We present records of 3 clam shrimp species from New York: 2 spinicaudatan species— Eulimnadia agassizii (Agassiz Clam Shrimp; the first record for the state) and Cyzicus sp. (the second record of the genus from the state)—and Lynceus brachyurus (Laevicaudata; Holarctic Clam Shrimp; first reported from New York in 1883, is herein documented from the Hudson Valley). Some of the temporary waters that these species inhabit are protected by wetland regulations, but rain-puddle habitat on or along unimproved roads has no such protection.

The previously unstudied empidid fly Rhamphomyia pectinata is, like many other members of the genus, a sex-role-reversed species with highly ornamented females that gather in swarms to await the arrival of prey-bearing males. Receptive males transfer their nuptial gifts to females before mating with them in the air. Rhamphomyia pectinata is diurnal, with swarming and copulations occurring in the afternoon. Other members of the genus occur at the study site but are crepuscular.

Pennsylvania's stream crayfishes have received considerable conservation attention and survey efforts in the past decade. Burrowing crayfishes have begun to receive the same level of effort as stream species, resulting in the discovery of Creaserinus fodiens (Digger Crayfish) in a state game land in the Glaciated Plateau of Crawford County, PA. Herein, we describe the collection of this species in Pennsylvania, and determine that C. fodiens is native to the state and is worthy of additional survey efforts and associated conservation assessments.

Celastrus orbiculatus (Oriental Bittersweet) is an invasive liana that can negatively affect native forests. Infested trees suffer trunk failures, and subsequent alterations in the surrounding forest's natural successional trajectory frequently occur. We used a dendroecological approach to investigate the effects of Oriental Bittersweet on the growth of Populus grandidentata (Bigtooth Aspen) and Quercus rubra (Red Oak) in Chicopee, MA. We hypothesized that trees infested with Bittersweet would have reduced growth in comparison to uninfested trees. We sampled 136 trees that were infested or uninfested with Oriental Bittersweet and took cross sections of the liana stems to pinpoint the liana's date of establishment. We found that Oriental Bittersweet had an abrupt negative effect on tree growth after 14 years of infestation, suggesting that a physical disturbance was likely a causal factor.

The invasion of Hemigrapsus sanguineus (Asian Shore Crab) has been of concern in northeastern North America since the late 1980s. A relatively long-term record (1998–2011) of density estimates in southern New England showed displacement of resident crab species at 3 locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 2016, I visited the same locations to estimate current crab densities. The springtime Asian Shore Crab density decreased at a coastal location, but increased at an estuarine location to >300 crabs/m². Resident crabs Carcinus maenas (European Green Crab) and Mud Crabs in the family Panopeidae increased in abundance at all 3 locations.

The arrival of white-nose syndrome (WNS) to North America in 2006, and the subsequent decline in populations of cave-hibernating bats have potential long-term implications for communities of forest-dwelling bats in affected regions. Severe declines in wintering populations of bats should lead to concomitant shifts in the composition and relative abundance of species during the staging, maternity, and swarming seasons in nearby forested habitats. We examined capture rates of bats collected in mist nets from 2009 to 2016 to evaluate summer patterns in abundance of species pre- and post-arrival of WNS to Mammoth Cave National Park, KY. The data demonstrated a significant change in overall relative abundances. Myotis septentrionalis (Northern Long-eared Myotis) was the most commonly captured species pre-WNS but declined to 18.5% of its original abundance. Nycticeius humeralis (Evening Bat), uncommonly caught in mist nets pre-WNS, demonstrated the largest increase in capture success following arrival of WNS to the Park, followed by Eptesicus fuscus (Big Brown Bat) and Lasiurus borealis (Eastern Red Bat). These data suggest that losses of cave-hibernating bats to WNS may be leading to a restructuring of foraging bat assemblages in nearby forested habitats, with species less affected by WNS potentially exploiting niche space vacated by bats succumbing to infection with WNS.

Two catostomid fishes, Carpiodes cyprinus (Quillback) and Moxostoma collapsum (Notchlip Redhorse), were recently discovered in the New River watershed (Ohio River basin) in Virginia. The New River fish fauna is naturally depauperate relative to surrounding watersheds, and it has been altered substantially due to non-indigenous species introductions. Notchlip Redhorse and Quillback are established in Claytor Lake and are dispersing into novel reaches of the mainstem New River. We suspect that these species became established following bait-bucket introductions or incidentally during game-fish stockings. Public education, policy changes, and stricter hatchery procedures are needed to minimize such occurrences of non-indigenous species introductions.

We examined macroinvertebrate drift at 4 sites downstream of Abanakee Dam on the Indian River, NY, on separate days at base-flow conditions and following days during recreational releases (rapid releases supporting white-water rafting enterprises). Macroinvertebrate drift rates were highest near the dam due to high numbers of drifting Simuliidae at both base flow and during a release. At the other 3 sites, Simuliidae were less abundant in the drift, and Chironomidae and Sphaeriidae had especially high drift densities during a release, suggesting a greater vulnerability to catastrophic drift. Macroinvertebrate drift was not affected by differences in stream gradients or shear forces that did differ between sites. Our drift densities during the recreational releases were higher than observations from other studies during natural floods, suggesting greater drift vulnerability to rapid increases (∼15 min) in discharge when flood gates are opened.

Research on the ecology of bats and roads has largely covered impacts of major highways, but varying types of roads and surrounding habitats may differ in their impacts on bat activity. We conducted 28 mobile acoustic surveys in and around Indiana state forests from May to August 2012. We employed Manly's selection ratios to examine levels of bat activity along different types of roads through various habitats, and the interaction of road and habitat, using an exact chi-squared test. Activity was higher than expected along unpaved local roads and roads that were lined with open-canopy forest and forest edges, whereas activity was lower than expected along state highways and “other” roads (e.g., service roads), as well as roads within open areas. The influence of a road on activity was dependent on surrounding habitat features. For example, activity on unpaved local roads was greater than expected when surrounded by closed-canopy forest, but lower than expected when surrounded by human development. Inventory and monitoring programs might be improved if they consider the interacting roles of road and habitat type in influencing how bats select their environment.

Since the 1950s, anthropogenic activity has caused the loss of millions of hectares of bottomland hardwood forest in the Upper Mississippi River Valley, causing population declines in bird populations. Restoration of these forest stands has been ongoing for the past 2 decades. We assessed bird species presence on sites in the Upper Mississippi River Valley to quantify diversity and relate presence to habitat conditions and sites' age since restoration. We observed higher mean diversities at mature bottomland-forest sites during the spring and autumn, but nested ANOVAs indicated no significant differences among restoration-age categories during spring. During the autumn, the 15–23-y and the mature bottomland-forest categories were significantly different from the <7-y category. Predictive habitat models differed among species, but presence of forest-dwelling birds was positively related to forested conditions, such as tree height and tree density. Overall, our analyses show that a variety of birds use these sites, and we suggest further exploration of how assemblages may change in future surveys.

We exposed 11 milkweed species to ozone within continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) chambers in a greenhouse to determine species sensitivity and potential use as bioindicators to detect phytotoxic levels of ambient ozone. Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed), A. ovalifolia (Oval-leaf Milkweed), A. sullivantii (Prairie Milkweed), A. speciosa (Showy Milkweed), A. asperula (Spider Milkweed), A. incarnata (Swamp Milkweed), A exaltata (Tall Milkweed), and A. curassavica (Tropical Milkweed) developed typical ozone-induced dark stipple on the adaxial surface of older leaves. Tropical Milkweed also exhibited significant premature defoliation (accelerated leaf senescence). Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed), A. hirtella (Green Milkweed), and A. verticillata (Whorled Milkweed) were tolerant to ozone. Foliar stipple on Common Milkweed increased with ozone concentration and time. In addition to Common Milkweed, a bioindicator commonly used to detect phytotoxic levels of ozone, the other 7 ozone-sensitive milkweed species should be evaluated further as potential ozone bioindicators.

We evaluated the effects of native-grass restoration on the spatial distribution and density of raptors, vegetative characteristics, and small-mammal communities at Peabody Wildlife Management Area, a large reclaimed surface-coal mine in western Kentucky. We surveyed raptors from 2008 to 2012 via distance sampling at roadside points, and conducted vegetation and small-mammal surveys. We found no associations between total small-mammal relative abundance and native-grass restoration or vegetative characteristics. However, management for native grass positively affected the density of Circus cyaneus (Northern Harrier) and influenced the local distribution of Northern Harriers and Buteo jamaicensis (Red-Tailed Hawk). These results suggest that restoration and management of native grass on reclaimed mine lands can enhance habitat for grassland raptors, including the Northern Harrier, a species of conservation concern throughout its range.

I investigated the seasonal patterns in the use of Veery vocalizations (song and calls) at a breeding site in northern Delaware. The Veery call repertoire consists of 2 continua (harsh and tonal notes) and 4 discrete call types. Veeries use these calls in long-distance (inter-territory) and short-distance (intra-territory) vocal interaction. To gain insight to Veery communication, I tallied calls during twenty-six 10-min point-counts in seven 11-d periods to determine the pattern of call types used by Veeries from nest initiation through fledging. The pattern of calls used varied depending on the corresponding reproductive context and can be in part explained by their acoustic properties in varying social situations. The use of a variety of calls early in the breeding season coupled with a paucity of song confirms that calls are the primary acoustic signal used by Veeries during the first 2 weeks after spring arrival.

In the upper midwestern US and parts of Canada, forests dominated by Populus tremuloides (Aspen) are increasingly being considered as a bioenergy feedstock for power plants. When used for bioenergy, these forests are harvested at much younger ages than when they are used for more traditional products, such as pulpwood and lumber. To better understand the potential consequences of a shift in shorter-rotation-harvest strategies on avian communities, we employed point counts to examine bird community composition in a chronosequence (10-45 y since harvest) of 12 coppiced, even-aged Aspen stands. Young (8-15 y old), middle (20-44 y old), and mature (45 y old) stands had no significant differences in species richness or relative abundance, but distinct avian community assemblages were associated with each stand-age class. Four bird species were significantly associated with a particular age class. Maintaining a wide range of Aspen stand-age classes in the landscape appears to be the best strategy for conserving a diverse bird community in this region.

Increasing interest in digital resources for zoological study have resulted in the creation of several online collections of specimens with varying degrees of complexity and sophistication. We illustrate how an inexpensively created archive of digital photographs can be used to test hypotheses of general interest to evolutionary biologists. We used conventional and digital measurements from Canis latrans (Coyote) crania, to show that northeastern Coyote skulls are larger than skulls in our collection from all other areas. Furthermore, we reject Bergmann's rule by demonstrating that Coyote skulls from Texas are larger than skulls from Alaska and Washington. Measurements taken from calibrated digital photographs support conclusions drawn using conventional hands-on measurements from the same specimens. We employed simple point-and-shoot photography to make all images used. We have placed our images on a wiki platform without copyright restrictions; thus, they are available for use in any manner, and the digital archive can be expanded by others. We employed Bland—Altman plots to demonstrate an approach to image-quality control that can be employed to identify and replace images that could lead to erroneous measurements. We describe how digital archives shared in this manner could aggregate data from isolated specimens and small collections to make these otherwise obscure specimens available to the broader scientific community and the general public.

Ictalurus furcatus (Blue Catfish) provide trophy recreational fishing opportunities in Virginia's tidal rivers; however, potential ecological impacts are of concern. We used mark-recapture techniques and electrofishing in 2007 and 2014 to estimate Blue Catfish density and biomass in Powell Creek. A 66% decline in fish density occurred between 2007 (708 fish/ha) and 2014 (239 fish/ha) and biomass declined by 31% over the same timeframe (266 kg/ha to 185 kg/ha). These findings are supported by long-term monitoring trends in the tidal James River. Here, we provide: (1) data relative to temporal shifts in abundance and biomass, (2) data for use in subsequent population-dynamics analyses, and, (3) points of caution when assuming temporally static populations for introduced species. We demonstrated the feasibility of low-frequency electrofishing and mark—recapture methods to estimate Blue Catfish abundance, and recommend use of the approach where catfish abundance estimates are important.

The majority of ant diversity studies have been conducted in the tropics, but the number of studies conducted in temperate regions, like the US, is on the rise. Our research measured the richness and diversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a coastal, temperate forest of Maryland. We collected leaf litter along twenty-four 100-m transects during May, July, and September of 2015 and measured litter depth and mass to determine if there was a relationship with ant abundance (density). We used Berlese funnels to collect 14 ant species (4208 individuals; n = 144 samples). Neither leaf-litter depth nor mass had an impact on ant abundance or species richness. We used aspirators and hand-collection methods to examine arboreal-ant foraging preference on deciduous and coniferous trees. Total species richness for both tree types was 21; we collected 19 species from deciduous trees and 17 from coniferous trees. Four species detected on deciduous trees were not present on conifers, and 2 species from conifers were not observed on deciduous trees. We observed higher abundances on deciduous trees (P = 0.016) and detected a preference for larger trees. We provide suggestions for conservation efforts for the coastal forests of Maryland, and our study contributes to the growing species inventory of ants on Maryland's eastern shore.