The introduced Eurasian subspecies of Phragmites australis (Common Reed) is a common invader of North American coastal wetlands where it outcompetes native high-marsh species such as Spartina patens (Saltmeadow Cordgrass). Although Common Reed is known to colonize coastal marshes via clonal replication, recent research has indicated that germination from seed may also be an important mechanism by which this species spreads in saltmarsh systems. Sexual reproduction via outcrossing introduces genetic diversity into populations; thus, an increase in seed germination may have implications for the plant's invasiveness. I tested the effect of temperatures projected to occur by the year 2100 on germination rates of 2 species: invasive Common Reed, and Saltmeadow Cordgrass. Projected end-of-century temperatures doubled Common Reed germination, but inhibited Saltmarsh Cordgrass germination. The potential for variability in responses to warming among Common Reed and Saltmeadow Cordgrass populations at larger geographic scales precludes generalization of results of this study without further investigation. However, my results suggest that warming may differentially affect germination of Common Reed and a native species it commonly displaces. This finding may have ecological implications depending on how these and other invasive and native species respond to continued climate change.

Eisenoides lonnbergi is one of just a few native earthworm species known from north of the most recent glacial maximum and has been found most commonly in saturated soils. We sampled earthworms from wetlands in Upstate New York and compiled published and unpublished records of E. lonnbergi to better describe the distribution and habitat associations of this species in the Northeast. We found E. lonnbergi at 14 of 22 sampled sites, including 8 of 14 riparian areas and 6 of 8 wetlands of other types (bogs, fens, and swamps). Soil pH at colonized sites varied from 3.4 to 8.5. At the 3 most acidic sites, E. lonnbergi was the only species detected by our sampling. Published records with habitat data also support an association between E. lonnbergi and wetland habitats of variable pH, both above and below the most recent glacial maximum. Eisenoides lonnbergi is strongly associated with wetlands, including some habitats, such as acidic bogs, in which it may be the only earthworm present. Land managers and conservation biologists should consider Eisenoides lonnbergi along with other native species sensitive to the loss of wetlands in the Northeast.

Translocation of animals to new habitats is a common conservation management strategy but is of uncertain effectiveness. Terrapene c. carolina (Eastern Box Turtle) are often the subject of translocation efforts. To understand the effectiveness of this strategy, we radio-tracked 19 translocated and 7 resident Eastern Box Turtles to assess movement patterns and habitat use, including hibernacula selection. Using data collected over 4 years from a nature reserve in New York, we compared home range, maximum distance traveled, and total distance traveled for both translocated and resident turtles. We found no difference between translocated or resident turtles or between sexes for any of these measures. These results suggest that translocated turtles at this site adapted well to their new habitat.

Our objective was to determine whether changes in populations of forest-interior bird species were related to changes in extent of interior forest along Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) census routes in Massachusetts. We first identified a suite of 28 forest-interior bird species (FIA species), based on correlations between bird abundance (in 2003–2007) and extent of interior forest (in 2005) along BBS routes. From this group, we eliminated 13 species whose breeding habitats were described in the literature as including forest edge or second growth, resulting in a more stringently defined subset of 15 (FIB) species. We quantified the extent of forest and interior forest (>100 m from a forest edge) along BBS routes based on digitized aerial photographs from 1971, 1985, and 1999. We also quantified changes in abundance of the 28 forest bird species along BBS survey routes over the same time period. Overall, changes in abundance of FIB species paralleled changes in extent of interior forest, with 13 of 15 species showing positive correlations, 5 of which were significant. However, substantial variation occurred among species, including conspicuous declines in Hylocichla mustelina (Wood Thrush) and Piranga olivacea (Scarlet Tanager) and conspicuous increases in Vireo solitarius (Blue-headed Vireo) and Setophaga coronata (Yellow-rumped Warbler). Changes were not significantly related to either migratory status (Neotropical vs. other) or nest location (ground vs. arboreal). Several differences could be attributed to species-specific factors, such as reintroductions of Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey) and Corvus corax (Common Raven) or introduction of competitors, such as Haemorhous mexicanus (House Finch) impacting Haemorhous purpureus (Purple Finch). Changes in some bird populations seem to reflect forest succession, e.g., Hylatomus pileatus (Pileated Woodpecker), while others are unexplained and may be due to changes on migratory routes or wintering grounds. Overall, loss of interior forest is an important incremental factor in forest bird population declines, although other factors had a greater impact in the period under study.

Nucella lapillus (Atlantic Dogwhelk) deposits egg capsules on solid, intertidal substrates across the North Atlantic. This study investigated whether regional geographic variation or local wave-exposure affect the size of Dogwhelk egg capsules. Over 3 years, we evaluated whether Dogwhelks from wave-exposed and wave-protected sites in Massachusetts and mid-coast Maine differed in their egg-capsule size. Our results indicate that egg capsules collected from wave-exposed sites in Maine were smaller than egg capsules from wave-protected sites in Maine, but the size of egg capsules from Massachusetts did not vary with wave-exposure. These patterns in egg-capsule size coincide with Dogwhelk size from the same sites. Despite the positive correlation between the sizes of adult Dogwhelks and the egg capsules collected, wave-protected Dogwhelks from Massachusetts showed plasticity in the size of egg capsules produced but those from Maine did not. The Massachusetts Dogwhelk's greater plasticity in egg-capsule size highlights important local variation in control of reproductive investment and may accommodate fluctuations in desiccation stress and future climate change.

We investigated a casually recognized pattern of seasonal abundance exhibited by a population of the simultaneously hermaphroditic anomalodesmatid bivalve Lyonsia hyalina (Glassy Lysonia) at Bluff Hill Cove, Galilee, RI, and quantified the distribution of these intertidal to subtidal individuals from June 1993 through April 1994. Density in late spring averaged less than 2 individuals m^-2 and was followed by a summer explosion of up to 200 individuals m^-2 in localized areas, with an observed patchy distribution. A subsequent massive autumn mortality occurred, when the population returned to the previous low numbers. We propose several factors including predation, reduced temperature, and natural senescence as causes of the autumnal decline.

The giant silk moth Callosamia promethea (Promethea Moth) overwinters as pupae in cocoons spun in hanging leaves. Even though they are camouflaged, moths at this developmental stage are vulnerable to parasitism and predation, both of which are relevant to local population abundance and persistence. Our study documented the fates of overwintering Promethea Moths near Weld, ME, during 7 winters from 1997 to 2017. Our collection and dissection of 923 cocoons revealed that moth emergence declined from 47% to 10% over the study period. Parasitism by 2 native species of ichneumonid wasp (Gambrus nuncius and Enicospilus americanus) was the dominant cause of mortality, accounting for 59% of Promethea Moth pupal death. Predation accounted for less than 4% of mortality. Our results provide evidence of parasitism as a major contributor to mortality of Promethea Moth pupae.

An understanding of the morphological stability and succession of open water and wetland ecosystems in Nova Scotia is a priority for informing the conservation management of critical habitats for a complex of nationally listed, rare, disjunct wetland species. Baltzer Bog and Big Meadow Bog in southwestern Nova Scotia contain stratigraphic records of late Holocene moisture variability. Baltzer Bog is a shrub bog that formed in an elevated, enclosed kettle basin. Excavated sections exposed by peat mining revealed 2 distinct wood-rich horizons that are located above a well-developed soil and wood horizon that yielded a radiocarbon-dated age of 3260 cal. BP from an upright stump. The overlying wood-rich horizons were dated at 1640 and 1045 cal. BP and were overlain by Sphagnum species transitions indicative of increasing wetness. At Big Meadow Bog, a thin wood mat in Sphagnum at 90 cm depth was dated at 1760 cal. BP. These records are broadly correlative with pollen and stratigraphic data from Pleasant River Fen in central Nova Scotia that indicate periods of high and low productivity and a fluctuating water table from 1950 cal. BP until present. Though other high-resolution paleoclimate records from the region indicate that the late Holocene was a time of increasing precipitation and cooler air temperatures, these wetland records demonstrate that in Nova Scotia this time period was characterized by rapid variations in effective moisture and that significant and sustained dry periods likely occurred. This record of late Holocene moisture variability and its influence on habitat structure serves to better establish the potential for long-term residency of threatened and endangered species at wetland sites.

600 lichens and 82 lichenicolous and allied fungi have been recorded from Eagle Hill in Steuben, ME, and its vicinity over the past 25 years, mainly as a consequence of courses and research centered upon the Eagle Hill Institute (formerly the Humboldt Field Research Institute). Of the 682 taxa listed, 331 have been recorded within the Institute's boundary, of which 27 were not found elsewhere in the vicinity; a further 66 taxa recorded but lacking voucher material are listed. One lichen, Lambiella fuscosora, and 7 lichenicolous fungi, Cornutispora pyramidalis, Epicladonia stenospora, Monodictys epilepraria, Muellerella polyspora, Taeniolella cladinicola, and Tremella coppinsii, are additional to the North American checklist; Lambiella fuscosora and Cornutispora pyramidalis are also recorded as new for Canada. Five lichens, Alyxoria ochrocheila, Cladonia albonigra, Ephebe solida, Myriolecis schofieldii, and Parmotrema stuppeum, are new for Maine. Notes on new records and interesting taxa are provided.

Petromyzon marinus (Sea Lamprey) is a large, anadromous, ectoparasitic fish native to the Northeast Atlantic Coast. Sea Lamprey nest-building activities increase stream habitat heterogeneity, benthic invertebrate diversity, and fish density. The Sea Lamprey has undergone severe declines throughout most of its native range in part due to dams that limit access to spawning habitat. Here, we documented the spawning of Sea Lamprey in the Mill River in Taunton, MA, following stream channel reconstruction. Sea Lamprey nest-construction activities altered 129 m² and 32 m² of total streambed area within the reconstructed channel during 2014 and 2015, respectively. The association of Sea Lamprey spawning with stream restoration has important implications to the ecology of the Mill River and demonstrates that similar projects may facilitate the recovery of Sea Lamprey populations in the Northeast.