scholarly journals The fauna of caves and other subter-ranean habitats of North Carolina, USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 221-260
Author(s):  
Cato Holler, Jr ◽  
Jonathan Mays ◽  
Matthew Niemiller

Over 1,500 caves have been documented in North Carolina, however, cave fauna in the Blue Ridge Mountains and Piedmont regions of North Carolina have been overlooked historically compared to the cave-rich karst terrains in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge and Interior Low Plateau to the west. Here, we provide the first comprehensive faunal list of caves and other subterranean habitats in the state based on over 40 years of periodic surveys and compilation of literature, biodiversity databases, and museum records. We report 475 occurrences from 127 caves, springs, and wells in 29 counties, representing 5 phyla, 17 classes, 43 orders, 90 families, 124 genera, and at least 164 species. Vertebrate fauna comprised 32 species, including 4 fishes, 9 salamanders, 1 lizard, 4 snakes, 2 birds, and 12 mammals (8 bats). Diverse invertebrate groups included spiders (11 families and 18 genera), springtails (7 families and 9 genera), segmented worms (3 families and 8 genera), and snails (6 families and 9 genera). At least 25 taxa are troglobites/stygobites (cave obligates), including 5 species of cave flatworms, 5 cave springtails, and 5 cave amphipods. Most troglobitic/stygobitic fauna documented in this study are endemic to North Carolina. Counties with the greatest cave biodiversity include Rutherford, McDowell, Swain, Henderson, Polk, and Avery counties. Over 20 species documented are of conservation concern, including 14 troglobites and 3 federally-listed bats. Although not as diverse as adjacent states, caves and other subterranean habitats in North Carolina support a diverse community of invertebrates and vertebrates. Our review serves as a base line for future cave biological surveys in the state and highlights the importance of subterranean habitats for North Carolina biodiversity.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Haynes-Maslow ◽  
Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts ◽  
Kathryn A. Boys ◽  
Jared T. McGuirt ◽  
Sheila Fleischhacker ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The North Carolina Healthy Food Small Retailer Program (NC HFSRP) was established through a policy passed by the state legislature to provide funding for small food retailers located in food deserts with the goal of increasing access to and sales of healthy foods and beverages among local residents. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine perceptions of the NC HFSRP among store customers. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted with 29 customers from five NC HFSRP stores in food deserts across eastern NC. Interview questions were related to shoppers’ food and beverage purchases at NC HFSRP stores, whether they had noticed any in-store efforts to promote healthier foods and beverages, their suggestions for promoting healthier foods and beverages, their familiarity with and support of the NC HFSRP, and how their shopping and consumption habits had changed since implementation of the NC HFSRP. A codebook was developed based on deductive (from the interview guide questions) and inductive (emerged from the data) codes and operational definitions. Verbatim transcripts were double-coded and a thematic analysis was conducted based on code frequency, and depth of participant responses for each code. Results Although very few participants were aware of the NC HFSRP legislation, they recognized changes within the store. Customers noted that the provision of healthier foods and beverages in the store had encouraged them to make healthier purchase and consumption choices. When a description of the NC HFSRP was provided to them, all participants were supportive of the state-funded program. Participants discussed program benefits including improving food access in low-income and/or rural areas and making healthy choices easier for youth and for those most at risk of diet-related chronic diseases. Conclusions Findings can inform future healthy corner store initiatives in terms of framing a rationale for funding or policies by focusing on increased food access among vulnerable populations.


1978 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Reaume

This paper reports on an application of the microsimulation method to the estimation of income tax collections for the State of North Carolina. Detailed forecasts of Income distribution make it Possible to model the law in nearly complete detail. The model provides quarterly forecasts of collections disaggregated by withheld taxes, declarations payments, final payments, and refunds.


Author(s):  
Joanne G. Carman

This article explores the accountability relationship between the state auditor’s office and non-profit organisations by examining the audit reports prepared by the North Carolina State Auditor’s Office for non-profit organisations from 2009 to 2018. The data collected for this study show that the extent to which the state auditor conducts audits of non-profit organisations is fairly limited. Yet, when it does audit them, it is doing so to police their behaviours, monitor their expenditures and ensure that they are being good stewards with the resources they have been given. The findings from this study have important implications, in that they suggest that other accountability mechanisms continue to be important, including: training and education for board members about their legal and fiduciary responsibilities; the importance of adhering to best practices and standards; and the important role that third-party watchdog organisations and accreditors can play in ensuring non-profit accountability.


10.29007/68dk ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gidon Ernst ◽  
Paolo Arcaini ◽  
Alexandre Donzé ◽  
Georgios Fainekos ◽  
Logan Mathesen ◽  
...  

This report presents the results from the 2019 friendly competition in the ARCH workshop for the falsification of temporal logic specifications over Cyber-Physical Systems. We describe the organization of the competition and how it differs from previous years. We give background on the participating teams and tools and discuss the selected benchmarks and results. The benchmarks are available on the ARCH website1, as well as in the competition’s gitlab repository2. The main outcome of the 2019 competition is a common benchmark repository, and an initial base-line for falsification, with results from multiple tools, which will facilitate comparisons and tracking of the state-of-the-art in falsification in the future.


Author(s):  
Jami L. Jones

Understanding a generation’s “peer personality” provides librarians a unique opportunity to develop services and programs tailored to the needs and unique attributes of a group of individuals. Master of Library Science students enrolled in a graduate research class at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, surveyed 245 18-to 24-year old members of the Millennial generation at various locations throughout the state to ascertain their use and perception of libraries and bookstores. Most important to Millennials are helpful library staff, good collections, and convenient hours. Least important are bargain items for sale, coffee, and the library or bookstore as a place to be with others.


North Carolina hosted some 3,000 Italian and 10,000 German POWs in the state. There were eighteen camps for Germans, where the men worked at farming, textiles, lumber, tobacco, and saw mills. Taking the place of American men who had gone off to war, the POWs were good workers with very few escapes and were able to make some lifelong friends with their employers.


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