Geology topics

Donovan Drummey

Publications and source records attributed to Donovan Drummey.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2026

Range-wide relative abundance of the Appalachian grizzled skipper ( Pyrgus centaureae wyandot ) in the Eastern United States

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated the Pyrgus centaureae wyandot (Appalachian Grizzled Skipper [AGS]) to be at-risk, based on its declining populations and the lack of information on its status. The objective of this study was to complete range-wide surveys to locate extant AGS colonies and to quantify the number of AGS observed at each location. From 2021–24, 284 surveys were done in 25 unique (that is, distinct) counties in 8 States in the Eastern United States — Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. We found AGS in only two counties: Alleghany County, Virginia, and Greenbrier County, West Virginia. AGS were observed 180 times in these two counties. Our results can inform U.S. Fish and Wildlife decisions about where and how future AGS conservation efforts can be implemented.

Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio↗

USGS2026

Range-wide relative abundance of Pyrgus centaureae wyandot (W.H. Edwards, 1863) (Appalachian Grizzled Skipper)

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has designated the butterfly Pyrgus centaureae wyando t (Appalachian Grizzled Skipper [AGS]) to be at-risk, based on its declining populations and the lack of information on its status. Our objective was to conduct range-wide surveys to locate extant AGS colonies and to quantify the number of AGS observed at each location. From 2021 to 2024, we conducted 284 surveys in 25 unique (i.e., distinct) counties in 8 states (Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia). We found AGS in only 2 counties: Alleghany County, VA, and Greenbrier County, WV. AGS were observed 180 times in these counties. Our results can inform US Fish and Wildlife decisions about where and how future AGS conservation efforts can be implemented.

Northeastern Naturalists↗

USGS2024

Using global remote camera data of a solitary species complex to evaluate the drivers of group formation

The social system of animals involves a complex interplay between physiology, natural history, and the environment. Long relied upon discrete categorizations of “social” and “solitary” inhibit our capacity to understand species and their interactions with the world around them. Here, we use a globally distributed camera trapping dataset to test the drivers of aggregating into groups in a species complex (martens and relatives, family Mustelidae , Order Carnivora ) assumed to be obligately solitary. We use a simple quantification, the probability of being detected in a group, that was applied across our globally derived camera trap dataset. Using a series of binomial generalized mixed-effects models applied to a dataset of 16,483 independent detections across 17 countries on four continents we test explicit hypotheses about potential drivers of group formation. We observe a wide range of probabilities of being detected in groups within the solitary model system, with the probability of aggregating in groups varying by more than an order of magnitude. We demonstrate that a species’ context-dependent proclivity toward aggregating in groups is underpinned by a range of resource-related factors, primarily the distribution of resources, with increasing patchiness of resources facilitating group formation, as well as interactions between environmental conditions (resource constancy/winter severity) and physiology (energy storage capabilities). The wide variation in propensities to aggregate with conspecifics observed here highlights how continued failure to recognize complexities in the social behaviors of apparently solitary species limits our understanding not only of the individual species but also the causes and consequences of group formation.

PNAS↗

USGS2024

Long-term monitoring reveals management effects on Prairie Warbler colonization, local extinction, and detection in a Massachusetts pine barren

Habitat management can directly impact Setophaga discolor (Prairie Warbler) abundance and distribution. Despite regional declines, Prairie Warbler populations at Camp Edwards (Bourne, MA) have increased. To investigate habitat-management effects on Prairie Warbler populations at Camp Edwards, we used a dynamic-occupancy model to analyze a long-term monitoring dataset collected across 84 point-count sites from 2013 to 2022. The model results indicated that Prairie Warbler colonization and extinction probabilities were impacted by management (measured in years since disturbance). Colonization probability was highest initially after disturbance, then subsequently decreased for ∼50 years, and extinction probability also decreased for ∼25 years. Both probabilities remained low before increasing at ∼75 years since disturbance. The increase in colonization probability >75 years since disturbance may have been an artifact of our study design and incomplete disturbance records. We also found that latitude and longitude significantly affected colonization probability, likely a result of how habitat types are distributed across the base. These results inform how Prairie Warblers respond to long-term management, suggesting that habitat management could improve colonization rates and sustain Prairie Warbler populations.

Massachusetts↗

USGS2024

The effect of myiasis on Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) body condition, movement, and habitat use at Camp Edwards in Massachusetts

In 2020, natural resource managers at Camp Edwards, Barnstable County, MA, observed Terrapene carolina carolina (Eastern Box Turtle) individuals infected by myiasis, where parasitic flesh flies larviposit into the living tissue of a host. The hypothesized parasite was Dexosarcophaga cistudinis, but its impacts on the host's body condition, movement, and habitat use were unknown. Our objectives were to identify the parasite at Camp Edwards and to compare the body condition, movement, and habitat characteristics at capture locations of Eastern Box Turtles for infected and noninfected individuals. We radio-tracked turtles weekly and encountered 48 individuals from May to August 2022 at Camp Edwards, MA. Upon capture, we recorded turtle infection status, mass, carapace length, shell surface temperature, GPS location, and habitat characteristics of the capture location. We confirmed D. cistudinis as the parasite and found that myiasis-infected turtles had a significantly higher shell temperature (27.92 ± 5.28 °C) than noninfected turtles (26.77 ± 5.64 °C). However, we did not find an effect of myiasis on body condition, habitat use, or average daily distance moved. Collectively, our results suggest that infected turtles may exhibit behavioral fever, a mechanism by which ectotherms move to warmer microclimates to raise their body temperature in response to infections. Eastern Box Turtles at Camp Edwards may be able to use behavioral fever in response to myiasis infection because of the habitat mosaic made available through detailed habitat-management regimes.

Massachusetts↗