We captured and radio-tagged 29 harbor seals in spring 2001 in Chatham, MA, and off Rockland, ME. Male and female seals of all ages were captured in Chatham, compared to mostly juveniles in Maine. Seventy-five percent (9/12) of the Chatham seals moved to the Maine coast in spring and summer during the pupping, breeding, and moult seasons. Similarly, seventy-one percent (12/17) of seals tagged in western Penobscot Bay remained in the mid-Maine coastal region during these seasons. These short-term movement patterns suggest that Penobscot Bay may be the source for some of the seals overwintering in southern New England.

During the summer of 2003, we captured and radiotagged ten male Myotis septentrionalis (northern bats) on the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF) in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia to investigate day-roost selection. Of 16 roosts that were located, 13 were in Robinia pseudoacacia (black locusts), five in snags and eight in live trees. The other three roosts occurred in a Sassafras albidum (sassafras) snag and two live Acer saccharum (sugar maples). All live trees used as roosts were medium to large, canopy-dominant trees with considerable amounts of exfoliating bark and numerous broken limbs and cavities. Snags used as roosts were smaller than trees and other snags in surrounding stands, whereas live trees used as roosts were larger than other trees and snags in surrounding stands. Similar to previous research on female northern bats in the Allegheny Mountains, we observed a strong preference for both live and snag black locust as roosts over other available species. The high abundance of black locust as an important component on the FEF has been a relatively recent development dating to the early 1900s. Use of live canopy-dominant black locust with characteristics of mature forest trees lends support that older forests with decadent conditions provide important day-roost habitat, whereas use of both canopy dominant live trees and long-lasting black locust snags may support the ecological concept of roosting “areas” for northern bats.

We mist-netted bats to test the efficacy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service Indiana Bat Protocol (IBP), which recommends monitoring nets every 20 min. We continuously videotaped mist nets while monitoring and removing bats every 20 min. We recorded 157 bats on video that approached within 10 m of the mist net. Thirty-six bats (23.1%) avoided the net, 79 (50.0%) were caught and collected, and 42 (26.9%) were caught but escaped before we returned to check the net. We recommend that researchers check mist nets at intervals ≤ 10 minutes to potentially increase capture rates by ≥ 25%.

Progeny of a wild female of Hyalophora cecropia (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) were reared and appear to be natural hybrids resulting from a mating with Hyalophora columbia (Smith).

A Petromyzon marinus (sea lamprey) was observed attached to an approximately 3-m fork length, male Somniosus microcephalus (Greenland shark) on 9 October 2004 in Baie St. Pancrace, St. Lawrence Estuary, PQ. This is the first report of a sea lamprey attached to a member of Somniosidae.

Erignathus barbatus (bearded seals) have a circumpolar distribution and are most often found in areas of transient pack ice. On 30 April 2002, an adult bearded seal was observed hauled out on a floating dock within the inner harbor of Gloucester, MA (42°36.11′N, 70°39.42′W). This is the southern-most documented sighting of a bearded seal in the western North Atlantic. The seal remained in the area for at least a week. Although the distribution of other species of ice-breeding seals has shifted south in the last ten years, it is unknown if the current Massachusetts observation of a bearded seal is part of this same phenomenon.

Larvae of two noctuid moths, Exyra fax and Papaipema appassionata, are obligate herbivores of Sarracenia purpurea (northern pitcher plant). We studied the relationship between presence of these larvae and plant size, the spatial clustering of herbivory, and effects of herbivory on subsequent plant size at Harvard Pond in central Massachusetts. Plants fed upon by E. fax were larger than uneaten plants, were clustered in the study area, and decreased in size after a year relative to uneaten plants. The few plants fed upon by P. appassionata were similar in size to the overall population, and were clustered only in 2003. Limited mobility of adult moths and plant size preference may account for clustering of herbivory by E. fax, whereas larval mobility may account for clustering of herbivory by P. appassionata.

A large whale shark, Rhincodon typus, was observed in the Bay of Fundy, Canada on August 22, 1997. The sighting was at 44°15′19′′N, 67°44′07”W. Whale sharks are a circumglobal species occurring in the warmer waters of the tropical and subtropical seas and no prior sightings of this animal north of 42°N have been reported. The reasons for the shark to be in the Bay are unknown. It is important to note that the whale shark may be able to tolerate the colder waters of the Bay of Fundy, although there have been no subsequent sightings in the Bay.

While many amphibians have complex life cycles involving a primarily terrestrial adult phase and an aquatic larval phase, use of terrestrial habits by adult forms remains poorly understood. We used radiotelemetry to track the post-breeding dispersals of 16 female Bufo americanus during the summer and fall of 2001 to determine the extent of upland habitat use by females of this species. Female toads dispersed a minimum of 250 m and up to 1000 m from the breeding pond with the majority (97%) of relocations occurring more than 400 m from the breeding site. Typically dispersal paths were non-random and linear, punctuated by periods of sedentary behavior. During periods of sedentary behavior females confined their activities to an area of several m². Females employed 24-h movements of up to several hundred m when moving between activity centers. For 8 toads with > 22 recaptures, total area of upland habitat utilization ranged from 434 to 1305 m² (mean = 717.7 m²). All 16 toads were lost prior to entering winter torpor, including 10 confirmed cases of predation. Our study of post-breeding dispersal by female American Toads suggests terrestrial habitat use extending up to 1 km from the breeding site is common, and emphasizes the need for consideration of terrestrial as well as aquatic habitats in the development of conservation plans.

Georges Island supports an unusually dense and morphologically diverse population of Thamnophis sirtalis pallidulus. Between May and October 1993, a total of 391 garter snakes were marked. The total male:female ratio was 0.8:1.0; population density of snakes > 1 year old was minimally estimated at 120/ha. Thamnophis sirtalis pallidulus on Georges Island were docile: 50% of encounters showed no response or only a delayed anti-predator response to human handling. The population is unusual morphologically; it contains melanistic and partly melanistic individuals and an unusually high proportion (48%) of individuals with abnormal ventral and/or subcaudal scales. Adult garter snakes on Georges Island are slightly smaller than adults in mainland Nova Scotia populations. Despite a less diverse diet than is available to its mainland counterparts, the island population appears to thrive.

Population declines of migratory songbirds have been attributed to either breeding-ground factors based on forest fragmentation leading to increased rates of nest predation and nest parasitism or wintering-ground factors based on tropical habitat loss and degradation. We analyzed patterns of habitat use by Nearctic-Neotropical migrants, temperate migrants, and permanent residents in isolated deciduous-forest patches (0.25–3400 ha) in Pennsylvania during 1994–95 to determine distribution patterns and to identify the primary cause of these declines. Nearctic-Neotropical migrants were found primarily in larger forest patches (≥ 40 ha) compared to small patches (≤ 2 ha). In contrast, with few exceptions, temperate migrants and permanent residents were found equally in small and larger forest patches. Based on predictions by Rappole and McDonald (1994) to determine the cause of population declines, our results indicate that wintering-ground factors most likely are responsible. However, we suggest that such results should be viewed with caution. Specifically, we recommend that patterns of habitat use during migration should be studied more thoroughly to elucidate the potential impacts of stopover-habitat modification on population declines of migratory birds.

In 2002, an estimated 377 pairs of Plegadis falcinellus (Glossy Ibis) nested in four mixed-species colonies in Rhode Island, with 66% of nests on Rose Island. Local observations suggest that farmland may provide important foraging habitat for Glossy Ibis in southern New England. We systematically surveyed 13 salt marshes within 20 km and 11 farms within 10 km of Rose Island during the breeding season (15 May–23 July) in 2002 to determine the importance of salt marshes and farmland to foraging Glossy Ibis. Foraging ibis were irregularly detected at 6 of 13 salt marshes. Ibis were more likely to be observed foraging at farms, with an average of 1 to 18 birds seen at 10 of 11 farms. Linear models of habitat characteristics predicting the mean number of foraging ibis observed at each farm were created a priori and evaluated using Akaike's Information Criteria. Farms with a high density of cows present (> 10 cows per ha) and farms that contained streams were especially important, but foraging ibis used many agricultural habitat types including cultivated grass, wet areas, uncut meadows, and recently mowed hayfields. This study clearly shows that active farms are beneficial to breeding Glossy Ibis in Rhode Island and that efforts to preserve such farms will help to sustain the ibis population in the region.

Between 1980 and present, we inventoried freshwater mussel populations at 129 aquatic sites throughout Rhode Island. We found 8 native mussel species and documented the presence of Corbicula sp. (Asiatic clam). The Rhode Island mussel fauna has been degraded by a long history of damming and discharges into rivers. Significant lake populations have also been eliminated by basin reconfigurations, pollution, and urban development. Elliptio complanata is currently the most widespread and common Rhode Island species. Pyganodon cataracta and Alasmidonta undulata are also widespread but less common. Anodonta implicata and Pyganodon cataracta may be expanding because of increased fish passage and stocking. Lampsilis radiata, Ligumia nasuta, Margaritifera margaritifera, and Strophitus undulatus are rare or localized and should be considered high conservation priorities in Rhode Island.

The Flint Woods Preserve is known to contain rare species of vascular flora, yet no bryological survey has previously been performed. Bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) are are sensitive to changes in the environment and serve as biological indicators. The objectives of this study were to determine the diversity of bryophytes among habitats and to identify species associations, as compared to known European associations. The similarity of species occurrences among and within habitats and substrates was assessed using the Jaccard index and calculated β diversity. Associations among species and between growth form or life strategy and habitat or substrate were assessed by a two-way contingency table with Fisher's exact test. Thirty-eight species of Bryophyta and Marchantiophyta were found, including four rare species: Dicranum fulvum, Fissidens bushii, Ctenidium malacodes, and Ptilidium pulcherrimum. Seventy-five percent of the species were exclusively epigaeic or occurred on multiple substrates, while only one species was exclusively corticolous. Eleven positive species associations were found, none of which match known European associations. No negative species associations, no associations with life strategy and habitat or substrate, and few associations with growth form and habitat or substrate were observed.

Knowledge of the vertical variation of bark water storage capacity (BWSC) is essential in understanding the processes of throughfall and stemflow yield in forest ecosystems. Determination of vertical variation of BWSC is also necessary to understand microscale variations in moisture availability that affect the diversity and distribution of corticolous lichen and bryophyte communities on tree boles. This field note reports that BWSC of a tree bole of Pinus strobus L. (eastern white pine; 28.4 cm dbh, 22.5 m tall) differs substantially as a function of height above ground. BWSC of the bottom section of the tree bole (5.6 L m⁻²) was approximately twice as much as the top section (2.5 L m⁻²). Total BWSC for this tree's bole was 52.5 L. Further research of the interactions among bark water storage capacity, stemflow yield, and the diversity and distribution of corticolous lichens and bryophytes will improve our understanding of the canopy water balance and the functional ecology of forest ecosystems.