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Robertson EP, Walsh DP, Martin J, Work TM, Kellogg CA, Evans JS, Barker V, Hawthorn A, Aeby G, Paul VJ, Walker BK, Kiryu Y, Woodley CM, Meyer JL, Rosales SM, Studivan M, Moore JF, Brandt ME, Bruckner A. Rapid prototyping for quantifying belief weights of competing hypotheses about emergent diseases. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 337:117668. [PMID: 36958278 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Emerging diseases can have devastating consequences for wildlife and require a rapid response. A critical first step towards developing appropriate management is identifying the etiology of the disease, which can be difficult to determine, particularly early in emergence. Gathering and synthesizing existing information about potential disease causes, by leveraging expert knowledge or relevant existing studies, provides a principled approach to quickly inform decision-making and management efforts. Additionally, updating the current state of knowledge as more information becomes available over time can reduce scientific uncertainty and lead to substantial improvement in the decision-making process and the application of management actions that incorporate and adapt to newly acquired scientific understanding. Here we present a rapid prototyping method for quantifying belief weights for competing hypotheses about the etiology of disease using a combination of formal expert elicitation and Bayesian hierarchical modeling. We illustrate the application of this approach for investigating the etiology of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) and discuss the opportunities and challenges of this approach for addressing emergent diseases. Lastly, we detail how our work may apply to other pressing management or conservation problems that require quick responses. We found the rapid prototyping methods to be an efficient and rapid means to narrow down the number of potential hypotheses, synthesize current understanding, and help prioritize future studies and experiments. This approach is rapid by providing a snapshot assessment of the current state of knowledge. It can also be updated periodically (e.g., annually) to assess changes in belief weights over time as scientific understanding increases. Synthesis and applications: The rapid prototyping approaches demonstrated here can be used to combine knowledge from multiple experts and/or studies to help with fast decision-making needed for urgent conservation issues including emerging diseases and other management problems that require rapid responses. These approaches can also be used to adjust belief weights over time as studies and expert knowledge accumulate and can be a helpful tool for adapting management decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen P Robertson
- Contract Quantitative Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
| | - Daniel P Walsh
- U.S. Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA.
| | - Julien Martin
- U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Laurel, MD, USA.
| | - Thierry M Work
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Honolulu Field Station, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Christina A Kellogg
- U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
| | - James S Evans
- U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
| | | | - Aine Hawthorn
- U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Greta Aeby
- Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, USA
| | | | - Brian K Walker
- Nova Southeastern University, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, Dania Beach, FL, USA
| | - Yasunari Kiryu
- Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
| | - Cheryl M Woodley
- Hollings Marine Laboratory, Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Julie L Meyer
- Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Stephanie M Rosales
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA; Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Michael Studivan
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA; Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Jennifer F Moore
- Moore Ecological Analysis and Management, LLC, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Marilyn E Brandt
- Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, USVI, USA
| | - Andrew Bruckner
- Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA, Key Largo, FL, USA
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Hou Y, Cai XW, Liang ZF, Duan DD, Diao XP, Zhang JL. An integrative investigation of developmental toxicities induced by triphenyltin in a larval coral reef fish, Amphiprion ocellaris. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 867:161487. [PMID: 36638977 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Triphenyltin (TPT) is widely distributed on coastlines, which makes coral reef fish a potential target of TPT pollution. However, the negative effects of TPT on coral reef fish remain poorly understood. Therefore, in the present study, the larval coral reef fish Amphiprion ocellaris was used to investigate the developmental toxicities of TPT at environmentally relevant concentrations (0, 1, 10 and 100 ng/L). After TPT exposure for 14 d, the cumulative mortality increased, and growth was suppressed. In addition, TPT exposure inhibited the development of melanophores and xanthophores and delayed white strip formation, which might be responsible for the disruption of the genes (erbb3b, mitfa, kit, xdh, tyr, oca2, itk and trim33) related to pigmentation. TPT exposure also attenuated ossification of head skeletal elements and the vertebral column and inhibited the expression of genes (bmp2, bmp4 and sp7) related to skeletal development. The observed developmental toxicities on growth, pigmentation and skeleton development might be associated with the disruption of thyroid hormones and the genes related to thyroid hormone regulation (tshβ, thrα, thrβ, tg, tpo, dio2, and ttr). In addition, TPT exposure interfered with locomotor and shoaling behavior, and the related genes dbh, avp and avpr1aa. Taken together, our results suggest that TPT pollution might threaten the development of one of the most iconic coral reef fish, which might produce disastrous consequences on the health of coral reef ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Hou
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, Hainan, China
| | - Xing-Wei Cai
- Hainan Academy of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, Haikou, Hainan, China
| | - Zhi-Fang Liang
- Lingshui Wildlife Conservation Association, Lingshui, Hainan, China
| | - Dan-Dan Duan
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, Hainan, China
| | - Xiao-Ping Diao
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China
| | - Ji-Liang Zhang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, Hainan, China; Lingshui Wildlife Conservation Association, Lingshui, Hainan, China.
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3
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Santavy DL, Jackson SK, Jessup B, Gerritsen J, Rogers C, Fisher WS, Weil E, Szmant A, Cuevas-Miranda D, Walker BK, Jeffrey C, Bradley P, Ballantine D, Roberson L, Ruiz-Torres H, Todd B, Smith T, Clark R, Diaz E, Bauzá-Ortega J, Horstmann C, Raimondo S. A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS 2022; 138:1-13. [PMID: 36761828 PMCID: PMC9904394 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
As coral reef condition and sustainability continue to decline worldwide, losses of critical habitat and their ecosystem services have generated an urgency to understand and communicate reef response to management actions, environmental contamination, and natural disasters. Increasingly, coral reef protection and restoration programs emphasize the need for robust assessment tools for protecting high-quality waters and establishing conservation goals. Of equal importance is the need to communicate assessment results to stakeholders, beneficiaries, and the public so that environmental consequences of decisions are understood. The Biological Condition (BCG) model provides a structure to evaluate the condition of a coral reef in increments of change along a gradient of human disturbance. Communication of incremental change, regardless of direction, is important for decision makers and the public to better understand what is gained or lost depending on what actions are taken. We developed a narrative (qualitative) Biological Condition Gradient (BCG) from the consensus of a diverse expert panel to provide a framework for coral reefs in US Caribbean Territories. The model uses narrative descriptions of biological attributes for benthic organisms to evaluate reefs relative to undisturbed or minimally disturbed conditions. Using expert elicitation, narrative decision rules were proposed and deliberated to discriminate among six levels of change along a gradient of increasing anthropogenic stress. Narrative rules for each of the BCG levels are presented to facilitate the evaluation of benthic communities in coral reefs and provide specific narrative features to detect changes in coral reef condition and biological integrity. The BCG model can be used in the absence of numeric, or quantitative metrics, to evaluate actions that may encroach on coral reef ecosystems, manage endangered species habitat, and develop and implement management plans for marine protected areas, watersheds, and coastal zones. The narrative BCG model is a defensible model and communication tool that translates scientific results so the nontechnical person can understand and support both regulatory and non-regulatory water quality and natural resource programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah L Santavy
- US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental, Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division (GEMMD), Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA
| | | | | | | | - Caroline Rogers
- U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, St. John, VI, USA
| | - William S. Fisher
- US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental, Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division (GEMMD), Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA
| | | | - Alina Szmant
- University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - David Ballantine
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Wash. DC, USA
| | | | | | | | - Tyler Smith
- University of Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, VI, USA
| | - Randy Clark
- NOAA NCCOS, Marine Spatial Ecology Division, Biogeography Branch, Stennis Space Center, MS, USA
| | | | | | - Christina Horstmann
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education Fellow, US EPA, ORD, CEMM, GEMMD, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 USA
| | - Sandy Raimondo
- US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental, Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division (GEMMD), Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA
- Corresponding author at: US EPA, ORD, CEMM, GEMMD, 1 Sabine Island Dr., Gulf Breeze, FL. 32561, USA. (S. Raimondo)
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Santavy DL, Jackson SK, Jessup B, Horstmann C, Rogers C, Weil E, Szmant A, Miranda DC, Walker BK, Jeffrey C, Ballantine D, Fisher WS, Clark R, Torres HR, Todd B, Raimondo S. A biological condition gradient for Caribbean coral reefs: Part II. Numeric rules using sessile benthic organisms. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS 2022; 135:1-13. [PMID: 35516524 PMCID: PMC9067392 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
The Biological Condition Gradient (BCG) is a conceptual model used to describe incremental changes in biological condition along a gradient of increasing anthropogenic stress. As coral reefs collapse globally, scientists and managers are focused on how to sustain the crucial structure and functions, and the benefits that healthy coral reef ecosystems provide for many economies and societies. We developed a numeric (quantitative) BGC model for the coral reefs of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to transparently facilitate ecologically meaningful management decisions regarding these fragile resources. Here, reef conditions range from natural, undisturbed conditions to severely altered or degraded conditions. Numeric decision rules were developed by an expert panel for scleractinian corals and other benthic assemblages using multiple attributes to apply in shallow-water tropical fore reefs with depths <30 m. The numeric model employed decision rules based on metrics (e.g., % live coral cover, coral species richness, pollution-sensitive coral species, unproductive and sediment substrates, % cover by Orbicella spp.) used to assess coral reef condition. Model confirmation showed the numeric BCG model predicted the panel's median site ratings for 84% of the sites used to calibrate the model and 89% of independent validation sites. The numeric BCG model is suitable for adaptive management applications and supports bioassessment and criteria development. It is a robust assessment tool that could be used to establish ecosystem condition that would aid resource managers in evaluating and communicating current or changing conditions, protect water and habitat quality in areas of high biological integrity, or develop restoration goals with stakeholders and other public beneficiaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah L Santavy
- US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental, Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division (GEMMD), Gulf Breeze, FL, United States
| | | | | | - Christina Horstmann
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education Participant at US EPA, ORD, CEMM, GEMMD, Gulf Breeze, FL, United States
| | - Caroline Rogers
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, St. John, USVI, United States
| | - Ernesto Weil
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR, United States
| | - Alina Szmant
- University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC, United States
| | - David Cuevas Miranda
- US EPA, Region 2, Caribbean Marine Protection Division, Guaynabo, PR, United States
| | - Brian K. Walker
- Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Dania, FL, United States
| | - Christopher Jeffrey
- CSS-Inc., Fairfax, VA, Under Contract to NOAA, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Marine Spatial Ecology Division, Biogeography Branch, Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - David Ballantine
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Wash, DC, United States
| | - William S Fisher
- US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental, Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division (GEMMD), Gulf Breeze, FL, United States
| | - Randy Clark
- NOAA NCCOS, Marine Spatial Ecology Division, Biogeography Branch, Stennis Space Center, MS, United States
| | | | - Brandi Todd
- NOAA, Emergency Response Division, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Sandy Raimondo
- US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental, Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division (GEMMD), Gulf Breeze, FL, United States
- Corresponding author at: 1 Sabine Island Dr., Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA. (S. Raimondo)
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Hughes RM, Zeigler M, Stringer S, Linam GW, Flotemersch J, Jessup B, Joseph S, Jacobi G, Guevara L, Cook R, Bradley P, Barrios K. Biological assessment of western USA sandy bottom rivers based on modeling historical and current fish and macroinvertebrate data. RIVER RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 2022; 38:639-656. [PMID: 35602909 PMCID: PMC9115846 DOI: 10.1002/rra.3929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Biological monitoring is important for assessing the ecological condition of surface waters. However, there are challenges in determining what constitutes reference conditions, what assemblages should be used as indicators, and how assemblage data should be converted into quantitative indicator scores. In this study, we developed and applied biological condition gradient (BCG) modeling to fish and macroinvertebrate data previously collected from large, sandy bottom southwestern USA rivers. Such rivers are particularly vulnerable to altered flow regimes resulting from dams, water withdrawals and climate change. We found that sensitive ubiquitous taxa for both fish and macroinvertebrates had been replaced by more tolerant taxa, but that the condition assessment ratings based on fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages differed. We conclude that the BCG models based on both macroinvertebrate and fish assemblage condition were useful for classifying the condition of southwestern USA sandy bottom rivers. However, our fish BCG model was slightly more sensitive than the macroinvertebrate model to anthropogenic disturbance, presumably because we had historical fish data, and because fish may be more sensitive to dams and altered flow regimes than are macroinvertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M. Hughes
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | | | - Shann Stringer
- New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
| | - Gordon W. Linam
- Texas Parks and Wildlife, River Studies Program, San Marcos, Texas, USA
| | - Joseph Flotemersch
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—Office of Research & Development, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | | | - Seva Joseph
- New Mexico Environment Department, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
| | - Gerald Jacobi
- New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA
| | - Lynette Guevara
- New Mexico Environment Department, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
| | - Robert Cook
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—Region 6, Dallas, Texas, USA
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