Mammalian carnivores are the primary hosts for the rabies virus in terrestrial disease cycles. While rabies prevalence in Vulpes spp. and Urocyon spp. (foxes), Mephitis mephitis (Striped Skunk), and Procyon lotor (Raccoon) is well documented in Pennsylvania, the reintroduction of Martes pennanti (Fisher) provides another potential vector of this disease. We used a direct, rapid immunohistochemical test to examine brain material from 46 free-ranging Fishers collected throughout Pennsylvania from 2002–2008. Five Fishers had brain material unsuitable for rabies testing, forty Fishers tested negative for the disease, and one individual tested positive. The individual that tested positive was an adult male that was found to be positive for the Eastern Raccoon strain of rabies. This individual was trapped and radio-collared in July 2006 as part of a research project examining Fisher resource selection. Researchers monitored this individual weekly starting July 2006 until October 2006, when it was found dead beneath a brush pile. As Fisher populations continue to expand throughout portions of the northeastern United States, their potential as a vector of rabies should not be overlooked.

We used hair tubes to examine the winter activity of small mammals in relation to coarse woody debris and snow cover in a deciduous forest woodlot in western New York State during the winters of 2006 and 2007. Hairs trapped on sticky tapes in baited hair tubes were used to identify mammal species. During the winter of 2006, a higher proportion of baits was removed from hair tubes sites 2 m away from logs, relative to hair tubes adjacent to logs, while significantly more baits were removed from hair tubes adjacent to logs in 2007. A significantly greater proportion of baits was removed from log and open sites combined in 2006 than in 2007. However, in 2007, a higher proportion of hair tubes with baits removed also had mammal hairs on their tapes. The higher proportion of baits removed from hair tubes in 2006, and the increased proportion of baits removed from sites near logs in 2007, was most likely due to reduced snow cover in 2006. Hair tubes offer several advantages relative to live traps in the study of winter small-mammal activity. They are simple to use, do not require handling animals, eliminate trap-related mortality, and can be used at any spatial scale, including the landscape level. Finally, they employ low-cost materials, and can be adapted to a range of conditions and target species.

The main-stem Allegheny River is nationally recognized for its freshwater mussel (Unionidae: Bivalvia) diversity; however, habitat disturbance and degradation may have triggered the decline and loss of mussel communities in the lower river, where lock and dam structures restrict the free flow of water and sand and gravel removal threaten limited habitat. We examined mussel diversity and abundance across 75 transects throughout navigational pools and recorded 21 live native mussel species, including federally endangered Pleurobema clava (Clubshell) and Epioblasma torulosa rangiana (Northern Riffleshell) and several species with state endangered or threatened status. Riverine species richness and counts were significantly higher in the most-upstream portions of the upper pools, indicating that areas with consistent flows and suitable substrate just downstream of the dams may provide refugia for riverine freshwater mussel species. Sand, gravel, cobble, boulder, and organic debris had significant positive effects on riverine and facultative counts, while clay, bedrock, and woody debris had significant negative effects. Silt and woody debris had significant negative effects on riverine species richness, and sand and gravel had significant positive effects. These data will help identify sensitive areas for future protection and provide baseline data for monitoring future trends. The protection of relatively shallow areas with suitable substrates not yet impacted by dredging operations will be important to sustain remaining freshwater mussel populations in these pools.

Levels of environmental protection vary among watersheds, and assessing how well conservation efforts protect threatened faunal groups is a critical need for management. Almost the entire 114 km of the Chagrin River is designated as scenic by the state of Ohio, which implies good water quality and community efforts to maintain and improve water resource integrity. We examined mussel diversity and abundance across 30 sites. The mussels present remained largely restricted to the upper reaches. One species, Lampsilis radiata luteola, dominated the assemblage of the upper Chagrin, which now includes only six additional species, none of which are very abundant: Lasmigona costata, Lasmigona compressa, Pyganodon grandis, Strophitus undulatus, Utterbackia imbecillis, and Anodontoides ferussacianus. One additional species, Lampsilis cardium, was the only species found living in the lower Chagrin. Applying the Shannon index of diversity indicated that the Chagrin River has a more depauperate fauna than neighboring watersheds, and therefore, the current passive conservation efforts may be insufficient to protect these small isolated populations of remaining species.

Potential effects of acid mine drainage (AMD) and thermal enrichment on the reproduction of fishes were investigated through a larval-trapping survey in the Stony River watershed, Grant County, WV. Trapping was conducted at seven sites from 26 March to 2 July 2004. Overall larval catch was low (379 individuals in 220 hours of trapping). More larval White Suckers were captured than all other species. Vectors fitted to nonparametric multidimensional scaling ordinations suggested that temperature was highly correlated to fish communities captured at our sites. Survival of larval Fathead Minnows was examined in situ at six sites from 13 May to 11 June 2004 in the same system. Larval survival was lower, but not significantly different between sites directly downstream of AMD-impacted tributaries (40% survival) and non-AMD sites (52% survival). The lower survival was caused by a significant mortality event at one site that coincided with acute pH depression in an AMD tributary immediately upstream of the site. Results from a Cox proportional hazard test suggests that low pH is having a significant negative influence on larval fish survival in this system. The results from this research indicate that the combination of low pH events and elevated temperature are negatively influencing the larval fish populations of the Stony River watershed. Management actions that address these problems would have the potential to substantially increase both reproduction rates and larval survival, therefore greatly enhancing the fishery.

The distribution of imperiled stream fish, crayfish, salamander, and freshwater mussel species of Maryland streams in relation to urban land cover and nonnative species was investigated. Over the last 30 years, extinction or extirpation of 13 stream animal species (including the endemic Etheostoma sellare [Maryland Darter]) was observed within the Piedmont region of Maryland, where urbanization has spread extensively outward from Baltimore and Washington, DC, and many non-native species have become established. The presence of imperiled species in this area was correlated with urbanization and non-native species occurrence. However, correlations with land-cover data were stronger than with non-native occurrence. The majority of sites with imperiled species contained less than 10% urban land cover and less than 5% impervious land cover in their catchments. In contrast, stream reaches with non-native species spanned the entire gradient of urban, agriculture, and forested land cover, with the majority of non-native species persisting in streams with over 60% urban and 40% impervious land cover. The persistence of rare species coincident with introduced species in rural portions of Maryland indicates that habitat degradation (like that typically accompanying urbanization) may be the most important threat limiting the distributions of the rarest species that remain in these streams. Limits on urbanization in areas with rare species are needed to maintain regional and global biological diversity. This is particularly important in areas like Maryland that are anticipating extensive human population and urban growth over the next 30 years.

Crayfishes function as both ecosystem engineers and keystone species, and they serve as the trophic linkage between benthic organisms and fish predators. Because crayfish behavior, physiology, and growth are controlled by temperature, thermal differences among habitats may have important implications for crayfishes and the ecosystems they inhabit. To investigate the association between crayfish and temperature, we measured thermal preferences of 3 crayfish species in lab experiments (2007), recorded summer water temperatures at 9 sites (July 1–August 9, 2008), and trapped crayfishes at these same sites in northern Michigan. Orconectes rusticus (non-indigenous) preferred nearly 1 °C warmer water (≈22 °C) than Orconectes virilis and Orconectes propinquus. Crayfishes inhabited sites with similar temperatures. These sites had average summer temperatures ranging from 21–23 °C. Sites without crayfish were on average 7 °C colder than sites with crayfish. Thus, crayfish thermal preferences were closely correlated with average summer water temperatures across aquatic habitats.

Salamander guilds are important components of ecosystems and may be declining in Virginia. Consequently, information on salamander diversity and abundance is needed. Our objective was to assess salamander diversity at one site in the Rappahannock River watershed: the C.F. Phelps Wildlife Management Area. We randomly selected stream and upland terrestrial sites to run 50-m transects, for both quadrat and natural cover searches. We assessed diversity using a Shannon-Weiner index on all captures (larval and adults) and assessed diversity in on-site catchments. We found 11 of 13 expected species, with Ĥ′ = 1.33 ± 0.05 SD, Ĵ′ = 0.55 for all captures, and Ĥ′ = 1.18 ± 0.08 SD, Ĵ′ = 0.49 for non-larval diversity. A single catchment (Fishing Run) was considered more diverse than other catchments on site. We conclude that C.F. Phelps Wildlife Management Area supports a relatively diverse salamander community. Management efforts should focus on maintaining stream structural diversity and monitoring the effects of agricultural activities such as fertilizer use, erosion, and habitat fragmentation and loss.

Euphagus carolinus (Rusty Blackbird) has suffered a steep population decline over the past 40 years, yet we still understand little of the basic biology of the species, particularly its social organization. During the spring of 2007, we located a loose colony of Rusty Blackbirds breeding in Piscataquis County, ME. The core colony consisted of six nests within 6.9 ha. These nests were located within a 70-ha clearcut dominated by regenerating Picea rubens (Red Spruce), P. mariana (Black Spruce), and Abies balsamea (Balsam Fir). Within 1500 m of the core colony, we located two “satellite” nests in young forests regenerating from heavy partial harvests. We observed mobbing behavior by multiple individuals from different pairs, suggesting that coloniality in this species may be an antipredator strategy.

The populations of many North American forest-breeding songbirds have declined over the past few decades, initiating much research regarding the factors influencing avian use of remaining forests, many of which are highly disturbed and impacted by invasive plants. Our objective was to compare the species richness of breeding birds in riparian forest fragments that contain different amounts of the invasive shrub, Rosa multiflora (Multiflora Rose). We conducted 20 point counts in each of three sites from early June until mid-July of 2008 and 2009, and estimated species richness and relative richness using the program COMDYN4. During 2008, species richness was lower at the site with the most Multiflora Rose. However, the number of species at that site increased by 33% from 2008 to 2009, whereas the number of species in the other two sites remained similar. Consequently, we did not detect differences in species richness among sites during 2009. Despite the increase in species richness at the more heavily invaded site, several common ground- to shrub-nesting species did not occur at that site during either year. Multiflora Rose may reduce the species richness of breeding birds in forest fragments, but additional research coinciding with the control and removal of this invasive shrub will be needed to infer such a relationship.

The ecologically similar species Crotonopsis elliptica and Croton monanthogynus were described by Steyermark in his Flora of Missouri as inhabitants of acid rock outcrop communities (sandstone, granite, chert) in the Ozarks but not of limestone outcrops. However, field observations and transect data confirm that C. monanthogynus can be abundant in Ozark limestone outcrop communities, codominating with Isanthus brachiatus and Heliotropium tenellum in the 5 cm to 11 cm soil depth zone, while almost never occurring on sandstone outcrops. Greenhouse experiments revealed that C. elliptica was healthy on sandstone soil, but stunted and sickly on limestone outcrop soil, consistent with its absence from calcareous substrates. In contrast, C. monanthogynus was healthy on both soils, and had greater growth on limestone than on sandstone soil. Contrary to Steyermark's characterization, C. monanthogynus grows abundantly on limestone soils, but is rare or absent on Ozark sandstone outcrops, not because of substrate intolerance, but probably because of competing species there.

Predation of Clemmys guttata (Spotted Turtle) hatchlings by Rana clamitans (Green Frog) has not previously been reported. During Spotted Turtle nesting surveys in urban Massachusetts, a Spotted Turtle hatchling was radio-tagged and tracked to determine initial movement patterns. Fifteen days post-tagging, the Spotted Turtle hatchling was located in the gut of an adult female Green Frog. Given the abundance of Green Frogs in semi-permanent wetlands, they may be important predators on turtle hatchlings. Further studies are required to determine the frequency of Green Frog predation on turtle hatchlings and to evaluate total predation pressure on and survival of Spotted Turtle hatchlings.

We report the discovery of the non-native loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Oriental Weatherfish) from two streams in Maryland in the vicinity of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Although only two individuals have been observed since 2007, a ban on this species in Maryland should be enacted to prevent it from becoming established in the state.

Sciurus carolinensis (Eastern Gray Squirrel) is one of the most recognized sciurids in North America. Since 1930, apparently isolated Nova Scotia sightings of Eastern Gray Squirrel have been believed to result from captive releases or escapes. However, the species was not believed to have become established in the province. Here we report first evidence that the Eastern Gray Squirrel is now present as a breeding mammal in Nova Scotia.