Ecological Niche Modeling ofCryptococcus gattiiin British Columbia, Canada

Ecological Niche Modeling of Cryptococcus gattii in British Columbia, Canada

BACKGROUND Cryptococcus gattii emerged on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC), Canada, in 1999, causing human and animal illness. Environmental sampling for C.gattii in southwestern BC has isolated the fungal organism from native vegetation, soil, air, and water. OBJECTIVES Our aim was to help public health officials in BC delineate where C.gattii is currently established and forecast are...

Cryptococcus gattii Dispersal Mechanisms, British Columbia, Canada

Recent Cryptococcus gattii infections in humans and animals without travel history to Vancouver Island, as well as environmental isolations of the organism in other areas of the Pacific Northwest, led to an investigation of potential dispersal mechanisms. Longitudinal analysis of C. gattii presence in trees and soil showed patterns of permanent, intermittent, and transient colonization, reflect...

Wolf Control in British Columbia, Canada

Using ecological niche modeling to determine avian richness hotspots

Understanding distributions of wildlife species is a key step towards identifying biodiversity hotspots and designing effective conservation strategies. In this paper, the spatial pattern of diversity of birds in Golestan Province, Iran was estimated. Ecological niche modeling was used to determine distributions of 144 bird species across the province using a maximum entropy algorithm. Richness...

Body mass variation in Marbled Murrelets in British Columbia, Canada

Body mass was measured in Marbled Murrelets Brachyramphus marmoratus from May to August, 1994–1998 at Desolation Sound, and during June and July 1997 at Mussel Inlet, British Columbia, Canada, to assess seasonal, sexual, site and intra-annual variation. Birds were captured by mist-net, and by night-lighting, and were sexed using molecular techniques. The breeding status of females (gravid or no...