Archive for the News Category

“The Non-molluscan Invertebrate Unit welcomes UMass Boston Ph.D. student Brandon LaBumbard into the lab this week. Brandon’s research focuses on effects of chytrid fungus in amphibian declines. So, why is he holding a crayfish in this photo? Crayfishes are potential vectors by which chytrid is spread. Brandon is working with the NMI Collection’s extensive virile crayfish (Faxonius virilis) holdings, sampling for chytrid presence on, and in, these organisms. The virile crayfish is of particular interest as it has been widely introduced into regions of North America where chytrid has been particularly problematic.” By Bronwyn Williams on the Invertebrates, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Facebook page from September 6, 2017 https://www.facebook.com/groups/1413271208984999/?fref=nf

Molly Bletz (Ph.D., Technical University of Braunschwig, Germany) was awarded a prestigious Smith Conservation Fellowship to join the Woodhams lab and work on the project: Proactive conservation: curbing the threat of an emerging salamander pathogen by assessing disease risk and developing effective mitigation strategies.

Link: https://conbio.org/publications/scb-news-blog/introducing-the-2017-david-h-smith-conservation-research-fellows

National Science Foundation supported Research Experience for Undergraduates student Alma Basco (University of Puerto Rico), presented her summer research on “Developing a probiotic for proactive conservation of Eastern newts,” Alma Basco, Brandon LaBumbard, Douglas C. Woodhams.

George Khnaizir presents his summer research, conducted at the Woodhams Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Andreas Hertz, at this year’s Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Pheonix, AZ.  The title of his research is Amphibian Mucosal Defenses Against an Emerging Fungal Disease: Testing for selection in recovering populations in upland Panama.

Master’s student Kelly Barnhart published her first paper titled, “Identification of Bufadienolides from the Boreal Toad, Anaxyrus boreas, Active Against a Fungal Pathogen” in Microbial Ecology. In addition to showing that toad toxins could inhibit fungal growth, other microbiota were detected in the skin mucus and granular glands that were facilitated by the compounds. Presented on Aug. 8, 2017 at the Northeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Meeting at Mountain Lake Biological Station, Virginia.

Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00248-017-0997-8

Ph.D. students Amanda Tokash-Peters and Daniel Dacey (UMass Lowell) have successfully collected invasive mosquitoes, and bred them in the laboratory in preparation for experiments to determine the influence of aquatic conditions on microbiomes and immune development.  What conditions influence the ability of mosquitoes to resist or transmit viruses?

Bhumi Patel graduated with Honors, and presented her research project: Testing the Amphibian Mucosome for Resistance to an Emerging Pathogen. Bhumi Patel, Amanda Peters, Douglas C. Woodhams.

Amanda Tokash-Peters received 1^st place for her poster presentation at the Environmental Research Colloquium and Intercampus Marine Science Symposium. The topic of her poster:

Marbled Salamander Mortality in Ephemeral Wetlands on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Amanda Peters and Robin Van Meter.

Evan Grant and colleagues advocate using decision analysis to create and evaluate trade-offs between proactive (pre-emergence) and reactive (post-emergence) management options for the newly discovered salamander pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal). The Woodhams lab continues to collaborate with Grant at the US Geological Survey on disease threats to New England amphibians.

Grant EHC, Muths E, Katz RA, Canessa S, Adams MJ, Ballard JR, Berger L, Briggs CJ, Coleman JTH, Gray MT, Harris MC, Harris RN, Hossack B, Huyvaert KP, Kolby J, Lips KR, Lovich RE, McCallum HI, Mendelson JR, Nanjappa P, Olson DH, Powers JG, Richgels KLD, Russell RE, Schmidt BR, Spitzen‐van der Sluijs A, Watry MK, Woodhams DC, White CL. (2017) Using decision analysis to support proactive management of emerging infectious wildlife diseases. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 15(4):214-221.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.1481/full

In a study co-led by Douglas Woodhams and Eva Novakova, mosquito microbiomes were examined for seasonal patterns and trends with West Nile virus prevalence.  A fascinating outcome was a correlation between increased temperature, a reduction of protective Wolbachia bacteria, and subsequent increase in West Nile virus.  The study was highlighted in a WBUR radio interview and presented at the Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases conference at UC Santa Barbara.

Novakova E, Woodhams DC, Rodríguez-Ruano SM, Brucker RM, Leff JW, Maharaj A, Amir A, Knight R, Scott J. (2017) Mosquito microbiome dynamics, a background for prevalence and seasonality of West Nile virus. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8:526. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00526/full