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Science Now: Foraging rabbits

When your task is trapping a rabbit, you gotta be on the hop. Sometimes that’s easier said than done. 

“[The eastern Idaho] Lemhi valley [is] a high desert valley that runs along the border with Montana and it’s the sagebrush steppe environment which means it’s a mix of shrub and grasslands and it is just a gorgeous gorgeous intact piece of sagebrush landscape.” With support for the National Science Foundation, mammalian ecologist Janet Ratcliffe with the University of Idaho and a team want to understand this critical habitat from the perspective of a small but important long term resident: the pygmy rabbit.

The rabbits live in burrows under raised clumps of sage called moema mounds so they have kind of a tough life. … Putting themselves in places where they’re close to burrows, where they can quickly escape from predators, that’s really important.”

Sheltering from the heat and cold is important, too, but so is food. Sometimes they risk a venture into the open to eat. Lisa Shipley is a foraging ecologist with Washington State University: “Especially in the winter, it might eat 99% of its diet in sagebrush. It’s very nutritious. It has a lot of protein in it but it also has a lot of toxic chemicals. It’s the only mammal that can eat sagebrush for virtually exclusively its diet.”

Using tracking data from the collars and imagery from where and when the rabbits spend their time in burrows under the sagebrush and out in the open. maps like these can tell them a lot about how the rabbits use and ultimately shape the landscape around them.

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Science Now (FOX 49)

Elk hoof disease goes beyond the hoof

A disease that has mangled the hooves of elk in western Washington and other parts of the country is affecting more than just the animals’ feet, according to a new study from Washington State University.

Michael Skinner, a molecular biologist at Washington State University and one of the authors of the study published last month in the journal Scientific Reports, suggests that treponeme-associated hoof disease, or TAHD, is causing systemic molecular changes throughout the animal.

Scientists examined knee tendons from elk to look for changes in its epigenetics – molecular factors that regulate gene activity. The analysis found significant epigenetic changes in samples from animals that had TAHD.

“It’s a much more broad effect on the elk than just its hoof,” Skinner said.

The study was the first of its kind for the disease, which only affects elk. It also notes that it’s possible the alterations are passed down through generations, and that it could mean mutations that make an animal more or less likely to catch TAHD are being passed to newborn elk.

The disease is particularly common in the elk herd near Mount St. Helens – roughly 25% of hunters who submit reports on elk killed there report hoof abnormalities.

Margaret Wild, a [micro]biologist at WSU and one of the other authors of the study, is leading a team of researchers looking at the disease. They have spent the past several years building out their baseline knowledge, from how it infects elk to how it spreads to what it does to the animals.

“Right now, we just have all these pieces of a puzzle and we’re trying to put them together,” Wild said. “The more pieces of the puzzle come in, the more clear a picture we’ll have.”

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The Spokesman-Review
The Chronicle
Billings Gazette

“Unusually large” toxic algal bloom covers stretch of Lower Snake River

A frothy, green layer of muck recently coated a mileslong stretch of water on the Lower Snake River in southeast Washington, and scientists have warned people and their pets to stay away

Satellite images show the west-flowing river changed color from blue to a deep green over a short span of days. County workers posted signs along the contaminated stretch of river alerting the public to stay away from popular recreation spots for swimming, fishing and boating between Wawawai Landing and Central Ferry State Park, making a roughly 30-mile stretch of the river south and east of Pullman temporarily hazardous for humans, pets and livestock.

Algal blooms typically last days to weeks before dying off naturally and disappearing. Blooms are more common in stagnant bodies of water, such as lakes. In rivers, blooms happen more near dams or natural blockades that disrupt the current.

Alex Fremier, an environmental science professor at Washington State University, said the bloom on the Lower Snake is “unusually large” for a river. “The Snake River at that section has a bunch of dams on it,” Fremier said. “At this time of year, it functions more as a reservoir than a river.”

Algal blooms can harm water ecosystems when they die, because decomposing blooms absorb oxygen from the water. Low dissolved oxygen levels in water can kill fish and other river-dwelling animals and plants.

Read the full story:
The Seattle Times
The Spokesman-Review
The Lewiston Tribune
The Daily News
WildSalmon.org
Idaho State Journal
The Columbian

 

 

Photos: How do you run tests on the hair of a grizzly bear?

A group of staff and volunteers at the Washington State University Research, Education and Conservation Center, worked together Tuesday to carry two of the 11 bears living at the center into their den.

The bears were sedated and carried indoors where they underwent a procedure to try to discover why some of the bears have been losing fur.

Although it was a minor procedure, the work took close to six hours from sedation to recovery, and required a slew of carefully measured drugs and precautions.

Zuri and Adak, two 8-year-old grizzlies, took the procedures well and several skin scrapes and punch biopsies were successfully recovered from the bears. Throughout those hours, the center staff and volunteers also carried out their regular daily care regimen for the rest of their resident bears.

Photo caption: [Biological sciences] graduate student Heather Havelock monitors any reactions from Adak while under sedation for his procedure.

See all the photos:
The Lewiston Tribune

Riverside Mural Project showcases talent and collaborative spirit

The latest in a series of mural projects showcasing the outstanding talent of local and regional artists, as well as the collaborative spirit of Washington State University, is being dedicated this week in downtown Pullman.

A joint effort by the Pullman Arts Foundation — founded by WSU Associate Professor of Painting/Intermedia Joe Hedges — and the Downtown Pullman Association led to the creation of the Riverside Mural Project.

The more than 100-foot-long mural facing South Fork Palouse River on the 400 block of East Main Street was completed earlier this fall by Seattle-based artist and mural designer Tori Shao in collaboration with local artist and WSU graduate Sarah Barnett, as well as WSU students, faculty, staff and other volunteers.

The project’s timing allowed for the participation of Hedges’ students, giving them valuable experience in preparing massive outdoor art features.

“Although the vision of individual artists is an important part of art-making, one thing our department does well is provide students opportunities to work together,” Hedges said of WSU’s Department of Art. “And in doing so they learn valuable skills that extend beyond the classroom. Additionally, students learn how community service and the arts are connected, and how painting can be a powerful tool to bring communities together.”

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Lewiston Tribune
WSU Insider
DowntownPullman.info

(Photo of participants)