Drivers of habitat quality for a reintroduced elk herd.

Understanding spatiotemporal variation in habitat quality is essential for guiding wildlife reintroduction and restoration programs. The habitat productivity hypothesis posits that home range size is inversely related to habitat quality. Thus, home range size may be used as a proxy for habitat quality and can identify important land cover features for a recovering species. We sought to quantify variation in home range size across the biological cycle (seasons) for a reintroduced elk (Cervus canadensis) population in southwestern Virginia, USA and quantify habitat quality by linking home range sizes to the land cover types they contain using linear mixed-effects models. We found mean home range size was largest during late gestation for female elk. Additionally, throughout the year, smaller home ranges were associated with larger proportions of non-forested habitats whereas forested habitats were generally the opposite. However, both presumed poor- and high-quality habitats influenced female elk space use. Our approach revealed spatial variation in habitat quality for a recovering elk herd, demonstrated the importance of non-forested habitats to elk, can guide decisions regarding the location of future elk reintroduction programs, and serve as a model for evaluating habitat quality associated with wildlife reintroductions.

Integrated photoelectrochemical energy storage cells prepared by benchtop ion soft landing.

The exceptional photochromic and redox properties of polyoxometalate anions, PW12O403-, have been exploited to develop an integrated photoelectrochemical energy storage cell for conversion and storage of solar energy. Elimination of strongly coordinating cations using benchtop ion soft landing leads to a ∼370% increase in the maximum power output of the device. Additionally, the photocathode displayed a pronounced color change from clear to blue upon irradiation, which warrants the potential application of the IPES cell in advanced smart windows and photochromic lenses.

Genetic diversity and demographic history of introduced sika deer on the Delmarva Peninsula.

The introduction of non-native species can have long-term effects on native plant and animal communities. Introduced populations are occasionally not well understood and offer opportunities to evaluate changes in genetic structure through time and major population changes such as bottleneck and or founder events. Invasive species can often evolve rapidly in new and novel environments, which could be essential to their long-term success. Sika deer are native to East Asia, and their introduction and establishment to the Delmarva Peninsula, USA, is poorly documented, but probably involved ≥1 founder and/or bottleneck events. We quantified neutral genetic diversity in the introduced population and compared genetic differentiation and diversity to the presumed source population from Yakushima Island, Japan, and a captive population of sika deer in Harrington, Delaware, USA. Based on the data from 10 microsatellite DNA loci, we observed reduced genetic variation attributable to founder events, support for historic hybridization events, and evidence that the population did originate from Yakushima Island stocks. Estimates of population structure through Bayesian clustering and demographic history derived from approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), were consistent with the hypothesized founder history of the introduced population in both timing and effective population size (approximately five effective breeding individuals, an estimated 36 generations ago). Our ABC results further supported a single introduction into the wild happening before sika deer spread throughout the Delmarva. We conclude that free-ranging sika deer on Delmarva are descended from ca. five individuals introduced about 100 years ago from captive stocks of deer maintained in the United Kingdom. Free-ranging sika deer on Delmarva have lost neutral diversity due to founder and bottleneck events, yet populations have expanded in recent decades and show no evidence of abnormalities associated with inbreeding. We suggest management practices including increasing harvest areas and specifically managing sika deer outside of Maryland.

Characterization of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. loti Forma Specialis nov., a Monophyletic Pathogen Causing Vascular Wilt of Birdsfoot Trefoil.

Fusarium wilt, a vascular wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum, has been a serious problem for birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) production in parts of New York and Vermont since the 1970s, causing wilt, severe root necrosis, and rapid plant death. Analysis of F. oxysporum isolates causing this disease indicated that the pathogen has a unique host range relative to previously designated F. oxysporum formae speciales and is monophyletic. Pathogenic isolates from New York and Vermont caused severe vascular wilt of trefoil and moderate vascular wilt of pea but no disease on alfalfa, red clover, soybean, or dry bean. The host range of trefoil isolates was distinct from F. oxysporum isolates pathogenic to other legumes. F. oxysporum isolates pathogenic to trefoil belonged to a single vegetative compatibility group separate from nonpathogenic isolates and shared identical mitochondrial small subunit rDNA, translation elongation factor 1-alpha, and nuclear rDNA intergenic spacer haplotypes. Phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated sequence data assigned isolates pathogenic to trefoil to a single, well-supported clade distinct from other pathogenic F. oxysporum. We propose designating the fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schlechtendahl emend. Snyder & Hansen f. sp. loti forma specialis nova.