Blueback Herring Alosa aestivalis populations throughout the East Coast have declined precipitously since the late 1980s and were listed as a Species of Concern in 2006 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Natural resource agencies are attempting to restore this species to viable and sustainable levels with fry stockings cultured in hatcheries. To evaluate the long-term contribution of stockings to populations, agencies need an accurate method to track these stocking efforts. Genetic parentage-based tagging is recognized as a feasible means of assessing hatchery contribution of stocked fish to rivers of interest. However, Blueback Herring lack a reliable set of genetic markers to conduct parentage-based tagging. To this end, we analyzed previously described microsatellites as well as new microsatellite markers identified through NextGeneration sequencing to create a suite of 14 Blueback Herring markers useful for parentage-based tagging. The markers were successful in parentage analysis for Blueback Herring collected from the Chowan River, North Carolina. An additional challenge in the management of Blueback Herring is the ability to phenotypically distinguish Blueback Herring from the closely related Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus. Furthermore, recent studies provide evidence that these two species, collectively referred to as river herring, may be hybridizing with one another in some systems. Microsatellite marker AsaC334 can be utilized to discriminate between the two species, as well as to identify their F1 hybrids, thereby providing another genetic tool for hatchery management.

The phyllosphere hosts a variety of microorganisms, including bacteria, which can play a positive role in the success of the host plant. Bacterial communities in the phylloplane are influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors, including host plant surface topography and chemistry, which change in concert with microbial communities as the plant leaves develop and age. We examined how Zea mays leaf microbial community structure changed with plant age. Ribosomal spacer length (ARISA) and scanning electron microscopic (size trait) imaging strategies were used to assess microbial community composition across maize plant ages, using a novel staggered experimental design. Significant changes in community composition were observed for both molecular and imaging analyses, and the two analysis methods provided complementary information about bacterial community structure within each leaf developmental stage. Both taxonomic and cell-size trait patterns provided evidence for niche-based contributions to microbial community development on leaves.

Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus (Figure 1) are an invasive species found in high abundance throughout the Chesapeake Bay (Bunch et al., 2018;Fabrizio et al., 2018). Originally introduced to establish a fishery, Blue Catfish expanded throughout the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem (Schloesser et al., 2011). Blue Catfish have been documented in excess of 5 feet and 100 pounds (Graham, 1999). Size combined

Background: The phyllosphere hosts a variety of microorganisms, including bacteria, which can play a positive role in the success of the host plant. Bacterial communities in the phylloplane are influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors, including host plant surface topography and chemistry, which change in concert with microbial communities as the plant leaves develop and age. Methods: We examined how the Zea mays L. leaf microbial community structure changed with plant age. Ribosomal spacer length and scanning electron microscopic imaging strategies were used to assess microbial community composition across maize plant ages, using a novel staggered experimental design. Results: Significant changes in community composition were observed for both molecular and imaging analyses, and the two analysis methods provided complementary information about bacterial community structure within each leaf developmental stage. Conclusions: Both taxonomic and cell-size trait patterns provided evidence for niche-based contributions to microbial community development on leaves.