Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus (Virginia Big-eared Bat) is a federally endangered subspecies of Corynorhinus townsendii (Townsend's Big-eared Bat) found in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. We recorded 30 files identified as Corynorhinus at 7 locations in western Maryland. We manually vetted files and sent them to acoustic experts familiar with Corynorhinus spp. Based on these records, we document the expansion of Virginia Big-eared Bats into Maryland, which constitutes a new state record.
but face increasing threats from habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, and other anthropogenic forces. Documenting the distribution of burrowing crayfishes is challenging because they spend most of their lives underground, complicating population monitoring and making comprehensive distributional studies difficult. Recently, burrowing crayfishes in the genus Lacunicambarus have undergone significant taxonomic revisions, with several newly described species, and additional species being redescribed. Lacunicambarus nebrascensis (Great Plains Mudbug) was redescribed in 2022 and is known to have a large range across much of the midwestern US and around the Great Lakes. Despite recent taxonomic revisions confirming the Great Plains Mudbug as a distinct species, its distribution, especially at the extreme ends of its range, remains poorly understood, with few verified records in New York State since 1980s. Here, we report a survey of the most recently documented locations of Great Plains Mudbug in New York, which confirmed the presence of this species in 2 of 10 historic locations, and at 1 of the 9 newly surveyed sites. Although we identified 3 New York records of this species, a comprehensive conservation assessment is urgently needed due to the limited available habitat remaining for the Great Plains Mudbug in the state.
Small vertebrate carrion is a nutrient resource for many organisms. Although ing to competition among species that rely on it. Carrion competition in the northeastern US is greatest among vertebrate scavengers, carrion flies, and Nicrophorus species (burying beetles). This study sought to determine the fate of small vertebrate carrion in mixed deciduous forest in central New York between May and July 2022. Burying beetles buried 74% of carcasses (n = 180) available during the trials, indicating they are the dominant competitor for small vertebrate carrion. A logistic regression model based on this study predicts that increases in average daily air temperature affects carrion fate in favor of carrion flies.
