Declines in population and diversity of North American bats are rapidly occurring due to habitat loss, incidental take from various industry projects, and lethal White-nose Syndrome disease. It is critical to accurately census habitat for appropriate conservation measures, yet traditional sampling methodology, such as mist netting and acoustic recordings, can be time-intensive and biased. Instead, a passive sampling tool that does not rely on the a priori knowledge of bat roosts may provide crucial information on bat communities. In the water-limited habitats of forested uplands of the Appalachian Plateau, water-filled road-ruts are important resources for bats. Therefore, we developed an environmental DNA (eDNA) protocol to sample isolated road-ruts that may have the presence of sloughed cellular material from actively drinking bats. The detection of bat eDNA was investigated from a positive control experiment, and across 47 water samples collected in Kentucky and Ohio. Water samples were analyzed using both species-specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and community metabarcoding methodologies. Using qPCR analysis, we detected eDNA from big brown bat ( Eptesicus fuscus ) and eastern red bat ( Lasiurus borealis ) from water-filled road-ruts. While the community metabarcoding approach failed to detect any bat eDNA, many non-target amphibians, birds, and mammals were identified. These results suggest eDNA found within road-ruts provides an additional detection tool for surveying biodiversity across upland forests. Additionally, the use of qPCR increased the detection of rare eDNA targets, which will be crucial for properly implementing future eDNA applications for improving bat conservation efforts across the landscape. Article impact statement Environmental DNA provides detection of bats from drinking sources offering a novel survey method for management and conservation efforts ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Variation in morphology of Faxonius jeffersoni has been documented since the 1960s. However, a taxonomic review of the species had not been conducted. In order to clarify if F. jeffersoni exhibited a variety of character traits, or was comprised of multiple taxa, genetic and morphological analyses were conducted. As a result, we revealed that F. jeffersoni sensu lato was comprised of two non-sister taxa. A new species of crayfish, Faxonius elix n. sp., is described herein. Further analysis shows evidence of glacial influence on the distribution of crayfish species of the genus Faxonius throughout Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana along the glacial maximum.

Kentucky's crayfish faunal list has undergone considerable changes since the publication of Crayfishes of Kentucky (Taylor and Schuster, 2004). We conducted an in-depth literature review and reviewed collection databases to develop an up-to-date checklist of crayfish species known to occur in Kentucky. Sixty-five crayfish species have been documented from Kentucky to date, including twelve new species described and three state records since 2004. One new species description (Faxonius sp. A. nov. sp.) is currently underway and was included in the species list for future reference. Additionally, we provide information on changes in crayfish taxonomy, crayfish species that may occur in Kentucky, and potential cryptic species where additional research may result in new species being detected. We hope this information provides clarity for researchers and resource managers and encourages additional crayfish research in Kentucky.

The rapid colonization of the Pseudogymnoascus destructans fungus across cave systems in eastern North America and the associated bat mortalities (white-nose syndrome; WNS), necessitates studies of cave-hibernating bats that remain unaffected by, or in close proximity to, the leading edge of the fungal distribution to provide baseline predisturbance data from which to assess changes due to fungal effects. Studies of the physiological ecology of cave-hibernating bats during the spring staging and autumn swarming seasons are few, and an understanding of patterns in body condition of bats associated with entry into and emergence from hibernation is incomplete. We sampled bats at the entrance to a cave in Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, during swarming and staging, prior to (2011 and 2012), concurrent with (2013), and following (2014) the arrival of the WNS fungus. We evaluated seasonal and annual changes in body mass and body condition of bats entering and leaving the cave. We captured 1,232 bats of eight species. Sex ratios of all species were male-biased. Capture success was substantially reduced in 2014, following the second winter after arrival of the WNS fungus. Significant temporal variation in body mass and body mass index was observed for little brown bats Myotis lucifugus, northern long-eared bats M. septentrionalis, and tri-colored bats Perimyotis subflavus, but not Indiana bats M. sodalis. Little brown bats and northern long-eared bats demonstrated significant increases in mean body mass index in 2014; this pattern likely reflected a relatively better body condition in bats that survived exposure to the WNS fungus. Most species demonstrated highest body mass and body mass index values in late swarming compared with other sampling periods, with tri-colored bats showing the greatest percent increase in body mass (42.5%) and body mass index (42.9%) prior to entering hibernation. These data indicate significant intraspecific variation in body condition of cave-hibernating bat species, both among years and between the seasons of autumn swarming and spring staging. We suggest this variation is likely to have implications for the relative vulnerability of species to WNS infection across the distribution of the Pseudogymnoascus fungus.