The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia

Displaying items by tag: virginia tech

hybrid fire antA hybrid fire ant typical of those now seen in Lee County, Va. Virginia Tech scientists have teamed with the commonwealth’s agricultural extension service to find ways to combat the exotic insect.  Cole Shoemaker/iNaturalist

Virginia Tech entomologists partner to help track and prevent the spread of hybrid fire ants

Case Keatley is communications coordinator at Virginia Cooperative Extension.

JONESVILLE, Va. — In Lee County, Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent Amy Byington is working to stop a tiny invader posing a big problem. 

Hybrid fire ants, which are well-established across East Tennessee and parts of Kentucky and North Carolina, are now infiltrating far Southwest Virginia. 

“It’s just one more nuisance,” said Byington, who leads efforts in her county to report and treat the growing issue. “I get calls every week from landowners who are discovering new ant mounds on their property.” 

Byington partners with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to locate and treat the mounds with insecticide bait. 

“One of my producers recently reached out and reported they had found six fire ant mounds on their farm,” she said. “The VDACS inspector later ended up counting 58. It’s a management issue and a human issue.” 

As of 2024, Lee County is the only county in Virginia with a presence of hybrid fire ants, although this is expected to change in coming years as ants gradually expand their territory north and east. 

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imageA new paper reveals the important role that inland fisheries play in providing affordable nutrition around the world.  Illustration courtesy of Lakshita Dey via Virginia Tech

Under-reporting of economics of sustenance fishing is a social justice issue

David Fleming is a Virginia Tech writer and communications specialist.

BLACKSBURG  It is a sight of summer: Along the banks of rivers and streams throughout the Southeast, recreational fishers will cast lines into the water, hoping that a fish will take the bait. In urban towns and cities such as Roanoke or Charlottesville, the same lines dangle from bridges or freshwater wharfs.

All of these activities are currently catagorized as “recreational fishing,” but for many fishers in the U.S. and around the world, the act of fishing in freshwater is not a leisurely pursuit but a way to provide critical sustenance and nutrition for individuals, families and communities.

An expansive new paper, co-authored by Virginia Tech Assistant Professor Elizabeth Nyboer of the College of Natural Resources and Environment and published in the journal Nature Food, reveals the underrecognized extent that inland recreational fisheries provide food and nutrition to people as well as offers insight on their vulnerability to future climate challenges. 

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Thursday, 13 June 2024 12:55

Don’t fear the shy Joro

JoroJoro (pronounced “Joe-row”) spiders have made their way to the U.S. from Asia. They may appear intimidating, and can bite like most spiders, but are harmless when left alone.  Pexels via Virginia Tech

Newest invasive exotic spider is harmless, though it doesn’t belong here

Theresa “Tree” Dellinger is a diagnostician at the Insect Identification Lab in the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech, where she identifies insects and other arthropods and provides management suggestions for insect-related problems. This article was provided by Virginia Tech.

BLACKSBURG — The large, brightly colored Joro spider has been sighted recently on social media in many more places than it has ever been seen in the United States, as exaggerated, misleading stories about the arachnid have gone viral. Yet they pose no threat, except perhaps to insects and to other spiders.

“Joro spiders will likely continue to spread in the U.S., but they aren’t the ‘flying venomous spider invasion’ that’s been sensationalized in the media,” said Virginia Tech entomologist Theresa Dellinger. Answering the questions below, she shared facts about this much maligned spider species.

Q: Where do Joro spiders come from?

“Joro spiders (Trichonephila clavata) are native to east Asia and can be found in Japan, Korea, China, Indochina and Nepal. First reported in northern Georgia in 2014, they are an invasive species of spider that likely entered the U.S. on materials imported from east Asia.” 

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Eastern spotted skunk handstand Agnieszka Bacal.An eastern spotted skunk is seen in its signature defensive handstand. If the stance doesn’t deter predators it will let loose a caustic and malodorous spray akin to mace.  Agnieszka Bacal via Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources

Striped skunks thrive as spotted cousins decline

This story was originally published by The Appalachian Voice.

BOONE — A characteristic white stripe on a black pelt is an instant warning to tread gently.

Nature’s stink bomb, the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) carries this distinctive mark on its back. But Appalachia has a second variety of this master of malodor, marked instead by a blotchy pattern of black and white fur.

The eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius), was not always as rare as it is today. Decades ago, it was relatively common for trappers to catch the polecat, as it’s also known, for its pelt. But spotted skunk populations crashed between 1940 and 1970, according to a landmark paper from the University of Missouri looking at harvest data from trappers. By the 1980s, the study found, harvest numbers had plummeted by 99 percent, reflecting a steep decline in the skunk’s population.

Meanwhile, the spotted skunk’s striped cousin has thrived throughout the United States. So why have their populations diverged so drastically?

SpottedSkunkStudyBlogA spotted skunk trapped as part of Emily Thorne’s Virginia Tech study of the animals.  Emily Thorne

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hellbender VT 1Virginia Tech Professor Bill Hopkins preparing to gently return a hellbender to its underwater home in a Virginia stream after taking measurements.  Lara Hopkins/Virginia Tech

One clue: They eat their own in deforested stream corridors

Mike Allen is a media relations officer for Virginia Tech.

BLACKSBURG  The gigantic salamanders known as hellbenders, once the apex predators of many freshwater streams, have been in decline for decades, their population constantly shrinking. No one knew why. William Hopkins, professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and director of the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech, suspected the hellbenders’ plight had connections with environmental changes engineered by humans.

Hellbender males select nesting sites on stream bottoms and guard the eggs laid there by females — and occasionally the salamander dads snack on the eggs, consuming them before they ever get to hatch. A study that Hopkins led, conducted through eight years of snorkeling in ice-cold Southwest Virginia streams and published in The American Naturalist, determined that in deforested areas, hellbender fathers are far more likely to eat their entire brood than in areas that still have lush foliage.

This behavior, known as filial cannibalism, probably evolved as a survival tactic for enduring harsh conditions. Prior to Hopkins’ results, scientists were not aware that hellbenders’ filial cannibalism drastically increased in cleared lands, actively speeding the species out of existence.

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