I analyzed 221 black fly larvae of the Simulium arcticum complex from the Logan River, Logan Canyon, Utah, for larval sexual dimorphism, chromosomal inversions, morphology of the centromere band of chromosome IIL, presence of B chromosomes, and frequency of the IS-1 autosomal polymorphism. All 2275 larvae collected at the Logan River were of the S. arcticum complex with one exception, which was S. canadense. I found a significant association between larval color and sex, but I did not find such an association between larval head patterns and sex. Nearly all chromosomally analyzed larvae had standard, noninverted IIL chromosomes in both sexes. However, 70 of the 117 noninverted IIL chromosome males had the enhanced/thin (Ce Ct) centromeric dimorphism. Thus, there are at least two Y chromosomes in the Logan River population (Y₀ and Y₁). I also found four females and three males that had different chromosomal inversions at the base of chromosome IIL, but each of these was a singleton. Of the 120 males analyzed, six larvae had one acrocentric B chromosome and one larva had two acrocentric B chromosomes. None of the larvae at the Logan River was polymorphic for the IS-1 autosomal inversion. The presence of Ce Ct individuals that are also st/st for the IIL arm suggests that some of these larvae at the Logan River may be a new taxon. This observation is significant since some populations defined as Simulium brevicercum have only the IIL-st/st, Ce Ce genotype, while others have IIL-st/st larvae that have both Ce Ce and Ce Ct centromeric bands.

Invasive species can cause disruption of the trophic niche of resident species such that patterns of energy flow through ecological systems are altered. Quagga mussel Dreissena rostriformis bugensis Andrusov, 1897, a notorious invasive species, was introduced to Lake Powell (Utah and Arizona, USA) in 2012 and colonized the entire reservoir by 2017. To help understand potential effects of this invasive species on the trophic niche of fishes in Lake Powell, we characterized trophic niche of fishes and other organisms, as well as sources of variation in trophic niche, using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen prior to full colonization by quagga mussels. Trophic niche positions of fishes and other organisms in Lake Powell were consistent with other large lake or reservoir systems, consisting of 4 trophic levels and pelagic and littoral energy pathways. Trophic niche size decreased with increased trophic level among fishes, and there was high overlap in trophic niche among top predators. Trophic niche of fishes varied between northern and southern regions of the lake, among seasons, and, in some species, with body size. Basal trophic species (algae and chironomids) varied little between northern and southern regions and across years. Quagga mussels occupied a position in the food web where they were likely to directly impact the pelagic energy pathway, but resulting effects on trophic niche of fishes may be variable between regions of the lake.

The federally endangered and California State–threatened San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) forms an ecological guild with coyotes (Canis latrans), red foxes (V. vulpes), gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), and domestic dogs (C. familiaris) in the city of Bakersfield, California, USA. Where these species are sympatric in natural environments, interference competition occurs, resulting in spatiotemporal avoidance or changes in behavior to avoid conflict. We analyzed camera survey data from 2015 to 2019 from 111 1-km² grid cells throughout Bakersfield to investigate spatial associations between San Joaquin kit foxes and canid competitors, as well as differences in temporal activity of kit foxes in the presence of a canid competitor. We found that kit foxes typically did not occur with other canids on a daily, yearly, or 5-year scale. In cells where other canids were immediately present, kit foxes altered their temporal activity to avoid other canids by appearing 3 h later and exhibited less variance in the amount of time spent at a camera trap. Thus, although kit foxes share the urban habitat with multiple larger competitors, they likely use spatial and temporal partitioning to reduce risk and facilitate coexistence.

Bats are difficult to study due to their nocturnal, cryptic, and highly vagile nature. Ongoing advances in acoustic recording hardware and call classification software have made species detection and activity monitoring more feasible. Our objectives were to determine the effort necessary to monitor bat assemblages using an occupancy framework and acoustic data and to provide guidelines for researchers interested in developing similar monitoring programs. We collected data at 2 study areas in South Texas from June through September in 2015, 2016, and 2017. We used Pettersson D500X Mk II real-time full-spectrum detectors and classified sound files using SonoBat bat call analysis software. We attempted to collect data during 2 visits to individual sites, with up to 5 consecutive nights per visit each year. We estimated occupancy rates for each species in each study area using occupancy models in Program MARK and included terms to define trends in detection probability through the season. Over the 3 years of our study, we sampled 106 sites with 803 sampling nights and classified a total of 2880 sound files to 7 species. Data sets for 6 of the species supported models indicating that detection probability varied throughout our sampling period. Our results generally indicate that sample sizes between 10 and 20 sites would be required to detect declines in occupancy of 50% over 25 years using 10 nights per site with a starting occupancy rate of 0.70. Detecting declines of 30% in 10 years may require >75 sampling sites. Finally, our analysis shows that recognizing seasonal variation in detection probability, and then timing surveys accordingly, can greatly reduce sample size requirements.

We evaluated plant community succession following prescribed fire on Artemisia arbuscula var. arbuscula (Nutt.) McMinn (low sagebrush) steppe in southeastern Oregon. Treatments were “prescribed burned” (burn; fall 2012) and “unburned” (control) A. arbuscula steppe, and the study design was a randomized complete block with 4 replicates per treatment. Herbaceous yield and vegetation canopy cover and density were compared between treatments (2012–2020). Fire practically eliminated A. arbuscula and there was no recruitment of new plants in the first 8 years after burning. Herbaceous yield in the burn treatment was about double the control for most of the postfire period. Native perennial grasses and forbs constituted 94% to 96% and Bromus tectorum L. (cheatgrass) 0.2% to 2% of total herbaceous yield in the control. In the burn treatment, perennial grasses and forbs constituted 83% to 87%, native annual forbs 2% to 5%, and B. tectorum 3% to 9% of total herbaceous yield. Despite an increase in B. tectorum, the burned A. arbuscula sites were dominated by herbaceous perennial grasses and forbs and exhibited high levels of resilience and resistance. After prescribed fire, for the study sites and comparable A. arbuscula associations, weed control or seeding are not necessary to recover the native herbaceous community. However, the results in our study are for low-severity prescribed fire in intact A. arbuscula plant communities. Higher-severity fire, as might occur with wildfire, and in A. arbuscula communities having greater prefire invasive weed composition should not be assumed to develop similarly high levels of community resilience and resistance.

Rhamnus ilicifolia (Rhamnaceae) is a large shrub found in a range of habitats from southern Oregon south to Baja California and east into Arizona. During spring, the plant produces clusters of unisexual flowers, each with a 5–6-mm-diameter, open perianth of green or yellowish-green sepals. I investigated the pollination of R. ilicifolia in western Arizona during 27 April to 21 May 2020 by examining the distribution and phenology of male and female flowers on shrubs, collecting insects from female flowers, and determining the proportions of conspecific pollen on insects to estimate floral constancy. Shrubs were dioecious, and individual male and female plants flowered for 11–15 d, with male flowers preceding female flowers by 2 d. Pollen grains from male flowers viewed in brightfield microscopy are tricolporate in structure and suboblate in shape, with a polar-axis length of 15 µm and equatorial diameter of 18 µm. Insects on female flowers comprised flies (Diptera) in 6 families and less abundant bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in 3 families. The most abundant insects were the flies Allophorocera sp. (Tachinidae) and Phormia regina (Calliphoridae) and the bees Lasioglossum spp. (Halictidae) and Andrena cerasifolii (Andrenidae). Bees appeared more specific to R. ilicifolia flowers by transporting a higher mean proportion of conspecific pollen (0.57) compared with flies (0.36). The large bee A. cerasifolii carried the highest mean proportion of conspecific pollen (0.93). Proportions of conspecific pollen on the saprophytic P. regina were moderately high (0.48) and higher than on most other flies. Dioecious R. ilicifolia shrubs appear to be pollinated by a diversity of flies and bees that are generally not specific to the plant's flowers. Similar pollination of European Rhamnus by generalist insects suggests that plants in the genus and their pollinators have evolved independently.

The larval stage of the California newt (Taricha torosa) has been little studied despite the presence and abundance of the species throughout much of California. During the 2017–2018 time period, the diet and life history characteristics of this cohort of stream-dwelling newt larvae were examined, using gut contents and stable isotopes, in order to better understand the ecological niche and trophic relationships of the life stage. Our results suggest that the newt larvae consume Chironomidae as a major part of their diet and that this reliance decreases as the larvae age. Newt larvae also feed more widely and abundantly as they age. The isotopic data suggest that as larvae get larger, they alter their diet but that the relationships to both carbon source (δC) and trophic level (δN) are complex.

The northern long-eared myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) has declined sharply in the eastern United States due to the disease white-nose syndrome (WNS), which is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). However, less is known about the species' status in the central and western parts of its range where WNS has arrived more recently. Here we report the timing of the arrival of Pd and WNS to eastern Nebraska and examine acoustic and capture data of M. septentrionalis to determine the initial impact of the disease on this species. We sampled bats for the presence of Pd and WNS at several mines and one rock crevice in eastern Nebraska from 2014 to 2017. We also recorded bats with acoustic detectors and captured bats with mist nets in spring and summer from 2014 to 2019 at 2 forested sites along the Missouri River near areas of sampling for Pd/WNS. Both acoustic and capture data suggested that M. septentrionalis went from a common species in forests of eastern Nebraska to one that is encountered rarely after the arrival of WNS. Similar to the population declines in the eastern United States, our observations indicate that M. septentrionalis has also declined steeply in the eastern Great Plains and should be closely monitored in western parts of its distribution as WNS continues to spread.

Historically, desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana) were prevalent throughout the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. However, they were extirpated by the 1960s due to unregulated hunting, habitat loss, predation, and disease transmission from livestock. Restoration efforts have been successfully conducted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to increase population numbers of resident (i.e., animals that currently populate a region of interest) desert bighorn sheep at Black Gap Wildlife Management Area (BGWMA) through the use of translocations. Because there is a lack of knowledge on alternative release methods for large mammal translocations, our goals were to monitor cause-specific mortality and postrelease survival of desert bighorn sheep translocated during 2017. Survival estimates of desert bighorn sheep were compared amongst resident, hard-released, and soft-released individuals throughout the study. In winter 2017–2018, we radio-collared and released 30 resident (8 M, 22 F) and 70 within-state-translocated (36 M, 34 F) desert bighorn to BGWMA. Of the 70 translocated individuals, 28 (12 M, 16 F) were hard released (i.e., released immediately onto the landscape) and 42 (24 M, 18 F) were soft released (i.e., released into an enclosure before onto the landscape). Resident desert bighorn had the highest probability of survival over time (Ŝ = 0.83), followed by hard-released (Ŝ = 0.67) and then soft-released (Ŝ = 0.54) individuals. To date, 26 mortalities (13 M, 13 F) were recorded. Of those mortalities, 4 were residents (15%), 6 were hard released (23%), and 16 were soft released (62%). The soft release is thought to be a better strategy for translocating large mammals; however, in this study, it did not improve survival. Survival is potentially influenced by acclimation time and individual exit strategy from the soft-release pen, which should be managed for future restoration efforts. Incorporating a flushing-method exit strategy would aid in removing soft-released individuals from the high-fenced pen simultaneously and may increase survival estimates. This could potentially allow individuals to form larger groups when exiting the enclosure and entering the new habitat. The soft-release method is also more costly to implement, which could be challenging for wildlife managers.

Desert rodents in the western USA cache enormous numbers of seeds. Seed caches represent a reliable, although highly variable, source of seedling recruitment for numerous desert plants. Prefire caching of refractory seeds (i.e., those capable of forming persistent seed banks) is an important source of postfire seedling recruitment, but it is likely that prefire caches of short-lived seeds also may contribute to postfire regeneration. The primary objective of this study was to quantify seedling recruitment from artificial caches of 2 species with short-lived seeds planted after a stand-replacing wildfire in a singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla) forest. I investigated the survival of 180 artificial caches of Yucca brevifolia and Prunus fasciculata. Caches were composed of 2, 4, or 8 seeds. Also, because soils of the burned area have unusually high coarse fragment volumes (59%), I examined, in greenhouse trials, how soil coarse fragment volumes (CFVs) impacted seedling establishment of these 2 species from caches. In greenhouse trials, the number of P. fasciculata seedlings increased with increasing CFVs. In contrast, Y. brevifolia seedling numbers decreased with increasing CFVs. In field transects, 17% of cached P. fasciculata seeds produced seedlings, whereas 12% of Y. brevifolia seeds recruited seedlings in the first year postfire. The advantage of P. fasciculata in greenhouse CFV trials was not replicated in field seedling recruitment. Seedling mortality over the first 3 years postfire was not statistically different among the 3 cache sizes for either species, nor did seedling sizes differ significantly by cache size and survey date. I conclude that, although the overall recruitment from postfire caches was low (12%–17%), prefire caches of short-lived seeds probably recruit postfire seedlings, but only in specific circumstances.

Cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii × rainbow trout O. mykiss hybrids (hereafter hybrids) are difficult to visually distinguish from parental taxa, yet identifying phenotypic traits to separate hybrids from cutthroat trout is needed for conservation and management purposes. We compared phenotypic characteristics against genotype (using 34 species-diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphism loci) for 316 Bonneville cutthroat trout O. clarkii utah, rainbow trout and hybrids in Bear River tributaries. Our phenotypic classifications of fish were 91% accurate for Bonneville cutthroat trout but only 68% accurate for rainbow trout and hybrids combined. Classification errors based on phenotype were observed between parental taxa and hybrids but not between cutthroat trout and rainbow trout. The most useful phenotypic traits for distinguishing Bonneville cutthroat trout from hybrids were the absence of a white leading edge on the pelvic fin, the presence of fewer than 7 spots on the top of the head, and the presence of a prominent throat slash. The degree of hybridization in individual hybrids was associated with the number of spots on the top of their head. However, 16% of >F₁ hybrids with a higher proportion of cutthroat trout ancestry and 6% of F₁ hybrids exhibited all the phenotypic characteristics of cutthroat trout. The ability to visually detect admixture in hybrids was not related to fish length but was related to admixture level, with logistic regression model results predicting that, for individual hybrids when the proportion of alleles assigned to rainbow trout was >18% (95% CI, 11% to 26%), biologists were more than 50% likely to visually detect O. mykiss traits. While we encourage the use of genetic-based assessments for Bonneville cutthroat trout populations when feasible, our results suggest that phenotypic traits can assist in identifying hybridized populations and hybrid individuals, which will benefit the management and conservation of this species. However, our study included Bonneville cutthroat trout from only the Bear River basin, and further work is needed from the southern portion of the subspecies' range to support or refute our findings.

Flowering time is sensitive to climatic conditions and has been a frequent focus of climate change research, yet the implications of phenological shifts for hybridization within plant communities have seldom been explored. Reproductive overlap between interfertile species is a key requirement for the production of hybrid (inter-species) offspring, and climate change may influence the opportunities for hybrid production through changes to species' flowering time, duration, and overlap with other species. To test how climate variation influences flowering overlap between hybridizing species, we analyzed 45 years of flowering phenology data on 2 common plants in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado that are known to produce hybrids (Potentilla pulcherrima and Potentilla hippiana, family Rosaceae). We estimated flowering overlap from flowering distributions in 2 ways that focus on how similar species are in terms of flowering time (“symmetric overlap”) or relative floral abundance across the season (“relative overlap”). We found that the 2 species had similar phenological responses to most climate variables. Both flowered earlier in years with warm, dry growing seasons preceded by earlier snowmelt and winters with less snow, and later in cool, wet growing seasons with later snowmelt after winters with heavy snowfall. Precipitation was the best predictor of flowering time overlap. In wetter years, both species flowered later and longer, and reached peak flowering date at a more similar time in the growing season. While our results suggest that precipitation patterns influence the extent of flowering overlap between these 2 species in any given growing season, precipitation has not consistently increased or decreased in this region over the past 45 years, and therefore we do not see a consistent signature of global climate change on flowering overlap. Finally, we found that even though temperature was an important predictor of flowering phenology within each species, it was not a major driver of overlap between species, emphasizing that data on individual species responses cannot necessarily predict how climate change will affect species interactions.

Social wasps play critical ecological roles in an ecosystem, providing a diversity of services and some disservices. Yellowjacket wasps (Vespula spp.) in particular are well known for shaping arthropod communities via predation and competition for resources. In part due to their sociality and large colony sizes, Vespula can have a profound ecological impact on local communities. Such effects can be magnified when colonies exhibit a perennial life history, in which a colony will overwinter, persist for more than one year, and become orders of magnitude larger in size compared to typical annual colonies. Despite growing interest in the factors that influence colony success, we currently lack the ability to predict when yellowjackets may have a high-abundance or outbreak year. This highlights the need for a critical understanding of the phenological patterns of foraging activity, colony distribution, and senescence. Here, we quantify the seasonal activity and foraging rates of 123 colonies of the western yellowjacket, V. pensylvanica, in its native range over 4 consecutive years. Average colony longevity was about 1 month longer than previously reported for this species, and colonies with later peaks in activity and higher average traffic rates persisted longer into the winter. Longer-lived colonies tended to cluster together within a year, but not between years. We found 3 perennial colonies (2.4% of all colonies), and they exhibited tenfold higher peak traffic rates compared to annual colonies. By identifying temporal and spatial patterns in survivorship and colony longevity, we gain insight into the factors associated with prolonged survival time and increased likelihood of overwintering in yellowjacket wasps.

The endangered Ozark big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens) is currently found in north-central and northwestern Arkansas and northeastern Oklahoma. Although historically known to be present in 2 counties on the southwestern border of Missouri, this species has not been observed in Missouri since 1971. A female Ozark big-eared bat specimen in the museum collection of Harvard University was reportedly collected in Arkansas, possibly in 1858. An investigation of the documentation associated with this and other specimens collected by the same individual suggests that this Ozark big-eared bat may have been collected on the Osage River in west-central Missouri in 1853. Another early naturalist reported the presence of what may have been Ozark big-eared bats in this general vicinity in 1854, providing additional support for their potential presence along the Osage River in Missouri at this time. Taken together, these historic reports suggest that the Ozark big-eared bat may have been present throughout the entire Missouri Ozarks during the mid-1800s and that a significant contraction of this species' range has occurred since then.

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is considered a keystone species for neotropical ecosystems. Jaguar records in natural protected areas (NPAs) are important to manage and maintain the long-term occupancy of the species in a region. The objectives of this study are to report the first jaguar records in the Sierra de Quila, Jalisco, Mexico, and to report observations of potential prey items. Between February 2018 and January 2019, 24 camera traps were placed for 180 days during 3 seasons, with a total capture effort of 3216 trap nights. Four hundred and two independent records were obtained from 17 species of wild mammals and 3 domestic species. In February, 2 photographs of a jaguar were recorded at a single sampling point in the Sierra de Quila Flora and Fauna Protection Area. They correspond to the same individual, presumably an adult male. Subsequently, in July, a photograph of a jaguar was recorded at another sampling point. These records represent a 69-km extension of the known jaguar distribution, to the center of Jalisco, and increase the number of mammal species known for this NPA.

The neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) is associated with freshwater systems and is generally found at elevations lower than 1500 masl. Its diet is based on fish and crustaceans. We present 3 photorecords of the neotropical otter at the divide between 2 hydrological basins in the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve, Jalisco, México. The photos were taken at an altitude near 2000 masl, and one of them was >600 m from a water source. The area does not present optimal conditions for the presence of otter since water flows are low, fish are absent, and crustaceans are scarce. These records are evidence of the neotropical otter at high altitude in environments where conditions are suboptimal for the species. In addition, the importance of conserving the basin headwaters is discussed, since the headwaters can support movement or occasional stays of the neotropical otter in marginal habitat and thereby maintain the connectivity between basins and facilitate genetic exchange between otter populations.

The mating behavior of North American tree bats (Lasiurus spp. and Lasionycteris noctivagans) is not well understood. The majority of records suggest that this group of species mates during the autumn migratory period and that females store sperm throughout the winter before resuming the reproductive cycle in spring. On 16 May 2019, while mist-netting in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, USA, we observed a male and female silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) copulating on the ground. Both individuals were captured and processed to obtain further details on reproductive status. To our knowledge this is the first published record of a silver-haired bat copulation event, and its occurrence during the spring migratory period challenges long-held assumptions about the reproductive cycle of the species and tree bats in general.

Predation by jaguars (Panthera onca) on livestock can foster human intolerance and drive human–jaguar conflicts. Understanding distributional patterns that characterize depredation can help guide strategies to ameliorate these interactions, which is important because human conflicts are the main threat to the endangered jaguar in Mexico. We used clusters of satellite telemetry locations to evaluate spatial patterns of jaguars and jaguar predation/scavenging sites of livestock and wild ungulates in the Sierra del Abra-Tanchipa Biosphere Reserve (RBSAT) and surrounding agrolandscape of northeastern Mexico, where livestock composed 66% of the biomass of jaguar diets. Distribution of livestock sites was significantly associated with jaguar core areas (i.e., 50% autocorrelated KDEs) during the dry season, while wild ungulate sites were distributed similarly with respect to core areas of jaguars across both dry and wet seasons. It is unknown whether these results reflect increased chance encounters between jaguars and livestock during the dry season due to the presence of limited permanent water sources concentrating livestock (and natural prey), or due to jaguars actively seeking livestock or livestock carcasses during the dry season.

The coyote (Canis latrans) has a wide distribution range, spanning boreal forests from the north of the continent to tropical environments in Central America, showing great adaptation and plasticity. Bergmann's rule states that individuals inhabiting colder climates are larger than those in warmer climates. It is suggested that in carnivore species, litter size is influenced by allometric constraints such as maternal body size. The aim of this study is to analyze the relations using correlation between female coyote mass, latitude, and litter size. Using data compiled from the literature, I carried out statistical analyses to correlate female body size, litter size, and latitude for coyotes across their distribution range. The results indicated a soft significant correlation between female body size and latitude, confirming Bergmann's rule. However, no significant correlation was found between litter size and latitude or between litter size and female body size; litter size in coyotes remains roughly uniform across their distribution range.

Five millennia ago, the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) was extirpated from the Southern High Plains by droughts. Beaver were found to be largely absent from the Llano Estacado, despite exhaustive search efforts. Here we report the first definitive evidence of an extant C. canadensis population recolonizing the Llano Estacado. We further provide some spatiotemporal background information about beaver colonization along the North Fork of the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River.

Photovoltaic, utility-scale solar energy (PV USSE) development is expected to expand in the United States over the next decade and has the potential to impact wildlife through direct mortality and habitat loss. However, the current understanding of wildlife responses, including responses of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse), to solar energy development is limited, resulting in uncertainty about potential impacts associated with development and operation. During bird and bat carcass searches at a PV USSE facility in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, we opportunistically observed sage-grouse foraging and loafing inside the facility. We recorded 19 groups of live sage-grouse, representing a total of 47 observations of sage-grouse during 2 years of environmental monitoring. An additional 8 groups were recorded by trail cameras, representing 11 observations of sage-grouse. Observations occurred between early June and mid-January, with 74% of observations occurring between mid-August and mid-November. It is possible that sage-grouse may have used the facility for increased foraging opportunities or thermal refuge. However, our observational study does not provide evidence that sage-grouse necessarily selected for areas within the facility. Additional research on resource selection and demographic responses by sage-grouse would provide more inference on how sage-grouse respond to PV USSE development.

High-severity wildfires are becoming increasingly common across the American Southwest, and knowledge of how these fires affect native organisms is essential for their conservation. We evaluated changes in fish densities and habitat over 7 and 23 years in 2 tributaries of the Gila River, New Mexico, that experienced large wildfires. The Miller Fire affected Little Creek in 2011 and was followed by moderate monsoonal flooding. The Silver Fire affected Black Canyon in 2013 and was followed by a large monsoonal flood. These 2 headwater streams responded differently to wildfire. Influx of sediments reduced stream depth by 59% and increased fine substrates by 51% following the fire in Black Canyon, while these parameters were relatively unchanged by fire in Little Creek. Native fish densities declined to zero immediately following the wildfire and monsoonal flooding in Black Canyon, and recovery was slow (∼8 years). In contrast, Little Creek fish density declined marginally following wildfires and returned to near prefire levels within one year. The response to wildfires at these 2 locations illustrates how the interaction of wildfire characteristics, catchment features, and post-wildfire precipitation events influence the impact of wildfire disturbance of stream ecosystems.

Scavenging appears to be a conserved but flexible characteristic among spiders. Although scavenging behavior is well documented in captivity, observations in the wild are rarely witnessed. During a road ecology survey on 6 September 2021, I observed an adult male desert blonde tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes) scavenging upon a roadkilled neonate western diamond-backed rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox). The tarantula did not react defensively to my slow approach, and I observed its chelicerae working into the snake's soft tissue. Observations of theraphosids scavenging are quite rare, and this may be the first reported instance of tarantula scavenging upon a reptilian carcass.