Although tool usage in adult birds is well documented, we have not found reports of juvenile birds using tools other than a few observations of individuals held in captivity. Here we describe the first observations of tool usage by juvenile birds in the wild. We observed juvenile Sitta pusilla (Brown-headed Nuthatch) using tools similar to those used by adults as early as 2 months post-fledging. We also observed juveniles attempting to use novel objects as tools, suggesting tool usage in this species may have both innate and learned components. Tool usage also takes place in 2 closely related nuthatch species and may be more common in this family of birds than currently known.

Myotis leibii (Eastern Small-footed Myotis) are infrequently encountered across their range, and as a result, little is known about their summer roosting ecology. This species is not federally protected, but receives legal protection in many states, including Tennessee. Additional information on the species, particularly its summer roosting ecology, is needed to inform appropriate management and conservation planning. While conducting a summer survey of multiple bat species using buildings as roosts in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we discovered Eastern Small-footed Myotis roosting in 3 historic buildings on the northwest slope of Mount LeConte. At least 1 building contained a maternity colony. Humans used all 3 buildings on a daily basis.

We present data on large Chelydra serpentina (Snapping Turtle) from 4 freshwater springs in Florida located in Wekiwa Springs, Volusia Blue Spring, Peacock Springs, and Manatee Springs state parks. Several of the turtles captured at Wekiwa Springs and Volusia Blue Springs are larger than the previous Florida record for this species. In the past, Snapping Turtles in Florida have been considered a distinct species or a clearly defined subspecies, however, recent genetic techniques have shown that they are not well-differentiated evolutionary lineages, and therefore Snapping Turtles in Florida are not unique from those in the rest of the range. These large southern individuals do not follow the expected trend of decreasing size with decreasing latitude. The nature of spring environments, particularly the warm, constant temperatures which facilitate year-round growth appears to be producing record-sized Snapping Turtles in Florida when compared to other Florida localities. Additional studies should investigate the chelonian communities in Florida's spring habitats to determine if these special environments are producing unique populations.

We conducted vessel-based line-transect sampling from December 2011 to November 2013 to quantify Tursiops truncatus (Bottlenose Dolphin) density over 8 consecutive seasons in the Mississippi Sound. Density estimates showed temporal variation ranging from 0.27 Dolphins/km² (CV% = 31.3) in spring 2013 to 1.12 Dolphins/km² (CV% = 21.6) in spring 2012. Density in winter and summer was stable compared to fall and spring, which fluctuated across years. We also noted spatial variation—density was commonly highest in the central and eastern portions of the Mississippi Sound. Spatial and temporal variation in temperature and salinity were potentially driving shifts in Bottlenose Dolphin density. Additional regularly collected density estimates using standardized protocols are needed in order to draw more definitive conclusions regarding the status and trend of this population.

Glyptemys muhlenbergii (Bog Turtle) is a small, federally threatened, aquatic turtle found only within a fragmented range in the eastern US. From 2005–2009, we studied the movements and home ranges of 9 adult turtles during the active season in an isolated population located in the Southern Appalachians. We used radio telemetry to locate turtles once a day for 1 week of every month, and then once a week for the rest of the month. We calculated average distance moved between locations for consecutive days. Movements of Bog Turtles averaged 13.00 m/d for females and 14.51 m/d for males with no significant difference between sexes. Movement distances were significantly shorter during the period following emergence from and the one preceding entrance into hibernation. We used 95% minimum convex polygon, 50% fixed-kernel density, and 95% fixed-kernel density to calculate home-range size. Home-range size was highly variable: the 95% kernel density estimation ranged from 0.21–2.43 ha and we detected no significant difference between sexes. Over the entirety of our study, more than 80% of home ranges were smaller than 1.55 ha. There was no significant difference between turtle home-range size during the breeding and post-breeding season for either sex. Our determinations of the average home-range overlap for individual turtles tracked in multiple consecutive years indicated that turtles remained in similar locations from year to year. Our population experienced 1 emigration— a turtle moved out of the bog into a nearby wetland—which suggested the importance of suitable corridors for movement and protection of additional habitat. Our results indicated that Bog Turtles have small home-ranges and are capable of existing in small wetlands; thus, management plans should incorporate surveys and protection of smaller wetlands that may be easily overlooked. Suitable buffer areas surrounding wetland habitat and stream corridors should be maintained and protected to promote connectivity to other Bog Turtle populations and allow for successful emigration.

In 2004, we determined baseline data on fungal-community assemblages from Solenopsis invicta (Red Imported Fire Ant) mounds in 3 counties (Hinds, Leake, and Madison) within the Natchez Trace Parkway, MS. We assayed mound soil, plant debris within the mounds, and ants obtained from mounds on 3 sampling dates (March, July, and November). We processed samples based on standard microbiological protocols, and used traditional morphological and molecular techniques to identify fungal taxa. We documented a total of 1445 isolates consisting of 50 fungal taxa and calculated a diversity index value (H′) of 3.11 across all substrates, which was indicative of a variable fungal community within the mounds. The taxa with the highest percent isolation frequencies included Hypocrea lixii (12.8%), Fusarium sp. 1 (12.3%), Fusarium equiseti (7.9%), Purpureocillium lilacinum (= Paecilomyces lilacinus) (6.5%), Fusarium oxysporum 2 (5.8%), and Mortierella alpina (5.4%). We isolated 2 common parasitic (entomopathogenic) fungi, Purpureocillium lilacinum and Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae (9.4%), from mound soil, plant debris, and ant external tissues. Hypocrea lixii, the teleomorphic reproductive stage of Trichoderma harzianum, is noted as a natural biological control of some soil-borne microbes, possibly limiting important natural entomopathogenic activity within the mounds. Species richness and diversity values from mound soils across locations were significantly greater (P ≤ 0.05) than those from the plant debris and ant body-tissue substrates. Species richness values between locations were similar. Species richness of samples collected in November (47) was significantly greater (P ≤ 0.05) than that of the March (41) and July (39) samples. Community coefficient values ranged from 0.79 to 0.87 between substrates, 0.85 to 0.91 between locations, and 0.85 to 0.86 between sampling dates, indicating that taxa were similar.

Effective strategies for bat conservation require knowledge of species-specific roost ecology. Thus, conservation planning is difficult for species with poorly understood roost use, such as the federally endangered Eumops floridanus (Florida Bonneted Bat). Prior to this study, only 1 active natural roost had been documented throughout the Florida Bonneted Bat's geographic range. Search efforts to locate new roosts using several techniques have been unsuccessful. Here we present a simple methodology that we successfully implemented to locate a second Florida Bonneted Bat natural roost. Using acoustics, cavity searches, and emergence observations, we documented a colony of Florida Bonneted Bats roosting in a Pinus elliottii (Slash Pine) snag in Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in Collier County, FL. Our discovery highlights the importance of snags, and provides additional details to state and federal agencies tasked with species recovery.

Mustela nivalis (Least Weasel) reaches the southernmost portion of its North American range in the Appalachian Mountains. Throughout its southern range, the Least Weasel is considered rare or uncommon. We suggest that the current designation might underestimate the population due to a lack of records and limited knowledge of its distribution. We compiled Least Weasel records from the 7 southern-most states (Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia) in the Appalachian region. We searched museum/university collections, state agency databases, and contacted small colleges to locate specimens in teaching collections. Additionally, we implemented a citizen-science project to alert cat owners of the potential for cat-killed Least Weasel specimens and explained how to report these specimens. For all specimens, we attempted to determine the method of capture. The Least Weasel appears to be more abundant and widely distributed than previously documented. We identified 133 Least Weasel specimens; the greatest number (30) from Tennessee. For many states, we more than doubled the number of previous records. We determined a collection method for 83 specimens, the most common of which were cat and dog captures/kills (37% of specimens) and trapping (30%). Citizen scientists contributed 7 new records from eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. We feel this approach has the potential to discover many future specimens.

Few studies have addressed the effect of stream discharge on Ambloplites rupestris (Rock Bass). We investigated the effects of spawning-season discharge on Rock Bass recruitment in the New River at 2 sites, 5 and 55 miles downstream from Claytor Dam, VA. We back-calculated length at age 1 and 2 using otoliths in order to estimate average lengths and used these values to identify age-1 fish from 14 years of fall electrofishing data on the New River. We determined a catch per unit effort (CPUE) of age-1 fish at each site and correlated it to spawning-season discharge data from the previous year using Spearman's rho rank-correlation. The CPUE at the upstream site was negatively correlated with average and maximum discharge in August, while the CPUE at the downstream site was negatively correlated with average and maximum discharge in July. August and July directly precede spawning season of Rock Bass in Virginia. We surmise that high levels of discharge strongly influence mortality in juvenile Rock Bass.

Spilogale putorius (Eastern Spotted Skunk), once a fairly common furbearer across the eastern and mid-western US, is estimated to have undergone a >90% population decline across its range since the 1950s. In South Carolina, only 17 sightings of the Eastern Spotted Skunk have ever been reported, with the most recent sighting in 1998. The objective of our study was to investigate whether this species still occurs in South Carolina. We set camera traps at 56 locations on public land in the Appalachian region of South Carolina during January–March 2015, including sites of historic records. We detected 5 individual Eastern Spotted Skunks at 5 sites between the hours of 20:00 and 03:00 during 1326 trap nights in February and March. Our findings highlight the potential for Eastern Spotted Skunks to persist in other portions of their range despite a lack of recent records, and the need for future monitoring to address whether this species is cryptic or rare throughout portions of its historic range.

Cambarus obeyensis (Obey Crayfish) and Cambarus pristinus (Pristine Crayfish) are species of conservation concern, but basic information needed by conservation managers is lacking. To provide a quantitative measure of abundance, we conducted a mark—recapture study at six 100-m reaches per species during May–August 2013. These sites were a subset that we selected from eighty-nine 100-m reaches surveyed during 2011–2013. We built regression models to predict crayfish abundance based on single-pass capture rates for the 12 mark—recapture sites and for all occupied sites identified during the 2011–2013 surveys. We also calculated site-level density and capture efficiency for each species. Cambarus pristinus occurred at significantly lower densities across a larger range than C. obeyensis. Capture efficiency for both species varied across sites, suggesting that monitoring programs should incorporate regular, quantitative estimates of density and capture efficiency. Our results indicate that both species merit ongoing conservation attention and that C. pristinus may represent a higher conservation priority than previously recognized.

In January 2010, we were contracted to collect biological samples from 25 wild Lynx rufus (Bobcat) for felid disease studies. We collected all samples in compliance with state and federal research guidelines on public land within the Puma concolor coryi (Florida Panther) primary range. This area extends south of the Caloosahatchee River to the tip of peninsular Florida. To maximize selectivity and minimize the risk of injury to target and non-target species, we chose hounds trained according to our specific regimen to capture felines and ignore non-target species. We conducted fieldwork from 23 February 2010 to 5 May 2010. During this period, we safely captured 25 Bobcats in 36 d of effort. After we collected biological samples, we marked each Bobcat with a yellow ear-tag to prevent redundant immobilizations. The results of this project demonstrate that specially trained hounds are a safe and selective alternative for the capture of small cats, even in the absence of snow.

Few studies in southeastern North America have compared local data sets to locally based results from 2 national surveys (North American breeding bird survey [BBS], Christmas bird count [CBC]). In 2012, I reexamined nest-site type use and nest type of Sayornis phoebe (Eastern Phoebe) at 109 water-based anthropogenic structures originally studied in south-central North Carolina in 1981. In 2012, Eastern Phoebes still strongly preferred breeding at small bridges with ledges, especially at the same structures where I studied them in 1981, even though use of other nest-site types slightly increased except at circular culverts, where no Eastern Phoebes nested. During the 31-year interval between studies, ∼1/3rd of the bridges (20 of 62; 32%) were replaced with structures less favorable as nest-sites; thus, a lower number and proportion of small bridges with ledges were available in 2012. Although breeding Eastern Phoebes are still slowly increasing in abundance at water-based anthropogenic sites in south-central North Carolina, I project that this population will reach zero growth in 2027 as replacement of small bridges with ledges by other structures continues. The findings from this local water-based anthropogenic nest-site survey in south-central North Carolina was congruent with results from 2 national surveys (BBS, CBC) in a portion of the Pee Dee region in documenting a modest increase in the number of Eastern Phoebes during a time span ranging over 30 years.

The most intensively studied breeding population of Limnothlypis swainsonii (Swainson's Warbler) is in the White River watershed of southeastern Arkansas. However, because vegetation sampling protocols employed at this site have been significantly different from those used elsewhere, it has been difficult for land managers to reconcile datasets across the species' range in order to construct consensus quantitative benchmarks for optimal breeding habitat in bottomland hardwoods. We used a standardized sampling protocol to compare the physiognomic and floristic characteristics of breeding territories at 2 sites in the White River watershed with comparable data from other populations in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and Virginia. Breeding territories in the combined dataset for this rare migratory species varied substantially in successional stage, floristic diversity, hydrology, and management history. Visual screening provided by understory thickets of saplings, vine tangles, and shrubs emerged as the most important common denominator of breeding territories in bottomland hardwood forests across the warbler's breeding range. Basal area, abundance of trees in larger-diameter classes, and floristic diversity appear to have little direct influence on habitat selection across the species' range. Although warblers are often associated with Arundinaria spp. (canebrakes), some of the most robust breeding populations occur in cane-free areas. Land managers tasked with generating and sustaining prime breeding habitat should strive for high counts of small woody stems (>45,000/ha or 4.5/m²) in areas that are infrequently subjected to flooding. This benchmark can be achieved through periodic canopy thinning and agroforestry clearcutting.

The South Atlantic Coastal Plain Limestone Forest is a globally imperiled (G2) association restricted to the upper Coastal Plain of central Georgia. We conducted a comprehensive floristic inventory of this unique forest type during 2008–2011 at 7 sites (total of 44.67 ha [110.60 ac]) in Houston, Bleckley and Twiggs counties. The survey documented 336 vascular plant species in 98 families. The largest families were Asteraceae (28 spp.), Cyperaceae (22 spp.), Poaceae (19 spp.), Fabaceae (17 spp.), Rosaceae (16 spp.), and Fagaceae (14 spp.). Only 4.2% of this flora was non-native. Seventeen species were listed as rare, including the federally endangered Silene catesbaei. We provide a vouchered plant checklist for this association and general descriptions of the 3 main vegetation communities: uplands, slopes, and bottomlands.

Understanding how animals use space and resources in newly colonized, anthropogenically altered habitats is important for species management because animals in fragmented habitats may use the landscape differently than conspecifics in contiguous habitats. We collected GPS-location data for 16 individuals (6 females, ages 1–9 y; 10 males, ages 2–8 y) from the summer of 2011 to the summer of 2013 to study space and habitat use by a recently established population of Ursus americanus floridanus (Florida Black Bear) in a fragmented landscape of north-central Florida. Average (± 1 SE) female and male homerange sizes estimated using the kernel density method were 31.16 ± 8.23 km² and 220.93 ± 28.48 km², respectively. Average 95% minimum convex polygon estimates were 34.49 ± 12.76 km² for females and 226.04 ± 45.32 km² for males. Home ranges in our study area were generally larger than those reported for Black Bears inhabiting the nearby contiguous forested habitat of Ocala National Forest, indicating that fragmentation may influence home-range size. Compositional analysis and generalized linear mixed models revealed that Black Bears selected most strongly for riparian forests; urban areas were generally avoided. These results suggest that large carnivores that inhabit fragmented landscapes may require more space than conspecifics in habitats with better connectivity, and highlight the importance of riparian forests for Black Bears.

Beginning in the late 1980s, Florida Bay underwent dramatic ecological changes due to altered freshwater inflows from the Everglades. At the same time, the local Bald Eagle population began to decline, a trend that has continued ever since. We documented diet and provisioning rates of eagles to examine the hypothesis that food is a limiting factor to their success. We monitored 4 nests with video cameras in the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 breeding seasons. We recorded a total of 546 prey deliveries, with 93% determined to class and 46% determined to family. Fish comprised 86% of all deliveries, birds made up 7%, and up 7% were undeterminable items. The mean daily provisioning rates for all nest sites combined were 1.75 deliveries/young/day and 2.64 deliveries/day. These rates significantly declined throughout the breeding season. They are strikingly smaller than those reported for stable Bald Eagle populations and comparable to the rates of another struggling population. The total biomass of prey deliveries/young/day also declined throughout the breeding season. Deliveries were mostly frequently made to the nest during the daily period 3–5 hours after sunrise and then again at a less frequent rate 9–12 hours after sunrise and did not vary between nests or change throughout the breeding season. These results suggest that the Bald Eagle population in Florida Bay is experiencing inadequate prey availability, which may be contributing to their decline.