SSAR is seeking volunteer social media interns to help manage our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Are you a pro at finding the most important herpetological news online? Do you love to retweet the latest, greatest publications in the field? Are you looking for a way to give back to SSAR? Send us an email at ssarherps@gmail.com for more information.

The Meritorious Teaching Award in Herpetology (Announcement)

Presented by the Herpetology Education Committee 

Sponsored by: American Society of Ichthyologists & Herpetologists (ASIH), The Herpetologists’ League (HL), and the Society for the Study of Amphibians & Reptiles (SSAR)

The Herpetology Education Committee (HEC) seeks nominations for the Meritorious Teaching Award in Herpetology to be presented at the 2018 Joint Meetings of Ichthyologists & Herpetologists in Rochester New York. Nominees must be current members of at least one of the sponsoring societies. Current Officers and Committee Chairs of ASIH, HL or SSAR, and members of the HEC are not eligible for nomination.

This award recognizes superior teaching and mentoring of students in the area of herpetology, and provides student members of ASIH, HL, and SSAR the opportunity to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to herpetological education. The award recipient will receive US $500, an official letter, and a plaque from the HEC.

Nominees should have a reputation among their peers and students for excellence in herpetological education, including, but not limited to:

1. Demonstrated highly effective and innovative teaching in the classroom and/or other education settings (e.g., zoological parks, aquaria, museums, field stations, environmental centers).

2. Superior mentoring of students in herpetology, as evidenced by student testimonials and placement of students in professional positions related to the field of herpetology.

The nomination packet (submitted as a single electronic PDF) should include the following:

1. A nominating letter highlighting the nominee’s experience and accomplishments (limit 3 pages).

2. Evidence in support of the nomination

a. Letters of recommendation from two current or former students addressing the teaching and mentoring skills of the nominee.

b. Letters of recommendation from two professional peers who are qualified to review the merits of the nominee with respect to teaching and mentoring skills.

Nominations will be accepted from current or former students of the nominee and must be received by the HEC Chair by 31 April for consideration. Incomplete nominations will not be reviewed.

Nominations will remain active for three years. After that, the nominee must wait six years before being eligible again.

Send electronic nomination files, including all letters, as a single PDF to:

Lynn Haugen, HEC Chair
Associate Professor
Department of Natural Sciences
Western New Mexico University
PO Box 680
Silver City, NM 88062
LHaugen@wnmu.edu

HR September 2017, Volume 48, Number 3. Our cover features a field photo of an adult male Geoemyda spengleri (Black-breasted Leaf Turtle), photographed on Hainan Island, China, by Jeffrey E. Dawson. This issue is scheduled to be mailed 29 September. Congratulations to Jeffrey for his outstanding cover photo!

Members can now download the full edition here, and the full table of contents will be uploaded soon. All Natural History Notes, Geographic Distribution Notes, and Book Reviews are Open Access and are now available for download at the same link–for both members and non-members. If you are not a member of SSAR, please consider joining the leading international herpetological society. Student and online-only rates available. Follow the “About SSAR” and “Membership Information” links at ssarherps.org.

The SSAR student poster awards honor Victor Hutchison for his extensive contributions to herpetology and the development of future herpetologists.  The seventh annual SSAR Victor Hutchison Student Poster Awards were presented at the 60^th Annual Meeting of the SSAR and the Joint Meeting of Ichthyology and Herpetology in Austin, Texas, 12-16 July 2016.  This year there were 32 eligible poster submissions.  In recognition of outstanding student poster presentations at the annual meeting, a single award was given in each of the following categories: Evolution, Genetics, & Systematics (5 presentations), Ecology, Natural History, Distribution, & Behavior (15 presentations), Physiology & Morphology (7 presentations), and Conservation & Management (6 presentations).  All awardees received a check for US $200 and a book from CRC Press.

This year’s judges were Tiffany Doan (Chair, New College of Florida), Marina Gerson (California State University, Stanislaus), Peter Uetz (Virginia Commonwealth University), Hardin Waddle (United States Geological Service), Melissa Youngquist (University of Minnesota), Anthony Barley (University of Hawaii at Manoa), Christopher Thigpen (Arkansas State University), Gerardo Carfagno (Manhattan College), and Ralph Saporito (John Carroll University).

The Winners – Ecology, Natural History, Distribution, & Behavior: Harrison Goldspiel (SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry), “Spatial and Historical Drivers of Pool-Breeding Amphibian Abundances in a Central New York Forest.”  Evolution, Genetics, & Systematics: Daniel Hughes (University of Texas at El Paso), “From the Floor, to the Canopy: Comparative Phylogeography of Two Sympatric Chameleon Species in Central Africa’s Albertine Rift.” Physiology & Morphology: Drew Davis (University of South Dakota), “Morphological Variation Between Two Widely Distributed Populations of Plethodon albagula (Caudata: Plethodontidae).” Conservation & Management:Jillian Josimovich (Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne), “First Assessment of Soft-release Translocation of Wild-caught Snakes.”

You can view the winning posters below:

Goldspiel Poster

Hughes et al. Poster

Davis Poster

Josimovich Poster

In honor and memory of Dr. David J. Morafka, distinguished herpetologist and authority on North American gopher tortoises, the Desert Tortoise Council, with the aid of several donors, has established a monetary award to help support research that contributes to the understanding, management and conservation of tortoises of the genus Gopherus in the southwestern United States and Mexico:  G. agassizii, G. morafkai, G. evgoodei, G. berlandieri, and G. flavomarginatus.

Applications for this $2000 award are due by December 1, 2017. For more details, see the full release here: 2018 Morafka Award Announcement

HR June 2017, Volume 48, Number 2. Our cover features a field photo of an adult Crotalus totonacus (Totonacan Rattlesnake), photographed in Tamaulipas, Mexico by Iván Trinidad Ahumada-Carrillo. This issue is scheduled to be mailed 30 June, although full contents are now available online to SSAR members at https://ssarherps.org/herpetological-review-pdfs/. All Natural History Notes, Geographic Distribution Notes, and Book Reviews are Open Access and are now available for download at the same link. If you are not a member of SSAR, please consider joining the leading international herpetological society. Student and online-only rates available. Follow the “Join SSAR” link on the home page. Congratulations to Iván for his outstanding cover photo!