LATE BREEDING-SEASON DEFINITIVE PRE-BASIC MOLT BY MALES, AND LATE BREEDING SEASON BROOD CARE BY FEMALES, IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA WILSON'S WARBLERS

I made late breeding season (after 1 July) observations of a central California population of Wilson’s Warbler, Cardellina pusilla, over nine breeding seasons. I sighted males in definitive prebasic molt from 4 July in 2007 through 1 September in 1999. Possibly all territorial males molted on their breeding territories, and molt lasted a maximum of 46 days. Following prebasic molt, territorial males engaged in subdued “post molt singing,” which lasted 14 days in one male, but usually no more than seven days, and was last heard on 6 September in 1999. I sighted no female in definitive prebasic molt, nor in bright basic plumage, during the study. Of 12 color-banded females sighted after 22 July, I confirmed 11 had been in late breeding season uniparental brood care. Possibly all resident females not engaged in late uniparental brood care vacated their breeding territories earlier, and before resident males. They presumably underwent prebasic molt at later times and locations not known. Remaining late nesting females must have molted much later than resident males, and likely later than early departing resident females, and at unknown locations. I last sighted uniparental brood tending females still in dull alternate plumage on 26 and 29 August respectively, whereas some males had completed prebasic molt by 13 August. Three unique study findings are the occurrence of male post molt singing, a male/female difference in location of prebasic molt, and a likely dichotomy of prebasic molt timing between females leaving their breeding grounds early, and those remaining in uniparental brood care.

SARS-CoV-2 Cumulative Incidence and Period Seroprevalence: Results from a Statewide Population-Based Serosurvey in California

Background California has reported the largest number of COVID-19 cases of any U.S. state, with more than 3.5 million confirmed as of March 2021. However, the full breadth of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in California is unknown since reported cases only represent a fraction of all infections. Methods We conducted a population-based serosurvey, utilizing mailed, home-based SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing along with a demographic and behavioral survey. We weighted data from a random sample to represent the adult California population and estimated period seroprevalence overall and by participant characteristics. Seroprevalence estimates were adjusted for waning antibodies to produce statewide estimates of cumulative incidence, the infection fatality ratio (IFR), and the reported fraction. Results California’s SARS-CoV-2 weighted seroprevalence during August–December 2020 was 4.6% (95% CI: 2.8–7.4%). Estimated cumulative incidence as of November 2, 2020 was 8.7% (95% CrI: 6.4%–11.5%), indicating 2,660,441 adults (95% CrI: 1,959,218–3,532,380) had been infected. The estimated IFR was 0.8% (95% CrI: 0.6%–1.0%), and the estimated percentage of infections reported to the California Department of Public Health was 31%. Disparately high risk for infection was observed among persons of Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity and people with no health insurance and who reported working outside the home. Conclusions We present the first statewide SARS-CoV-2 cumulative incidence estimate among adults in California. As of November 2020, approximately one in three SARS-CoV-2 infections in California adults had been identified by public health surveillance. When accounting for unreported SARS-CoV-2 infections, disparities by race/ethnicity seen in case-based surveillance persist.

Differences in growth and condition of juvenile Oncorhynchus mykiss related to sex and a migration-associated genomic region.

The expression of anadromy in partially migratory salmonid populations is influenced by sex-specific interactions among an individual’s genotype, condition, and environment, but genotype-phenotype relationships prior to the expression of migratory type are poorly understood. We examined whether juvenile growth and condition differed with respect to sex and a migration-associated genomic region (Omy05) in a coastal California population of steelhead/rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Sex and Omy05 genotype had additive effects on annual growth from age 0+ to age 1+ (approximately 6–18 months old), with higher growth in males and individuals with copies of the rearranged/resident haplotype. Condition at age 1+ increased with the number of copies of the rearranged/resident haplotype, with similar support for additive or interactive effects with sex; additive effects suggested that genotype differences occurred in both sexes and also that condition was slightly higher in males, while interactive effects suggested that the genotype differences occurred only in males. Our results indicate that phenotypic differences related to sex and Omy05 genotype occur well in advance of anadromous migration or freshwater maturation in this southern O. mykiss population.

Variation in Response and Resistance to Glyphosate and Glufosinate in California Populations of Italian Ryegrass (Lolium perennessp.multiflorum)

Reduced control of Italian ryegrass in California with herbicides has raised concerns about the evolution of populations with resistance to multiple herbicides. The goal of this study was to investigate variation among populations in plant response and resistance to glyphosate and glufosinate in Italian ryegrass from vineyards and orchards in northwest California. Population resistance screening using field-collected seed revealed up to 56.9% of individuals surviving glyphosate treatment at 1,678 g ae ha−1, and 53.5% of individuals surviving glufosinate treatment at 2,242 g ai ha−1in the same population. Frequencies of surviving plants within populations varied among screening times, particularly for glufosinate. Treating vegetatively propagated, genetically identical tillers with each herbicide pointed to separate mechanisms of resistance rather than cross-resistance to glyphosate and glufosinate. Dose–response experiments were conducted for each herbicide at two different screening times using a subset of populations, field-collected seed, and 10 herbicide rates. Plant survival and biomass were evaluated for each population at 3 wk after treatment and for plant regrowth 1 wk thereafter. Log-logistic regression models fit to the data were used to estimate LD50, GR50, and RD50values and calculate resistance indices (R/S ratios). Based on LD50values, the most highly resistant population was 14.4- to 19.2-fold more resistant to glyphosate than the most susceptible population tested but only 1.6- to 2.0-fold more resistant to glufosinate than the most susceptible population tested. Levels of resistance to both herbicides varied with screening time period and variable measured. Results indicate high frequencies of glyphosate-resistant plants but an early stage in the evolution of glufosinate resistance in some Italian ryegrass populations of northwest California.

The Population of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae, Cause of Fusarium Wilt of Strawberry, in California

The objectives of this study were to investigate the structure of the population of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae in California and to evaluate methods for its detection. Fifty-nine isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae were obtained from diseased strawberry plants and their identity was confirmed by pathogenicity testing. The full nuclear ribosomal intergenic spacer (IGS) and elongation factor 1-α gene (EF-1α) were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced to elucidate phylogenetic relationships among isolates. IGS and EF-1α sequences revealed three main lineages, which corresponded to three somatic compatibility groups. Primers designed to detect F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae in Japan amplified a 239-bp product from 55 of 59 California isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae and from no nonpathogenic isolates of F. oxysporum. The sequence of this PCR product was identical to the sequence obtained from F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae isolates in Japan. Intensive sampling at two locations in California showed results of tests based on PCR and somatic compatibility to be in agreement for 97% (257 of 264) of isolates tested. Our findings revealed considerable diversity in the California population of F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae, and indications that horizontal gene transfer may have occurred.