Spiders in the genus Uloborus (Uloboridae) often include silken structures in their webs called stabilimenta or decorations whose function is still debated. Here, I report on the form, frequency, and construction of the decorations built by U. glomosus (Feather-legged Orbweaver) based on a field survey of 129 webs in southeastern North Carolina. About 87% of the webs were decorated. Among decorated webs, most (85%) consisted of 2 co-linear silk bands radiating from the hub. Other decoration types included a single radial band, central spirals, and a V-shaped device. A review of over 1300 images of Feather-legged Orbweaver curated at the online database iNaturalist revealed a further 5 rare or unique patterns. Decorations were aligned along the web's radius of steepest ascent. Decorating initiated from the web's center with the laying outward along a radial strand of a thin “guide” silk over which the decoration was laid from the outside inwards. These observations are similar to those seen in the 2 other species of Uloborus studied in detail, suggesting a uniformity of the behavior across the genus.

I documented the number of active nests of Petrochelidon pyrrhonota (Cliff Swallow) at 20 colony sites along or near the Great Pee Dee River (GPDR) corridor in the lower Piedmont of North Carolina and Coastal Plain of South Carolina in 2012. I again monitored active colonies in this area from 2016 to 2018 and in 2022. Cliff Swallows continued to breed primarily at bridges and other water-based anthropogenic sites (23 of 29; 79%) and some land-based sites, but abandoned a highway overpass site. Numbers of active nests at the same 20 colony sites over the 5 years during early to mid-May fluctuated from 1862 in 2016, the only year when the number of active nests exceeded those in 2012, to 1050 in 2018. Number of active nests at colony sites decreased by 18% between 2012 and 2022. Nesting populations at colony sites have decreased within the GPDR corridor in North Carolina, where 6 radial colony sites near the GPDR were abandoned by 2022. In contrast, nesting populations within the GPDR corridor in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina have remained stable, but 8 new colony sites were detected, including 1 site near the coast. In the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain of southeastern North Carolina, rapid expansion of colony sites has occurred in tidewater regions or near the coast, but the size of 3 colony sites closest to South Carolina (85 km) were small. The main source of Cliff Swallow colony dispersal and expansion of colony sites into coastal regions of South Carolina will likely be from within the GPDR corridor and other areas in the interior of the northeastern Coastal Plain of South Carolina, despite the increasing number of colony sites in the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina.

Characterizing the origin and ecology of introduced species is important for developing management plans. We discovered an isolated population of black-bellied salamanders (Desmognathus sp.) in the Piedmont of Georgia, 30 km southwest of their known range. We used phylogenetic methods to confirm the salamanders were D. amphileucus (Southern Black-Bellied Salamander), with their closest relatives in the Blue Ridge. We observed all life stages and used mark–recapture methods to estimate a population size of 39 post-metamorphic individuals. We used gastric lavage to document prey items novel in diet studies of black-bellied salamanders but reported previously in other Desmognathus. We hypothesize this population was likely introduced via the bait trade, has grown since introduction, and is consuming resources used by native salamanders.

We collected 280 pellets cast by Tyto alba (Barn Owl) from 1996, 1997, and 1998 from a silo roost in Harrogate, TN. Blarina brevicauda (Northern Short-tailed Shrew, 42.2%), Synaptomys cooperi (Southern Bog Lemming, 13.6%), Cryptotis parva (Least Shrew, 10.9%), Sigmodon hispidus (Hispid Cotton Rat, 7.9%), Microtus spp. (4.9%), and Aves spp. (4.3%) comprised most of the prey items. Compared to a previous study, percentages of Northern Short-tailed Shrews were proportionately greater than those of Southern Bog Lemmings in the 1996–1998 pellets. Precipitation and fluctuations in prey populations might be responsible for the disparities in diet composition between pellet collections, but more research is necessary to investigate a possible relationship.

Since burrowing crayfish spend most of their lives underground, our knowledge of their biology, behavior, and natural history is limited. Herein, we report life- and natural-history observations of Fallicambarus devastator (Texas Prairie Crayfish) from a single en masse collecting event at night where we observed an unusually high degree of surface activity. Based on our observations and the environmental conditions, we hypothesize that the surface activity was triggered by hypoxic conditions within burrows that forced crayfish to the surface, although we do not present burrow oxygen measurements. Throughout the night, we repeatedly observed conspecific interactions between pairs of crayfishes that likely represents territoriality, although we did not observe injurious contests. These interactions were highly stereotypic, which matches reports from other burrowing crayfish observations. Further, the activity we observed was unlikely related to mating, as females were not reproductively active during our observations. Overall, these observations contribute to our understanding of the nature and degree of surface behavior in burrowing crayfishes. We encourage other researchers to attempt similar night-time observations to glean information on unknown aspects of burrowing crayfish behavior, like aggression and mating.

We measured soil CO₂ efflux in scarified and unscarified soil collars, soil temperature and moisture, and seedling mortality from June through October 2021 under intact canopy, in single-tree canopy gaps, and in multi-tree canopy gaps in a Picea rubens (Red Spruce) and Abies fraseri (Fraser Fir) stand at Roan Mountain, NC, to test whether canopy openings or soil disturbance created conditions that enhanced or inhibited seedling regeneration or soil activity. We measured soil CO₂ efflux, soil temperature, and soil moisture weekly and tracked seedling survival at 3 time points. Gap size alone did not significantly affect observed differences in soil CO₂ efflux but interacted significantly with soil scarification: edges of large gaps had significantly higher efflux (by about 0.7 µmol CO₂ m^–2 s^–1 on average) than centers of large gaps when soil was scarified. In general, gap creation did not affect seedling mortality, scarification suppressed soil CO₂ efflux, and large gaps had a negative effect on soil CO₂ efflux that diminished toward the gap edge. Though longer-time-scale monitoring will be required for definite management suggestions or conclusions regarding soil processes and carbon storage, the effects on soil temperature, soil moisture, and soil CO₂ efflux produced by the gaps did not cause short-term negative effects on seedlings.

Many freshwater mussel species require fish hosts for successful reproduction; these relationships can be highly specialized and variable across mussel species. Most mussel host-identification studies have occurred in a laboratory setting and may miss important behavioral and spatial aspects of the mussel–host relationship. As such, conducting in situ evaluations of fish host use by mussel glochidia can provide additional information regarding fish–mussel relationships in the wild. However, in situ mussel–host examinations are rare, and few have been completed along the southern Atlantic slope of the United States. The goal of our study was to examine potential host use and glochidial-release timing in a small stream in South Carolina. Our objectives were to identify fish species used as mussel hosts, examine differences in the prevalence and intensity of infestations among host species, and quantify the effects of water temperature and stream flow on the probability of fish infestation. We examined wild-caught fishes for the presence of glochidial infestations in Sleepy Creek, a small tributary to Stevens Creek in the Savannah River basin of south-central South Carolina. We inspected a total of 822 individual fishes of 14 species and detected glochidia on 92 individuals of 5 fish species. Mean intensity of infestations varied from 7 to 45 glochidia per fish, but intensities did not differ significantly among fish species. Water temperatures and fish total length had significant positive effects on the probability of glochidial infestation. Highest glochidia prevalence occurred toward the end of our study at warmer temperatures and on mid-length fishes. Our study highlights the potential of in situ studies and DNA metabarcoding for identifying host use of wild glochidia.

Communal roosts are essential landscape features for many bird species and represent opportunities for population monitoring and management. I used a fixed-wing aircraft to survey a network of night roosts in coastal North Carolina used by Nannopterum auritum (Double-crested Cormorant) during the nonbreeding seasons of 2019–2021 to estimate population size and to characterize habitats used for roosting. Cormorant numbers peaked around 145,000–195,000 during southward migration, reached a low of 44,000–46,000 in winter, and then increased to 55,000–77,000 during northward migration, suggesting that the study area may serve primarily as a migratory staging site for most of those birds. Cormorants roosted on the ground on sandy islands (n = 8), intertidal sand bars (n = 11), and barrier beaches (n = 5). Sandy islands had the highest consistency (71%) and overall use accounting for 56% of roosting activity. Sand bars were used more consistently than barrier beaches (52% vs 33%) but accounted for less activity (16% vs 28%). Cormorants roosted on sand bars primarily during periods when high tide was <0.15 m and on barrier beaches when vehicles were not using the beach. The size of roosting groups varied dramatically from 12 to >93,000 with a median of 1005, and the distribution of group sizes (n = 114) was highly skewed to smaller groups, with 45 of <500 birds, 21 of >10,000 birds, 11 of >20,000 birds, and 4 of >40,000 birds. Group size varied between substrate types, with beaches supporting the largest median group size (8250 individuals) compared to sandy islands (1850) and sand bars (457). Coastal North Carolina supports a large number of Double-crested Cormorants during the nonbreeding season. Cormorants roost on open sandy areas that are isolated from ground predators and free from human and tidal disturbance.

Scatterhoarders store food items in many locations around their home range to mitigate periods of food scarcity. We tested the assumption that scatterhoarded food could only be used in the year after it was buried. Over an 18-month period, we monitored survival of 793 cached seeds of 6 seed types in a small forest in central Alabama. We estimated that as much as 40% of our buried seeds that had not been pilfered survived to the end of the first scatterhoarding season after burial and 56.1% of surviving seeds were later pilfered, eaten, or stored by scatterhoarders, indicating they were used beyond the first winter. Thus, we provide evidence that scatterhoarded seeds may be edible for at least 1.5 years, which would increase the benefits of scatterhoarding behavior.

Herein we report the first known collection of a larval Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis (Eastern Hellbender) from Mississippi. We also document an extension of the known range of the species in Mississippi. Nearly all records of Eastern Hellbender in the state are from mainstem Bear Creek except for 1 collection in Pickwick Reservoir in 1981. However, we collected a larval Eastern Hellbender from Cripple Deer Creek, a tributary of Bear Creek, on 11 April 2023 while surveying for fish and crayfish. The individual was collected via kick sampling with a seine behind a half-submerged log. While habitat at the site of discovery did not seem typical of preferred Hellbender habitat, the streambed of Cripple Deer Creek at other locations may contain sandstone and limestone outcrops based on the surface geology of Mississippi. The collection of a wild-caught larval Hellbender is rare but encouraging for the conservation status of this species in Mississippi. Attempts in the last decade to detect Hellbenders in Bear Creek produced a single adult individual in 2015. To the authors' knowledge, no known studies have taken place within the inaccessible reaches of Cripple Deer Creek, and additional surveys are underway to assess if Cripple Deer Creek supports a reproducing population of Eastern Hellbenders.