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

For full details, see the press release here: Zoo Atlanta Press Release

Sean Hartzell published the attached Letter to the Editor in HR 48(2). We at SSAR would like to know–what do you think? Comment on our Facebook or Twitter (@ssarherps) accounts.

Read here: Wherefore and whither the reprint?

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!

Below is a statement from the Curators of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). Please see the attached documents for more details:

“Rumors are circulating among the community regarding a recent announcement that the new White House budget does not include funding for curating the terrestrial vertebrate collections at NMNH. The curators of Amphibians + Reptiles at the NMNH have put together a brief explanation of how these proposed cuts would impact the herpetological community.”

Status of Biological Survey Unit

2018 Summary of Program Changes

From our friends at the Herpetologists’ League:

The Herpetologists’ League is initiating a competitive research award for assistant professors and others in equivalent positions at research institutions in memory of Raymond D. Semlitsch, a consummate field ecologist and experimental biologist who dedicated his life’s work to understanding the ecology and evolution of amphibians and reptiles.  Ray Semlitsch spent the last 20 years of his career at the University of Missouri-Columbia examining ecological questions that could offer management solutions for the conservation of amphibians, and our understanding of amphibians is richer from his efforts.  The Raymond D. Semlitsch Research Award will support research on the ecology, evolution, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles, with particular interest in research on contemporary questions that helps bridge disciplines and that incorporates manipulative, experimental approaches.  Funding for this award was initiated by one of Ray’s early mentors in his research career, Dr. James R. Spotila. The award will be accompanied by a $5,000 research grant to be administered by the recipient’s university or equivalent research institution.

For full details, see the call for proposals at the HL website.

Message from the organizers of an American Fisheries Society symposium:

The Program Committee for the 2018 AFS Meeting has extended the deadline for abstract submission. The new deadline is March 31, 2017.

The Imperiled Species and Fish Culture Sections of the American Fisheries Society would like to extend this invitation to present at a Symposium entitled, “Captive Propagation of Imperiled Aquatic Organisms” to be held at the AFS Meeting in Tampa, FL on Aug 20-24. We are soliciting for presenters who are willing to share their successes and failures culturing any imperiled aquatic species. Below is the abstract for the symposium, which has been accepted by program organizers.

Abstract:  A growing number of aquatic organisms including fishes, mussels, and crayfish, among other aquatic organisms are imperiled.  To aid conservation and recovery efforts, there is an increasing use of methods to propagate these organisms in captivity to support population augmentation and reintroduction efforts and for use in experiments.  Methods for spawning and rearing many species either are scattered in the literature, are in unpublished documents, or in some cases are little more than anecdotes.  The purpose of this symposium is to bring together scientists, managers, and others who work with captive propagation to exchange knowledge and attempt to synthesize what is known about captive propagation of different taxa, which new methods seem most fruitful, and which areas are most in need of further research.  We will solicit case histories, results of experimental studies, and reviews and syntheses of captive propagation efforts.  The ultimate goal of the symposium will be to produce a published volume that will serve as a general resource for scientists and managers and which can serve as at textbook for specialized graduate courses.

Presentation Format:  20-minute time slots (15 minutes presentation, 3 minutes questions + 2 minutes for room change)

The turn-around time for this is short as usual. Abstracts are due to AFS (https://afs.confex.com/afs/2017/cfp.cgi) by March 17. If you have questions, you can contact Dr. Gene Wilde (gene.wilde@ttu.edu) or myself (lochmanns@uapb.edu).

We hope that you will come and share your tricks for conservation culture.