First Reports of Vespa mandarinia (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in North America Represent Two Separate Maternal Lineages in Washington State, United States, and British Columbia, Canada

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Telissa M Wilson ◽  
Junichi Takahashi ◽  
Sven-Erik Spichiger ◽  
Iksoo Kim ◽  
Paul van Westendorp
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Whatcom County ◽  
Future Direction

Abstract In September 2019, destruction of a Vespa mandarinia Smith 1852 nest was reported for the first time in North America in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. In December 2019, the Washington State Department of Agriculture also confirmed the first detection of an adult specimen of V. mandarinia in the United States, in Whatcom County, Washington. Vespa mandarinia is the largest hornet species and is a known predator of several insects, including the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) (Linnaeus, 1758). The establishment of V. mandarinia in North America poses a serious threat to apiculture, and this species is considered an actionable quarantine pest. Here we report details of the first detection of this species in the United States and use genetic sequence data obtained from five specimens across the globe to estimate differences in origin of the Canadian and U.S. detections. The full mitochondrial genomes of four V. mandarinia specimens representing different geographic locations were sequenced and compared with an existing reference genome. A maximum likelihood tree using 13 protein-coding regions from mitochondrial DNA suggests that the Canada and U.S. specimens are from two separate maternal lineages. A large-scale survey is currently underway to assess the level of Asian giant hornet establishment in both countries and to determine the future direction of eradication efforts.

scholarly journals Climatology of Severe Local Storm Environments and Synoptic-Scale Features over North America in ERA5 Reanalysis and CAM6 Simulation

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (19) ◽  
pp. 8339-8365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Funing Li ◽  
Daniel R. Chavas ◽  
Kevin A. Reed ◽  
Daniel T. Dawson II
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Convective Available Potential Energy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Low Level ◽  
High Bias

AbstractSevere local storm (SLS) activity is known to occur within specific thermodynamic and kinematic environments. These environments are commonly associated with key synoptic-scale features—including southerly Great Plains low-level jets, drylines, elevated mixed layers, and extratropical cyclones—that link the large-scale climate to SLS environments. This work analyzes spatiotemporal distributions of both extreme values of SLS environmental parameters and synoptic-scale features in the ERA5 reanalysis and in the Community Atmosphere Model, version 6 (CAM6), historical simulation during 1980–2014 over North America. Compared to radiosondes, ERA5 successfully reproduces SLS environments, with strong spatiotemporal correlations and low biases, especially over the Great Plains. Both ERA5 and CAM6 reproduce the climatology of SLS environments over the central United States as well as its strong seasonal and diurnal cycles. ERA5 and CAM6 also reproduce the climatological occurrence of the synoptic-scale features, with the distribution pattern similar to that of SLS environments. Compared to ERA5, CAM6 exhibits a high bias in convective available potential energy over the eastern United States primarily due to a high bias in surface moisture and, to a lesser extent, storm-relative helicity due to enhanced low-level winds. Composite analysis indicates consistent synoptic anomaly patterns favorable for significant SLS environments over much of the eastern half of the United States in both ERA5 and CAM6, though the pattern differs for the southeastern United States. Overall, our results indicate that both ERA5 and CAM6 are capable of reproducing SLS environments as well as the synoptic-scale features and transient events that generate them.

AIR-BORNE POLLEN SURVEYS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

1967 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. J. Bassett ◽  
C. W. Crompton
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Causative Agents ◽  
Early Fall ◽  
Trees And Shrubs

Results from 17 pollen collecting stations in British Columbia indicate that air-borne pollen of ragweeds and their relatives, the principal causative agents of hay fever in North America, is practically absent throughout the province. Coniferous trees and shrubs such as pines, spruces, firs, cedars, Douglas fir, hemlocks and junipers produce the greater part of the air-borne pollen from March to early July. Pollen from alders, poplars, willows and birches is also prevalent in some areas in the early spring. The peak periods of grass pollen near the United States–Canadian border occur mainly in June and the early part of July, while further north they are about a month later. Of the four types of plantain pollen identified from the different collecting stations, English plantain was the most common, especially in the southwesterly part of the province. Pollen from the lambs’-quarters and amaranth families and wormwoods occurs mainly in the late summer and early fall and is more abundant in the dry interior than along the coast.

METALTELLA SIMONI (KEYSERLING, 1878) (AMAUROBIIDAE) NEW TO CANADA, AND RECORDS FOR TEGENARIA GIGANTEA CHAMBERLIN AND IVIE, 1935, (AGELENIDAE) IN ALBERTA AND BRITISH COLUMBIA (ARACHNIDA: ARANEIDA)

1992 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Leech ◽  
Marilyn Steiner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Coastal Regions ◽  
Spider Species ◽  
Apparent Distribution

Metaltella simoni (Keyserling, 1878), an amaurobiid spider species precinctive to Argentina and Uruguay, and probably southern Brazil, is well established in the southeastern coastal regions of the United States (Leech 1972: 107). It was brought to North America by commercial and trade activities, hence the apparent distribution disjunction. The first Nearctic record is 23–30 July 1944, from Harahan, Louisiana (Leech 1972: 107).

CHIRONOMIDAE (DIPTERA) ASSOCIATED WITH MYRIOPHYLLUM SPICATUM IN OKANAGAN VALLEY LAKES, BRITISH COLUMBIA

1983 ◽  
Vol 115 (11) ◽  
pp. 1545-1546 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. Kangasniemi ◽  
D. R. Oliver
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Myriophyllum Spicatum ◽  
The United States ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Aquatic Weed ◽  
Okanagan Valley

Eurasian water milfoil, Myriophyllum spicatum Linnaeus, was introduced into eastern North America late in the nineteenth century. It has spread and developed into a major aquatic weed in many areas of the United states and Canada (Aiken et al. 1979; Reed 1977). In British Columbia, it was first observed in the Vernon Arm of Okanagan Lake in 1970 and had spread to all major 1,akes in the Okanagan Valley by 1976 (Newroth 1979).

ON THE TWO SPECIES OF BRUCHIDIUS (COLEOPTERA: BRUCHIDAE) ESTABLISHED IN NORTH AMERICA

1968 ◽  
Vol 100 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Bottimer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Single Specimen ◽  
Cytisus Scoparius ◽  
Considerable Time

AbstractThe European Bruchidius ater (Marsh.), first discovered in Massachusetts in 1918, and later in Virginia, is here recorded from Rochester, N.Y. In addition to Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link, its known host in the United States, the insect was reared from seeds of Petteria ramentacea (Sieber) Presl and Laburnum alpinum Bercht. and Presl at the New York locality. All three plants are introductions from Europe. Bruchidius unicolor (Ol.) was recognized in 1965 when it was discovered in British Columbia breeding in the seed pods of Onobrychis viciaefolia Scop. A single specimen, collected in Nicola, B.C., in 1922, indicates that the insect has been present in southwestern Canada for a considerable time.

Bobcat Population Status and Management in North America: Evidence of Large-Scale Population Increase

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan M. Roberts ◽  
Shawn M. Crimmins
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lynx Rufus ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Population Status ◽  
Current Population ◽  
Monitoring Protocols

Abstract Bobcat Lynx rufus populations are thought to be increasing in North America; however, little information exists on their current population status. In the United States, management and monitoring of bobcat populations is the responsibility of state wildlife management agencies. We surveyed state wildlife management agencies in each of the 48 contiguous states regarding the current population status, distribution, and monitoring protocols of bobcats within each respective jurisdiction. We also surveyed the governments of Mexico and Canada regarding bobcat population status within their jurisdictions. We received responses from 47 U.S. states, Mexico, and 7 Canadian provinces. Responses indicate that bobcats occur in each of the contiguous states except for Delaware. Populations were reported to be stable or increasing in 40 states, with 6 states unable to report population trends and only 1 state (Florida) reporting decreases in bobcat populations. Of the 47 states in which bobcats occur, 41 employ some form of population monitoring. Population density estimates were available for 2,011,518 km2 (33.6%) of the estimated bobcat range in the United States, with population estimates between 1,419,333 and 2,638,738 individuals for this portion of their range and an estimated 2,352,276 to 3,571,681 individuals for the entire United States. These results indicate that bobcat populations have increased throughout the majority of their range in North America since the late 1990s and that populations within the United States are much higher than previously suggested.

scholarly journals The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in Europe and North America

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 370 (6516) ◽  
pp. 564-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Worobey ◽  
Jonathan Pekar ◽  
Brendan B. Larsen ◽  
Martha I. Nelson ◽  
Verity Hill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Emerging Viruses ◽  
Transmission Networks ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Global Spread

Accurate understanding of the global spread of emerging viruses is critical for public health responses and for anticipating and preventing future outbreaks. Here we elucidate when, where, and how the earliest sustained severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission networks became established in Europe and North America. Our results suggest that rapid early interventions successfully prevented early introductions of the virus from taking hold in Germany and the United States. Other, later introductions of the virus from China to both Italy and Washington state, United States, founded the earliest sustained European and North America transmission networks. Our analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of public health measures in preventing onward transmission and show that intensive testing and contact tracing could have prevented SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks from becoming established in these regions.

Managing bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) with semiochemicals

2020 ◽  
Vol 153 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Seybold ◽  
Christopher J. Fettig
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Ambrosia Beetles ◽  
Entomological Society ◽  
Current State ◽  
Bark And Ambrosia Beetles

AbstractOn 14 November 2018, a symposium Managing bark and ambrosia beetles with semiochemicals was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at the Joint Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, the Entomological Society of Canada, and the Entomological Society of British Columbia. The focus was on the application of behavioural chemicals for management of bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in conifers and hardwoods in North America and Europe. Contributors included nine invited speakers from Canada, Slovakia, and the United States of America who summarised the current state of knowledge and latest technologies and shared career-long experiences and insights. This special issue features publications derived from those presentations.

scholarly journals Fluid Spatial Dynamics of West Nile Virus in the United States: Rapid Spread in a Permissive Host Environment

2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 862-872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Di Giallonardo ◽  
Jemma L. Geoghegan ◽  
Douglas E. Docherty ◽  
Robert G. McLean ◽  
Michael C. Zody ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
West Nile Virus ◽  
North America ◽  
Adaptive Evolution ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Avian Species ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Permissive Host

ABSTRACTThe introduction of West Nile virus (WNV) into North America in 1999 is a classic example of viral emergence in a new environment, with its subsequent dispersion across the continent having a major impact on local bird populations. Despite the importance of this epizootic, the pattern, dynamics, and determinants of WNV spread in its natural hosts remain uncertain. In particular, it is unclear whether the virus encountered major barriers to transmission, or spread in an unconstrained manner, and if specific viral lineages were favored over others indicative of intrinsic differences in fitness. To address these key questions in WNV evolution and ecology, we sequenced the complete genomes of approximately 300 avian isolates sampled across the United States between 2001 and 2012. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a relatively star-like tree structure, indicative of explosive viral spread in the United States, although with some replacement of viral genotypes through time. These data are striking in that viral sequences exhibit relatively limited clustering according to geographic region, particularly for those viruses sampled from birds, and no strong phylogenetic association with well-sampled avian species. The genome sequence data analyzed here also contain relatively little evidence for adaptive evolution, particularly of structural proteins, suggesting that most viral lineages are of similar fitness and that WNV is well adapted to the ecology of mosquito vectors and diverse avian hosts in the United States. In sum, the molecular evolution of WNV in North America depicts a largely unfettered expansion within a permissive host and geographic population with little evidence of major adaptive barriers.IMPORTANCEHow viruses spread in new host and geographic environments is central to understanding the emergence and evolution of novel infectious diseases and for predicting their likely impact. The emergence of the vector-borne West Nile virus (WNV) in North America in 1999 represents a classic example of this process. Using approximately 300 new viral genomes sampled from wild birds, we show that WNV experienced an explosive spread with little geographical or host constraints within birds and relatively low levels of adaptive evolution. From its introduction into the state of New York, WNV spread across the United States, reaching California and Florida within 4 years, a migration that is clearly reflected in our genomic sequence data, and with a general absence of distinct geographical clusters of bird viruses. However, some geographically distinct viral lineages were found to circulate in mosquitoes, likely reflecting their limited long-distance movement compared to avian species.

A new invasive hawkweed, Hieracium glomeratum (Lactuceae, Asteraceae), in the Pacific Northwest

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda M. Wilson ◽  
Judith Fehrer ◽  
Siegfried Bräutigam ◽  
Gitta Grosskopf
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
The United States ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Dna Fingerprints ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
Invasive Potential ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Eastern Washington

During the summer of 2001, a newly recorded species of exotic hawkweed ( Hieracium glomeratum Froel.) for North America was identified from specimens collected in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and eastern Washington state, United States. The specimens had previously been identified as the closely related Hieracium caespitosum Dumort. DNA fingerprints of plants from different localities proved to be identical. Their clonality, along with a spot-like distribution, indicates that this apomictic species probably originated from a single introduction from Europe, which subsequently spread. This species adds to the complex of 14 other exotic Hieracium species belonging to the Eurasian subgenus Pilosella that are adventive in the United States and Canada. A distribution map of the native and adventive range of H. glomeratum, and a key to distinguish it from related species in subgenus Pilosella that occur in North America are provided. The evolutionary and invasive potential of H. glomeratum is also discussed.

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