Adoption records from 2 no kill shelters in New York State were examined to determine how age, sex, size, breed group, and coat color influenced the length of stay (LOS) of dogs at these shelters. Young puppies had the shortest length of stay; LOS among dogs increased linearly as age increased. Neither coat color nor sex influenced LOS. Considering only size classifications, medium-size dogs had the greatest LOS, and extra small dogs and puppies remained in shelters for the least amount of time. Considering only breed groupings, dogs in the guard group had the greatest LOS and those in the giant group had the shortest LOS. The lack of effect of coat color was not expected, nor was the shorter LOS among "fighting" breeds compared with other breed groups. Coat color and breed may have only local effects on LOS that do not generalize to all shelters, including traditional shelters. Understanding the traits of dogs in a specific shelter and the characteristics of these nonhuman animals desired by adopters are critical to improving the welfare of animals served by that shelter.

Due to the lack of a co-evolutionary history, the novel defenses presented by introduced plants may be insurmountable to many native insects. Accordingly, non-native plants are expected to support less insect biomass than native plants. Further, native insect specialists may be more affected by introduced plants than native generalist herbivores, resulting in decreased insect diversity on non-native plants due to the loss of specialists. To test these hypotheses, we used a common garden experiment to compare native insect biomass, species richness, and the proportion of native specialist to native generalist insects supported by 45 species of woody plants. Plants were classified into three groupings, with 10 replicates of each species: 15 species native to Delaware (Natives), 15 non-native species that were congeneric with a member of the Native group (Nonnative Congeners), and 15 non-native species that did not have a congener present in the United States (Aliens). Native herbivorous insects were sampled in May, June, and July of 2004 and 2005. Overall, insect biomass was greater on Natives than Non-native Congeners and Aliens, but insect biomass varied unpredictably between congeneric pair members. Counter to expectations, Aliens held more insect biomass than did Non-native Congeners. There was no difference in species richness or the number of specialist and generalist species collected among the three plant groupings in either year, although our protocol was biased against sampling specialists. If these results generalize to other studies, loss of native insect biomass due to introduced plants may negatively affect higher trophic levels of the ecosystem.

1. In 2004, Brood X of the periodical cicada ( Magicicada spp.) emerged in Delaware. Extensive suburban development and concomitant planting of exotic species has occurred since the previous emergence of Brood X in 1987. 2. Exotic species could suffer extensive damage during years of cicada emergences if they are preferred for oviposition. Alternately, a shortage of suitable plant hosts may negatively affect remaining cicada populations.3. We determined if the periodical cicada, Magicicada septendecim , preferred to oviposit on native or exotic woody plant species. Potential hosts were divided into three groups and planted in a randomised design near a likely source of cicadas. The first group, Natives, included 15 species native to Delaware. The second group, Non-natives, included 15 exotic species that had a native congener represented in the Native group. The final group, Aliens, included 13 exotic species that did not have a native congener.4. Based on observations of 428 plants, cicadas were more likely to oviposit on Natives or Non-natives, which did not differ from each other in this measure, than on Aliens. Non-natives had more oviposition holes per metre than Natives, which had more holes per metre than Aliens. The likelihood of stem flagging was lowest on Alien species; the percentage of the total plant that flagged was greatest for Natives. Plant morphology also influenced host preference and likelihood of flagging.5. Taking plant morphology into consideration, we speculate that the evolutionary history between periodical cicadas and potential hosts is an important component of host preference. Entomology, 34, 346-355 * Stem length, the total length of all stems and branches at least 1.5 mm in diameter, including plant height . † Structure index, stem length divided by the height of the plant . 350 William P. Brown and Marion E. Zuefl e

Overwintering success is an important determinant of arthropod populations that must be considered as climate change continues to influence the spatiotemporal population dynamics of agricultural pests. Using a long-term monitoring database and biologically relevant overwintering zones, we modeled the annual and seasonal population dynamics of a common pest, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), based on three overwintering suitability zones throughout North America using four decades of soil temperatures: the southern range (able to persist through winter), transitional zone (uncertain overwintering survivorship), and northern limits (unable to survive winter). Our model indicates H. zea population dynamics are hierarchically structured with continental-level effects that are partitioned into three geographic zones. Seasonal populations were initially detected in the southern range, where they experienced multiple large population peaks. All three zones experienced a final peak between late July (southern range) and mid-August to mid-September (transitional zone and northern limits). The southern range expanded by 3% since 1981 and is projected to increase by twofold by 2099 but the areas of other zones are expected to decrease in the future. These changes suggest larger populations may persist at higher latitudes in the future due to reduced low-temperature lethal events during winter. Because H. zea is a highly migratory pest, predicting when populations accumulate in one region can inform synchronous or lagged population development in other regions. We show the value of combining long-term datasets, remotely sensed data, and laboratory findings to inform forecasting of insect pests.