Sumalee Hoskin

With the onset and spread of White-nose Syndrome (WNS) in the eastern United States, several formerly common bat species are now threatened with widespread regional extirpation. For example, the northern long-eared bat has shown precipitous declines and reproduction in surviving bats appears curtailed suggesting functional extirpation in some areas (Francl et al. 2012). This species has been proposed for Federal listing as endangered with the final determination scheduled for April 2015 (Federal Register § 78:61045-61080). Primarily, the species is associated with deciduous forests from New England through the mid-South and Midwest. In addition, to species facing recent declines, WNS has reduced populations of species...

The FWS considers the Appalachian grizzled skipper (AGS, Pyrgus wyandot) a Species of Concern and is requesting key information on this species for a status review. According to the RFP, FWS has given AGS full species status, however, AGS’s taxonomic status is considered controversial. Some lepidopterists recognize P. wyandot as a full species whereas others consider it a subspecies, P. centaureae wyandot (pers. comm. B. Leppo, PA Natural Heritage Program; in Chazal et al., 2004). Regardless, FWS can still list AGS as threatened or endangered at the species or subspecies level. In this proposal, AGS will be treated as P. c. wyandot for simplicity during genetic analysis (Objective 4). The AGS is a small butterfly...