The Northwestern Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata) ranges from Washington to the southern end of the Central Valley of California. Because of the extensive latitudinal range of the species, it is expected that several life-history traits will vary across the range. Most data on population structure and growth of A. marmorata have been gathered from southern Oregon and California, and reproductive data are sparse north of the southern end of the range. These data are important to a critical understanding of the species' biology and especially for making conservation judgments for a species some consider in need of protection. Thus, we collected key life-history information at the Luckiamute State Natural Area in the mid-Willamette Valley, Oregon. We found that the population structure, adult size, and growth were similar to southern Oregon sites. Clutch size from radiographs was 6.0 ± 1.18 SE (range = 5–8), smaller than sites at the southern end of the range. The slow growth rate of Luckiamute turtles may be explained by cooler temperature in the Willamette Valley compared to more southerly sites. Still, Luckiamute adults reach a slightly larger size than most turtles in more southerly sites. It just requires many more years to reach sexual maturity and achieve larger sizes in northern areas.

Human activities are increasingly responsible for moving organisms far beyond natural dispersal distances and range boundaries. Here we describe the 1st documented instance of a slender salamander (genus Batrachoseps; B. attenuatus specifically) in Washington State, in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland. We molecularly identified this individual as belonging to a B. attenuatus clade in San Francisco, California. Beyond representing the 1st Batrachoseps in Washington, this is the 1st record of B. attenuatus introduced beyond its range limits in central and northern California, and the 1st record of the entire genus far beyond its geographic range. This specimen is also noteworthy because it was a gravid female that was exceptionally large, suggesting it could found a population on its own if one does not already exist, and that habitat conditions in a suburban region of the Pacific Northwest are suitable for this species. The Pacific Northwest is expected to be particularly suitable for the establishment of a diversity of introduced salamander species, and our work highlights the importance of proactive research and management to address species introductions.

On 12 April 2021, we observed a Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) kill an apparently-healthy adult female Cassin's Finch (Haemorhous cassinii) in an urban backyard near a feeding station in Missoula, Montana. The magpie landed on a chain-link fence above the finch before dropping to the ground 1–2 s later where it grabbed the finch with its bill and pinned it to the ground with a foot, then delivered several blows of the bill to the finch's neck, back, and breast. The entire attack, from arrival of the magpie to its departure with the apparently-dead finch held in its bill, lasted no more than 60 s. We found only 2 prior reports of Black-billed Magpies capturing adult birds, and none for the Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttalli). There are several published cases of the closely-related Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) attacking and killing adult birds, indicating that magpies are quite capable of subduing birds if so motivated when given the opportunity. Black-billed Magpies and Eurasian Magpies tended to attack adult birds during winter through spring (non-breeding season), and most often in urban environments where small birds aggregate near concentrations of food or potential roost and nest sites, resources also attractive to magpies. These circumstances may afford magpies more close encounters with potential adult avian prey than might occur in rural locations, and may encourage them to hunt adult birds more frequently.

Reports of limb malformations in amphibians have increased in the last 20 y. In California, this includes anuran species in the families Hylidae and Ranidae. While working with Foothill Yellow-legged Frogs in Sonoma County, we observed a malformation of a hind limb in 1 individual, the source of which was undetermined. We believe this to be only the second such report of a malformation in this declining species.

West Nile Virus (WNV) is an epizootic virus known to effectively kill Black-billed Magpies (Pica hudsonia). After WNV infection of humans appeared in the western United States, Black-billed Magpies birds per party-hours on Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) declined significantly. Trends for both CBC and Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS) shifted from positive before WNV infections of humans to negative during WNV infections, then rebounded to positive after WNV infection declined. Black-billed Magpies in Canada had no significant differences on CBC before or after WNV infections of humans. Canadian magpies had positive trends both before and after WNV infections on both CBC and BBS, but with negative trends during WNV infections. WNV invasion varied temporally across the continent, and Black-billed Magpies consistently showed significant and often dramatic declines soon after WNV invasion of a region. The southern Prairie region was severely hit, with Prairie states such as Kansas and Nebraska showing significant declines on CBC after WNV invasion, shifting from positive trends on CBC and BBS before invasion to negative trends during and after WNV invasion. WNV has potentially triggered or accelerated a retraction of Black-billed Magpie range in this region. The northern part of the Prairie region was less affected. Most southern and central Rocky Mountain, Intermountain, and Pacific region Black-billed Magpie populations showed significant negative effects from WNV infections. States in these regions with higher densities of Black-billed Magpies such as Colorado, Nevada, and Idaho showed significant dramatic declines during WNV invasion, but positive trends after WNV infections declined, a sign of recovering populations. California populations significantly declined with WNV invasion and have not recovered. Populations in northern and higher-elevation regions had little or no impact from WNV and populations were often stable or increasing.

Fishers (Pekania pennanti) are a species of conservation concern in central British Columbia for which distribution and abundance information is needed to help guide conservation efforts. We conducted a DNA-based spatial capture-recapture study in the Bridge River watershed to gain a better understanding of their density in the dry forests at the southwestern edge of the species' range in the province. We established and monitored baited hair traps at 152 sites spread throughout 771.4 km2 over 4 mo in early 2012, detecting 8 individual Fishers (3 females, 5 males) at 16 different sites. We used spatially explicit capture-recapture methods to estimate the density of Fishers to be 13.1 Fishers/1000 km2 (95% CI: 6.3 to 27.4 Fishers/1000 km2) when we constrained the plausible sampling area to biogeoclimatic zones that are known to support Fishers. This study provides resource managers and trappers with a snapshot of local Fisher densities at the southern edge of the species range in British Columbia that will help estimate sustainable harvest levels and refine the estimate of the provincial population of Fishers.

Knowledge of diet composition can inform management strategies and efforts to recover endangered carnivore populations in vacant portions of their historic ranges. One such species, the Fisher (Pekania pennanti), was extirpated in Washington State prior to any formal documentation of its food habits in the coastal coniferous forests of western Washington. Fisher recovery efforts in Washington, based on translocating Fishers from extant populations, have been ongoing since 2008, beginning with the release of 90 Fishers on Washington's Olympic Peninsula from 2008 to 2010. We collected fecal samples or digestive tracts from 13 Fishers opportunistically on the Olympic Peninsula from 2009 through 2013. Subsequently, we identified the species composition of each sample's contents to determine the primary foods consumed by the reintroduced Fishers. Fisher diets were diverse and dominated by mammalian prey. Contents of feces and digestive tracts of Fishers were composed primarily of Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus) remains, followed by lesser proportions of Mountain Beavers (Aplodontia rufa), Northern Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus), Douglas Squirrels (Tamiasciurus douglasii), Southern Red-backed Voles (Myodes gapperi), shrews (Sorex spp.), and unidentified ungulate species. The diet of Fishers comprised species that occur across a wide range of land uses and management prescriptions, including previously logged forests and mature forests that have been set aside for retention of old-growth forest characteristics. Additional study of prey abundance and Fisher foraging behaviors related to structural habitat characteristics across a gradient of land uses would provide useful insights for enhancing the effectiveness of conservation efforts to benefit Fishers in Pacific Northwest coastal forests.

We observed Western Toad (Anaxyrus boreas) breeding from mid-May to late June, coincident with a reservoir rise of ≤1.2 m in Lake Cushman, Washington State. Breeding occurred at 5 sequentially inundated sites and included diverse habitats. Early-spawned clutch-strings remained attached to the lake bottom but became vertically suspended during the lake-level rise. Embryos and hatchlings nearest the bottom were in cooler water than those near the top. Development through hatchling stages took up to 40 d for early spawn. Locations of later spawning were shallower and warmer, and larval development progressed rapidly. Ultimately, the extended spawning season and varied sites and habitats may provide reproductive success resilience. Reservoir water-level management during Western Toad breeding and larval development may effect: (1) breeding habitat availability; (2) larval development rates; and (3) reproductive success.

Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge (CLNWR) in Washington State supports one of the largest remaining populations of federally listed Oregon Spotted Frogs (OSF; Rana pretiosa). Invasive American Bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus [Rana catesbeiana]), implicated in amphibian declines, are also abundant at CLNWR. Owing to the likely negative effect of this aquatic invader on the highly aquatic OSF, bullfrog control strategies are needed. One method is to limit habitat used by bullfrogs while retaining or enhancing OSF habitat, but for such an approach to be implemented, the 2 species must partition habitat sufficiently. We used radiotelemetry to characterize OSF and bullfrog active-season and pre-overwintering habitat in the human-engineered ditch system at CLNWR. We tracked 12 OSF and 10 bullfrogs from mid-to-late summer, recorded data on frog location and habitat, and analyzed movement patterns, niche breadth, and spatial differences between species. Based on minimum convex polygons, bullfrogs overlapped extensively with OSF habitat space in the ditch system. During the active season, niche analyses also showed extensive overlap in the species' vegetation associations, with selected exceptions at the microhabitat scale. However, each species used distinct pre-overwintering habitats. The small differences in active-season microhabitats and pre-overwintering habitats, and our relatively narrow study conditions, create uncertainty about these species' habitat use in a broader context. Nonetheless, these results underscore the challenge of managing an invasive species that is both a habitat generalist and congener and expose the need for further research to guide management approaches to favor OSFs at CLNWR.