This essay focuses on the historical and ecological landscape of King Philip's War (1675–1678), highlighting 2 spaces in Kwinitekw, the Western Abenaki term for the Connecticut River Valley, during the harsh winter of 1675–1676. I track the captive Mary Rowlandson's journey with the Wampanoag leader Weetamoo through the interior Nipmuc country and Kwinitekw and discuss the Penacook leader Wanalancet's winter refuge in the Kwinitekw headwaters. This paper highlights an indigenous studies methodology of place-based, experiential research in the land and waterways, in combination with more traditional historical and literary methodologies. It also demonstrates the importance of indigenous language and place names in mapping historical contexts, understanding ecological knowledge, and interpreting the movements of leaders. The paper focuses on the vast expanse of the Wabanaki country, which is often neglected or misrepresented in colonial-era histories, and especially the “extensive and varied ‘winterlands’” highlighted by the scholarship of Thomas Wickman. The essay features maps of areas historically inhabitated by Native peoples created with ArcGIS by a collaborative team, and highlights contemporary on-the-ground engagement with these places, the knowledge gained from reading the archive of the land, and the possibility of understanding of these spaces as vital ecological and social communities, which have much to teach us today.

Population declines of songbirds following severe winters draw attention to a need to better understand behavioral responses to inclement weather. We used observations of radio-tracked Sialia sialis (Eastern Bluebird) wintering in Kentucky to examine the effects of weather on habitat use, group size, foraging behavior, and diet. Home ranges were smaller than published estimates, and consisted of more open than wooded habitat, in proportion to availability. Although habitat use appeared unchanged during inclement weather, Bluebirds increased group sizes, and shifted from insectivory to frugivory during periods of sub-freezing temperatures and snow cover. Fecal analysis confirmed the weather-driven shift of diet. Inclement winter weather likely lowers the efficiency of insectivory, leading to changes in social and foraging behaviors.

Insects that pupate on the branches of trees and shrubs suffer mortality from both predators and parasitic wasps. Which natural enemy represents the greater threat and therefore the stronger selection force on pupation site selection depends upon the time of year, the relative abundance of predators versus parasitoids, and the availability of alternative prey or hosts. Predation by foraging birds and mammals is likely to occur most commonly in winter when leaves have fallen, cocoons are conspicuous, and higher quality prey are scarcer. Inaccessibility and crypsis of pupation sites may provide protection from visually hunting predators. Attacks by parasitic wasps, which take place only during warmer months, may not be as easily avoided by inaccessibility or crypsis. We studied the patterns and mortality risks of pupation site selection in Diprion similis (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae; Introduced Pine Sawfly). Cocoons that were smaller than average and situated in relatively inaccessible sites (thinner branches, underside of branches) were less likely to be attacked by predators; background matching in terms of branch size proved not to improve survival. In contrast, the probability that a cocoon would be attacked by parasitic wasps (primarily Monodontomerus dentipes; Hymenoptera: Torymidae) was unaffected by location along branches, indicating that parasitoids are more difficult to escape through pupation site selection. Because Pine Sawflies were twice as likely to be killed by predators than by parasitoids during the cocoon stage, inaccessibility may be the most important factor for selecting pupation sites.

Woodpeckers and nuthatches are resident species sharing similar year-round habitat in northeastern North America, but little is known about how these species distribute themselves within the same wintering area. From 2009 to 2015, we conducted a mark—recapture study of 7 Downy Woodpeckers, 15 Hairy Woodpeckers, 9 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and 39 White-breasted Nuthatches to determine geographical winter home-range partitioning between and within species. We used multinomial log-linear models to estimate the likelihood of capturing each species in a particular baited trap when other species had been caught in the same trap during the same year. Our results show the presence of each species influenced the likelihood at least 1 other species would inhabit the same area. Most of these relationships were positive and indicate active sharing of the same space. However, Hairy Woodpeckers appeared to deter White-breasted Nuthatches, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers avoided conspecifics. Little evidence of space partitioning suggests minimal competition occurs during winter months between these species. Since these species occupy similar habitats, the appearance of one may indicate suitable habitat influencing the presence of others.

Snowpack produces a thermal layer that protects soil from freezing and provides a pulse of nutrient-rich water in spring. Climate forecasts for Maine indicate 20–60% reduction in snowfall by 2050. In January 2015, we initiated a snow-removal experiment in Old Town, ME to investigate the impact of snow loss on forest soil conditions. Snow removal significantly lowered winter organic horizon temperatures by 2 °C on average. Soils in snow-removal plots were 25% wetter during the vernal transition because precipitation was not intercepted by snow. These rain-on-soil events caused the formation of concrete frost, delaying soil thaw in snow-removal plots. Our results provide evidence that snowpack loss increases soil frost and can also increase soil moisture, potentially altering biotic function within a coniferous forest type.

I examined behavioral flexibility with respect to potentially conflicting demands of Bonasa umbellus L. (Ruffed Grouse) adapted to winter conditions in a mixed forest of western Maine. At the beginning of winter, during the first snow of 15 cm, the grouse roosted overnight 2–4 m above ground in dense stands of conifers. After 40 cm of snow depth, they dove into the snow in flight in open areas of deciduous forest and tunneled, at varying angles and distances from the entrance approach, to den at night and most of the day. With new snow on top of packed snow near the end of winter, they switched tactics again and rested and spent the overnight hours in snow molds on the ground under cover of conifer branches or against tree trunks. The 3 behaviors are discussed in the context of winter diet and anti-predation strategies.

Operophtera brumata (Winter Moth) is an invasive insect defoliator named for its early winter activity in its native and introduced ranges. In this study, we examined the relative winter densities of adult female and male Winter Moths in Harpswell, ME, an area of recent outbreak. Additionally, we measured female densities to determine whether specific host-plant species are favored for egg laying. We found that Winter Moth densities during the second winter of this study were lower than in the first, possibly in response to extreme cold temperatures during January 2014. We also found that peaks in male flight coincided with temperatures rising above freezing and that female densities were highest on Quercus rubra (Red Oak), a known preferred host species.

Prior to European settlement, indigenous members of the species Canis lupus familiaris (Domestic Dog) was, aside from humans, the most common large predator in the North American northeast. Dogs served Indian communities throughout the year, but their value increased over the winter. Light enough to run over packed snow, Domestic Dogs chased down Alces alces (Moose) and Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer). They protected food stores from vermin, provided warmth at night, and acted as a meat source during times of dearth. Domestic Dogs facilitated the fur trade by sniffing out the frozen lodges of Castor canadensis (Beaver). Although they often hunted and scavenged autonomously, it was through their symbiotic partnership with humans that indigenous Dogs helped to define the Northeast's early modern ecology.

This paper examines the role of downhill skiing in the development of American forestry practices. By focusing on the state of New Hampshire, where foresters carved some of America's first ski slopes in the 1930s, this paper shows how forest management practices were mutually constitutive with this new form of recreation. A closer look at the papers of Henry Ives Baldwin and other New Hampshire foresters who endeavored to integrate forestry practices with ski trail development challenges the notion that skiing simply brought about an environmental “downhill slide”. Rather, it shows that the skiing foresters were particularly sensitive to mountain ecology and anticipated the development of “multi-use” forestry well before federal forest recreation policies were codified in 1960. In the process, they made important contributions to the emerging science of winter.

Bubo scandiacus (Snowy Owl) is an irregular winter visitor in the northeastern US and southeastern Canada, where winter irruptions occur roughly every 4 years with varying intensity. The consecutive winters of 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 saw unusually large irruptions of Snowy Owls across eastern North American states and provinces and the Great Lakes region. We tracked 34 individuals equipped with high spatial- and temporalresolution GPS–GSM transmitters and obtained data that documented in detail the diverse suite of habitats used by irruptive Snowy Owls overwintering and migrating through the region, from heavily urbanized city centers to open agricultural areas, as well as ice floes drifting on the Great Lakes or concentrating along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) is a devastating non-native pest of North American Tsuga canadensis (Eastern Hemlock) and Tsuga caroliniana (Carolina Hemlock). I analyzed 15 years of data collected during the period 2000–2015 to determine important winter variables influencing HWA mortality in the 3 Connecticut climatic divisions. Absolute minimum daily winter temperature, the number of subzero days (temperature drops below -17.8 °C [0 °F]), and a new interaction variable—negative degree days (NDD)—were identified as significant predictors of HWA winter mortality. The absolute minimum daily winter temperature was the most critical factor. Minimum daily winter temperatures of -24 °C, 5.5 subzero days, and -130 NDD in Division 1(Northwest); -22.4 °C, 6 subzero days, and -100 NDD in Division 2 (Central); and -21.2 °C, 2.6 subzero days, and -45 NDD in Division 3 (Coastal) resulted in 90% HWA mortality. Patterns of HWA winter mortality in coastal Division 3 were distinct from the interior and suggest cold adaptation in northern interior populations. Recent, consecutive, arctic cold air outbreaks associated with weak polar vortex events have greatly reduced HWA populations statewide, with implications for the survival, spread, and control of HWA in the northeastern US.

This essay explores how New England settlers documented and interpreted the Great Snow of 1717, a series of 4 snowstorms over 11 days followed by 6 weeks of deep snow cover. The Great Snow is the best-known snow event from the colonial period, and it has been extensively studied by historians of meteorology; however, it has received less attention from environmental historians. This paper relies on numerous unpublished almanac diaries, diaries, and letters; newspaper reports and sermons; and the well-known accounts by John Winthrop and Cotton Mather. Together, these writings from throughout New England show how colonists shared insights about the formation of snow cover and snowdrifts in urban, coastal, and agricultural settings. The documents reveal patterns of winterkill and survival in a landscape that had been altered profoundly by English colonists. Colonists' descriptions of local devastation implied ambivalence about the idea of improving the landscape and suggested that early 18^th-century writers increasingly approached deep snow cover as something they would have to live with and understand. Several consecutive decades of severe winter weather, the recent adoption of snowshoes by English colonists, the founding of the Boston News-Letter, a fragile peace after the 3^rd Anglo—Wabanaki War (1703–1713), and the innovative adaptation of religious forms to the study of winter landscapes all contributed to a more sustained discussion of deep snow cover in 1716–1717 than ever before. Some popular writers have trivialized the Great Snow of 1717, imagining it apolitically and even ahistorically; this essay restores the broader political, historical, and environmental contexts for this iconic winter event.

I examined winter quiescence (dormancy), growth rate, and competition in the scleractinian coral Astrangia poculata (Northern Star-coral) at an intertidal and a subtidal site in Rhode Island. I observed the onset, duration, and cessation of quiescence from November 2013 to May 2014 and noted when coral tentacles no longer exhibited tactile responses, which I used as a proxy for quiescence. Results demonstrated that intertidal corals entered quiescence in December 2013, when air/water temperatures ranged from 0.71 °C to 5.7 °C, whereas subtidal populations entered quiescence in January when water temperatures ranged from 3.4 °C to 4.3 °C. Corals exited quiescence at similar temperatures (6.0–8.5 °C), again doing so earlier in the intertidal than subtidal populations (April and May 2014, respectively). Corals at both sites grew (added polyps) over the course of the study, but during quiescence, growth ceased in subtidal corals, and intertidal corals lost peripheral polyps. Competitive interactions between Northern Star-coral and the tunicate Didemnum vexillum (Carpet Tunicate) decreased during quiescence with a corresponding increase in “halo” width around each coral. I observed no change in halo-width between coral and the sponge Cliona celata (Red Boring Sponge). All corals examined exhibited winter quiescence, grew during the course of the study, and were released from competition with Carpet Sea-squirt Tunicate; no change in competition with Red Boring Sponge was observed.

We analyzed 55 years of abundance data (1960–2014) for Sitta canadensis (Red-breasted Nuthatch) to seek patterns of winter irruptions on temporal and spatial scales. This species shows an erratic pattern of irruption into southerly areas from its northern breeding areas. Irruptions show a broad geographic synchrony. At the narrower level of the state or province and even more so at the level of individual counts, correlations of abundance in adjacent areas become weaker. The abundance of irruptive birds is best considered a mosaic. At the regional scale, correlations of Red-breasted Nuthatch abundance with irruptive northern finches that also depend on conifer seeds are weak to absent. The data suggest that birds irrupt because of failure of conifer seed production on the breeding grounds, not because the birds are seeking masting conifer stands to the south.

Ellychnia corrusca (Winter Firefly) is one of few winter-active insects. Exposed throughout the season, this beetle appears vulnerable to insectivorous predators, but was recently shown to possess lucibufagins (LBGs), potent chemical defenses. The Winter Firefly is closely related to summer-active fireflies. To provide an adaptive explanation for this apparent phenological shift, we hypothesized that winter activity may protect the Winter Firefly from summer-active fireflies in the genus Photuris, predators that specialize on LBG-containing prey. To test this hypothesis, we studied the Winter Firefly and Photuris that occur sympatrically, but asynchronously as adults, at our Connecticut field sites. Through 2 experiments, we demonstrated that Photuris selectively consumes the Winter Firefly and sequesters its LBGs. Our findings are consistent with a hypothesis that winter activity by the Winter Firefly, by enabling early spring reproduction, provides phenological escape from a specialist predator.

This article considers a clash of 2 historic ways of understanding human relations with the environment in James Bay, Canada, which stretches from 52° to 55° north latitude: Cree traditional knowledge and the writings of early 17th-century English explorers. The observations and practices of both Natives and newcomers reflected the enduring power of cold and the particular systems of information that emerged in a region where winter posed myriad threats. These different kinds of historical knowledge survive in different media, one oral and the other written. By considering them together, it becomes clear that the most radical environmental shift in the region occurred not with the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975, but instead over 300 years earlier. This conclusion suggests reconsideration of the environmental historian Alfred Crosby's notion of “ecological imperialism”, a process understood as the result of the movement of biota, with quick and far-reaching results across temperate zones in the Western Hemisphere (and in select other parts of the Earth). In and around James Bay, the arrival of Europeans—and their recognition that they could survive and extract resources from the region despite the dangers of its winters—initiated long-term environmental changes well before the transference of biota.

A gap in our understanding of phytoplankton seasonality in temperate lakes exists mainly due to the lack of information collected during the winter months. We summarized seasonal changes of phytoplankton biomass and taxonomic composition relative to water-column biogeochemical conditions in 6 lakes located on Beaver Island and 1 site in Lake Michigan in close geographic proximity to each other (<20 km apart). A number of physical—chemical parameters (e.g., temperature, DOC) were similar between lakes, but lakes towards the interior of the island had lower pH, alkalinity, and conductivity. Moreover, lakes at the interior of the island supported 2-fold greater phytoplankton-chlorophyll and carbon compared with perimeter lakes, and phytoplankton taxonomic composition differed considerably during the ice-free period (April–December). Interestingly, the winter phytoplankton assemblages were strikingly similar in all 7 lakes, when large populations of phyto-flagellates (Chrysophyceae and Cryptophyceae) occurred under the ice at low light and temperatures < 4 °C. Given the mixotrophic capabilities of these phytoflagellates, we suggest seasonal convergence reflects the community response to under-ice conditions, which promotes the occurrence of an important component of annual phytoplankton biomass.

We studied the winter activity of bats at a site where long-term summer monitoring data has documented the presence of a diverse and abundant bat community. Acoustic monitoring at multiple locations over 4 winters (2010–2011 through 2013–2014) documented some level of activity in every species, but Myotis leibii (Eastern Small-footed Myotis) and Eptesicus fuscus (Big Brown Bat) were the only 2 species with consistent activity throughout the hibernation period. We modeled winter activity as a function of meteorological variables and the distance to both a presumed local hibernaculum and an important foraging site that we had previously documented at the New Boston Air Force Station. Based on our Random Forest model, ambient temperature was the strongest predictor of winter activity for both species; the highest rate of activity occurred when temperatures were above 12 °C. Although most of the activity occurred during the evening, we detected diurnal activity by both species throughout the winter. The fact that the 2 most abundant species during this winter study are also the 2 most common species captured during the summer suggest that these species are hibernating in close proximity to their summer range.

Winter is typically considered a dormant period in northern forests, but important ecological processes continue during this season in these ecosystems. At the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, we used an elevational climate gradient to investigate how changes in winter climate affect the litter and soil invertebrate community and related decomposition rates of Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple) litter over a 2-year period. The overall abundance and richness of litter invertebrates declined with increasing elevation, while the diversity and abundance of soil invertebrates was similar across the gradient. Snow depth and soil temperature were correlated to the abundance and distribution of the litter invertebrate community, whereas soil organic matter, soil moisture, and soil frost were correlated with the distribution and abundance of the soil invertebrate community. Decomposition rates were initially faster at lower-elevation sites following 1 year of decomposition, then stabilized at the end of 2 years with no difference between higher- and lower-elevation sites. This pattern may be explained by the distribution and abundance of the litter and soil invertebrates. Higher abundances of litter invertebrates, especially Collembola, at lower-elevation sites contribute to faster initial breakdown of litter, while greater abundances of Acari in soils at higher elevation contribute to the later stages of decay. The interaction between decomposition and the associated invertebrate community responded to changes in climatic conditions, with both soil temperature and soil moisture being important determinants.