Evaluating variations in the barriers to colorectal cancer screening associated with telehealth use in rural U.S. Pacific Northwest.

PURPOSE: The incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) remain consistently high in rural populations. Telehealth can improve screening uptake by overcoming individual and environmental disadvantages in rural communities. The present study aimed to characterize varying barriers to CRC screening between rural individuals with and without experience in using telehealth. METHOD: The cross-sectional study surveyed 250 adults aged 45-75 residing in rural U.S. states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington from June to September 2022. The associations between CRC screening and four sets of individual and environmental factors specific to rural populations (i.e., demographic characteristics, accessibility, patient-provider factors, and psychological factors) were assessed among respondents with and without past telehealth adoption. RESULT: Respondents with past telehealth use were more likely to screen if they were married, had a better health status, had experienced discrimination in health care, and had perceived susceptibility, screening efficacy, and cancer fear, but less likely to screen when they worried about privacy or had feelings of embarrassment, pain, and discomfort. Among respondents without past telehealth use, the odds of CRC screening decreased with busy schedules, travel burden, discrimination in health care, and lower perceived needs. CONCLUSION: Rural individuals with and without previous telehealth experience face different barriers to CRC screening. The finding suggests the potential efficacy of telehealth in mitigating critical barriers to CRC screening associated with social, health care, and built environments of rural communities.

A hybrid beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria × A. breviligulata) is more productive and outcompetes its non-native parent species.

The ability of non-native species to successfully invade new ecosystems sometimes involves evolutionary processes such as hybridization. Hybridization can produce individuals with superior traits that give them a competitive advantage over their parent species, allowing for rapid spread. Here we assess growth, functional morphology, and species interactions between two non-native beachgrass species (Ammophila arenaria and A. breviligulata) and their recently discovered hybrid (A. arenaria × A. breviligulata) on the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast. We asked whether the hybrid beachgrass differs from its parent species in morphology and growth, whether it competes with its parent species, and, if so, what are the potential mechanisms of competition. Plant taxa were grown in low- and high-density monocultures and in two-way interactions in a common garden environment. We show that the hybrid grew taller and more densely, with greater total biomass, than either parent species. The hybrid was also the better competitor, resulting in the model prediction of competitive exclusion against A. breviligulata and, depending on its relative abundance, A. arenaria. The hybrid displays a mixed 'guerilla-phalanx' growth form that allows it to spread laterally and achieve high shoot densities, giving it a competitive advantage. Given the current dominance of A. breviligulata compared to A. arenaria in most of the region where these taxa co-occur, we suggest that the hybrid will grow, compete, and spread quickly with potentially widespread consequences for the two non-native Ammophila congeners and the dunes they build.

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Stream Thermal Regime Drivers for Three River Networks During the Summer Growing Season.

Many cold-water dependent aquatic organisms are experiencing habitat and population declines from increasing water temperatures. Identifying mechanisms which drive local and regional stream thermal regimes facilitates restoration at ecologically relevant scales. Stream temperatures vary spatially and temporally both within and among river basins. We developed a modeling process to identify statistical relationships between drivers of stream temperature and covariates representing landscape, climate, and management-related processes. The modeling process was tested in 3 study areas of the Pacific Northwest USA during the growing season (May [start], August [warmest], September [end]). Across all months and study systems, covariates with the highest relative importance represented the physical landscape (elevation [1st], catchment area [3rd], main channel slope [5th]) and climate covariates (mean monthly air temperature [2nd] and discharge [4th]). Two management covariates (ground water use [6th] and riparian shade [7th]) also had high relative importance. Across the growing season (for all basins) local reach slope had high relative importance in May, but transitioned to a regional main channel slope covariate in August and September. This modeling process identified regionally similar and locally unique relationships among drivers of stream temperature. High relative importance of management-related covariates suggested potential restoration actions for each system.

Insights from specimen data for two economic Chrysobothris species (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in the western United States.

Chrysobothris mali Horn and Chrysobothris femorata (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) are wood-boring beetles native to western North America. Both species are highly polyphagous, feeding on a wide range of deciduous trees and shrubs, including fruit and nut trees as well as shade trees grown as nursery stock. Chrysobothris femorata is widely distributed across North America, while C. mali occurs west of the Rocky Mountains. There is a notable lack of basic biological information regarding both species' phenology and distributions in the Pacific Northwest. To better understand the biology of these economically important insects, seasonal adult collection information, host plant association data, and morphological measurements were collected from preserved specimens residing in 5 major regional arthropod collections. Label information was collected from 661 C. mali and 165 C. femorata specimens. Collection location data were used to create a map of C. femorata and C. mali distributions in the western United States, indicating that C. femorata is significantly less abundant in California, Oregon, and Washington than C. mali. Of the 50 associated plant taxa noted on specimen labels, only 4 associations were shared between the species, potentially indicating host specialization. New reproductive hosts are recorded for C. femorata (2 hosts) and C. mali (3 hosts). Tree species commonly damaged by flatheaded borers in commercial orchards and nurseries were not present in the historical records. The insights gleaned from specimen data allow researchers to better understand the biology and ecology of these understudied, yet economically impactful insects in the western United States.

The role of multiple Pleistocene refugia in promoting diversification in the Pacific Northwest.

Pleistocene glacial cycles drastically changed the distributions of taxa endemic to temperate rainforests in the Pacific Northwest, with many experiencing reduced habitat suitability during glacial periods. In this study, we investigate whether glacial cycles promoted intraspecific divergence and whether subsequent range changes led to secondary contact and gene flow. For seven invertebrate species endemic to the PNW, we estimated species distribution models (SDMs) and projected them onto current and historical climate conditions to assess how habitat suitability changed during glacial cycles. Using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from these species, we assessed population genetic structure and used a machine-learning approach to compare models with and without gene flow between populations upon secondary contact after the last glacial maximum (LGM). Finally, we estimated divergence times and rates of gene flow between populations. SDMs suggest that there was less suitable habitat in the North Cascades and Northern Rocky Mountains during glacial compared to interglacial periods, resulting in reduced habitat suitability and increased habitat fragmentation during the LGM. Our genomic data identify population structure in all taxa, and support gene flow upon secondary contact in five of the seven taxa. Parameter estimates suggest that population divergences date to the later Pleistocene for most populations. Our results support a role of refugial dynamics in driving intraspecific divergence in the Cascades Range. In these invertebrates, population structure often does not correspond to current biogeographic or environmental barriers. Rather, population structure may reflect refugial lineages that have since expanded their ranges, often leading to secondary contact between once isolated lineages.

Genomic evidence of an ancient inland temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest of North America.

The disjunct temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest of North America (PNW) are characterized by late-successional dominant tree species Thuja plicata (western redcedar) and Tsuga heterophylla (western hemlock). The demographic histories of these species, along with the PNW rainforest ecosystem in its entirety, have been heavily impacted by geological and climatic changes the PNW has experienced over the last 5 million years, including mountain orogeny and repeated Pleistocene glaciations. These environmental events have ultimately shaped the history of these species, with inland populations potentially being extirpated during the Pleistocene glaciations. Here, we collect genomic data for both species across their ranges to test multiple demographic models, each reflecting a different phylogeographical hypothesis on how the ecosystem-dominating species may have responded to dramatic climatic change. Our results indicate that inland and coastal populations in both species diverged ~2.5 million years ago in the early Pleistocene and experienced decreases in population size during glacial cycles, with subsequent population expansion. Importantly, we found evidence for gene flow between coastal and inland populations during the mid-Holocene. It is likely that intermittent migration in these species during this time has prevented allopatric speciation via genetic drift alone. In conclusion, our results from combining genomic data and demographic inference procedures establish that populations of the ecosystem dominants Thuja plicata and Tsuga heterophylla persisted in refugia located in both the coastal and inland regions of the PNW throughout the Pleistocene, with populations expanding and contracting in response to glacial cycles with occasional gene flow.

Anthropogenic strath terrace formation caused by reduced sediment retention.

Across North America, human activities have been shown to cause river incision into unconsolidated alluvium. Human-caused erosion through bedrock, however, has only been observed in local and isolated outcrops. Here, we test whether splash-dam logging, which decreased in-stream alluvial cover by removing much of the alluvium-trapping wood, caused basin-wide bedrock river incision in a forested mountain catchment in Washington State. We date incision of the youngest of four strath terraces, using dendrochronology and radiocarbon, to between 1893 CE and 1937 CE in the Middle Fork Teanaway River and 1900 CE and 1970 CE in the West Fork Teanaway River, coincident with timber harvesting and splash damming in the basins. Other potential drivers of river incision lack a recognized mechanism to cause T1 incision or are not synchronous with T1 incision. Hence, the close temporal correspondence suggests that reduced sediment retention triggered by splash damming led to the observed 1.1 mm⋅y-1 to 23 mm⋅y-1 of bedrock river incision and reduction of the active floodplain to 20% and 53% of its preincision extent on the Middle and West Forks, respectively. The development of such anthropogenic bedrock terraces may be an emerging, globally widespread physiographic signature of the Anthropocene.

Broad-scale eDNA sampling for describing aquatic species distributions in running waters: Pacific lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus in the upper Snake River, USA.

One of the most fundamental yet challenging tasks for aquatic ecologists is to precisely delineate the range of species, particularly those that are broadly distributed, require specialized sampling methods, and may be simultaneously declining and increasing in different portions of their range. An exemplar is the Pacific lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus, a jawless anadromous fish of conservation concern that is actively managed in many coastal basins in western North America. To efficiently determine its distribution across the accessible 56,168 km of the upper Snake River basin in the north-western United States, we first delimited potential habitat by using predictions from a species distribution model based on conventionally collected historical data and from the distribution of a potential surrogate, Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, which yielded a potential habitat network of 10,615 km. Within this area, we conducted a two-stage environmental DNA survey involving 394 new samples and 187 archived samples collected by professional biologists and citizen scientists using a single, standardized method from 2015 to 2021. We estimated that Pacific lamprey occupied 1875 km of lotic habitat in this basin, of which 1444 km may have been influenced by recent translocation efforts. Pacific lamprey DNA was consistently present throughout most river main stems, although detections became weaker or less frequent in the largest and warmest downstream channels and near their headwater extent. Pacific lamprey were detected in nearly all stocked tributaries, but there was no evidence of indigenous populations in such habitats. There was evidence of post-stocking movement because detections were 1.8-36.0 km upstream from release sites. By crafting a model-driven spatial sampling template and executing an eDNA-based sampling campaign led by professionals and volunteers, supplemented by previously collected samples, we established a benchmark for understanding the current range of Pacific lamprey across a large portion of its range in the interior Columbia River basin. This approach could be tailored to refine range estimates for other wide-ranging aquatic species of conservation concern.

Phylogeographic analysis of shrubby beardtongues reveals range expansions during the Last Glacial Maximum and implicates the Klamath Mountains as a hotspot for hybridization.

Quaternary glacial cycles often altered species' geographic distributions, which in turn altered the geographic structure of species' genetic diversity. In many cases, glacial expansion forced species in temperate climates to contract their ranges and reside in small pockets of suitable habitat (refugia), where they were likely to interact closely with other species, setting the stage for potential gene exchange. These introgression events, in turn, would have degraded species boundaries, making the inference of phylogenetic relationships challenging. Using high-throughput sequence data, we employed a combination of species distribution models and hybridization tests to assess the effect of glaciation on the geographic distributions, phylogenetic relationships, and patterns of gene flow of five species of Penstemon subgenus Dasanthera, long-lived shrubby angiosperms distributed throughout the Pacific Northwest of North America. Surprisingly, we found that rather than reducing their ranges to small refugia, most Penstemon subgenus Dasanthera species experienced increased suitable habitat during the Last Glacial Maximum relative to the present day. We also found substantial evidence for gene exchange between species, with the bulk of introgression events occurring in or near the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon and northwestern California. Subsequently, our phylogenetic inference reveals blurred taxonomic boundaries in the Klamath Mountains, where introgression is most prevalent. Our results question the classical paradigm of temperate species' responses to glaciation and highlight the importance of contextualizing phylogenetic inference with species' histories of introgression.

Warming alters the interaction of two invasive beachgrasses with implications for range shifts and coastal dune functions.

Forecasting the effects of climate change on the distribution of invasive species can be difficult, because invaders often thrive under novel physical conditions and biotic interactions that differ from those in their native range. In this study, we experimentally examined how rising temperatures and sand burial could alter the abundance and biotic interactions of two invasive beachgrasses, Ammophila arenaria and A. breviligulata, along the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast. We asked whether the current geographic ranges of the two congeners, and thus their effects on dune morphology and coastal ecosystem services, might shift as a consequence of climate driven changes in warming and sand supply. Our results show that A. breviligulata had lower biomass and tiller production when exposed to warming and high rates of sand burial, while A. arenaria showed neutral or positive responses to those treatments. Nevertheless, under all experimental combinations, A. breviligulata had strong negative effects on A. arenaria, while A. arenaria had weaker effects on A. breviligulata. Our models predict that although A. breviligulata mostly excludes A. arenaria, elevated temperatures and high rates of sand burial also increase the likelihood of species coexistence. We suggest that under climate change, the differences in physiological tolerance and the mediation of species interactions could expand the northern distributional limit of A. arenaria but restrict the southern limit of A. breviligulata. Moreover, because beachgrass abundance has direct effects on biophysical functions of dunes, reductions in vigor from warming could alter coastal protection, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.

Baseline and Temporal Changes in Sensitivity of Zymoseptoria tritici Isolates to Benzovindiflupyr in Oregon, U.S.A., and Cross-Sensitivity to Other SDHI Fungicides.

Zymoseptoria tritici is the causal agent of Septoria tritici blotch (STB), a disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) that results in significant yield loss worldwide. Z. tritici's life cycle, reproductive system, effective population size, and gene flow put it at high likelihood of developing fungicide resistance. Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides (FRAC code 7) were not widely used to control STB in the Willamette Valley until 2016. Field isolates of Z. tritici collected in the Willamette Valley at dates spanning the introduction of SDHI (2015 to 2017) were screened for sensitivity to four SDHI active ingredients: benzovindiflupyr, penthiopyrad, fluxapyroxad, and fluindapyr. Fungicide sensitivity changes were determined by the fungicide concentration at which fungal growth is decreased by 50% (EC50) values. The benzovindiflupyr EC50 values increased significantly, indicating a reduction in sensitivity, following the adoption of SDHI fungicides in Oregon (P < 0.0001). Additionally, significant reduction in cross-sensitivity among SDHI active ingredients was also observed with a moderate and significant relationship between penthiopyrad and benzovindiflupyr (P = 0.0002) and a weak relationship between penthiopyrad and fluxapyroxad (P = 0.0482). No change in cross-sensitivity was observed with fluindapyr, which has not yet been labeled in the region. The results document a decrease in SDHI sensitivity in Z. tritici isolates following the introduction of the active ingredients to the Willamette Valley. The reduction in cross-sensitivity observed between SDHI active ingredients highlights the notion that careful consideration is required to manage fungicide resistance and suggests that within-group rotation is insufficient for resistance management.

Impact of climate change on greenhouse gas emissions and water balance in a dryland-cropping region with variable precipitation.

Wheat covers a significant fraction of the US Pacific Northwest (PNW) dryland agriculture. Past studies have suggested that management practices can differentially affect productivity and emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) across the different agro-ecological Zones (AEZs) in PNW. In this study we used CropSyst, a biophysically-based cropping systems model that simulates crop processes and water and nitrogen cycles, with the purpose of evaluating relevant scenarios and contributing analyses to inform adaptation and mitigation strategies aimed at reducing and managing the risks of climate change. We compared the baseline historical period of 1980-2010 with three future periods: 2015-2045 (2030s), 2035-2065 (2050s), and 2055-2085 (2070s). The uncertainty of the future climate was captured using 12 general circulation models (GCMs) forced with two representative carbon dioxide concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and 8.5). The study region was divided into three AEZs: crop-fallow (CF), continuous cropping to fallow transition (CCF), and continuous cropping (CC). The results indicated that areas with higher precipitation, N fertilization, and mineralization produced more N2O emissions during both baseline and future periods. The average annual N2O emission during the baseline period was between 1.8 and 4.1 kg ha-1 depending on AEZ. The overall N2O emission showed decreasing future trends from 2030s to 2070s which resulted from a higher proportion of N used by crops. From 2015 to 2085 under RCP 4.5, the average N2O emission was between 1.8 and 4.4 kg ha-1 year-1. They are slightly higher under RCP 8.5 since it is a warmer scenario. The soil organic carbon (SOC) content decreased during the baseline period while SOC did not reach equilibrium with the cropping systems considered in the study. SOC decreased during the future periods as well, with rate of change ranging from -146 to -352 kg ha-1year-1 depending on AEZ and RCP. Warming increased SOC oxidation in future scenarios, but after an initial increase of SOC losses during the 2030s period, the rate of SOC losses decreased in the 2050s, and more so in the 2070s as SOC and carbon input reached equilibrium with losses. Higher carbon input resulted from higher biomass production under elevated CO2 scenarios. The total GHG emissions were 1.95, 3.16 and 4.84 Mg CO2-equivalent ha-1year-1 under RCP 4.5, and 1.99, 3.43 and 5.49 Mg CO2-equivalent ha-1year-1 under RCP 8.5 during 2070s in CF, CCF and CC respectively, with N2O accounting for about 81% of total GHG emissions.

Soil alters seedling establishment responses to climate.

Ecologists expect species and biomes to shift poleward and upward with climate change, but non-climatic factors complicate these predictions. In mountains, forests are expected to expand upward along climate gradients into subalpine/alpine meadows, while meadows expand upward onto bare ground. However, soils also vary across elevation, with bare soil above the meadows potentially poorer for plant establishment. Poor soil might constrain expansion at meadows' upper edges, while rich meadow soil might facilitate contraction at lower edges by promoting tree establishment. We assessed climate and soil effects on establishment by transplanting soil and seedlings of meadow and tree species across climate gradients on Mount Rainier. There were considerable interspecific differences, but some generalisations emerged. Survival often declined with earlier snow disappearance, with somewhat smaller declines in meadow soil. Size often increased with earlier snow disappearance, with larger increases in meadow soil. Thus, soil patterns may complicate range shifts.

Global Expansion of Pacific Northwest Vibrio parahaemolyticus Sequence Type 36.

We report transcontinental expansion of Vibrio parahaemolyticus sequence type 36 into Lima, Peru. From national collections, we identified 7 isolates from 2 different Pacific Northwest complex lineages that surfaced during 2011-2016. Sequence type 36 is likely established in environmental reservoirs. Systematic surveillance enabled detection of these epidemic isolates.

Tree growth declines and mortality were associated with a parasitic plant during warm and dry climatic conditions in a temperate coniferous forest ecosystem.

Insects and pathogens are widely recognized as contributing to increased tree vulnerability to the projected future increasing frequency of hot and dry conditions, but the role of parasitic plants is poorly understood even though they are common throughout temperate coniferous forests in the western United States. We investigated the influence of western hemlock dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium tsugense) on large (≥45.7 cm diameter) western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) growth and mortality in a 500 year old coniferous forest at the Wind River Experimental Forest, Washington State, United States. We used five repeated measurements from a long-term tree record for 1,395 T. heterophylla individuals. Data were collected across a time gradient (1991-2014) capturing temperature increases and precipitation decreases. The dwarf mistletoe rating (DMR), a measure of infection intensity, varied among individuals. Our results indicated that warmer and drier conditions amplified dwarf mistletoe effects on T. heterophylla tree growth and mortality. We found that heavy infection (i.e., high DMR) resulted in reduced growth during all four measurement intervals, but during warm and dry intervals (a) growth declined across the entire population regardless of DMR level, and (b) both moderate and heavy infections resulted in greater growth declines compared to light infection levels. Mortality rates increased from cooler-wetter to warmer-drier measurement intervals, in part reflecting increasing mortality with decreasing tree growth. Mortality rates were positively related to DMR, but only during the warm and dry measurement intervals. These results imply that parasitic plants like dwarf mistletoe can amplify the impact of climatic stressors of trees, contributing to the vulnerability of forest landscapes to climate-induced productivity losses and mortality events.

Spatial Patterns and Trends of Summertime Low Cloudiness for the Pacific Northwest, 1996-2017.

Summertime low clouds are common in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), but spatiotemporal patterns have not been characterized. We show the first maps of low cloudiness for the western PNW and North Pacific Ocean using a 22-year satellite-derived record of monthly mean low cloudiness frequency for May through September and supplemented by airport cloud base height observations. Domain-wide cloudiness peaks in midsummer and is strongest over the Pacific. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis identified four distinct PNW spatiotemporal modes: oceanic, terrestrial highlands, coastal, and northern coastal. There is a statistically significant trend over the 22-year record toward reduced low cloudiness in the terrestrial highlands mode, with strongest declines in May and June; however, this decline is not matched in the corresponding airport records. The coastal mode is partly constrained from moving inland by topographic relief and migrates southward in late summer, retaining higher late-season low cloud frequency than the other areas.

Herbarium records indicate variation in bloom-time sensitivity to temperature across a geographically diverse region.

Anthropogenic warming's effects on phenology across environmental and temporal gradients are well recognized. Long-term phenological monitoring data are often limited in duration and geographic scope, but recent efforts to digitize herbaria collections make it possible to reliably reconstruct historic flowering phenology across broad geographic scales and multiple species, lending to an increased understanding of community response to climate change. In this study, we examined collection dates (1901 to 2015) of 8540 flowering specimens from 39 native species in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of North America. We hypothesized that flowering phenology would be sensitive to temperature but that sensitivity would vary depending on blooming season and geographic range position. As expected, we found that early-season bloomers are more sensitive to temperature than later-season bloomers. Sensitivity to temperature was significantly greater at low elevations and in the maritime (western) portion of the PNW than at higher elevations and in the eastern interior, respectively. The elevational and longitudinal effects on flowering sensitivity reflect spring "arriving" earlier at low elevations and in the maritime portion of the PNW. These results demonstrate that phenological responses to warming vary substantially across climatically diverse regions, warranting careful and nuanced consideration of climate warming's effects on plant phenology.

Long-distance dispersal, ice sheet dynamics and mountaintop isolation underlie the genetic structure of glacier ice worms.

Disentangling the contemporary and historical factors underlying the spatial distributions of species is a central goal of biogeography. For species with broad distributions but little capacity to actively disperse, disconnected geographical distributions highlight the potential influence of passive, long-distance dispersal (LDD) on their evolutionary histories. However, dispersal alone cannot completely account for the biogeography of any species, and other factors-e.g. habitat suitability, life history-must also be considered. North American ice worms ( Mesenchytraeus solifugus) are ice-obligate annelids that inhabit coastal glaciers from Oregon to Alaska. Previous studies identified a complex biogeographic history for ice worms, with evidence for genetic isolation, unexpectedly close relationships among geographically disjunct lineages, and contemporary migration across large (e.g. greater than 1500 km) areas of unsuitable habitat. In this study, we analysed genome-scale sequence data for individuals from most of the known ice worm range. We found clear support for divergence between populations along the Pacific Coast and the inland flanks of the Coast Mountains (mean FST = 0.60), likely precipitated by episodic ice sheet expansion and contraction during the Pleistocene. We also found support for LDD of ice worms from Alaska to Vancouver Island, perhaps mediated by migrating birds. Our results highlight the power of genomic data for disentangling complex biogeographic patterns, including the presence of LDD.

Did changes in western federal land management policies improve salmonid habitat in streams on public lands within the Interior Columbia River Basin?

Historic management actions authorized or allowed by federal land management agencies have had a profound negative effect on salmon, trout, and char populations and their habitats. To rectify past failings, in the 1990s, federal agencies in the Interior Columbia River Basin modified how they conducted land management activities to foster the conservation of aquatic species. The primary policy changes were to provide additional protection and restoration of lands near streams, lakes, and wetlands. What remains uncertain was whether these changes have altered the trajectory of stream habitat conditions. To address this question, we evaluate the status and trends of ten stream habitat attributes; wood frequency, wood volume, residual pool depth, percent pool, pool frequency, pool tail fines (< 6 mm), median particle size, percent undercut banks, bank angle, and streambank stability in managed and reference catchments following changes in management policies. Our review of these data support the hypothesis that changes made in management standards and guidelines in the 1990s are related to improved stream conditions. Determining the precise magnitude of changes in stream conditions that resulted from the modification of land management policies is difficult due to the shifting environmental baseline. By understanding and accounting for how changes in stream conditions reflect improved land management policies and broader environmental trends, federal agencies will be better situated to make project level decisions that benefit aquatic resources.

Cryptococcus gattii Complex Infections in HIV-Infected Patients, Southeastern United States.

Cryptococcus gattii traditionally infects immunocompetent hosts and causes devastating pulmonary or central nervous system disease. However, this infection rarely occurs in patients infected with HIV. We report 3 cases of HIV-associated C. gattii complex infections in the southeastern United States. Detection of C. gattii in HIV-infected patients in this region warrants increased awareness of this threat to ensure appropriate diagnosis and treatment to optimize patient outcomes.