Assessment was made of all available cranial specimens of wild Canis dating since the Blancan and prior to AD 1918 in the region east of the Great Plains and south of the Prairie Peninsula, Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River. The small wolf C. priscolatrans(= C. edwardii) of the early Irvingtonian seems unrelated to the modern red wolf (C. rufus), but gave rise to a lineage including the larger C. armbrusteri and culminating in C. dirus of the late Rancholabrean. A small wolf, possibly a descendant of the Eurasian C. mosbachensis, did not reappear in the east until near the end of the Rancholabrean. At the same time, the coyote (C. latrans) disappeared from the east, not to return until the small wolf was extirpated in the 20th century. Fragmentary remains of the small wolf, dating from around 10,000 and 2,000-200 ybp, show continuity with 14 complete, mostly modern, eastern skulls. Multivariate analysis indicates those 14 represent a well-defined species, C. rufus, distinct from large series of the western gray wolf (C. lupus) and coyote. There is no evidence that the red wolf originated as a hybrid of the latter two species, though early specimens from central Texas suggest it began to interbreed with C. latrans by about 1900. Three long-recognized red wolf subspecies appear valid: C. r. floridanus, Maine to Florida; C. r. gregoryi, south-central United States; and C. r. rufus, central and coastal Texas, southern Louisiana, and probably now represented in the captive/reintroduced populations. The subspecies C. lupus lycaon of southeastern Ontario and southern Quebec is statistically intermediate to C. rufus and western C. lupus, and may have resulted from natural hybridization of those two species. Such could explain how the red and gray wolf differ so sharply where their ranges meet in the west but morphologically approach one another in the east.

An allozyme analysis was conducted to determine the population genetic structure of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum [L.] Rich. var. distichum) and pondcypress (Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium [Nuttall] Croom) and the level of genetic differentiation between these two taxa. Approximately 400 individuals of both varieties and apparent morphological intermediates were sampled from 21 locations across the geographic range of Taxodium distichum and 11 enzyme loci assayed by starch gel electrophoresis. Although baldcypress populations contain higher levels of genetic variation among sub-populations, populations of both varieties have approximately the same levels of heterozygosity. Populations of baldcypress and pondcypress were found to differ on the basis of varying allele frequencies of one locus, PGI-2, which appears to be semi-diagnostic as a varietal indicator. A correlation was observed between the allele frequencies of this locus and a ratio of bark thickness to diameter (BT/D). Baldcypress exhibits higher frequencies of PGI-2 allele “1” and lower BT/D ratios, whereas pondcypress has higher frequencies of PGI-2 allele “3” and higher BT/D ratios. An apparent clinal gradient was observed in the spatial distribution of both BT/D ratios and PGI-2 phenotypes within a few populations. The apparent existence of gene flow (whether it is presently occurring or has occurred in the recent past) and the possibility of clinal variation within populations suggest that these two taxa are best regarded as varieties of the same species.

Hardwood depressions in the southeastern United States have been extensively altered due to agriculture and other land management practices. They are small isolated wetlands dominated by oaks that typically become flooded every couple years for a few weeks to several months. We sampled the aquatic invertebrate assemblages of six depressions in 1998 and five depressions in 2001 and found they were composed primarily of clam shrimp, cladocerans, calanoid copepods, and chironomids. The primary functional feeding group was collector-filterers, which comprised >60% of the total numbers. Eubranchiopoda were well represented by two species of clam shrimp (Lynceus gracilicornis and Limnadia lenticularis) and one species of fairy shrimp (Streptocephalus seali). L. lenticularis is the first record of this species in Georgia. Consideration should be made for the conservation of hardwood depressions because of the rare invertebrates they accommodate.

Mercury from an industrial source was introduced in the 1960's into Pickwick Lake, an impoundment on the Tennessee River in northwest Alabama. Liver and muscle tissue of catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) collected from this lake were analyzed to determine if Hg continues to be a contaminant in this system. Low concentrations of mercury were detected in all of these fish. Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) from an adjacent upstream lake and catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) from five surrounding farm ponds were also collected. Tissue levels of Hg were found to be higher in fish from the upstream lake and from the farm ponds than those from Pickwick Lake. Although Hg is still accumulating in fish in Pickwick Lake, the source does not appear to be from the historic industrial releases. A possible source for the Hg at all the sites is atmospheric deposition from local coal-burning electrical generation plants. Mercury residues in muscle tissue did not exceed the USFDA limit for any of the catfish collected in this area.

We document the occurrence of the rayed creekshell (Anodontoides radiatus Conrad), a freshwater mussel (Unionidae), at eight sites in the upper Yazoo River drainage (lower Mississippi River Basin) in northern Mississippi. Previously, A. radiatus was thought to be restricted to Gulf Coast drainages as far west only as the Tickfaw River system (Lake Pontchartrain Basin), Louisiana. The eight populations reported herein represent the only known occurrences of this species in the Mississippi River Basin. This distributional pattern, along with distributions of other aquatic organisms, suggests that headwater stream capture events occurred historically between lower Mississippi River Basin tributaries and the upper Tombigbee River drainage (Mobile Basin). Because A. radiatus is a rare species, considered imperiled throughout its range, the discovery of eight additional populations and the extension of its known range are of significance to its conservation.

Three limestone glades in Calhoun County, Illinois were studied. These relatively rare herbaceous plant communities are dominated by grasses of the tallgrass prairie that grow where limestone is at or near the surface and the shallow soils do not support much woody vegetation. Occasionally associated with hill prairies on the bluffs of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, the thin soil and bare rock prevent the growth of many hill prairie species. Vascular plant species found included three ferns, one gymnosperm, 33 monocots, and 87 dicots for a total of 124 taxa. Thirteen alien taxa were encountered (10%). Juniperus virginiana (eastern red cedar) was common on and around the glade edges. The common grasses were Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem), and Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama), while Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) and Sorghastrum nutans (Indian grass) were occasionally found in crevices. Common forbs included Hedyotis nigricans (narrow-leaved bluets), Ruellia humilis (wild Petunia), and Croton capitatus (capitate croton).

A goblin shark, Mitsukurina owstoni (family Mitsukurinidae), was captured in the northern Gulf of Mexico at 28°44.62′ N, 88°34.13′ W on 25 July 2000. The shark was captured by commercial fishers at 919 to 1,099 meters depth after it became entangled in fishing gear. The shark was female, the gut was empty, and no pups were present. Using regression analysis, the length was estimated to be 540 to 617 cm total length and may be the largest specimen collected to date. This capture from the Gulf of Mexico extends the goblin shark's range into the Atlantic waters of North America.

We used mistnets to survey bats at 41 sites throughout the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois during the summers of 1999 and 2000. Unlike most previous studies, we placed nets in the interior of forest stands as well as the more typical placement along edge habitats associated with water. We captured 417 individual bats representing 10 species. Of these, 168 individuals (40.3%) and 8 species were collected in interior forest. Northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) were caught significantly more often in interior forest, whereas red bats (Lasiurus borealis), eastern pipistrelles (Pipistrellus subflavus), and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) were netted more often in edge habitats. In contiguous forest, especially within the geographic range of M. septentrionalis, a more accurate measure of bat diversity and relative abundance is obtained by placing nets in interior forest as well as edge habitats.