed Characterization broad-scale indices of watershed processes, the HCI will further the multi-scale decision support framework established to assist local governments and natural resource practitioners in land use, stormwater, salmon recovery, and other watershed based planning processes. Building off of an initial concept from King County, Phase 1 development of the HCI established preferred methodologies for calculating the index, validated the index with stream gage measured high-pulse-counts (a measure of stream flashiness), and produced recommendations for further development. Additionally, initial approaches were conceptualized for how to use the HCI in alternative future scenarios where future land cover changes are projected. Phase 2, initiated in January of 2021, furthers the development of the HCI with a focus on: furthering the technical foundation of the HCI; expanding the applicability to more of the Puget Sound Basin with hydrologic modeling; and performing demonstration use case scenarios related to stormwater, land use, and restoration planning. Ultimately, the project seeks to improve our ability to assess the hydrologic health of watersheds in a way which is more spatially explicit than current rapid methods and provide tools which are accessible to planners

Integrated agricultural riparian stewardship in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish watersheds

The Stillaguamish and Snohomish River watersheds are regionally important to the health of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea and in particular for the recovery of salmon. The habitat gains needed to achieve salmon recovery in these watersheds include much of the agricultural landscape in Snohomish County, a situation that often results in conflicts between salmon recovery and agricultural communities. The Snohomish Conservation District’s National Estuary Program-funded Integrated Riparian Stewardship project is one of several efforts aimed at simultaneously achieving agricultural land preservation and salmon habitat protection and restoration in one of the fastest growing counties in the United States, where pressures from development and climate change threaten both salmon recovery and agriculture, and where agricultural property owners may feel salmon recovery efforts impact their livelihood and way of life. The District and project partners undertook a planning and protection/restoration initiative to identify, protect, and restore high priority riparian agricultural and rural lands in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish watersheds. The District developed an Action Plan that identifies high priority areas for reach-scale riparian protection and restoration and outlines a comprehensive riparian zone management approach for three focus areas in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish watersheds. The Action Plan integrates existing geomorphic, habitat, hydrologic, and water quality studies to identify reaches and parcels on which to purchase conservation easements and complete habitat restoration projects in order to protect or enhance cold water inflows, restore salmon habitat, and improve or protect hydrologic processes. The District is currently implementing the Action Plan. We will share our experience with a precision outreach strategy and our successes in leveraging the easement program with grant funding and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and other grant funding to secure landowner cooperation and achieve reach-scale riparian zone management. Partners include Snohomish County, Washington Department of Ecology, Forterra, and NOAA Restoration Center

RADseq and mate choice assays reveal unidirectional gene flow among three lamprey ecotypes despite weak assortative mating: Insights into the formation and stability of multiple ecotypes in sympatry

Adaptive divergence with gene flow often results in complex patterns of variation within taxa exhibiting substantial ecological differences among populations. One example where this may have occurred is the parallel evolution of freshwater‐resident nonparasitic lampreys from anadromous‐parasitic ancestors. Previous studies have focused on transitions between these two phenotypic extremes, but here, we considered more complex evolutionary scenarios where an intermediate freshwater form that remains parasitic is found sympatrically with the other two ecotypes. Using population genomic analysis (restriction‐associated DNA sequencing), we found that a freshwater‐parasitic ecotype was highly distinct from an anadromous‐parasitic form (Qlake‐P = 96.8%, Fst = 0.154), but that a freshwater‐nonparasitic form was almost completely admixed in Loch Lomond, Scotland. Demographic reconstructions indicated that both freshwater populations likely derived from a common freshwater ancestor. However, while the nonparasitic ecotype has experienced high levels of introgression from the anadromous‐parasitic ecotype (Qanad‐P = 37.7%), there is no evidence of introgression into the freshwater‐parasitic ecotype. Paradoxically, mate choice experiments predicted high potential for gene flow: Males from all ecotypes were stimulated to spawn with freshwater‐parasitic females, which released gametes in response to all ecotypes. Differentially fixed single nucleotide polymorphisms identified genes associated with growth and development, which could possibly influence the timing of metamorphosis, resulting in significant ecological differences between forms. This suggests that multiple lamprey ecotypes can persist in sympatry following shifts in adaptive peaks, due to environmental change during their repeated colonization of post‐glacial regions, followed by periods of extensive gene flow among such diverging populations

Assessment of floodplain condition across Puget Sound: an emerging tool for tracking investments and communicating status

Floodplains are some of the most economically and ecologically vital lands of Puget Sound but also some of the most impaired as well. Investments at the local and regional level aim to improve aquatic and terrestrial habitat, reduce flood risk, and protect economically important lands. However, the condition and status of Puget Sound floodplains is poorly quantified in a consistent manner across the 17 major watersheds, hindering strategic investments and planning. The Puget Sound Partnership and Washington Department of Ecology are developing an assessment of floodplain condition and status for a Sound-wide watershed-scale floodplain monitoring effort using spatial data and local knowledge. The Partnership ad Ecology are engaging technical floodplain expertise from the region’s federal, tribe, state, county, and local organizations to advise the project. The spatial assessment will initially focus on three pilot watersheds from a diverse geomorphic setting to develop a region-wide procedure that will be applied in the remaining 14 watersheds for a comprehensive condition and status of Puget Sound floodplains. This assessment and the spatial products will support: a) strategic planning for habitat protection and restoration, reduction of flood risk, and conservation of agricultural lands at the region-wide and local levels, b) the Partnership’s Vital Sign program, c) WDFW and DNR’s Floodplain Implementation Strategy, d) evaluation of potential restoration and protection projects for the region’s grant programs including Floodplains by Design, and e) tracking restoration progress and investments across the region’s watersheds in a standardized manner at both the local watershed and regional scales

Rab27a Regulates the Peripheral Distribution of Melanosomes in Melanocytes

Rab GTPases are regulators of intracellular membrane traffic. We report a possible function of Rab27a, a protein implicated in several diseases, including Griscelli syndrome, choroideremia, and the Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome mouse model, gunmetal. We studied endogenous Rab27a and overexpressed enhanced GFP-Rab27a fusion protein in several cultured melanocyte and melanoma-derived cell lines. In pigmented cells, we observed that Rab27a decorates melanosomes, whereas in nonpigmented cells Rab27a colocalizes with melanosome-resident proteins. When dominant interfering Rab27a mutants were expressed in pigmented cells, we observed a redistribution of pigment granules with perinuclear clustering. This phenotype is similar to that observed by others in melanocytes derived from the ashen and dilute mutant mice, which bear mutations in the Rab27a and MyoVa loci, respectively. We also found that myosinVa coimmunoprecipitates with Rab27a in extracts from melanocytes and that both Rab27a and myosinVa colocalize on the cytoplasmic face of peripheral melanosomes in wild-type melanocytes. However, the amount of myosinVa in melanosomes from Rab27a-deficient ashen melanocytes is greatly reduced. These results, together with recent data implicating myosinVa in the peripheral capture of melanosomes, suggest that Rab27a is necessary for the recruitment of myosinVa, so allowing the peripheral retention of melanosomes in melanocytes

Assessing the Freshwater Conservation Potential of Terrestrial Protected Areas

Physical alteration, habitat loss, water withdrawal, pollution, land use change, overexploitation, and the introduction of nonnative species together negatively influence freshwater ecosystems. Due to these stresses, freshwaters are ranked among the most at risk systems worldwide (Malmqvist and Rundle, 2002). Protected areas (PAs), defined as an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity as well as natural and associated cultural resources and managed through legal or other effective means (IUCN, 1994), are an emerging tool for the protection of biodiversity and natural resources. Despite the well‐documented threatened status of freshwater ecosystems, terrestrial targets have received far more attention and resources in the designation of PAs (Abell et al., 2007). However, because many terrestrial PAs include freshwater components, use fluvial systems as borders, or affect freshwaters downstream, it is important to understand the role that terrestrial PAs play in freshwater conservation (Abell et al., 2007; Herbert et al., in press). The goal of our study was to investigate the conservation potential of terrestrial PAs. As such, using Federal‐ and Stateowned PAs within the Northern Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Straits of Mackinac Ecological Drainage Unit of the State of Michigan (TNC, 2001), we evaluated two broad attributes of PAs: (1) the effect of containing land in an undeveloped condition on downstream freshwater key environmental attributes (KEAs: biotic composition, connectivity, hydrologic regime, physical habitat and energy regime, and water quality), and (2) the ability of managers to identify and mitigate negative anthropogenic influences on KEAs. Our first objective was to determine the effect of total area under protection by terrestrial PAs on KEAs. To do so, data was collected on eight response variables representative of the five KEAs which included: NO2 + NO3 concentration, total phosphorus concentration, free flowing stream miles, average rate of flow response, low flow expectation, habitat quality score, fish index of biotic integrity, and percent of fish considered intolerant to anthropogenic stress. Next, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), catchments derived from individual response variable datum locations were delineated and the total percent of land in protection within each catchment was calculated. Finally, the relationship between response variable values and percent land protected was determined using linear regressions. We found significant (p<0.05) decreases in NO2 + NO3 concentration and average rate of flow response with increasing area of catchment in protection, suggesting that by keeping land in a natural state, PAs can contribute to lowering nitrogen concentrations and reducing stream flashiness downstream. We also found significant increases in the percent of fish considered intolerant to anthropogenic stress with increasing area of catchment in protection, suggesting PAs may contribute to enhancing the total number of environmentally sensitive fish. No significant relationship was found between PAs and total phosphorus concentration, free flowing stream miles, low flow expectation, habitat quality score, or fish index of biotic integrity. Our second objective was to determine how PA management attends to freshwater conservation. To do so, we randomly selected eleven Federal‐ and State‐owned PAs located within the Northern Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Straits of Mackinac Ecological Drainage Unit of the State of Michigan and conducted PA management questionnaires and interviews, based on IUCN’s “Evaluating Effectiveness: A Framework for Assessing Management of Protected Areas” guidelines (Hockings et al., 2006) and the principles of integrated water resource management (IWRM; Global Water Partnership, 2009). This process identified what PA managers perceived to be greatest internal (within PA) and external (outside of PA) threats to freshwater KEAs within PAs and what specific activities PA managers conducted to protect or restore KEAs. The alignment between threats and activities was then determined as a measure of management’s attendance to freshwater conservation. This analysis revealed that management processes are, with a few exceptions, complementary to identified threats to freshwater systems. However, while our findings suggest positive alignment between management activities and identified threats, the informality of collaborative processes and absence of robust freshwater monitoring programs indicate that management is not fully engaged in IRWM, which limits the capacity for adaptive management. Our third objective was to determine the relative influences of management and catchment stressors on KEAs. Using previously delineated response variable catchments, we organized response variable values by the study PAs contained within their catchments, and calculated PA‐specific response variable scores (Response Variable Score). Next, using the same response variable catchments, we calculated a measure of catchment condition (Catchment Condition Score). Finally, using results from PA management questionnaires, we quantified the degree of activity potentially affecting KEA response variables (Management Activity Score). Catchment Condition Scores and Management Activity Scores were then compared to Response Variable Scores to identify instances where PA management activities were successful in mitigating the effects of catchment stressors on KEAs (Scenario 1) and instances where catchment stressors had an overriding effect on management activities (Scenario 2). The two Scenarios were observed in nearly identical proportions across KEAs and PAs, suggesting that both management activities and catchment stressors vary in their ability to affect freshwater KEA values. However, Scenario 1 was observed more than Scenario 2 for water quality, while the opposite was observed for biotic composition and hydrologic regime, suggesting management activities may be more successful in mitigating the effects of catchment stressors specific to nutrient concentrations. Our results suggest that terrestrial PAs likely contribute to some components of freshwater KEAs by protecting land from development and through certain management activities. However, further research is warranted to more extensively track the effect of the interaction of anthropogenic stressors and management activities on freshwater systems. If terrestrial protection were sufficient to secure freshwater integrity, we would expect the majority of indicators to be favorably related to total percent protected. Since only three of eight response variables showed the expected relationship, our findings do not support the assumption that watershed protections are synonymous with maintenance of freshwater KEAs. Our approach provides a framework for evaluating and tracking key freshwater outcomes while addressing the interacting factors of human‐induced stress and management attempts to mitigate these stresses. Furthermore, our approach holds utility for any managing entity attempting to produce favorable outcomes for freshwater systems. Future applications of this approach can be tailored to include a different set of management activities, catchment stressors, and response variables, depending on the context of the PA and what data are available for use.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69240/1/Assessing_the_Freshwater_Conservation_Potential_of_Terrestrial_Protected_Areas.pd

ISBS 2018 AUCKLAND CONFERENCE SPORTS TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE PROGRAMME

The coordinators Amber Taylor (AUT Ventures), Rosanne Ellis (AUT Research and Innovation Office), and Ryan Archibald (ATEED) have selected companies with new products to be explored by biomechanists. We hope you gain ideas for your research and learn how to commercialise your products at this showcase. ISBS 2018 Auckland Conference Industry Partner Tekscan are supporting the lunch during the showcase. Dr Jono Neville, Shelley Diewald, and Farhan Tinwala will be showcasing AUT Strain Gauge. AUT Strain gauge allows for a valid and reliable assessment of the strength of an entire class or team in a relatively short amount of time. Steve Leftly and Farshid Sarmast will be showcasing Myovolt which is a breakthrough muscle massage system that you wear. It delivers vibration therapy to any part of the body, it\u27s easy to use, lightweight and has benefits backed by clinical research. Parn Jones, Eric Helms and Wilson Huang will be showcasing Avice which is a wearable device that gives you real-time actionable feedback during weight training. It measures changes in muscle performance to inform you how close to muscular failure you are. Xiaoyou Lin and Bandt Li are showcasing Pressure Mat which is a new resistive-sensing contact mat for detecting the pseudo force, of sports activities such as running, jumping, stepping. Holly Sutich and Bradley Phagan will be showcasing Beta-Energy which is a healthier natural energy drink. It provides sustainable energy so you don’t get the crash that you do from a normal energy drink. Arien Hielkema and Yasir Al-Hilali will showcase MyBio Motion which is a smart wearable knee sleeve. It provides support for rehabilitation from post-operative or knee trauma, and prevention from a knee injury. Daniel Thomson and Emily Coates will showcase Circuband which has successfully paired Virtual Reality with Resistance Training to make fitness more engaging and stimulating for both athletes and the public. Colin Anderson will demonstrate Physio Wear

Increased ultra-rare variant load in an isolated Scottish population impacts exonic and regulatory regions

Human population isolates provide a snapshot of the impact of historical demographic processes on population genetics. Such data facilitate studies of the functional impact of rare sequence variants on biomedical phenotypes, as strong genetic drift can result in higher frequencies of variants that are otherwise rare. We present the first whole genome sequencing (WGS) study of the VIKING cohort, a representative collection of samples from the isolated Shetland population in northern Scotland, and explore how its genetic characteristics compare to a mainland Scottish population. Our analyses reveal the strong contributions played by the founder effect and genetic drift in shaping genomic variation in the VIKING cohort. About one tenth of all high-quality variants discovered are unique to the VIKING cohort or are seen at frequencies at least ten fold higher than in more cosmopolitan control populations. Multiple lines of evidence also suggest relaxation of purifying selection during the evolutionary history of the Shetland isolate. We demonstrate enrichment of ultra-rare VIKING variants in exonic regions and for the first time we also show that ultra-rare variants are enriched within regulatory regions, particularly promoters, suggesting that gene expression patterns may diverge relatively rapidly in human isolates

Conditional ablation of macrophages disrupts ovarian vasculature

Macrophages are the most abundant immune cell within the ovary. Their dynamic distribution throughout the ovarian cycle and heterogenic array of functions suggest the involvement in various ovarian processes, but their functional role has yet to be fully established. The aim was to induce conditional macrophage ablation to elucidate the putative role of macrophages in maintaining the integrity of ovarian vasculature. Using the CD11b-diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) mouse, in which expression of human DTR is under the control of the macrophage-specific promoter sequence CD11b, ovarian macrophages were specifically ablated in adult females by injections of diphtheria toxin (DT). CD11b-DTR mice were given DT treatment or vehicle and ovaries collected at 2, 8, 16, 24 and 48 h. Histochemical stains were employed to characterise morphological changes, immunohistochemistry for F4/80 to identify macrophages and the endothelial cell marker CD31 used to quantify vascular changes. In normal ovaries, macrophages were detected in corpora lutea and in the theca layer of healthy and atretic follicles. As macrophage ablation progressed, increasing amounts of ovarian haemorrhage were observed affecting both luteal and thecal tissue associated with significant endothelial cell depletion, increased erythrocyte accumulation and increased follicular atresia by 16 h. These events were followed by necrosis and profound structural damage. Changes were limited to the ovary, as DT treatment does not disrupt the vasculature of other tissues likely reflecting the unique cyclical nature of the ovarian vasculature and heterogeneity between macrophages within different tissues. These results show that macrophages play a critical role in maintaining ovarian vascular integrity