Odonate larvae were collected at 127 sites in the Enoree River and nine of its tributaries in the summers of 1999 and 2000. Mean odonate abundance, species richness, and Simpson's diversity were compared across tributaries and the main channel of the Enoree River with one-way ANOVA. These indices were significantly lower in Brushy Creek, Rocky Creek, and the Upper Enoree than in the other streams (Tukey multiple comparison test, p < 0.05). These three streams also differed from the others in species composition (MANOVA p < 0.0001), as measured by changes in the relative abundances of the five most abundant species: Progomphus obscurus, Boyeria vinosa, Macromia illinoiensis, Cordulegaster maculata, and Ophiogomphus mainensis. For example, O. mainensis was nearly absent from Brushy, Rocky, and the Upper Enoree, but was a significant component of the assemblages in other streams. Cordulegaster maculata was rare in Rocky Creek but dominated the Upper Enoree where other species were less abundant. Brushy, Rocky, and the Upper Enoree are areas of either rapid residential development or known industrial contamination. The different structure of odonate assemblages in these streams may reflect the impact of these local anthropogenic effects.

The need for regional planning is increasingly important for effective Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) (Bangs 1898) conservation and is essential for protecting enough habitat in South Florida to ensure a viable population. We used two decades of radio telemetry data and geographic information system (GIS) software to develop a regional blueprint for landscape restoration that enhances dispersal, facilitates population colonization, and could be the basis for future land use decisions in the range of the endangered Florida panther. We identified 923,576 ha of forests in an 18-county study area that is a barrier-rich patchwork of land uses. A least cost path analysis simulated natural colonization events and can be used to identify landscape linkages and conservation networks for the panther. Our analysis of planned development permits suggests that large-scale land protection must happen quickly. The alternatives are managing an isolated, heavily managed population or large-scale landscape restoration that is probably economically unfeasible.

We evaluated breeding season (May–July) bird species richness, abundance, and diversity in 21 restored wetlands and several associated habitats (woodlots, cultivated and uncultivated fields, and hedgerows) on Maryland's Eastern Shore over two years. Ninety-seven bird species were encountered over all habitats, while 72 of these species were found in wetlands. Of those birds found in wetlands, 35 species (49%) were wetland dependent and 13 species (18%) were breeding. Wetland-dependent, shorebird, and total species richness and bird abundance were lowest in fields and highest in restored wetlands. Total avian abundance and species richness in woodlots were similar to values in restored wetlands, but species composition differed. The density of individuals and of species was highest in hedgerows and restored wetlands. Bird abundance, species richness, and diversity were higher in restored wetlands in the second year of the study. Richness showed no regression relationship (p > 0.05) with either site age or cover-to-water ratio. Restored emergent marshes in eastern Maryland provide habitat for wetland birds, but benefits must be weighed against the loss of bird use in habitats converted into a wetland.

The fish fauna of the Buffalo Creek drainage, a tributary of the Little Tallapoosa River in the upper piedmont ecoregion of West Georgia was sampled during the summer and fall of 1999. Five regions within the drainage were defined primarily on the basis of perceived anthropogenic impact. Community structure was described by species richness, diversity, evenness, relative species abundance, family composition, feeding guilds and pollution tolerance levels. Little Buffalo Creek, perceived as the least impacted region, exhibited higher species richness, diversity, and evenness, higher trophic structure complexity and a greater abundance of pollution sensitive species than regions on Buffalo Creek. Within Buffalo Creek, species richness was more dependent upon local conditions of substrate and flow regime than distance downstream.

We collected physical evidence (scats and tracks) that suggested the presence of 1 or more mountain lions (Puma concolor) in Arkansas from 1998–1999, and conducted a survey of mountain lion occurrences in Arkansas from 1996–2000. Mountain lions were reported statewide, with most in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains. In addition to the surveys, we collected 7 pieces of tangible evidence (e.g., scats, tracks, and video) from 1996–2000. A survey of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state veterinarians, and an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) internal survey of their wildlife officers documented at least 101 captive P. concolor in the state. The origins of reported free-ranging animals could not be determined.

We examined reproductive performance of yearling males in a recently established free-ranging elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni, Erxleben) population in southeastern Kentucky. Sixteen of 18 (89%) adult females bred by yearling males produced a calf. The calving period, determined for 11 cows, peaked in mid-June; however, 3 females bred by yearlings did not calf until mid-July or August. It is not possible to attribute the extended calving period to breeding by yearling males, as it may have been a result of poor physical condition of females or the disruption of social bonds after translocation the previous winter.

Nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) are born in litters of genetically identical quadruplets. In this study, we asked the questions, (1) to what extent does the extreme genetic uniformity of armadillo siblings translate into phenotypic similarity; and (2) does variability between and within litters change over time? To answer these questions, we examined the extent of variation existing within and between 36 litters of juvenile armadillos and 14 litters of adults captured between 1992 and 2001 at a study site in northern Florida. We assessed variability by calculating coefficients of variation for 7 phenotypic measurements. One of these measures, the extent of anatomical damage, was significantly more variable than any of the others for both juveniles and adults. In both juveniles and adults, nearly all measures were significantly more variable between than within litters. However, within-litter variability did not differ significantly between juveniles and adults but between-litter variation was significantly less in adults. For juveniles, male and female litters were equally variable and the extent of variability was not dependent on the number of littermates measured. These findings were extended by analyses of data from two lab-born litters, reared under identical conditions by the same mother in two successive years.

The distributions of masked shrews (Sorex cinereus Kerr) and smoky shrews (S. fumeus Miller) were examined in relation to environmental conditions on opposing slopes in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Arrays of drift fences and pitfall traps were established on 3 north-facing plots, 3 south-facing plots, and 6 streamside plots in the Gingercake Creek drainage of Burke County, North Carolina. Shrews and invertebrates were collected on several consecutive nights each month in the autumn of 1996 and in the spring and summer of 1997 (TN = 2544). Leaf litter moisture content, daily high temperatures, and volume of downed logs were measured. South-facing plots were significantly warmer and drier than north-facing and streamside plots (p < 0.001) and had the lowest percentage volume of heavily decomposed logs (p = 0.02). Capture rates of S. cinereus and S. fumeus were significantly greater on mesic north-facing slopes and at streamside sites than on xeric south-facing slopes (p = 0.05 and 0.04), but biomass of invertebrate prey was similar between habitats. Smoky shrews were significantly positively correlated with percentage litter moisture and heavily decomposed logs but negatively correlated with invertebrate biomass. Masked shrews were not significantly correlated with any habitat variable. Results suggest that the distributions of these shrews are strongly influenced by habitat heterogeneity at high-resolution scales.

From September to October 2000, a longline survey conducted aboard the NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service's research vessel FERREL between Ft. Pierce, FL and Charleston, SC resulted in the capture of 72 juvenile tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, (mean size = 108 cm total length). Twenty-three were found to have large quantities of feathers, both contour and semiplumes, on the teeth and on the outside of the buccal area. An internal examination of 5 individuals found the remains of clapper rail, Rallus longirostris (100% occurrence). Since clapper rails generally inhabit coastal salt marshes and are not considered to be a migratory species, we could not positively ascertain how juvenile tiger sharks, a species normally found in offshore waters, were able to prey on this bird species. Although we cannot explain the sequence of events that brought these species together, it is possible that the birds were swept offshore by storm winds, there was a “mass exodus” from a marsh habitat due to disturbance, or perhaps a dispersal flight.