Aegolius acadicus (Northern Saw-whet Owl) is an ecologically important, nocturnal, cryptic species that utilizes forests in Pennsylvania for stopover habitat, wintering, and breeding. The extent to which this species nests in the mixed-deciduous forests of northeastern Pennsylvania is uncertain. We used autonomous recording units (ARUs) and audio playbacks throughout Lackawanna State Park (LSP), PA, from mid-January through late March 2022 to assess potential breeding chronology and habitat-use patterns. Saw-whet Owls vocalized at 60% of ARU stations, and playback surveys produced an additional 2 acoustic detections. Incidental observations detected 2 fledglings in the park. Using ARU surveys, we documented their breeding chronology and found a positive association between vocalization rates and canopy cover. Our results suggest that Saw-whet Owls are nesting in the mixed-deciduous forest within LSP.

Wildlife populations at the peripheries of their distributions or on isolated islands often display divergent and poorly understood morphological or life-history characteristics compared to core populations. We used a capture–mark–recapture dataset collected over a 19-year period to characterize a northern, insular snake assemblage in coastal Maine. We captured 611 individual snakes of 4 species (Thamnophis sirtalis [Common Gartersnake; n = 221 individuals], Diadophis punctatus [Ring-necked Snake; n = 258 individuals], Storeria occipitomaculata [Red-bellied Snake; n = 81 individuals], and Opheodrys vernalis [Smooth Greensnake; n = 51 individuals]) and recorded 104 recaptures. We provide some of the first data on growth, reproduction, and movement for these species in northern New England, expanding our understanding of insular and northern snake populations. Specifically, we found that Common Gartersnakes fed primarily on earthworms and amphibians and grew rapidly, in accordance with mainland populations, but exhibited smaller size at maturity and average litter sizes. We captured an unusually large number of Ring-necked Snakes, which are uncommon elsewhere in Maine, and recorded an apparently localized nesting area for this species, as well as relatively long-distance (230–300 m) dispersal away from that location. In our population, female Ring-necked Snakes mature in their third year, and this species exhibits weak sexual size dimorphism (SSD). We found the ecology of Red-bellied Snakes at our study site to be similar to other populations, with individuals feeding on slugs, and females maturing in their second year; however, our population exhibited the strongest pattern of (female-biased) SSD. Smooth Greensnakes were restricted to the most extensive old-field habitat within our study site and fed on a variety of arthropods. We confirmed communal nesting and short incubation period for this species and provide among the first data on growth and longevity (at least 7 years) of this relatively understudied species.

The current status and distributional uncertainties of some Bombus (bumble bee) species across North America has driven the need for monitoring. The central Appalachian Mountain region has historic and recent records of the endangered Bombus affinis (Rusty Patched Bumble Bee), but the species' distribution within the region is unknown. To address the lack of knowledge on distribution of bumble bee species within the region, specifically Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, I randomly generated a network of 70 roadside transects and conducted 764 ten-minute non-lethal surveys. These surveys recorded 11 out of 14 species, including Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, thereby validating that 10-minute surveys using nonlethal techniques at randomly generated roadside locations can document the bumble bee community of the region.

During the summers of 2019–2022 on Fire Island, NY, we observed 3 instances of Charadrius melodus (Piping Plover) incubating Sternula antillarum (Least Tern) eggs within mixed clutches, including a nest where the incubating plovers hatched chicks of both species. While mixed clutches of plover–tern nests have been observed previously, this case appears to be one of the few documented instances of a shorebird (Order: Charadriiformes) hatching eggs of another species with different parental care requirements. Moreover, the mechanisms by which these mixed clutches occurred on Fire Island appear to differ from past observations. Previously, mixed plover–tern clutches involved nest usurpation, whereas our observations suggest egg dumping by terns. Future research should investigate the role of habitat limitation in shorebird nesting and offspring recognition.

A new species of Sporormiella, S. tela, so far only found on dung of Anseriformes, is described and illustrated. The species has a thick mycelial weft covering the pseudothecia. In addition to a collection on Branta canadensis (Canada Goose) dung from New York, 2 collections on goose dung from Iceland, and 1 each on Branta leucopsis (Barnacle Goose) dung from Norway and Canada Goose dung from Germany, 3 close-matching sequences have been identified from environmental samples from Estonia, China (Tibet), and India (Kashmir).

Sorex maritimensis (Maritime Shrew) is endemic to Canada and found only in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The Maritime Shrew has been identified as one of the vertebrate species in Nova Scotia that is most susceptible to the effects of climate change and global warming, and it is listed by NatureServe as vulnerable (category G3). While generally regarded as a wetland specialist, relatively little is known about its specific habitat preferences. Non-invasive methods of sampling have proven valuable in identifying and monitoring such rare species. The objective of this study was to optimize a non-invasive method to document presence of Maritime Shrews using collected fecal DNA and to develop a PCR-based protocol to amplify a short, ∼120 base-pair section of the cox1 gene using shrew-specific primers. We used baited feeding tubes to collect shrew feces. We designed cox1 PCR primers to preferentially amplify this mini-DNA barcode for shrews in samples that may contain feces from rodents as well. We designed the primers to amplify a small amplicon to increase the likelihood of successful amplification from degraded DNA. This technique is likely to be effective for documenting the distribution and habitat preferences of this relatively rare shrew in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve (APBP) in east-central New York is a fire-managed, globally rare inland pine barrens ecosystem supporting numerous rare or declining species. The open landscape of the APBP is comprised of Pinus rigida (Pitch Pine) with an understory dominated by Quercus ilicifolia (Scrub Oak). Urban development and fire suppression have negatively impacted fire-adapted species. Prescribed fires were introduced in 1990 to restore the native plant community. Here we present the first thorough fungal survey at the APBP. We identified samples by morphology and DNA barcoding. We collected 117 species representing genera from 52 non-lichenized fungi, 10 lichens, and 2 Myxogastria (formerly Myxomycetes).

A new saprotrophic species was discovered during our fungal inventory at the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (Massachusetts), which consists of 34 islands and peninsulas. Simocybe ramosa sp. nov. (Agaricales, Crepidotaceae) is described based on morphology and molecular phylogenetic data. The holotype collection was found in a Quercus (oak)–Carya (hickory) forest under bark of a dead oak tree on World's End peninsula, the largest land mass of the archipelago. Phylogenetic reconstruction of a dataset of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) resolved S. ramosa and S. rhabarbarina as sister species. Simocybe rhabarbarina is here redescribed based on the holotype and newly reported material from the Netherlands, and its presence on the island of Jersey, off the coast of northern France, is confirmed based on an ITS sequence. Finally, we compare morphological features of S. ramosa with S. rhabarbarina and the 20 species in the genus that have thus far been recorded in Canada, the US, and Mexico.

From 2020 to 2023, we used diaries from squirrel hunters to estimate the prevalence of Cuterebra emasculator (Squirrel Bot Fly), which parasitize and burrow under the skin of chipmunks and tree squirrels and form bulges called “warbles”, among 3 tree squirrel species in Pennsylvania. We received diaries from 1222 squirrel hunters who harvested 7356 squirrels, of which 249 (3.4%) were reported to have subcutaneous swellings consistent with warbles. Annual prevalence rates varied from 2.5% to 3.9%, were consistently highest during the first week of the hunting season (mid-September), and declined to near zero by December. Overall, warbles were more prevalent in Sciurus carolinensis (Eastern Gray Squirrel; 3.6%) than in S. niger (Eastern Fox Squirrel; 1.3%) and Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (American Red Squirrel; 0.0%). During the first 5 weeks of the squirrel-hunting season, squirrels harvested in southern latitudes had higher warble prevalence rates (6.4%) than in northern latitudes (4.1%), but no associations were observed between prevalence and physiographic province. Providing earlier hunting-season opportunities increased the likelihood that hunters would encounter squirrels with warbles than they did historically. Communications efforts should focus on educating hunters on the occurrence of warbles in squirrels in Pennsylvania, particularly during the early season, and on the lack of public health impacts of this disease on squirrel meat.

The United States National Park Service protects and preserves iconic landscapes and their associated and unique natural and cultural resources across the country. Although many of these national parks, particularly in the eastern US, were established for their historical importance, these small, protected areas can house notable biological diversity. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, an historic park within and proximate to the nation's capital, has long been the subject of botanical surveys, in part because of the diverse plant communities it contains. Herein, we synthesized historic botanical data on rare plant species within the park and summarized 14 years of recent data-collection efforts. Of the 191 rare, threatened, and endangered plant species historically documented, we identified 105 species that contain current populations within the park, but we were unable to relocate the remaining 86 species. Based on the State of Maryland species conservation ranks, critically imperiled species were no more likely to be documented during our study than were historically recorded species, potentially indicating that more species have become locally extirpated than previously known. Despite the intensity of local land-use and anthropogenic stressors, urban–suburban protected areas such as the subject national park are critical for the integrity of rare-plant populations. We provide descriptions of the unique plant species, communities, and conservation threats.

Plethodon cinereus (Eastern Red-backed Salamander) exhibit multiple color morphs. An uncommon morph of ecological interest is the erythristic morph, where individuals are mostly or entirely red. Populations occasionally obtain high frequencies of erythrism, which may be indicative of an adaptive benefit. Only 5 populations containing erythristic individuals have previously been documented in Maine, and those have occurred in low numbers; denser populations have been mostly limited to southern New England. Here, we report a sixth population; we found 3 erythristic individuals during a survey of a woodlot in Kennebec County, ME, after adjacent landowners submitted photos documenting several erythristic morphs. The sightings indicate a relatively dense population of erythristic morphs for Maine. Notophthalmus viridescens (Eastern Newt), a suspected model for Batesian mimicry by erythristic Red-backed Salamanders, have not yet been documented at this site.