02-20-2011, 11:05 PM
Folks, this is a great online Newsletter that I have subscribed to for quite some time. I always find something interesting in each and every issue. They do not have an RSS feed but, thanks the generosity of the owner / Publisher, I'll reprint the issues here. The next issue will not have the ">" marks on the side.
Reprinted here for Dart Den forum members and guests, with permission from the Publisher.
HerpDigest.org:
The Only Free Weekly Electronic Newsletter That
Reports on the Latest News on Herpetological Conservation, Husbandry
and Science Volume # 11 Issue # 9 2/17/11 (A Not-for-Profit
Publication)
Publisher/Editor- Allen Salzberg>
_________________________________________________________________
New Book
LIFE IN A SHELL: A PHYSIOLOGIST’S VIEW OF A TURTLE by Donald C.
Jackson, Hardcover, 192 pages, Harvard University Press, $29.95 plus
$6.00 S&H
> Product Description
> Trundling along in essentially the same form for some 220 million years, turtles have seen dinosaurs come and go, mammals emerge, and humankind expand its dominion. Is it any wonder the persistent reptile bested the hare? In this engaging book physiologist Donald Jackson shares a lifetime of observation of this curious creature, allowing us a look under the shell of an animal at once so familiar and so strange.
> For more and how to order see below.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> _______
> (Editor- Not all papers on herps are found in journals with herps in
> their name. A lot find there way to journals on biogeography,
> toxicity, tropical ecology and much, much more. Usually I print the
> abstract and title of at least one such article per issue. Sometimes I
> find there are too many for that approach, too many that are
> interesting, perhaps important papers that demand an issue of almost
> only abstracts to catch up. Like this one. To get the paper contact
> the name supplied. Don’t be embarrassed if some you don’t understand.
> I sometimes don’t and I’m just going on faith that my sources are
> correct and that there will be people out there that will glad
> (besides’s the authors) I published it.)
> ______________________________________________________________________
> _
> Table of Contents
> 1)Evolutionary assembly of island faunas reverses the classic
> island–mainland richness difference in Anolis lizards
> 2) Challenges in Identifying Sites Climatically Matched to the Native
> Ranges of Animal Invaders
> 3) Is the Northern African Python (Python sebae) Established in Southern Florida?
> 4)Modifications of traps to reduce bycatch of freshwater turtles
> 5)Engineering a Future for Amphibians Under Climate Change
> 6) X-Rays Reveal Hidden Leg of an Ancient Snake: New Hints on How
> Snakes Were Getting Legless
> 7) Developmental plasticity of immune defence in two life-history ecotypes of the garter snake, 8)Thamnophis elegans – a common-environment experiment.
> 8) Can we use the tadpoles of Australian frogs to reduce recruitment of invasive cane toads?
> 9) Orientation Angle and the Adhesion of Single Gecko Setae
> 10) Larval salamanders and diel drift patterns of aquatic
> invertebrates in an Austrian stream
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ________
> Some Announcements
>
> TURTLE POSTER STILL AVAILABLE
> For Only a $25.00 donation to HerpDigest get a beautiful gift turtle poster. For more information see below. Copy of poster available. Larger than what was available before. See Below for more on poster, such as what turtles are on it. LARGER jpg photo of poster than before now available.
> _____________________________________________________________
> PARC Alison Haskell Award for Excellence in Herpetofaunal Conservation: Request for Nominations! PARC is seeking nominations for the 2011 recipient of our NEW annual cash award in memory of our first PARC Federal Coordinator, Alison Haskell (1956 - 2006).
>
> This award is to recognize an individual or group in North America who exemplifies extraordinary commitment to herpetofaunal conservation, as did Alison. Alison's tenure with PARC was tragically shortened due to a valiant, but unsuccessful battle with ovarian cancer. Members of PARC aim to keep her memory alive through this annual award.
>
> Nominations are due March 14th. Read more about the award, how to submit nominations, and about Alison, here: http://www.parcplace.org/HaskellAward.htm 
We look forward to your nominations!
>
> PARC Administrators
> ________________________________________________________
> New Anole Website -
> Anole Annals (http://anoleannals.wordpress.com/), a new website devoted to all things anole. Created by a group of scientists and anole enthusiasts, the site features postings from many authors on new scientific findings, descriptions of new species, anoles in art, literature and commerce, photographs and general discussion of topics concerning the biological diversity of the 400 species of Anolis. Recent postings include discussions of invasive anole species; anole, the first gay superhero; anole origami and anoles in recent art exhibits; and a report of an anole consumed by a venus fly-trap.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ___
>
> 1) Evolutionary assembly of island faunas reverses the classic
> island–mainland richness difference in Anolis lizards Adam C. Algar,
> Jonathan B. Losos Article first published online: February 3, 2011,
> Journal of Biogeography How to Cite Algar, A. C. and Losos, J. B. ,
> Evolutionary assembly of island faunas reverses the classic
> island–mainland richness difference in Anolis lizards. Journal of
> Biogeography, no. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02466.x Author
> Information Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum
> of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street,
> Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
> *Correspondence: Adam C. Algar, Department of Organismic and
> Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard
> University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. E-mail:
> aalgar@oeb.harvard.edu
>
> Abstract
> Aim Islands are widely considered to be species depauperate relative to mainlands but, somewhat paradoxically, are also host to many striking adaptive radiations. Here, focusing on Anolis lizards, we investigate if cladogenetic processes can reconcile these observations by determining if in situ speciation can reduce, or even reverse, the classical island–mainland richness discrepancy.
> Location Caribbean islands and the Neotropical mainland.
>
> Methods We constructed range maps for 203 mainland anoles from museum records and evaluated whether geographical area could account for differences in species richness between island and mainland anole faunas. We compared the island species–area relationship with total mainland anole diversity and with the richness of island-sized mainland areas. We evaluated the role of climate in the observed differences by using Bayesian model averaging to predict island richness based on the mainland climate–richness relationship. Lastly, we used a published phylogeny and stochastic mapping of ancestral states to determine if speciation rate was greater on islands, after accounting for differences in geographical area.
>
> Results Islands dominated by in situ speciation had, on average, significantly more species than similarly sized mainland regions, but islands where in situ speciation has not occurred were species depauperate relative to mainland areas. Results were similar at the scale of the entire mainland, although marginally non-significant. These findings held even after accounting for climate. Speciation has not been faster on islands; instead, when extinction was assumed to be low, speciation rate varied consistently with geographical area. When extinction was high, there was some evidence that mainland speciation was faster than expected based on area.
>
> Main conclusions Our results indicate that evolutionary assembly of island faunas can reverse the general pattern of reduced species richness on islands relative to mainlands.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> _____
> 2) Challenges in Identifying Sites Climatically Matched to the Native
> Ranges of Animal Invaders 2011. PLoS One 6(2): 1-18 Gordon H. Rodda,
> Catherine S. Jarnevich & Robert N. Reed
>
> Abstract
>
> Background: Species distribution models are often used to characterize a species’ native range climate, so as to identify sites elsewhere in the world that may be climatically similar and therefore at risk of invasion by the species. This endeavor provoked intense public controversy over recent attempts to model areas at risk of invasion by the Indian Python (Python molurus). We evaluated a number of MaxEnt models on this species to assess MaxEnt’s utility for vertebrate climate matching.
>
> Methodology/Principal Findings: Overall, we found MaxEnt models to be very sensitive to modeling choices and selection of input localities and background regions. As used, MaxEnt invoked minimal protections against data dredging, multi-collinearity of explanatory axes, and overfitting. As used, MaxEnt endeavored to identify a single ideal climate, whereas different climatic considerations may determine range boundaries in different parts of the native range. MaxEnt was extremely sensitive to both the choice of background locations for the Python, and to selection of presence points: inclusion of just four erroneous localities was responsible for Pyron et al.’s conclusion that no additional portions of the U.S. mainland were at risk of Python invasion. When used with default settings, MaxEnt overfit the realized climate space, identifying models with about 60 parameters, about five times the number of parameters justifiable when optimized on the basis of Akaike’s Information !
> Criterion.
>
> Conclusions/Significance: When used with default settings, MaxEnt may not be an appropriate vehicle for identifying all sites at risk of colonization. Model instability and dearth of protections against overfitting, multi-collinearity, and data dredging may combine with a failure to distinguish fundamental from realized climate envelopes to produce models of limited utility. A priori identification of biologically realistic model structure, combined with computational protections against these statistical problems, may produce more robust models of invasion risk.
>
> *****
>
> A pdf of this article is available from the CNAH PDF Library at
>
> http://www.cnah.org/cnah_pdf.asp
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> _______
> 3) Is the Northern African Python (Python sebae) Established in Southern Florida?
> by Robert N. Reed ', Kenneth L. Krysko, Ray W. Snow-I, and Gordon H.
> Roddal [u.s, Geological Survey,. Fort Collins Science Center. 2150
> Centre Ave. Bldg C. Fort Collins. Colorado 80526 'Florida Museum of
> Natural History. Division of Herpetology. Unive,.,i!}• of Florid,.
> Gainesville. Florida 32611 j NaTional Park Service. Everglades
> National Park. 40001 Slate Ro~
> 'Corresponding author: Reedr€'usgs.gov,
>
>> From opening paragraph
> Herein. we provide evidence suggesting the possibility of a
> reproducing population of a third species of giant constrictor in
> Florida the Northern African Python
>> From IRCF Reptiles and Amphibians Magazine Bol 17, No I, March 2010
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ___
>
> 4) Modifications of traps to reduce bycatch of freshwater turtles:
> Bury, R.B., 2011, Journal of Wildlife Management, v. 75, no. 1, p.
> 3-5. Full text at http://fresc.usgs.gov/products/papers/2196_Bury.pdf
> copyrighted material courtesy of The Wildlife Society Catalog No: 2196
> ________________________________________________________________
> 5)Engineering a Future for Amphibians Under Climate Change Luke P.
> Shoo1,*,Deanna H. Olson2, Sarah K. McMenamin3, Kris A. Murray4,
> Monique Van Sluys5,6, Maureen A. Donnelly7, Danial Stratford6, Juhani
> Terhivuo8, Andres Merino-Viteri1,9, Sarah M. Herbert10, Phillip J.
> Bishop11, Paul Stephen Corn12, Liz Dovey13, Richard A. Griffiths14,
> Katrin Lowe6, Michael Mahony15, Hamish McCallum16, Jonathan D.
> Shuker6, Clay Simpkins6, Lee F. Skerratt17, Stephen E. Williams1,
> Jean-Marc Hero6 Article first published online: 2/2/2011 Journal of
> Applied Ecology On-Line How to Cite Shoo, L. P., Olson, D. H.,
> McMenamin, S. K., Murray, K. A., Van Sluys, M., Donnelly, M. A.,
> Stratford, D., Terhivuo, J., Merino-Viteri, A., Herbert, S. M.,
> Bishop, P. J., Corn, P. S., Dovey, L., Griffiths, R. A., Lowe, K.,
> Mahony, M., McCallum, H., Shuker, J. D., Simpkins, C., Skerratt, L.
> F., Williams, S. E. and Hero, J.-M. , Engineering a future for
> amphibians under climate change. Journal of Applied Ecology, no. doi:
> 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01942.x Author Information
> 1 Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, School of
> Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University of North
> Queensland, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
> 2 US Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, 3200 SW
> Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
> 3 Department of Biology, University of Washington, Kincaid Hall, Box
> 351800, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA
> 4 School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, St Lucia,
> Brisbane 4072, Australia
> 5 Departamento de Ecologia, IBRAG, Universidade do Estado do Rio de
> Janeiro. Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, CEP 20550-900, Rio de Janeiro,
> Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
> 6 Environmental Futures Centre, School of Environment, Griffith
> University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland, Australia
> 7 College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Biological Sciences,
> Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
> 8 Finnish Museum of Natural History/Zoological Museum, PO Box 17 (P.
> Rautatiekatu 13), FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
> 9 Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Pontificia Universidad
> Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de Octubre 1076 y Roca, Aptdo 17-01-2184,
> Quito, Ecuador 10 EcoGecko Consultants, 212 Pembroke Rd, Wilton,
> Wellington 6012
> 11 Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin
> 9054, New Zealand
> 12 US Geological Survey, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Inst., 790
> E. Beckwith Ave., Missoula, MT 59801, USA
> 13 Department of Climate Change, GPO Box 854, Canberra ACT 2600,
> Australia
> 14 The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of
> Anthropology and Conservation, Marlowe Building, University of Kent,
> Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK
> 15 Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Newcastle,
> Newcastle 2308, Australia
> 16 Environmental Futures Centre, School of Environment, Griffith
> University, Nathan Campus, Queensland, Australia
> 17 School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
> Sciences, Amphibian Disease Ecology Group, James Cook University,
> Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
> *Correspondence: Luke P. Shoo,
> *Correspondence: Correspondence author. School of Biological Sciences,
> University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. E-mail:
> l.shoo@uq.edu.au
>
> Summary
> 1. Altered global climates in the 21st century pose serious threats for biological systems and practical actions are needed to mount a response for species at risk.
>
> 2. We identify management actions from across the world and from diverse disciplines that are applicable to minimizing loss of amphibian biodiversity under climate change. Actions were grouped under three thematic areas of intervention: (i) installation of microclimate and microhabitat refuges; (ii) enhancement and restoration of breeding sites; and (iii) manipulation of hydroperiod or water levels at breeding sites.
>
> 3.Synthesis and applications. There are currently few meaningful management actions that will tangibly impact the pervasive threat of climate change on amphibians. A host of potentially useful but poorly tested actions could be incorporated into local or regional management plans, programmes and activities for amphibians. Examples include: installation of irrigation sprayers to manipulate water potentials at breeding sites; retention or supplementation of natural and artificial shelters (e.g. logs, cover boards) to reduce desiccation and thermal stress; manipulation of canopy cover over ponds to reduce water temperature; and, creation of hydrologoically diverse wetland habitats capable of supporting larval development under variable rainfall regimes. We encourage researchers and managers to design, test and scale up new initiatives to respond to this emerging crisis.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ______
> 6) X-Rays Reveal Hidden Leg of an Ancient Snake: New Hints on How
> Snakes Were Getting Legless
>
> ScienceDaily (Feb. 7, 2011) — A novel X-ray imaging technology is helping scientists better understand how in the course of evolution snakes have lost their legs. The researchers hope the new data will help resolve a heated debate about the origin of snakes: whether they evolved from a terrestrial lizard or from one that lived in the oceans. New, detailed 3-D images reveal that the internal architecture of an ancient snake's leg bones strongly resembles that of modern terrestrial lizard legs.
>
> The team of researchers was led by Alexandra Houssaye from the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, France, and included scientists from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, where the X-ray imaging was performed, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, where a sophisticated technique and a dedicated instrument to take the images were developed.
>
> Only three specimens exist of fossilised snakes with preserved leg bones. Eupodophis descouensi, the ancient snake studied in this experiment, was discovered ten years ago in 95-million-year-old rocks in Lebanon. About 50 cm long overall, it exhibits a small leg, about 2 cm long, attached to the animal's pelvis. This fossil is key to understanding the evolution of snakes, as it represents an intermediate evolutionary stage when ancient snakes had not yet completely lost the legs they inherited from earlier lizards. Although the fossil exhibits just one leg on its surface, a second leg was thought to be concealed in the stone, and indeed this leg was revealed in full detail thanks to synchrotron X-rays.
>
> The high-resolution 3-D images, in particular the fine detail of the buried small leg, suggest that this species lost its legs because they grew more slowly, or for a shorter period of time. The data also reveal that the hidden leg is bent at the knee and has four ankle bones but no foot or toe bones.
>
> "The revelation of the inner structure of Eupodophis hind limbs enables us to investigate the process of limb regression in snake evolution," says Alexandra Houssaye.
>
> The scientists used synchrotron laminography, a recent imaging technique specially developed for studying large, flat samples. It is similar to the computed tomography (CT) technique used in many hospitals, but uses a coherent synchrotron X-ray beam to resolve details a few micrometers in size--some 1000 times smaller than a hospital CT scanner. For the new technique, the fossil is rotated at a tilted angle in a brilliant high-energy X-ray beam, with thousands of two-dimensional images recorded as it makes a full 360-degree turn. From these individual images, a high-resolution, 3-D representaton is reconstructed, which shows hidden details like the internal structures of the legs.
>
> "Synchrotrons, these enormous machines, allow us to see microscopic details in fossils invisible to any other techniques without damage to these invaluable specimens," says Paul Tafforeau of the ESRF, a co-author of the study.
>
>
> The results are published in the Feb. 8, 2011 issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ____
> 7) Developmental plasticity of immune defence in two life-history ecotypes of the garter snake, Thamnophis elegans – a common-environment experiment.
> Palacios, M. G., Sparkman, A. M. and Bronikowski, A. M.
> Journal of Animal Ecology Volume 80, Issue 2, pages 431–437, March
> 2011 † All authors have contributed equally to the research presented
> in this article.
> *Correspondence: Maria G. Palacios,
> *Correspondence: Correspondence author. E-mail: mgp@iastate.edu
>
> Summary
> 1. Ecoimmunological theory predicts a link between life-history and immune-defence strategies such that fast-living organisms should rely more on constitutive innate defences compared to slow-living organisms. An untested assumption of this hypothesis is that the variation in immune defence associated with variation in life history has a genetic basis.
>
> 2. Replicate populations of two life-history ecotypes of the garter snake Thamnophis elegans provide an ideal system in which to test this assumption. Free-ranging snakes of the fast-living ecotype, which reside in lakeshore habitats, show higher levels of three measures of constitutive innate immunity than those of the slow-living ecotype, which inhabit meadows around the lake. Although this pattern is consistent with the ecoimmunological pace-of-life hypothesis, environmental differences between the lakeshore and meadow habitats could also explain the observed differences in immune defence.
>
> 3. We performed a common-environment experiment to distinguish between these alternatives. Snakes born and raised in common-environment conditions reflected the immune phenotype of their native habitats when sampled at 4 months of age (i.e. fast-living lakeshore snakes showed higher levels of natural antibodies, complement activity and bactericidal competence than slow-living meadow snakes), but no longer showed differences when 19 months old.
>
> This suggests that the differences in innate immunity observed between the two ecotypes have an important – and likely age-specific – environmental influence, with these immune components showing developmental plasticity. A genetic effect in early life may also be present, but further research is needed to confirm this possibility and therefore provide a more definitive test of the ecoimmunological pace-of-life hypothesis in this system.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ____
> 8) Can we use the tadpoles of Australian frogs to reduce recruitment of invasive cane toads?
> Elisa Cabrera-Guzmán, Michael Crossland, Richard Shine Article first
> published online: 12/23/10, Journal of Applied Ecology How to Cite
> Cabrera-Guzmán, E., Crossland, M. and Shine, R. , Can we use the
> tadpoles of Australian frogs to reduce recruitment of invasive cane
> toads?. Journal of Applied Ecology, no. doi:
> 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01933.x Author Information School of
> Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006,
> Australia
> *Correspondence: Richard Shine,
> *Correspondence: Correspondence author. E-mail:
> rick.shine@sydney.edu.au
>
> Summary
> 1. Native to the Americas, cane toads Bufo marinus are an invasive species causing substantial ecological impacts in Australia. We need ways to control invasive species such as cane toads without collateral damage to native fauna.
>
> 2. We explored the feasibility of suppressing survival and growth of cane toad tadpoles via competition with the tadpoles of native frogs. Compared to the invasive toads, many native frogs breed earlier in the season and their tadpoles grow larger and have longer larval periods. Hence, adding spawn or tadpoles of native frogs to toad-breeding sites might increase tadpole competition, and thereby reduce toad recruitment.
>
> 3. Our laboratory trials using tadpoles of eight native frog species gave significant results: the presence of six of these species (Cyclorana australis, C. longipes, Litoria caerulea, L. dahlii, L. rothii and L. splendida) reduced toad tadpole survival and/or size at metamorphosis. Litoria caerulea also increased the duration of the larval period of cane toad tadpoles. Tadpoles of the other two frog species (Litoria rubella and Litoria tornieri) did not affect survival or growth of larval cane toads any more than did an equivalent number of additional toad tadpoles. Native frog species with larger tadpoles exerted greater negative effects on toad tadpoles than did native species with smaller tadpoles.
>
> 4.Synthesis and applications. Encouraging the general public to construct and restore waterbodies in peri-urban areas to build up populations of native frogs – especially the much-loved green tree frog Litoria caerulea– could help to reduce recruitment rates of invasive cane toads in Australia.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ________
> 9) Orientation Angle and the Adhesion of Single Gecko Setae, Journal
> of the Royal Society, Interface, Published online before print
> February 2, 2011 Ginel C. Hill1,*†,Daniel R. Soto1, Anne M.
> Peattie3,Robert J. Full3 and T. W. Kenny2
>
> + Author Affiliations
> 1Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
> 94305, USA 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University,
> Stanford, CA 94305, USA 3Department of Integrative Biology, University
> of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
> + Author Notes
> ↵† Present address: SiTime Corporation, 990 Almanor Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085, USA.
> *Author for correspondence (ginelhill@gmail.com).
>
> Abstract
> We investigated the effects of orientation angle on the adhesion of single gecko setae using dual-axis microelectromechanical systems force sensors to simultaneously detect normal and shear force components. Adhesion was highly sensitive to the pitch angle between the substrate and the seta's stalk. Maximum lateral adhesive force was observed with the stalk parallel to the substrate, and adhesion decreased smoothly with increasing pitch. The roll orientation angle only needed to be roughly correct with the spatular tuft of the seta oriented grossly towards the substrate for high adhesion. Also, detailed measurements were made to control for the effect of normal preload forces. Higher normal preload forces caused modest enhancement of the observed lateral adhesive force, provided that adequate contact was made between the seta and the substrate. These results should be useful in the design and manufacture of gecko-inspired synthetic adhesives with anisotropic properties, an a!
> rea of substantial recent research efforts.
> _____________________________________________________________________
> 10) Larval salamanders and diel drift patterns of aquatic
> invertebrates in an Austrian stream P. OBERRISSER, J. WARINGER Article
> first published online: 1/27/11, Freshwater Biology How to Cite
> OBERRISSER, P. and WARINGER, J. , Larval salamanders and diel drift
> patterns of aquatic invertebrates in an Austrian stream. Freshwater
> Biology, no. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2010.02559.x Author Information
> Department of Limnology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
> *Correspondence: Dr Johann Waringer, Department of Limnology,
> University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. E-mail:
> johann.waringer@univie.ac.at Publication History Article first
> published online: 27 JAN 2011 (Manuscript accepted 9 December 2010)
>
> Summary
>
> 1. Aquatic predators may influence drift periodicity either directly or indirectly (by non-consumptive effects involving chemical cues). We took drift samples (eight successive 3-h sampling intervals over a 24-h period) on five dates (September 2007, March, April, June and August 2008). Samples were taken at three sites (one site with trout throughout the year, two sites without trout but with fire salamander larvae as top predators from April to August, but without vertebrate predators during the rest of the year) in a stream near Vienna, Austria, to examine the effects of predators on drift periodicity.
>
> 2. Of 45 331 specimens caught, the most abundant taxa were Ephemeroptera (32.3%; mainly Baetidae), Diptera (21.5%; mainly Chironomidae), Amphipoda (17.4%; all Gammarus fossarum), Plecoptera (5.4%), Coleoptera (3.5%) and Trichoptera (1.2%). For more detailed analyses, we chose Ephemeroptera (Baetidae; n = 13 457) and Amphipoda (G. fossarum; n = 7888), which were numerous on all sampling dates.
>
> 3. The number of drifting baetids and amphipods, as well as total drift density, was generally higher at night than by day, although without predators these differences were significant for Gammaridae but not for Baetidae.
>
> 4. When broken down to size classes, night–day drift ratios generally were not significantly different from equality in all size classes of baetids when larval fire salamanders and trout were absent. When predators were present, however, baetid drift density was usually higher at night, except in the smallest and largest size classes. In all size classes of G. fossarum, drift density was usually higher at night, whether with or without the top predators.
>
> Although we could study predator effects on drift periodicity at three sites on only a single stream, it seems that non-consumptive effects may affect Baetidae. Salamander larvae, most probably via kairomones, induced a shift towards mainly nocturnal drift, which could be interpreted as predator avoidance.
> ______________________________________________________________________
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> ___________________________________________________________________
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> Remember All Proceeds Go to HerpDigest.org: The Only Free Weekly E-zine Which Reports on the Latest Reptile and Amphibian Science and Conservation News. A non-profit corporation.
> New Book
> Life in a Shell: A Physiologist's View of a Turtle Hardcover, Donald
> C. Jackson, Hardcover, 192 pages, Harvard University Press, $29.95
> plus $6.00 S&H
>
> Product Description
> Trundling along in essentially the same form for some 220 million years, turtles have seen dinosaurs come and go, mammals emerge, and humankind expand its dominion. Is it any wonder the persistent reptile bested the hare? In this engaging book physiologist Donald Jackson shares a lifetime of observation of this curious creature, allowing us a look under the shell of an animal at once so familiar and so strange.
> Here we discover how the turtle’s proverbial slowness helps it survive a long, cold winter under ice. How the shell not only serves as a protective home but also influences such essential functions as buoyancy control, breathing, and surviving remarkably long periods without oxygen, and how many other physiological features help define this unique animal. Jackson offers insight into what exactly it’s like to live inside a shell—to carry the heavy carapace on land and in water, to breathe without an expandable ribcage, to have sex with all that body armor intervening.
> Along the way we also learn something about the process of scientific discovery—how the answer to one question leads to new questions, how a chance observation can change the direction of study, and above all how new research always builds on the previous work of others. A clear and informative exposition of physiological concepts using the turtle as a model organism, the book is as interesting for what it tells us about scientific investigation as it is for its deep and detailed understanding of how the enduring turtle “works.”
>
> About the Author
> Donald C. Jackson is Professor Emeritus of Medical Science, Brown University.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> _____
>
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> NEW NEVER BEFORE OFFERED BY HERPDIGEST TURTLE & TORTOISE POSTER 20
> TURTLES AND TORTOISES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD GLOSSY 18” X 24” in FULL
> COLOR, AND ONLY AT HERPDIGEST----- SIGNED BY THE ARTIST Roger Hall who
> did all the drawings for the magnets
>
> Copy of poster available. Larger than what was available before.
>
>
> PERFECT FOR YOUR TURTLE ROOM, A KIDS ROOM, OVER THE TURTLE TANK OR A
> CLASSROOM.
>
> Each drawing has text below it describing the turtle.
>
> The Turtle and Tortoises are:
> Aldabra tortoise, Red-eared slider, Radiated tortoise Blanding’s turtle, Three-toed box turtle, Spotted turtle, Red-foot tortoise, Western pond turtle, Eastern box turtle, Southern painted turtle, Ornate diamondback terrapin, Desert Tortoise, Galapagos tortoise, Florida cooter, Gopher tortoise, African spur-thighed tortoise or as we call them Sulcatas, Texas tortoise, Matamata turtle, Chinese box turtle, and Indian star tortoise.(All turtle and tortoises pictured as adults).
> Comes rolled up in a a special tube for mailing posters and sent first class.
>
> To send your donation and get your poster. See Below on how to send your donation.
>
> FORBIDDEN CREATURES: inside the world of animal smuggling and exotic
> pets. by Peter Laufer, 2010. Lyons Press, Guilford, Connecticut.
> Hardcover $19.95 250 pages, plus $6.00 for S&H
>
> DIAMONDBACK TERRAPINS: GEMS OF THE TURLE WORLD ($24.95 plus $6 S&H)Complete Owner's Guide to Keeping and Breeding Diamondback Terrapins. Chapters include Natural History, The Genus Malaclemys, Terrapins in Captivity, Health Care, Breeding, and Conservation. * The first book written on all 7 diamondback terrapin subspecies. * The only book with over 150 color photos of diamondback terrapins. * Book includes picture of the one and only albino diamondback terrapin. * Information and pictures on a possible 8th subspecies. 85 pages. by James Lee and Samuel Chew.
> Overseas orders email first for S&H, but Europe is $15.00
>
> COMPLETE NORTH AMERICAN BOX TURTLE [Hardcover] Carl J Franklin
> (Author), David C Killpack (Author) 260 pages Eco Press, Amazon lists
> them at $59.95, HerpDigest sells them for $45.00 Hardcover, plus $6.00
> S&H A compilation of work of Carl Franklin and David Killpack. With
> over 30 years of field experience this book is an amazing resource for
> anyone interested in the natural history and husbandry of North
> American Box turtles. Over 300 full color photos/illustrations. (2
> copies left0
>
> THE FROGS AND TOADS OF NORTH AMERICA‰ is an amazing book.
> It contains:
> A CD of all 101 species found in US & Canada./Almost 400 great color
> photos
> 101 color location maps /In just 344 pages.
> Books this comprehensive usually go for at least $50.00.to &75.00. Or
> just $19.95 for the But the publisher is offering it JUST FOR $19.95 Plus 7.50 S&H.
>
> THE ECOLOGY, EXPLOITATION AND CONSERVATION OF RIVER TURTLES by Don
> Moll and Edward O. Moll. Considered by turtle scientists, and conservationists as one of the best books on turtle conservation. 420 pages; 90 halftones & 3 line illus.; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4; List price $80, now $35.00 plus $7.50 S&H. )Since book is now out of print, available only through used book sites like Alibris where cheapest price for a copy is $81.00) I have only 3 copies left.
>
> AMPHIBIAN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION: A HANDBOOK OF TECHNIQUES
> (TECHNIQUES IN ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION) (Paperback) by C. Kenneth Dodd
> Jr. (Editor) 556 pages, USA, Oxford Univ. Press. Available. $59.95
> plus $7.50 S&H By editor Kenneth Dodd. (I have only one copy left.)
>
> “TURTLES: THE ANIMAL ANSWER GUIDE.” By Whit Gibbons and Judy Greene of
> the Savannah River Ecology Lab. © 2009 176 pages, 35 color photos, 64
> halftones, Paperback., 7” x 11”-$24.95 PLUS $6.00 S&H - A book any
> nature center or science class should have. (only have 2 copies left)
>
> Coming soon the Frog Answer Guide by Michael Dorcas and Whit Gibbons.
>
> THE BIOLOGY OF RATTLESNAKES – an extraordinary volume Loma Linda
> University Press, Listed as $105.00. Now on Sale for $90.00 plus Plus $ 7.50 for S&H, 606 pages, weighs nearly 7 lbs. 50 original contributions from 98 authorities.
> W. K. Hayes, K. R. Beaman, M. D. Cardwell, S. P. Bush, editors
>
> POCKET PROFESSIONAL GUIDE TO LIZARDS by Robert G. Sprackland, Ph.D.
> 400 pages, almost 400 color photos of what Dr. Sprackland calls the 300 Essential-To_Know Species. Anoles to Iguanas to Geckos to Skinks. (4 1/2” x 7”), $29.95 plus $7.50 for S&H.
>
> ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY OF AMPHIBIANS Stan Hillman,
> Philip Withers, Robert Drewes and Stan Hillyard
> 464 pages; 105 line, 55 halftone illustrations; 6-1/2 x 9-1/4; softcover.
> Price: $65.00 Plus $7.50 for S&H
>
> EXTINCTION IN OUR TIMES-GLOBAL AMPHIBIAN DECLINE James P. Collins and
> Martha L. Crump Foreword by Thomas E. Lovejoy III
> 304 pages; 25 halftone and 3 line illus.; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4 Hardback, 304
> pages, 25 halftone and 3 line illus.; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4
> Price: $29.95, Plus $7.50 for S&H.
>
> Here are three books on turtles and tortoises worth having.
>
> Keeping and Breeding Freshwater Turtles, by Russ Gurley. ALL BOOKS BY
> GURLEY HE HAS SIGNED (only ONE LEFT of this book, and book below by him.) 300 Pages, $50.00 plus $7.50 S&H. Over 300 color photos, For the people a step above beginner.
> Talks about care and breeding the common slider to soft-shells and snake-neck turtles.
>
> Turtles In Captivity
> by Russ Gurley
> A good basic overview for Beginners. Signed by Author.
> $8.00 plus $3.00 S&H
>
> STAR TORTOISES
> By Jerry Fife
> $14.95 + $300 s/h
> _______________________________________________________________
>
> TO ORDER:
>
> ATTENTION ----- IF USING A CCARD WE NOW NEED THOSE THREE LITTLE NUMBERS ON THE BACK OF THE CARD TO PROCESS YOUR ORDER. They are Called CVV numbers.
>
> 1) Send a check to Herpdigest/Allen Salzberg/67-87 Booth Street -5B/Forest Hills, NY 11375. Make the check out to Herpdigest.
>
> 2) By Paypal - our account is asalzberg@herpdigest.org
>
> 3) By credit card, Master or Visa, Discover and Amex, only, send us
> your credit card number, expiration date, billing and shipping address
> to asalzberg@herpdigest.org. (Though I haven't heard of this
> happening, a credit card number stolen from an email, I'm told to
> prevent this send ccard number divided into two emails.)
>
> And don‚t forget to include those 3 numbers from the back of the credit card.
>
> 4) By phone, call us at 1-718-275-2190 Eastern Standard Time (NYC) - Any Day Of The Week, 11 A.M.- 6 P.M. If not in, leave message and we'll call back.
> ________________________________________________________________
> Need a daily fix of herp news go to HerpDigest’s Facebook page
> http://www.facebook.com/pages/HerpDiges ... 0624001610
> and hit like. There I post news that for one reason or another doesn’t get into the email version.
> Photos and graphs that are part of the story like #9, the link to the original article with all the visual material is there. Ditto for interesting videos on Youtube.
Reprinted here for Dart Den forum members and guests, with permission from the Publisher.
HerpDigest.org:
The Only Free Weekly Electronic Newsletter That
Reports on the Latest News on Herpetological Conservation, Husbandry
and Science Volume # 11 Issue # 9 2/17/11 (A Not-for-Profit
Publication)
Publisher/Editor- Allen Salzberg>
_________________________________________________________________
New Book
LIFE IN A SHELL: A PHYSIOLOGIST’S VIEW OF A TURTLE by Donald C.
Jackson, Hardcover, 192 pages, Harvard University Press, $29.95 plus
$6.00 S&H
> Product Description
> Trundling along in essentially the same form for some 220 million years, turtles have seen dinosaurs come and go, mammals emerge, and humankind expand its dominion. Is it any wonder the persistent reptile bested the hare? In this engaging book physiologist Donald Jackson shares a lifetime of observation of this curious creature, allowing us a look under the shell of an animal at once so familiar and so strange.
> For more and how to order see below.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> _______
> (Editor- Not all papers on herps are found in journals with herps in
> their name. A lot find there way to journals on biogeography,
> toxicity, tropical ecology and much, much more. Usually I print the
> abstract and title of at least one such article per issue. Sometimes I
> find there are too many for that approach, too many that are
> interesting, perhaps important papers that demand an issue of almost
> only abstracts to catch up. Like this one. To get the paper contact
> the name supplied. Don’t be embarrassed if some you don’t understand.
> I sometimes don’t and I’m just going on faith that my sources are
> correct and that there will be people out there that will glad
> (besides’s the authors) I published it.)
> ______________________________________________________________________
> _
> Table of Contents
> 1)Evolutionary assembly of island faunas reverses the classic
> island–mainland richness difference in Anolis lizards
> 2) Challenges in Identifying Sites Climatically Matched to the Native
> Ranges of Animal Invaders
> 3) Is the Northern African Python (Python sebae) Established in Southern Florida?
> 4)Modifications of traps to reduce bycatch of freshwater turtles
> 5)Engineering a Future for Amphibians Under Climate Change
> 6) X-Rays Reveal Hidden Leg of an Ancient Snake: New Hints on How
> Snakes Were Getting Legless
> 7) Developmental plasticity of immune defence in two life-history ecotypes of the garter snake, 8)Thamnophis elegans – a common-environment experiment.
> 8) Can we use the tadpoles of Australian frogs to reduce recruitment of invasive cane toads?
> 9) Orientation Angle and the Adhesion of Single Gecko Setae
> 10) Larval salamanders and diel drift patterns of aquatic
> invertebrates in an Austrian stream
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ________
> Some Announcements
>
> TURTLE POSTER STILL AVAILABLE
> For Only a $25.00 donation to HerpDigest get a beautiful gift turtle poster. For more information see below. Copy of poster available. Larger than what was available before. See Below for more on poster, such as what turtles are on it. LARGER jpg photo of poster than before now available.
> _____________________________________________________________
> PARC Alison Haskell Award for Excellence in Herpetofaunal Conservation: Request for Nominations! PARC is seeking nominations for the 2011 recipient of our NEW annual cash award in memory of our first PARC Federal Coordinator, Alison Haskell (1956 - 2006).
>
> This award is to recognize an individual or group in North America who exemplifies extraordinary commitment to herpetofaunal conservation, as did Alison. Alison's tenure with PARC was tragically shortened due to a valiant, but unsuccessful battle with ovarian cancer. Members of PARC aim to keep her memory alive through this annual award.
>
> Nominations are due March 14th. Read more about the award, how to submit nominations, and about Alison, here: http://www.parcplace.org/HaskellAward.htm 
We look forward to your nominations!
>
> PARC Administrators
> ________________________________________________________
> New Anole Website -
> Anole Annals (http://anoleannals.wordpress.com/), a new website devoted to all things anole. Created by a group of scientists and anole enthusiasts, the site features postings from many authors on new scientific findings, descriptions of new species, anoles in art, literature and commerce, photographs and general discussion of topics concerning the biological diversity of the 400 species of Anolis. Recent postings include discussions of invasive anole species; anole, the first gay superhero; anole origami and anoles in recent art exhibits; and a report of an anole consumed by a venus fly-trap.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ___
>
> 1) Evolutionary assembly of island faunas reverses the classic
> island–mainland richness difference in Anolis lizards Adam C. Algar,
> Jonathan B. Losos Article first published online: February 3, 2011,
> Journal of Biogeography How to Cite Algar, A. C. and Losos, J. B. ,
> Evolutionary assembly of island faunas reverses the classic
> island–mainland richness difference in Anolis lizards. Journal of
> Biogeography, no. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02466.x Author
> Information Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum
> of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street,
> Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
> *Correspondence: Adam C. Algar, Department of Organismic and
> Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard
> University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. E-mail:
> aalgar@oeb.harvard.edu
>
> Abstract
> Aim Islands are widely considered to be species depauperate relative to mainlands but, somewhat paradoxically, are also host to many striking adaptive radiations. Here, focusing on Anolis lizards, we investigate if cladogenetic processes can reconcile these observations by determining if in situ speciation can reduce, or even reverse, the classical island–mainland richness discrepancy.
> Location Caribbean islands and the Neotropical mainland.
>
> Methods We constructed range maps for 203 mainland anoles from museum records and evaluated whether geographical area could account for differences in species richness between island and mainland anole faunas. We compared the island species–area relationship with total mainland anole diversity and with the richness of island-sized mainland areas. We evaluated the role of climate in the observed differences by using Bayesian model averaging to predict island richness based on the mainland climate–richness relationship. Lastly, we used a published phylogeny and stochastic mapping of ancestral states to determine if speciation rate was greater on islands, after accounting for differences in geographical area.
>
> Results Islands dominated by in situ speciation had, on average, significantly more species than similarly sized mainland regions, but islands where in situ speciation has not occurred were species depauperate relative to mainland areas. Results were similar at the scale of the entire mainland, although marginally non-significant. These findings held even after accounting for climate. Speciation has not been faster on islands; instead, when extinction was assumed to be low, speciation rate varied consistently with geographical area. When extinction was high, there was some evidence that mainland speciation was faster than expected based on area.
>
> Main conclusions Our results indicate that evolutionary assembly of island faunas can reverse the general pattern of reduced species richness on islands relative to mainlands.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> _____
> 2) Challenges in Identifying Sites Climatically Matched to the Native
> Ranges of Animal Invaders 2011. PLoS One 6(2): 1-18 Gordon H. Rodda,
> Catherine S. Jarnevich & Robert N. Reed
>
> Abstract
>
> Background: Species distribution models are often used to characterize a species’ native range climate, so as to identify sites elsewhere in the world that may be climatically similar and therefore at risk of invasion by the species. This endeavor provoked intense public controversy over recent attempts to model areas at risk of invasion by the Indian Python (Python molurus). We evaluated a number of MaxEnt models on this species to assess MaxEnt’s utility for vertebrate climate matching.
>
> Methodology/Principal Findings: Overall, we found MaxEnt models to be very sensitive to modeling choices and selection of input localities and background regions. As used, MaxEnt invoked minimal protections against data dredging, multi-collinearity of explanatory axes, and overfitting. As used, MaxEnt endeavored to identify a single ideal climate, whereas different climatic considerations may determine range boundaries in different parts of the native range. MaxEnt was extremely sensitive to both the choice of background locations for the Python, and to selection of presence points: inclusion of just four erroneous localities was responsible for Pyron et al.’s conclusion that no additional portions of the U.S. mainland were at risk of Python invasion. When used with default settings, MaxEnt overfit the realized climate space, identifying models with about 60 parameters, about five times the number of parameters justifiable when optimized on the basis of Akaike’s Information !
> Criterion.
>
> Conclusions/Significance: When used with default settings, MaxEnt may not be an appropriate vehicle for identifying all sites at risk of colonization. Model instability and dearth of protections against overfitting, multi-collinearity, and data dredging may combine with a failure to distinguish fundamental from realized climate envelopes to produce models of limited utility. A priori identification of biologically realistic model structure, combined with computational protections against these statistical problems, may produce more robust models of invasion risk.
>
> *****
>
> A pdf of this article is available from the CNAH PDF Library at
>
> http://www.cnah.org/cnah_pdf.asp
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> _______
> 3) Is the Northern African Python (Python sebae) Established in Southern Florida?
> by Robert N. Reed ', Kenneth L. Krysko, Ray W. Snow-I, and Gordon H.
> Roddal [u.s, Geological Survey,. Fort Collins Science Center. 2150
> Centre Ave. Bldg C. Fort Collins. Colorado 80526 'Florida Museum of
> Natural History. Division of Herpetology. Unive,.,i!}• of Florid,.
> Gainesville. Florida 32611 j NaTional Park Service. Everglades
> National Park. 40001 Slate Ro~
>
>> From opening paragraph
> Herein. we provide evidence suggesting the possibility of a
> reproducing population of a third species of giant constrictor in
> Florida the Northern African Python
>> From IRCF Reptiles and Amphibians Magazine Bol 17, No I, March 2010
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ___
>
> 4) Modifications of traps to reduce bycatch of freshwater turtles:
> Bury, R.B., 2011, Journal of Wildlife Management, v. 75, no. 1, p.
> 3-5. Full text at http://fresc.usgs.gov/products/papers/2196_Bury.pdf
> copyrighted material courtesy of The Wildlife Society Catalog No: 2196
> ________________________________________________________________
> 5)Engineering a Future for Amphibians Under Climate Change Luke P.
> Shoo1,*,Deanna H. Olson2, Sarah K. McMenamin3, Kris A. Murray4,
> Monique Van Sluys5,6, Maureen A. Donnelly7, Danial Stratford6, Juhani
> Terhivuo8, Andres Merino-Viteri1,9, Sarah M. Herbert10, Phillip J.
> Bishop11, Paul Stephen Corn12, Liz Dovey13, Richard A. Griffiths14,
> Katrin Lowe6, Michael Mahony15, Hamish McCallum16, Jonathan D.
> Shuker6, Clay Simpkins6, Lee F. Skerratt17, Stephen E. Williams1,
> Jean-Marc Hero6 Article first published online: 2/2/2011 Journal of
> Applied Ecology On-Line How to Cite Shoo, L. P., Olson, D. H.,
> McMenamin, S. K., Murray, K. A., Van Sluys, M., Donnelly, M. A.,
> Stratford, D., Terhivuo, J., Merino-Viteri, A., Herbert, S. M.,
> Bishop, P. J., Corn, P. S., Dovey, L., Griffiths, R. A., Lowe, K.,
> Mahony, M., McCallum, H., Shuker, J. D., Simpkins, C., Skerratt, L.
> F., Williams, S. E. and Hero, J.-M. , Engineering a future for
> amphibians under climate change. Journal of Applied Ecology, no. doi:
> 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01942.x Author Information
> 1 Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, School of
> Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University of North
> Queensland, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
> 2 US Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, 3200 SW
> Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
> 3 Department of Biology, University of Washington, Kincaid Hall, Box
> 351800, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA
> 4 School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, St Lucia,
> Brisbane 4072, Australia
> 5 Departamento de Ecologia, IBRAG, Universidade do Estado do Rio de
> Janeiro. Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, CEP 20550-900, Rio de Janeiro,
> Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
> 6 Environmental Futures Centre, School of Environment, Griffith
> University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland, Australia
> 7 College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Biological Sciences,
> Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
> 8 Finnish Museum of Natural History/Zoological Museum, PO Box 17 (P.
> Rautatiekatu 13), FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
> 9 Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Pontificia Universidad
> Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de Octubre 1076 y Roca, Aptdo 17-01-2184,
> Quito, Ecuador 10 EcoGecko Consultants, 212 Pembroke Rd, Wilton,
> Wellington 6012
> 11 Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin
> 9054, New Zealand
> 12 US Geological Survey, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Inst., 790
> E. Beckwith Ave., Missoula, MT 59801, USA
> 13 Department of Climate Change, GPO Box 854, Canberra ACT 2600,
> Australia
> 14 The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of
> Anthropology and Conservation, Marlowe Building, University of Kent,
> Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK
> 15 Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Newcastle,
> Newcastle 2308, Australia
> 16 Environmental Futures Centre, School of Environment, Griffith
> University, Nathan Campus, Queensland, Australia
> 17 School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
> Sciences, Amphibian Disease Ecology Group, James Cook University,
> Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
> *Correspondence: Luke P. Shoo,
> *Correspondence: Correspondence author. School of Biological Sciences,
> University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. E-mail:
> l.shoo@uq.edu.au
>
> Summary
> 1. Altered global climates in the 21st century pose serious threats for biological systems and practical actions are needed to mount a response for species at risk.
>
> 2. We identify management actions from across the world and from diverse disciplines that are applicable to minimizing loss of amphibian biodiversity under climate change. Actions were grouped under three thematic areas of intervention: (i) installation of microclimate and microhabitat refuges; (ii) enhancement and restoration of breeding sites; and (iii) manipulation of hydroperiod or water levels at breeding sites.
>
> 3.Synthesis and applications. There are currently few meaningful management actions that will tangibly impact the pervasive threat of climate change on amphibians. A host of potentially useful but poorly tested actions could be incorporated into local or regional management plans, programmes and activities for amphibians. Examples include: installation of irrigation sprayers to manipulate water potentials at breeding sites; retention or supplementation of natural and artificial shelters (e.g. logs, cover boards) to reduce desiccation and thermal stress; manipulation of canopy cover over ponds to reduce water temperature; and, creation of hydrologoically diverse wetland habitats capable of supporting larval development under variable rainfall regimes. We encourage researchers and managers to design, test and scale up new initiatives to respond to this emerging crisis.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ______
> 6) X-Rays Reveal Hidden Leg of an Ancient Snake: New Hints on How
> Snakes Were Getting Legless
>
> ScienceDaily (Feb. 7, 2011) — A novel X-ray imaging technology is helping scientists better understand how in the course of evolution snakes have lost their legs. The researchers hope the new data will help resolve a heated debate about the origin of snakes: whether they evolved from a terrestrial lizard or from one that lived in the oceans. New, detailed 3-D images reveal that the internal architecture of an ancient snake's leg bones strongly resembles that of modern terrestrial lizard legs.
>
> The team of researchers was led by Alexandra Houssaye from the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, France, and included scientists from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, where the X-ray imaging was performed, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, where a sophisticated technique and a dedicated instrument to take the images were developed.
>
> Only three specimens exist of fossilised snakes with preserved leg bones. Eupodophis descouensi, the ancient snake studied in this experiment, was discovered ten years ago in 95-million-year-old rocks in Lebanon. About 50 cm long overall, it exhibits a small leg, about 2 cm long, attached to the animal's pelvis. This fossil is key to understanding the evolution of snakes, as it represents an intermediate evolutionary stage when ancient snakes had not yet completely lost the legs they inherited from earlier lizards. Although the fossil exhibits just one leg on its surface, a second leg was thought to be concealed in the stone, and indeed this leg was revealed in full detail thanks to synchrotron X-rays.
>
> The high-resolution 3-D images, in particular the fine detail of the buried small leg, suggest that this species lost its legs because they grew more slowly, or for a shorter period of time. The data also reveal that the hidden leg is bent at the knee and has four ankle bones but no foot or toe bones.
>
> "The revelation of the inner structure of Eupodophis hind limbs enables us to investigate the process of limb regression in snake evolution," says Alexandra Houssaye.
>
> The scientists used synchrotron laminography, a recent imaging technique specially developed for studying large, flat samples. It is similar to the computed tomography (CT) technique used in many hospitals, but uses a coherent synchrotron X-ray beam to resolve details a few micrometers in size--some 1000 times smaller than a hospital CT scanner. For the new technique, the fossil is rotated at a tilted angle in a brilliant high-energy X-ray beam, with thousands of two-dimensional images recorded as it makes a full 360-degree turn. From these individual images, a high-resolution, 3-D representaton is reconstructed, which shows hidden details like the internal structures of the legs.
>
> "Synchrotrons, these enormous machines, allow us to see microscopic details in fossils invisible to any other techniques without damage to these invaluable specimens," says Paul Tafforeau of the ESRF, a co-author of the study.
>
>
> The results are published in the Feb. 8, 2011 issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ____
> 7) Developmental plasticity of immune defence in two life-history ecotypes of the garter snake, Thamnophis elegans – a common-environment experiment.
> Palacios, M. G., Sparkman, A. M. and Bronikowski, A. M.
> Journal of Animal Ecology Volume 80, Issue 2, pages 431–437, March
> 2011 † All authors have contributed equally to the research presented
> in this article.
> *Correspondence: Maria G. Palacios,
> *Correspondence: Correspondence author. E-mail: mgp@iastate.edu
>
> Summary
> 1. Ecoimmunological theory predicts a link between life-history and immune-defence strategies such that fast-living organisms should rely more on constitutive innate defences compared to slow-living organisms. An untested assumption of this hypothesis is that the variation in immune defence associated with variation in life history has a genetic basis.
>
> 2. Replicate populations of two life-history ecotypes of the garter snake Thamnophis elegans provide an ideal system in which to test this assumption. Free-ranging snakes of the fast-living ecotype, which reside in lakeshore habitats, show higher levels of three measures of constitutive innate immunity than those of the slow-living ecotype, which inhabit meadows around the lake. Although this pattern is consistent with the ecoimmunological pace-of-life hypothesis, environmental differences between the lakeshore and meadow habitats could also explain the observed differences in immune defence.
>
> 3. We performed a common-environment experiment to distinguish between these alternatives. Snakes born and raised in common-environment conditions reflected the immune phenotype of their native habitats when sampled at 4 months of age (i.e. fast-living lakeshore snakes showed higher levels of natural antibodies, complement activity and bactericidal competence than slow-living meadow snakes), but no longer showed differences when 19 months old.
>
> This suggests that the differences in innate immunity observed between the two ecotypes have an important – and likely age-specific – environmental influence, with these immune components showing developmental plasticity. A genetic effect in early life may also be present, but further research is needed to confirm this possibility and therefore provide a more definitive test of the ecoimmunological pace-of-life hypothesis in this system.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ____
> 8) Can we use the tadpoles of Australian frogs to reduce recruitment of invasive cane toads?
> Elisa Cabrera-Guzmán, Michael Crossland, Richard Shine Article first
> published online: 12/23/10, Journal of Applied Ecology How to Cite
> Cabrera-Guzmán, E., Crossland, M. and Shine, R. , Can we use the
> tadpoles of Australian frogs to reduce recruitment of invasive cane
> toads?. Journal of Applied Ecology, no. doi:
> 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01933.x Author Information School of
> Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006,
> Australia
> *Correspondence: Richard Shine,
> *Correspondence: Correspondence author. E-mail:
> rick.shine@sydney.edu.au
>
> Summary
> 1. Native to the Americas, cane toads Bufo marinus are an invasive species causing substantial ecological impacts in Australia. We need ways to control invasive species such as cane toads without collateral damage to native fauna.
>
> 2. We explored the feasibility of suppressing survival and growth of cane toad tadpoles via competition with the tadpoles of native frogs. Compared to the invasive toads, many native frogs breed earlier in the season and their tadpoles grow larger and have longer larval periods. Hence, adding spawn or tadpoles of native frogs to toad-breeding sites might increase tadpole competition, and thereby reduce toad recruitment.
>
> 3. Our laboratory trials using tadpoles of eight native frog species gave significant results: the presence of six of these species (Cyclorana australis, C. longipes, Litoria caerulea, L. dahlii, L. rothii and L. splendida) reduced toad tadpole survival and/or size at metamorphosis. Litoria caerulea also increased the duration of the larval period of cane toad tadpoles. Tadpoles of the other two frog species (Litoria rubella and Litoria tornieri) did not affect survival or growth of larval cane toads any more than did an equivalent number of additional toad tadpoles. Native frog species with larger tadpoles exerted greater negative effects on toad tadpoles than did native species with smaller tadpoles.
>
> 4.Synthesis and applications. Encouraging the general public to construct and restore waterbodies in peri-urban areas to build up populations of native frogs – especially the much-loved green tree frog Litoria caerulea– could help to reduce recruitment rates of invasive cane toads in Australia.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ________
> 9) Orientation Angle and the Adhesion of Single Gecko Setae, Journal
> of the Royal Society, Interface, Published online before print
> February 2, 2011 Ginel C. Hill1,*†,Daniel R. Soto1, Anne M.
> Peattie3,Robert J. Full3 and T. W. Kenny2
>
> + Author Affiliations
> 1Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
> 94305, USA 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University,
> Stanford, CA 94305, USA 3Department of Integrative Biology, University
> of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
> + Author Notes
> ↵† Present address: SiTime Corporation, 990 Almanor Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085, USA.
> *Author for correspondence (ginelhill@gmail.com).
>
> Abstract
> We investigated the effects of orientation angle on the adhesion of single gecko setae using dual-axis microelectromechanical systems force sensors to simultaneously detect normal and shear force components. Adhesion was highly sensitive to the pitch angle between the substrate and the seta's stalk. Maximum lateral adhesive force was observed with the stalk parallel to the substrate, and adhesion decreased smoothly with increasing pitch. The roll orientation angle only needed to be roughly correct with the spatular tuft of the seta oriented grossly towards the substrate for high adhesion. Also, detailed measurements were made to control for the effect of normal preload forces. Higher normal preload forces caused modest enhancement of the observed lateral adhesive force, provided that adequate contact was made between the seta and the substrate. These results should be useful in the design and manufacture of gecko-inspired synthetic adhesives with anisotropic properties, an a!
> rea of substantial recent research efforts.
> _____________________________________________________________________
> 10) Larval salamanders and diel drift patterns of aquatic
> invertebrates in an Austrian stream P. OBERRISSER, J. WARINGER Article
> first published online: 1/27/11, Freshwater Biology How to Cite
> OBERRISSER, P. and WARINGER, J. , Larval salamanders and diel drift
> patterns of aquatic invertebrates in an Austrian stream. Freshwater
> Biology, no. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2010.02559.x Author Information
> Department of Limnology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
> *Correspondence: Dr Johann Waringer, Department of Limnology,
> University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. E-mail:
> johann.waringer@univie.ac.at Publication History Article first
> published online: 27 JAN 2011 (Manuscript accepted 9 December 2010)
>
> Summary
>
> 1. Aquatic predators may influence drift periodicity either directly or indirectly (by non-consumptive effects involving chemical cues). We took drift samples (eight successive 3-h sampling intervals over a 24-h period) on five dates (September 2007, March, April, June and August 2008). Samples were taken at three sites (one site with trout throughout the year, two sites without trout but with fire salamander larvae as top predators from April to August, but without vertebrate predators during the rest of the year) in a stream near Vienna, Austria, to examine the effects of predators on drift periodicity.
>
> 2. Of 45 331 specimens caught, the most abundant taxa were Ephemeroptera (32.3%; mainly Baetidae), Diptera (21.5%; mainly Chironomidae), Amphipoda (17.4%; all Gammarus fossarum), Plecoptera (5.4%), Coleoptera (3.5%) and Trichoptera (1.2%). For more detailed analyses, we chose Ephemeroptera (Baetidae; n = 13 457) and Amphipoda (G. fossarum; n = 7888), which were numerous on all sampling dates.
>
> 3. The number of drifting baetids and amphipods, as well as total drift density, was generally higher at night than by day, although without predators these differences were significant for Gammaridae but not for Baetidae.
>
> 4. When broken down to size classes, night–day drift ratios generally were not significantly different from equality in all size classes of baetids when larval fire salamanders and trout were absent. When predators were present, however, baetid drift density was usually higher at night, except in the smallest and largest size classes. In all size classes of G. fossarum, drift density was usually higher at night, whether with or without the top predators.
>
> Although we could study predator effects on drift periodicity at three sites on only a single stream, it seems that non-consumptive effects may affect Baetidae. Salamander larvae, most probably via kairomones, induced a shift towards mainly nocturnal drift, which could be interpreted as predator avoidance.
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> New Book
> Life in a Shell: A Physiologist's View of a Turtle Hardcover, Donald
> C. Jackson, Hardcover, 192 pages, Harvard University Press, $29.95
> plus $6.00 S&H
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> Product Description
> Trundling along in essentially the same form for some 220 million years, turtles have seen dinosaurs come and go, mammals emerge, and humankind expand its dominion. Is it any wonder the persistent reptile bested the hare? In this engaging book physiologist Donald Jackson shares a lifetime of observation of this curious creature, allowing us a look under the shell of an animal at once so familiar and so strange.
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>
> About the Author
> Donald C. Jackson is Professor Emeritus of Medical Science, Brown University.
> ______________________________________________________________________
> _____
>
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> FORBIDDEN CREATURES: inside the world of animal smuggling and exotic
> pets. by Peter Laufer, 2010. Lyons Press, Guilford, Connecticut.
> Hardcover $19.95 250 pages, plus $6.00 for S&H
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> DIAMONDBACK TERRAPINS: GEMS OF THE TURLE WORLD ($24.95 plus $6 S&H)Complete Owner's Guide to Keeping and Breeding Diamondback Terrapins. Chapters include Natural History, The Genus Malaclemys, Terrapins in Captivity, Health Care, Breeding, and Conservation. * The first book written on all 7 diamondback terrapin subspecies. * The only book with over 150 color photos of diamondback terrapins. * Book includes picture of the one and only albino diamondback terrapin. * Information and pictures on a possible 8th subspecies. 85 pages. by James Lee and Samuel Chew.
> Overseas orders email first for S&H, but Europe is $15.00
>
> COMPLETE NORTH AMERICAN BOX TURTLE [Hardcover] Carl J Franklin
> (Author), David C Killpack (Author) 260 pages Eco Press, Amazon lists
> them at $59.95, HerpDigest sells them for $45.00 Hardcover, plus $6.00
> S&H A compilation of work of Carl Franklin and David Killpack. With
> over 30 years of field experience this book is an amazing resource for
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> It contains:
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>
> AMPHIBIAN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION: A HANDBOOK OF TECHNIQUES
> (TECHNIQUES IN ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION) (Paperback) by C. Kenneth Dodd
> Jr. (Editor) 556 pages, USA, Oxford Univ. Press. Available. $59.95
> plus $7.50 S&H By editor Kenneth Dodd. (I have only one copy left.)
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> “TURTLES: THE ANIMAL ANSWER GUIDE.” By Whit Gibbons and Judy Greene of
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>
> Turtles In Captivity
> by Russ Gurley
> A good basic overview for Beginners. Signed by Author.
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> _______________________________________________________________
>
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> Photos and graphs that are part of the story like #9, the link to the original article with all the visual material is there. Ditto for interesting videos on Youtube.