Entanglement is one of the primary anthropogenic threats to the North Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis ; right whale) whose habitat overlaps fixed-gear fishing grounds in the Northwest Atlantic with entanglements representing around half of the mortality and serious injury incidents. Right whale mortality has reached levels that require intervention under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, creating the need for a tool...

Little is known about the reproductive biology of the leopard seal ( Hydrurga leptonyx ), a Southern Ocean predator. Here we observed sexual behavior in wild leopard seals in Laguna San Rafael, Chile during a 2 h courtship interaction between a female and male. The female was hauled out on ice, mostly lying still (69% of the time) or moving (19%). The male was mostly under water (87%) or at the water’s surface (11%). The femal...

Evaluating physiological responses in the context of a species’ life history, demographics, and ecology is essential to understanding the health of individuals and populations. Here, we measured the main mammalian glucocorticoid, cortisol, in an elusive Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal ( Hydrurga leptonyx ). We also examined intraspecific variation in cortisol based on life history (sex), morphometrics (body mass, bod...

Animals that display plasticity in behavioral, ecological, and morphological traits are better poised to cope with environmental disturbances. Here, we examined individual plasticity and intraspecific variation in the morphometrics, movement patterns, and dive behavior of an enigmatic apex predator, the leopard seal ( Hydrurga leptonyx ). Satellite/GPS tags and time-depth recorders were deployed on 22 leopard seals off the Wes...

Antarctic fur seals (AFS) are an ecologically important predator and a focal indicator species for ecosystem-based Antarctic fisheries management. This species suffered intensive anthropogenic exploitation until the early 1900s, but recolonized most of its former distribution, including the southern-most colony at Cape Shirreff, South Shetland Islands (SSI). The IUCN describes a single, global AFS population of least concern ;...

The coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic is affecting the environment and conservation research in fundamental ways. Many conservation social scientists are now administering survey questionnaires online, but they must do so while ensuring rigor in data collection. Further, they must address a suite of unique challenges, such as the increasing use of mobile devices by participants and avoiding bots or other survey fraud. We reviewe...

Summary Gene expression profiles of the biological control strain P seudomonas protegens Pf ‐5 inhabiting pea seed surfaces were revealed using a whole‐genome oligonucleotide microarray. We identified genes expressed by Pf ‐5 under the control of two global regulators ( GacA and RpoS ) known to influence biological control and secondary metabolism. Transcript levels of 897 genes, including many with unknown functions as well a...

Leucaena leucocephala (leucaena) is an important agroforestry tree of tropics and subtropics due to its protein rich foliages, ability to grow on poor soils, and high level of tolerance to various stresses including drought and diseases. We hypothesized that leucaena have a unique set of genes which confer tolerance to various abiotic and biotic stresses and these genes are either absent or not expressed in other legumes that...

Preliminary studies have suggested that the Amish-based furniture and related products manufacturing cluster located in and around Holmes County, Ohio, uses sizeable quantities of hardwood lumber. The number of firms within the cluster has grown even as the broader domestic furniture manufacturing sector has contracted. The present study was undertaken in 2008 (spring/summer) to develop lumber use estimates specific to Amish m...

The maple syrup industry in Ohio, which ranks fifth in total production in the United States, is comprised primarily of small family owned operations that are served by The Ohio State University (OSU) Extension system. We evaluated the effectiveness of OSU Extension educational programming designed to improve sugarbush and sugarhouse management through a survey administered at the three 2004 Ohio Maple Days workshops. Most sur...