Illinois Archaeological Survey

Deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Lipopteninae) are blood-feeding ectoparasitic flies that usually feed on deer and other Cervidae but sometimes bite humans. Two species are found in eastern North America: introduced European deer keds (Lipoptena cervi L.) and native Neotropical deer keds (L. mazamae Rondani). While historically dismissed as potential vectors of diseases, half a dozen tick-borne pathogens, including species pathogenic to humans, have been sequenced from deer keds over the last 15 years. In response to growing concerns that deer keds may transmit pathogens, efforts have been made recently to determine the distribution of deer keds in North America. Herein, we present new state records for Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Nebraska, as well as 146 new county records from these and other states. We also discuss the relationship of hippoboscids to CO2-baited mosquito traps and review the impact of the community science platforms iNaturalist.org and BugGuide.net.

Abstract Coal balls are our primary source of information about Pennsylvanian tropical peat swamps. They capture plant community composition and the complex ecological interactions between coeval terrestrial arthropods and plants. A small number of borings (or feeding tunnels) have been documented in permineralized and compression fossils from the Carboniferous Period. We report two borings filled with coprolites (fecal material) in a coal ball originating from the Mt. Rorah Coal Member (Tradewater Formation; Middle Pennsylvanian of Illinois, USA). Peels of the coal ball were prepared using the cellulose acetate peel method and digitized with a Zeiss Axio Zoom V16 microscope. The borings, measuring 3 cm and 6 cm in length, follow the transverse margin of Psaronius roots and are filled with two distinct types of uniformly shaped coprolites: type 1, ranging from 0.5–2 mm in diameter, and type 2, <60 μm in diameter. Both coprolite types consist of digested Psaronius root tissue and only occur in borings, with no signs of feeding damage observed in the surrounding plant tissues along the margins of the borings or the peel. The dimensions of the borings and morphology of type 1 coprolites suggest they were made by an early roachoid, millipede, or another terrestrial arthropod group. The distribution and content of type 2 coprolites indicate coprophagy, or secondary feeding on type 1 coprolites, likely by oribatid mites. These borings provide new insight into the life history of the organisms that created these tunnels, their role in litter decomposition, and the food webs of Pennsylvanian peat swamps.

Abstract Ross River virus (RRV) is a medically significant arbovirus endemic to Australia where it causes an average of 5000 reported human cases per year. Due to concern for possible transmission outside of its endemic range, we examined the vector competence and vectorial capacity of RRV by Aedes albopictus (Skuse 1894) to contribute to risk assessments for outbreaks in the United States. We tested Ae. albopictus mosquitoes exposed to RRV at three temperatures and five time points post-infection for infection and dissemination. We also collected saliva from exposed individuals incubated at the same three temperatures to determine the presence of viral RNA. Additionally, we assessed the impact of viral infection on life expectancy as a function of temperature. Rates of infection were unaffected by time and temperature and 89.3% of individuals were infected. 85-100% of infected individuals displayed dissemination by day 7 at all temperatures. The extrinsic incubation period as determined by the saliva collection was approximately 6 days and 78.6-100% of individuals tested expressed salivary viral RNA at some point in the experiment which is comparable to the rates of overall infection. The vectorial capacity of RRV with Ae. albopictu s as a vector ranged from 10.23-23.37 indicating that these mosquitoes are competent potential vectors for RRV. Due to prior outbreaks RRV has caused outside of its endemic range, these findings warrant further investigation in the transmission potential of RRV in the United States. Author Summary The last 30 years has seen a steady increase in mosquito-borne illness globally, much of which has been driven by viruses such as dengue establishing in new areas as a consequence of the spread of its primary vectors and environmental changes. In order to mitigate the continued increase in the prevalence of mosquito-borne illness, it is necessary to determine which viruses are likely to spread beyond their native range. Ross River virus (RRV) is a mosquito-borne virus which, while nonlethal, commonly causes a litany of debilitating side-effects for extended periods of time. RRV is endemic to Australia, however the recent introduction of a known RRV vector to California as well as the widespread prevalence of a suspected RRV vector, Ae. albopictus , across the country, could prime RRV for an outbreak in the continental United States. As part of a risk assessment for the outbreak potential of RRV in the continental United States, we investigated the vector competence and vectorial capacity of Ae. albopictus . We find that this species is a competent vector for this virus across a range of relevant temperatures.

ABSTRACT Sparse distributional data, taxonomic uncertainty, and cryptic diversity present significant barriers to building reliable species‐level ecological niche models (ENMs). Supraspecific ENMS hold potential to address these challenges by combining data across multiple species to capture shared habitat associations. This study investigated the application of supraspecific ENMs to predict the distribution of primary burrowing crayfish, a freshwater faunal group with taxonomic ambiguity and limited historical data. We developed four Maxent ENMs for three of the most widespread burrowing crayfish species in the United States— Creaserinus fodiens (Cottle 1863), Procambarus gracilis (Bundy 1876), and Lacunicambarus ludovicianus (Faxon 1884)—and a combined supraspecific dataset using spatially filtered historical records of all three species. We conducted field validation across 96 semi‐randomly selected sites in Missouri, United States, stratified by habitat suitability quartiles. Model performance was assessed using a suite of threshold dependent and independent metrics to evaluate discrimination and calibration. Modelling above the species level successfully identified suitable habitat for burrowing crayfish as a group. Field validation confirmed the model's predictive ability, with crayfish detected at 35 locations, including 11 sites where Lacunicambarus species not used in model training were found. Our Maxent models performed significantly better than expected by chance and showed that broadly suitable burrowing crayfish habitat consisted of shallow water tables, low elevation, low average maximum daily temperatures, and moderate annual precipitation. Our findings suggest that burrowing crayfish species may exhibit shared habitat associations, making them strong candidates for supraspecific modelling approaches, especially in regions with limited historical records or lineages with unresolved taxonomy and cryptic diversity. Further, by using species from three different genera, we demonstrated that supraspecific ENMs based on ecological traits, rather than phylogeny, offer a promising tool for extending distributional knowledge and informing conservation planning for data‐poor taxa.

Abstract The feeding ecology of apex carnivores is affected by multiple intrinsic (e.g., sex and age) and extrinsic (e.g., prey density, habitat availability, presence of dominant competitors) factors, yet little research has explored how these factors affect the temporal use of resources. We placed video camera traps at puma ( Puma concolor ) kill sites and used a series of comparative analyses to understand if pumas varied in their diel activity at kill sites. We found that the diel activity of male pumas at kill sites peaked around midnight, but the diel activity of females and family groups peaked just after sunset, supporting our hypothesis that other sex/age classes would shift diel activity to avoid the potential risk posed by male pumas. We also observed changes in diel activity according to whether pumas fed during the visit to a kill site or not, their visit duration, and the number of days since the kill was made—suggesting that pumas adjusted the diel aspect of feeding to minimize competition risk while maximizing energy/nutrient intake as carcass quality degraded. Finally, contrary to our predictions, human activity had a greater impact on puma diel activity at kill sites than the human footprint, suggesting that pumas are more sensitive to short‐term anthropogenic disturbances near their kills than proximity to permanent structures. Our study highlights how both intrinsic and extrinsic factors lead to diel variation in kill sites by pumas. Better understanding the dynamics of the feeding ecology of apex carnivores—including how they balance the competing forces of feeding efficiency, safety, and competition—will facilitate developing more effective conservation strategies to minimize costly disturbances while feeding for apex carnivores.

Abstract This study examines the groundwater potential in an arid desert region that has unpredictable drought conditions throughout the year. With the absence of surface water systems, the groundwater aquifer, recharged only by monsoon rains, serves as the source for drinking and daily water use. To evaluate the aquifer characteristics, 128 vertical electrical soundings (VES) were conducted using the Schlumberger electrode configuration. The measured geo‐electrical parameters were analysed using Interpex IX1D software, and variations in layer thickness and electrical resistivity (ER) were mapped in an ArcGIS environment using the inverse distance weighted interpolation technique. The Dar‐Zarrouk parameters and ER variations indicate the presence of both shallow and deep aquifers, with depth ranging from 60 m to 100 m, covering an area of approximately 760 km2. These aquifers possess a groundwater potential of about 260 billion cubic meters. The study demonstrates that integrating VES data with GIS effectively addresses the challenges in vulnerable regions and provides reliable results for quantifying groundwater potential.

ABSTRACT Objective As standardized boat electrofishing methods are adopted, integrating changes in electrofishing equipment at an agency-wide scale is an expensive and protracted process. As a result, many agency offices use a variety of electrofishing control boxes among different boats or interchangeably among boats. Our objective was to compare electrofishing catch data that were collected using different control boxes that are currently in service within and among electrofishing fleets to provide guidance on interchanging between different control boxes and the continued use of out-of-production control boxes for which standardizing power output is difficult. Methods We conducted a field-based assessment of the catch data that were produced by two configurations of a Smith Root Type VI-A electrofisher (low voltage/high pulse width and high voltage/low pulse width) and one configuration of an ETS MBS-1D electrofisher (output standardized to a power goal based on water conditions). The low-voltage Type VI-A configuration was chosen to match the voltage output of the standardized MBS configuration, and the higher voltage configuration consisted of the next highest voltage range on the control box, with the same root-mean-square current as the low-voltage Type VI-A configuration. To isolate the effect of control box configuration, all the data were collected with the same electrofishing boat and equipment, with the same driver and netter, and from the same water body. We tested for differences in the fish assemblage structure, relative abundance, and size structure among the data that were collected by the three configurations. We also mapped voltage gradients surrounding the anode array to assess how the size and strength of the electric field changed with the different configurations. Results The fish assemblages sampled and catch rates of most species were similar among the three electrofishing configurations, but fish <220 mm were consistently underrepresented when electrofishing with the Type VI-A at the lower voltage range. No differences were detected between data that were collected by the standardized MBS and the Type VI-A at higher voltage. The mapped voltage gradients supported the results of calculations that indicated that the Type VI-A configuration required 34% more voltage and current than the MBS configuration for comparable fish capture. Conclusions Inherent differences in settings and characteristics of the waveforms produced by different electrofishers can complicate methods for standardizing power or current outputs that are required for consistent and safe fish immobilization. Although calibration among different control boxes is possible, our results suggest that parabolic pulse shapes require higher peak power outputs than rectangular pulse shapes to produce effectively similar fish catches. Measuring the strength of the electric field provides important methodological context for electrofishing whether users are transitioning from older to newer equipment or relying on out-of-production control boxes.

<strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> This study examines the feasibility of dating pluvial lake beach ridges using rock surface luminescence dating techniques. Dating pluvial lake highstands in the internally drained Great Basin of the US helps us understand the timing of changes in precipitation and temperature patterns in western North America during the Late Pleistocene. The majority of highstand ages have relied on few radiocarbon ages of shell and/or charcoal sometimes coupled with luminescence dating of sand. Within our study area in the south-central Great Basin, luminescence ages of sand-size particles have successfully dated aeolian influxes of sand during arid intervals, but have not successfully dated the highstand beach ridges, the best preserved of which are largely gravel. Directly dating when these gravel clasts were last exposed to sunlight via luminescence is ideal but their limestone and volcanic lithologies prove challenging. Initial measurements from these lithologies show promise. Polymineral extracts from limestone clast surfaces from Coal Valley that contain sufficient detrital sediment exhibited infrared (IR) signals with low to moderate fading rates and properties suited to single-aliquot regenerative (SAR) dose measurement protocols. Ages calculated using the minimum dose model straddle the C-14 age estimate of the Pluvial Lake Coal highstand with one age consistent with the C-14 at 1&sigma;. Crushed slices from volcanic clasts from Cave Valley could be dated using a high-temperature (290 &deg;C) post-infrared infrared (PIRIR) signal with a correction for fading. Many ages obtained from volcanic clast surfaces were observed to be several thousand years younger than the independent age control of ~16&ndash;18 ka. This suggests that the volcanic rocks have been exposed to light long after the pluvial lake highstand, likely because of bioturbation, and that their most recent burial occurred in response to climatically-driven soil formation processes. Surprisingly, there is congruency between luminescence-depth profile plateau ages calculated from <em>inside</em> the volcanic rocks and independent age control. This suggests that some volcanic rocks were small enough to have been bleached throughout their entire thickness in the Late Pleistocene pluvial lake beach environment and that PIRIR signals that record the time of beach ridge formation may be preserved within the rock sub-surface. This study develops novel dating approaches for challenging rock lithologies. Rock surface dating techniques for pluvial lake beach ridges in the Great Basin should be further developed with consideration of local bedrock type(s), clast size, sample collection and preparation methods, gravel bleaching processes in pluvial lake environments and the impact of soil development and bioturbation on study sites.

ABSTRACTThe genus Scaphoideus is one of the most diverse groups in Deltocephalinae with significant pest species, including the American grapevine leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus Ball, the vector of Flavescence dorée phytoplasma in European grapevines. Despite the diversity and the agricultural importance of these species, limited information regarding the phylogenetic relationships of Scaphoideus species is available. Furthermore, although S. titanus is one of the most important pest of grapevine in Europe, details on its intraspecific genetic variation are limited to only a few studies based on single mitochondrial markers. By sequencing the complete mitochondrial genomes of S. incisus Osborn, S. melanotus Osborn, S. minor Osborn, S. nigrisignus Li, and S. titanus, we examined the phylogenetic relationships among these species. We specifically investigated the genetic differences between S. titanus populations from North America and Europe to reveal new insights on the invasion history of this species in Europe. Based on our dataset, two distinct genetic clades of S. titanus with more than 10% pairwise genetic distance were identified in the native range: one comprising Midwestern USA and Quebec, Canada and a second one with individuals from Ontario, Canada. Morphological analysis of the aedeagus showed differences between the two clades, suggesting that they should be considered as different species. Invasive European populations share high mitochondrial similarity with those from Ontario, supporting the hypothesis that the invasion originated from this region. Our data reveal new insights into the invasion history of this important pest species and highlight the need for a taxonomic revision of the S. titanus species complex.

<strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> Water scarcity is a key limiting factor for sustainable socioeconomic development especially in arid and semi-arid basins, and managing water effectively there often requires coherent and holistic policies and regulations at the basin scale. This study developed an integrated basin-scale hydroeconomic optimization model. The model reasonably details the representation of the hydrologic, infrastructural, water demand and regulatory components, with an objective to maximize overall economic benefits of irrigated crop production, water supply and hydropower generation, subject to resource, infrastructural, operational and policy constraints. A baseline calibration enhances the model&rsquo;s reliability for analysing interconnected physical processes and decision-making, based on the interdependence of hydrologic and economic components. The model is applied to the Yellow River Basin (YRB), where water has been fully allocated and intense competition exists among different water users across the basin. Results show that the coupling of water availability decreases and water value increases along the river from upstream to downstream, implying a more challenging issue for downstream water security (especially the critical ecological requirements) and a larger requirement for water saving in upstream areas. Basin-wide management strategies highlighted in this study include: transferring water allocation to economically high-value production sectors; coordinating the operation of multiple reservoirs in the basin, taking advantage of the reservoirs that have inter-year operation capacity; monitoring and balancing water availability between upstream and downstream areas. The stabilization of water supply heavily relies on the coordinated operation of aquifers and reservoirs with inter-year storage capacity, which can effectively mitigate hydrologic variability and safeguard downstream water availability. Water valuation analysis based on marginal value underscores the potential benefits of water trading and inter-regional transfers. The results offer insights for basin-scale water management, showing potentials of re-allocation strategies for improving management flexibility and increasing water productivity. Insights from the YRB are meaningful as guides for managing basins worldwide that face similar challenges.