Establishing the relationship between non-human primates and mangrove forests at the global, national, and local scales.

Global and spatially explicit information about the interaction between habitat and wildlife species is critical to enhancing conservation efforts. Despite the recognized importance of mangrove forests to non-human primates, the relationship between the two lacks understanding. To counter this, we created the MangPrim-21 database to map and measure the locations of interactions between all non-human primates and all mangrove forests globally. We report our findings across the global, national, and local scales for all inventoried non-human primates and all inventoried mangrove forests. Globally, we find that half of all non-primates potentially use mangrove forests, and more than half of the global mangrove forest falls within the delineated range of at least one non-human primate species. Nationally, we find that Indonesia, Madagascar, Brazil, Cameroon, and Malaysia likely have the most non-human primate and mangrove forest interactions. At the subnational level, we find that several discrete locations in Kalimantan are critical to both mangrove forests and non-human primates. The MangPrim-21 database provides a globally consistent and locally applicable database of non-human primate and mangrove forest interactions. The results presented have broader implications for non-human primate and mangrove conservation and global actions to protect both. Additionally, our results raise questions about the idea that non-human primates primarily use mangrove forests as a refuge from human encroachment and habitat degradation.

Comparison of suburban vaccine distribution strategies to control raccoon rabies.

Helicopters and hand baiting are commonly used to distribute vaccine-laden baits to help control raccoon (Procyon lotor) rabies in suburban landscapes, but these techniques may be labor intensive, costly, or unavailable in some areas. We tested conventional baiting strategies against polyvinyl-chloride (PVC) bait stations in Erie County (New York, USA) during July and August 2003-05. Hand, helicopter, and bait station treatments were randomly assigned to six 25-km(2) suburban study sites. To estimate the proportion of raccoons that ingested baits, tooth and blood samples from 954 raccoons were collected and examined for tetracycline biomarker and rabies-neutralizing antibodies, respectively. Overall, 38% (358/954) of the raccoons in Erie County tested positive for tetracycline; 16% (155/954) tested seropositive for rabies virus. Year of study significantly impacted biomarker prevalence; fewer raccoons tested positive for tetracycline in 2004. Probability of seropositivity increased with raccoon age. No statistically significant differences existed between baiting strategies and frequencies of biomarker and antibody-positive raccoons across all years combined. Thus, bait stations could be used as part of an integrated rabies control strategy.

Revealing historic invasion patterns and potential invasion sites for two non-native plant species.

The historical spatio-temporal distribution of invasive species is rarely documented, hampering efforts to understand invasion dynamics, especially at regional scales. Reconstructing historical invasions through use of herbarium records combined with spatial trend analysis and modeling can elucidate spreading patterns and identify susceptible habitats before invasion occurs. Two perennial species were chosen to contrast historic and potential phytogeographies: Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), introduced intentionally across the US; and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), introduced largely accidentally to coastal areas. Spatial analysis revealed that early in the invasion, both species have a stochastic distribution across the contiguous US, but east of the 90(th) meridian, which approximates the Mississippi River, quickly spread to adjacent counties in subsequent decades. In contrast, in locations west of the 90(th) meridian, many populations never spread outside the founding county, probably a result of encountering unfavorable environmental conditions. Regression analysis using variables categorized as environmental or anthropogenic accounted for 24% (Japanese knotweed) and 30% (mugwort) of the variation in the current distribution of each species. Results show very few counties with high habitat suitability (>/=80%) remain un-invaded (5 for Japanese knotweed and 6 for mugwort), suggesting these perennials are reaching the limits of large-scale expansion. Despite differences in initial introduction loci and pathways, Japanese knotweed and mugwort demonstrate similar historic patterns of spread and show declining rates of regional expansion. Invasion mitigation efforts should be concentrated on areas identified as highly susceptible that border invaded regions, as both species demonstrate secondary expansion from introduction loci.

Creating affordable Internet map server applications for regional scale applications.

This paper presents an overview and process for developing an Internet Map Server (IMS) application for a local volunteer watershed group using an Internal Internet Map Server (IIMS) strategy. The paper illustrates that modern GIS architectures utilizing an internal Internet map server coupled with a spatial SQL command language allow for rapid development of IMS applications. The implication of this approach means that powerful IMS applications can be rapidly and affordably developed for volunteer organizations that lack significant funds or a full time information technology staff.

Molecular characterization of Listeria monocytogenes from natural and urban environments.

Characterization of 80 Listeria monocytogenes isolates from urban and natural environments differentiated 7 and 26 EcoRI ribotypes, respectively. Whereas the majority of isolates from the natural environment represented L. monocytogenes lineage II (12 of 13 isolates), urban isolates grouped evenly into lineages I and II (32 and 33 isolates, respectively) and included two lineage III isolates. Multilocus sequence typing of all natural isolates and a randomly selected subset of 30 urban isolates showed a higher overall diversity (Simpson index of discrimination [D] of 0.987 and 0.920, respectively) than did EcoRI ribotyping (D = 0.872 and 0.911, respectively). Combined analysis with ribotype and lineage data for 414 isolates from farm sources, 165 isolates from foods and food-processing environments, and 342 human clinical isolates revealed that lineage I was significantly more common among human (P < 0.0001) isolates, whereas lineage II was more common among isolates from the natural environment, farms, and foods (P < or = 0.05). Among a total of 92 ribotypes, 31 showed significant associations with specific isolate sources. One ribotype (DUP-1039C) was significantly associated with both natural environments and farms. A spatial analysis showed a marginal association between locations in the natural environment positive for L. monocytogenes and a proximity to farms. Our data indicate that (i) L. monocytogenes strains from different sources show a high level of diversity; (ii) L. monocytogenes subtypes differ significantly in their associations with different environments, even though populations overlap; and (iii) a higher proportion of isolates from environmental sources than from human clinical cases can be classified into L. monocytogenes lineage II, which supports the classification of this lineage as an environmentally adapted subgroup.

Identifying hydrologically sensitive areas: bridging the gap between science and application.

Researchers have noted that current water quality protection strategies, like nutrient management plans, lack a sound hydrological underpinning for pollutant transport processes. This is especially true for areas like the northeastern U.S. where copious research has shown that variable source area hydrology largely governs runoff generation. The goal of this study was to develop a scientifically justified method to identify the locations that generate overland flow. Furthermore, this methodology must be computationally simple enough that it can be utilized or incorporated into nutrient management plans and other established water quality tools. We specifically tested the reliability of the 'distance from a stream,'D(s), and the 'topographic index,'lambda, to predict areas with a high propensity for generating overland flow, i.e. hydrologically sensitive areas (HSA). HSAs were defined by their probability of generating runoff, P(sat), based on 30 year simulations using a physically based hydrological model. Using GIS, each location's P(sat) was correlated with D(s) and lambda. We used three Delaware Co., NY watersheds in the New York City watershed system with areas varying in size from 1.6 to 37 km2 and with forested and agricultural land uses. The topographic index gave stronger, more regionally consistent correlations with P(sat) than did D(s). Equations correlating lambda and P(sat) for each month are presented and can be used to estimate hydrological sensitivity in the region surrounding our study watersheds, i.e. in Delaware Co. This work is currently being incorporated into an Internet Mapping System to facilitate user-friendly, on-line identification of HSAs.