Caecidotea burkensis, new species, a unique subterranean isopod from Burke’s Garden, with a synthesis of the biogeography and evolution of southwestern Virginia asellids

Caecidotea burkensis, a new species of subterranean asellid isopod, is described and illustrated from material collected from Lawson Cave, in Burke’s Garden, Tazewell County, Virginia. The type-locality in Burke’s Garden is located within the highest mountain basin in the southern Appalachians. Burke’s Garden is a unique, geologically isolated area encompassing one of the headwater streams of the New River basin. Phylogenetically, the isopod is a member of the forbesi Group, a clade comprised primarily of epigean species. The complex mountain valleys and coves of southwestern Virginia are an area of intense speciation among asellids that have produced a bizarre array of cavernicolous species belonging to groups of otherwise epigean isopods. In addition to a few subterranean species of the Caecidotea cannula and stygia Groups, the Lirceus hargeri Group possesses over a dozen species endemic to caves and springs in the region, mostly only now in the process of being discovered and described. With so much species richness, syntopy of two, or even three, asellid species is commonplace in caves and springs in southwestern Virginia.

Preliminary Evidence that Intraspecific Competition Increases Size of Restoration-Planted Pitch and Shortleaf Pines in a Mixed-Hardwood Clearcut in the Southern Appalachians

Oak-pine (Quercus L. - Pinus L.) forest communities on low ridges in the southern Appalachian Mountains are losing diversity as mature pitch (P. rigida Mill.) and shortleaf (P. echinata Mill.) pines die and do not regenerate under a hardwood canopy. Restoration of biodiversity by planting pine seedlings is well known, but little is known regarding whether the configuration of planted seedlings affects growth and subsequent size (diameter at breast height, dbh) as trees age. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that pines growing in groups of two or more trees respond with increased growth (expressed by dbh) to intraspecific competition with other pines compared to single trees subjected only to interspecific competition with surrounding hardwoods. For 13-year-old pitch and shortleaf pines, trees were larger in dbh when occurring in groups than trees occurring singly. Regression indicated that intraspecific competition accounted for 16% of the dbh variation of pitch pine and 29% for shortleaf pine. This study originated from chance observations in a small study of pine restoration. If a designed study confirms these results, resource managers could restore biodiversity with reduced site disturbance and establishment costs by planting pine seedlings in small groups rather than rows.

Morphological notes on Gazoryctra sciophanes (Ferguson) and G. confusus (Edwards) (Lepidoptera: Hepialoidea: Hepialidae)

The genus Gazoryctra Hübner comprises 10 species in North America and four in northern Eurasia. The remaining diversity of North American Hepialidae is represented by four species of Sthenopis Packard, three species of Phymatopus Wallengren, and one species of Korscheltellus Börner (Nielsen et al. 2000; Grehan & Knyazev 2019). The North American distribution of Gazoryctra extends between Alaska and southern Appalachians and southern Rocky Mountains (Grehan & Mielke 2018). As with other North American Hepialidae, Gazoryctra is absent from much of the southern-central United States where there is ostensibly suitable habitat present as this genus is found in forested regions where it is believed to feed on roots or other organic matter (Schweitzer et al. 2011). This absence may be due to the lack of colonization following regression of inland seas that covered much of this region until the end of the Mesozoic (Grehan & Mielke 2018).

An Archaeology of Native American Placemaking in the Southern Appalachians

Archaeology contributes material perspectives and temporal dimensions to the study of placemaking. This chapter explores relationships between people and place in Native American town areas of the southern Appalachians. How did these towns situate themselves within the southern Appalachian landscape during the period just before and after European contact? How did practices of placemaking shape Native American responses to encounters and entanglements with Spanish conquistadors and English traders and military expeditions? As evident from archaeology, oral tradition, and place names, many places within the landscape of the southern Appalachians were sources of resilience and stability and points of resistance to change.