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A survey was designed and administered to measure knowledge of and attitudes toward on-farm food safety among small- and medium-sized farms in the New England (NE) region (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT). Two methods of distribution were used, based on each state project director's solicitation preference: an on-line survey was distributed through E-mail, and a paper survey was mailed. Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, 1-way ANOVA and t-tests, using SPSS software, and significance was reported at P < .05. Respondents from small (n = 254) and medium (n = 47) farms had an overall correct knowledge score of 77 ± 13%, related to on-farm food safety practices in the areas of general food safety, water, health and hygiene, planting/growing/harvesting, post-harvest, animal and pest control, and recall/traceback. Knowledge scores were significantly (P < .05) higher among respondents who had received GAP training (80% vs. 73%) and had implemented on-farm food safety practices (79% vs. 71%). The overall attitude score, based on a 5-point Likert scale, was 3.5 ± 0.5, reflecting the importance of on-farm food safety, trust in others to keep produce safe, perception of local/smaller being safer, and perception that their customers value food safety. On-farm food safety had a positive attitude score (4.0 ± 0.9), while trust in others had a low score (2.4 ± 0.8). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desmids (sensu lato) are a group of morphologically diverse, freshwater algae, which have been used as biological indicators in some regions. In this study, we sampled three New England ponds from 2017 to 2019 and recorded their desmid floras. We then curated early- to mid-20th-century floristic data from the same ponds and compared them to our findings from 2017 to 2019 to document changes in desmid assemblages over the last 100 years. We assessed the past and current conservation value of the ponds using desmids as biological indicators. We documented a major decline in desmid diversity and conservation value of two of the ponds, but we documented remarkable diversity in Hawley Bog in western Massachusetts, with 66 taxa newly reported from the locality. Additionally, we documented the first record of Micrasterias brachyptera from New England. To aid future floristic efforts, we provided our species records and images in a public repository, the community-science database iNaturalist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the under-collection and under-documentation of bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) in New England. The author highlights the historical bias in bryophyte surveys and the need for modern collections and investigations to better understand the distribution and diversity of these plants. The article reports on the liverworts and hornworts collected during two forays organized by the New England Botanical Society in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, and Bristol County, Rhode Island. Several new records were added to the bryophyte flora of these counties, emphasizing the importance of continued research and documentation of these fascinating plants. [Extracted from the article]

This study incorporates the knowledge gained from the many genetic studies completed in the past 25 years with traditional morphological- and ecological-based species concepts to arrive at an updated taxonomy for the Sphagnum species in Massachusetts and New England. In total, 43–44 Sphagnum species are documented for Massachusetts and 53 Sphagnum species are documented for all of New England. The study provides a county checklist as well as the determination that 21 species are potentially rare in Massachusetts. Four (or five) new state records are documented for Massachusetts: S. divinum and/or S. diabolicum, S. ×mississippiense, S. ×missouricum, and S. tenellum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined historical changes and patterns in the nonnative flora of Franklin County in western Massachusetts. The historical flora was documented by examining more than 16,000 herbarium specimens and additional records from the literature. We characterized the recent flora during 10 years of field work from 2010 to 2019. Temporal changes and distributions of nonnative species were examined at the town level. Among all species recorded in the county, nonnatives comprised 27.4%, or 34.8% if waifs and species persisting from cultivation with little spread are included. Nonnative species as a group increased dramatically over time relative to native species, and those nonnatives considered invasive increased more than other nonnative species. Reported frequencies of several species increased from 0 to 2 towns in the historical flora (1800–2009) to most of the 26 towns in the county today. The proportion of nonnative species in a town's flora was correlated with the human population density, but different regions of the county did not differ significantly in the proportion of nonnative species. Species from eastern Asia showed greater increases in frequencies than species from Eurasia and parts of North America outside New England, and the Asian species had later average arrival dates in the county. Species with bird-dispersed seeds were better represented among taxa showing the greatest increases than were species dispersed by wind or other means. Nonnative species with a history of herbal or culinary use increased much less than those with other patterns of human use, presumably reflecting less emphasis on some such species in local gardens. As a group, the agricultural weeds did not show patterns of change different from other species, perhaps reflecting the continued importance of agriculture in parts of the county. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1867, the State Cabinet, an extensive collection of specimens representing the natural history of Massachusetts, was transferred from the State House in Boston, MA, to the new Massachusetts Agricultural College in Amherst (now the University of Massachusetts). The botanical portion of the State Cabinet has remained intact, and relatively unknown, for the last 148 years at the University of Massachusetts Herbarium. Over the course of two years we completely curated the collection, performed restoration work, and researched the history of the collectors associated with the State Cabinet with a goal of making the collection available online. We were able to assign collectors and collection dates to 84% of the collections that were missing this information. The primary collectors, Charles Jarvis (1800-1826), Edward Jarvis (1803-1884), and Henry Little (1802-1826), were a group of Harvard-educated physicians whose botanical interests were probably inspired by the instruction they received in natural history at Harvard University. The State Cabinet consists of 1509 sheets and includes 905 taxa, an increase from the original, sometimes incomplete identifications based on the Linnaean System. Most of the plants in the collection are from the greater Boston, MA, area, particularly Concord, MA. The Jarvis collection includes the earliest recorded specimens from Concord, MA, and the Little collection includes a few early specimens from the White Mountains as well as specimens cited in the second edition of Bigelow's Florula Bostoniensis published in 1824. The State Cabinet provides a window into early 19th century botany in New England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swanson, R.L.; Giglio, K.W., and Chi, L., 2021. Restoring a degraded, sentinel New England salt marsh to mid-20th century conditions (Flax Pond, New York, U.S.A.). Journal of Coastal Research, 37(5), 993–1011. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Flax Pond, located between Crane Neck and Old Field Point on the north shore of Long Island, is designated as a Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and as a Scenic Recreational Reserve by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The pond's tidal prism has been reduced about 18% over the past half-century as its inlet has shoaled and its tidal range diminished 33%, 0.6 m, all in low water. Reduced flushing has led to loss of wetlands, reduced water quality, increased pond salinity, and nighttime summertime hypoxia with concomitant reduction in pH. Historic charts, topographic surveys, and vertical aerial photographs were used to study the evolution of the pond's inlet from Long Island Sound (LIS). Tide, tidal current, and water quality observations were made and/or historical measurements were acquired at these locations: the pond's inlet, a proposed seawater intake for the Flax Pond Marine Laboratory, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water quality station some 650 m into the pond. The flux of water through the inlet from LIS and the change in bed slope through the pond inlet were measured. USGS data within the pond were used to determine when hypoxic conditions are likely to occur: an increase in bottom-water salinity of 2.1 in 9 years and in the elevation of low water of 18 mm y–1 from 2008–14. The environmental benefits of reconfiguring the inlet to increase the tidal prism to that of the 1970s were explored. This would reduce the existing flushing time by more than 50%. The design of the cross-sectional shape for the inlet is based on this tidal prism and a compatible depth entering LIS; it should stabilize the inlet opening and improve much needed pond flushing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined changes in the native vascular flora of Franklin County, Massachusetts, a largely rural county with a long history of botanical investigation. The historical flora was documented using herbarium specimens and literature records, and the current flora was assessed in 10 years of field work starting in 2010. The county contains 26 towns, and apparent changes were based on town-level presence/absence. In total, 1205 species were recorded. Apparent losses from the historical flora totaled 5.6% of species, and apparent gains totaled 4.2%. Several families exhibited greater declines than the flora as a whole, including the Orchidaceae, Ophioglossaceae, Ranunculaceae, and Violaceae. Species dependent on fungi during at least part of their life cycle declined relative to other species, but were concentrated in a small group of families, including the Orchidaceae and Ophioglossaceae. Species with fleshy fruits increased relative to those with ant-dispersed seeds. Annuals increased relative to biennials and perennials, probably due to the increasing extent of ruderal habitats. Graminoids showed greater apparent increases than forbs, which may reflect undercollecting of the former taxa during the historical period. Species changes were related to habitat, with marked increases in plants of ruderal habitats, but other apparent changes may reflect sampling biases. Northern taxa appear to be declining relative to other species, particularly in towns at lower elevations. This study is one of several that have examined floristic changes in the northeastern United States and is part of a nascent literature suggesting that climate changes have altered the southern New England flora in the past century. Additional documentation of regional floras is needed to facilitate assessments of future floristic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first county-level checklist of the bees of Massachusetts, including verified records of 390 species. We review the literature and historical material, and supplement these with recent collections and online image databases, compiling a dataset of over 100,000 records. Detailed accounts are provided for 50 species reported for the first time in Massachusetts, including six species reported for the first time in New England, and 49 other species noteworthy for their paucity of records, distributional significance, novel host/ parasite associations, or taxonomic uncertainty. The addition of newly reported species is largely the result of increased bee surveys in the past 15 years, including targeted sampling on known host plants. Twenty-three species represented in collections prior to 2005 are absent from recently collected material. The richness of the Massachusetts bee fauna is compared to that of neighboring states. Sixteen of the approximately 35 exotic species recorded from North America are verified from Massachusetts. We report recent rediscoveries in the state of Andrena rehni Viereck, 1907, and the regionally rare Epeoloides pilosulus (Cresson, 1878). Two new presumed host-parasite associations are made, those of Epeolus inornatus Onuferko, 2018 parasitizing the nests of Colletes banksi Swenk, 1908, and of Triepeolus obliteratus Graenicher, 1911 parasitizing the nests of Melissodes apicatus Lovell and Cockerell, 1906. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Castagno, K.A.; Donnelly, J.P., and Woodruff, J.D., 2021. Grain-size analysis of hurricane-induced event beds in a New England salt marsh, Massachusetts, USA. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(2), 326–335. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Tropical cyclones pose a growing threat to coastal infrastructure and livelihood. Because instrumental and historic records are too short to help us understand interactions between tropical cyclones and climate on a longer scale, proxy records are the only means for reconstructing millennia of tropical cyclone impacts. This study determines grain-size trends in storm-induced overwash deposits along a transect of sediment cores from a salt marsh in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, to characterize sorting trends and compare deposits associated with individual storms. The overwash deposits preserved within the high-marsh peat provide a record spanning the last two millennia. Building on a 2010 study, a different approach was used to accurately determine the grain-size distribution of overwash deposits from cores in a transect running perpendicular to the adjacent sandy/gravely barrier. Although maximum grain-size values are expected to decrease as distance from the barrier increases, not all event deposits that were studied follow this trend within uncertainty. Analysis of the storm event beds reveal a significant difference in settling trends between historic and prehistoric deposits, with historic deposits largely displaying landward-fining trends and prehistoric deposits largely displaying landward-coarsening trends. This suggests changes in the hydrodynamic or that geomorphic regime may have altered the way in which storm beds were deposited at this site. This new in-depth, transect-based approach has utility for improving the accuracy of future storm reconstructions, particularly for events for which no historic record exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses New England Botanical Club (NEBC) meetings on topics including wild paperback maple, fern mapping and conservation of New England forests that were held in Massachusetts from December 2015 to April 2016.

Morang, A., 2016. Hurricane barriers in New England and New Jersey: History and status after five decades. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey suffered damage, flooding, and deaths from three major hurricanes in less than two decades during the mid-twentieth century. One of these, the Great New England Hurricane of 21 September 1938, caused unprecedented damage and flooded Providence, New London, and other urban areas. Following Hurricane Carol in 1954, the 84th Congress (1st Session, Public Law 71, 15 June 1955) authorized and directed the Secretary of the Army to conduct surveys and studies of damages, causes, and remediation measures with regard to hurricanes. After extensive studies during the late 1950s, Congress authorized and funded seven hurricane protection projects: (1) in Fox Point, Providence, Rhode Island, a barrier, navigation gates, and pumps; (2) in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a barrier, navigation gates, and pumps; (3) in New London, Connecticut, a barrier and navigation gate; (4) in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, earthfill and concrete walls; (5) in Stamford, Connecticut, a barrier and pump station; (6) in Raritan and Sandy Hook Bays, New Jersey, levees, beach fill, and pumps; and (7) in Charles River, Boston, Massachusetts, a dam with locks and pumps. Most of the projects have not been tested with storm-water elevations near their design elevation. Exceptions are the Charles River dam, which helped prevent flooding during the Blizzard of 1978, and Raritan Bay, during Hurricane Sandy. For lower levels, all projects have performed as designed. After the flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, comprehensive hurricane barriers have been proposed for the New York area. Many major challenges would confront planners and designers of new hurricane barriers in the New York Bight area compared to the earlier projects: (1) Far more extensive environmental impact studies would have to be conducted now; (2) obtaining permits and negotiating property rights would be a challenging multiyear process; and (3) obtaining easements and construction access would be vastly more difficult now because of the substantially higher value of coastal real estate. En moins de deux décennies au cours du milieu du 20e siècle, trois ouragans majeurs ont causés des dégâts, des inondations, et des décès au Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut et au New Jersey. L'un d'eux, The Great New England Hurricane du 21 Septembre 1938, a causé des dommages sans précédent et a inondé la ville de Providence, de New London, ainsi que d'autres zones urbaines. Suite à l'ouragan Carol en 1954, le 84e Congrès (1re session, loi publique 71, 15 Juin 1955) a autorisé et chargé le Secrétaire de l'armée de mener des enquêtes et des études sur les dommages, les causes et les mesures de remédiations reliés aux ouragans. À la fin des années 1950, à la suite d'études exhaustives, le Congrès a autorisé et financé sept projets de protection contre les ouragans: (1) Fox Point, Providence, Rhode Island - barrières, portes de navigation et pompes; (2) New Bedford, Massachusetts - barrière, portes de navigation et pompes; (3) New London, Connecticut - barrière et portes de navigation; (4) Pawcatuck, Connecticut - remblaiement et murs en béton; (5) Stamford, Connecticut - barrière et station de pompage; (6) Raritan et Sandy Hook Bays, New Jersey - digues, rechargement des plages et pompes; et (7) Charles River, Boston, Massachusetts - barrage mobile à battant et pompes. La plupart des projets n'ont pas été testés avec des niveaux d'eaux pluviales à proche de leur élévation limite. Les exceptions sont le barrage Charles River, qui a permis d'éviter des inondations pendant la tempête de 1978, et Raritan Bay, lors de l'ouragan Sandy. Pour des niveaux inférieurs, tous les projets ont fonctionné comme prévu. Après les inondations causées par l'ouragan Ike en 2011, des barrières pour ouragan de grande envergure ont été proposés pour la région de New York. En comparaison des projets de protections des années antérieurs, les nouveaux projets de barrières contre les ouragan de la région de New York présenteront des défis majeurs pour les planificateurs et les concepteurs: (1) les études d'impacts environnementaux seraient de beaucoup plus grandes envergures maintenant; (2) L'obtention de permis et la négociation des droits de propriété serait un processus difficile qui s'étendrait sur plusieurs années; et (3) l'obtention de droit de passage et l'accès à la construction serait beaucoup plus difficile aujourd'hui en raison de la valeur nettement plus élevée de l'immobilier en région côtière. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Limited data are available regarding the prevalence and nature of invalid computerized baseline neurocognitive test data. Objective: To identify the prevalence of invalid baselines on the desktop and online versions of ImPACT and to document the utility of correcting for left-right (L-R) confusion on the desktop version of ImPACT. Design: Cross-sectional study of independent samples of high school (HS) and collegiate athletes who completed the desktop or online versions of ImPACT. Participants or Other Participants: A total of 3769 HS (desktop = 1617, online = 2152) and 2130 collegiate (desktop = 742, online = 1388) athletes completed preseason baseline assessments. Main Outcome Measure(s): Prevalence of 5 ImPACT validity indicators, with correction for L-R confusion (reversing left and right mouse-click responses) on the desktop version, by test version and group. Chi-square analyses were conducted for sex and attentional or learning disorders. Results: At least 1 invalid indicator was present on 11.9% (desktop) versus 6.3% (online) of the HS baselines and 10.2% (desktop) versus 4.1% (online) of collegiate baselines; correcting for L-R confusion (desktop) decreased this overall prevalence to 8.4% (HS) and 7.5% (collegiate). Online Impulse Control scores alone yielded 0.4% (HS) and 0.9% (collegiate) invalid baselines, compared with 9.0% (HS) and 5.4% (collegiate) on the desktop version; correcting for L-R confusion (desktop) decreased the prevalence of invalid Impulse Control scores to 5.4% (HS) and 2.6% (collegiate). Male athletes and HS athletes with attention deficit or learning disorders who took the online version were more likely to have at least 1 invalid indicator. Utility of additional invalidity indicators is reported. Conclusions: The online ImPACT version appeared to yield fewer invalid baseline results than did the desktop version. Identification of L-R confusion reduces the prevalence of invalid baselines (desktop only) and the potency of Impulse Control as a validity indicator. We advise test administrators to be vigilant in identifying invalid baseline results as part of routine concussion management and prevention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed coat morphology is examined in 16 taxa of Gentianopsis, Pterygocalyx, and Gentianella, including representatives from 14 taxa of Gentianopsis, to resolve inconsistencies in previous reports and make new observations using a low vacuum mode of SEM. Four characters are proposed to describe variation in seed coat morphology of this group: (1) the outer periclinal walls of testa; (2) sculpting of inner periclinal walls; (3) seed shape; and (4) seed length. The distinctive papillate seeds of many species of Gentianopsis are the result of inflated outer periclinal walls of testa cells. In some species, the outer periclinal walls of the testa are collapsed inwards, revealing previously unreported sculpting on the inner periclinal walls. Seeds are irregularly angular-ovate or fusiform in Gentianopsis and discoid in Pterygocalyx. Seed length varies from 0.22 to 1.0 mm. These data provide another line of evidence for phylogenetic relationships of Gentianopsis and Pterygocalyx to other members of Swertiinae, and illuminate the affinities of fossil seeds from New England that have been assigned to Gentianopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New records of nine primnoid species are reported from the New England and Corner Rise Seamounts at depths of 1315-3855 m, making a total of 10 primnoid species known from this region. One new genus, Paranarella, and three new species are described: P. watlingi, Calyptrophora clinata, and Parastenella atlantica, the latter being the first record of Parastenella from the Atlantic. Calyptrophora pillsburyae is synonymized with C. microdentata, and the first subsequent report of Convexella jungerseni is noted. The fauna is hypothesized to have colonized the seamounts from the northward flowing Gulf Stream, the southerly flowing Deep Western Boundary Current, and/or via insular steeping stones from the east. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]