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How to access SSAR membership accounts

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As we mentioned briefly before, our membership accounts have migrated from ZenScientist to a new host. Here’s what you need to do to access your account:

  • The new site is accessible here: https://ssar.wildapricot.org/
  • If you have Google or Facebook accounts under the same email as your membership, you can try to login via those authentication buttons.
  • Otherwise, enter the email address associated with your account and click “Forgot password” to request a new password.

SSAR publications are available here!

 

Webinar: Conservation and Management of Amphibians and Reptiles for U.S. National Parks in the Southeast

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Information from the Wildlife Conservation Branch in the Biological Resources Division of the National Park Service (NPS):

You are invited to join us for Conservation and Management of Amphibians and Reptiles for U.S. National Parks in the Southeast, a webinar sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation Branch in the Biological Resources Division of the National Park Service (NPS).

Date: Thursday, October 20, 2016

Duration: 1.5 hours

Start time: 9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET

Registration URL: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1212362580358473220

Webinar ID: 972-782-611

IMPORTANT:

    1. GoToWebinar will send you an email AFTER you click the above registration URL. The email will contain the link you need to click to join the webinar at the specified time and date.
    2. DO NOT click the “Add to Calendar” feature that you are provided in your registration confirmation email or on the registration confirmation website. Doing so will incorrectly record the time of the webinar in your calendar due to a glitch with the program. You must manually insert the time and date into your calendar. Apologies for the inconvenience.
    3. Telephone / dial-in information will be provided to you once you have logged into the webinar. You must use your telephone to call in to the webinar. We cannot allow audio connection via computer because it creates malfunctions during the recording.

This webinar covers material provided in:

Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles of the Southeastern US by Mark A. Bailey, Jeffrey N. Holmes, Joseph C. Mitchell, and Kurt A. Buhlmann (Eds.). The webinar will cover habitats and species in the NPS’s Southeastern Region. However, the information provided in the webinar will be applicable to locations outside of park boundaries too and so will benefit any biologist or land manager.

About the Speakers:

Mark A. Bailey has a Master of Science in Zoology from Auburn University. He has been active in the conservation and management of southeastern wildlife, with emphasis on herpetofauna, for over 30 years.  He worked for the U.S. Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy before establishing his own consulting firm, Conservation Southeast. He is the past Alabama state representative to the Gopher Tortoise Council and serves on the board of the Alabama Wildlife Federation. Along with the other co-authors of PARC’s Habitat Management Guidelines of the Southeastern United States, he is a recipient of the Florida Wildlife Society’s Paul Moler Herpetological Conservation Award. He is co-author of Turtles of Alabama.

Joseph C. (Joe) Mitchell has a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Tennessee, and has focused on the conservation, ecology, and natural history of amphibians and reptiles for over 40 years. He is self-employed (Mitchell Ecological Research Service, LLC), and has conducted conservation and management research on 16 national parks and 21 military bases, among others. He wrote the first habitat conservation plan under a joint venture by two federal agencies (USFS, USFWS). He is the author of The Reptiles of Virginia, Smithsonian Institution Press, and senior editor of Urban Herpetology, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.

Kurt A. Buhlmann holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Stockton State College in New Jersey, an M.S. in Wildlife Sciences from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia.  He has worked with The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service, Conservation International, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and others. He is currently a Senior Research Associate with the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. He also operates Buhlmann Ecological Research and Consulting, LLC as an environmental consultant. Kurt’s research interests include life history and evolutionary ecology with application for species recovery, conservation and management.  He has studied terrestrial habitat needs of amphibians and reptiles around seasonal wetlands, the effects of prescribed fire, control of invasive species, and wetland restoration. He has been involved with turtle habitat management and restoration projects, and has helped implement reintroduction strategies for Gopher Tortoises at several sites in the Southeast, and more recently, head-starting research with freshwater turtles (Blanding’s and Wood) in the Northeast, as well as with Desert Tortoises in the Mojave Desert.

About the Webinar Series:

Park Units in the Northwestern US: Restoration and Recovery for Amphibians and Reptiles (covering NPS’s Alaska, Pacific-West, and Intermountain regions) was presented on March 10, 2016.

Park Units in the Midwestern US: Restoration and Recovery for Amphibians and Reptiles (covering NPS’s Midwestern Region) was presented on April 14, 2016.

Conservation and Management of Amphibians and Reptiles for U.S. National Parks in the Northeast (covering NPS’s Northeast Region) was presented on July 28, 2016.

Please contact Jen Williams (jen_williams@nps.gov or 970-267-2159) if you are interested in a copy of these webinars or their accompanying materials.

This is the last webinar in this series! PARC’s Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles in the Southwestern United States was just published in August of 2016. If you are interested in this publication and are a National Park Service employee, contact Jen Williams. Otherwise, you can order a copy directly from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0966740246/

What do you think marmosets eat? One gecko found out the hard way in today’s #herpetologyhighlight!

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Snacktime! Darwin’s Geckos (Gymnodactylus darwinii) are cryptic lizards endemic to the Atlantic Rain Forests of Brazil. These sit and wait predators feed primarily on grasshoppers and crickets, cockroaches, and isopods. Yet bigger predators abound in the Atlantic Rain Forest, as one Darwin’s Gecko found out.

nhn-aximoff-gymnodactylus-fig1

A Black-tufted-ear marmoset (Callithrix pencillata) sat 3 m above ground holding a Darwin’s Gecko in-hand when Herpetological Review contributors Aximoff and Carvalho spotted the pair in June 2015. The herpetologists watched as the marmoset ate the gecko’s head (top right, decapitated lizard). Then the marmoset ate the tail, forelimbs, and finally the abdomen of the gecko. The marmoset spent about ten minutes eating this morning snack, finishing off the abdomen around 0932h, which is just about the length of time it takes me to eat a nice mid-morning muffin. Black-tufted-ear marmosets commonly eat flowers, tree saps and gums, insects, and frogs, but this observation is noteworthy as the first observation of a Black-tufted-ear Marmoset eating a Darwin’s Gecko.

Many primates eat small reptiles and amphibians, so make sure you record your unique field observations and send them into Herpetological Review!

Citation: Aximoff, I. and S. Carvalho. 2016. Gymnodactylus darwinii (Darwin’s Gecko). Predation. Herpetological Review 47 (2): 298.

2017 Biology, Management, and Conservation of North American Salamanders Training Course

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Amphibian Ark and Zoo Atlanta are pleased to announce the 2017 Biology, Management and Conservation of North American Salamanders training course.

The course will consist of five days of intensive training, including lectures, hands-on practical exercises, and fieldwork, with the goal of providing the students with technical skills necessary for long-term management of ex situ assurance populations of salamanders, from species selection to reintroductions with focus on husbandry, health, biosecurity and population management. Topics covered during the course will include: salamander biology, conservation and management; enclosure design and construction; captive breeding techniques; biosecurity and disease control; monitoring and surveys of wild and captive populations; education and scientific engagement. A field trip is arranged at Wharton Center, GA.

For full information, see the attached PDF: 2017 Salamander Course

Snake Fungal Disease Training

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering training regarding snake fungal disease for its employees this fall. Interest has been strong for this topic so public webinars may be coming soon!

 

Wanted: New SSAR Bloggers!

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Are you a herpetologist? Do you like to write? Blog with SSAR!

We are always seeking people to write new blog posts for our website. Topics should include SSAR-relevant news items such as job openings, new and interesting herpetological publications, SSAR-specific society updates, herpetology-focused meetings (or on talks presented at general meetings that focused on herpetology), and other fun herp facts or videos. Writing blog posts will give people an opportunity to be involved with SSAR and is a perfect opportunity for undergraduates and graduate students, but the opportunity is open to anyone who is interested in contributing. If you would like to contribute blog posts to the SSAR website, please send us an e-mail, and we can provide you with additional information.

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