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At least 775 records · Page 43Linked to original sources
USGS2020

Impacts of seagrass dynamics on the coupled long-term evolution of barrier-marsh-bay systems

Seagrass provides a wide range of economically and ecologically valuable ecosystem services, with shoreline erosion control often listed as a key service, but can also alter the sediment dynamics and waves within back-barrier bays. Here we incorporate seagrass dynamics into an existing barrier-marsh exploratory model, GEOMBEST++, to examine the coupled interactions of the back-barrier bay with both adjacent (marsh) and non-adjacent (barrier island) subsystems. While seagrass reduces marsh edge erosion rates and increases progradation rates in many of our 288 model simulations, seagrass surprisingly increases marsh edge erosion rates when sediment export from the back-barrier basin is negligible because the ability of seagrass to reduce the volume of marsh sediment eroded matters little for back-barrier basins in which all sediment is conserved. Our model simulations also suggest that adding seagrass to the bay subsystem leads to increased deposition in the bay, reduced sediment available to the marsh, and enhanced marsh edge erosion until the bay reaches a new, shallower equilibrium depth. In contrast, removing seagrass liberates previously-sequestered sediment that is then delivered to the marsh, leading to enhanced marsh progradation. Lastly, we find that seagrass reduces barrier island migration rates in the absence of back-barrier marsh by filling accommodation space in the bay. These model observations suggest that seagrass meadows operate as dynamic sources and sinks of sediment that can influence the evolution of coupled marsh and barrier island landforms in unanticipated ways.

Virginia↗
USGS2010

When parasites become prey: ecological and epidemiological significance of eating parasites

Recent efforts to include parasites in food webs have drawn attention to a previously ignored facet of foraging ecology: parasites commonly function as prey within ecosystems. Because of the high productivity of parasites, their unique nutritional composition and their pathogenicity in hosts, their consumption affects both food-web topology and disease risk in humans and wildlife. Here, we evaluate the ecological, evolutionary and epidemiological significance of feeding on parasites, including concomitant predation, grooming, predation on free-living stages and intraguild predation. Combining empirical data and theoretical models, we show that consumption of parasites is neither rare nor accidental, and that it can sharply affect parasite transmission and food web properties. Broader consideration of predation on parasites will enhance our understanding of disease control, food web structure and energy transfer, and the evolution of complex life cycles.

Trends in Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS2010

Victims and vectors: highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 and the ecology of wild birds

The emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses has raised concerns about the role of wild birds in the spread and persistence of the disease. In 2005, an outbreak of the highly pathogenic subtype H5N1 killed more than 6,000 wild waterbirds at Qinghai Lake, China. Outbreaks have continued to periodically occur in wild birds at Qinghai Lake and elsewhere in Central China and Mongolia. This region has few poultry but is a major migration and breeding area for waterbirds in the Central Asian Flyway, although relatively little is known about migratory movements of different species and connectivity of their wetland habitats. The scientific debate has focused on the role of waterbirds in the epidemiology, maintenance and spread of HPAI H5N1: to what extent are they victims affected by the disease, or vectors that have a role in disease transmission? In this review, we summarise the current knowledge of wild bird involvement in the ecology of HPAI H5N1. Specifically, we present details on: (1) origin of HPAI H5N1; (2) waterbirds as LPAI reservoirs and evolution into HPAI; (3) the role of waterbirds in virus spread and persistence; (4) key biogeographic regions of outbreak; and (5) applying an ecological research perspective to studying AIVs in wild waterbirds and their ecosystems.

Avian Biology Research↗
USGS2010

Occam's shadow: levels of analysis in evolutionary ecology - where to next?

Evolutionary ecology is the study of evolutionary processes, and the ecological conditions that influence them. A fundamental paradigm underlying the study of evolution is natural selection. Although there are a variety of operational definitions for natural selection in the literature, perhaps the most general one is that which characterizes selection as the process whereby heritable variation in fitness associated with variation in one or more phenotypic traits leads to intergenerational change in the frequency distribution of those traits. The past 20 years have witnessed a marked increase in the precision and reliability of our ability to estimate one or more components of fitness and characterize natural selection in wild populations, owing particularly to significant advances in methods for analysis of data from marked individuals. In this paper, we focus on several issues that we believe are important considerations for the application and development of these methods in the context of addressing questions in evolutionary ecology. First, our traditional approach to estimation often rests upon analysis of aggregates of individuals, which in the wild may reflect increasingly non-random (selected) samples with respect to the trait(s) of interest. In some cases, analysis at the aggregate level, rather than the individual level, may obscure important patterns. While there are a growing number of analytical tools available to estimate parameters at the individual level, and which can cope (to varying degrees) with progressive selection of the sample, the advent of new methods does not reduce the need to consider carefully the appropriate level of analysis in the first place. Estimation should be motivated a priori by strong theoretical analysis. Doing so provides clear guidance, in terms of both (i) assisting in the identification of realistic and meaningful models to include in the candidate model set, and (ii) providing the appropriate context under which the results are interpreted. Second, while it is true that selection (as defined) operates at the level of the individual, the selection gradient is often (if not generally) conditional on the abundance of the population. As such, it may be important to consider estimating transition rates conditional on both the parameter values of the other individuals in the population (or at least their distribution), and population abundance. This will undoubtedly pose a considerable challenge, for both single- and multi-strata applications. It will also require renewed consideration of the estimation of abundance, especially for open populations. Thirdly, selection typically operates on dynamic, individually varying traits. Such estimation may require characterizing fitness in terms of individual plasticity in one or more state variables, constituting analysis of the norms of reaction of individuals to variable environments. This can be quite complex, especially for traits that are under facultative control. Recent work has indicated that the pattern of selection on such traits is conditional on the relative rates of movement among and frequency of spatially heterogeneous habitats, suggesting analyses of evolution of life histories in open populations can be misleading in some cases.

Journal of Applied Statistics↗
USGS2023

A synergistic future for AI and ecology

Research in both ecology and AI strives for predictive understanding of complex systems, where nonlinearities arise from multidimensional interactions and feedbacks across multiple scales. After a century of independent, asynchronous advances in computational and ecological research, we foresee a critical need for intentional synergy to meet current societal challenges against the backdrop of global change. These challenges include understanding the unpredictability of systems-level phenomena and resilience dynamics on a rapidly changing planet. Here, we spotlight both the promise and the urgency of a convergence research paradigm between ecology and AI. Ecological systems are a challenge to fully and holistically model, even using the most prominent AI technique today: deep neural networks. Moreover, ecological systems have emergent and resilient behaviors that may inspire new, robust AI architectures and methodologies. We share examples of how challenges in ecological systems modeling would benefit from advances in AI techniques that are themselves inspired by the systems they seek to model. Both fields have inspired each other, albeit indirectly, in an evolution toward this convergence. We emphasize the need for more purposeful synergy to accelerate the understanding of ecological resilience whilst building the resilience currently lacking in modern AI systems, which have been shown to fail at times because of poor generalization in different contexts. Persistent epistemic barriers would benefit from attention in both disciplines. The implications of a successful convergence go beyond advancing ecological disciplines or achieving an artificial general intelligence—they are critical for both persisting and thriving in an uncertain future.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences↗
USGS2019

Assessing the impact of charr research past, present, and future

The 9th International Charr Symposium convened on 18–21 June 2018, in Duluth, Minnesota, USA to gather scientists with an interest in charr biology and management from the entire geographical range of the genus Salvelinus. The symposium was attended by 169 individuals from six countries, and included 99 oral and 32 poster presentations, 28 of which were published in the ensuing proceedings. Topic areas of presentations and publications included: (1) cultural anthropology; (2) genetics, evolution, taxonomy and systematics; (3) behavior, movement and habitat; (4) reproductive ecology, developmental ontogeny and physiology; (5) population ecology, dynamics and life history; (6) trophic ecology, parasites, predators, toxicology and pollution; and (7) management. Research reported in these proceedings has built upon the history of earlier symposiums and will be continued with the 10th symposium scheduled to convene in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, in 2021.

Hydrobiologia↗
USGS2001

On incorporating fire into our thinking about natural ecosystems: A response to Saha and Howe

Ecologists long have had a fascination with fire impacts, although they have been slow to incorporate this ecological factor into serious thinking about the structure of communities and evolution of species (Bond and van Wilgen 1996). The remarks by Saha and Howe (2001, in this issue) illustrate some of the problems ecologists have in trying to apply fire to their thinking about natural ecosystems. Fire is commonly perceived qualitatively in terms of presence or absence, and the variation in frequency and intensity, as well as other components of the fire regime (e.g., fig. 1), is ignored. Often not considered is the fact that plant life histories are fine-tuned to particular fire regims, and in this regard, landscapes present a range of selective peaks and valleys, both figuratively and literally. Because landscape patterns affect the propagation of natural fires, it is imperative that the degree of human disturbance be considered (e.g. Marsh [1864] 1965; Gadgil and Guhu 1993) and the limitations of basing evolutionary arguments on anthropogenically derived landscapes be recognized (e.g., Janzen and Martin 1982).

American Naturalist↗
USGS2022

Positively selected genes in the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) lineage: Prominence of thymus expression, immune and metabolic function, and regions of ancient synteny

Background Bats of the genus Lasiurus occur throughout the Americas and have diversified into at least 20 species among three subgenera. The hoary bat ( Lasiurus cinereus ) is highly migratory and ranges farther across North America than any other wild mammal. Despite the ecological importance of this species as a major insect predator, and the particular susceptibility of lasiurine bats to wind turbine strikes, our understanding of hoary bat ecology, physiology, and behavior remains poor. Methods To better understand adaptive evolution in this lineage, we used whole-genome sequencing to identify protein-coding sequence and explore signatures of positive selection. Gene models were predicted with Maker and compared to seven well-annotated and phylogenetically representative species. Evolutionary rate analysis was performed with PAML. Results Of 9,447 single-copy orthologous groups that met evaluation criteria, 150 genes had a significant excess of nonsynonymous substitutions along the L. cinereus branch ( P < 0.001 after manual review of alignments). Selected genes as a group had biased expression, most strongly in thymus tissue. We identified 23 selected genes with reported immune functions as well as a divergent paralog of Steep1 within suborder Yangochiroptera. Seventeen genes had roles in lipid and glucose metabolic pathways, partially overlapping with 15 mitochondrion-associated genes; these adaptations may reflect the metabolic challenges of hibernation, long-distance migration, and seasonal variation in prey abundance. The genomic distribution of positively selected genes differed significantly from background expectation by discrete Kolmogorov–Smirnov test ( P < 0.001). Remarkably, the top three physical clusters all coincided with islands of conserved synteny predating Mammalia, the largest of which shares synteny with the human cat-eye critical region (CECR) on 22q11. This observation coupled with the expansion of a novel Tbx1 -like gene family may indicate evolutionary innovation during pharyngeal arch development: both the CECR and Tbx1 cause dosage-dependent congenital abnormalities in thymus, heart, and head, and craniodysmorphy is associated with human orthologs of other positively selected genes as well.

PeerJ↗
USGS2016

Flammability as an ecological and evolutionary driver

We live on a flammable planet yet there is little consensus on the origin and evolution of flammability in our flora. We argue that part of the problem lies in the concept of flammability, which should not be viewed as a single quantitative trait or metric. Rather, we propose that flammability has three major dimensions that are not necessarily correlated: ignitability, heat release and fire spread rate. These major axes of variation are controlled by different plant traits and have differing ecological impacts during fire. At the individual plant scale, these traits define three flammability strategies observed in fire-prone ecosystems: the non-flammable, the fast-flammable and the hot-flammable strategy (with low ignitability, high flame spread rate and high heat release, respectively). These strategies increase the survival or reproduction under recurrent fires, and thus, plants in fire-prone ecosystems benefit from acquiring one of them; they represent different (alternative) ways to live under recurrent fires. Synthesis . This novel framework based on different flammability strategies helps us to understand variability in flammability across scales, and provides a basis for further research.

Journal of Ecology↗
USGS2023

Genomes & islands & evolution: Oh my!

A central question in evolutionary biology is how lineages quickly diversify to occupy different ecological niches, along with determining genomic factors that facilitate evolutionary change. Isolated, oceanic archipelagos are famous for adaptive radiations characterized by endemic, species-rich clades with substantial ecological variation, yet genome resources key to determining eco-evo processes are generally lacking. Here I present a comparison of the number of genome reference assemblies available (as of May 31, 2023) for three major eukaryotic lineages, briefly describe genome sequencing and benchmarking strategies, and highlight as a case study a genome assembly project for Bidens hawaiensis (Koʻokoʻolau, Asteraceae or Compositae; Coreopsidae), a member of a hexaploid Hawaiian plant adaptive radiation. The total number of plant genome references (1,394) was found to substantially lag the total number of genome references for animal (6,003) and fungi (4,400). Improvements to the quality of de novo assembled genomes are fueled by second- and third-generation long-read sequencing advancements, among other sequencing approaches. In conjunction, strategies to improve genome contiguity include optical maps, Hi-C chromatin capture, or trio binning. Continual improvements to genome sequencing and assembly algorithms have brought within reach telomere-to-telomere genome assemblies, albeit this level of sequencing has to date only been achieved in a few cases. With improvements in sequencing techniques and per-base pair costs that continue to trend downward, the number of high-quality genomes is anticipated to continue to increase, leading to the filling in of taxonomic gaps and sampling of groups of taxa from under sampled geographic areas. Increasing the number of plant genome resources available for the study of island endemism could help to shed light on genome-phenome relationships and genome characteristics that have produced the stunning biological diversity that we now observe across the globe.

Capitulum↗
USGS2019

Accumulating evidence in ecology: Once is not enough

Many published studies in ecological science are viewed as stand-alone investigations that purport to provide new insights into how ecological systems behave based on single analyses. But it is rare for results of single studies to provide definitive results, as evidenced in current discussions of the “reproducibility crisis” in science. The key step in science is the comparison of hypothesis-based predictions with observations, where the predictions are typically generated by hypothesis-specific models. Repeating this step allows us to gain confidence in the predictive ability of a model, and its corresponding hypothesis, and thus to accumulate evidence and eventually knowledge. This accumulation may occur via an ad hoc approach, via meta-analyses, or via a more systematic approach based on the anticipated evolution of an information state. We argue the merits of this latter approach, provide an example, and discuss implications for designing sequences of studies focused on a particular question. We conclude by discussing current data collection programs that are pre-adapted to use this approach and argue that expanded use would increase the rate of learning in ecology, as well as our confidence in what is learned.

Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS2026

Deconstructing cardiovascular and coagulation-related traits links dietary ecology to multi-functional snake venom specificity

Animal venoms vary greatly in compositional complexity, where complex venoms are hypothesized to be maintained by greater dietary breadth. Beyond explaining venom composition, the dietary breadth hypothesis predicts that these more complex venoms should show greater functional breadth in terms of overall toxicity and by disrupting multiple prey physiological processes. We evaluate these predictions with six distinct physiological assays of cardiac and blood clotting functions and compared the effects of venoms from snake species with a range of taxonomic dietary diversity levels. We compared the taxonomic dietary generalists Agkistrodon piscivorus and Sistrurus miliarius to taxa with varying taxonomic specialization, namely Ag. contortrix and Crotalus adamanteus , and Azemiops feae . Comparing fish thrombocyte and mammal platelet aggregation and fibrin clot formation, only species with broader diets disrupted both fish and mammal hemostatic function. Venom of Ag. piscivorus , a uniquely fish-eating species, was the most disruptive of zebrafish heart rate, thrombocyte activation, vascular permeability, and clotting after injury. Sistrurus miliarius was also highly toxic, whereas mammal-specialists’ venoms scarcely altered zebrafish physiology. Our results support the hypothesis that dietary breadth selects functionally complex venoms. Understanding venom gene evolution, snakebite symptoms, and searching for therapeutics in venom should be guided by evolutionary ecology.

Evolution↗
USGS2022

Ecological divergence of wild birds drives avian influenza spillover and global spread

The diversity of influenza A viruses (IAV) is primarily hosted by two highly divergent avian orders: Anseriformes (ducks, swans and geese) and Charadriiformes (gulls, terns and shorebirds). Studies of IAV have historically focused on Anseriformes, specifically dabbling ducks, overlooking the diversity of hosts in nature, including gull and goose species that have successfully adapted to human habitats. This study sought to address this imbalance by characterizing spillover dynamics and global transmission patterns of IAV over 10 years at greater taxonomic resolution than previously considered. Furthermore, the circulation of viral subtypes in birds that are either host-adapted (low pathogenic H13, H16) or host-generalist (highly pathogenic avian influenza—HPAI H5) provided a unique opportunity to test and extend models of viral evolution. Using Bayesian phylodynamic modelling we uncovered a complex transmission network that relied on ecologically divergent bird hosts. The generalist subtype, HPAI H5 was driven largely by wild geese and swans that acted as a source for wild ducks, gulls, land birds, and domestic geese. Gulls were responsible for moving HPAI H5 more rapidly than any other host, a finding that may reflect their long-distance, pelagic movements and their immuno-naïve status against this subtype. Wild ducks, long viewed as primary hosts for spillover, occupied an optimal space for viral transmission, contributing to geographic expansion and rapid dispersal of HPAI H5. Evidence of inter-hemispheric dispersal via both the Pacific and Atlantic Rims was detected, supporting surveillance at high latitudes along continental margins to achieve early detection. Both neutral (geographic expansion) and non-neutral (antigenic selection) evolutionary processes were found to shape subtype evolution which manifested as unique geographic hotspots for each subtype at the global scale. This study reveals how a diversity of avian hosts contribute to viral spread and spillover with the potential to improve surveillance in an era of rapid global change.

PLoS Pathogens↗
USGS2024

Evolving wildlife management cultures of governance through Indigenous Knowledges and perspectives

Within governance agencies, academia, and communities alike, there are increasing calls to recognize the value and importance of culture within social-ecological systems and to better implement Indigenous sciences in research, policy, and management. Efforts thus far have raised questions about the best ethical practices to do so. Engaging with plural worldviews and perspectives on their own terms reflects cultural evolutionary processes driving paradigm shifts in 3 fundamental areas of natural resource management: conceptualizations of natural resources and ecosystems, processes of public participation and governance, and relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities with differing worldviews. We broadly describe evolution toward these paradigm shifts in fish and wildlife management. We then use 3 case studies to illustrate the ongoing cultural evolution of relationships between wildlife management and Indigenous practices within specific historical and social-ecological contexts and reflect on common barriers to appropriately engaging with Indigenous paradigms and lifeways. Our case studies highlight 3 priorities that can assist the field of wildlife management in achieving the changes necessary to bridge incommensurable worldviews: acknowledging and reconciling historical legacies and their continued power dynamics as part of social-ecological systems, establishing governance arrangements that move beyond attempts to extract cultural information from communities to integrate Indigenous Knowledges into dominant management paradigms, and engaging in critical reflexivity and reciprocal, accountable relationship building. Implementing these changes will take time and a commitment to processes that may initially feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar but have potential to be transformative. Ethical and culturally appropriate methods to include plural and multivocal perspectives and worldviews on their own terms are needed to transform wildlife management to achieve more effective and just management outcomes for all.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS2014

Microbial aggregates within tissues infect a diversity of corals throughout the Indo-Pacific

Coral reefs are highly diverse ecosystems where symbioses play a pivotal role. Corals contain cell-associated microbial aggregates (CAMA), yet little is known about how widespread they are among coral species or the nature of the symbiotic relationship. Using histology, we found CAMA within 24 species of corals from 6 genera from Hawaii, American Samoa, Palmyra, Johnston Atoll, Guam, and Australia. Prevalence (%) of infection varied among coral genera: Acropora, Porites, and Pocillopora were commonly infected whereas Montipora were not. Acropora from the Western Pacific were significantly more likely to be infected with CAMA than those from the Central Pacific, whereas the reverse was true for Porites. Compared with apparently healthy colonies, tissues from diseased colonies were significantly more likely to have both surface and basal body walls infected. The close association of CAMA with host cells in numerous species of apparently healthy corals and lack of associated cell pathology reveals an intimate agent-host association. Furthermore, CAMA are Gram negative and in some corals may be related to chlamydia or rickettsia. We propose that CAMA in adult corals are facultative secondary symbionts that could play an important ecological role in some dominant coral genera in the Indo-Pacific. CAMA are important in the life histories of other animals, and more work is needed to understand their role in the distribution, evolution, physiology, and immunology of reef corals.

Marine Ecology Progress Series↗
USGS2012

Representing the acquisition and use of energy by individuals in agent-based models of animal populations

1. Agent-based models (ABMs) are widely used to predict how populations respond to changing environments. As the availability of food varies in space and time, individuals should have their own energy budgets, but there is no consensus as to how these should be modelled. Here, we use knowledge of physiological ecology to identify major issues confronting the modeller and to make recommendations about how energy budgets for use in ABMs should be constructed. 2. Our proposal is that modelled animals forage as necessary to supply their energy needs for maintenance, growth and reproduction. If there is sufficient energy intake, an animal allocates the energy obtained in the order: maintenance, growth, reproduction, energy storage, until its energy stores reach an optimal level. If there is a shortfall, the priorities for maintenance and growth/reproduction remain the same until reserves fall to a critical threshold below which all are allocated to maintenance. Rates of ingestion and allocation depend on body mass and temperature. We make suggestions for how each of these processes should be modelled mathematically. 3. Mortality rates vary with body mass and temperature according to known relationships, and these can be used to obtain estimates of background mortality rate. 4. If parameter values cannot be obtained directly, then values may provisionally be obtained by parameter borrowing, pattern-oriented modelling, artificial evolution or from allometric equations. 5. The development of ABMs incorporating individual energy budgets is essential for realistic modelling of populations affected by food availability. Such ABMs are already being used to guide conservation planning of nature reserves and shell fisheries, to assess environmental impacts of building proposals including wind farms and highways and to assess the effects on nontarget organisms of chemicals for the control of agricultural pests.

Methods in Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS1998

Conspecific reproductive success and breeding habitat selection: Implications for the study of coloniality

Habitat selection is a crucial process in the life cycle of animals because it can affect most components of fitness. It has been proposed that some animals cue on the reproductive success of conspecifics to select breeding habitats. We tested this hypothesis with demographic and behavioral data from a 17-yr study of the Black-legged Kittiwake ( Rissa tridactyla ), a cliff-nesting seabird. As the hypothesis assumes, the Black-legged Kittiwake nesting environment was patchy, and the relative quality of the different patches (i.e., breeding cliffs) varied in time. The average reproductive success of the breeders of a given cliff was predictable from one year to the next, but this predictability faded after several years. The dynamic nature of cliff quality in the long term is partly explained by the autocorrelation of the prevalence of an ectoparasite that influences reproductive success. As predicted by the performance-based conspecific attraction hypothesis, the reproductive success of current breeders on a given cliff was predictive of the reproductive success of new recruits on the cliff in the following year. Breeders tended to recruit to the previous year’s most productive cliffs and to emigrate from the least productive ones. Consequently, the dynamics of breeder numbers on the cliffs were explained by local reproductive success on a year-to-year basis. Because, on average, young Black-legged Kittiwakes first breed when 4 yr old, such a relationship probably results from individual choices based on the assessment of previous-year local quality. When breeders changed breeding cliffs between years, they selected cliffs of per capita higher reproductive success. Furthermore, after accounting for the potential effects of age and sex as well as between-year variations, the effect of individual breeding performance on breeding dispersal was strongly influenced by the average reproductive success of other breeders on the same cliff. Individual breeding performance did not appear to influence the probability of dispersing for birds breeding on cliffs with high local reproductive success, whereas individual breeding performance did have a strong effect on dispersal for birds that bred on cliffs with lower local reproductive success. This suggests that the reproductive success of locally breeding conspecifics may be sufficient to override an individual’s own breeding experience when deciding whether to emigrate. These results, which are supported by behavioral observations of the role of prospecting in recruitment, suggest that both first breeders and adults rely on the reproductive success of conspecifics as “public information” to assess their own chances of breeding successfully in a given patch and to make settling decisions. A corollary prediction is that individuals should attempt to breed near successful conspecifics (a form of social attraction) in order to benefit from the same favorable local environmental conditions. Such a performance-based conspecific attraction mechanism can thus lead to an aggregative distribution of nests and may have played a role in the evolution of coloniality.

Ecology↗
USGS2025

Expanding national-scale wildlife disease surveillance systems with research networks

Efficient learning about disease dynamics in free-ranging wildlife systems can benefit from active surveillance that is standardized across different ecological contexts. For example, active surveillance that targets specific individuals and populations with standardized sampling across ecological contexts (landscape-scale targeted surveillance) is important for developing a mechanistic understanding of disease emergence, which is the foundation for improving risk assessment of zoonotic or wildlife-livestock disease outbreaks and predicting hotspots of disease emergence. However, landscape-scale targeted surveillance systems are rare and challenging to implement. Increasing experience and infrastructure for landscape-scale targeted surveillance will improve readiness for rapid deployment of this type of surveillance in response to new disease emergence events. Here, we describe our experience developing and rapidly deploying a landscape-scale targeted surveillance system for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in two free-ranging deer species across their ranges in the United States. Our surveillance system was designed to collect data across individual, population, and landscape scales for future analyses aimed at understanding mechanisms and risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, evolution, and persistence. Our approach leveraged partnerships between state and federal public service sectors and academic researchers in a landscape-scale targeted surveillance research network. Methods describe our approach to developing the surveillance network and sampling design. Results report challenges with implementing our intended sampling design, specifically how the design was adapted as different challenges arose and summarize the sampling design that has been implemented thus far. In the discussion, we describe strategies that were important for the successful deployment of landscape-scale targeted surveillance, development and operation of the research network, construction of similar networks in the future, and analytical approaches for the data based on the sampling design.

Ecology and Evolution↗