Tara M Smiley

Jun 19, 2024 | science.org | Ke Cui |Stefano D’Alessandro |Huizhi Sun |Tara M Smiley

AbstractLandscape properties have a profound influence on the diversity and distribution of biota, with present-day biodiversity hot spots occurring in topographically complex regions globally. Complex topography is created by tectonic processes and further shaped by interactions between climate and land-surface processes. These processes enrich diversity at the regional scale by promoting speciation and accommodating increased species richness along strong environmental gradients.

Oct 27, 2023 | biorxiv.org | Alex E. Jahn |Lynn Martin |Kyle K Koller |Tara M Smiley

AbstractThe ecological processes that determine how individual animals become hosts to zoonotic pathogens is a topic of rapidly growing interest. However, how such exposure is mediated by context (e.g., season, location), host behavior (e.g., migration distance) and host demographics is generally poorly understood. We evaluated seasonal exposure to West Nile Virus of American robins sampled in Indiana and compared our results to those of previous studies.