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Parelaphostrongylus tenuis causes ungulate morbidity and mortality in eastern and central North America, but no reference genome sequence exists to facilitate research. Here, we present a P. tenuis genome assembly and annotation, generated with PacBio and Illumina technologies. The assembly is 491 Mbp, with 7285 scaffolds and 185 kb N50.

Accurate taxonomic species identification is essential to the study of mammals. Despite this necessity, rapid and accurate identification of cryptic, understudied, and elusive mammals remains challenging. Traditional barcoding of mitochondrial genes is standard for molecular identification but requires time-consuming wet-lab methodologies. Recent bioinformatic advancements for nanopore sequencing data offer exciting opportunities for noninvasive and field-based identification of mammals. Nanopore adaptive sampling (NAS), a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-free method, selectively sequences regions of DNA according to user-specified reference databases. Here, we utilized NAS to enrich mammalian mitochondrial genome sequencing to identify species. Fecal DNA extractions were sequenced from 9 mammals, several collected in collaboration with Minnesota Tribal Nations, to demonstrate utility for NAS barcoding of noninvasive samples. By mapping to the entire National Center for Biotechnology Information mammalian mitochondrial reference genome database and bioinformatically analyzing highly similar matches, we successfully produced species identifications for all fecal samples. Eight of 9 species identifications matched previous PCR or animal/fecal appearance-based identifications. For the ninth species, our genetic data indicate a misidentification stemming from the original study. Our approach has a range of applications—particularly in field-based wildlife research, conservation, disease surveillance, and monitoring of wildlife trade. Of importance to Minnesota tribes is invasive species monitoring, detections, and confirmation as climate impacts cause changes in biodiversity and shifts in species distributions. The rapid assessment techniques described here will be useful as new introductions and range expansions of native and invasive species may first be detected by the presence of signs such as scat rather than direct observations and will be helpful for chronically understaffed tribal natural resources agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moose (Alces alces; mooz in Anishinaabemowin, Ojibwe language will follow scientific names) is a vital subsistence food source to Anishinabe people of the midwestern United States and has recently declined in Minnesota, USA, with poor calf survival as a contributing factor. Predation is the primary cause of moose calf mortality and we explored whether calf predation rates could be reduced through management of a single predator in a multi‐predator system. Thus, we examined predation rates and causes of calf mortality before (2013–2015) and during (2016–2018) implementation of a spring black bear (Ursus americanus; makwa) harvest season, using baits to attract black bears, on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, Minnesota, where black bears and gray wolves (Canis lupus; ma'iinganag) are the primary predators of moose calves. We validated our early study findings for the 5 years following the initial study with intermittent spring bear hunting seasons, from 2019–2023. The spring bear hunt was canceled because of a pandemic lockdown in 2020, resumed 2021, and was closed in 2022 and 2023. Black bear harvest prior to adding a spring bear hunting season was 0.038 bears harvested/km2 from 2012–2015, whereas after initiating a spring hunting season (2016–2018) it was 17% higher at 0.046 bears/km2. We observed significantly lower bear predation (by 68%) in association with spring bear management and no compensatory change in the level of wolf predation. The validation years strengthened our findings that spring bear hunting seasons reduce moose calf predation rates, with an overall 68% lower proportion of bear predation on moose calves in the years when spring bear hunts were held. Mean proportion of calf predation attributed to bears was 4.9 times higher (30% vs. 6%) in the years when a spring bear hunt was not held. Despite an increasing wolf density during the study period, we did not observe a compensatory increase in wolf predation during spring bear hunt years. The results of this work suggest that the addition of a spring bear hunt, during a time when moose calves are most vulnerable to bear predation, has the potential to increase moose calf survival even in the presence of wolves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fish serve as indicators of exposure to contaminants of emerging concern (CECs)—chemicals such as pharmaceuticals, hormones, and personal care products—which are often designed to impact vertebrates. To investigate fish health and CECs in situ, we evaluated the health of wild fish exposed to CECs in waterbodies across northeastern Minnesota with varying anthropogenic pressures and CEC exposures: waterbodies with no human development along their shorelines, those with development, and those directly receiving treated wastewater effluent. Then, we compared three approaches to evaluate the health of fish exposed to CECs in their natural environment: a refined fish health assessment index, a histopathological index, and high‐throughput (ToxCast) in vitro assays. Lastly, we mapped adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) associated with identified ToxCast assays to determine potential impacts across levels of biological organization within the aquatic system. These approaches were applied to subsistence fish collected from the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and 1854 Ceded Territory in 2017 and 2019. Overall, 24 CECs were detected in fish tissues, with all but one of the sites having at least one detection. The combined implementation of these tools revealed that subsistence fish exposed to CECs had histological and macroscopic tissue and organ abnormalities, although a direct causal link could not be established. The health of fish in undeveloped sites was as poor, or sometimes poorer, than fish in developed and wastewater effluent‐impacted sites based on gross and histologic tissue lesions. Adverse outcome pathways revealed potential hazardous pathways of individual CECs to fish. A better understanding of how the health of wild fish harvested for consumption is affected by CECs may help prioritize risk management research efforts and can ultimately be used to guide fishery management and public health decisions. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:846–863. © 2023 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). Key Points: 1.Fish exposed to contaminants of emerging concern had histological and macroscopic tissue and organ abnormalities.2.Adverse outcome pathways revealed potential hazardous pathways of individual contaminants of emerging concern to fish.3.The health of fish in undeveloped sites was as poor, or sometimes poorer, than fish in developed and wastewater effluent‐impacted sites based on gross and histologic tissue lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]