Monday, August 29, 2011

Hellbender Trip 2011

The Cornell Herpetological Society annual hellbender trip took place this past Saturday, August 27.  We saw four hellbenders and had lots of fun! The herp club owes a big thanks to Ken Roblee, who generously spent his day guiding us and teaching us about these amazing creatures. The trip is something the club has been doing nearly every year for about two decades, and we are really lucky to have the opportunity to see these little-known animals in the wild. To check out a past trip, take a peek at this blog.

For those of you who have never heard of hellbenders before, they are giant (up to 2 feet or more) aquatic salamanders that live in the eastern United States. Other names for them include snot otter and grampus. Their scientific name, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, comes from the ancient Greek words "kryptos" (hidden) and "branchos" (gill).

Adults are found under large, flat rocks in streams. Males battle each other for access to the best rocks, where females will later come to lay their eggs. The male will then fertilize the eggs externally (unlike most salamanders, which fertilize internally) and guard the eggs until they hatch.

We spent the day flipping these large, flat rocks in hopes  of finding hellbenders. We generally had two people lift the rock up, two hold large nets downstream from the rock to catch runaway hellbenders, and one or two feel around for the salamanders and guide them into the nets.

Searching:




Hellbenders!


We even found a mudpuppy, Necturus maculosus
(notice the external gills):


Whenever we caught a hellbender, we took data such as weight, total length, snout to vent length, sex, and gps coordinates. Ken PIT-tagged any hellbender that was deemed large enough. PIT stands for Passive Integrated Transponder, and is a tiny electronic tag that can transmit a unique code composed of a series of numbers and letters. The tag is implanted using a hypodermic needle.

Weighing:

Measuring:





Inserting a PIT tag:

We eventually moved to another stream where juveniles from a head-starting program at the Buffalo Zoo have been released. Although hellbenders can live up to 40 years, they are being wiped out in a lot of the streams where they once lived, and the situation is looking grim. Even in streams where they are still present, there are not as many juveniles as there should be, indicating that they aren't breeding as successfully as they once were. The program at the Buffalo Zoo is meant to raise young hellbenders until they are big enough to have a better chance at surviving, and then release them back into the wild. Before they are released, zoo staff implant PIT tags so that they can be monitored with a device that looks like a metal detector. It can detect the tags even through several inches of rock, making it easier to monitor the population without disturbing too many individuals.

Looking for PIT-tagged juveniles:

It started to get late and we finally had to pack up and come back to Ithaca tired but excited about the incredible experience. Now we are looking forward to seeing young hellbenders in the head-start program at the Buffalo Zoo on our October field trip. Hopefully hellbender conservation efforts like theirs will be successful, and we will continue to see them in the wild for years to come.


Photos: Brian Sherman

Post by Jessica Tingle

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Blog from Herp Club Alumni

Check out some blog posts about the Cornell Herpetological Society by alumni Nick Sly and Shawn Billerman. There are some nice photos from past educational programs.

http://slybird.blogspot.com/search/label/Cornell%20Herpetological%20Society

Thursday, August 11, 2011

A bit of history: past speakers

In case you are interested in our past speakers and their topics, here is a mostly complete list going back to the club's founding in the 1992-1993 school year. Since everything here was gathered from the archives, some semesters are missing or incomplete. If you have any information on missing talks, please leave a comment on the post or email us.

   

Spring 2012



February 20
Dr. Kevin Zippel (class of 1994)
Amphibian Ark
“The Amphibian Extinction Crisis with an Emphasis on Captive Rescue Programs”

April 9
Dr. Gabe Gartner (class of 2002)
Harvard University
“Ecological Correlates of Phenotypic Variation in Snakes”

April 23
Eric Rittmeyer (2008)
Louisiana State University
“Curious and Crocodile Skinks: Systematics and Evolution of Carlia and Tribolonotus in New Guinea”

May 7
Dr. Gordon Burghardt
University of Tennessee
“Snakes in a Conservation Maelstrom: Neat Behavior and Fearful People”

Fall 2011
September 12
Sean Griffin (class of 2011)
“Do honey bee followers perceive information in dances for nearby food sources?”
and
Anna Kusler (class of 2012)
“Territoriality and scent-marking behavior in male African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus)”
and
Jessica Tingle (class of 2012)
“Behavioral ecology of the Madagascar leaf-nosed snake (Langaha madagascariensis)”

October 17
Mitch Paine
Cornell University
“Community Centered Conservation: Sea Turtles of Ghana”

November 7
Dr. Juan Daza
Villanova University
"Gekkotan Anatomical Diversity: Presenting The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

Spring 2011

January
Dr. Joseph Mendelson
Zoo Atlanta
“The Scope and Scale of the Amphibian Crisis: Where Have We Gone?”

February
Dr. Michael Benard (class of 1999)
Case Western Reserve University
“Linking Environmental variation and phenotypic plasticity to population dynamics: Test cases with amphibians.”

March
Dr. Karen Kiemnec-Tyburczy
Cornell University (Zamudio Lab)
“The Evolution of Courtship Behavior and Sex Pheromones in Salamanders”

Fall 2010

September 13
Alex Lebron
Cornell University (class of 2011)
and
Anna Kusler
Cornell University (class of 2012)

September 20
Dr. Adam Leache
University of Washington
"Bayesian species delimitation in West African forest geckos (Hemidactylus fasciatus)"

November 8
Dr. Rocky Parker
Garter snake chemical ecology

November 22
Dr. Chris Jenkins
The Orianne Society
Indigo snake and reptile conservation


Spring 2010


February
Rayna Bell
Cornell University (Zamudio Lab)

March
Jesse Grismer
Villanova
“Asexuality on the Beach”

April
Betsie Rothermel (alum)
Archbold Biological Station
“Emerging Amphibian Disease in the Southern Appalachians”

(Fall 2009)

Spring 2009

March 2
Dr. Brian Stewart (class of 1995)
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
“Molecular Systematics Provides New Insights into Species Diversity of Southeast Asian Amphibians and Reptiles”

March 30
Dr. Stan Sessions
Hartwick College
Trematodes and Amphibian Limb Deformities

April 27
Dr. Steve Busack

(Fall 2008)

Spring 2008

January 28
Martin Schlaepfer
“Evolutionary and behavioral responses of native tadpoles to introduced predators”

(Fall 2005-Fall 2007)



Spring 2005

February 28
Dr. David Skelly
“Amphibians of Queensland, Australia: biology and conservation”

April 11
Dan Rabosky
“Sand, spinifex, and skinks: a natural history of arid Australia’s diverse reptile communities”

Fall 2004

October 25
Dr. Kurt Schwenk
“Feeding and chemoreception in squamate reptiles: integration, conflict, and constraint”

November 8
Dr. Blair Hedges
“Evolutionary studies of West Indian amphibians and reptiles”

November 29
Dr. George Kollias
“Reptile nutrition, feeding practices, and problems”

(Spring 2004)

Fall 2003

September 29
Prof. Bruce Young
Lafayette College
“Acoustics in Snakes”

Spring 2003

February 3
Dr. Kelly Zamudio
Cornell University
“Venomous snakebite and field biology”

March 24
Dr. John Maerz
“Beyond the pond: the terrestrial habits of frogs and their implications for conservation”

(Fall 2001-Fall 2002)

Spring 2001
February 5
Rulon Clark
Cornell University (class of ????)
“Foraging behavior of the timber rattlesnake Crotalus horridus
And
Jackie Grant
Cornell University (class of ????)
“Odorous amphibian defense”

February 26
Dr. John Maerz
Cornell University

April 16
Dr. William P. McCord
“Uncovering China’s black market: multiple cases of turtle extinction”

April 23
Dr. John Thorbjarnarson
Wildlife Conservation Society
“Conservation of crocodilians: contrasting approaches in Asia vs. Latin America”

Fall 2000

September 18
Christopher Jennings
Cornell University (class of 2001)
“Visual sensitivity in the Túngara frog (Physalaemus pustulosus)”

Spring 2000

February 14
Dr. Harry Greene
Cornell University
“Field studies on pitviper biology”

February 28
Dr. Pete Ducey
SUNY Cortland
“Amphibian distribution and development in a disturbed habitat: a case study at Onondaga Lake”

March 6
Dr. Pete Trenham
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Minnesota
“Demography and spatial population structure in California tiger salamanders”

April 3
Dr. Cynthia Sherman
Ithaca, NY
“Can dead Yosemite toads tell tales? (A new look at an old die-off)”

April 24
Dr. Leo Fleishman
Union College
“Lizard vision and the evolution of visual-signal design in anoline lizards”


Fall 1999

September 13
Yanerys Ramos
Cornell University (class of 2001)
“The impact of human developments on Anolis lizard community structure in the cloud forests of Hispaniola”
and
Peter McIntyre
Cornell University (class of ????)
“Effects of low dissolved oxygen content on predator avoidance behavior in a larval ranid frog”

October 7
Prof. Marcio Martins
University of São Paulo, Brazil
“Habitat associations of herpetofauna in Brazilian Amazonia”

November 1
Prof. James Gibbs
State University of New York
“Ecology, evolution, and conservation of giant Galapagos tortoises”

November 4
Prof. Michael J. Lannoo
Ball State University
“A tangled web of declines and deformities: amphibian conservation efforts as we approach the new millennium”

November 15
Prof. Margaret Stewart
SUNY Albany
“The role of amphibians in the food web of the Puerto Rican rain forests”

Spring 1999

March 1
Rich Sajdak
Milwaukee County Zoo
“A tree snake collection: diversity in arboreal snakes”

Fall 1998

September 14
Amber Wright
Cornell University (class of 2000)
“Life histories and sex ratios of a population of paedomorphic tiger salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum
and
Wesley Savage
Cornell University (class of 1999)
“Iowa herps and the infamous mutant frogs of the Midwest”

October 19
Dr. David Holtzman
University of Rochester
“Orientation and spatial learning in snakes”

November 23
Steve Morreale
Cornell University
“Sea turtles at sea: their hidden lives”




Spring 1998

February 9
Jeremy Sabatini
Cornell University (class of 1998)
“Efforts to conserve the Wyoming toad, Bufo hemiophrys baxteri
and
Michaels Combs
Cornell University (class of 2000)
Field herpetology in the Dominican Republic

March 30
Dr. Robert Murphy
Royal Ontario Museum

April 13
Dr. Rosemarry Knapp
Cornell University

Fall 1997

September 8
Sarah Toll
Cornell University (class of 1999)
“An undergraduate experience in fieldwork and salamander behavior”
and
Michael Benard
Cornell University (class of 1999)
“Visual and olfactory communication in Phrynosomatid lizards”

September 29
Dr. Richard Wyman
The Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve, Inc.
“Factors influencing salamander populations and effects on the carbon cycle”

November 10
Lang Elliott
Nature Sound Studio
“Photographing and recording frogs and toads”

Spring 1997

February 3
Dr. Richard Howard
Purdue University
“Reproduction in an all female species of salamander: living on the edge without males”

March 3
Dr. Antonie Blackler
Cornell University
“Can the species envelope be pushed in a frog?”

April 7
Tristan Weinkle
Cornell University (class of 1995, vet 1999)
“Head-starting Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii)”
and
Max Shpak
Cornell University (class of 1997)
“Biogeographic patterns and speciation in the Thamnophis radix complex

April 21
Dr. Karen Lips
St. Lawrence University
“Tropical amphibians in decline”

Fall 1996

September 16
Richard Glor
Cornell University (class of 1998)
“The bone clock: sea turtle research at the Smithsonian Institution”
and
Michael Benard
Cornell University (class of 1999)
“Field herpetology in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona”

September 30
Dr. Richard Bothner
St. Bonaventure University
“The herpetology of the Everglades”

October 21
Dr. Howard Evans
Cornell University
“Anatomical features of reptiles and amphibians”

November 18
Martin Schlaepfer
Cornell University
“Costa Rican herpetofauna in a fragmented landscape”

Spring 1996

February 5
Richard Glor
Cornell University (class of 1998)
“The herpetology of Hispaniola”

March 11
Alan Krakauer
Cornell University (class of 1996)
“Brown tree snakes on Guam: accounts from the field”
and
Luis Padilla
Cornell University (class of 1996, vet 2000)
“Exploring the herpetofauna of Panama and Costa Rica”

Fall 1995

October 16
Dr. William Brown
Skidmore College
“Natural history and conservation of the timber rattlesnake”

November 6
Dr. Rex Cocroft
Cornell University
“Frogs of the Peruvian Amazon”

December 4
Dr. John Hermanson
Cornell University
“Pterodactyls: dragons of the air”

(Spring 1995)

Fall 1994

September 19
Dr. Aaron Bauer
Villanova University
“The ecology, behavior and systematics of the New Caldedonia giant geckos (Rhacodactylus)”

October 3
Dr. David Able
Cornell University
“Sexual selection in the red-spotted newt”

October 24
Dr. John Bertram
Cornell University
“Galloping ‘gators and alternative crocs: exploring the niftiness of the crocodilians”

November 14
Bryan Stuart
Cornell University (class of 1995)
“The herpetofauna of Kenya and Madagascar”

December 5
Dr. Stanley Salth
City University
“Amphibian life history strategies”

Spring 1994

February 28
Kevin Zippel
Cornell University
“The herpetofauna of Hispaniola”

March 7
Dr. George Kollias
Cornell University
“Feeding practices and nutritional disorders of captive reptiles”

March 28
Dr. Howard Evans
Cornell University
“Herpetological observations in the field and lab”

April 11
Dr. Peter Ducey
SUNY Cortland
“Snake predation and salamander defense”

April 18
Dr. Margaret Stewart
SUNY Albany
“Population regulation of the Puerto Rican Coqui”

Fall 1993

September 20
Alvin Breisch
Endangered Species Section/Wildlife Resource Center
Department of Environmental Conservation
“Management of New York state turtles”

October 4
Glenn Johnson
“Conservation biology of the Massasauga rattlesnake”

November 1
Ulmar Grafe
Cornell University
“Communication, sexual selection, and sex change in African painted reed frogs”

November 15
Dr. Antonie Blackler
Cornell University
“Frog hybridization and chromosome numbers”

December 6
Dr. William Provine
Cornell University
“Snapping turtles and water quality”

Spring 1993

January 31
Dr. Julian Lee
University of Miami
“The herpetofauna of the Yucatan”

February 23
Dr. Carl Gans
University of Michigan
“Herpetological research in India”