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Starting in 2012 zooplankton sampling at Green Lake 4 was included in the long term monitoring data set at Niwot Ridge. Immediately after the ice has completely melted from the lakes, zooplankton samples are taken once a week for six consecutive weeks at the deepest portion of the lake from an inflatable raft. Zooplankton were sampled at the deepest location of each lake by pulling a conical net (Wisconsin net) vertically through the water column (i.e., vertical tow sample). For each zooplankton sample obtained, adult organisms were identified to species, or lowest taxonomic level (Chydoridae sp. and Bosminidae sp.). Larvae of cladocerans were counted together as neonates; calanoid and cyclopoid copepodites were counted together as nauplii. Individual body lengths of the first 50 -100 (when possible) individuals of each taxon were recorded using a calibrated eyepiece micrometer and means reported. 

Understanding the indirect and interactive effects of environmental stressors is critical to planning conservation interventions, but such effects are poorly understood. For example, invasive species may modify fire effects by altering fire intensity or frequency, increasing or decreasing their abundance in response to fire, and/or changing the trajectory of post‐fire recovery. Without a clear understanding of the direct, indirect, and interactive effects of prescribed fire and invasive species on native plants, managers cannot design effective conservation measures and risk exacerbating invasion through fire or wasting resources on approaches that do not yield desired results. In this study, researchers worked directly with the manager of a wet meadow in southern Idaho to explore how prescribed fire would directly and indirectly impact an iconic native herb (Camassia quamash) in areas invaded by a perennial pasture grass (Alopecurus arundinaceus). We found that spring prescribed fire increased the abundance of invasiveA. arundinaceus, which indirectly strengthened its suppression ofC. quamashgrowth and reproduction. In contrast, fire reversed the negative influence ofA. arundinaceusonC. quamashsurvival. Survival rates ofC. quamashwere higher after fire in areas with greater invasive grass abundance. This study points to the importance of understanding the indirect and interactive effects of prescribed fire and invasives on native plants across their life cycle for restoration projects and suggests fire, at least in spring, is not an appropriate management strategy for reducingA. arundinaceusinvasion at this site. 

High-resolution water quality data are fundamental to observing rapid ecological responses to meteorology, climate, and other disturbance events. Here we describe the deployment of a single buoy line with multiple sensors at fixed-depths from a subsurface float in the water-column of Green Lake 4 (GL4). Sensors on the buoy collect data in both summer and winter, thereby providing valuable insights into lake characteristics beyond our standard sampling period, including key transitional periods such as ice formation and ice break-up. 

High-resolution water quality data are fundamental to observing rapid ecological responses to meteorology, climate, and other disturbance events. Here we describe the deployment of a single buoy line with multiple sensors at fixed-depths from a subsurface float in the water-column of Green Lake 4 (GL4). Sensors on the buoy collect data in both summer and winter, thereby providing valuable insights into lake characteristics beyond our standard sampling period, including key transitional periods such as ice formation and ice break-up. 

High-resolution water quality data are fundamental to observing rapid ecological responses to meteorology, climate, and other disturbance events. Here we describe the deployment of a single buoy line with multiple sensors at fixed-depths from a subsurface float in the water-column of Green Lake 4 (GL4). Sensors on the buoy collect data in both summer and winter, thereby providing valuable insights into lake characteristics beyond our standard sampling period, including key transitional periods such as ice formation and ice break-up. 

High-resolution water quality data are fundamental to observing rapid ecological responses to meteorology, climate, and other disturbance events. Here we describe the deployment of a single buoy line with multiple sensors at fixed-depths from a subsurface float in the water-column of Green Lake 4 (GL4). Sensors on the buoy collect data in both summer and winter, thereby providing valuable insights into lake characteristics beyond our standard sampling period, including key transitional periods such as ice formation and ice break-up. 

Novel tetrafluoro-λ6-sulfanyl-containing oligomers prepared by visible light-promoted addition of 1,4-(bis-chlorotetrafluoro-λ6-sulfanyl) benzene or 1,3-(bis-chlorotetrafluoro-λ6-sulfanyl) benzene to either 1,4-diethynyl benzene or the 1,3-diethynyl isomers form hard, stress resistant thin films on spin casting. The isomeric oligomers were utilized to establish a structure-function relationship for the mechanical properties of films prepared from the oligomers. The Young’s moduli of 145-nm-thick cured films could reach 60 GPa. The measured hardnesses, between 1.57 and 2.77 GPa, were more than double those of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) films. Curing of the tetrafluoro-λ6-sulfanyl-containing polymer films by UV irradiation resulted in coatings that exhibited remarkable hardness and modulus with good surface adhesion to silicon. 

Abstract The wild to domestic bird interface is an important nexus for emergence and transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses. Although the recent incursion of HPAI H5N1 Clade 2.3.4.4b into North America calls for emergency response and planning given the unprecedented scale, readily available data-driven models are lacking. Here, we provide high resolution spatial and temporal transmission risk models for the contiguous United States. Considering virus host ecology, we included weekly species-level wild waterfowl (Anatidae) abundance and endemic low pathogenic avian influenza virus prevalence metrics in combination with number of poultry farms per commodity type and relative biosecurity risks at two spatial scales: 3 km and county-level. Spillover risk varied across the annual cycle of waterfowl migration and some locations exhibited persistent risk throughout the year given higher poultry production. Validation using wild bird introduction events identified by phylogenetic analysis from 2022 to 2023 HPAI poultry outbreaks indicate strong model performance. The modular nature of our approach lends itself to building upon updated datasets under evolving conditions, testing hypothetical scenarios, or customizing results with proprietary data. This research demonstrates an adaptive approach for developing models to inform preparedness and response as novel outbreaks occur, viruses evolve, and additional data become available. 

ABSTRACT Coral reefs are experiencing unprecedented loss in coral cover due to increased incidence of disease and bleaching events. Thus, understanding mechanisms of disease susceptibility and resilience, which vary by species, is important. In this regard, untargeted metabolomics serves as an important hypothesis-building tool enabling the delineation of molecular factors underlying disease susceptibility or resilience. In this study, we characterize metabolomes of four species of visually healthy stony corals, includingMeandrina meandrites,Orbicella faveolata,Colpophyllia natans, andMontastraea cavernosa, collected at least a year before stony coral tissue loss disease reached the Dry Tortugas, Florida, and demonstrate that both symbiont and host-derived biochemical pathways vary by species. Metabolomes ofMeandrina meandritesdisplayed minimal intraspecies variability and the highest biological activity against coral pathogens when compared to other species in this study. The application of advanced metabolite annotation methods enabled the delineation of several pathways underlying interspecies variability. Specifically, endosymbiont-derived vitamin E family compounds, betaine lipids, and host-derived acylcarnitines were among the top predictors of interspecies variability. Since several metabolite features that contributed to inter- and intraspecies variation are synthesized by the endosymbiotic Symbiodiniaceae, which could be a major source of these compounds in corals, our data will guide further investigations into these Symbiodiniaceae-derived pathways. IMPORTANCEPrevious research profiling gene expression, proteins, and metabolites produced during thermal stress have reported the importance of endosymbiont-derived pathways in coral bleaching resistance. However, our understanding of interspecies variation in these pathways among healthy corals and their role in diseases is limited. We surveyed the metabolomes of four species of healthy corals with differing susceptibilities to the devastating stony coral tissue loss disease and applied advanced annotation approaches in untargeted metabolomics to determine the interspecies variation in host and endosymbiont-derived pathways. Using this approach, we propose the survey of immune markers such as vitamin E family compounds, acylcarnitines, and other metabolites to infer their role in resilience to coral diseases. As time-resolved multi-omics datasets are generated for disease-impacted corals, our approach and findings will be valuable in providing insight into the mechanisms of disease resistance. 

Natural biopolymers have a rich history, with many uses across the fields of healthcare and medicine, including formulations for wound dressings, surgical implants, tissue culture substrates, and drug delivery vehicles. Yet, synthetic-based materials have been more successful in translation due to precise control and regulation achievable during manufacturing. However, there is a renewed interest in natural biopolymers, which offer a diverse landscape of architecture, sustainable sourcing, functional groups, and properties that synthetic counterparts cannot fully replicate as processing and sourcing of these materials has improved. Proteins and polysaccharides derived from various sources (crustaceans, plants, insects, etc.) are highlighted in this review. We discuss the common types of polysaccharide and protein biopolymers used in healthcare and medicine, highlighting methods and strategies to alter structures and intra- and interchain interactions to engineer specific functions, products, or materials. We focus on biopolymers obtained from natural, nonmammalian sources, including silk fibroins, alginates, chitosans, chitins, mucins, keratins, and resilins, while discussing strategies to improve upon their innate properties and sourcing standardization to expand their clinical uses and relevance. Emphasis will be placed on methods that preserve the structural integrity and native biological functions of the biopolymers and their makers. We will conclude by discussing the untapped potential of new technologies to manipulate native biopolymers while controlling their secondary and tertiary structures, offering a perspective on advancing biopolymer utility in novel applications within biomedical engineering, advanced manufacturing, and tissue engineering.