In North America host-specific flea beetles (Aphthona spp.; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from Europe have been introduced to suppress invasive populations of the exotic forb, leafy spurge, Euphorbia esula L. (Euphorbiaceae). Long term outcomes of such introduction were examined in 2013 for a spurge infested site (managed as elk winter range) in the mountain foothills of northern Utah where three species of flea beetles had been released two decades earlier, in the 1990s. The abundance of leafy spurge at the site had declined by 2013 to only 4% of its abundance in 1995. The three species of flea beetles (dominated by A. lacertosa Rosenhauer) persisted in low numbers at the site in 2013 [peaking at 7-8 adults (all species combined) per 100 stems and inflicting aboveground feeding damage to all spurge stems by late summer]; flea beetle abundance had declined by 89-97% from high numbers as sampled in 2001. Another biocontrol insect, the stem borer Oberea erythrocephala Schrank (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), had immigrated on its own to the site (as first detected in 2008) and, by mid-July in 2013, had damaged all spurge stems (typically causing total loss of the inflorescence on flowering stems). With the collapse of the spurge population at the site, the biomass of grasses [dominated by the exotic Bromus inermis Leyss and Arrhenatherum elatius (L.)] and forbs increased by 269% and 507%, respectively, from 1995 to 2013. These increases in grasses and forbs at the site with insect suppression of leafy spurge have resulted in more favorable habitat for elk and other wildlife.

Plant species with wide distributions may differ in their population dynamics across their range, especially in contrasting habitats. Most tiller recruitment of perennial grasses occurs vegetatively from the belowground bud bank rather than from seed. Seed reproduction often occurs under a narrower range of environmental conditions than vegetative reproduction. As a result flowering and seedling recruitment patterns of a species often differ between contrasting habitats and across its range. How vegetative reproduction and bud bank dynamics of a species vary between contrasting habitats has not been well studied and could explain the differences in its persistence and productivity between habitats. Therefore, the vegetative reproduction and dynamics of Andropogon gerardii, a dominant C₄ perennial grass of the Great Plains of North America, were compared between tallgrass and northern mixedgrass prairie habitats. Bud production and tiller recruitment in 10 populations were examined throughout an annual growing cycle in the northern mixedgrass prairie of South Dakota. Bud bank characteristics, and individual and population performance were compared with previous work conducted in Kansas tallgrass prairie. Stage-structured matrix models examined population growth rates. Andropogon gerardii tillers produced lower numbers of buds and had lower flowering rates in mixedgrass prairie populations. The annual phenology of bud and tiller development was also contracted to fit within the shorter growing season in northern mixedgrass prairie. However, bud longevity and bud bank age structure were similar between habitats, both having buds that lived for > 2 y and multi-aged bud banks. Similar population growth rates occurred in both habitats despite lower individual performance of both flowering and vegetative reproductive capacity (i.e., bud production) in mixedgrass prairie populations. Lower regional productivity of A. gerardii in northern mixedgrass prairie than in tallgrass prairie does not appear to be due to differences in bud and tiller population growth. Instead, sparse or patchy suitable habitat and/or reduction in tiller size may explain its reduced productivity. Lower population growth rates may be observed in other habitats or in years with harsher environmental conditions that further lower individual performance.

Peri-urban natural areas, at the boundaries of cities and adjacent agricultural/rural land, are subject to ecological threats endemic to both land use types. We used permanent plots to document changes in habitat quality by monitoring herbaceous-layer plant species presence and cover over a decade (1996/97 and 2007) in two peri-urban nature preserves in central Indiana, U.S.A. The preserves are comprised of different forest community types: wet-mesic depressional forest and mesic upland forest. Habitat characteristics, based on Floristic Quality Assessment parameters, showed only a single change for either preserve between survey years: wetness values were lower in the wet-mesic depressional site in 2007 than in 1996, indicating more plants with affinity for wet soil. No changes in community structure (total species richness, evenness, and diversity) were found. The number of nonnative species increased between survey years, especially in the wet-mesic depressional forest, where numbers went from zero to six, five of which are classified as invasive. There was considerable turnover in individual species presence, with perennial forb species the most likely species to be found in only 1 y or the other. Species did not rearrange themselves within plots, but completely appeared or disappeared from all plots within a preserve between the sample years, suggesting that species composition of the flora is dynamic. Management recommendations, including those related to evidence of heavy deer browse, are presented based on our findings. Repeat monitoring of our plots in future decades will allow quantification of any extinction debt that may now be in place due to the increased presence of nonnative species, especially invasive shrubs escaped from landscaping.

Fire is a major factor in the ecosystem dynamics of upland Florida habitats. Fire impacts have been well studied in terms of plant community responses, but the effects of fire on soil characteristics and post-fire plant-microbial interactions in these systems remain poorly documented. We investigated the effect of fire intensity and pre-fire vegetation on soil biogeochemistry in Florida scrubby flatwoods. We measured vegetation structure in 30 plots of ¼ m radius before a prescribed burn. Fire duration and temperatures were recorded in each plot. Soil samples taken immediately preceding and 2 w after the burn were analyzed for organic matter, inorganic N, available P and K, N mineralization rates, and potential nitrification rates. All nutrients and N mineralization rates significantly increased after fire. N and P increases were positively correlated with both fire intensity and vegetation. N mineralization was most strongly correlated with changes in available soil P, suggesting P stimulated N mineralization. These results contrast with the few other studies in Florida scrub, which found no effect of fire on soil nutrients. We suggest that taking measurements within a few weeks of burn and using a shallow sampling depth is necessary to document the nutrient pulse in these sandy, nutrient poor systems, and we recommend more research into fire's effect on the soil microbial community. Fire's impact on nutrients and nutrient turnover rates could have important repercussions on post-fire vegetation regrowth. Understanding the effects of fires on soils is therefore critical to developing fire management protocols.

Invasion by Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) and browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in eastern deciduous forests negatively affect diversity and abundance of herbaceous vegetation and tree seedlings. We used a 3 x 2 factorial design (L. maackii present/absent/removed and O. virginianus present/excluded) to assess individual and interactive effects of these species on survival of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) seedlings in a deciduous forest in southwestern Ohio. Survival of seedlings was negatively affected by presence of honeysuckle and browsing by deer, but there was no significant deer x honeysuckle interaction. Negative effects on survival and, hence abundance, of sugar maple seedlings could affect the relative dominance of species of canopy trees in these forests. Because there was no honeysuckle x deer interaction, control measures that target Amur honeysuckle and white-tailed deer separately could be employed without producing unintended effects on sugar maple seedlings.

The hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) is a common field rodent in the southeastern United States, where volunteer loblolly pine trees (Pinus taeda) rapidly invade open space and accelerate ecological succession from field to pine forest. While using capture-mark-recapture methods in studies of small mammal populations, we observed dead pine trees in late summer, all killed by girdling, prompting us to determine the extent of damage on a 1.26 ha grid in a 5 y old successional pine forest in southeastern Virginia. We recorded damage to 65% of >15,000 trees, of which 2064 were killed by rodents. Areas with a high density of trees 11–40 mm in diameter (3–5 y old) were most actively damaged during late winter and early spring, following autumnal population peaks of cotton rats. Old field habitats undergoing succession to loblolly pine forest may briefly offer optimal habitat for cotton rats, and girdling by cotton rats may regulate the rate of succession depending on densities of trees and rodents.

We studied a raccoon (Procyon lotor) population within a managed central Appalachian hardwood forest in West Virginia to investigate the effects of intensive forest management on raccoon spatial requirements and habitat selection. Raccoon home-range (95% utilization distribution) and core-area (50% utilization distribution) size differed between sexes with males maintaining larger (2×) home ranges and core areas than females. Home-range and core-area size did not differ between seasons for either sex. We used compositional analysis to quantify raccoon selection of six different habitat types at multiple spatial scales. Raccoons selected riparian corridors (riparian management zones [RMZ]) and intact forests (> 70 y old) at the core-area spatial scale. RMZs likely were used by raccoons because they provided abundant denning resources (i.e., large-diameter trees) as well as access to water. Habitat composition associated with raccoon foraging locations indicated selection for intact forests, riparian areas, and regenerating harvest (stands <10 y old). Although raccoons were able to utilize multiple habitat types for foraging resources, a selection of intact forest and RMZs at multiple spatial scales indicates the need of mature forest (with large-diameter trees) for this species in managed forests in the central Appalachians.

During the breeding season, male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)have been reported to take excursions outside of their normal home ranges, likely in search of receptive females. However, we documented additional excursive movements by males during spring in north central Pennsylvania. From December 2011 – April 2012, we equipped 13 mature (≥2.5 y old) male white-tailed deer with global positioning system (GPS) collars programmed to record locations hourly. We defined an excursion as any occasion where a male traveled ≥1.6 km outside of its 95% home range boundaries for ≥12 h. Between 6 April and 6 June 2012, nine males (69.2%) made excursions with six making ≥2 excursions. Mean total path distance and duration of excursions was 4.0 km (range  =  1.7-8.0 km) and 22 h (range  =  12–40 h), respectively. Although the reason for spring excursions is obscure, hypotheses such as increased doe aggression before parturition, males returning to natal home ranges, or visitation to mineral sites do not appear tenable based on current observations.

As natural habitats become fragmented by human activities, animals must increasingly move through human-dominated systems, particularly agricultural landscapes. Mapping areas important for animal movement has therefore become a key part of conservation planning. Models of landscape connectivity are often parameterized using expert opinion and seldom distinguish between the risks and barriers presented by different crop types. Recent research, however, suggests different crop types, such as row crops and orchards, differ in the degree to which they facilitate or impede species movements. Like many mammalian carnivores, bobcats (Lynx rufus) are sensitive to fragmentation and loss of connectivity between habitat patches. We investigated how distinguishing between different agricultural land covers might change conclusions about the relative conservation importance of different land uses in a Mediterranean ecosystem. Bobcats moved relatively quickly in row crops but relatively slowly in orchards, at rates similar to those in natural habitats of woodlands and scrub. We found that parameterizing a connectivity model using empirical data on bobcat movements in agricultural lands and other land covers, instead of parameterizing the model using habitat suitability indices based on expert opinion, altered locations of predicted animal movement routes. These results emphasize that differentiating between types of agriculture can alter conservation planning outcomes.

The Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) is a species of national and international conservation priority due to its population declines. Little is known about their migration patterns and there is limited research on the species in Mexico which prevents conservation biologists from establishing effective conservation measures for the species in North America. The southeastern portion of the Chihuahuan Desert is one of the last areas of well-preserved grasslands in Mexico and supports a large number of wintering Long-billed Curlews. We tracked four Long-billed Curlews using satellite telemetry to determine their winter habitat use from October 2009 to March 2010. Locations were divided into foraging and roosting sites (seven habitat types each) with agricultural fields and fallow land preferred for foraging. We identified 14 roosting sites and characterized the vegetation of six of them. Tumbleweed (Salsola kali) was the predominant plant species at roost sites. Two main threats were detected on wintering grounds: exposure to pesticides and reduced access to water. We successfully documented fidelity to wintering, breeding and stop-over sites across three migratory cycles (2009–2012) of one of the marked birds.

The northern Great Plains of North America provides critical breeding habitat for many colonial tree-nesting waterbirds, but reproductive success and population parameters for these species are largely unknown within the Prairie Pothole Region, specifically in South Dakota. The objective of this study was to evaluate reproductive success of colonial tree-nesting waterbirds on selected wetlands and rivers in northeast South Dakota. During the 2008 and 2009 breeding seasons, nesting and fledging success of Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), Great Egret (A. alba), Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), and Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) were estimated in 39 individual colonies. A total of 2551 individual nests were monitored from 15 Apr. – 15 Aug. in 2008 and 2009. Overall apparent nest and fledge success (respectively) were: Black-crowned Night-Heron (52.1%, 47.9%), Great Blue Heron (58.2%, 35.9%), Cattle Egret (73.1%, 69.2%), Great Egret (61.5%, 50.7%), Snowy Egret (83.6%, 81.7%), and Double-crested Cormorant (70.4%, 54.2%). Nest abandonment accounted for an average of 47.6% of nest failures for all species combined. Nest structure failure and young dying within nests accounted for most failures to fledge. Nesting success increased with the area of wetland habitat in the landscape for all species analyzed. Lower reproductive success of Black-crowned Night-Heron and Great Blue Heron, compared to other findings across the U.S. and Canada, suggests that these breeding populations in northeast South Dakota may be declining. Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, and Double-crested Cormorant reproductive success is relatively high in northeast South Dakota compared to other North American populations. Preserving and restoring wetland habitat surrounding waterbird colonies will provide successful nesting habitat as well as foraging areas and opportunities for new colony site locations.

In this study we examined patterns of habitat occupancy by canyon wrens (Catherpes mexicanus), an insectivorous, cliff-obligate bird species, in Northern Colorado. Canyon wren territories are generally large and widely spaced, and it is currently unclear if their densities are limited by the availability of cliff habitats that have particular biotic and/or abiotic attributes. We used playback of conspecific song to survey 138 cliff sites and found 23 occupied territories, confirming the species occurs in low densities. Using a model-fitting approach, we assessed the importance of seven factors hypothesized to be important to canyon wren territory settlement and found occupied territories had cliffs that were more likely to be overhung, rather than vertical. Habitat occupancy of canyon wrens was also associated with the presence of cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and their nests, with canyon wrens observed nesting and foraging within cliff swallow nests throughout the year. As no abiotic factors predicted both the presence of canyon wrens and cliff swallows, we suggest the biotic resources provided by cliff swallows might be important in driving patterns of canyon wren territory occupation. If canyon wren settlement patterns are affected by the presence of cliff swallows, this system could represent a rare case of heterospecific attraction, where a migratory species (cliff swallow) drives patterns of habitat occupation by a non-migratory species (canyon wren).

Vernal pools are isolated ephemeral bodies of water that are often overlooked on the landscape. Despite their temporary nature, these pools are important to forest communities, providing critical breeding habitat for amphibians and an important food and water source for other taxonomic groups including birds, bats, and other terrestrial vertebrates. Sparse information about vernal pools in the upper Midwest, including Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PIRO), inhibits conservation. We sampled soil, vegetation, and amphibians in 21 vernal pools in PIRO during spring 2010 to provide quantitative and qualitative evaluation of vernal pool abiotic and biotic characteristics within PIRO to help managers determine which pools to prioritize for conservation. Average vernal pool size sampled was 0.124 ha. Soils had an average of 13.5% carbon and 0.7% nitrogen. Vegetation was diverse within the vernal pools, with 115 vascular plants identified. Five species of amphibians were encountered during our surveys. We created a vernal pool classification system based on: (1) pool depression characteristics (one depression versus many interconnected depressions and whether canopy was open or closed) and (2) vegetation community type. This resulted in five vernal pool types: three herbaceous communities with open canopies and defined circular/elliptical boundaries (classic pools) and two forested closed canopy communities with irregular perimeters and interconnected mini-basins (complex pools). The two forested communities had the highest vegetation species richness, due mostly to greater number of microsites (downed logs, hummocks, etc.) for vegetation. Hydroperiod index and soil carbon were found to correspond to the vegetation classes. Amphibian species richness was highest in the classic pools and the majority of the amphibians encountered were in the sedge community type. This classification system, potentially effective for vernal pools throughout glaciated northeastern North America, will help managers prioritize vernal pools for conservation.

We examined pond-breeding amphibian community composition at 210 ponds in Missouri between 2002 and 2012 using drift fence, dipnet, and funnel trap data. We encountered a total of 20 pond-breeding amphibian species in the combined surveys. We also examined whether the presence of American Bullfrogs, Lithobates catesbeianus, and fish influenced these patterns of diversity. Our results indicate the presence of American Bullfrogs, fish, and their interaction influenced the community composition of amphibians at these sites but in opposite patterns. American Bullfrogs often had a positive relationship with the total number of species, total caudate species, and total anuran species, whereas fish presence was negatively associated overall with species diversity, and the presence of both American Bullfrogs and fish was negatively associated with anuran species diversity. It is important to have baseline community species composition data from wide geographical ranges so spatiotemporal changes in community structure can be noted and assessed.