scholarly journals Comparing post-release cover and burrow use by differentially head-started Mojave desert tortoises in southern California

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pearson A. McGovern ◽  
J. Mark Peaden ◽  
Kurt A. Buhlmann ◽  
Brian D. Todd ◽  
Tracey D. Tuberville
Keyword(s):  
Conventional Method ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Gopherus Agassizii ◽  
Burrow Use

The effects of indoor rearing versus the conventional method of solely outdoor head-starting on post-release cover and burrow use of juvenile Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii), a threatened endemic species, were investigated. We found that partially indoor-reared tortoises exhibited similar post-release behaviours when compared to both same-aged, but smaller, and similar-sized, but older outdoor-reared head-started tortoises, thus increasing the success and decreasing the costs of head-starting.

Seasonal Reproductive Cycle of the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in the Eastern Mojave Desert

1994 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 72 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Rostal ◽  
Valentine A. Lance ◽  
Janice S. Grumbles ◽  
Allison C. Alberts
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Cycle ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Gopherus Agassizii ◽  
Desert Tortoise

scholarly journals Improved draft of the Mojave Desert tortoise genome, Gopherus agassizii, version 1.1

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy H Webster ◽  
Greer A. Dolby ◽  
Melissa Wilson Sayres ◽  
Kenro Kusumi
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Gene Annotation ◽  
Draft Genome ◽  
Gopherus Agassizii ◽  
Desert Tortoise ◽  
Draft Genome Assembly ◽  
Initial Release ◽  
Exogenous Sequence ◽  
Mojave Desert Tortoise

Exogenous sequence contamination presents a challenge in first-draft genomes because it can lead to non-contiguous, chimeric assembled sequences. This can mislead downstream analyses reliant on synteny, such as linkage-based analyses. Recently, the Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) draft genome was published as a resource to advance conservation efforts for the threatened species and discover more about chelonian biology and evolution. Here, we illustrate steps taken to improve the desert tortoise draft genome by removing contaminating sequences—actions that are typically carried out after the initial release of a draft genome assembly. We used information from NCBI’s Vecscreen output to remove intra-scaffold contamination and trim heading and trailing Ns. We then reordered and renamed scaffolds, and transferred the gene annotation onto this assembly. Finally, we describe the tools developed for this pipeline, freely available on Github (https://github.com/thw17/G_agassizii_reference_update), which facilitate post-assembly processing of other draft genomes. The new gopAga1.1 genome has an N50 of 251 KB, L50 of 2592 scaffolds, and its annotation retains 17,201 of the original 20,172 genes that were unaffected by the scaffold processing.

scholarly journals Improved draft of the Mojave Desert tortoise genome, Gopherus agassizii, version 1.1

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy H Webster ◽  
Greer A Dolby ◽  
Melissa A Wilson Sayres ◽  
Kenro Kusumi
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Gene Annotation ◽  
Draft Genome ◽  
Gopherus Agassizii ◽  
Desert Tortoise ◽  
Draft Genome Assembly ◽  
Initial Release ◽  
Exogenous Sequence ◽  
Mojave Desert Tortoise

Exogenous sequence contamination presents a challenge in first-draft genomes because it can lead to non-contiguous, chimeric assembled sequences. This can mislead downstream analyses reliant on synteny, such as linkage-based analyses. Recently, the Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) draft genome was published as a resource to advance conservation efforts for the threatened species and discover more about chelonian biology and evolution. Here, we illustrate steps taken to improve the desert tortoise draft genome by removing contaminating sequences—actions that are typically carried out after the initial release of a draft genome assembly. We used information from NCBI’s Vecscreen output to remove intra-scaffold contamination and trim heading and trailing Ns. We then reordered and renamed scaffolds, and transferred the gene annotation onto this assembly. Finally, we describe the tools developed for this pipeline, freely available on Github (https://github.com/thw17/G_agassizii_reference_update), which facilitate post-assembly processing of other draft genomes. The new gopAga1.1 genome has an N50 of 251 kb, L50 of 2592 scaffolds, and its annotation retains 17,201 of the original 20,172 genes that were unaffected by the scaffold processing.

scholarly journals Immune and sex-biased gene expression in the threatened Mojave desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. e0238202
Author(s):  
Cindy Xu ◽  
Greer A. Dolby ◽  
K. Kristina Drake ◽  
Todd C. Esque ◽  
Kenro Kusumi
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Gopherus Agassizii ◽  
Desert Tortoise ◽  
Mojave Desert Tortoise

scholarly journals Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) thermal ecology and reproductive success along a rainfall cline

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette E. SIEG ◽  
Megan M. GAMBONE ◽  
Bryan P. WALLACE ◽  
Susana CLUSELLA-TRULLAS ◽  
James R. SPOTILA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Thermal Ecology ◽  
Gopherus Agassizii ◽  
Desert Tortoise ◽  
Mojave Desert Tortoise

Associating sex-biased and seasonal behaviour with contact patterns and transmission risk in Gopherus agassizii

Behaviour ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 155 (7-9) ◽  
pp. 585-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.M. Aiello ◽  
T.C. Esque ◽  
K.E. Nussear ◽  
P.G. Emblidge ◽  
P.J. Hudson
Keyword(s):  
Transmission Efficiency ◽  
Transmission Risk ◽  
Gopherus Agassizii ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Contact Patterns ◽  
Captive Populations ◽  
Contact Behaviour ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
Burrow Use

Abstract Interactions between wildlife hosts act as transmission routes for directly transmitted pathogens and vary in ways that affect transmission efficiency. Identifying drivers of contact variation can allow both contact inference and estimation of transmission dynamics despite limited data. In desert tortoises, mating strategy, burrow use and seasonal change influence numerous behaviours and likely shape contact patterns. In this study, we ask to what extent tortoise contact behaviour varies between sexes and seasons, and whether space or burrow-use data can be used to infer contact characteristics consistent with those recorded by proximity loggers. We identified sex and season-biased contact behaviour in both wild and captive populations indicative of female-female avoidance and seasonal male mate-seeking behaviour. Space and burrow-use patterns were informative, but did not always predict the extent of sex or seasonal biases on contact. We discuss the implications these findings have for transmission patterns and disease mitigation in tortoise populations.

Surface ages and rates of erosion at the Calico Archaeological Site in the Mojave Desert, Southern California

Geomorphology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis A. Owen ◽  
Teresa Davis ◽  
Marc W. Caffee ◽  
Fred Budinger ◽  
David Nash
Keyword(s):  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Archaeological Site
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