What is currently known about the ecology of North American hantaviruses has come largely from studies on Sin Nombre virus (SNV). We conducted a longitudinal study of Bayou virus (BAYV), the second-leading agent of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the United States. Antibodies to hantavirus were detected from Oryzomys palustris (most commonly infected species), Sigmodon hispidus, Peromyscus leucopus, Reithrodontomys fulvescens, and Baiomys taylori. However, only O. palustris had viral RNA in tissues and excreta, suggesting that antibodies detected in other species may have resulted from spill-over infection. Seroprevalence rates averaged around 16% for O. palustris and varied seasonally. The heaviest males exhibited the highest levels of seroprevalence. Seroprevalence was higher in coastal prairie (20.0%) than old-fields (10.5%) and was associated with host abundance. These patterns are similar to those of SNV and can be used in identification of potentially at-risk areas.

Container systems, including discarded vehicle tires, which support populations of mosquitoes, have been of interest for understanding the variables that produce biting adults that serve as both nuisances and as public health threats. We sampled tires in six sites at three times in 2012 across the state of Mississippi to understand the biotic and abiotic variables responsible for explaining patterns of larvae of common species, species richness, and total abundance of mosquitoes. From 498 tires sampled, we collected >58,000 immatures representing 16 species, with the most common species including Aedes albopictus (Skuse), Culex quinquefasciatus (L.), Orthopodomyia signifera (Coquillett), Aedes triseriatus (Say), Toxorhynchites rutilus septentrionalis (Coquillett), and Culex territans (Walker) accounting for ∼97% of all larvae. We also documented 32 new county records for resident species and recent arrivals in the state, including Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald) and Culex coronator (Dyar & Knab). Cluster analysis, which was used to associate sites and time periods based on similar mosquito composition, did reveal patterns across the state; however, there also were more general patterns between species and genera and environmental factors. Broadly, Aedes was often associated with factors related to detritus, whereas Culex was frequently associated with habitat variables (e.g., tire size and water volume) and microorganisms. Some Culex did lack factors connecting variation in early and late instars, suggesting differences between environmental determinants of oviposition and survival. General patterns between the tire environment and mosquito larvae do appear to exist, especially at the generic level, and point to inherent differences between genera that may aid in predicting vector locations and populations.

Abstract. Along the southeastern coast of the United States of America (USA), the marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris) is the primary host for the hantavirus genotype Bayou. According to the socio-ecological model for a territorial, polygamous species, females should be distributed across space and time by habitat resources and predation risks, whereas males should space themselves according to the degree of female aggregation and reproductive synchrony. To investigate how females affect the male-male transmission paradigm of Bayou virus, rodents were captured, marked, released, and re-captured in two macrohabitat types across a 30-month period. Microhabitat cover variables were quantified around the individual trap stations. A geodatabase was created from habitat and rodent capture data and analysed in a geographical information system. The ratio of breeding to non-breeding females was ~1:1, with breeding females overly dispersed and non-breeding females randomly dispersed. Spatial analyses revealed both macro-and microhabitat preferences in females. Compared to sero-negatives, higher proportions of seropositive adult males were found consistently within closer proximities to breeding females but not to non-breeding females, indicating that male locations were not driven simply by habitat selection. Activities to acquire dispersed receptive females could be an important driver of Bayou virus transmission among male hosts. To date, socio-ecological theory has received little attention as an investigative framework for studying pathogen dynamics in small, solitary mammals. Herein, we describe an interdisciplinary effort providing a novel approach to elucidate the complexity of hantavirus trafficking and maintenance in rodent populations of a coastal marsh ecosystem.

Mercury (Hg) contamination of aquatic ecosystems is a global environmental problem. Data are abundant on Hg contamination and factors that affect its bioaccumulation in lake communities, but comparatively little information on riverine ecosystems exists. The present study examines fish Hg concentrations of the Lower Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte drainage, Texas, USA and several of its major tributaries in order to assess whether spatial variation occurs in fish Hg concentrations in the drainage and if patterns of Hg contamination of fish are related to gradients in environmental factors thought to affect Hg concentrations in fish communities. Fish, invertebrates, sediments, and water quality parameters were sampled at 12 sites along the lower Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte drainage multiple times over a one-year period. Spatial variation was significant in fish Hg concentrations when fish were grouped by literature-defined trophic guilds or as stable isotope-defined trophic levels, with highest concentrations found in the Big Bend region of the drainage. Mercury in fish in most trophic guilds and trophic levels were positively related to environmental factors thought to affect Hg in fish, including water column dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and sediment Hg concentrations. It is likely that fish Hg concentrations in the Big Bend region are relatively high because this section of the river has abundant geologic Hg sources and environmental conditions which may make it sensitive to Hg inputs (i.e., high DOC, variable water levels). Results from the present study indicate that Hg contamination of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte has substantial implications for management and protection of native small-bodied obligate riverine fish, many of which are imperiled.

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