Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) were thought to be common visitors to Arkansas in the early 1900s, but observations declined mid-century. Surveys of citizen science data and other online sources indicate that numbers of unique observations and total counts of birds have increased since 2000. Storks do not breed here, but have been reported in 34 of 75 counties, and appear mostly in August and September. Birds apparently originate from Mexico. Number of observations have increased since 2016, but many of those observations include only a few birds rather than larger flocks.

Geothermal activity such as hot springs are known to precipitate calcium carbonate (CaCO3) minerals, producing rocks such as tufa, travertine and sometimes associated with carbonatite. The precipitation of CaCO is caused by the reduction of CO, which is less soluble in warmer waters. Geothermal heating of water in natural springs drives this precipitation of CaCO3 in areas of Arkansas including Magnet Cove. Magnet Cove, Arkansas is an alkalic igneous rock complex that is composed of a series of ring dikes post-Mississippian in age. These dikes have intruded into faulted and folded Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. One of these igneous dikes is carbonatite, a rare carbonate-rich igneous rock. The formation of carbonatite remains unclear to this day. It may form from magmatic solutions, hydrothermal metasomatism, or a combination of both. If carbonatite is formed through hydrothermal metasomatism, then it likely formed through repeated events of redeposition and recrystallization. On the other hand, if carbonatite is formed through magmatic means, then its parental magma must be some type of alkalic composition. In this study, a carbonate-rich core sample was taken from Magnet Cove at the depth range of 10 feet to 55 feet below ground. Five samples were processed for analysis at every 10 feet. Petrographic and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis was conducted on each sample to investigate the mineralogy and better understand the chemical alterations the area experienced. Samples one, two, and five were primarily calcite, while Sample four contained calcite with some apatite. Sample three was unique, containing calcite, natrolite, epidote, and chlorite, suggesting hydrothermal alteration. The presence of these minerals raises the possibility that carbonatite, if sample Three is indeed carbonatite, may form through hydrothermal processes.

The black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) was first documented in Arkansas during the modern era in Franklin County in 1927. Over the next few decades records were reported from multiple counties in northwest Arkansas and the species was locally common in Benton, Crawford, and Washington counties in the 1950s. The last Arkansas record documented in the scientific literature was from 1968 and since then there have only been three credible reports, with the last being from the late 1980s. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission solicited reports of jackrabbits from the public and failed to find evidence of them from a limited number of roadkill surveys conducted in western Arkansas from 2007-2024. Evidence from an online citizen science database suggests that the eastern extent of the range of this species is now in central Oklahoma. With no credible records in Arkansas for over 40 years it is likely that this species is no longer present in the state.

The Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) is rapidly colonizing the lower Mississippi Valley from recently established Gulf Coast populations. Anecdotal reports indicate that it feeds on freshwater mussels and gastropods in Arkansas, but without documentation. Here I report an analysis of Limpkin shell middens from Bois d’Arc Lake in Hempstead Co. Limpkins at this location preyed heavily on Pyganodon grandis (Giant Floater), a large mussel species widely distributed in the Mississippi Valley. Limpkins employ vigorous bill blows to pierce holes in mussels and usually attack the anterior end of the shell. Video and photographs of feeding birds provide new insight on the mechanics of shell opening and tissue extraction. Given the distribution and current populations of mussels in Arkansas, Limpkins have the potential to become regular summer residents in the mussel-rich areas of the state.

The paucity of information concerning the occurrence of strongyle nematodes in New England dairy goats prompted a survey of 241 dairy goats from throughout New England. Of the 241 goats examined using the McMaster technique, 104 (42.7%) were infected with strongyles with a mean intensity (+ SE) of 369.7 + 45.8 eggs per gram. Subsequent molecular examination of 50 random samples from these goats revealed a prevalence of 88% infection specifically with Haemonchus contortus. Haemonchus contortus is the most important internal parasite of sheep and goats, exerting a crushing economic burden on the livestock industry worldwide due to lowered milk production, poor weight gain, substandard wool quality, and sudden death of animals in all production stages. Nigerian Dwarf (ND) goats have become exceedingly popular in New England and constituted nearly half of the goats surveyed. Comparison of strongyle infections between ND goats and all other goats combined, revealed a 60.7% prevalence of strongyle infection in breeds other than ND goats, while the ND goat infection rate was 25.2%. Likewise, the intensity of infection in ND goats was roughly half that of other breeds combined. The generally accepted threshold of intensity for clinical/economic importance for H. contortus is 1,000 eggs per gram feces. ND goats exhibited a significantly lower prevalence of clinical/economically important infection (2 of 119; 1.7%) than goats of other breeds (9 of 122; 7.4%). This higher prevalence, lower mean intensity, and level of heavy infection exhibited by ND goats suggests the possibility that ND goats in this New England population may possess some level of innate resistance to infection with strongyle nematodes. Further studies are warranted to investigate possible resistance and its biological significance.

Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) typically construct their mud nests under the overhangs of cliffs. However, construction of concrete bridges and overpasses has provided suitable nesting structure in the last few decades. As the number of such nesting sites have increased, the breeding range also has expanded. We evaluated the use of Google Earth Streetview as a means of cheaply harvesting data regarding nesting distribution. The gourd-shaped nests of Cliff Swallows were easily discernible via available imagery, and we were able to document previously unreported nest sites of this species in 6 counties in eastern Arkansas (5 from imagery, 1 from physical survey). Benefits and limitations of this technique are discussed.

I investigated the ultrastructure of the biflagellated spermatozoon of the Western Siren, Siren nettingi, using scanning electron microscopy from salamanders collected in northeastern Arkansas. My primary goal in this study was to reveal the general morphology of the distinctive sperm cell components (two axonemes, two undulating membranes, and two axial fibers), which run nearly the entire length of the spermatozoon. These remarkable gamete structures are found in members of the salamander family Sirenidae and do not conform to spermatozoal ultrastructure of any other salamander species. Moreover, the biflagellated sperm are the end product of an extraordinary assemblage of complex maturation stages associated with acystic lobular spermatogenesis, a unique type of spermatogenesis known only to occur in these salamanders.

We present an analysis of geographic variation in primary song components of the Near Threatened North American endemic, Bachman’s Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis). These songs have 2 distinct portions: an introductory tweet we call the "whistle" and a more complex second portion that we call the "trill". We analyzed 327 songs from 111 recordings downloaded from eBird.org from the entire current range of the species. We grouped the recordings into 3 distinct geographic clusters, East, Central, and West. The data measured from spectrograms suggest a significant statistical difference among groups for 3 measured characteristics: frequency range of trill, number of horizontal units per trill, and number of vertical parts per trill. No statistically significant differences were found in 7 characteristics: durations of a song, whistle, trill, and gap between songs, frequencies of whistle and trill, and quality of whistle.

I investigated the pleated plasma membrane complex of linear folds and biflagellar entities in developing spermatids of the Western Siren, Siren nettingi. My primary goal was to reveal the ultrastructural morphology of these distinctive cellular folds (usually 8 in number) as they support the flagellar formation of biflagellated sperm found in this salamander and in other members in the family Sirenidae. My results reveal that the biflagellar components (2 sets of axonemes, undulating membranes, and axial fibers), termed biflagellar complex, develop between folds or are attached onto these folds. The folds themselves are transitory and do not directly contribute to the formation of the undulating membranes of the biflagellar complex. Also, the components of the biflagellar complex are uniquely spaced within the interior of the pleated plasma membrane complex. Finally, these extraordinary folds highlight the intricate spermiogenic maturation process within acystic lobular spermatogenesis that distinguish this novel type of vertebrate spermatogenesis known only to occur in sirenid salamanders.

Shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) is a deciduous, low-growing shrubby tree that is a dominant plant in large areas of grassland in western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, and eastern New Mexico. Acorns of the plant are important food items for many wildlife species, including scaled quail (Callipepla squamata), mourning doves (Zenaida macroura), and endangered lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). We analyzed the energy content of acorns of shinnery oak obtained from the crops of scaled quail collected from plains-mesa sand-scrub in Lea and Eddy counties, New Mexico. Acorns were removed from crops and dried for 48 hours at 60°C to remove moisture and standardize masses. Acorns were then analyzed for gross caloric value (i.e., energy content) in an oxygen bomb calorimeter. Energy content of acorns of shinnery oak from New Mexico averaged 15.8 J/kg (3.8 kcal/g— standard deviation, 0.5 J/kg [0.1 kcal/g]) and was lower than that of most other food items previously reported from the diet of scaled quail and other upland game birds from southeastern New Mexico.