Demographic history shapes North American gray wolf genomic diversity and informs species' conservation.

Effective population size estimates are critical information needed for evolutionary predictions and conservation decisions. This is particularly true for species with social factors that restrict access to breeding or experience repeated fluctuations in population size across generations. We investigated the genomic estimates of effective population size along with diversity, subdivision, and inbreeding from 162,109 minimally filtered and 81,595 statistically neutral and unlinked SNPs genotyped in 437 grey wolf samples from North America collected between 1986 and 2021. We found genetic structure across North America, represented by three distinct demographic histories of western, central, and eastern regions of the continent. Further, grey wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains have lower genomic diversity than wolves of the western Great Lakes and have declined over time. Effective population size estimates revealed the historical signatures of continental efforts of predator extermination, despite a quarter century of recovery efforts. We are the first to provide molecular estimates of effective population size across distinct grey wolf populations in North America, which ranged between Ne ~ 275 and 3050 since early 1980s. We provide data that inform managers regarding the status and importance of effective population size estimates for grey wolf conservation, which are on average 5.2-9.3% of census estimates for this species. We show that while grey wolves fall above minimum effective population sizes needed to avoid extinction due to inbreeding depression in the short term, they are below sizes predicted to be necessary to avoid long-term risk of extinction.

UrsaPlex: An STR multiplex for forensic identification of North American black bear (Ursus americanus).

UrsaPlex is a forensic quality 5-dye multiplexed tetranucleotide STR and sex identification panel for individual genetic identification of North American black bears (Ursus americanus). The panel is validated for the identification of black bears involved in human-wildlife conflict events and poaching investigations. This is the first single multiplex panel composed solely of tetranucleotide STRs derived from black bear and bear-specific sex markers. UrsaPlex produces complete genetic profiles from as little as 78 pg of DNA template and has a probability of identity of 2.63 × 10-13. The panel has also been tested for utility in other ursids, and our results indicate with minor modifications, UrsaPlex should prove valuable in identification investigations involving these species as well.

Development and Characterization of 15 Polymorphic Dinucleotide Microsatellite Markers for Tule Elk Using HiSeq3000.

The tule elk (Cervus elaphus nannodes) experienced a severe bottleneck in the 1800s, resulting in low genetic diversity. There is a need for high-resolution genetic assays that can be used to differentiate individual elk, including close relatives, with high confidence. An efficient assay requires multiple markers both polymorphic and that can be amplified in concert with other markers in multiplex reactions. To develop such markers, we employed 150-bp paired-end whole genome shotgun sequencing on an Illumina HiSeq3000 platform to discover dinucleotide microsatellite markers. After preliminary screening of these markers, we selected and screened 15 candidate loci and 5 existing tetra nucleotide markers in 56 tule elk. We combined these markers in 2 multiplex reactions and report primer concentrations and PCR conditions enabling their efficient amplification.

The use of reflective practice in new graduate registered nurses residency program.

New graduate nurses encounter emotional distress related to complex patient care situations and overwhelming workloads. Unequipped with coping mechanisms, new nurses verbalize difficulty feeling accepted in their assigned units. Self-perceptions of inadequacy and lack of independence contribute to anxiety. Consequently, hospitals are at risk for losing newly graduated nurses within the first year. The cost of losing new nurses is overwhelming to hospital institutions and further contributes to the looming nursing shortage. This article describes the use of a reflective practice exercise in a new registered nurse residency program in a magnet hospital to facilitate reflection and problem solving in the patient care unit. More research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of reflective practice in developing coping skills and retention rate in new graduate nurses.

Transformational leadership: application of magnet's new empiric outcomes.

The many benefits to hospitals throughout the world that achieved Magnet designation is well documented. This status of recognition demands the support of leadership during the Magnet journey. In 2008, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) announced a new model for the Magnet Recognition Program that translates the original 14 Forces of Magnetism into Five Model Components. Specifically, this new model includes sources of evidence and empiric outcomes that by definition accentuates transformational nursing leadership. The day-to-day impact of this change places an even greater emphasis on demonstrated outcomes and innovation that may potentially transform nursing practice, quality and safety of care, and the population served. This article provides tangible examples and outcomes for reaching nursing excellence through leadership support and engagement.

Landscape genetics of California mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus): the roles of ecological and historical factors in generating differentiation.

Landscape genetics is an emerging discipline that utilizes environmental and historical data to understand geographic patterns of genetic diversity. Niche modelling has added a new dimension to such efforts by allowing species-environmental associations to be projected into the past so that hypotheses about historical vicariance can be generated and tested independently with genetic data. However, previous approaches have primarily utilized DNA sequence data to test inferences about historical isolation and may have missed very recent episodes of environmentally mediated divergence. We type 15 microsatellite loci in California mule deer and identify five genetic groupings through a Structure analysis that are also well predicted by environmental data. We project the niches of these five deer ecotypes to the last glacial maximum (LGM) and show they overlap to a much greater extent than today, suggesting that vicariance associated with the LGM cannot explain the present-day genetic patterns. Further, we analyse mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence trees to search for evidence of historical vicariance and find only two well-supported clades. A coalescence-based analysis of mtDNA data shows that the genetic divergence of the mule deer genetic clusters in California is recent and appears to be mediated by ecological factors. The importance of environmental factors in explaining the genetic diversity of California mule deer is unexpected given that they are highly mobile species and have a broad habitat distribution. Geographic differences in the timing of reproduction and peak vegetation as well as habitat choice reflecting natal origin may explain the persistence of genetic subdivision.