AbstractIn the management of private forests, it is important for a forester to understand and prescribe action rooted in sound science and technique but also in landowner values. Prior research has indicated that storytelling and sharing, which surface a landowner’s values, often result from an established, trusted connection with their forester. Empirical and experiential knowledge indicate that landowners and foresters who engage over prospective forest management often fail to create such a connection, leaving landowners feeling less trusting of the recommendations coming to them and vulnerable to the outcomes of potential unsustainable practices proposed by other actors. Such disconnect could be related to conflict between how landowners desire to engage foresters and the ways traditional forestry practice has prepared foresters. To further understand the landowner-forester disconnect and possibilities for overcoming it, this paper analyzes landowners’ interactional experiences with consulting foresters. Interviews with landowners indicated that professional and personal identities, as well as landowners’ perceptions of foresters, impacted the formation of a productive, working relationship between them. In their stories, landowners described that finding personal connections had the power to change their perceptions and catalyze the relationship. Results underscore the importance of allowing expert and personal identity to surface in order to create a relationship, informing the way in which foresters carry their expertise. This research suggests that being a forester is about being more than an expert, but also about being a knowledgeable and empathetic collaborator.

The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is a novel invasive insect from Asia now established and spreading throughout the United States. This species is of particular concern given its ability to decimate important crops such as grapes, fruit trees, as well as native hardwood trees. Since its initial detection in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 2014, spotted lanternfly infestations have been detected in 130 counties (87 under quarantine) within Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Compounding this invasion is the associated proliferation and widespread distribution of the spotted lanternfly’s preferred host plant, the tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima). While alternate host plant species have been observed, the tree-of-heaven which thrives in disturbed and human-dominated areas (e.g., along roads and railways) is likely facilitating the population growth rates of spotted lanternfly. We simulated the population and spread dynamics of the spotted lanternfly throughout the mid-Atlantic USA to help determine areas of risk and inform continued monitoring and control efforts. We tested the prediction that spotted lanternfly spread is driven by human-mediated dispersal using agent-based models that incorporated information on its life-history traits, habitat suitability, and movement and natural dispersal behavior. Overwhelmingly, our results suggest that human-mediated dispersal (e.g., cars, trucks, and trains) is driving the observed spread dynamics and distribution of the spotted lanternfly throughout the eastern USA. Our findings should encourage future surveys to focus on human-mediated dispersal of egg masses and adult spotted lanternflies (e.g., attachment to car or transported substrates) to better monitor and control this economically and ecologically important invasive species.

IntroductionRare plant species comprise >36.5% of the world’s flora and disproportionately support ecosystem function and resilience. However, rare species also lead global plant extinctions, and unique ecological characteristics can make them vulnerable to anthropogenic pressure. Despite their vulnerability, many rare plants receive less monitoring than is needed to inform conservation efforts due to limited capacity for field surveys.MethodsWe used field observations and geospatial data to summarize how 128 imperiled, rare vascular plant species in Nevada are affected by various threats. We assessed correlations between threats predicted by geospatial data and threats observed on the ground and asked how historic and current threats compare.ResultsThe most commonly observed threats were from recreation, invasive and non-native/alien species, and livestock farming and ranching. Threat prevalence varied by elevation (e.g., a greater variety of threats at lower elevations, greater threat from climate change observed at higher elevations) and land management. There was a 28.1% overall correlation between predicted and observed threats, which was stronger for some threats (e.g., development of housing and urban areas, livestock farming and ranching) than others. All species experienced extreme climatic differences during 1990-2020 compared to baseline conditions, with the most extreme change in southern Nevada. The average number of threats observed per occurrence increased by 0.024 each decade.DiscussionWhile geospatial data did not perfectly predict observed threats, many of these occurrences have not been visited in over 30 years, and correlations may be stronger than we were able to detect here. Our approach can be used to help guide proactive monitoring, conservation, and research efforts for vulnerable species.

Hosts, larval descriptions, biology, and distribution records are reviewed for the 16 described Nearctic species of Caliroa Costa (Tenthredinidae). We report the first rearing records for C. lunata MacGillivray, which feeds on Staphylea trifolia L. (Staphyleaceae). Caliroa obsoleta (Norton), previously known from Quercus L. spp. (Fagaceae), has now been reared from Populus tremuloides Michx. (Salicaceae). The larva of another Quercus feeder, C. petiolata Smith, is described and illustrated for the first time. A key is provided to both known and unidentified larvae, drawing from the literature and new observations, including an extensive review of online photographs.

Park and recreation researchers have integrated digitalization into visitor use assessments, aiming to provide managers with information to assist with decision-making and sustainability goals. Applying a management framework of objectives, indicators, and thresholds of quality guided by normative theory, researchers have explored how to define and manage sustainability in park and recreation settings since the 1960s. Digitalized presentations of indicators are more recent (1990s) and continue to advance this framework. A review of the contributions and transferability of these digitalized methods and contexts is necessary, considering both the increasing popularity of its application across parks, recreation, and tourism management and its potential to incorporate sustainability measures. We conducted a related systematic literature review, synthesizing 91 qualifying peer-reviewed articles sourced from thousands examined. In particular, we examined elements of context, digitalization, and sustainability. We found that the method has broadly advanced measuring indicators through varied application of visual, aural, and simulated conditions. However, results indicate that researchers have applied digitalization of indicators most often through research question-focused case study, in U.S. national parks, for social indicators and particularly “people at one time,” and without reference to monitoring. These constraints may limit the method's contributions toward sustainability. Digitalization facilitates sustainable park and recreation management by expanding the indicators examined and corresponding methods used and offers sustainable management strategies for concerns established and emergent. This systematic literature review can help enhance the robustness of this management framework and its transferability to the global context. Results from this investigation suggest that although park and recreation management agencies’ objectives are often broadly focused on sustainability, and visitor use and perceptions studies also focus on this general goal, this connection is not explicitly detailed in the majority of the sources examined. This provides opportunity for managers and researchers to discuss these connections further and ensure that practices related to sustainability (such as monitoring plans) are included across communications.

The spatial distribution and seasonal dynamics of the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) on tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) were studied in Pennsylvania through weekly sampling of 30 trees (6 sites, 5 trees/site) from 27 July to 8 November 2020. Adults found on each tree were separated into six within-tree positions (lower trunk, middle trunk, upper trunk, first branch, second branch, and above second branch) by four directions (East, South, West, and North). In total, 78,796 adults were counted at the six study sites during the 15-week period. Significant differences in total adult count were found among trees, with a mean of 2,627 (254–12,023) adults/tree. Study site, tree diameter, and cardinal direction had no significant impact on adult spatial distribution. However, significantly more adults were found on the middle (1077), the lower (865), and the upper trunk (337) compared with the first (194), the second (93), and above second branches (60). Most adults were congregated on the lower and middle trunks. Seasonal dynamics followed adult development and migration patterns in the field, with peak populations observed in weeks 35 (24–30 August) and 37 (7–13 September) before declining. Female-based sex ratios ranged from 77.3 to 100% according to weekly monitoring of the lower 1 m trunk of 10 trees at 2 sites (5 trees/site) for 12 weeks from 17 August to 8 November, with 7,356 females and 197 males counted, respectively. Impact factors such as attack patterns, intraspecific congregation, adult seasonality, and sexual dimorphism in host selection are discussed.

A housing development of 87 new homes on approximately 300 acres of former farm land was found to have 19 homes with basement radon-222 ( 222 Rn) concentrations greater than 37,000 Bq m -3 , with the highest recorded result to date being 648,000 +/- 1,031 Bq m -3 , based upon the diffusion barrier charcoal canister result. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Action Level for 222 Rn is 148 Bq m -3 . This single-family housing development is in the southeast corner of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, about 58 km northwest of Philadelphia, in a geologic unit known as the Epler Formation. Radon testing in homes in this development began in the fall of 2014 and is now complete. Initial testing consisted of charcoal canisters mailed to homeowners. Subsequent testing in newly built homes consisted of testing prior to occupancy. This testing was quite extensive, with continuous radon monitors, passive radon monitors, and grab sampling for radon gas and progeny in the basement and on the first floor of each home as well as gamma surveys in the basement, on the first and second floors, and outside of each home. All but one of the new houses in this development had passive radon resistant features installed during the construction phase. In all cases, fans were added to the passive systems to make them active systems, which were needed to control these extremely high radon levels. Additional radon mitigation work such as adding additional suction points was also needed in several homes to reduce levels to below EPA guidelines. The unique geology and high 226 Ra soil concentrations in this specific area are the causes of these extremely high radon levels. Radon measurement data both inside these homes and in the outdoor ambient air, as well as 238 U and 222 Ra rock and soil concentrations, are presented.

Oviposition strategies adopted by insects (e.g., habitat selection, substrate preference, egg size, clutch size, structure, arrangement, parental care) are critical to the survival and development of their eggs. The impact of habitat and oviposition substrate on spotted lanternfly egg mass size and hatchability was studied in Pennsylvania through laboratory observations and field monitoring in 2019 and 2021. Eggs were arranged in single layers of 1-13 columns (1-18 eggs/column) on surfaces of various types of oviposition substrates, with the longest column(s) in the middle of the egg mass. Egg mass size was positively correlated with column number, with a mean of 26.6-35.1 (0-105) eggs/egg mass for different samples. Significant differences in egg mass size were observed between study sites, with larger egg masses found at Wertz (44.8), Sam Lewis (40.6), Pinnacle (39.1), Marsh Creek (37.9), Susquehannock (34.5), and Memorial Lake (33.3) and smaller egg masses at Nolde Forest (25.0), Gordon (24.4), and Antietam (21.0). Significant differences were also detected between types of oviposition substrates with smaller egg masses found on American hornbeam (22.7). In general, more (31.6%-48.0%) eggs hatched in the field compared with the laboratory (10.0%). Egg hatch success was positively correlated with egg mass size, with the highest rates recorded on American beech, American hophornbeam, black birch, black cherry, black locust, hackberry, Norway maple, red maple, and sweet cherry at Wertz, Marsh Creek, Memorial Lake, and Pinnacle. Potential (positive or negative) impacts of tree-of-heaven density, initial infestation, treatment history, and incubation conditions are discussed.

AbstractAnthropogenic noise pollution, such as that derived from traffic and industrial machinery, has been identified as an urgent conservation priority as it is often louder and more prevalent than natural acoustic stimuli, and can act as a stressor on wildlife. Research in avian systems has shown that anthropogenic noise can affect physiology and reproductive success of adult birds – but effects on juvenile birds have been less‐studied despite their being potentially more vulnerable during the nestling period. What studies have been done have shown remarkable variability in juvenile response to anthropogenic noise, suggesting that effects are highly context‐ and species‐specific. Here, we investigate the effects of gas compressor noise, an increasingly prevalent and biologically relevant noise stressor produced during natural gas production, on juvenile tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Gas compressors generate considerable sound pressure as they work to pressurize gas pipelines for downstream distribution. We predicted that exposure to increased noise during incubation and the nestling period would result in smaller chicks in poorer body condition and with a dampened immune response. Surprisingly, we found no evidence for any of these predictions, providing further evidence that noise effects on juvenile birds is highly variable, and we explore ways in which individual birds may compensate for the effects of disturbance at the nest.

Dichanthelium wrightianum, a species of panic grass whose North American range is exclusive to the Coastal Plain, is reported from Tennessee for the first time. A single population of this species was discovered in a wet grassland remnant in the Eastern Highland Rim physiographic region alongside many other species disjunct from the Coastal Plain. Another Coastal Plain Dichanthelium, D. roanokense, was found at a second wet grassland nearby. While D. roanokense was previously reported for Tennessee, it has not been recently documented or confirmed to be extant within the state and its current status should be reviewed. The ecology and conservation of Tennessee populations of both species are discussed.