Biology subjects

Robinson, T. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Robinson, T. J..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Insect abundance and richness response to ecological reclamation on well pads 5-12 years into succession in a semi-arid natural gas field

Natural gas extraction is a critical driver of the economy in western North America. Ecological reclamation is important to ensure surface disturbance impacts associated with natural gas development are not permanent and to assist native biota. Previous studies in semi-arid natural gas fields within Sublette County, Wyoming, USA have shown insects respond favorably to 1-3-year-old well pads undergoing reclamation compared to older successional, reference vegetation communities dominated by Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridenta spp. Wyomingensis). Here we examined well pads which were initially seeded between 5, 8, 10, 11, and 12 prior to our study. We used a free, image-based software called SamplePoint to quantify vegetation on these well pads and adjacent reference areas from high-resolution cell phone camera pictures. Insects were collected with a sweep net and identified to the family and morphospecies level. Statistical analyses were conducted to compare both vegetation and insect communities between reclamation sites and their paired reference area. We found little statistical difference between vegetation communities across our study, but found significantly more insect abundance in 3 of 5 years and significantly higher family and species richness in 4 of 5 years. Our results suggest reclamation of natural gas well pads within an old successional stand of sagebrush continues to support higher levels of insect biodiversity and abundance for at least 12 years. As insects are the most diverse group of animals on Earth and because they provide a wide array of ecosystem services, our findings suggest ecological reclamation plays an important role in returning biodiversity and ecosystem functionality to a semi-arid and old successional sagebrush-steppe ecosystem.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2023

Branched-chain keto acids promote an immune-suppressive and neurodegenerative microenvironment in leptomeningeal disease

Leptomeningeal disease (LMD) occurs when tumors seed into the leptomeningeal space and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), leading to severe neurological deterioration and poor survival outcomes. We utilized comprehensive multi-omics analyses of CSF from patients with lymphoma LMD to demonstrate an immunosuppressive cellular microenvironment and identified dysregulations in proteins and lipids indicating neurodegenerative processes. Strikingly, we found a significant accumulation of toxic branched-chain keto acids (BCKA) in the CSF of patients with LMD. The BCKA accumulation was found to be a pan-cancer occurrence, evident in lymphoma, breast cancer, and melanoma LMD patients. Functionally, BCKA disrupted the viability and function of endogenous T lymphocytes, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, neurons, and meningeal cells. Treatment of LMD mice with BCKA-reducing sodium phenylbutyrate significantly improved neurological function, survival outcomes, and efficacy of anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy. This is the first report of BCKA accumulation in LMD and provides preclinical evidence that targeting these toxic metabolites improves outcomes.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Soil stockpile age does not impact vegetation establishment in a cold, arid natural gas field

Land reclamation is critical to ensure surface disturbance associated with natural gas development is not permanent. Soil management is critical to reclamation success, especially in environments which are challenged by aridity. Typically, natural gas well pad construction involves stripping topsoil to allow for equipment to be on level ground and placing it into a stockpile. After well pad construction is complete, soil is respread and seeded across a large portion of the initial disturbance to initiate interim reclamation. With the advent of new extraction technologies (e.g., directional drilling), it is not always known how many individual wells will be placed on a given well pad until results from exploratory tests are examined. Previous research has shown soil disturbance during natural gas well pad construction and subsequent reclamation in cold, arid environments is highest at the stripping and respreading phases, with minimal soil activity occurring during the stockpile phase. Other research has shown that additional soil disturbances after reclamation is initiated may exacerbate soil damage, limiting revegetation potential. However, no studies have been conducted to determine if soil stockpile age impacts vegetation emergence. Here, we examine soil stockpiles which are 1-7 years old in the Jonah Infill natural gas field for vegetation emergence and vegetation cover using an image analysis software called SamplePoint. In a ten-week greenhouse experiment, we found vegetation cover across stockpile age-classes increased uniformly during the study period but that there was no significant difference in rate of vegetation cover increase or percent vegetation cover over time. These findings suggest it may be better to keep soil stockpiled in cold, arid natural gas fields when it is uncertain if additional construction activities will be required on a well pad location rather than respreading soil with a chance that redisturbance is necessary.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Early seral vegetation communities increase insect abundance and diversity in a semiarid natural gas field during early and late growing season

Insects are critical components of terrestrial ecosystems and are often considered ecosystem engineers. Due to the vast amount of ecosystem services they provide, because statistically valid samples can be captured in short durations, and because they respond rapidly to environmental change, insects have been used as indicators of restoration success and ecosystem functionality. In Wyoming (USA), thousands of acres of land surface has been disturbed to extract natural resources. While traditional reclamation practices of these lands focused on site stabilization and weed control, more recent efforts have been made to restore ecosystem services. It has been suggested that a spatial and temporal mosaic of flowering species will benefit insect populations. In this study, we compared early seral reclamation sites (i.e., well pads undergoing interim reclamation) to reference areas at two points within a growing season. We found reference ecosystems were devoid of forb species, while one year old reclaimed sites contained late-season blooming Rocky Mountain beeplant (Cleome serrulata) and three-four year old well pads contained early-season blooming perennial forb species, mainly western yarrow (Achillea millefolium). We compared insect abundance and family richness on 6 well pads with early season perennial forbs and 6 well pads with the late season annual forb, Rocky Mountain beeplant to insect communities on adjacent reference areas. A total of 237 insects were found on early season reclaimed sites compared to 84 on reference sites, while 858 insects were found on late season reclaimed sites compared to 40 on reference sites. Insect abundance and family richness was significantly higher on reclaimed well pads compared to reference areas at both points in the growing season. We also found interesting differences in abundance at family levels.

ecology↗