Bordering Processes and Pony Wildness on Assateague Island

This multispecies ethnography investigates how free-roaming ponies and humans participate in the production of “pony wildness” on Assateague Island, a barrier island located off the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast. The bordering practices of ponies intersect with the bordering practices of people to generate a relational conception of pony wildness that incorporates in people-pony relations a desire for intimacy with respect for autonomy, in a multifunctional landscape managed both as wilderness and as a beach tourism destination. This notion of pony wildness includes nonhuman charisma, fluidity, and managing human visitors. We conclude by discussing how the fluidity of pony wildness can help us think more imaginatively about other contexts in which communities of free-roaming nonhuman animals share space with human communities.

The Potential Distribution of Pythium insidiosum in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia

Pythium insidiosum is a widespread pathogen that causes pythiosis in mammals. Recent increase in cases reported in North America indicates a need to better understand the distribution and persistence of the pathogen in the environment. In this study, we reconstructed the distribution of P. insidiosum in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, located on Assateague Island, Virginia, and based on 136 environmental water samples collected between June and September of 2019. The Refuge hosts two grazing areas for horses, also known as the Chincoteague Ponies. In the past 3 years, 12 horses have succumbed to infection by P. insidiosum. Using an ecological niche model framework, we estimated and mapped suitable areas for P. insidiosum throughout the Refuge. We found P. insidiosum throughout much of the study area. Our results showed significant monthly variation in the predicted suitability, where the most influential environmental predictors were land-surface water and temperature. We found that June, July, and August were the months with the highest suitability for P. insidiosum across the Refuge, while December through March were less favorable months. Likewise, significant differences in suitability were observed between the two grazing areas. The suitability map provided here could also be used to make management decisions, such as monitoring horses for lesions during high risk months.

Assessment of Salt Marsh Change on Assateague Island National Seashore Between 1962 and 2016

Salt marshes provide extensive ecosystem services, including high biodiversity, denitrification, and wave attenuation. In the mid-Atlantic, sea level rise is predicted to affect salt marsh ecosystems severely. This study mapped the entirety of Assateague Island with Very High Resolution satellite imagery and object-based methods to determine an accurate salt marsh baseline for change analysis. Topobathy-metric light detection and ranging was used to map the salt marsh and model expected tidal effects. The satellite imagery, collected in 2016 and classified at two hierarchical thematic schemes, were compared to determine appropriate thematic richness. Change analysis between this 2016 map and both a manually delineated 1962 salt marsh extent and image classification of the island from 1994 determined rates off change. The study found that from 1962 to 1994, salt marsh expanded by 4.01 ha/year, and from 1994 to 2016 salt marsh was lost at a rate of -3.4 ha/ year. The study found that salt marsh composition, (percent vegetated salt marsh) was significantly influenced by elevation, the length of mosquito ditches, and starting salt marsh composition. The study illustrates the importance of remote sensing monitoring for understanding site-specific changes to salt marsh environments and the barrier island system.