Experiments with Iris pseudacorus (Yellow Iris) reveal the mechanics of a sudden-release phenomenon in these flowers caused by slow bending of the outer tepals while their top-margins cling together, leading to stored mechanical energy that is released explosively. In this note, I discuss the possible adaptive significance of this flower behavior in terms o f pollinator learning-behavior.

An alarming number of cases of Snake Fungal Disease (SFD), a condition frequently resulting in morbidity and mortality in snakes, have been documented in numerous species across much of the eastern US. We sampled a skin lesion on the face of a free-ranging Lampropeltis triangulum (Eastern Milksnake) from the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The lesion tested positive for Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the causative agent of SFD. Our results document the second species from Michigan known to be infected with SFD. This case adds to the growing body of literature detailing the distribution of snake species affected, and further indicates that this pathogen is widespread in the eastern US. We stress the continued need for increased, systematic sampling efforts to determine the species affected by SFD and the potentially deleterious impacts it has on snake populations.

Between April 2014 and August 2015, we observed 4 Charadrius melodus (Piping Plover) consume small, dead fish, including Anchoa mitchilli (Bay Anchovy) on New York barrier islands. These observations are among the first documented evidence of vertebrate prey in Piping Plover diets. While fish consumption is an opportunistic and infrequent occurrence, this behavior may supplement important nutrients in the diet of Piping Plovers in areas without access to high-quality food resources. Further diet analyses are necessary to understand the importance and relative contribution of fish as a prey resource for endangered Piping Plovers.

The conservation of woodland vernal pools is a priority for land managers throughout the Northeast. They are a focus of conservation efforts because several amphibian species breed exclusively in these unique wetlands. Vernal-pool protection efforts could benefit from the development of rapid, cost-efficient, and accurate tools for assessing these temporally dynamic amphibian-communities. In this study, we evaluated a rapidassessment method comprised of 3 predictive equations that use measures of habitat quality as indicators of the diversity, richness, and abundance of amphibians in vernal pools in south-central Pennsylvania. To test the models, we implemented the suggested field protocol to acquire estimates of habitat quality. We entered these estimates into the predictive equations to provide projections of amphibian diversity, richness, and abundance. We then directly measured these amphibian-community metrics to compare them with the predicted values. We detected substantial disparity between the model predictions and our observed amphibian-community data, which indicated that the generalizability of these models might be limited. The source of this limitation is unclear, but might be due to the protocol design or the process by which the original models were parameterized. Although the rapid-assessment protocol was easily and quickly implemented, this method did not provide estimates of amphibian-community characteristics sufficient to warrant broader application. Future efforts to develop similar rapid-assessment models might profit from incorporating a broader suite of ecological and climatological variables, and they should account for the effects of interaction among the amphibian communities of geographically clustered wetlands.

Procyon lotor (Raccoon) is a habitat and dietary generalist that reaches its greatest population densities in heterogeneous, moderately fragmented landscapes. Even within such landscapes, a variety of natural and anthropogenic habitat variables can influence the local activity of Raccoons, and therefore their potential impact as nest predators. We examined Raccoon activity at 34 baited track-stations over 3 summers in forested ravines in the Shawnee National Forest (SNF), IL. We found that the dependability of water at a survey site was the best predictor of Raccoon activity, overshadowing any potential influences of land cover in the surrounding landscape. Landscape-level effects on Raccoon population size and density are likely widespread throughout moderately fragmented regions like the SNF, but variation in local activity can be predicted by the distribution of critical resources (e.g., water, den sites).

Terrapene carolina (Eastern Box Turtle) is the only turtle species in which adults are known to be tolerant of freezing. We report the first systematically collected data on internal body temperatures of an overwintering Eastern Box Turtle. Despite nearby air temperatures as low as -21.8 °C, this turtle probably supercooled rather than froze. Snow cover, thermal inertia, and the insulating effects of its refugium's substrate may have protected this turtle from the very cold conditions.

Diadromous fish populations in Maine are near historically low levels. In the Penobscot River, ME, annual runs of Alosa sapidissima (American Shad) numbered in the millions prior to a collapse in abundance in the late 19th century. Today, the vast majority of historical American Shad spawning habitat is inaccessible to the fish; thus, there is uncertainty in terms of origin of the few extant American Shad that remain in the Penobscot. We used several types of sampling gear in the lower Penobscot River and Penobscot estuary as part of a community survey that documented the presence of juvenile American Shad throughout the estuary from July through August 2012. Our surveys indicated the presence of premetamorphic American Shad upstream of a salinity barrier, and therefore we conclude that there is a population of American Shad successfully spawning in the Penobscot River. Such evidence of a local stock is vitally important as managers weigh restoration options, such as stocking with donor stocks, enhancement of existing stocks, or natural recolonization.

Ice storms are severe meteorological events that often result in damage to forested areas in the mid-latitudes. On 11 December 2008, an ice storm affected northern New York and New England and caused extensive damage to forested areas. We examined topographical and biological factors influencing the spatial distribution of forest damage due to the 2008 ice storm. We assessed 57 forest plots in 7 locations. Forest impacts from the storm were highly variable across the study area. Analysis of genera indicated that Prunus (cherry), Fraxinus (ash), Fagus (beech), and Acer (maple) were particularly susceptible to damage, while Tsuga (hemlock), Pinus (pine), and Carya (hickory) were more resistant. Elevation, latitude, and topographic exposure to post-storm winds after ice-loading were the dominant factors influencing damage levels.

The relative abundance of Neogobius melanostomus (Round Goby) in the Pennsylvanian waters of Lake Erie, has increased dramatically since 1996. Associated with this increase, all benthic species in the main portion of the lake, except Percopsis omiscomaycus (Trout-perch), decreased in occurrence or were extirpated. Proterorhinus semilunaris (Tubenose Goby), which has established a reproducing population in Presque Isle Bay, Lake Erie, coexists with the Round Goby and Etheostoma exile (Iowa Darter), a candidate species for rarity listing by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Conversely, the decline in potadromous populations of Percina caprodes (Logperch) may be exacerbated by direct competition in the lake, and the presence of Round Gobies in the breeding grounds of tributaries (e.g., Twentymile Creek). In Elk Creek, the presence of Round Goby is associated with dietary shifts of Etheostoma caeruleum (Rainbow Darter), although Rainbow Darters co-exist with the Round Goby. The Round Goby has established a reproducing population in LeBoef Creek, a tributary of French Creek (Allegheny River), and we documented its presence in the main channel of French Creek. We suggest that natural barriers (e.g., waterfalls) may prevent the upstream migration of gobies. Furthermore, providing substrate to facilitate spawning and recruitment of native benthic species may impede the spread of invasive species throughout the tributaries of Lake Erie.

Utricularia inflata (Swollen Bladderwort) is a submersed macrophyte that is expanding its range in the northeastern US. Although Swollen Bladderwort is a new addition to this region, Utricularia purpurea (Purple Bladderwort) and U. vulgaris (Common Bladderwort) are 2 morphologically similar free-floating species within the invaded waterways. Through a series of greenhouse and field studies, we sought to distinguish traits among these 3 macrophytes. We conducted a greenhouse experiment to compare the vegetative propagation of Swollen Bladderwort and Common Bladderwort in a temperature-controlled tank. In field trials, we examined the displacement of all 3 species by water movement and their distribution across a range of depths at 5 lake sites. Swollen Bladderwort and Common Bladderwort both produced potential propagules, but exhibited differences in their asexual reproduction. New Common Bladderwort branches grew significantly longer, while Swollen Bladderwort fragments exhibited a greater number of new branches. Each new branch has the potential to develop into a new individual as the original stolon decays; this trait may help explain how Swollen Bladderwort is quickly establishing populations in newly colonized lakes. The results of the displacement experiment showed that all species were less likely to remain in the shallows compared to deeper waters. However, displacement of Swollen Bladderwort was greater than Common Bladderwort. Vegetation sampling also indicated that Common Bladderwort and bladderwort species attached to the sediment (U. resupinata [Lavender Bladderwort] and U. intermedia [Flat-leaf Bladderwort]) are found in the shallows, while Swollen Bladderwort and Purple Bladderwort are found at greater depths. These results suggest that Swollen Bladderwort is more susceptible to water movement and may be spread to downstream systems at a faster rate, compared to Common Bladderwort and attached bladderwort species.

Wetland research has described changes in plant communities along environmental gradients, however, little is known about the relationship between fine-scale hydrologic and abiotic factors and the relative abundances of individual, co-occurring species. Larix laricina (Eastern Larch) and Picea mariana (Black Spruce) are the 2 dominant tree species in open boreal peatlands in the northeastern US. In order to describe abiotic gradients that correlate with species abundances at local spatial scales, we collected data on Eastern Larch and Black Spruce stem abundances, groundwater pH, conductivity, depth to water table, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and canopy closure from 42 plots along 6 transects in an Adirondack wetland. We correlated stem abundances with each of the abiotic variables and then used regression to explain variation in stem abundances of the 2 species along those abiotic gradients. Percent canopy closure explained 56% of the variability in Eastern Larch stem abundance, and depth to groundwater was also positively correlated with number of Eastern Larch stems. These 2 abiotic conditions covaried; thus, the best model to explain variability in Eastern Larch stem abundance included only canopy closure. Black Spruce stem abundance was significantly lower in plots with higher water temperatures (R² = 0.31). In a multiple-regression model, depth to the water table explained an additional 6% of the variance and substantially reduced Mallows' C_p. Eastern Larch and Black Spruce appear to establish along different abiotic gradients at the scale of tens of meters within this study wetland. Although light levels, as mediated by canopy closure, would be predicted to influence the establishment of Eastern Larch based on its silvics, the strong negative relationship between Black Spruce stem abundance and water temperature has not been previously reported. Sampling other peatlands will allow us to determine the universality of these patterns and to better understand which environmental gradients operate at local spatial scales to structure patterns of tree distribution within peatlands.

The covert habits of Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis (Eastern Hellbender) make direct field observations of their behavior difficult. Here I provide the first video documentation of in situ predation by a hellbender on a spawning aggregation of stream fishes. Both targeting fish and diurnal activity are behaviors rarely documented among hellbenders. The present observation, however, supports previously described patterns of elevated diurnal activity in late spring hypothesized to be associated with increased foraging-activity to meet higher energy-demands. The observation demonstrates that Eastern Hellbenders will modify behavior to exploit stream fishes when prey are easily captured.