Browsing by Author "Hamed, M. Kevin"

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    Body Size and Aerial Basking Dynamics of the Spiny Softshell (Apalone spinifera) in a Human-Modified Landscape in Tennessee, USA
    O’Bryan, Christopher J.; Hamed, M. Kevin; Laughlin, Thomas F.; Coffey, J. Wallace (2022-06-01)
    Spiny Softshells (Apalone spinifera) are found in aquatic environments throughout much of the central-eastern USA. Although this species is widespread throughout much of Tennessee, little is known about Spiny Softshells in the state’s northeastern counties. Further, little work has investigated the role of Spiny Softshell body size on resource use, and the morphometrics of the species in a human-modified ecosystem. Here we present results of a four-month capture and basking observation study conducted in 2004. We investigated whether larger body size was positively associated with presence at limited aerial basking resources that are potentially important for thermoregulation. We found that hoop trap captures positioned next to basking sites, a proxy for aerial basking resource use, were not associated with sex or body size measurements. Opportunistic basking observations revealed most individuals basked in the afternoon. Our study, while short in duration and of low sample size, builds understanding on the body size and intraspecific effects of resource use by Spiny Softshells in a human-modified ecosystem.
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    Ecology of northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) in a coastal setting after the introduction of White-nose Syndrome
    Gorman, Katherine M. (Virginia Tech, 2023-01-17)
    Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) populations have declined sharply in recent years due to the introduction and rapid spread of White-nose Syndrome. This has prompted an urgent need for a greater understanding of their natural history in order to support the conservation of extant populations, particularly where forested day-roost and foraging habitats are being fragmented by development. Prior to 2006, with other Myotis species on the endangered species list, northern long-eared bats were understudied. In recent years, with the pressing concern to document the ecology of all cave bats affected by White-nose Syndrome on the landscape, researchers have now prioritized northern long-eared bat habitat needs, day-roost use, social dynamics, and barriers to gene flow. A relatively new discovery has been the numerous coastal populations that occur in smaller forest patches often surrounded by anthropogenic development. The goal of my research is to aid in informing future monitoring and management protocols that are specific to northern long-eared bats, particularly as they may shift from Threatened to Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The chapters of this dissertation explore (1) similarities and differences between coastal and more documented upland habitat associations for populations of northern long-eared bats throughout the summer months through the use of acoustic detectors; (2) relationships between acoustic activity patterns and weather on an hourly basis for several bat species on Long Island, New York; and (3–4) day-roost characteristics and social network dynamics of a coastal northern long-eared bat maternity colony on Long Island, New York. I found that northern long-eared bat colonies have larger spatial footprints in – and a moderate tolerance for – forests in anthropogenically-developed areas than previously believed, though many natural history aspects of the bat were similar among coastal and interior populations. Installation of artificial day-roost structures such as bat boxes would likely be used and highly beneficial to colonies in these conditions, particularly to offset the deleterious effects of stochastic disturbance events on day-roost availability and to support social cohesion (and, by extension, reproductive success) for coastal maternity colonies. Additionally, I found that acoustic activity increased in riparian areas, or at sites closer to water features, and as proportion of forest coverage increased at a broad scale. However, immediately around the detector this relationship was reversed. Taken together, this demonstrates that riparian corridors, water features, and forest structural heterogeneity should explicitly be included in management guidelines.
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    Trade‐offs in moving citizen‐based anuran call surveys online during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: Lessons from rural Appalachia, USA
    Smith, Walter H.; Hamed, M. Kevin (Wiley, 2020-08-15)
    Citizen science approaches provide adaptable methodologies for enhancing the natural history knowledge of understudied taxa and engaging underserved populations with biodiversity. However, transitions to remote, virtual training, and participant recruitment in response to public health crises like the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic have the potential to disrupt citizen science projects. We present a comparison of outputs from a citizen science initiative built around call surveys for the Mountain Chorus Frog (Pseudacris brachyphona), an understudied anuran, in Appalachian Virginia, USA, prior to and during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic. A transition to virtual training in this initiative did not lead to a decrease in scientific output and led to unexpected natural history insight about our focal taxon; however, a reliance on virtual instruction did decrease overall participation by local residents, particularly for rural K‐12 students. We discuss the trade‐offs exhibited by the adaptation of our initiative to a virtual format and provide recommendations for other citizen science initiatives facing similar restrictions in the face of current and future public health crises.