Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area lies in a busy, urban harbor that has been receiving immigrants, both vertebrate and invertebrate, since the 17^th century. As part of an All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory conducted in the park from 2005 to 2011, we documented the abundance and distribution of native and non-native beetles across 15 islands and peninsulas in Boston Harbor. We hypothesized that proportions of non-native species on the islands would be high relative to the nearby mainland (Rhode Island) and other more isolated coastal islands in Massachusetts. We also compared distribution patterns between native and non-native species and tested the predictive value of island size and isolation for determining species richness on individual islands. Focusing on 6 beetle families, we documented 105 non-native beetles out of a total of 442 species. The proportion of non-native species was 2–3 times higher in Boston Harbor Islands than in Rhode Island for all 6 beetle families, as well as for beetles on several Massachusetts islands. We discuss likely routes of immigration for beetles over the past several centuries and why islands in Boston Harbor may be attractive to non-native species. Within the park, non-native species in most focal families were, on average, more abundant and widespread across islands than native beetles, but the number or proportion of non-native species was not strongly related to island size or isolation. The high proportions of non-native species in the park, including some known pests and several new state, US, and North American records, emphasize the need for continued inventory and surveillance.

Between 2005 and 2011, we conducted a terrestrial invertebrate All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, in order to document as many arthropod and gastropod species as possible in the park, and to understand how species were distributed across habitats and islands. Professional scientists, students, and citizen scientists collected ∼160,000 invertebrates on 19 islands and peninsulas in the park, using a variety of trapping and collecting methods. More than 76,000 of these specimens were curated, identified, and databased, resulting in a total of 1732 distinct species and morphospecies. Of these, 232 species (13.4%) were species not native to North America. The introduced species included several new US and North American records, including 2 potential pests: Hishimonus sellatus (Mulberry Leafhopper) and the click beetle Athous haemorrhoidalis. Among native species, we documented several new state records, which expanded known ranges considerably in a few cases. Statistical estimates of absolute species richness for several representative taxa indicated that less-diverse groups (e.g., millipedes) were sampled almost completely by our methods, but additional sampling is needed to thoroughly inventory more-diverse taxa (e.g., ground beetles). The invertebrate ATBI lays the groundwork for future monitoring of focal groups such as pollinators.

Between December 2012 and May 2017, we conducted a fungal inventory at the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (BHI) in Massachusetts. We extensively sampled 4 sites (Grape Island, Peddocks Island, Thompson Island, and World's End peninsula) and occasionally visited 4 others for sampling (Calf Island, Great Brewster Island, Slate Island, and Webb Memorial State Park). We made over 900 collections, of which 313 have been identified. The survey yielded 172 species in 123 genera, 62 families, 24 orders, 11 classes, and 2 phyla. We report 4 species as new, but not formally described, in the genera Orbilia, Resupinatus, and Xylaria. Another collection in the genus Lactarius may be new to science, but further morphological and molecular work is needed to confirm this conclusion. Additionally, Orbilia aprilis is a new report for North America, Proliferodiscus earoleucus represents only the second report for the US, and Chrysosporium sulfureum, a common fungus of some cheeses, was discovered on woodlice (Crustacea: Malacostraca: Isopoda: Oniscidea). We discuss our findings in the light of DNA-based identifications using the ITS ribosomal DNA region, including the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, and stress the need for biodiversity studies in urbanized areas during all seasons.

I monitored the mammals of the Boston Harbor Islands through various means from 2010 to 2016 in order to create a baseline inventory of species and assess the possibility of additional, focused, research. I employed camera trapping, visitor sightings, and animal-sign surveys to assess the presence of medium- and large-sized mammals. Small mammals were more closely monitored on 2 of the islands—Bumpkin and Peddocks— using short-interval mark–recapture trapping. Small mammals appear to be permanent residents on the islands and undergo significant population fluctuations, which is unusual for insular populations. Medium and large species likely move between islands and the mainland. Larger species, i.e. Canis latrans (Coyote) and Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer), have been observed with offspring on some of the islands, while medium-sized mammals sighted were single adults. These islands offer a unique situation in which to study insular populations of mammals because the presence of larger animals varies while smaller species cannot move freely between islands or to the mainland.

Insectivorous bats are an integral part of ecosystems because they consume significant quantities of nocturnal insects. White-nose syndrome is decimating populations of susceptible bat species in North America; thus, inventorying and monitoring bats are critical first steps in managing these important populations. We inventoried bat species at Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (BOHA), MA, from 2010 to 2011. Using a combination of capture and acoustic methods, we documented 6 bat species, including Eptesicus fuscus (Big Brown Bat), Lasiurus borealis (Eastern Red Bat), Lasiurus cinereus (Hoary Bat), Lasionycteris noctivagans (Silver-haired Bat), Myotis lucifugus (Little Brown Bat), and Myotis septentrionalis (Northern Long-eared Bat). Bats occurred at all inventoried islands, although most activity of Northern Long-eared Bat, a species Federally listed as threatened, was documented at a mainland site in Worlds End, near Ice Pond. Although the full extent of bat use on the islands remains unclear, we provide evidence of bats roosting and foraging on the islands. During long-term acoustic monitoring at Thompson and Lovells Islands, we assessed the effects of weather and season on bat activity; the latter analysis provided evidence of bats migrating through the area in spring and autumn.

This paper presents 13 new records of Laboulbenialean parasites on ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area in Massachusetts: Laboulbenia anoplogenii, L. casnoniae, L. clivinalis, L. egens, L. filifera, L. flagellata, L. inflata, L. macrotheca, L. pedicellata, L. terminalis, L. variabilis, L. vulgaris, and Peyritschiella geminata. Laboulbenia clivinalis and L. egens are new country records for the US. Moreover, we present additional localities for L. casnoniae, L. clivinalis, L. filifera, L. flagellata, L. inflata, L. pedicellata, L. variabilis, and L. vulgaris. The following new country records are presented: Laboulbenia clivinalis, L. filifera, and L. variabilis from Canada; L. flagellata from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; L. pedicellata from Ukraine; L. vulgaris from Croatia and Slovenia (and the first undoubtful record from Slovakia). Laboulbenia flagellata was found on 11 host species in the genera Agonum, Oxypselaphus, Patrobus, Platynus, and Pterostichus. Using this abundant material, we performed morphometrics to test the hypothesis that L. flagellata is a species complex. Specimens cannot be separated based on host genus (Agonum, Pterostichus). One parameter is significant between Pterostichus mutus and each of the 4 Agonum species after applying a strong Bonferroni P-value correction: H1T, the ratio of height of cell I (HC1) to total thallus length (TTL). In addition, we collected fresh material to be able to add a molecular phylogenetic component to test said hypothesis. We generated ITS and nrLSU ribosomal sequences of several species of Laboulbenia, including isolates of L. flagellata from multiple hosts. Phylogenetic inference of the concatenated dataset shows that L. flagellata isolates from 3 host species form 2 distinct clades, providing support for our hypothesis. We also show that L. coneglianensis is separate from L. flagellata, unequivocally ending a long-standing taxonomic debate. Finally, examination of Roland Thaxter's 1891–1932 slides led to the designation of lectotypes for L. macrothecia, L. terminalis, and P. geminata.

The Xylariales (Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota) is an order of mostly stromatic perithecial fungi generally inhabiting wood and other plant debris, as well as some important plant pathogenic species. As a follow-up to an extensive fungal inventory conducted by D. Haelewaters and colleagues since December 2012 at the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area in Massachusetts, I examined members of the Xylariales in detail, including previously unreported collections. I constructed keys for included taxa, and I provide species notes, references, substrate, and collecting data of the following Xylarialean genera: Diatrype, Eutypa, Eutypella (Diatrypaceae); Biscogniauxia, Camillea, Graphostroma (Graphostromataceae); Annulohypoxylon, Daldinia, Hypomontagnella, Hypoxylon, Jackrogersella (Hypoxylaceae); Lopadostoma (Lopadostomataceae); and Entoleuca, Kretzschmaria, Nemania, Rosellinia, Xylaria (Xylariaceae). I herein formally describe a new species, Xylaria finismundoensis sp. nov., based on combined morphology and multi-locus phylogenetic analysis. This taxon provides the first evidence of a saprotrophic lifestyle for members of the E9 phylogenetic clade of Xylaria, previously only known as endophytes.

Bioblitzes are rapid assessments of local biodiversity that provide opportunities for science, outreach, and management. Here, we present results from a bioblitz motivated by the National Park Service All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory to catalog species diversity in the rocky intertidal zones of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Through a combination of structured, quantitative surveys and opportunistic sampling, public participants, experienced scientists, and naturalists worked together to identify more than 130 species in the rocky intertidal zones of 8 of the Boston Harbor Islands. Sampling by experts alone yielded greater diversity than sampling conducted in collaboration with public participants. However, quantitative, structured sampling by expert-only and collaborative expert–public teams both revealed the expected negative relationship between algal species richness and intertidal elevation, suggesting that, with structure, public bioblitzes can feasibly document ecological patterns. We discuss these results in the context of rocky intertidal ecology, island biogeography, and the role of technology in the growing popularity of bioblitzes as a tool for collaborative engagement of scientists and the public in the study and management of natural systems.

The National Park Service with support from numerous partners and community volunteers, has implemented long-term monitoring of coastal breeding birds in the Boston Harbor Islands since 2007. The objectives of the monitoring are to assess long-term trends in the abundance of priority coastal breeding species among the islands to inform conservation practices and park management. A combination of boat- and ground-based surveys are used to estimate the number of incubating Larus argentatus (Herring Gull), Larus marinus (Great Black-backed Gull), Phalacrocorax auritus (Double-crested Cormorant), Haematopus palliatus (American Oystercatcher), Somateria mollissima (Common Eider), and tern species annually. Ground-based nest counts are conducted for Common Eider and wading birds (Plegadis falcinellus [Glossy Ibis], Nycticorax nycticorax [Black-crowned Night Heron], Ardea alba [Great Egret] and Egretta thula [Snowy Egret]) on a 2–3-year rotation on islands that are accessible for landing by boat. The objectives of this study were to present count data from this monitoring and assess trends in annual counts of cormorants, gulls, and eiders estimated during boat-based surveys from 2007 to 2019. Changes in annual nesting of Double-crested Cormorants, Herring Gulls, and Great Black-backed Gulls estimated by boat-based surveys varied over time and by island, but in the park overall, all 3 species appear to have stable breeding colonies. Boat-based monitoring indicates that counts of tending Common Eider females and ducklings are declining in the areas where they forage near the Outer Islands. Ground-based monitoring has indicated that the largest wading-bird colony has consistently been located on Sarah Island and that Black-crowned Night Herons are the dominant driver in overall numbers and on all islands, except for Sheep Island, where they were overshadowed by an increase in Snowy Egrets in 2016 and 2018. As the long-term monitoring continues, we intend to compare its results to historical and regional data to better understand how populations have and are responding to environmental change in the harbor and to better understand how coastal breeding birds utilize natural communities within the park to inform park management decision-making.