Understanding why some species and not others are successful global invaders is an important question in ecology and evolutionary biology. There is much debate on the role that rapid post-invasion adaptation plays in the success of invasive species. Here, we investigated signals of rapid and broad-scale morphological evolution in Anolis sagrei (Brown Anole) between their invasive and native distributions. Although we found significant differences in a few morphological characters between invasive and native Brown Anoles, the morphological variation present in the species broadly overlapped between both populations and has not significantly changed over the last century. These results suggest the invasive success of Brown Anoles in Florida may not be due to major evolutionary change from their Cuban ancestors.

The Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) ecosystem contains a diverse array of arthropods, yet the composition of the arthropod community of the canopy layer is largely unknown. We surveyed canopy arthropods using flight-intercept traps placed in the mid-canopy of Longleaf Pine trees at the Jones Center at Ichauway to determine which taxa inhabit the canopies, and assess abundance and richness among 3 ecological communities. We collected a total of 4004 arthropods from May to August 2022. Diptera, Collembola, and Lepidoptera were the most abundant orders. Overall, order- and family-level abundance and order-level richness were similar among ecological communities. However, hemipteran family-level richness differed significantly among the ecological communities. This preliminary research lays the foundation for further canopy arthropod research in endangered Longleaf Pine ecosystems.

Moths (Order Lepidoptera) represent a large and diverse group of insects. To better understand moth diversity in the mountains of western North Carolina, we documented species richness, distribution, and phenology at the Tater Hill Plant Conservation Preserve in Watauga County. From June to August of 2022, we surveyed 6 locations once every other week with bucket traps and documented moth diversity via photography, resulting in 2631 individuals and 223 species. Common eastern species as well as northern species at the southern reaches of their ranges were present. There were 17 species newly recorded in the county, 1 significant state record, and species that had not been recorded in Watauga County in decades. Documenting moth diversity contributes to our knowledge of ecosystems, which has the potential to inform conservation management.

We surveyed Cudjoe and Sugarloaf keys in Florida to estimate Odocoileus virginianus clavium (Key Deer) numbers using 14 motion-detecting infrared cameras to determine population numbers after deer had been translocated to these keys in 2005. We activated 6 cameras deployed on Sugarloaf Key and 8 cameras on Cudjoe Key on 11 March 2023 and retrieved them on 1 April 2023. We obtained 1340 and 2192 photos of Key Deer on Sugarloaf and Cudjoe keys, respectively. We individually identified 8 males on Sugarloaf Key and 15 males on Cudjoe Key by their antler configuration and considered them “marked” for a Lincoln–Petersen mark–resight population estimate. The Lincoln–Petersen method estimated 36 Key Deer on Sugarloaf Key and 74 Key Deer on Cudjoe Key. These estimates indicate the translocation thus far has been effective, but there is a need to monitor the efficacy of translocations over time to ensure the long-term viability of the species.

Urbanization has negatively affected biodiversity worldwide, but bat responses to urbanization vary by region and species. We used passive acoustic monitors to examine bat species composition and activity from December 2020 to February 2021 (winter) and July–September 2021 (summer) at urban, greenspace, and rural sites in and adjacent to Baton Rouge, LA. We detected a similar number of species during both seasons, but bat activity was greater in summer compared to winter. We detected a similar number of species across sites during summer, but in winter, we detected more species at greenspace sites compared to urban and rural sites. Tadarida brasiliensis (Mexican Free-tailed Bat) was the most common species we detected during our study and was most active at greenspace sites during winter and urban sites during summer. The other species we detected were generally more active at greenspace sites compared to urban and rural sites during both seasons.

Pogonomyrmex badius (Florida Harvester Ant) is an ecosystem engineer that feeds on both seeds and insects. Currently, we know little about this species' collection of seeds versus insects or how consumption of these diets might change seasonally. We also know little about how competition with Solenopsis invicta (Red Imported Fire Ant) influences diet choice of Florida Harvester Ants or how it may have contributed towards the observed range decline of the native species. To investigate collection of food items by Florida Harvester Ants and the effects of competition by Red Imported Fire Ants on Florida Harvester Ant foraging, we conducted 2-choice trials of seed and insect baits at 9 different Florida Harvester Ant nests, 5 of which had been treated to eliminate Red Imported Fire Ants. Collections were assessed on 7 separate occasions from July 2020 to April 2021. The collection of seeds and insects by Florida Harvester Ants was largely similar and varied with the seasons. The highest collection rates occurred in the summer and continued into autumn. There was a noticeable decline in collection starting in late November, though this seasonal trend was significant for insect collection but not seeds. The presence of Red Imported Fire Ants decreased the collection of both seeds and insects by the Florida Harvester Ants, though for both types of food items, the difference was significant only at distances closer to their nests.

Canis latrans (Coyote) is a highly mobile, generalist species that occupies a wide variety of habitats and ecoregions across North and Central America. Assessments of population genetic diversity and structure among the recently colonized populations of Coyotes in the eastern US have been conducted at broad spatial scales, revealing genetic structure concordant with immigration routes and high genetic diversity, or at local spatial scales, usually finding genetic panmixia. However, few studies have assessed eastern Coyote genetics at an intermediate spatial scale (i.e., state-level), which may be commensurate with the population dynamics of this mobile animal. We sampled 10 study areas across South Carolina during summer 2019–2020 using noninvasive genetic sampling and 10 microsatellite loci to identify individuals. We assessed genetic diversity and pairwise relatedness as well as genetic structure across our populations to determine whether there were landscape-level differences in genetic differentiation and the scale of Coyote population structure across the state. We found high levels of observed heterozygosity (0.599–0.872) and allelic richness (3.99–5.12) across our sites but low levels of relatedness. We observed low genetic differentiation (pairwise F_ST = 0.010–0.066) and insignificant isolation by distance with limited evidence of genetic structure. Coyote populations seem to be operating at a spatial extent greater than South Carolina, and gene flow is likely maintained by unrelated, transient individuals. Future research and management of Coyotes in the heterogeneous landscapes of the southeastern US should account for the geographic scale that populations encompass.

Gopherus polyphemus (Gopher Tortoise) populations are declining throughout their range. Western Gopher Tortoise populations have received strict legal protections and substantial research, yet similarly declining populations in southeastern Florida have received far less conservation and research attention. Herein we conduct the first review of Gopher Tortoise populations in extreme southeastern Florida (Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties), an area heavily impacted by anthropogenic stressors such as urbanization, habitat fragmentation, and climate change. Our objectives were to document the existing distribution of Gopher Tortoises in southeastern Florida, to assess age structure, to evaluate habitat associations, and to review habitat-management activities at focal sites in this region. Among the authors, we knew of 8 focal Gopher Tortoise sites in South Florida. We supplemented this site knowledge with occurrence records from community-science databases, and we found 30 additional ground-verified, tortoise localities across the study area. We surveyed burrows at the 8 focal sites and measured burrow width at 1283 burrows across 6 of these focal sites to estimate age structure. Tortoise populations were generally in small, protected areas (average of 43 ha, median of 18 ha). Of our 6 sites with burrow-size data, all showed presence of adult and juvenile burrows consistent with reproduction, but 4 showed bimodal size structures suggesting low or intermittent survival of subadult tortoises. This data synthesis should be foundational for the development of evidence-based conservation planning for populations of the species confronted by impacts from urbanization and climate change. We highlight conservation and research needs for tortoise populations in extreme southeastern Florida.

Bird-conservation organizations have long promoted the use of predator guards to increase nest success of cavity-nesting birds. Predator guards can effectively reduce nest predation, but lithium grease as a predator deterrent has never been tested. Therefore, our objective was to determine the effectiveness of lithium grease at increasing nest success. In 2017 and 2018, in Jonesboro, AR, we monitored nesting activity by Sialia sialis (Eastern Bluebird) in 148 nest boxes divided evenly among 3 treatments: baffle, grease, and no guard. Our results indicate that grease and baffles equally improved bluebird nest success by about 40%. Overall, lithium grease is a cheap and effective alternative to baffles that owners of bluebird boxes can consider using to increase bluebird nest success.

Color anomalies can provide insight into the mechanisms of bird pigmentation. However, records of anomalous eye color in bird species are sparse in the literature. Here, we report 2 observations of Melanerpes carolinus (Red-bellied Woodpecker) in Florida with bright white irises. We examine possible explanations for this phenotype and conclude that a genetic mutation affecting pteridine pigmentation is a possible cause. We encourage researchers to document birds with aberrant eye coloration, which may lead to a greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying eye color.

We observed kleptoparasitism by a Ardea Herodias (Great Blue Heron) on a Nannopterum auritum (Double-crested Cormorant) at Harns Marsh, Fort Myers, FL. The cormorant surfaced with a large Oreochromis niloticus (Nile Tilapia) in its bill, and the heron immediately flew over and stole the fish from the cormorant. This is the first reported case of a Great Blue Heron kleptoparasitizing a Double-crested Cormorant and of a Great Blue Heron successfully engaging in kleptoparasitism of an animal sitting in deep water.

Neotoma magister (Allegheny Woodrat) has a conservation status of vulnerable or at even greater risk across 13 eastern US states. A lack of recent museum vouchers at the southern limit of its distribution, where its sister species Neotoma floridana (Eastern Woodrat) occurs, creates uncertainty as to the current range of the Allegheny Woodrat in Alabama. We opportunistically collected woodrat scat samples for species identification using mitochondrial cytochrome b comparisons that provided genetic evidence of Allegheny Woodrats in Alabama north of the Tennessee River, consistent with its recognized distribution. These new samples of Allegheny Woodrats are most closely related to Allegheny Woodrats from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and with greater intraspecific cyt b variation (5%) than previously reported. Comparisons between our woodrat samples from Alabama (2 north and 2 south of the Tennessee River), and published Allegheny and Eastern Woodrat sequences revealed a clear distinction between species even at small geographic distances, with mean interspecific divergence values of over 8%. We add to the known genetic variation of Allegheny Woodrats, and further characterize their genetic differentiation from Eastern Woodrats. Additional data are needed to delimit the distributional boundaries of the 2 species in Alabama and beyond.

The state-threatened Neogale vison evergladensis (Everglades Mink) is a small, semi-aquatic mustelid endemic to extreme south Florida. To monitor the Everglades Mink, we used a scat-detection dog to survey 24 transects in Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve and Picayune Strand State Forest. When the detection dog alerted on a hollowed-out cypress root structure and no scat was located, we placed a game camera at the location. Eight days after camera placement, we observed an increase in mink detections and the appearance of multiple scats on a log, indicating a latrine. Our study documents the initiation and the termination of an Everglades Mink latrine site on a camera trap for what we believe is the first time. Following the initiation of the latrine, we also detected Procyon lotor (Raccoon; n = 22), Didelphis virginiana (Virginia Opossum; n = 4), Lynx rufus (Bobcat; n = 2), and Corvus ossifragus (Fish Crow; n = 4). Detections of other species ceased almost entirely after the latrine was no longer active. The increase in visitation of nontarget species indicates that latrines may serve as an attractant to other animals. Observations of latrine use and cross-species visitation and marking should be investigated further to better understand the potential for indirect disease transmission and the possible impacts to the threatened Everglades Mink.

Qualitative and quantitative sampling efforts in the Verdigris River, OK (upstream of Lake Oologah), yielded new distributional records of 2 freshwater mussel species of conservation need: Cyprogenia aberti (Western Fanshell) and Ptychobranchus occidentalis (Ouachita Kidneyshell). The Ouachita Kidneyshell has not been documented alive during a scientific survey in the Oklahoma portion of the Verdigris River in nearly 100 years. Our observations extend the known distribution for the Western Fanshell further downstream into Oklahoma by ∼36 river km. These findings indicate an expansion in the known range and potential improvement in the populations of 2 imperiled mussel species, contrary to the prevailing global trend of mussel population decline.

We found leafmines of Phytomyza ditmani on Ilex decidua (Possumhaw) in Craighead County, AR, in the spring of 2023. We collected larvae and pupae of P. ditmani in the field and reared them in the lab to obtain adult forms. Through genetic sequencing of a barcoding gene, we confirmed the identity of the flies as P. ditmani. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed record of P. ditmani in Arkansas and the mid-south region of the US.

Here we report an incidental observation of migration of the dragonfly Anax junius (Common Green Darner) on Sapelo Island, GA, while conducting field work on 6–7 October 2023. Hundreds of dragonflies were observed moving in a western direction away from the Atlantic Ocean during daylight hours. That evening, ∼35 individuals landed on a white sheet that was amplified using a mercury vapor lamp, suggesting that they were still active after sunset. This incident occurred simultaneously with a large southeasterly cold front that blew through that weekend. We suspect that the dragonflies were headed south and attempting to course-correct at ground level, after being blown out to sea at a higher altitude. Backwards-trajectory analyses of the air mass suggest that these insects could have flown hundreds of kilometers within a 24-hr period. To our knowledge, this is the first published record of dragonfly migration on Sapelo Island, GA, and possibly the first evidence of nocturnal migratory activity in this species.