Proposals will be accepted for the 2017 SSAR Roger Conant Grants-in-Herpetology Program starting on 15 September 2016, and proposals are due by 15 December 2016. Please see this page for complete details.
Perspective pieces in Journal of Herpetology
The long-term perspective, about science, conservation or a particular discipline, is often lost. The broader view may be lost in the immediacy and fervor of publishing science that will move us along in understanding the complex world we live in or in facilitating management that will make a difference in the conservation of the beleaguered organisms we study, protect, and love. Several years ago the Journal of Herpetology began a new series of invited papers. This series was specifically intended to capture the long-term perspective of scientists who had gained that multi-decade view of their field. The pieces were intended to provide a forum for lessons learned, musings about the future of the discipline, and data, yet with the added depth and humanity that makes herpetology a unique science. We intended to chronicle some of the adventures, wisdom and heretofore unpublished data of “giants in our field” and to provide an opportunity for their shared wisdom and tribal lore to be communicated and archived for students, current and future, and for colleagues.
This series has been a success, but we want to draw the readership back to its presence. Publication in this section is by invitation only, and no more than one is published per issue. Papers reflect a multi-decade perspective on a particular herpetological issue, focusing on how the science has changed over the years, on what current views are and what future views might be. These pieces are highly readable because they include an element of anecdote such that readers are drawn not only to the science, but to the person behind that science and the challenges and adventures that highlighted the journey.
Perspectives pieces by the following have been published and more are in preparation.
- Richard Goris
- Marvalee Wake
- Whit Gibbons
- Pat Gregory
- Hal Heatwole
- Eric Pianka
- Martha Crump
- Trevor Beebee
- Rick Shine
Perspectives pieces are archived and can be accessed by members of the Society for the Study or Amphibians and Reptiles here.
If you are not yet a member and would like to become one, click here.
SSAR Victor Hutchison Student Poster Award Winners for 2016 Announced
The SSAR student poster awards honor Victor Hutchison for his extensive contributions to herpetology and the development of future herpetologists. The sixth annual SSAR Victor Hutchison Student Poster Awards were presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the SSAR and the Joint Meeting of Ichthyology and Herpetology in New Orleans, Louisiana, 6-10 July 2016. This year there were 53 poster submissions, our highest number of submissions so far. 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 (3 eligible presentations), Ecology, Natural History, Distribution, & Behavior (23 presentations), Physiology & Morphology (9 presentations), and Conservation & Management (12 presentations). All awardees received a check for US $200 and a book from CRC Press.
This year’s judges were Tiffany Doan (Chair, University of Central Florida), Catherine Aubee (US Environmental Protection Agency), Nirvana Filoramo (Worcester State University), Marina Gerson (California State University, Stanislaus), Michelle Koo (University of California), Mark Mills (Missouri Western State University), Carol Spencer (Museum of Vertebrate Zoology), Steven Whitfield (Zoo Miami), and Thomas Wilson (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga).
The Winners – Ecology, Natural History, Distribution, & Behavior: Berlynna Heres (Marshall University), “Ambush Site Selection in Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes Using Vegetation Analysis and Radio Telemetry.” Evolution, Genetics, & Systematics: Kathryn Mercier (University of Central Florida), “Unearthing the evolutionary history of Mole Skinks.” Physiology & Morphology: Jake Pruett (Indiana State University, Terra Haute), “Polymorphic Male Blue-bellied Lizards (Sceloporus parvus) Exhibit Differences in Circulating Testosterone Levels and Relative Abundance of Volatile Organic Compounds”.Conservation & Management: Alex Cameron (John Carroll University), “Can Species Distribution Models Predict Abundance?”
David J. Morafka Memorial Research Award 2017
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.
Award Amount: $2,000 to be awarded at the Desert Tortoise Council’s Annual Symposium, depending on the availability of funding and an appropriate recipient.
Eligibility: Applicants must be associated with a recognized institution (e.g., university, museum, government agency, non-governmental organization) and may be graduate students, post-doctoral students, or other researchers. They must agree to present a report on the results of the research in which award funds were used at a future symposium of the Desert Tortoise Council.
Evaluation Criteria: Applications will be evaluated on the basis of the potential of the research to contribute to the biological knowledge of one or more of the above gopher tortoise species, and to their management and conservation. Important considerations are the significance and originality of the research problem, design of sampling and analysis, preliminary data supporting the feasibility of the research, and the likelihood of successful completion and publication.
Application Procedure:
1. Download and open an application form from the Desert Tortoise Council’s website www.deserttortoise.org. The form is electronically interactive.
2. Provide all information requested on the application, including a description of the research project in no more than 1,200 words.
3. Submit the completed application to grstewart@cpp.edu as a pdf document.
4. Applications must be supported by the applicant’s CV and three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from the applicant’s research advisor, supervisor, or a knowledgeable colleague. Instruct the recommenders to submit their letters to grstewart@cpp.edu as pdf documents.
5. All application materials and letters of recommendation must be received by December 1, 2016. They will be evaluated by a committee of gopher tortoise biologists appointed by the Desert Tortoise Council Board of Directors.
6. The research award recipient will be notified of his/her selection by January 20, 2017 and the award will be presented at the 2017 Desert Tortoise Council Symposium, February 24-26, 2017.
For full details, see: Morafka Award Announcment 2017
JMIH Reminders
We just wanted to provide a quick recap of some of the information regarding the JMIH which will be kicking off this week in New Orleans:
1) The local host committee has made arrangements for a second venue for a no-host social on July 6th, starting at 7:00 p.m at the House of Blues (225 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70130). Admission is free of charge and there will be appropriately priced drinks as well as an “open mic” event.
2) If you are an oral presenter, you will need to submit your presentation onsite to the audio-visual technicians who will be located in Studio on the 2nd floor of the New Orleans Marriott by 3:00 p.m. the day before your presentation.
3) If you are a poster presenter, please review the information for poster presentations on the web site at http://conferences.k-state.edu/joint-meeting/presentation-information/poster-presentations. This link provides information and guidelines for presentations. Set up is from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on the day of your presentation. Please have your poster up by noon to give time for attendees to view it before the scheduled poster session. Your poster should be removed immediately after your presentation at 6:00 p.m. Please note, you will need to bring your own pins to hang on the boards!!
4) There will be several fund raising events held by participating organizations to help support student travel. Events specifically associated with SSAR include the Silent Auction which will start 1 pm Thursday July 7th in the Bonaparte Room on the 4th floor. The Silent Auction room will be open 1 – 5 PM on Thursday July 7th, 8 am – 5 pm on Friday and Saturday July 8th/9th, and 8 am until 12:30 pm Sunday July 10th. Check back between 12:30 and 1:30 pm on the 10th to see if you won any items. Payments will need to be paid at this time, cash and credit are both accepted. The Live Auction, co-run with The Herpetologists League, will be at 9:00 PM on Sunday July 10th in Salons D-H.
If you would like to donate any items to either the Silent or Live Auction please contact Samantha Kahl (samantha.kahl@ttu.edu) or Vincent Farallo (vfarallo@gmail.com). Donated items can include anything herp related (although nothing made from animal parts). An example of one of the nicer donated item is this drawing of Diadophis punctatus by Chris Sheil.
Looking forward to seeing everyone in New Orleans!
JMIH Live and Silent Auction Donations and Volunteers
As always, we will have a live and silent auction at this years JMIH in New Orleans to help fund student travel to attend future meetings. If you would like to donate anything to the live or silent auction you can bring the items directly to the meeting or send them ahead of time. Items should be related to herpetology in some way, however we can not auction off any animals or items taken from animals. Typically items include books, art, clothing, trinkets, etc.
If you would like to send items ahead of time please send them to the following address:
Kyle Piller
Attn: SSAR Live Auction
Southeastern Louisiana University
Dept. of Biological Sciences
Hammond, LA 70402
We would like donators to include the following information with their donation (typed, if possible):
- Name of Donator
- Title of the donation, or a brief description of the donation or its history.
- Estimated value of the donation, or purchase price of the item.
- Contact information for donator
- Preference (if any) for the live or silent auction
If you plan on bringing an item to the meeting please find Samantha Kahl (samantha.kahl@ttu.edu) or Vincent Farallo (vfarallo@gmail.com) once you have arrived. Preferably send us an e-mail beforehand so we have an idea of what to expect and can also arrange a time for you to drop off the item.
Also if you would like to volunteer to help with the live auction including auction runners during the auction itself, item setup before the auction, and people to watch auction items during the conference, please contact Samantha Kahl (samantha.kahl@ttu.edu).
We look forward to seeing everyone in New Orleans!
Seeking New Treasurer for SSAR
A message from Aaron Bauer, SSAR President:
Dear Colleagues,
Our Treasurer, Ann Paterson, who has served in her current position since January 2013, has indicated to me that she will be stepping down from this responsibility as of December 31, 2016. Ann has done a tremendous job as Treasurer and has worked tirelessly to improve our accounting, rationalize our banking, improve our online security, and bring us into compliance with ever changing and ever more complex regulations. She has also taken the lead in working with Christy Classi to take over our membership management. In short, Ann has invested her heart and soul into SSAR. Quite understandably this work load for SSAR has cut into other aspects of her professional life and with new responsibilities at her home institution, she will not be able to continue on in her present role.
Having said this, Ann has graciously agreed to be fully available through 2017 to help train a new Treasurer and to make the transition as smooth as possible. This will certainly be a great help to us, as 2016-2017 will also see our shift to the new membership management system and the transition to a new publications secretary. Thus, it is critical that we identify a possible replacement for Ann as Treasurer as soon as possible. To this end, I ask all of you to consider whether you have the skills, time, and interest to take on this important volunteer position, or if you can suggest an SSAR member who you think might be the right person for the job. Please spread the word as quickly and widely as possible. Anyone interested or having a suggestion should contact Ann (distichus@hotmail.com) or me (aaron.bauer@villanova.edu).
Please join me in thanking Ann for her many years of service!
Best,
Aaron Bauer, SSAR President
Plethodontid Conference August 4-7, 2016

Plethodon shermani
As part of the 90th anniversary year of the Highlands Biological Station there will be a Special Highlands Conference on Plethodontid Salamander Biology this August 4th-7th held at The Mountain Retreat & Learning Center and The Highlands Biological Station.
The Special Highlands Conference on Plethodontid Salamander Biology will feature a mix of invited review papers, contributed papers, and posters. Anyone is welcome to submit a contributed paper, so long as they follow the instructions below. To submit a Contributed Paper (15 minutes, including Q&A) or Poster please email the following information to Sarah Woodley (woodleys@duq.edu) with Highlands Plethodontid Conference in the subject line:
1. Name, institution, email address, and phone of corresponding author
2. Indicate if your contribution is a paper or a poster
3. Title
4. Author list (full names; e.g., James T. Costa, Sarah K. Woodley)
5. Institutional affiliation (use numbered superscripts to match authors to different institutions)
6. Abstract (300 word maximum)
The deadline for paper submissions AND for registration is May 15th, 2016. After this date, registration prices will increase by $10.00 per person.
Limited speaking slots may necessitate declining some paper proposals, but we will attempt to accommodate as many paper proposals as possible according to timeliness of submission and topic area. In this event authors are encouraged to consider submitting a poster instead.
There are a variety of housing packages available as well as a reduced price for students. For more information about the conference and to register, please visit the conference’s website.
SSAR Student Travel Award to attend JMIH 2016
SSAR is offering twelve awards of US $500 each to students to help defray the cost of traveling to the 2016 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, (July 6-10)due April 30, 2016. An applicant for a travel award must be a student and a current member of SSAR, must not have previously received a travel award from SSAR, and must be the first author of a paper or poster to be presented at the 2016 meeting. The application package must include: 1) a letter signed by his/her major advisor or department chair that states that he/she is not completely funded for travel from another source and, if the research is co-authored, that the work was primarily the product of the applicant; 2) a copy of the abstract that was submitted for either poster or oral presentation. The winners will be chosen at random. Winners will also be required to volunteer 3-5 hours to help with the auctions we use to help fund these awards. More information about the award can be found on it’s designated webpage. If you have additional questions, or would like to submit your application please email Vincent Farallo.
JMIH Abstracts Due March 18th (no extensions!)
March 18th is the deadline to submit an abstract for this year’s JMIH held in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 6th-10th 2016.
This includes regular symposia presentations, contributed oral presentations, posters, and 5-min lightening talks.
For more information or to submit your abstract, please click this link.
It should be noted that in order to present in New Orleans, all presenters, including symposia presenters, must register and pay for the meeting. Meeting registration is done through a separate online system accessed from the Registration Information page and requires a separate login username and password. Your username and password are not necessarily the same for the two systems. This is not required by the deadline, but is required in order to give your presentation(s).
We look forward to seeing everyone this summer in New Orleans!
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