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.
