Ixodes ticks are obligate parasites that show host preferences and differentiation during each of their 3 active life stages and may obtain or transmit pathogens during feeding that pose threats to human health. These ticks are responsible for the transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi, causative agent of Lyme Disease. Historically, ticks and B. burgdoferi have been well studied due to this human threat. However, wildlife hosts other than mice or deer that may serve as reservoirs for tick species are often overlooked as a part of this web. In this study, we surveyed 40,000+ manuscripts and identified those that considered wildlife hosts when studying Ixodes scapularis(Blacklegged Tick). We found that there appears to be a taxonomic bias in research on wildlife hosts and that this may be contributing to a continued lack of knowledge about potential transmission and management of Blacklegged Ticks or Lyme Disease. Collectively, these findings suggest that more information is needed on wildlife hosts and tick-host ecology, particularly that of birds, meso-mammals and reptiles. Finally, we propose a list of potential research questions that could help further elucidate the importance of wildlife and tick-host ecology.

The status and distribution of many mygalomorph spider species is poorly known because of their cryptic lifestyles and specific habitat requirements. In 2018, we conducted surveys to better determine the ranges of the mygalomorph spiders Antrodiaetus unicolor (a folding door spider), Cyclocosmia torreya (Torreya Trap-door Spider), and Myrmekiaphila spp. (wafer-lid spiders) in the Coastal Plain in Georgia. Our surveys focused on oak–beech–magnolia forests associated with north-facing bluffs and ravines. We documented one or more of these mygalomorph spiders at 17 Coastal Plain sites, finding A. unicolor at 7 sites, C. torreya at 5 sites, M. torreya at 3 sites, and an undetermined Myrmekiaphila species at 12 sites. Our collections include the first C. torreya records for the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Global pollinator declines have stimulated efforts to better understand local pollinator diversity. Urban greenspaces, such as parks and gardens, have the potential to serve as refuges for pollinators within urban landscapes. In this study, we surveyed bees within the University of Alabama (UA) Arboretum, a mixed-use park of roughly 24 ha, and the contiguous UA Harry Pritchett Running Park, a former golf course of roughly 57 ha, within the city of Tuscaloosa, AL. To investigate how heterogeneity within this small greenspace influences bee community structure, we distributed sample sites across 3 habitats, each with unique total area, land-use characteristics, vegetation, and management intensity. We combined morphological identification with molecular approaches for specimen identification using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences to create a specimen + DNA barcode reference collection. Overall, we collected 386 bees and 42 species. Diversity was partitioned across habitats, suggesting that the community was structured by variation in landscape characteristics. Our results suggest ways in which urban pollinator refuges may be managed to enhance species diversity, such as by retention of unmowed areas and planting permanent gardens supporting diverse floral resources. Importantly, this survey sets a baseline for developing broader monitoring programs within the largely unstudied region of central Alabama.

Geukensia demissa (Ribbed Mussel) is an important foundation species in the salt marsh ecosystem, providing habitat for resident invertebrates and influencing ecosystem functioning. Our goal was to determine whether Ribbed Mussels increase the abundance and diversity of the nekton assemblage at high tide. We sampled an area of marsh in Charleston, SC, using drop-net traps to compare nekton abundance, species richness, species diversity, and species composition in plots with and without Ribbed Mussels. Over the course of 1 year, there were no significant differences between plots with and without mussels in any of the metrics of nekton abundance or diversity, although ordination results suggested that the species composition was distinct in each plot type. Season and tidal height were more important in influencing nekton assemblage abundance and diversity. Our findings suggest that the Ribbed Mussel does not act as a foundation species for nekton at the patch scale, although it does influence the composition of the nekton assemblage, as do season and tidal height. The role of the Ribbed Mussel as a foundation species for the nekton assemblage at the landscape scale remains untested.

We discovered Notophthalmus perstriatus (Striped Newt) in 9 wetlands on Triple N Ranch Wildlife Management Area in Osceola County, FL, 57 km south of the nearest known breeding pond. Predominant habitats within 300 m of breeding ponds are mesic flatwoods (44%), dry prairie (24%), scrubby flatwoods (11%), and wet prairie (10%). One pond is 425 m from the nearest patch of xeric habitat (scrub or scrubby flatwoods), and 4 xeric upland patches closest to breeding ponds are 2 ha or smaller, suggesting that some newts may reside in surrounding atypical mesic habitats. Five breeding ponds are relatively large (>0.8 ha), and 7 ponds contained 3 or 4 fish species. Existing prescribed fire practices are apparently favorable for survival of 3 possible metapopulations.

Spilogale putorius interrupta (Plains Spotted Skunk) experienced range-wide declines beginning in the 1940s, and knowledge of population persistence and basic habitat requirements of the taxon remains limited. We surveyed for a population of the subspecies in the forested Ozark region of Arkansas. We deployed a dense camera-trap grid (>8000 trap-nights across a 24,611-ha study area) and recorded individuals on 6 occasions at 4 sites; their detection rate was amongst the lowest of all detected species. There were no observed differences between occupied and unoccupied sites. We captured and deployed radio-collars on 2 individuals that were tracked to 12 rest sites. Groundcover was sparse at rest sites, perhaps due to use of rocky outcrops by both individuals.

We report 82 species of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) from Sapelo Island, GA, a 4414-ha barrier island located ∼10 km from the mainland, based on monthly records from 2012 through 2019. This fauna consists of 7 species of papilionids, 9 species of pierids, 13 species of lycaenids, 1 species of riodinid, 21 species of nymphalids, and 31 species of hesperiids, including 1 species of giant skipper (Megathyminae). Based on collection records and available larval foodplants, it appears that most of these butterflies have likely established populations on the island, but a few species are migratory or transitory and may be rare or absent in some years. Some butterfly species that occur on the adjacent mainland have not been recorded on Sapelo Island, including species with larval foodplants associated with established freshwater or brackish habitats.

Life-history traits of stream fishes partly reflect adaptations to disturbance regimes, which in turn shape assemblage composition via environmental filters. In this study, we focused on life-history traits of 4 morphologically similar leuciscid species in coastal plain streams of southwestern GA that are shifting from historically perennial to intermittent flow. We evaluated the following traits hypothesized to influence species persistence in intermittent streams: differences in reproductive timing, sex ratio, body size at maturity, reproductive investment, and diet. First, we ordinated published species occurrence data for samples of fish communities in perennial and intermittent streams in the study region, and identified 4 focal taxa as differing in their associations with intermittency. We then periodically sampled individuals of the focal taxa in 14 streams over a year (May 2016–April 2017). We found that for Pteronotropis harperi (Redeye Chub), a species strongly associated with intermittent streams, reproductive timing did not overlap with typical seasonal stream drying. Redeye Chub also had the significantly smallest minimum length at maturation and the greatest reproductive investment. Fishes associated with perennial streams (Pteronotropis grandipinnis [Apalachee Shiner] and Notropis texanus [Weed Shiner]), or not associated with either stream type (Notropis petersoni [Coastal Shiner]), had at least a portion of their reproductive timing overlapping with times when streams were likely to dry, and had similar and significantly lower reproductive investment than Redeye Chub. Redeye Chub displayed no shift in diet when streams ceased flowing, while Apalachee Shiner showed decreases in terrestrial prey. Our results suggest that size at maturity, reproductive timing, and reproductive investment may promote persistence by the Redeye Chub given projections of more frequent and intense periods of stream intermittency.

We surveyed ground-surface spider populations in Kings Mountain National Military Park, Blacksburg, SC, monthly from August 2009 through July 2010 using pitfall traps to collect spiders at 2 sites in each of 3 forest habitat types: riparian zones, dry forest areas, and ridgetop habitats. Of the 902 adult spiders collected, we identified 848 to species, representing 85 species in 22 families. Although each habitat type supported a unique set of species, each also shared species with the other habitat types. High Chao–Sorenson similarity values were seen in comparisons of both forest and ridgetop as well as forest and riparian habitats. We used the first 3 Hill numbers, species richness (⁰D), Shannon exponential (¹D), and inverse Simpson (²D) indices, to compare diversity among habitat types. Species richness was significantly higher in the riparian compared to the ridgetop habitat, while both the Shannon exponential and inverse Simpson indices were significantly higher in the riparian habitat than in either the forest or ridgetop habitats, which did not differ from each other. Diversity was not significantly different between any pairs of sites within habitats with the exception of coverage-based species richness in the dry forest habitat. Within a habitat type, the 2 forest sites had the highest Chao–Sorenson similarity value, followed by the 2 ridgetop sites, with the 2 riparian sites being the least similar to each other.

Stream community surveys from 2008 to 2015 in the central Louisiana river basins (Red, Calcasieu, Vermillion-Teche, Mermentau, Ouachita, and Atchafalaya rivers) have resulted in new distributional data for 2 subspecies of Faxonius palmeri (Lowland Painted Crayfish). We also report unidentified Faxonius specimens appearing in streams of the northern Calcasieu River basin as well as a stream crossing the Mermentau-Calcaiseu River basin boundary, which warrant further investigation as to their identity. We determined that F. palmeri cannot be assumed to be separated along basin and river boundaries, and that the Mississippi River is probably not a biogeographic barrier for F. p. palmeri. We believe further species overlaps caused by range expansions of F. palmeri subspecies with endemic species of state conservation interest are likely.

Because of its widespread distribution, Pueraria montana var. lobata (Kudzu) is one of the most common invasive species management concerns in the Southeast. Nonetheless, there are few quantitative data documenting its effects on native species. This study examines the seasonal correlations between Kudzu and avian species diversity and abundance in southeastern Tennessee. By measuring the structure and composition of the overstory, midstory, and understory vegetation at sites with differing levels of Kudzu coverage, we examined correlations between Kudzu density and avian numbers. Kudzu coverage had a significant negative impact on avian diversity (P < 0.001) and species richness (P <0.001). Kudzu's alteration of vegetation structure, through the creation of a monoculture and subsequent reduction of structural diversity, was likely the cause of reduced avian diversity and richness.

Sphyrna zygaena (Smooth Hammerhead) is considered a wide-ranging hammerhead species, though its distribution throughout its range is not well known. The occurrence of this species in the northern Gulf of Mexico is largely unknown, with only limited unverified records in this region. In September of 2017, a Smooth Hammerhead was collected from Florida coastal waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico, representing a confirmed record of this species in this region. To further understand the range of the Smooth Hammerhead, we reviewed available occurrence data throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean, which suggests this species may occasionally transit into the Gulf of Mexico.

The diet of land snails that are detritivores usually consists of decaying plant material and fungi. Animal carrion is also consumed, and is usually composed of invertebrates like earthworms and other snails. However, while working at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in southwestern North Carolina in 2017, I observed a land snail (most likely Cepaea nemoralis [Grove Snail]) feeding on the carcass of a Desmognathus aeneus (Seepage Salamander), a vertebrate. This is the first report of a land snail feeding on an amphibian carcass in the United States. The Erratum for this article can be found in Southeastern Naturalist 19(3).

An adult, male Dasypterus intermedius (Northern Yellow Bat) was captured at a shipyard on 12 October 2018 in Pascagoula, Jackson County, MS. This specimen represents the first Northern Yellow Bat documented from Mississippi since 1937. Mass of the bat was 17.5 g, forearm length was 50 mm, and hind-foot length was 9.5 mm. The specimen was found dehydrated and was rehabilitated at Possum Hill Wildlife Rehabilitation and Bat Education Center. The bat was kept over winter and released 5 km west of the capture site on 4 May 2019.

Many sympatric species use Gopherus polyphemus (Gopher Tortoise) burrows as refugia from predators, extreme temperatures, and fire. As part of an ongoing project involving trail-camera monitoring at Gopher Tortoise burrows, we observed a Sciurus niger (Eastern Fox Squirrel) sheltering in an occupied burrow twice in a single day. Eastern Fox Squirrels primarily forage on the ground, and Gopher Tortoise burrows likely offer refuge from avian predators but could expose Eastern Fox Squirrels to increased predation risk from mammalian and reptilian predators. Alternatively, the squirrel may have been seeking refuge from higher-than-average temperatures. Our observation further demonstrates the importance of Gopher Tortoise burrows to vertebrate fauna in the southeastern United States.

The status of endangered Odocoileus virginianus clavium (Key Deer) on outer islands of Florida was unknown following several recent population declines. In response, we opportunistically monitored the western extent of the current range of Key Deer in Flordia using cameras and in-person observations to determine deer presence. We found evidence of Key Deer on islands at the far western edge of their current range such as Lower Sugarloaf Key, Saddlebunch Keys, Boca Chica Key, and the first documented occurrence of Key Deer on East Rockland Key. We recommend more intensive monitoring to determine the extent of the current range use and to calculate a range-wide abundance estimate.

Simpsonaias ambigua (Salamander Mussel) is the only North American freshwater mussel known to parasitize an amphibian for reproduction. Prior to this study, the only records of this species from the Cumberland River drainage were from the Stones and Caney Fork River systems, and all records from the Cumberland River drainage are from 1965 or earlier. In 2017, while conducting a survey for freshwater mussels in the Harpeth River, a direct tributary to the Cumberland River, we found 2 fresh-dead Salamander Mussels in Cheatham County, TN, representing the first record of this species from the Harpeth River drainage. Future surveys targeting the specific habit for the Salamander Mussel are recommended to accurately assess its status in the Harpeth River and elsewhere.