@article{backus_gross_2016, title={Genetic engineering to eradicate invasive mice on islands: Modeling the efficiency and ecological impacts}, volume={7}, number={12}, journal={Ecosphere}, author={Backus, G. A. and Gross, K.}, year={2016} }
 @misc{kershenbaum_blumstein_roch_akcay_backus_bee_bohn_cao_carter_caesar_et al._2016, title={Acoustic sequences in non-human animals: a tutorial review and prospectus}, volume={91}, ISSN={["1469-185X"]}, DOI={10.1111/brv.12160}, abstractNote={ABSTRACTAnimal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, made up of multiple distinct acoustic units. Apart from the well‐known example of birdsong, other animals such as insects, amphibians, and mammals (including bats, rodents, primates, and cetaceans) also generate complex acoustic sequences. Occasionally, such as with birdsong, the adaptive role of these sequences seems clear (e.g. mate attraction and territorial defence). More often however, researchers have only begun to characterise – let alone understand – the significance and meaning of acoustic sequences. Hypotheses abound, but there is little agreement as to how sequences should be defined and analysed. Our review aims to outline suitable methods for testing these hypotheses, and to describe the major limitations to our current and near‐future knowledge on questions of acoustic sequences. This review and prospectus is the result of a collaborative effort between 43 scientists from the fields of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, signal processing, machine learning, quantitative linguistics, and information theory, who gathered for a 2013 workshop entitled, ‘Analysing vocal sequences in animals’. Our goal is to present not just a review of the state of the art, but to propose a methodological framework that summarises what we suggest are the best practices for research in this field, across taxa and across disciplines. We also provide a tutorial‐style introduction to some of the most promising algorithmic approaches for analysing sequences. We divide our review into three sections: identifying the distinct units of an acoustic sequence, describing the different ways that information can be contained within a sequence, and analysing the structure of that sequence. Each of these sections is further subdivided to address the key questions and approaches in that area. We propose a uniform, systematic, and comprehensive approach to studying sequences, with the goal of clarifying research terms used in different fields, and facilitating collaboration and comparative studies. Allowing greater interdisciplinary collaboration will facilitate the investigation of many important questions in the evolution of communication and sociality.}, number={1}, journal={BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS}, author={Kershenbaum, Arik and Blumstein, Daniel T. and Roch, Marie A. and Akcay, Caglar and Backus, Gregory and Bee, Mark A. and Bohn, Kirsten and Cao, Yan and Carter, Gerald and Caesar, Cristiane and et al.}, year={2016}, month={Feb}, pages={13–52} }
 @article{just_norton_traud_antonelli_poteate_backus_snyder-beattie_sanders_dunn_2014, title={Global biogeographic regions in a human-dominated world: the case of human diseases}, volume={5}, ISSN={["2150-8925"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84919788790&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1890/es14-00201.1}, abstractNote={Since the work of Alfred Russel Wallace, biologists have sought to divide the world into biogeographic regions that reflect the history of continents and evolution. These divisions not only guide conservation efforts, but are also the fundamental reference point for understanding the distribution of life. However, the biogeography of human‐associated species—such as pathogens, crops, or even house guests—has been largely ignored or discounted. As pathogens have the potential for direct consequences on the lives of humans, domestic animals, and wildlife it is prudent to examine their potential biogeographic history. Furthermore, if distinct regions exist for human‐associated pathogens, it would provide possible connections between human wellbeing and pathogen distributions, and, more generally, humans and the deep evolutionary history of the natural world. We tested for the presence of biogeographic regions for diseases of humans due to pathogens using country‐level disease composition data and compared the regions for vectored and non‐vectored diseases. We found discrete biogeographic regions for diseases, with a stronger influence of biogeography on vectored than non‐vectored diseases. We also found significant correlations between these biogeographic regions and environmental or socio‐political factors. While some biogeographic regions reflected those already documented for birds or mammals, others reflected colonial history. From the perspective of diseases caused by pathogens, humans have altered but not evaded the influence of ancient biogeography. This work is the necessary first step in examining the biogeographic relationship between humans and their associates.}, number={11}, journal={ECOSPHERE}, author={Just, Michael G. and Norton, Jacob F. and Traud, Amanda L. and Antonelli, Tim and Poteate, Aaron S. and Backus, Gregory A. and Snyder-Beattie, Andrew and Sanders, R. Wyatt and Dunn, Robert R.}, year={2014}, month={Nov} }