Dionaea muscipula (Venus' fly trap) is endemic to a restricted area of the Carolina's Coastal Plain, including southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina. Our understanding of Venus' fly trap habitats is based largely on a single published study focused on plants associated with pocosins in North Carolina. Little is known about Venus' fly trap habitats or microhabitats in other parts of the endemic range. This paper presents data on Venus' fly traps at Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve, SC, an area where the species occurs at the ecotone between Carolina bays and adjacent plant communities. Complex microtopography including hummocks, hollows, and Sphagnum carpets, was common at this ecotone. Venus' fly trap seedlings were overrepresented in hollows; adult plants were overrepresented on Sphagnum. No vascular plant species were consistently associated with Venus' fly traps growing at the ecotone. However, areas downslope, relatively closer to bays, and areas upslope, relatively farther from bays, were associated with indicator species, presumably reflecting an underlying moisture gradient. Areas with Venus' fly traps were characterized by relatively high plant diversity, high Sphagnum cover, low total vascular plant cover, and soil disturbance associated with old vehicle tracks. Small, persistent openings in the shrub layer and soil disturbances that facilitate Sphagnum colonization may be important for maintaining populations of Venus' fly traps at the ecotone between Carolina bays and adjacent plant communities.

Three independent surveys for undescribed members of the Noturus elegans species complex in the middle and upper Tennessee River drainage were conducted between 1993 and 2001. These surveys encompassed 104 collections made at 92 sites in Alabama and Tennessee. A total of 10 chucky madtoms was captured from two upper Tennessee River localities on Little Chucky Creek, Greene County, TN. Nine of these specimens were collected in September 1994, and the tenth in March 2000. No specimens were captured during three visits to Little Chucky Creek in 2001. No N. elegans species complex madtoms were collected in the middle Tennessee River drainage. Additional work is required to demonstrate the continued existence of these extremely rare fishes before recovery measures can be implemented.

Ichthyofaunal surveys of many river systems in the southeastern USA have been completed. However, subsequent surveys of these systems have been limited to searches for species of special interest and studies of anthropogenic effects on portions of river systems. Thus, little is known about temporal variation at the system level. The Hatchie River System (HRS) in northern Mississippi and western Tennessee was intensively surveyed in 1972 and again in 2001–2003. Data from 272 collections (130 localities) were used to determine patterns of species distribution and any changes that may have occurred in the past 30 years. Dispersal from neighboring systems, introductions, ecological effects, and sampling techniques appear to have influenced the distribution and composition of the known HRS species. Of the 107 known HRS species, 15 were collected for the first time since 1975, six were only collected before 1975, and 40 changed in the collection frequency between sampling prior to 1975 and in 1975 to the present. An intensive, system-wide survey was necessary to detect the changes in distribution and increase in the number of known species from the HRS.

We investigated the role of fruit availability in the diet of wintering Catharus guttatus Pallas (Hermit Thrushes) in southeastern Louisiana. Most fecal samples contained fruit and arthropods (N = 126), while few samples contained only arthropods (N = 32). We observed 26 species of fruiting plants at our sites, and found nine in fecal samples. Ilex vomitoria (Yaupon, 52% of samples), Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet, 27% of samples) and Myrica cerifera (wax myrtle, 9.5% of samples) were the most common in fecal samples, and their presence was associated with availability. Yet, fecal samples contained more yaupon and less privet and wax myrtle than expected based on availability. Fruit availability within territories and sampling period predicted presence in fecal samples. Samples without fruits may be associated with low fruit availability, and not with higher arthropod activity.

Scolopax minor (American Woodcock) populations have been declining for the past several decades. Weather conditions have been hypothesized to affect reproductive efforts in February and March in the southern United States, but similar influences on January breeding activities are unknown. We used a 17-year harvest data set from eastern Texas to examine the influence of several temperature and precipitation measures, female body mass, and forest habitat type on the occurrence of reproduction by Woodcock in January. Only adult females exhibited characteristics of breeding activity. There was annual variation (0–29%) in the occurrence of breeding adult females, but local temperature and precipitation measures were not correlated with January reproduction. More breeding Woodcock were harvested in open sapling stands than other habitats. Environmental factors other than monthly temperature and precipitation may influence January reproductive efforts of Woodcock in eastern Texas. We suggest investigation of timing of fall migration and condition of the birds upon arrival on wintering grounds as potential factors influencing reproductive efforts in January.

Researchers often use road corridors to collect data on diversity, life history, or population parameters of vertebrates. In areas with high abundances of scavengers, road surveys may be biased due to removal of carcasses from roads. Thus, the rates at which scavenged items are removed from roads are of considerable interest to field biologists who use roads when collecting data. We experimentally investigated scavenging rates along a road on the Atlantic coast of central Florida using both bird and snake carcasses. We found extremely high rates of carcass removal by scavengers: 60–97% disappeared within 36 hours of their placement along roads. Additionally, scavenging rates were higher for snakes than birds, although snake body size did not affect scavenging rates. Bird carcasses placed in the center of the road were removed at faster rates than those placed at road edges. Researchers should use extreme caution when interpreting data based on roadkill; since scavengers can remove roadkill rapidly, such data may not be representative of populations in habitats surrounding roads.

Herpetofauna of steephead ravines in the Blackwater and Yellow River drainages, Okaloosa or Santa Rosa County, FL, were surveyed using funnel traps along drift fences. Nineteen amphibian and 24 reptile species in seven steephead ravine sites were documented during 165 days of trapping. Amphibian or reptile species composition was most similar between steephead ravines in the Blackwater and northern Yellow River systems, which were in close proximity. Ravines in the northern Yellow River system, however, were unique in apparently lacking Dusky Salamanders (Desmognathus sp.). Herpetofaunal species composition among ravines was somewhat similar to that found in ravines farther east in the Apalachicola and Ochlockonee River drainages, but 12 species were trapped only in Ochlockonee–Apalachicola ravines and 13 species only in Blackwater–Yellow ravines. The first month of trapping experienced heavy rainfall from Hurricane Georges and produced 76% of all captures of Pseudotriton ruber (Red Salamanders) and three aquatic salamander species. Amphibian captures, particularly salamanders, were correlated positively with precipitation. The most productive trapping months were April, June, and August for anurans; February and October for salamanders; and April and June for reptiles. Mean recapture rates were 8.6% for anurans, 6.8% for salamanders, 52.2% for turtles, 17.3% for lizards, and 9.8% for snakes. Data were collected on some little-known species: Rana okaloosae (Florida Bog Frog), Amphiuma pholeter (One-toed Amphiuma), and Siren cf. intermedia (“Least” Siren). Potential threats to ravine herpetofauna are logging, water pollution, groundwater use, stream siltation from dirt roads and cleared lands, stream impoundment, recreational use, trash dumping, Sus scrofa (feral hogs), and management of adjacent upland habitat.

We investigated population structure and life history traits in syntopic populations of Desmognathus aeneus and Desmognathus wrighti in the southern Nantahala Mountains, NC. The two species occupy similar microhabitats in the spring months, occurring in clumps of moss and damp leaf litter and under stones and logs in deciduous forests bordering streams and seepages. We examined the reproductive organs in living individuals taken in large samples in early spring. The goal was to determine sex and reproductive status. We confirmed these assessments by dissections of small numbers of preserved individuals collected in the same months of later years. The sample of D. wrighti included first-year juveniles (8 mo), second-year juveniles and adult males (20 mo), and third-year and older adults (≥ 32 mo). Similarly, the sample of D. aeneus contained first-year (11 mo), second-year (23 mo), and third-year and older (≥ 35 mo) individuals, in the same reproductive categories as identified in D. wrighti. The age differences reflect different oviposition times, estimated as 1 May in D. aeneus and 1 August in D. wrighti. In both species, we estimated that males attain sexual maturity in their second or third year, and that females usually oviposit initially at age 3 years. There is considerable overlap in body size between species. Within species, adult females average larger than males, in part a consequence of earlier maturation of males, but maximum sizes of males and females are similar.

The reproductive ecology of Terrapene carolina carolina (Eastern Box Turtle) was studied in an 11-ha woods in Lynchburg, VA. Estimated population demographics included a population size of 176 turtles with a 1:1 male to female sex ratio, population density of 16 turtles/ha, mean clutch size of 3.15 eggs, and a proportion of adult females gravid per year of 0.405. Reproductive output was 112 eggs per year. A positive significant relationship existed between female carapace width and clutch size, as well as female shell height and clutch size. However, no significant relationship existed between female carapace length (CL) and clutch size. When mean clutch size was compared to those of other investigators of T. c. carolina, a slight positive correlation with latitude was indicated, though it was not statistically significant. Mean female CL and clutch size in a Long Island population were both significantly larger than the means from the Virginia population.

Palaeopheid snake fossils from the Late Eocene Hardie Mine local fauna (l.f.) of Wilkinson County, central Georgia, include Pterosphenus schucherti Lucas and Palaeophis africanus Andrews. This occurrence represents a new geographic record for P. africanus because this species was previously known only from the type locality in Nigeria. The Hardie Mine l.f. is the first North American Late Eocene fauna where Pterosphenus and Palaeophis co-occur in the same local stratigraphic context. The stratigraphic range of Palaeophis is extended from the Middle Eocene into the Late Eocene. The nearshore marine paleoenvironment of the Hardie Mine was inhabited by juvenile and adult palaeopheid snakes of both genera. Based on our specimens, Pterosphenus appears to have been more common than Palaeophis.

In September 2003, we monitored the movements of a postpartum Crotalus horridus (Timber Rattlesnake) and her four neonates via radiotelemetry. Upon dispersal, two neonates maintained a close association with the mother, but within one week they were making independent movements. Total movement distance by all five snakes during the first 10 days varied considerably (mother: 22 m; neonates: 3, 21, 49, and 154 m). Continued movements by neonates were independent and sporadic, with individuals staying several days in single locations. Excluding one neonate, all individuals converged to a single wooded, rocky hillside for hibernation (320 m from birth site). During their movements to the hibernaculum, one neonate was found with a subadult female and another neonate was found again with its mother. Our observations support the hypothesis that conspecific trails may be used by neonates during their initial den location.

We measured species richness and composition of adult Odonata and inferred habitat preferences among man-made wetland sites and surrounding tracts of natural bottomland forest. Cumulative species richness and composition were described by proportion coefficients and beta diversity indices. The three man-made sites provided open space resources, and more species were observed in each than in the floodplain forest. Twenty-nine of 42 species documented over a four-month period were observed in only one or two of the four wetlands studied. Large differences in species assemblages between the immediately adjacent ditch and marsh sites were the best evidence for high habitat affinity because distance and structural barriers to movement were absent. Such compositional asymmetry may reflect differential vegetative and reproductive suitability of the habitats. Results suggest that the open-canopy wetlands supported higher diversity of adult Odonata, and that distinct odonate assemblages were found among different habitat types in this flood-plain wetland complex.

Neofiber alleni (round-tailed muskrat) is a wetland-associated species of conservation concern restricted to the southeastern United States. This species is relatively unstudied and no standardized procedures exist for determining its distribution. We evaluated a survey technique for assessing presence-absence of round-tailed muskrats in small, isolated, freshwater marshes in central Florida. We conclude that ≥ 2 trained persons searching adjacent belt transects on foot for ≤ 30 min during fall–early winter can reliably determine occupancy for muskrats based on presence of their distinctive lodges. Resurveys of unoccupied wetlands did not reveal any false absences from our initial survey, and an investigation of lodge persistence indicated that false presences were unlikely. Broad-scale studies of distributional patterns and temporal trends in occupancy of the round-tailed muskrat are needed to assess its conservation status and threats.