M. Becker results 428
· Newest (Page 1/18, per page 25)
Author: M. Becker ×Clear All Filters
Search Results
Salinity impacts biocontrol: a tri-trophic assessment of the effects of soil salinity on plant signaling and parasitoid fitnessNARA Subscribed
Soil salinization and insect herbivory pose significant threats to global food security. While biocontrol agents like parasitoid wasps are a key pest management strategy, their efficacy may be compromised by abiotic stressors cascading through trophic levels. This study investigates the tri-trophic interactions among tomato plants ( Solanum lycopersicum ), the caterpillar pest Helicoverpa zea , and its specialist endoparasitoi...
Lymphocystis Disease in Endemic Aotearoa New Zealand Bully ( Gobiomorphus cotidianus )NARA Subscribed
We detected lymphocystis disease virus (LCDV) for the first time in an Aotearoa New Zealand freshwater environment, from an individual common bully, toitoi, Gobiomorphus cotidianus (Eleotridae). Dinah's bully, Gobiomorphus dinae , and Kaharore bully, Gobiomorphus mataraerore , also exhibited gross nodular lesions on the fins but were not sampled. Histopathology of G. cotidianus nodular lesions revealed hypertrophic lymphocysti...
Longitudinal Impacts of Forest Loss on Bartonella and Hemotropic Mycoplasma Dynamics in Vampire Bats Within a Fragmented HabitatNARA Subscribed
Habitat fragmentation can negatively impact wildlife, including increasing infectious disease risk. We assessed spatiotemporal changes in pathogen dynamics in vampire bats ( Desmodus rotundus ) in response to habitat fragmentation using general linear mixed models to investigate the influence of site, year, and tree cover on Bartonella spp. and hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. (hemoplasmas) infection risk in bats in one large and on...
Biodiversity is threatened globally by human-mediated alteration of natural environment. This includes East African wetland ecosystems that are subject to agriculture expansion and intensification. Monitoring of biodiversity is crucial to understand and mitigate biodiversity losses. Beetles, while rarely studied, are potentially useful bioindicators due to their sensitivity to environmental changes. Our study aimed at investig...
Predictors and consequences of diet composition in a declining generalist aerial insectivoreNARA Subscribed
For generalist animals that have a broad range of food choices, the specific diet characteristics that are important for health and fitness are often unclear. Here, we examine whether individual variation in diet composition predicts nestling mass and fledge success, and we identify potential drivers of variation in diet composition, in a declining generalist aerial insectivore, the tree swallow ( Tachycineta bicolor ). We col...
Although birds have been used globally as bioindicators of heavy metals, the determinants and physiological consequences of their exposure to heavy metals remain poorly understood. The American Robin ( Turdus migratorius ) is a common songbird in a variety of habitats across most of North America that could serve as an ideal sentinel of heavy metal contamination. We evaluated how robin exposure to lead (Pb) varied regionally,...
Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) is a significant threat to global tilapia aquaculture, highlighting the need for rapid and accurate diagnostic methods to manage outbreaks and minimise economic losses. This study presents the development and partial validation of a one‐pot assay integrating RT‐LAMP with the CRISPR/Cas12b system for sensitive and specific TiLV detection. This assay amplifies viral RNA using RT‐LAMP, while CRISPR/Cas12...
Risk of Spread of Megalocytivirus pagrus1 (Infectious Spleen and Kidney Necrosis Virus) From Frozen FilletsNARA Subscribed
Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV) is a significant threat to global aquatic food security by causing large‐scale mortality in the aquaculture of tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) and mandarin fish ( Siniperca chuatsi ). ISKNV is a genogroup of Megalocytivirus pagrus1 , along with RSIV and TRBIV, and their recent listing as WOAH‐notifiable diseases highlights the need to assess spread pathways to prevent exoti...
Ecology of community reassembly: Movements and diets of megafauna during a decade of restoration in MozambiqueNARA Subscribed
The last decade has brought a worldwide surge of interest in rewilding—the repopulation of large herbivores and carnivores—as a strategy for conserving species and reviving ecosystem functions. Rewilding initiatives, if closely monitored, can provide unique insights into the ecology of the world's largest animals at otherwise impossible spatial and temporal scales. Capitalizing on these opportunities, and developing a knowledg...
Virus‐Dependent Geographic Structure of Co‐Circulating Viruses in a Single Bat SpeciesNARA Subscribed
Understanding the spatial spread of viruses within wildlife populations is often a key component of disease management efforts. Viral spread is likely constrained by host ecology, but inter‐virus differences in infection strategy might allow some viruses to overcome these constraints, leading to divergent population structures within a common host environment. We studied the phylogeographic structure of six virus taxa (dependo...
Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is one of the most common forms of epilepsy and usually manifests after serious brain insults, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, and status epilepticus (SE). Previously, we identified a new epilepsy-associated transcriptional control mechanism that relies on the zinc-dependent transcriptional activator metal-regulatory transcription factor-1 (MTF1). MTF1 is one of the key transcription fact...
The Toxicology Investigators Consortium 2024 Annual ReportNARA Subscribed
New records of introduced species in the Mediterranean Sea (December 2025)