Source: UNIV OF SOUTH FLORIDA submitted to NRP
PREDICTING THE EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES ON WATERBORNE HUMAN PATHOGENS, LIVESTOCK HELMINTHES, AND THE HEALTH OF RURAL WATER-BODIES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
NRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0214237
Grant No.
2009-35102-05043
Cumulative Award Amt.
$398,946.00
Proposal No.
2008-01785
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Dec 1, 2008
Project End Date
Nov 30, 2013
Grant Year
2009
Program Code
[26.0]- Water and Watersheds
Recipient Organization
UNIV OF SOUTH FLORIDA
(N/A)
TAMPA,FL 33620
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Livestock waste can harbor pathogens that impact human health when they enter water bodies. Additionally, livestock themselves face disease threats that cost farmers millions of dollars annually, such as Fasciola hepatica, a livestock trematode. Both fecal bacteria and livestock helminthes (parasitic worms) are rapidly developing resistance to antibiotic and anthelmintic drugs, highlighting the importance of developing management approaches that reduce disease risk. Our preliminary work suggests that existing agrochemicals can enhance and diminish disease risk by killing pathogens or their intermediate hosts or by modifying the abundance of their food or predators. This suggests that producers could alter the type and timing of agrochemical applications, the layout of crops, and the location of livestock to improve both human and livestock health. The primary goal of the proposed research is to better understand the effects of agricultural practices on water quality, with emphases on the abundance of waterborne human pathogens (e.g. E. coli O157:H7), fecal indicator bacteria (E. coli, Enterococcus spp.), and sources of livestock helminthes. Our secondary goal is to predict when and where these pathogens will be problematic and to develop management practices to reduce their abundance. We propose to integrate molecular techniques, microbial source tracking, a farm pond survey, a various direct and indirect (predation-mediated) toxicity studies to identify farm and landscape traits and agrochemicals, both alone and in mixtures, that enhance and reduce human and livestock disease risk.
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
60%
Applied
30%
Developmental
10%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1330210107010%
1330210111010%
1330210115010%
3114099107010%
3114099111010%
3114099115010%
7224099107010%
7224099111010%
7224099115020%
Knowledge Area
133 - Pollution Prevention and Mitigation; 311 - Animal Diseases; 722 - Zoonotic Diseases and Parasites Affecting Humans;

Subject Of Investigation
4099 - Microorganisms, general/other; 0210 - Water resources;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology; 1110 - Parasitology; 1150 - Toxicology;
Goals / Objectives
The primary goal of the proposed research is to understand the effects of agricultural practices on rural water quality and ecosystem health, with emphases on the abundance of waterborne human pathogens (e.g. E. coli O157:H7), fecal indicator bacteria (E. coli, Enterococcus spp.), and sources of livestock helminthes. The fate of genetic markers specific for livestock trematodes and bacteria that indicate fecal contamination in freshwater systems will be ascertained. Our secondary goal is to use the knowledge resulting from this research to predict when and where these pathogens will be problematic and to develop management practices to reduce their abundance. Our specific objectives are to: 1. Evaluate the relationship, in the field, between water quality parameters (abundance of E. coli, Enterococcus spp., snails, and trematodes such as F. hepatica) and farm and water body traits (crop types, rates of pesticide/fertilizer application, landscape features, etc.). 2. Use this survey work of agricultural ponds and their surroundings to identify new and more reliable ecological indicators of human and livestock pathogens. 3. Quantify the direct effects of agrochemicals (insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers) and agrochemical mixtures on E. coli, Enterococcus spp., cattle-specific Bacteroides marker, snails, and trematodes using manipulative mesocosm studies. 4. Test for indirect effects of agrochemicals and agrochemical mixtures by assessing whether they have top-down or bottom-up effects on E. coli, Enterococcus spp., cattle-specific Bacteroides marker, snails and trematodes. The specific outputs from this project will be a survey and a series of manipulative experiments. We also intend to graduate at least one graduate student trained in agricultural science. Finally, we intend to develop methods and techniques for reducing disease risk posed by fecal bacteria and livestock helminthes. We will disseminate our findings by publishing our work in the best possible journals, posting our findings on the web, and meeting with relevant individuals in the agricultural field so that they are aware of the findings and their significance.
Project Methods
We will address our goals by taking a holistic and integrative approach where we will first attempt to understand the impact of farm and landscape traits and producer management behaviors (e.g. pesticide use) on farm pond ecosystem health and the abundance of E. coli, Enterococcus spp., F. hepatica, and Fossoria cubensis (intermediate host of F. hepatica). After surveying farm traits and producer management behaviors, we will conduct a series of manipulative experiments to identify the specific types of agrochemicals and agrochemical mixtures that enhance or inhibit the population growth of E. coli, Enterococcus spp., Bacteroides sp. specific to cattle feces F. hepatica, and F. cubensis. Finally, additional mesocosm experiments will be conducted to identify the mechanisms by which any agrochemicals affect the populations of these organisms. This work will be coupled with molecular techniques and microbial source tracking. PROJECT SCHEDULE/Milestones (F=Fall, W=Winter, Sp=Spring, Su=Summer) Year 1: Sp & Su: Complete survey work Year 1: F & W: Process samples from survey Year 2: Sp & Su: Conduct mesocosm mixture experiment, write up survey work Year 2: F & W: Process samples from mescosm experiment, conduct direct toxicity exp. Year 3: Sp & Su: Conduct trophic cascade experiment, write up mesocosm and direct toxicity experiments Year 3: F & W: Write up trophic cascade experiment, finalize any loose ends on project Indicators of success will be the publication of key findings on a regular basis throughout the project. These specific milestones are outlined above. If the project outcomes are as expected, we will work with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to set up meetings with farmers and water quality agencies around the state to educate them on our findings and to offer management improvments based on these findings. Hence, another indicator of success will be actual implemented improvements to land and water management.

Progress 12/01/08 to 11/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audiences were the 1) the agriculture industry, 2) scientists involved in agriculturally related work, 3) natural resourcve managers, 4) policy makers, 5) the USDA, 6) other governmental agencies involved in agriculturally related work, and 7) students (undergraduate and graduate) interested in agriculturally related work. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? We trained >70 undergraduates, 2 postdocs, and 4 graduate students. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Invited Talks and Seminars that Disseminated USDA Research Results: 2013: University of Florida. 2012: University of California at Santa Cruz; Emory University; 7th World Congress of Herpetology, Symposium: "Amphibians and reptile ecotoxicology ", Symposium: "When do infectious diseases pose conservation threats to reptiles and amphibians?"; UCLA; Land Grant and Sea Grant National Water Conference; University of South Florida. 2011: Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Meeting; University of South Florida; Virginia Tech University; MI H2Objective Conference: Research Shaping Michigan's Water Future; Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry sponsored Pellston Workshop, Racine, WI; Tulane University. 2010: Illinois State University; University of Colorado; Ecological Society of America National Meeting, Symposium Presentation; American Society for Microbiology; American Society of Parasitologists National Meeting, Symposium Presentation; University of Florida, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center; National Synthesis Workshop: Pathogens (Bacteria, Viruses and Protozoa) in Rural and Agricultural Water and Watersheds (Ithaca, NY); Vanderbilt University; Belmont University; USDA-NIFA Water and Watershed Annual Awardee Meeting. 2009: ResearchOne Graduate Student Research Symposium, University of South Florida; Southeastern Branch ASM Annual Meeting, Savannah, GA; Penn State University; American Society of Agronomy - Crop Science Society of America - Soil Science Society of America Joint International Meeting, USDA-CSREES-NRI Managed Ecosystems Annual Awardee Meeting; University of Central Florida; Society for Conservation Biology Meeting, Symposium Presentation; Ecological Society of America Meeting, Organized Oral Session Presentation; US EPA National Meeting on the "Plight of Ecosystems in a Changing Climate: Impacts on Services, Interactions, and Responses"; Archbold Biological Station; Emporia State University. Presentations at National and International Meetings that Disseminated USDA Research Results: 2012: three presentations 2011: eight presentations 2010: five presentations 2009: four presentations What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We conducted an experiment with 72 cattle tanks with 12 pesticide treatments, three from each of four classes (triazine herbicides, chloroacetinilide herbicides, carbamate insecticides, organophosphate insecticides). There was striking consistency in ecosystem and community responses among pesticides within each class, suggesting that we might be able to reduce the thousands of pesticides down to pesticide classes. In a separate community-level mesocosm experiment, we discovered that atrazine (herbicide) and fertilizers increased E. coli and enterococci, but that malathion (insecticide) and chlorothalonil (fungicide) had no effects on these fecal-derived pathogens. Further, there were no interactions between chemicals on t he survival of these pathogens. In follow-up direct toxicity studies, none of the four chemicals affected these pathogens, indicating that the effects of atrazine and fertilizer in the community-level experiment were likely indirect (mediated through algal and biofilm communities). To demonstrate that these effects were indirectly mediated through algae, we conducted experiments where the mesocosms were or were not exposed to natural light. Only tanks with light exposure had phytoplankton growth and the predicted effects on the fecal indicator bacteria, demonstrating conclusively the indirect mechanism. We demonstrated that chlorothalonil, the most commonly used synthetic fungicide in the US, is deadly and immunosuppressive to wildlife. We quantified the interactions of several pathogens within hosts. We found no evidence that atrazine inhibited olfaction in toads. However, we did show that toads were capable of avoiding chemical cues of trematode cercariae and trematode-infected snails and that the magnitude of this anti-parasite response was similar to the magnitude of the anti-predator responses. We found no evidence that agrochemicals affect the survival of egg or miricidia of trematodes. We discovered many natural processes that alter susceptibility and exposure to trematodes that can be used to reduce infections in hosts, such as livestock. We reviewed and synthesized the effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. We reviewed and synthesized our knowledge of trematode infections of wildlife. We reviewed and synthesized our knowledge of community-level effects of contaminants. We found evidence of adaptive immunity in salamanders. We reviewed the biological effects of atrazine on amphibians and freshwater fish. We quantified the impacts of global climate change on disease related extinctions. We predicted structural and functional changes of terrestrial arthropod diversity to the loss of hemlocks associated with hemlock woolly adelgid invasions.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Johnson, P., Hickey, C.W., Helm, R., Fritz, A., Brasfield, S. 2013. Implications of global climate change for natural resource damage assessment, restoration, and rehabilitation. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 32: 93-101
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: McMahon, T.A., Brannelly, L.A., Chatfield, M.W.H., Johnson, P.T.J., Joseph, M.B., McKenzie, V.J., Richards-Zawacki, C.L., Venesky, M.D., Rohr, J.R. 2013. Chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has nonamphibian hosts and releases chemicals that cause pathology in the absence of infection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110: 210-215
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Li, Y., Cohen, J.M., Rohr, J.R. 2013. A review and synthesis of the effects of climate change on amphibians. Integrative Zoology 8:145-161
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Raffel, T.R., Romansic, J.M., Halstead, N.T., McMahon, T.A., Venesky, M.D., Rohr, J.R. 2013. Disease and thermal acclimation in a more variable and unpredictable climate. Nature Climate Change3: 146-151 (featured in News and Views, article by Ross Alford: http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v3/n2/full/nclimate1812.html)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2013 Citation: Sears, B.F., Snyder, P.W., Rohr, J.R. 2013. No effects of two anesthetic agents on circulating leukocyte counts or resistance to trematode infections in larval amphibians. Journal of Herpetology
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Palmer, B.D. 2013. Climate change, multiple stressors, and the decline of ectotherms. Conservation Biology 27:741-751
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Liu, X., Rohr, J.R., Yiming, L. 2013. Climate, vegetation, introduced hosts and trade shape a global wildlife pandemic. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 280: 20122506 double star recommendation by Faculty 1000
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Venesky, M.D. , Raffel, T.R, McMahon, T.A.*, Rohr, J.R. 2013. Confronting inconsistencies in the amphibian-chytridiomycosis system: implications for disease management. Biological Reviews
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Blaustein, A.R., Johnson, P.T.J., Paull, S.H., Young, S.* 2013. Using physiology to understand climate-driven changes in disease and their implications for conservation. Conservation Physiology 1:cot022-cot022
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Sears, B.F.*, Rohr, J.R. 2013. Loss of trematode parthenitae in Planorbella trivolvis (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Journal of Parasitology 99:738-739
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: McMahon, T.A.*, Romansic, J.M. , Rohr, J.R. 2013. Non-monotonic and monotonic effects of pesticides on the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in culture and on tadpoles. Environmental Science and Technology 47:7958-7964
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Sears, B.F.*, Snyder, P.W. �, Rohr, J.R. 2013. Infection deflection: hosts control parasite location with behavior to improve tolerance. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 280: 20130759
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Venesky, M.D. , Hanlon, S.M.*, Lynch, K.�, Parris, M.J., Rohr, J.R. 2013. Optimal digestion theory does not predict the effect of pathogens on intestinal plasticity. Biology Letters 9: 20130038
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: P. Wanjugi and V.J. Harwooda. 2013. The influence of predation and competition on the survival of commensal and pathogenic fecal bacteria in aquatic habitats. Env. Microbiol. 15:517-26
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: K.V. Gordon, M. Brownell, S. Wang, J.E. Lepo, J.A. Mott, R.R. Nathaniel, M. Kilgen, K.N. Hellein, E. Kennedy, V. .J Harwooda. 2013. Relationship of human-associated microbial source tracking markers with enterococci in Gulf of Mexico waters. Water Research. 47:996-1004.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Korajkic A, McMinn BR, Harwood VJ, Shanks OC, Fout GS, Ashbolt NJ. 2013. Differential decay of enterococci and Escherichia coli originating from two fecal pollution sources. Appl Environ Microbiol. 79:2488-92.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Korajkic A, Wanjugi P, Harwood VJ. 2013. Indigenous microbiota and habitat influence Escherichia coli survival more than sunlight in simulated aquatic habitats. Appl Environ Microbiol. 79: 5329-5337
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2013 Citation: T. J. Lynn, P. Wanjugi, V. J. Harwood, S. J. Ergas. 2013. Dynamic Performance of Biosand Filters. J Am Waterworks Assoc. In Press
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2009 Citation: Tatavarthy A., Peak K., Veguilla W., Cutting T., Harwood V.J., Roberts J., Amuso P., Cattani J. & Cannons A. (2009). An Accelerated Method for Isolation of Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium from Artificially Contaminated Foods, Using a Short Preenrichment, Immunomagnetic Separation, and Xylose-Lysine-Desoxycholate Agar (61X Method). J. Food Prot., 72, 583-590.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Staley C., Jones M.K., Wright A.C. & Harwood V.J. (2011a). Genetic and quantitative assessment of Vibrio vulnificus populations in oyster (Crassostrea virginica) tissues. Environ. Microbiol. Rep., 3, 543-549.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Raffel, T.R. , Johnson, P.T.J., Paull, S.H. , Rohr, J.R. 2010. Symposium 16, Towards a general theory for how climate change will affect infectious disease. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 91: 467-473
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Orin S., Mano S., Lindsay P., Catherine K., Blackwood A., Monica G., Rachel N., Rebecca B., Erin S., Julie K., Tamara A., Christopher S., David W., John G., Cao Y.P., Steve W., Harwood V.J., Kevin O., Manju V. & Richard H. (2012). Interlaboratory Comparison of Real-Time PCR Protocols for Quantification of General Fecal Indicator Bacteria (vol 46, pg 945, 2012). Environ. Sci. Tech., 46, 2478-2478.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Jennings, D.E., Krupa, J.J., Raffel, T.R., Rohr, J.R. 2010. Evidence for competition between carnivorous plants and spiders. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 277: 301-308 highlighted in Science Magazine
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Hall, C. 2010. Developmental variation in resistance and tolerance in a multi-host-parasite system. Functional Ecology 24: 1110-1121
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Leslie, T.W., Biddinger, D.J., Rohr, J.R., Fleischer, S.J. 2010. Conventional and seed-based insect management strategies similarly influence non-target coleopteran communities in maize. Environmental Entomology 39: 2045-2055
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Staley, Z., Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2010. The effect of agrochemicals on indicator bacteria densities in outdoor mesocosms. Environmental Microbiology 12: 3150-3158
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Raffel, T.R., Michel, P.J. , Sites, E.W. , Rohr, J.R. 2010. Does temperature drive chytrid infections in newt populations? Associations with leaf litter, vegetation and shade. Ecohealth 7: 526-536
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: McMahon, T., Crumrine, P., Halstead, N., Johnson, S., Raffel, T.R., Romansic, J., Rohr, J.R. 2011. The fungicide chlorothalonil is nonlinearly associated with corticosterone levels, immunity, and mortality in amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives 119: 1098-1103
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: McQuaig S., Griffith J. & Harwood V.J. (2012). Association of Fecal Indicator Bacteria with Human Viruses and Microbial Source Tracking Markers at Coastal Beaches Impacted by Nonpoint Source Pollution. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 78, 6423-6432.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Hellein K.N., Kennedy E.M., Harwood V.J., Gordon K.V., Wang S.Y. & Lepo J.E. (2012). A filter-based propidium monoazide technique to distinguish live from membrane-compromised microorganisms using quantitative PCR. J. Microbiol. Methods, 89, 76-78
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Chase E., Hunting J., Staley C. & Harwood V.J. (2012). Microbial source tracking to identify human and ruminant sources of faecal pollution in an ephemeral Florida river. J. Appl. Microbiol., 113, 1396-1406.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Byappanahalli M.N., Nevers M.B., Korajkic A., Staley Z.R. & Harwood V.J. (2012). Enterococci in the Environment. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., 76, 685-706.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Halstead, N.T., Raffel, T.R. 2012. The herbicide atrazine, algae, and snail populations. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 31: 973-976
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Martin, L.B. 2012. Type I error is unlikely to hinder review recycling: a reply to Montesinos. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 27: 312-313
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: McMahon, T.A., Halstead, N.T., Johnson, S., Raffel, T.R., Romansic, J.M., Crumrine, P.W., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Fungicide-induced declines of freshwater biodiversity modify ecosystem functions and services. Ecology Letters 15: 714-722
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Jennings, D.E., Congelosi, A.M., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Insecticides reduce survival and the expression of traits associated with carnivory of carnivorous plants. Ecotoxicology 21: 569-575
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Johnson, P.T.J., Rohr, J.R., Hoverman, J.T. Kellermanns, E., Bowerman, J., Lunde, K.B. 2012. Host life history explains interspecific variation in disease risk. Ecology Letters 15: 235-242 recommended by Faculty 1000
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Martin, L.B. 2012. Reduce, reuse, recycle scientific reviews. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 27: 192-193
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Venesky, M.D., Mendelson, J.R., Sears, B.F., Stiling, P.D., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Selecting for tolerance against pathogens and herbivores to enhance the success of reintroduction and translocation programs. Conservation Biology 26: 586-592
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Jennings, D.E., Edwards, G.B. Rohr, J.R. 2012. Associations between ground-surface spiders and other arthropods in mesic flatwoods. Florida Entomologist 95: 290-296
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Koprivnikar, J., Marcogliese, D.J., Rohr, J.R., Orlofske, S.A., Raffel, T.R., Johnson, P.T.J. 2012. Macroparasite infections of amphibians: What can they tell us? Ecohealth 9: 342-360
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Staley, Z.R., Senkbeil, J.K., Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2012. Lack of direct effects of agrochemicals on zoonotic pathogens and fecal indicator bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 78: 8146-8150
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Dobson, A.P., Johnson, P.T.J., Kilpatrick, A.M., Paull, S.H., Raffel, T.R., Ruiz-Moreno, D., Thomas, M.B. 2011. Frontiers in climate change-disease research. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 26: 270-277 (invited submission)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Jennings, D.E., Rohr J.R. 2011. A review of the conservation threats to carnivorous plants. Biological Conservation 144: 1356-1363
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Staley, Z., Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2011. A test of direct and indirect effects of agrochemicals on the survival of fecal indicator bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 77: 8765-8774
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Sesterhenn, T., Stieha, C. 2011. Will climate change reduce the effects of a pesticide on amphibians?: Partitioning effects on exposure and susceptibility to pollution. Global Change Biology 17: 657-666
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Halstead, N.T., Raffel, T.R. 2011. Modelling the future distribution of the amphibian chytrid fungus: The influence of climate and human-associated factors. Journal of Applied Ecology 48: 174-176 (invited submission)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Schotthoefer, A.M., Rohr, J.R., Cole, R.A., Koehler, A.V., Johnson, C.M., Johnson, L.B., Beasley, V.R. 2011. Effects of wetland and landscape variables on parasite communities of Rana pipiens: links to anthropogenic changes. Ecological Applications 21: 1257-1271
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Romansic, J.M., Johnson, P.T.J., Searle, C.L., Johnson, J.E., Tunstall, T., Han, B.A., Rohr, J.R., Blaustein, A.R. 2011. Individual and combined effects of multiple pathogens on Pacific treefrogs. Oecologia 166: 1029-1041
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Lekberg, Y., Meadow, J., Rohr, J.R., Redecker, D., Zabinski, C.A. 2011. Importance of dispersal and thermal environment for mycorrhizal communities: Lessons from Yellowstone National Park. Ecology 92: 1292-1302
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Badgley B.D., Nayak B.S. & Harwood V.J. (2010a). The importance of sediment and submerged aquatic vegetation as potential habitats for persistent strains of enterococci in a subtropical watershed. Water Res., 44, 5857-5866.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Abdelzaher A.M., Wright M.E., Ortega C., Solo-Gabriele H.M., Miller G., Elmir S., Newman X., Shih P., Bonilla J.A., Bonilla T.D., Palmer C.J., Scott T., Lukasik J., Harwood V.J., McQuaig S., Sinigalliano C., Gidley M., Plano L.R.W., Zhu X.F., Wang J.D. & Fleming L.E. (2010). Presence of Pathogens and Indicator Microbes at a Non-Point Source Subtropical Recreational Marine Beach. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 76, 724-732.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Rohr, J.R., McCoy, K.A. 2010. A qualitative meta-analysis reveals consistent effects of atrazine on freshwater fish and amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives 118: 20-32
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R. 2010. Linking global climate and temperature variability to widespread amphibian declines putatively caused by disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107: 8269-8274
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Martin, L.B., Hopkins, W.A., Mydlarz, L.D., Rohr, J.R. 2010. The effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: The Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology 1195: 129-148 (invited submission)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Rohr, J.R., McCoy, K.A. 2010. Preserving environmental health and scientific credibility: A practical guide to reducing conflicts of interest. Conservation Letters 3: 143-150
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Raffel, T.R., Hoverman, J.T., Halstead, N.T., Michel, P., Rohr, J.R. 2010. Parasitism in a community context: Trait-mediated interactions with competition and predation. Ecology 91: 1900-1907
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Weidhaas J.L., Macbeth T.W., Olsen R.L. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Correlation of Quantitative PCR for a Poultry-Specific Brevibacterium Marker Gene with Bacterial and Chemical Indicators of Water Pollution in a Watershed Impacted by Land Application of Poultry Litter. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 77, 2094-2102.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Staley C., Reckhow K.H., Lukasik J. & Harwood V.J. (2012b). Assessment of sources of human pathogens and fecal contamination in a Florida freshwater lake. Water Res., 46, 5799-5812.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Staley C., Gordon K.V., Schoen M.E. & Harwood V.J. (2012a). Performance of Two Quantitative PCR Methods for Microbial Source Tracking of Human Sewage and Implications for Microbial Risk Assessment in Recreational Waters. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 78, 7317-7326.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Shanks O.C., Sivaganesan M., Peed L., Kelty C.A., Blackwood A.D., Greene M.R., Noble R.T., Bushon R.N., Stelzer E.A., Kinzelman J., Anan'eva T., Sinigalliano C., Wanless D., Griffith J., Cao Y.P., Weisberg S., Harwood V.J., Staley C., Oshima K.H., Varma M. & Haugland R.A. (2012). Interlaboratory Comparison of Real-Time PCR Protocols for Quantification of General Fecal Indicator Bacteria. Environ. Sci. Tech., 46, 945-953.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Shah A.H., Abdelzaher A.M., Phillips M., Hernandez R., Solo-Gabriele H.M., Kish J., Scorzetti G., Fell J.W., Diaz M.R., Scott T.M., Lukasik J., Harwood V.J., McQuaig S., Sinigalliano C.D., Gidley M.L., Wanless D., Ager A., Lui J., Stewart J.R., Plano L.R.W. & Fleming L.E. (2011). Indicator microbes correlate with pathogenic bacteria, yeasts and helminthes in sand at a subtropical recreational beach site. J. Appl. Microbiol., 110, 1571-1583.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Cornelisen C.D., Gillespie P.A., Kirs M., Young R.G., Forrest R.W., Barter P.J., Knight B.R. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Motueka River plume facilitates transport of ruminant faecal contaminants into shellfish growing waters, Tasman Bay, New Zealand. N. Z. J. Mar. Freshw. Res., 45, 477-495.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Nayak B.S., Badgley B. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Comparison of Genotypic and Phylogenetic Relationships of Environmental Enterococcus Isolates by BOX-PCR Typing and 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 77, 5050-5055.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Korajkic A., Brownell M.J. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Investigation of human sewage pollution and pathogen analysis at Florida Gulf coast Beaches. J. Appl. Microbiol., 110, 174-183.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Kirs M., Harwood V.J., Fidler A.E., Gillespie P.A., Fyfe W.R., Blackwood A.D. & Cornelisen C.D. (2011). Source tracking faecal contamination in an urbanised and a rural waterway in the Nelson-Tasman region, New Zealand. N. Z. J. Mar. Freshw. Res., 45, 43-58.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Chase E. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Comparison of the Effects of Environmental Parameters on Growth Rates of Vibrio vulnificus Biotypes I, II, and III by Culture and Quantitative PCR Analysis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 77, 4200-4207.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Sears, B.F., Rohr, J.R., Allen, J.E., Martin, L.B. 2011. The economy of inflammation: when is less more? Trends in Parasitology 27: 382-387
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Raffel, T.R., Lloyd-Smith, J.O., Sessions, S.K., Hudson, P.J., Rohr, J.R. 2011. Does the early frog catch the worm? Disentangling potential drivers of a parasite age-intensity relationship in tadpoles. Oecologia 165: 1031-1042
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Sears, B.F, Schlunk, A.D., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Do parasitic trematode cercariae demonstrate a preference for susceptible host species?. PLoS ONE 7(12): e51012


Progress 12/01/11 to 11/30/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Conducted experiments, analyzed experimental or survey data, and wrote several papers documented below. Conducted a mesocosm experiment to evaluate whether community- and ecosystem-level responses to pesticides were consistent within pesticide classes. Conducted a mesocosm experiment to test whether we could use food web theory to predict the effect of agrochemical mixtures. Conducted a community-level mesocosm experiment to quantify effects of agrochemicals on E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, adenovirus, HPyV, and E. coli and enterococci. Conducted a direct toxicity study to test whether agrochemicals have positive or negative effects on E. coli and enterococcii bacteria. Conducted several experiments on agrochemicals and trematode and other parasites. DISSEMINATION Invited Talks and Seminars that Disseminated USDA Research Results: 2013: University of Florida. 2012: University of California at Santa Cruz; Emory University; 7th World Congress of Herpetology, Symposium: "Amphibians and reptile ecotoxicology ", Symposium: "When do infectious diseases pose conservation threats to reptiles and amphibians"; UCLA; Land Grant and Sea Grant National Water Conference; University of South Florida. 2011: Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Meeting; University of South Florida; Virginia Tech University; MI H2Objective Conference: Research Shaping Michigans Water Future; Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry sponsored Pellston Workshop, Racine, WI; Tulane University. 2010: Illinois State University; University of Colorado; Ecological Society of America National Meeting, Symposium Presentation; American Society for Microbiology; American Society of Parasitologists National Meeting, Symposium Presentation; University of Florida, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center; National Synthesis Workshop: Pathogens (Bacteria, Viruses and Protozoa) in Rural and Agricultural Water and Watersheds (Ithaca, NY); Vanderbilt University; Belmont University; USDA-NIFA Water and Watershed Annual Awardee Meeting. 2009: ResearchOne Graduate Student Research Symposium, University of South Florida; Southeastern Branch ASM Annual Meeting, Savannah, GA; Penn State University; American Society of Agronomy - Crop Science Society of America - Soil Science Society of America Joint International Meeting, USDA-CSREES-NRI Managed Ecosystems Annual Awardee Meeting; University of Central Florida; Society for Conservation Biology Meeting, Symposium Presentation; Ecological Society of America Meeting, Organized Oral Session Presentation; US EPA National Meeting on the "Plight of Ecosystems in a Changing Climate: Impacts on Services, Interactions, and Responses"; Archbold Biological Station; Emporia State University. Presentations at National and International Meetings that Disseminated USDA Research Results: 2012: three presentations; 2011: eight presentations; 2010: five presentations; 2009: four presentations PARTICIPANTS: Jason Rohr - Oversaw all work on project. Co-PD: Valerie Harwood - directly supervises the PhD student and microbiology. Postdoc: Thomas Raffel - oversaw all work of undergrads on project. Helped conduct field, lab, and mesocosm work. Wrote many papers. Technician: Neal Halstead - processed most samples and trained and supervised undergrads. COLLABORATORS Since moving to the University of South Florida, Dr. Rohr has collaborated with many faculty at the University of Floridas Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the Gulf Coast Research Center. The primary contact there is Dr. Steven Johnson. All 120 of Dr. Rohrs cattle tanks/mesocosm are at this facility just outside Tampa, and this is where most future proposed mesocosm experiment will occur. TRAINING 1 graduate students: Zachery Staley Undergraduates from University of South Florida: Callyn Hall (White female, callynann@yahoo.com), Mythili Penugonda (Indian female, mpenugon@mail.usf.edu), Alex Mendoza (Hispanic male, amendoz2@mail.usf.edu); Michel, Patrick; Hudson, James; Blersch, Jessika; Marante, Danay; Ha, Jeanie; Guirguis, Jonathan; Quinn, Catherine; Garibova, Leana; Williams, Sara; Makhijani, Anjali; Bradberry, David; Tomkovitch, Jonathan; Shaikh, Shadab; Heet, Jacqueline; Swindasz, Jaime; Agaj, Sadina; Domzardzki, Lisa; Dorling, Heather; Fann, Joseph; Kobasa, Christina; Litowchak, Danielle; Donn, Natalie; Drennen, Alan; Esterrich, Erica; Waldman, Jennifer; Cevallos, Charles; Caicedo, Lina; Decker, Cheryl; Miller, Maxwell; Saxon, Matthew TARGET AUDIENCES: 60% of the undergraduates we have trained on this project are from groups underrepresented in the sciences PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
We conducted an experiment with 72 cattle tanks with 12 pesticide treatments, three from each of four classes (triazine herbicides, chloroacetinilide herbicides, carbamate insecticides, organophosphate insecticides). There was striking consistency in ecosystem and community responses among pesticides within each class, suggesting that we might be able to reduce the thousands of pesticides down to pesticide classes. In a separate community-level mesocosm experiment, we discovered that atrazine (herbicide) and fertilizers increased E. coli and enterococci, but that malathion (insecticide) and chlorothalonil (fungicide) had no effects on these fecal-derived pathogens. Further, there were no interactions between chemicals on t he survival of these pathogens. In follow-up direct toxicity studies, none of the four chemicals affected these pathogens, indicating that the effects of atrazine and fertilizer in the community-level experiment were likely indirect (mediated through algal and biofilm communities). To demonstrate that these effects were indirectly mediated through algae, we conducted experiments where the mesocosms were or were not exposed to natural light. Only tanks with light exposure had phytoplankton growth and the predicted effects on the fecal indicator bacteria, demonstrating conclusively the indirect mechanism. We demonstrated that chlorothalonil, the most commonly used synthetic fungicide in the US, is deadly and immunosuppressive to wildlife. We quantified the interactions of several pathogens within hosts. We found no evidence that atrazine inhibited olfaction in toads. However, we did show that toads were capable of avoiding chemical cues of trematode cercariae and trematode-infected snails and that the magnitude of this anti-parasite response was similar to the magnitude of the anti-predator responses. We found no evidence that agrochemicals affect the survival of egg or miricidia of trematodes. We discovered many natural processes that alter susceptibility and exposure to trematodes that can be used to reduce infections in hosts, such as livestock. We reviewed and synthesized the effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. We reviewed and synthesized our knowledge of trematode infections of wildlife. We reviewed and synthesized our knowledge of community-level effects of contaminants. We found evidence of adaptive immunity in salamanders. We reviewed the biological effects of atrazine on amphibians and freshwater fish. We quantified the impacts of global climate change on disease related extinctions. We predicted structural and functional changes of terrestrial arthropod diversity to the loss of hemlocks associated with hemlock woolly adelgid invasions.

Publications

  • Shanks O.C., Sivaganesan M., Peed L., Kelty C.A., Blackwood A.D., Greene M.R., Noble R.T., Bushon R.N., Stelzer E.A., Kinzelman J., Ananeva T., Sinigalliano C., Wanless D., Griffith J., Cao Y.P., Weisberg S., Harwood V.J., Staley C., Oshima K.H., Varma M. & Haugland R.A. (2012). Interlaboratory Comparison of Real-Time PCR Protocols for Quantification of General Fecal Indicator Bacteria. Environ. Sci. Tech., 46, 945-953.
  • Raffel, T.R., Michel, P.J. , Sites, E.W. , Rohr, J.R. 2010. Does temperature drive chytrid infections in newt populations Associations with leaf litter, vegetation and shade. Ecohealth 7: 526-536
  • Raffel, T.R. , Johnson, P.T.J., Paull, S.H. , Rohr, J.R. 2010. Symposium 16, Towards a general theory for how climate change will affect infectious disease. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 91: 467-473
  • Staley, Z., Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2010. The effect of agrochemicals on indicator bacteria densities in outdoor mesocosms. Environmental Microbiology 12: 3150-3158
  • Leslie, T.W., Biddinger, D.J., Rohr, J.R., Fleischer, S.J. 2010. Conventional and seed-based insect management strategies similarly influence non-target coleopteran communities in maize. Environmental Entomology 39: 2045-2055
  • McQuaig S.M., Scott T.M., Lukasik J.O., Paul J.H. & Harwood V.J. (2009). Quantification of Human Polyomaviruses JC Virus and BK Virus by TaqMan Quantitative PCR and Comparison to Other Water Quality Indicators in Water and Fecal Samples. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 75, 3379-3388.
  • Liu, X., Rohr, J.R., Yiming, L. 2013. Climate, vegetation, introduced hosts and trade shape a global wildlife pandemic. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B Rohr, J.R., Palmer, B.D. 2013. Declines of ectotherms and climatic shifts within the non-critical range: Interactions among moisture, temperature, and an herbicide. Conservation Biology
  • Sears, B.F., Snyder, P.W., Rohr, J.R. 2013. No effects of two anesthetic agents on circulating leukocyte counts or resistance to trematode infections in larval amphibians. Journal of Herpetology
  • Raffel, T.R., Romansic, J.M., Halstead, N.T., McMahon, T.A., Venesky, M.D., Rohr, J.R. 2013. Disease and thermal acclimation in a more variable and unpredictable climate. Nature Climate Change
  • Yiming, L., Cohen, J.M., Rohr, J.R. 2013. A review and synthesis of the effects of climate change on amphibians. Integrative Zoology
  • McMahon, T.A., Brannelly, L.A., Chatfield, M.W.H., Johnson, P.T.J., Joseph, M.B., McKenzie, V.J., Richards-Zawacki, C.L., Venesky, M.D., Rohr, J.R. 2013. Chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has nonamphibian hosts and releases chemicals that cause pathology in the absence of infection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110: 210-215
  • Rohr, J.R., Johnson, P., Hickey, C.W., Helm, R., Fritz, A., Brasfield, S. 2013. Implications of global climate change for natural resource damage assessment, restoration, and rehabilitation. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 32: 93-101
  • Sears, B.F, Schlunk, A.D., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Do parasitic trematode cercariae demonstrate a preference for susceptible host species. PLoS ONE 7(12): e51012
  • Staley, Z.R., Senkbeil, J.K., Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2012. Lack of direct effects of agrochemicals on zoonotic pathogens and fecal indicator bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 78: 8146-8150
  • McMahon, T.A., Halstead, N.T., Johnson, S., Raffel, T.R., Romansic, J.M., Crumrine, P.W., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Fungicide-induced declines of freshwater biodiversity modify ecosystem functions and services. Ecology Letters 15: 714-722
  • Rohr, J.R., Martin, L.B. 2012. Type I error is unlikely to hinder review recycling: a reply to Montesinos. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 27: 312-313
  • Rohr, J.R., Halstead, N.T., Raffel, T.R. 2012. The herbicide atrazine, algae, and snail populations. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 31: 973-976
  • Rohr, J.R., Martin, L.B. 2012. Reduce, reuse, recycle scientific reviews. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 27: 192-193
  • Johnson, P.T.J., Rohr, J.R., Hoverman, J.T. Kellermanns, E., Bowerman, J., Lunde, K.B. 2012. Host life history explains interspecific variation in disease risk. Ecology Letters 15: 235-242 recommended by Faculty 1000
  • Jennings, D.E., Congelosi, A.M., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Insecticides reduce survival and the expression of traits associated with carnivory of carnivorous plants. Ecotoxicology 21: 569-575 Byappanahalli M.N., Nevers M.B., Korajkic A., Staley Z.R. & Harwood V.J. (2012). Enterococci in the Environment. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., 76, 685-706.
  • Chase E., Hunting J., Staley C. & Harwood V.J. (2012). Microbial source tracking to identify human and ruminant sources of faecal pollution in an ephemeral Florida river. J. Appl. Microbiol., 113, 1396-1406.
  • Hellein K.N., Kennedy E.M., Harwood V.J., Gordon K.V., Wang S.Y. & Lepo J.E. (2012). A filter-based propidium monoazide technique to distinguish live from membrane-compromised microorganisms using quantitative PCR. J. Microbiol. Methods, 89, 76-78.
  • McQuaig S., Griffith J. & Harwood V.J. (2012). Association of Fecal Indicator Bacteria with Human Viruses and Microbial Source Tracking Markers at Coastal Beaches Impacted by Nonpoint Source Pollution. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 78, 6423-6432.
  • Koprivnikar, J., Marcogliese, D.J., Rohr, J.R., Orlofske, S.A., Raffel, T.R., Johnson, P.T.J. 2012. Macroparasite infections of amphibians: What can they tell us Ecohealth 9: 342-360
  • Jennings, D.E., Edwards, G.B. Rohr, J.R. 2012. Associations between ground-surface spiders and other arthropods in mesic flatwoods. Florida Entomologist 95: 290-296
  • Venesky, M.D., Mendelson, J.R., Sears, B.F., Stiling, P.D., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Selecting for tolerance against pathogens and herbivores to enhance the success of reintroduction and translocation programs. Conservation Biology 26: 586-592
  • Orin S., Mano S., Lindsay P., Catherine K., Blackwood A., Monica G., Rachel N., Rebecca B., Erin S., Julie K., Tamara A., Christopher S., David W., John G., Cao Y.P., Steve W., Harwood V.J., Kevin O., Manju V. & Richard H. (2012). Interlaboratory Comparison of Real-Time PCR Protocols for Quantification of General Fecal Indicator Bacteria (vol 46, pg 945, 2012). Environ. Sci. Tech., 46, 2478-2478.
  • Staley C., Gordon K.V., Schoen M.E. & Harwood V.J. (2012a). Performance of Two Quantitative PCR Methods for Microbial Source Tracking of Human Sewage and Implications for Microbial Risk Assessment in Recreational Waters. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 78, 7317-7326.
  • Staley C., Reckhow K.H., Lukasik J. & Harwood V.J. (2012b). Assessment of sources of human pathogens and fecal contamination in a Florida freshwater lake. Water Res., 46, 5799-5812.
  • Staley, Z., Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2011. A test of direct and indirect effects of agrochemicals on the survival of fecal indicator bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 77: 8765-8774
  • Sears, B.F., Rohr, J.R., Allen, J.E., Martin, L.B. 2011. The economy of inflammation: when is less more Trends in Parasitology 27: 382-387
  • McMahon, T., Crumrine, P., Halstead, N., Johnson, S., Raffel, T.R., Romansic, J., Rohr, J.R. 2011. The fungicide chlorothalonil is nonlinearly associated with corticosterone levels, immunity, and mortality in amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives 119: 1098-1103
  • Lekberg, Y., Meadow, J., Rohr, J.R., Redecker, D., Zabinski, C.A. 2011. Importance of dispersal and thermal environment for mycorrhizal communities: Lessons from Yellowstone National Park. Ecology 92: 1292-1302
  • Romansic, J.M., Johnson, P.T.J., Searle, C.L., Johnson, J.E., Tunstall, T., Han, B.A., Rohr, J.R., Blaustein, A.R. 2011. Individual and combined effects of multiple pathogens on Pacific treefrogs. Oecologia 166: 1029-1041
  • Schotthoefer, A.M., Rohr, J.R., Cole, R.A., Koehler, A.V., Johnson, C.M., Johnson, L.B., Beasley, V.R. 2011. Effects of wetland and landscape variables on parasite communities of Rana pipiens: links to anthropogenic changes. Ecological Applications 21: 1257-1271
  • Jennings, D.E., Rohr J.R. 2011. A review of the conservation threats to carnivorous plants. Biological Conservation 144: 1356-1363
  • Rohr, J.R., Dobson, A.P., Johnson, P.T.J., Kilpatrick, A.M., Paull, S.H., Raffel, T.R., Ruiz-Moreno, D., Thomas, M.B. 2011. Frontiers in climate change-disease research. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 26: 270-277 (invited submission)
  • Raffel, T.R., Lloyd-Smith, J.O., Sessions, S.K., Hudson, P.J., Rohr, J.R. 2011. Does the early frog catch the worm Disentangling potential drivers of a parasite age-intensity relationship in tadpoles. Oecologia 165: 1031-1042
  • Rohr, J.R., Halstead, N.T., Raffel, T.R. 2011. Modelling the future distribution of the amphibian chytrid fungus: The influence of climate and human-associated factors. Journal of Applied Ecology 48: 174-176 (invited submission)
  • Rohr, J.R., Sesterhenn, T., Stieha, C. 2011. Will climate change reduce the effects of a pesticide on amphibians: Partitioning effects on exposure and susceptibility to pollution. Global Change Biology 17: 657-666
  • Abdelzaher A.M., Wright M.E., Ortega C., Hasan A.R., Shibata T., Solo-Gabriele H.M., Kish J., Withum K., He G.Q., Elmir S.M., Bonilla J.A., Bonilla T.D., Palmer C.J., Scott T.M., Lukasik J., Harwood V.J., McQuaig S., Sinigalliano C.D., Gidley M.L., Wanless D., Plano L.R.W., Garza A.C., Zhu X.F., Stewart J.R., Dickerson J.W., Yampara-Iquise H., Carson C., Fleisher J.M. & Fleming L.E. (2011). Daily measures of microbes and human health at a non-point source marine beach. J. Water Health, 9, 443-457.
  • Badgley B.D., Thomas F.I.M. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Quantifying environmental reservoirs of fecal indicator bacteria associated with sediment and submerged aquatic vegetation. Environmental Microbiology, 13, 932-942.
  • Chase E. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Comparison of the Effects of Environmental Parameters on Growth Rates of Vibrio vulnificus Biotypes I, II, and III by Culture and Quantitative PCR Analysis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 77, 4200-4207.
  • Cornelisen C.D., Gillespie P.A., Kirs M., Young R.G., Forrest R.W., Barter P.J., Knight B.R. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Motueka River plume facilitates transport of ruminant faecal contaminants into shellfish growing waters, Tasman Bay, New Zealand. N. Z. J. Mar. Freshw. Res., 45, 477-495.
  • Kirs M., Harwood V.J., Fidler A.E., Gillespie P.A., Fyfe W.R., Blackwood A.D. & Cornelisen C.D. (2011). Source tracking faecal contamination in an urbanised and a rural waterway in the Nelson-Tasman region, New Zealand. N. Z. J. Mar. Freshw. Res., 45, 43-58.
  • Korajkic A., Brownell M.J. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Investigation of human sewage pollution and pathogen analysis at Florida Gulf coast Beaches. J. Appl. Microbiol., 110, 174-183.
  • Nayak B.S., Badgley B. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Comparison of Genotypic and Phylogenetic Relationships of Environmental Enterococcus Isolates by BOX-PCR Typing and 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 77, 5050-5055.
  • Weidhaas J.L., Macbeth T.W., Olsen R.L. & Harwood V.J. (2011). Correlation of Quantitative PCR for a Poultry-Specific Brevibacterium Marker Gene with Bacterial and Chemical Indicators of Water Pollution in a Watershed Impacted by Land Application of Poultry Litter. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 77, 2094-2102.
  • Shah A.H., Abdelzaher A.M., Phillips M., Hernandez R., Solo-Gabriele H.M., Kish J., Scorzetti G., Fell J.W., Diaz M.R., Scott T.M., Lukasik J., Harwood V.J., McQuaig S., Sinigalliano C.D., Gidley M.L., Wanless D., Ager A., Lui J., Stewart J.R., Plano L.R.W. & Fleming L.E. (2011). Indicator microbes correlate with pathogenic bacteria, yeasts and helminthes in sand at a subtropical recreational beach site. J. Appl. Microbiol., 110, 1571-1583.
  • Staley C., Jones M.K., Wright A.C. & Harwood V.J. (2011a). Genetic and quantitative assessment of Vibrio vulnificus populations in oyster (Crassostrea virginica) tissues. Environ. Microbiol. Rep., 3, 543-549.
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Hall, C. 2010. Developmental variation in resistance and tolerance in a multi-host-parasite system. Functional Ecology 24: 1110-1121
  • Jennings, D.E., Krupa, J.J., Raffel, T.R., Rohr, J.R. 2010. Evidence for competition between carnivorous plants and spiders. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 277: 301-308 highlighted in Science Magazine
  • Raffel, T.R., Hoverman, J.T., Halstead, N.T., Michel, P., Rohr, J.R. 2010. Parasitism in a community context: Trait-mediated interactions with competition and predation. Ecology 91: 1900-1907
  • Rohr, J.R., McCoy, K.A. 2010. Preserving environmental health and scientific credibility: A practical guide to reducing conflicts of interest. Conservation Letters 3: 143-150
  • Martin, L.B., Hopkins, W.A., Mydlarz, L.D., Rohr, J.R. 2010. The effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: The Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology 1195: 129-148 (invited submission)
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R. 2010. Linking global climate and temperature variability to widespread amphibian declines putatively caused by disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107: 8269-8274
  • Rohr, J.R., McCoy, K.A. 2010. A qualitative meta-analysis reveals consistent effects of atrazine on freshwater fish and amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives 118: 20-32
  • Abdelzaher A.M., Wright M.E., Ortega C., Solo-Gabriele H.M., Miller G., Elmir S., Newman X., Shih P., Bonilla J.A., Bonilla T.D., Palmer C.J., Scott T., Lukasik J., Harwood V.J., McQuaig S., Sinigalliano C., Gidley M., Plano L.R.W., Zhu X.F., Wang J.D. & Fleming L.E. (2010). Presence of Pathogens and Indicator Microbes at a Non-Point Source Subtropical Recreational Marine Beach. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 76, 724-732.
  • Badgley B.D., Nayak B.S. & Harwood V.J. (2010a). The importance of sediment and submerged aquatic vegetation as potential habitats for persistent strains of enterococci in a subtropical watershed. Water Res., 44, 5857-5866.
  • Badgley B.D., Thomas F.I.M. & Harwood V.J. (2010b). The effects of submerged aquatic vegetation on the persistence of environmental populations of Enterococcus spp. Environmental Microbiology, 12, 1271-1281.
  • Leskinen S.D., Brownell M., Lim D.V. & Harwood V.J. (2010). Hollow-Fiber Ultrafiltration and PCR Detection of Human-Associated Genetic Markers from Various Types of Surface Water in Florida. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 76, 4116-4117.
  • Staley C. & Harwood V.J. (2010). The Use of Genetic Typing Methods to Discriminate Among Strains of Vibrio cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus, and V. vulnificus. J. AOAC Int., 93, 1553-1569.
  • Weidhaas J.L., Macbeth T.W., Olsen R.L., Sadowsky M.J., Norat D. & Harwood V.J. (2010). Identification of a Brevibacterium marker gene specific to poultry litter and development of a quantitative PCR assay. J. Appl. Microbiol., 109, 334-347.
  • Raffel, T.R., Sheingold, J.L., Rohr, J.R. 2009. Lack of pesticide toxicity to Echinostoma trivolvis eggs and miracidia. Journal of Parasitology 95: 1548-1551
  • Rohr, J.R., Mahan, C.G., Kim, K. 2009. Response of arthropod biodiversity to foundation species declines: the case of the eastern hemlock. Forest Ecology and Management 258: 1503-1510
  • Clements, W.H., Rohr, J.R. 2009. Community responses to contaminants: Using basic ecological principles to predict ecotoxicological effects. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 28: 1789-1800
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Sessions, S.K. 2009. Digenetic trematodes and their relationship to amphibian declines and deformities. In: Amphibian Biology. vol. 8. Amphibian Decline: Diseases, Parasites, Maladies, and Pollution. series editor Heatwole, H. & Wilkinson, J.W. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia, pp 3067-3088
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., & Swan, A., Hudson, P.J. 2009. Parasites, info-disruption, and the ecology of fear. Oecologia 159: 447-454
  • Delphia, C.M., Rohr, J.R., Stephenson, A.G., De Moraes, C.M., Mescher, M.C. 2009. Effects of genetic variation and inbreeding on volatile production in a field population of horsenettle. International Journal of Plant Sciences 170: 12-20
  • Raffel, T.R., Le Gros, R.J., Love, B.C., Rohr, J.R., Hudson, P.J. 2009. Parasite age-intensity relationships in red-spotted newts: Does immune memory influence salamander disease dynamics International Journal for Parasitology 39: 231-241
  • Harwood V.J., Brownell M., Wang S., Lepo J., Ellender R.D., Ajidahun A., Hellein K.N., Kennedy E., Ye X.Y. & Flood C. (2009). Validation and field testing of library-independent microbial source tracking methods in the Gulf of Mexico. Water Res., 43, 4812-4819.
  • Scott T.M., Harwood V.J., Ahmed W., Masago Y. & Rose J.B. (2009). Comment on "Environmental Occurrence of the Enterococcal Surface Protein (esp) Gene is an Unreliable Indicator of Human Fecal Contamination". Environ. Sci. Tech., 43, 6434-6435.
  • Korajkic A., Badgley B.D., Brownell M.J. & Harwood V.J. (2009). Application of microbial source tracking methods in a Gulf of Mexico field setting. J. Appl. Microbiol., 107, 1518-1527.
  • Leskinen S.D., Harwood V.J. & Lim D.V. (2009). Rapid dead-end ultrafiltration concentration and biosensor detection of enterococci from beach waters of Southern California. J. Water Health, 7, 674-684.
  • Nayak B.S., Levine A.D., Cardoso A. & Harwood V.J. (2009). Microbial population dynamics in laboratory-scale solid waste bioreactors in the presence or absence of biosolids. J. Appl. Microbiol., 107, 1330-1339.
  • Tatavarthy A., Peak K., Veguilla W., Cutting T., Harwood V.J., Roberts J., Amuso P., Cattani J. & Cannons A. (2009). An Accelerated Method for Isolation of Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium from Artificially Contaminated Foods, Using a Short Preenrichment, Immunomagnetic Separation, and Xylose-Lysine-Desoxycholate Agar (61X Method). J. Food Prot., 72, 583-590.


Progress 12/01/10 to 11/30/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Conducted experiments, analyzed experimental or survey data, and wrote several papers documented below. Conducted a mesocosm experiment to evaluate whether community- and ecosystem-level responses to pesticides were consistent within pesticide classes. Conducted a mesocosm experiment to test whether we could use food web theory to predict the effect of agrochemical mixtures. Conducted a community-level mesocosm experiment to quantify effects of agrochemicals on E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, adenovirus, HPyV, and E. coli and enterococci. Conducted a direct toxicity study to test whether agrochemicals have positive or negative effects on E. coli and enterococcii bacteria. Conducted several experiments on agrochemicals and trematode and other parasites. DISSEMINATION Invited Talks and Seminars that Disseminated USDA Research Results: 2011: Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Meeting, Boston; University of South Florida; Virginia Tech University; MI H2Objective Conference: Research Shaping Michigan's Water Future, Detroit; Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry sponsored Pellston Workshop, Racine, WI; Tulane University. 2010: Illinois State University; University of Colorado; Ecological Society of America National Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, Symposium Presentation; American Society for Microbiology, San Diego, CA; American Society of Parasitologists National Meeting, Colorado Springs, CO, Symposium Presentation; University of Florida, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center; National Synthesis Workshop: Pathogens (Bacteria, Viruses and Protozoa) in Rural and Agricultural Water and Watersheds (Ithaca, NY); Vanderbilt University; Belmont University; USDA-NIFA Water and Watershed Annual Awardee Meeting (Hilton Head, SC). 2009: ResearchOne Graduate Student Research Symposium, University of South Florida (presented by Zach Staley); Southeastern Branch ASM Annual Meeting, Savannah, GA (presented by Zach Staley); Penn State University; American Society of Agronomy - Crop Science Society of America - Soil Science Society of America Joint International Meeting (Pittsburgh, PA), USDA-CSREES-NRI Managed Ecosystems Annual Awardee Meeting; University of Central Florida; Society for Conservation Biology Meeting (Flagstaff, AZ), Symposium Presentation; Ecological Society of America Meeting (Albuquerque, NM), Organized Oral Session Presentation; US EPA National Meeting on the "Plight of Ecosystems in a Changing Climate: Impacts on Services, Interactions, and Responses" (Seattle, WA); Archbold Biological Station (Lake Placid, FL); Emporia State University (Emporia, KS). Presentations at National and International Meetings that Disseminated USDA Research Results: 2011: eight presentations; 2010: five presentations; 2009: four presentations PARTICIPANTS: Jason Rohr - Oversaw all work on project. Co-PD: Valerie Harwood - directly supervises the PhD student and microbiology. Postdoc: Thomas Raffel - oversaw all work of undergrads on project. Helped conduct field, lab, and mesocosm work. Wrote many papers. Technician: Neal Halstead - processed most samples and trained and supervised undergrads. COLLABORATORS Since moving to the University of South Florida, Dr. Rohr has collaborated with many faculty at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the Gulf Coast Research Center. The primary contact there is Dr. Steven Johnson. All 120 of Dr. Rohr's cattle tanks/mesocosm are at this facility just outside Tampa, and this is where most future proposed mesocosm experiment will occur. TRAINING 1 graduate students: Zachery Staley Undergraduates from University of South Florida: Callyn Hall (White female, callynann@yahoo.com), Mythili Penugonda (Indian female, mpenugon@mail.usf.edu), Alex Mendoza (Hispanic male, amendoz2@mail.usf.edu); Michel, Patrick; Hudson, James; Blersch, Jessika; Marante, Danay; Ha, Jeanie; Guirguis, Jonathan; Quinn, Catherine; Garibova, Leana; Williams, Sara; Makhijani, Anjali; Bradberry, David; Tomkovitch, Jonathan; Shaikh, Shadab; Heet, Jacqueline; Swindasz, Jaime; Agaj, Sadina; Domzardzki, Lisa; Dorling, Heather; Fann, Joseph; Kobasa, Christina; Litowchak, Danielle; Donn, Natalie; Drennen, Alan; Esterrich, Erica; Waldman, Jennifer; Cevallos, Charles; Caicedo, Lina; Decker, Cheryl; Miller, Maxwell; Saxon, Matthew TARGET AUDIENCES: 60% of the undergraduates we have trained on this project are from groups underrepresented in the sciences PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
We conducted an experiment with 72 cattle tanks with 12 pesticide treatments, three from each of four classes (triazine herbicides, chloroacetinilide herbicides, carbamate insecticides, orgaphosphate insecticides). There was striking consistency in ecosystem and community responses among pesticides within each class, suggesting that we might be able to reduce the thousands of pesticides down to pesticide classes. In a separate community-level mesocosm experiment , we discovered that atrazine (herbicide) and fertilizers increased E. coli and enterococci, but that malathion (insecticide) and chlorothalonil (fungicide) had no effects on these fecal-derived pathogens. Further, there were no interactions between chemicals on t he survival of these pathogens. In follow-up direct toxicity studies, none of the four chemicals affected these pathogens, indicating that the effects of atrazine and fertilizer in the community-level experiment were likely indirect (mediated through algal and biofilm communities). To demonstrate that these effects were indirectly mediated through algae, we conducted experiments where the mesocosms were or were not exposed to natural light. Only tanks with light exposure had phytoplankton growth and the predicted effects on the fecal indicator bacteria, demonstrating conclusively the indirect mechanism. We demonstrated that chlorothalonil, the most commonly used synthetic fungicide in the US, is deadly and immunosuppressive to wildlife. We quantified the interactions of several pathogens within hosts. We found no evidence that atrazine inhibited olfaction in toads. However, we did show that toads were capable of avoiding chemical cues of trematode cercariae and trematode-infected snails and that the magnitude of this anti-parasite response was similar to the magnitude of the anti-predator responses. We found no evidence that agrochemicals affect the survival of egg or miricidia of trematodes. We discovered many natural processes that alter susceptibility and exposure to trematodes that can be used to reduce infections in hosts, such as livestock. We reviewed and synthesized the effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. We reviewed and synthesized our knowledge of trematode infections of wildlife. We reviewed and synthesized our knowledge of community-level effects of contaminants. We found evidence of adaptive immunity in salamanders. We reviewed the biological effects of atrazine on amphibians and freshwater fish. We quantified the impacts of global climate change on disease related extinctions. We predicted structural and functional changes of terrestrial arthropod diversity to the loss of hemlocks associated with hemlock woolly adelgid invasions.

Publications

  • Venesky, M.D., Mendelson, J.R., Sears, B.F., Stiling, P.D., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Selecting for tolerance against pathogens and herbivores to enhance the success of reintroduction and translocation programs. Conservation Biology in press
  • Jennings, D.E., Congelosi, A.M., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Insecticides reduce survival and the expression of traits associated with carnivory of carnivorous plants. Ecotoxicology in press
  • Staley, Z., Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2011. A test of direct and indirect effects of agrochemicals on the survival of fecal indicator bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 77: 8765-8774
  • Sears, B.F., Rohr, J.R., Allen, J.E., Martin, L.B. 2011. The economy of inflammation: when is less more Trends in Parasitology 27: 382-387
  • McMahon, T., Crumrine, P., Halstead, N., Johnson, S., Raffel, T.R., Romansic, J., Rohr, J.R. 2011. The fungicide chlorothalonil is nonlinearly associated with corticosterone levels, immunity, and mortality in amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives 119: 1098-1103
  • Lekberg, Y., Meadow, J., Rohr, J.R., Redecker, D., Zabinski, C.A. 2011. Importance of dispersal and thermal environment for mycorrhizal communities: Lessons from Yellowstone National Park. Ecology 92: 1292-1302
  • Romansic, J.M., Johnson, P.T.J., Searle, C.L., Johnson, J.E., Tunstall, T., Han, B.A., Rohr, J.R., Blaustein, A.R. 2011. Individual and combined effects of multiple pathogens on Pacific treefrogs. Oecologia 166: 1029-1041
  • Schotthoefer, A.M., Rohr, J.R., Cole, R.A., Koehler, A.V., Johnson, C.M., Johnson, L.B., Beasley, V.R. 2011. Effects of wetland and landscape variables on parasite communities of Rana pipiens: links to anthropogenic changes. Ecological Applications 21: 1257-1271
  • Jennings, D.E., Rohr J.R. 2011. A review of the conservation threats to carnivorous plants. Biological Conservation 144: 1356-1363
  • Rohr, J.R., Dobson, A.P., Johnson, P.T.J., Kilpatrick, A.M., Paull, S.H., Raffel, T.R., Ruiz-Moreno, D., Thomas, M.B. 2011. Frontiers in climate change-disease research. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 26: 270-277 (invited submission)
  • Raffel, T.R., Lloyd-Smith, J.O., Sessions, S.K., Hudson, P.J., Rohr, J.R. 2011. Does the early frog catch the worm Disentangling potential drivers of a parasite age-intensity relationship in tadpoles. Oecologia. 165: 1031-1042
  • Clements, W.H., Rohr, J.R. 2009. Community responses to contaminants: Using basic ecological principles to predict ecotoxicological effects. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 28: 1789-1800
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Sessions, S.K. 2009. Digenetic trematodes and their relationship to amphibian declines and deformities. In: Amphibian Biology. vol. 8. Amphibian Decline: Diseases, Parasites, Maladies, and Pollution. series editor Heatwole, H. & Wilkinson, J.W. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia, pp 3067-3088
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., & Swan, A., Hudson, P.J. 2009. Parasites, info-disruption, and the ecology of fear. Oecologia. 159: 447-454
  • Delphia, C.M., Rohr, J.R., Stephenson, A.G., De Moraes, C.M., Mescher, M.C. 2009. Effects of genetic variation and inbreeding on volatile production in a field population of horsenettle. International Journal of Plant Sciences. 170: 12-20
  • Raffel, T.R., Le Gros, R.J., Love, B.C., Rohr, J.R., Hudson, P.J. 2009. Parasite age-intensity relationships in red-spotted newts: Does immune memory influence salamander disease dynamics International Journal for Parasitology. 39: 231-241
  • Raffel, T.R., Michel, P.J. , Sites, E.W. , Rohr, J.R. 2010. Does temperature drive chytrid infections in newt populations Associations with leaf litter, vegetation and shade. Ecohealth 7: 526-536
  • Rohr, J.R., Halstead, N.T., Raffel, T.R. 2011. Modelling the future distribution of the amphibian chytrid fungus: The influence of climate and human-associated factors. Journal of Applied Ecology. 48: 174-176 (invited submission)
  • Rohr, J.R., Sesterhenn, T., Stieha, C. 2011. Will climate change reduce the effects of a pesticide on amphibians: Partitioning effects on exposure and susceptibility to pollution. Global Change Biology. 17: 657-666
  • Johnson, P.T.J., Rohr, J.R., Hoverman, J.T. Kellermanns, E., Bowerman, J., Lunde, K.B. 2012. Host life history explains interspecific variation in disease risk. Ecology Letters in press
  • Rohr, J.R., Halstead, N.T., Raffel, T.R. 2012. The herbicide atrazine, algae, and snail populations. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in press
  • Raffel, T.R. , Johnson, P.T.J., Paull, S.H. , Rohr, J.R. 2010. Symposium 16, Towards a general theory for how climate change will affect infectious disease. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 91: 467-473
  • Staley, Z., Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2010. The effect of agrochemicals on indicator bacteria densities in outdoor mesocosms. Environmental Microbiology. 12: 3150-3158
  • Leslie, T.W., Biddinger, D.J., Rohr, J.R., Fleischer, S.J. 2010. Conventional and seed-based insect management strategies similarly influence non-target coleopteran communities in maize. Environmental Entomology. 39: 2045-2055
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Hall, C. 2010. Developmental variation in resistance and tolerance in a multi-host-parasite system. Functional Ecology. 24: 1110-1121
  • Jennings, D.E., Krupa, J.J., Raffel, T.R., Rohr, J.R. 2010. Evidence for competition between carnivorous plants and spiders. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 277: 301-308 highlighted in Science Magazine
  • Raffel, T.R., Hoverman, J.T., Halstead, N.T., Michel, P., Rohr, J.R. 2010. Parasitism in a community context: Trait-mediated interactions with competition and predation. Ecology. 91: 1900-1907
  • Rohr, J.R., McCoy, K.A. 2010. Preserving environmental health and scientific credibility: A practical guide to reducing conflicts of interest. Conservation Letters. 3: 143-150
  • Martin, L.B., Hopkins, W.A., Mydlarz, L.D., Rohr, J.R. 2010. The effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: The Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology. 1195: 129-148 (invited submission)
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R. 2010. Linking global climate and temperature variability to widespread amphibian declines putatively caused by disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 107: 8269-8274
  • Rohr, J.R., McCoy, K.A. 2010. A qualitative meta-analysis reveals consistent effects of atrazine on freshwater fish and amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives. 118: 20-32
  • Raffel, T.R., Sheingold, J.L., Rohr, J.R. 2009. Lack of pesticide toxicity to Echinostoma trivolvis eggs and miracidia. Journal of Parasitology. 95: 1548-1551
  • Rohr, J.R., Mahan, C.G., Kim, K. 2009. Response of arthropod biodiversity to foundation species declines: the case of the eastern hemlock. Forest Ecology and Management. 258: 1503-1510


Progress 12/01/09 to 11/30/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Conducted experiments, analyzed experimental or survey data, and wrote the following papers: 1) Raffel et al. 2009 Int. J. Parasitol. 2) Rohr et al. 2009 Oecologia, 3) Rohr et al. 2009 Book Chap., 4) Clements and Rohr 2009 Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 5) Rohr et al. 2009 For. Ecol. Manag., 6) Raffel et al. 2009 J. Parasitol., 7) Rohr and McCoy 2010 Environ. Health Persp., 8) Rohr and Raffel 2010 PNAS, 9) Martin et al. 2010 Annals NY Acad. Sci., 10) Raffel et al. 2010 Ecology, 11) , 12) Rohr and McCoy 2010 Cons. Lett., 13) Rohr et al. 2010 Funct. Ecol., 14) Raffel et al. in press Oecologia, , 15)Schotthoefer et al. in press Ecol. Appl., 16) Leslie et al. in press Environ. Entomol., 17) Romansic et al. in press Oecologia, 18) Staley et al. 2010 Environ. Microbiol., 19) McMahon et al. in revisions Environ. Health Persp. Conducted a mesocosm experiment to evaluate whether community- and ecosystem-level responses to pesticides were consistent within pesticide classes. Conducted a mesocosm experiment to test whether we could use food web theory to predict the effect of agrochemical mixtures. Conducted a community-level mesocosm experiment to quantify effects of agrochemicals on E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, adenovirus, HPyV, and E. coli and enterococci. Conducted a direct toxicity study to test whether agrochemicals have positive or negative effects on E. coli and enterococcii bacteria. Conducted several experiments on agrochemicals and trematode and other parasites. DISSEMINATION Invited Talks and Seminars that Disseminated USDA Research Results: 2010: Illinois State University; University of Colorado; Ecological Society of America National Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, Symposium Presentation; American Society for Microbiology, San Diego, CA; American Society of Parasitologists National Meeting, Colorado Springs, CO, Symposium Presentation; University of Florida, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center; National Synthesis Workshop: Pathogens (Bacteria, Viruses and Protozoa) in Rural and Agricultural Water and Watersheds (Ithaca, NY); Vanderbilt University; Belmont University; USDA-NIFA Water and Watershed Annual Awardee Meeting (Hilton Head, SC). 2009: ResearchOne Graduate Student Research Symposium, University of South Florida (presented by Zach Staley); Southeastern Branch ASM Annual Meeting, Savannah, GA (presented by Zach Staley); Penn State University; American Society of Agronomy - Crop Science Society of America - Soil Science Society of America Joint International Meeting (Pittsburgh, PA), USDA-CSREES-NRI Managed Ecosystems Annual Awardee Meeting; University of Central Florida; Society for Conservation Biology Meeting (Flagstaff, AZ), Symposium Presentation; Ecological Society of America Meeting (Albuquerque, NM), Organized Oral Session Presentation; US EPA National Meeting on the "Plight of Ecosystems in a Changing Climate: Impacts on Services, Interactions, and Responses" (Seattle, WA); Archbold Biological Station (Lake Placid, FL); Emporia State University (Emporia, KS). Presentations at National and International Meetings that Disseminated USDA Research Results: 2010: five presentations; 2009: four presentations PARTICIPANTS: INDIVIDUALS PD: Jason Rohr - Oversaw all work on project. Co-PD: Valerie Harwood - directly supervises the PhD student and microbiology. Postdoc: Thomas Raffel - oversaw all work of undergrads on project. Helped conduct field, lab, and mesocosm work. Wrote many papers. Technician: Neal Halstead - processed most samples and trained and supervised undergrads. COLLABORATORS Since moving to the University of South Florida, Dr. Rohr has collaborated with many faculty at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the Gulf Coast Research Center. The primary contact there is Dr. Steven Johnson. All 120 of Dr. Rohr's cattle tanks/mesocosm are at this facility just outside Tampa, and this is where most future proposed mesocosm experiment will occur. TRAINING 1 graduate students: Zachery Staley Undergraduates from University of South Florida: Callyn Hall (White female, callynann@yahoo.com), Mythili Penugonda (Indian female, mpenugon@mail.usf.edu), Alex Mendoza (Hispanic male, amendoz2@mail.usf.edu); Michel, Patrick; Hudson, James; Blersch, Jessika; Marante, Danay; Ha, Jeanie; Guirguis, Jonathan; Quinn, Catherine; Garibova, Leana; Williams, Sara; Makhijani, Anjali; Bradberry, David; Tomkovitch, Jonathan; Shaikh, Shadab; Heet, Jacqueline; Swindasz, Jaime; Agaj, Sadina; Domzardzki, Lisa; Dorling, Heather; Fann, Joseph; Kobasa, Christina; Litowchak, Danielle; Donn, Natalie; Drennen, Alan; Esterrich, Erica; Waldman, Jennifer; Cevallos, Charles; Caicedo, Lina; Decker, Cheryl; Miller, Maxwell; Saxon, Matthew TARGET AUDIENCES: 60% of the undergraduates we have trained on this project are from groups underrepresented in the sciences. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
We conducted an experiment with 72 cattle tanks with 12 pesticide treatments, three from each of four classes (triazine herbicides, chloroacetinilide herbicides, carbamate insecticides, orgaphosphate insecticides). There was striking consistency in ecosystem and community responses among pesticides within each class, suggesting that we might be able to reduce the thousands of pesticides down to pesticide classes. In a separate community-level mesocosm experiment , we discovered that atrazine (herbicide) and fertilizers increased E. coli and enterococci, but that malathion (insecticide) and chlorothalonil (fungicide) had no effects on these fecal-derived pathogens. Further, there were no interactions between chemicals on t he survival of these pathogens. In follow-up direct toxicity studies, none of the four chemicals affected these pathogens, indicating that the effects of atrazine and fertilizer in the community-level experiment were likely indirect (mediated through algal and biofilm communities). We demonstrated that chlorothalonil, the most commonly used synthetic fungicide in the US, is deadly and immunosuppressive to wildlife. We quantified the interactions of several pathogens within hosts. We found no evidence that atrazine inhibited olfaction in toads. However, we did show that toads were capable of avoiding chemical cues of trematode cercariae and trematode-infected snails and that the magnitude of this anti-parasite response was similar to the magnitude of the anti-predator responses. We found no evidence that agrochemicals affect the survival of egg or miricidia of trematodes. We discovered many natural processes that alter susceptibility and exposure to trematodes that can be used to reduce infections in hosts, such as livestock. We reviewed and synthesized the effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. We reviewed and synthesized our knowledge of trematode infections of wildlife. We reviewed and synthesized our knowledge of community-level effects of contaminants. We found evidence of adaptive immunity in salamanders. We reviewed the biological effects of atrazine on amphibians and freshwater fish. We quantified the impacts of global climate change on disease related extinctions. We predicted structural and functional changes of terrestrial arthropod diversity to the loss of hemlocks associated with hemlock woolly adelgid invasions.

Publications

  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R. 2010. Linking global climate and temperature variability to widespread amphibian declines putatively caused by disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 107: 8269-8274
  • Rohr, J.R., McCoy, K.A. 2010. A qualitative meta-analysis reveals consistent effects of atrazine on freshwater fish and amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives. 118: 20-32
  • Raffel, T.R., Sheingold, J.L., Rohr, J.R. 2009. Lack of pesticide toxicity to Echinostoma trivolvis eggs and miracidia. Journal of Parasitology. 95: 1548-1551
  • Sears, B.F., Rohr, J.R., Martin, L.B. 2011. in review. The economy of inflammation: when is less more Trends in Immunology
  • Staley, Z., Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2011. in review. Effects of agrochemicals on the survival and population structure of fecal indicator bacteria in simplified mesocosms. Journal of Applied Microbiology
  • Rohr, J.R. et al. 2011. in review. Frontiers in climate change-disease research. Trends in Ecology and Evolution
  • McMahon, T., Crumrine, P., Halstead, N., Johnson, S., Raffel, T.R., Romansic, J., Rohr, J.R. 2011. in revisions. Chlorothalonil: a deadly, immunomodulatory, and corticosterone-inducing fungicide to amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives
  • McCoy, M.W., Martin, L.B., Johnson, P.T.J., Rohr, J.R. 2011. in revisions. Decomposing resistance and tolerance to natural enemies. American Naturalist
  • Crumrine, P.W., Miller, A.D., Rohr, J.R. 2011. in revisions. Impacts of larval odonates and pesticides on the survival of Echinostoma trivolvis cercariae. Journal of Parasitology
  • Lekberg, Y., Meadow, J., Rohr, J.R., Redecker, D., Zabinski, C.A. 2011. in revisions. Importance of dispersal and thermal environment for mycorrhizal communities: Lessons from Yellowstone National Park. Ecology
  • Romansic, J.M., Johnson, P.T.J., Searle, C.L., Johnson, J.E., Tunstall, T., Han, B.A., Rohr, J.R., Blaustein, A.R. 2011. in press. Individual and combined effects of multiple pathogens on Pacific treefrogs. Oecologia
  • Raffel, T.R., Michel, P.J. , Sites, E.W. , Rohr, J.R. 2011. in press. Does temperature drive chytrid infections in newt populations Associations with leaf litter, vegetation and shade. Ecohealth
  • Rohr, J.R., Halstead, N.T., Raffel, T.R. 2011. in press. Modeling the future distribution of the amphibian chytrid fungus: The influence of climate and human-associated factors. Journal of Applied Ecology
  • Raffel, T.R., Johnson, P.T.J., Paull, S.H. , Rohr, J.R. 2011. in press. Symposium 16, Towards a general theory for how climate change will affect infectious disease. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America
  • Leslie, T.W., Biddinger, D.J., Rohr, J.R., Fleischer, S.J. 2011. in press. Conventional and seed-based insect management strategies similarly influence non-target coleopteran communities in maize. Environmental Entomology
  • Schotthoefer, A.M., Rohr, J.R., Cole, R.A., Koehler, A.V., Johnson, C.M., Johnson, L.B., Beasley, V.R. 2011. in press. Effects of wetland and landscape variables on parasite communities of Rana pipiens: links to anthropogenic changes. Ecological Applications
  • Raffel, T.R., Lloyd-Smith, J.O., Sessions, S.K., Hudson, P.J., Rohr, J.R. 2011. in press. Does the early frog catch the worm Disentangling potential drivers of a parasite age-intensity relationship in tadpoles. Oecologia
  • Rohr, J.R., Sesterhenn, T., Stieha, C. 2011. in press. Will climate change reduce the effects of a pesticide on amphibians: Partitioning effects on exposure and susceptibility to pollution. Global Change Biology
  • Staley, Z., Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2010. The effect of agrochemicals on indicator bacteria densities in outdoor mesocosms. Environmental Microbiology. 12: 31503158
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Hall, C. 2010. Developmental variation in resistance and tolerance in a multi-host-parasite system. Functional Ecology. 24: 1110-1121
  • Raffel, T.R., Hoverman, J.T., Halstead, N.T., Michel, P., Rohr, J.R. 2010. Parasitism in a community context: Trait-mediated interactions with competition and predation. Ecology. 91: 1900-1907
  • Rohr, J.R., McCoy, K.A. 2010. Preserving environmental health and scientific credibility: A practical guide to reducing conflicts of interest. Conservation Letters. 3: 143-150
  • Martin, L.B., Hopkins, W.A., Mydlarz, L.D., Rohr, J.R. 2010. The effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: The Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology. 1195: 129-148


Progress 12/01/08 to 11/30/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Conducted experiments, analyzed experimental or survey data, and wrote the following papers: 1) Raffel et al. 2009 Int. J. Parasitol. 2) Rohr et al. 2009 Oecologia, 3) Rohr et al. 2009 Book Chap., 4) Clements and Rohr 2009 Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 5) Rohr et al. 2009 Forest Ecol. Manag., 6) Raffel et al. in press J. Parasitol., 7) Rohr and McCoy in press Environ. Health Persp., 8) Staley et al. in press Environ. Microbiol., 9) Martin et al. in press Annals NY Acad. Sci., 10) Raffel et al. in press Ecology, 11) Rohr and Raffel in review PNAS, 12) Rohr and McCoy in review Cons. Lett., 13) McMahon et al. in review Environ. Health Persp., 14) Raffel et al. in review J. Anim. Ecol., , 15) Rohr et al. in review Funct. Ecol., 16) McMahon et al. in review Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 17) Romansic et al. Oecologia. Conducted a mesocosm experiment to evaluate whether community- and ecosystem-level responses to pesticides were consistent within pesticide classes. Conducted a mesocosm experiment to test whether we could use food web theory to predict the effect of agrochemical mixtures. Conducted a community-level mesocosm experiment to test whether agrochemicals have positive or negative effects on E. coli and enterococcii bacteria. Conducted a direct toxicity study to test whether agrochemicals have positive or negative effects on E. coli and enterococcii bacteria. Conducted several experiments on agrochemicals and trematode and other parasites. DISSEMINATION Invited Talks and Seminars that Disseminated USDA Research Results (Rohr was presenter unless noted; titles available upon request): 2009: ResearchOne Graduate Student Research Symposium, University of South Florida (presented by Zach Staley); Southeastern Branch ASM Annual Meeting, Savannah, GA 9presented by Zach Staley); Penn State University, School of Forest Resources; American Society of Agronomy - Crop Science Society of America - Soil Science Society of America Joint International Meeting (Pittsburgh, PA), USDA-CSREES-NRI Managed Ecosystems Annual Awardee Meeting; University of Central Florida, Department of Biology; Society for Conservation Biology Meeting (Flagstaff, AZ), Organized Symposium: "Infectious Disease and Conservation in North America"; Ecological Society of America Meeting (Albuquerque, NM), Organized Oral Session: "Climate Change Science in Conservation Planning"; US EPA National Meeting on the "Plight of Ecosystems in a Changing Climate: Impacts on Services, Interactions, and Responses" (Seattle, WA); Archbold Biological Station (Lake Placid, FL); Emporia State University (Emporia, KS), Department of Biological Sciences (graduate student selection as invited speaker for the Spring semester) Presentations at National and International Meetings that Disseminated USDA Research Results (Rohr was presenter unless ted): 2009: four presentations PARTICIPANTS: INDIVIDUALS PD: Jason Rohr - Oversaw all work on project. Co-PD: Valerie Harwood - Primary consultant on project and directly supervises the PhD student and microbiology. Postdoc: Thomas Raffel - oversaw all work of undergrads on project. Helped conduct field, lab, and mesocosm work. Wrote many papers. Technician: Neal Halstead - processed most samples and trained and supervised undergrads. COLLABORATORS Since moving to the University of South Florida, Dr. Rohr has collaborated with many faculty at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the Gulf Coast Research Center. The primary contact there is Dr. Steven Johnson. All 120 of Dr. Rohr's cattle tanks/mesocosm are at this facility just outside Tampa, and this is where most future proposed mesocosm experiment will occur. TRAINING 1 graduate students: Zachery Staley Undergraduates from University of South Florida: Callyn Hall (White female, callynann@yahoo.com), Mythili Penugonda (Indian female, mpenugon@mail.usf.edu), Alex Mendoza (Hispanic male, amendoz2@mail.usf.edu); Michel, Patrick; Hudson, James; Blersch, Jessika; Marante, Danay; Ha, Jeanie; Guirguis, Jonathan; Quinn, Catherine; Garibova, Leana; Williams, Sara; Makhijani, Anjali; Bradberry, David; Tomkovitch, Jonathan; Shaikh, Shadab; Heet, Jacqueline; Swindasz, Jaime; Agaj, Sadina; Domzardzki, Lisa; Dorling, Heather; Fann, Joseph; Kobasa, Christina; Litowchak, Danielle; Donn, Natalie; Drennen, Alan; Esterrich, Erica; Waldman, Jennifer; Cevallos, Charles; Caicedo, Lina; Decker, Cheryl; Miller, Maxwell; Saxon, Matthew TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
We conducted an experiment with 72 cattle tanks with 12 pesticide treatments, three from each of four classes (triazine herbicides, chloroacetinilide herbicides, carbamate insecticides, orgaphosphate insecticides). There was striking consistency in ecosystem and community responses among pesticides within each class, suggesting that we might be able to reduce the thousands of pesticides down to pesticide classes. In a separate community-level mesocosm experiment , we discovered that atrazine (herbicide) and fertilizers increased E. coli and enterococci, but that malathion (insecticide) and chlorothalonil (fungicide) had no effects on these fecal-derived pathogens. Further, there were no interactions between chemicals on t he survival of these pathogens. In follow-up direct toxicity studies, none of the four chemicals affected these pathogens, indicating that the effects of atrazine and fertilizer in the community-level experiment were likely indirect (mediated through algal and biofilm communities). We demonstrated that chlorothalonil, the most commonly used synthetic fungicide in the US, is deadly and immunosuppressive to wildlife. We quantified the interactions of several pathogens within hosts. We found no evidence that atrazine inhibited olfaction in toads. However, we did show that toads were capable of avoiding chemical cues of trematode cercariae and trematode-infected snails and that the magnitude of this anti-parasite response was similar to the magnitude of the anti-predator responses. We found no evidence that agrochemicals affect the survival of egg or miricidia of trematodes. We discovered many natural processes that alter susceptibility and exposure to trematodes that can be used to reduce infections in hosts, such as livestock. We reviewed and synthesized the effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. We reviewed and synthesized our knowledge of trematode infections of wildlife. We reviewed and synthesized our knowledge of community-level effects of contaminants. We found evidence of adaptive immunity in salamanders. We reviewed the biological effects of atrazine on amphibians and freshwater fish. We quantified the impacts of global climate change on disease related extinctions. We predicted structural and functional changes of terrestrial arthropod diversity to the loss of hemlocks associated with hemlock woolly adelgid invasions.

Publications

  • Martin, L.B., Hopkins, W.A., Mydlarz, L.D., Rohr, J.R. 2010. The effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. (invited submission)
  • Raffel, T.R., Hoverman, J.T., Halstead, N.T., Michel, P., Rohr, J.R. 2010. Parasitism in a community context: Trait-mediated interactions with competition and predation. Ecology.
  • Staley, Z., Harwood, V.J., Rohr, J.R. 2010. The effect of agrochemicals on indicator bacteria densities in outdoor mesocosms. Environmental Microbiology.
  • Raffel, T.R., Sheingold, J.L., Rohr, J.R. 2010. Lack of pesticide toxicity to Echinostoma trivolvis eggs and miracidia. Journal of Parasitology.
  • Rohr, J.R., Mahan, C.G., Kim, K. 2009. Response of arthropod biodiversity to foundation species declines: the case of the eastern hemlock. Forest Ecology and Management. 258: 1503-1510
  • Clements, W.H., Rohr, J.R. 2009. Community responses to contaminants: Using basic ecological principles to predict ecotoxicological effects. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 28: 1789-1800
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Sessions, S.K. 2009. Digenetic trematodes and their relationship to amphibian declines and deformities. In: Amphibian Biology. vol. 8. Amphibian Decline: Diseases, Parasites, Maladies, and Pollution. series editor Heatwole, H. & Wilkinson, J.W. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia, pp 3067-3088
  • Rohr, J.R., McCoy, K.A. 2010. A qualitative meta-analysis reveals consistent effects of atrazine on freshwater fish and amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2009/0901164/abstract.html
  • Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., & Swan, A., Hudson, P.J. 2009. Parasites, info-disruption, and the ecology of fear. Oecologia. 159: 447-454
  • Raffel, T.R., Le Gros, R.J., Love, B.C., Rohr, J.R., Hudson, P.J. 2009. Parasite age-intensity relationships in red-spotted newts: Does immune memory influence salamander disease dynamics International Journal for Parasitology. 39: 231-241