In this dissertation I study evolutionary patterns at genes encoding antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in frogs. AMPs are short, amphipathic, cationic, secreted proteins that kill bacteria and other pathogens through a non-c ...

Aquatic ecosystems continue to be increasingly affected by climate warming. For salmonids in the Pacific Northwest of North America, increasing temperatures pose tighter thermal constraints on their habitat use as well a ...

The myxozoan parasite Ceratomyxa shasta is a significant pathogen of juvenile salmonids in the Pacific Northwest of North America and is limiting recovery of Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho (O. kisutch) salmo ...

Nearly 3000 juvenile Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho (O. kisutch) salmon captured in nearshore waters off the coasts of Washington and Oregon from 1999-2004 were tested for infection by Renibacterium salmonin ...

Infectious diseases are a growing concern for both humans and wildlife. The negative effects of infectious disease have been exemplified by the recent global amphibian population declines associated with disease outbrea ...

First introduced to the USA in 1958, Myxobolus cerebralis, the parasite responsible for whirling disease in salmonids, has since spread across the country causing severe declines in wild trout populations in the intermou ...

Water temperature influences almost every biological and physiological process of salmon, including disease resistance. In the Klamath River (California), current thermal conditions are considered sub-optimal for juvenil ...

Myxobolus cerebralis, a myxozoan parasite of salmonids, is the causative agent of whirling disease. The parasite is considered widespread throughout northeastern Oregon in the Grande Ronde and Imnaha River basins where ...