Can Large-Scale Climatic Models Be Linked with Multiscale Ecological Studies? *

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72151/1/j.1523-1739.1993.07020256.x.pd

Can Large-Scale Climatic Models Be Linked with Multiscale Ecological Studies? *

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72151/1/j.1523-1739.1993.07020256.x.pd

Extended Viral Shedding of a Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus by Striped Skunks (Mephitis mephitis)

Background: Striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) are susceptible to infection with some influenza A viruses. However, the viral shedding capability of this peri-domestic mammal and its potential role in influenza A virus ecology are largely undetermined. Methodology/Principal Findings: Striped skunks were experimentally infected with a low pathogenic (LP) H4N6 avian influenza virus (AIV) and monitored for 20 days post infection (DPI). All of the skunks exposed to H4N6 AIV shed large quantities of viral RNA, as detected by real-time RT-PCR and confirmed for live virus with virus isolation, from nasal washes and oral swabs (maximum #106.02 PCR EID50 equivalent/mL and #105.19 PCR EID50 equivalent/mL, respectively). Some evidence of potential fecal shedding was also noted. Following necropsy on 20 DPI, viral RNA was detected in the nasal turbinates of one individual. All treatment animals yielded evidence of a serological response by 20 DPI. Conclusions/Significance: These results indicate that striped skunks have the potential to shed large quantities of viral RNA through the oral and nasal routes following exposure to a LP AIV. Considering the peri-domestic nature of these animals, along with the duration of shedding observed in this species, their presence on poultry and waterfowl operations could influence influenza A virus epidemiology. For example, this species could introduce a virus to a naive poultry flock or act as a trafficking mechanism of AIV to and from an infected poultry flock to naive flocks or wild bird populations

Antimicrobial Resistance among Campylobacter Strains, United States, 1997–2001

We summarize antimicrobial resistance surveillance data in human and chicken isolates of Campylobacter. Isolates were from a sentinel county study from 1989 through 1990 and from nine state health departments participating in National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for enteric bacteria (NARMS) from 1997 through 2001. None of the 297 C. jejuni or C. coli isolates tested from 1989 through 1990 was ciprofloxacin-resistant. From 1997 through 2001, a total of 1,553 human Campylobacter isolates were characterized: 1,471 (95%) were C. jejuni, 63 (4%) were C. coli, and 19 (1%) were other Campylobacter species. The prevalence of ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter was 13% (28 of 217) in 1997 and 19% (75 of 384) in 2001; erythromycin resistance was 2% (4 of 217) in 1997 and 2% (8 of 384) in 2001. Ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter was isolated from 10% of 180 chicken products purchased from grocery stores in three states in 1999. Ciprofloxacin resistance has emerged among Campylobacter since 1990 and has increased in prevalence since 1997

Re-Shuffling of Species with Climate Disruption: A No-Analog Future for California Birds?

By facilitating independent shifts in species' distributions, climate disruption may result in the rapid development of novel species assemblages that challenge the capacity of species to co-exist and adapt. We used a multivariate approach borrowed from paleoecology to quantify the potential change in California terrestrial breeding bird communities based on current and future species-distribution models for 60 focal species. Projections of future no-analog communities based on two climate models and two species-distribution-model algorithms indicate that by 2070 over half of California could be occupied by novel assemblages of bird species, implying the potential for dramatic community reshuffling and altered patterns of species interactions. The expected percentage of no-analog bird communities was dependent on the community scale examined, but consistent geographic patterns indicated several locations that are particularly likely to host novel bird communities in the future. These no-analog areas did not always coincide with areas of greatest projected species turnover. Efforts to conserve and manage biodiversity could be substantially improved by considering not just future changes in the distribution of individual species, but including the potential for unprecedented changes in community composition and unanticipated consequences of novel species assemblages

Present and future phenological changes in wild plants and animals

9 page(s

Temperature and Long-Term Breeding Trends in California Birds: Utilizing an Undervalued Historic Database?

Long-term data recorded before regional temperatures were greatly affected by human emissions of greenhouse gasesprovide an historical baseline with which to compare modernand future trends. Long-term ecological data needed to investigate the influence of temperature on the time of songbird breeding are rare. Significant amounts of data exist in collector descriptions of bird eggs taken in the wild from mid-1800s to mid-1900s. The researchers draw on these data from three museums, and finds that seven of 21 species examined had significant trends in laying date, with some species laying eggs earlier and others later. The largest change was in the Oak Titmouse with an average shift of 20 days later per decade and Phainopepla with the largest earlier shift of 8 daysearlier per decade. The associations between the average California temperatures a month or two before laying and times of breeding were strong for six out of the nine resident California songbirds. For migrating species, only two of nine had a strong association between laying date and mean California temperature. These findings provide a baseline to which modern and future phenological shifts may be compared and calibrated. The researcher team offers suggestions for future studies and recommendations for the state of California

Ecological implications of climate change will include surprises

In addition to assessing the impacts of CO 2 doubling on environment and society, more consideration is needed to estimate extreme events or ‘surprises’. This is particularly important at the intersection of disciplines like climate and ecology because the potential for large discontinuities is high given all the possible climate/biota interactions. The vast disparities in scales encountered by those working in traditional ecology (typically 20 m) and climatology (typically 200 km) make diagnoses of such interactions difficult, but these can be addressed by an emerging research paradigm we call strategic cyclical scaling (SCS). The need to anticipate outlier events and assign them subjective probabilities suggests emphasis on interdisciplinary research associations. The desire to reduce societal vulnerability to such events suggests the need to build adaptive management and diverse economic activities into social organizations. The effectiveness of adaptation responses to anticipated climatic changes is complicated when consideration of transient changes, regional disturbances, large unforseeable natural fluctuations and surprises are considered. Slowing down the rate of disturbances and decreasing vulnerability are advocated as the most prudent responses to the prospect of human-induced climatic changes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42439/1/10531_2004_Article_BF00052720.pd

Fire In The Water

Using rare historical photos and firsthand accounts of five survivors, this book chronicles waterfront and commercial fishing life on Florida\u27s East coast and along the Indian River Lagoon. It centers on Cape Canaveral and Fort Pierce, Florida from early in the twentieth century to the 1994 Florida net ban. It is filled with colorful sea stories and memories of earlier times