No abstract

Conservation of summer maternity roosts is considered critical for bat management in North America, yet many aspects of the physical and environmental factors that drive roost selection are poorly understood. We tracked 58 female northern bats (Myotis septentrionalis) to 105 roost trees of 21 species on the Fort Knox military reservation in north-central Kentucky during the summer of 2011. Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) was used as a day roost more than expected based on forest stand-level availability and accounted for 48.6% of all observed day roosts. Using logistic regression and an information theoretic approach, we were unable to reliably differentiate between sassafras and other roost species or between day roosts used during different maternity periods using models representative of individual tree metrics, site metrics, topographic location, or combinations of these factors. For northern bats, we suggest that day-roost selection is not a function of differences between individual tree speciesper se, but rather of forest successional patterns, stand and tree structure. Present successional trajectories may not provide this particular selected structure again without management intervention, thereby suggesting that resource managers take a relatively long retrospective view to manage current and future forest conditions for bats.

Assessing invasive species ecology at multiple scales is needed to understand how to focus ecological monitoring and population control. As a widespread invasive species, wild pigs (Sus scrofa) frequently disrupt land management programs. We provide a detailed, multiscaled view of the behavior of wild pigs at Fort Hood, Texas, USA by assessing seasonal and daily movement patterns, and diet. First, we quantified movement behavior through assessment of both seasonal home range size and first passage time movement behavior from 16 GPS-collared wild pigs. Home ranges were relatively large (mean: 10.472 km 2 , SD: 0.472 km 2 ), and Cox proportional hazard models predicted that pigs moved slowest at temperature extremes (15<˚C <30), in the spring, in rougher terrain, and in grassland communities. Secondly, we analyzed wild pig stomach contents to determine diet throughout the year. Diet was primarily plant-based, and showed seasonal variation in such items as hard and soft mast, and the foliage of forbs and woody plants. Integration of both movement and diet analyses indicate that wild pigs are more likely to be lured into baited traps in the winter when movement rates are highest and plant-based food resources are likely less abundant. Wild pigs are likely to have the greatest impact on vegetative communities in grassland habitats during the spring season when movement is restricted. Collectively, this multi-scaled approach provided detailed information on wild pig behavioral ecology in this area that would not have been apparent by looking at any single measure individually or only at a large spatial scale (i.e., home range), and could be a useful approach in other invasive species management programs.

Red spruce forests in West Virginia are found in island-like distributions at high elevations and provide essential habitat for the endangered Cheat Mountain salamander and the recently delisted Virginia northern flying squirrel. Therefore, it is important to identify restoration priorities of red spruce forests. Maximum entropy modeling was used to identify areas of suitable red spruce habitat, with a total of 32 variables analyzed. Maximum temperature of the warmest month and minimum temperature of the coldest month were identified as variables explaining the most information about red spruce forest habitat. In addition, habitat maps identifying areas of high, medium, and low suitability were created and quantified at the county level. These results will benefit current and future conservation and restoration management activities as they identify core areas that possess the necessary environmental conditions for supporting future complex red spruce communities. Restoration efforts focused in areas possessing high suitability ensure peak potential of success and will ultimately give red spruce forests in West Virginia the greatest resilience to future climatic conditions by establishing connectivity between red spruce forests and increasing genetic diversity.

This technical note describes an Engineering With Nature (EWN) project being conducted in the Atchafalaya River, LA. The current work presents a wetland classification, vegetation survey map, preliminary ecological inventory, and soil descriptions for an island receiving strategically placed dredged sediments (i.e., Horseshoe Bend Island) located within the Atchafalaya River. The practice of strategically placing dredged sediments upriver of a naturallyoccurring island was conducted with the intent of aiding the islands growth to produce greater environmental benefits than otherwise would be present using more conventional placement practices. Results provide background information regarding ecosystem classification and mapping, floral and faunal composition of the island, and background data supporting future research efforts. Opportunities for additional research are also presented. BACKGROUND: Horseshoe Bend is a segment of the Atchafalaya River and Bayous Chene, Boeuf, and Black Federal navigation channel located in the lower Atchafalaya River approximately 20 miles south of Morgan City, LA (Figure 1). Although dredging of the navigation channel received original authorization in 1910, active maintenance dredging of Horseshoe Bend was not required until 1990 because natural channel depths exceeded authorized dimensions. Beginning in 1990 and proceeding thru 2013, 17 maintenance dredging events within this segment occurred at a return interval of 1 to 3 years, with each event resulting in the removal of between 0.5 and 2.7 million cubic yards of shoal material. During the 1990s, placement of shoal material dredged from Horseshoe Bend occurred at eight wetland development sites located along the river's banklines adjacent to the channel. Capacity of these placement sites was nearly exhausted by 1999. Thus, to meet the anticipated disposal requirements for future channel maintenance, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District (MVN) evaluated three placement alternatives: (1) convert the wetland development sites into upland disposal areas; (2) open water placement of dredged material via a long-distance pipeline into the open waters of the Atchafalaya Bay; and (3) mounding of material at mid-river open water placement sites within a 350-acre (142 ha) area immediately adjacent to the navigation channel and upriver of a small naturally forming island (Figure 2). Environmental and cost concerns precluded the selection of alternatives (1) and (2). The third alternative was selected on a trial basis to investigate the impacts of mid-river placement on shoaling trends downriver of the site.