The Smoky Madtom Noturus baileyi is a federally endangered species, whose native distribution includes lower Abrams Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) and Citico Creek in nearby Cherokee National Forest. Due to challenges for bio-monitoring posed by its nocturnality and cryptic life history, an environmental DNA (eDNA)-based approach for detection would be useful to complement existing electrofishing and seining efforts to better understand the distribution of this species. We developed a probe-based droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assay to detect Smoky Madtoms from non-invasively collected water samples. The assay was specific to N. baileyi and did not amplify concentrated genomic DNA of 16 co-occurring or regional fish species, including the yellowfin madtom N. flavipinnis and stonecat N. flavus . The assay limit of detection (LOD) was determined to be 4.18 copies (95% CI: 3.95, 4.41). Several 2 L water samples collected from throughout various streams in GRSM in 2016 and 2017 were tested for the presence of N. baileyi using the ddPCR assay. N. baileyi was detected at two different sites in 2016 and 2017 within Abrams Creek previously known to contain N. baileyi , but no novel detections in other sampled streams were observed. This assay should prove useful for continued surveys of N. baileyi in GRSM.

Emerging pathogens are a potential contributor to global amphibian declines. Ranaviruses, which infect ectothermic vertebrates and are common in aquatic environments, have been implicated in die-offs of at least 72 amphibian species worldwide. Most studies on the subject have focused on pool-breeding amphibians, and infection trends in other amphibian species assemblages have been understudied. Our primary study objective was to evaluate hypotheses explaining ranavirus prevalence within a lungless salamander assemblage (Family Plethodontidae) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. We sampled 566 total plethodontid salamanders representing 14 species at five sites over a 6-year period (2007–2012). We identified ranavirus-positive individuals in 11 of the 14 (78.6%) sampled species, with salamanders in the genus Desmognathus having greatest infection prevalence. Overall, we found the greatest support for site elevation and sampling year determining infection prevalence. We detected the greatest number of infections in 2007 with 82.5% of sampled individuals testing positive for ranavirus, which we attribute to record drought during this year. Infection prevalence remained relatively high in low-elevation sites in 2008 and 2009. Neither body condition nor aquatic dependence was a significant predictor of ranavirus prevalence. Overall, our results indicate that life history differences among species play a minor role determining ranavirus prevalence compared to the larger effects of site elevation and yearly fluctuations (likely due to environmental stressors) during sampling years.

The fauna and flora of Great Smoky Mountains National Park is being systematically studied and documented for the first time as part of the Smokies' All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI). With direction from scientific authorities and Park staff, a team of citizen volunteers has undertaken a survey of odonates (dragonflies and damselflies). The survey is focused on adults and includes curated specimens, catch-and-release records, and reliable sight identifications. To date, 93 taxa (63 dragonflies, 30 damselflies) are reported from the Park. However, the habitat-, geographic-, and temporal-survey coverage is far from complete, and records from neighboring areas suggest the Park may contain more than 130 odonate species. All of the information is being stored in the online ATBI database.

We review previously published accounts of ectoparasites and other ectosymbiotic arthropods of vertebrates and report on the collections from 4 species of reptiles, 54 species of birds, and 47 species of mammals from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, or immediately adjacent lands in North Carolina and Tennessee, USA. Our list includes 1 species of beetle, 2 hemipteran bugs, 9 flies, at least 42 species of lice, 23 species of fleas, and at least 75 species of Acari (11 ticks/64 mites). We discuss the potential for transmission of pathogens by these ectoparasites and the relevance of disjunct populations of boreal species at high elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains.

We present the bionomics, distributions, host associations, and known or potential vector abilities of 112 species of hematophagous Diptera representing 9 families in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. New Park or state records include the bird blow flies (Calliphoridae) Protocalliphora aenea, P. bennetti, P. braueri, and P. sialia; the mosquitoes (Culicidae) Aedes albopictus and Anopheles perplexens; the horse flies (Tabanidae) Atylotus duplex and Hybomitra microcephala; the bot fly (Oestridae) Cuterebra buccata; the bird fly (Hippoboscidae) Ornithomyia bequaerti; the black flies (Simuliidae) Simulium aranti, S. bracteatum, and S. infenestrum; and the biting snipe fly (Rhagionidae) Symphoromyia hirta. Most exotic species of hematophagous Diptera were found around human structures. Our collections of Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, indicate that this species continues to be reintroduced into the Park by summer visitors.