We report Fundulus julisia (Barrens Topminnow [BTM]) life history from field investigations during 1983–1985 on the Barrens Plateau in central Tennessee. Populations studied included 1 each in the Cumberland River and Tennessee River drainages. The BTM feeds on aquatic insect larvae and other invertebrates. BTM's extended breeding season includes bimodal peaks, and its eggs are attached to aquatic plants. First-year growth is rapid; maximum lifespan is 4 years. Few individuals survive to spawn more than once in the wild. Gambusia affinis (Western Mosquitofish) is a primary threat. Captive BTM assurance colonies may be key to successful future reintroductions following landscape management actions. We highlight the importance of this basic ecological information in preventing BTM extinction.
Fruit crop-size estimates are little better than indices unless tied to plant abundance. We developed a “standardized fruit crop” (SFC) using 11 years of fruit-density data in replicated transects to estimate long-term average (versus within-year) production by Vaccinium spp. (blueberry), Gaylussacia spp. (huckleberry), and Rubus spp. (blackberry) if applied to shrub-area inventories. We sampled blueberry and huckleberry in mature forest where canopy cover and shrub area were constant, and blackberry—a “pioneer” shrub—in shelterwood harvests where light availability decreased with stand development. Annual average (±SE) blueberry SFC (fruits/m2 shrub area) varied from 1.3 ± 0.9 to 18.8 ± 15.8; long-term (11-yr average) SFC (95% CIs) was 6.8 ± 1.8 (3.2–10.3). Annual average huckleberry SFC varied from 1.8 ± 1.3 to 19.8 ± 10.8; long-term average SFC was 11.6 ± 1.8 (8.0–15.3). In shelterwoods, blackberry shrub area and (disproportionately) SFC increased, peaked 3–6 years post-harvest, then declined with canopy closure. When only peak years were included, average blackberry SFC was 90.3 ± 11.3 (67.7–113.0) and is a more reliable estimate for high-light environments. Our SFCs cannot reliably predict crop sizes within any given year or area but provide a forest planning tool to estimate average (over the long-term) or potential fruit production that can be tailored to specific stands and landscapes by application to shrub-area inventories.
Adult rattlesnakes are infrequently documented as prey, and direct evidence of mammalian attacks on large venomous snakes is limited. We report a camera-trap sequence of an attack involving a Lynx rufus (Bobcat) and an adult Crotalus adamanteus (Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake) in Florida. A remote camera recorded 38 photographs between 08:38 am and 10:14 am on 20 August 2022. The image sequence shows the Bobcat avoiding the rattlesnake's tail, biting the tail, clawing the body, and biting the head. Subsequent photographs show the rattlesnake overturned and bearing visible wounds to the head, midbody, and tail. Our observations provide rare primary photographic evidence of a Bobcat attacking an adult Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake and add to the limited documentation of Bobcats as predators of large reptiles.
Lanius ludovicianus (Loggerhead Shrike) has sharply declined over the past 50 years in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of southeastern North America as documented by national coarse-scale surveys (breeding bird surveys, Christmas bird counts) and eBird data. However, Loggerhead Shrike numbers may have stabilized over the last 10 years in some portions of North Carolina. I conducted repeat roadside surveys supplemented by area searches of Loggerhead Shrikes during the non-breeding and breeding seasons in 2024-2025 at 87 previously documented historical breeding sites (1979-1994, 2012-2013) to compare occupancy between time periods and examine land-cover use between historical sites that were still occupied and sites that were now unoccupied. I also recorded 9 newly discovered sites in either season. The study area was predominantly located in the agricultural landscapes of the Sandhills, a subregion of the Coastal Plain, in Richmond County, NC, and smaller areas of 4 adjacent counties. I documented 52 occupied historical sites during each of the non-breeding and breeding seasons; 46 constituted resident territories (occupied during both seasons), whereas 6 sites were each occupied only in the non-breeding or breeding seasons. Including newly discovered sites in 2025, most breeding-season territories were in the Sandhills (n = 49), where I estimate the current breeding density to be 4.1 pairs/100 km2, similar to their population density in 2012-2013. Their less dense population in the adjacent Piedmont and along the Fall Line (contact zone of the Piedmont with the Sandhills and Coastal Plain) of 1.1 pairs/100 km2 is also similar to their estimated population density in 2012-2013. More than half of the oldest breeding sites in 1979-1994 (15 of 28; 54%) were occupied by Loggerhead Shrikes in 2025. Population persistence was high at historical sites with larger areas of pastureland and smaller areas of developed habitat. This study reaffirms the importance of conducting fine-scale surveys to produce a precise estimate of a persistent population and key land-cover class features for Loggerhead Shrikes near the edge of their current range in this section of the North Carolina Sandhills. This approach can also be used to estimate population sizes and key land-cover class features for range-edge or isolated Loggerhead Shrike populations outside of North Carolina.
Incubation behavior reflects how birds balance the thermal needs of developing embryos against their own requirements for self-maintenance, with consequences for nest survival and hatching success. This behavior is expected to vary among species based on evolutionary history and life-history strategies. We used motion-activated trail cameras to compare incubation-recess behavior of 2 cavity-nesting ducks, a perching duck (Aix sponsa [Wood Duck]) and a sea duck (Lophodytes cucullatus [Hooded Merganser]), both using nest boxes in Louisiana and Mississippi. Despite differences in life history and foraging ecology between perching-and sea-duck guilds, the species exhibited broadly similar nest attentiveness. Wood Ducks averaged 2.55 +/- 0.58 recesses per day, and Hooded Mergansers averaged 2.49 +/- 1.12 recesses per day, and daily incubation constancy was similar (87.1% vs. 86.9%). In contrast, recess timing differed consistently between species. Wood Ducks initiated morning recesses earlier (06:54 +/- 0.58 h) than Hooded Mergansers (09:01 +/- 0.76 h), whereas Hooded Mergansers tended to recess earlier in the afternoon (15:18 +/- 0.40 h) than Wood Ducks (16:19 +/- 1.12 h). Within species, Wood Duck morning recess duration decreased with increasing clutch size (-7.9 +/- 2.9 min/egg), while Hooded Merganser morning recess duration declined across incubation (-5.6 +/- 1.9 min/ day). Overall, the clearest divergence between species occurred in recess timing rather than the intensity of incubation behavior.
Restored grasslands are increasingly implemented to mitigate habitat loss and support biodiversity in the southeastern US, yet relatively little is known about how mammalian predators and their prey use these habitats in these areas. We evaluated patterns of site use, co-occurrence, and temporal activity of 2 mesopredators, Canis latrans (Coyote) Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer), across restored grasslands in Tennessee. Using camera traps deployed across multiple sites, we quantified how predator and prey site use, co-occurrence, and temporal overlap are related to habitat features. Bobcat site use increased with greater grassland proportion in the surrounding landscape, while Eastern Cottontail site use and Bobcat-Eastern Cottontail co-occurrence were best supported by edge-related metrics, particularly forest edge density. Support for landscape effects on Coyote and White-talied Deer site use and co-occurrence was weaker. Patterns of co-occurrence suggest that predators and prey use the same grasslands sites, with some evidence of partial temporal separation between species, although limited detections of predators preclude strong inference about avoidance. Our findings highlight how structural and compositional features of restored southeastern grasslands, including edge density and proportion of grassland, may influence species' use within broader landscapes. We acknowledge several limitations, including the small size of restored sites relative to predator home ranges, staggered camera deployments, and potential repeated detection of the same individuals. Despite these constraints, restored grasslands appear to provide habitat for both predators and prey in the southeastern US, demonstrating their potential to support mammalian communities and informing future restoration and management strategies in human-altered landscapes.
dimorphism is not always evident in fishes, but recognizing sex in the field can be important, especially when handling imperiled species. Previous literature has found few variable sexually dimorphic traits in species of the sucker (Catostomidae) genera Hypentelium, Thoburnia, and Vexillichthys. This study provides a resource for field identification of sex in these fishes. Through statistical analysis, we determined the differences between the sexes at 2 life stages in traits that are easily accessible in the field: pelvic-fin ray lengths, anal-fin height and length, and depressed dorsal-fin length. Our findings suggest the difference between the seventh and third pelvic-fin rays as well as depressed dorsal-fin length may provide consistent sex determination for mature fish in Hypentelium, Thoburnia, and Vexillichthys.
The increased presence of Branta canadensis (Canada Geese) in recreational and agricultural spaces has become a human health and veterinary concern since they can vector human and animal pathogens. The goal of this study was to survey Canada Geese in Shelby County, TN, to determine whether these birds are hosting any parasites or bacteria of concern. We used bacterial plating and DNA extraction and amplification to confirm the presence of Escherichia coli in Canada Geese fecal samples. Centrifugal fecal flotation confirmed the presence of the following parasites within geese fecal matter: cestode, trematode, strongylid, and capillarid nematode eggs; coccidia oocysts; and Giardia spp. cysts. Prevalence of potential zoonotic pathogens was very low; therefore, these geese do not seem to be acting as reservoirs for parasites of concern.
Turtle nests are vulnerable to a myriad of nest predators, which can subject turtle populations to exceptionally high rates of nest depredation. Mitigating the effects of turtle-nest predators is an important focus of wildlife-management efforts. Herein, I report the results of a targeted study to address the efficacy of olfactory camouflage in hindering mammalian predators from depredating artificial turtle nests. At a study site in northeastern Louisiana, I disturbed soil to camouflage the scent of an experimental nest. I paired each treatment with a solitary, control nest. Seven of 15 experimental replicates experienced at least 1 nest depredation over a 5-day monitoring period. There was no significant difference in survival time between experimental and control nests. The scale and spatial extent of soil disturbance used herein does not appear to hold substantial promise in curtailing turtle-nest depredations against a community of mammalian nest predators.
We discovered 2 or 3 metapopulations of the imperiled Notophthalmus perstriatus (Striped Newt) using 15 wetlands on Princess Place Preserve and the adjacent Pellicer Creek Conservation Area in Flagler County, FL. Some of these wetlands are too ephemeral for successful reproduction most years, but a 5.1-ha dome swamp, 2.9-ha basin marsh, and 4 smaller wetlands contain paedomorphic populations that probably have annual recruitment. Most wetlands are in or near open-canopied or recently restored sandhill habitat with suitable conditions for terrestrial life stages. Since the state and county purchased these properties circa 1995, clear-cutting of Pinus clausa (Sand Pine), prescribed burning, and thinning of P. elliottii (Slash Pine) and Quercus spp. (oaks) have improved upland habitat for the Striped Newt.
Simpsonaias ambigua (Salamander Mussel) occurs in medium creeks to large rivers and is restricted to waterbodies that support a population of its only known host, Necturus maculosus (Common Mudpuppy). Prior to this study, the only record of the Salamander Mussel in the Tennessee River drainage was from the Duck River. Cumberlandia monodonta (Spectaclecase) is a federally endangered species that in Tennessee was last collected alive in the Duck River in the early 2000s and in the lower Tennessee River in 1998. In 2025, while diving in a deep pool of the lower Buffalo River, Humphreys County, TN, we discovered a robust population of the Salamander Mussel and 1 live Spectaclecase. Future surveys using diving equipment while targeting habitat identified in our study are recommended to assess the status of both species in the Buffalo River and elsewhere.
