C. Kenneth Dodd Jr.

A drift fence with pitfall bucket traps installed around a temporary pond in north Florida sandhills resulted in captures of hatchling, subadult, and adult Florida Mud Turtles, Kinosternon steindachneri. Information on hatching and hatchling size, activity, and movements corroborated the scant information available in the literature on this species...

The problem of global amphibian declines has prompted extensive research over the last three decades. Initially, the focus was on identifying and characterizing the extent of the problem, but more recently efforts have shifted to evidence-based research designed to identify best solutions and to improve conservation outcomes. Despite extensive accu...

In this new edition of Frogs of the United States and Canada, C. Kenneth Dodd Jr. tours the reader through the marvelous world of North American frogs. Covering 114 native and introduced species from all US states and Canadian provinces, this comprehensive reference on the biology, behavior, and conservation of the Order Anura includes detailed and...

A comprehensive bibliography of the frog literature from 1698-2021 for the United States and Canada. 282 pp. Approximately 8,000 references included. Available for sale at www.ishbh.com

The Florida box turtle (Terrapene bauri) population on Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, was the subject of long-term ecological studies from 1991 to 2006. The Egmont Key population was relatively large and stable compared with other populations of Terrapene spp. that were studied for multiple decades, with an increasing population tren...

Perhaps from the time of first human settlement along the coasts and islands of the Caribbean, the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) has been a source of sustenance. Its eggs were obtained easily along the sandy shorelines, and its meat has been much sought after by coastal peoples worldwide. As an added advantage, the shell and bones could be used as...

A review of the book by Christopher Irmscher

Effective conservation action relies on access to the best-available species data. Reptiles have often been overlooked in conservation prioritization, especially because of a paucity of population data. Using data for 549 reptile populations representing 194 species from the Living Planet database, we provide the first detailed analysis of this dat...

Temporary ponds are important breeding sites for many amphibians and may serve as refugia for species crossing unfavorable habitats while dispersing. In this study, we examined the immigration and emigration patterns of six amphibian species from October 1985 through September 1990 at an isolated temporary pond in a sandhills community in north cen...

From 2004 to 2006, we used a variety of sampling techniques to survey the amphibians of Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR), a large protected area straddling the lower portions of the Savannah River on the border between South Carolina and Georgia. We documented 22 amphibian species--15 frogs and 7 salamanders--with a possible 23rd species pr...

The US Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) affords many potential benefits to species threatened with extinction. However, most at-risk amphibians—one of the most imperiled vertebrate groups—remain unlisted under the provisions of the ESA, and many impediments to recovery exist for those species that have been listed. Of the 35 US amphibian specie...

Tom Harrisson (1911-1976) has been described as one of the most brilliant and controversial polymaths of the 20th Century, with a stellar résumé as an explorer, ethnologist, archeologist, anthropologist, social science innovator, guerilla fighter, administrator and conservation biologist. At the same time, he was eccentric, belligerent, confrontati...

The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a keystone species in upland sandhill ecosystems of the SE United States, and its habitat requirements have been well documented. Few studies have been conducted on populations that occur in coastal sand dunes. Because of close proximately to the ocean and highly fragmented linear habitat, coastal popula...

When sympatric species compete, character divergence may help maintain coex-istence. Snakes are often found in species-rich assemblages while exploiting similar resources; because snake body size is a relatively plastic trait that determines the range of prey sizes an individual may consume, divergence in body size between sympatric species may ari...

Effective and targeted conservation action requires detailed information about species, their distribution, systematics and ecology as well as the distribution of threat processes which affect them. Knowledge of reptilian diversity remains surprisingly disparate, and innovative means of gaining rapid insight into the status of reptiles are needed i...

With many frog populations declining or disappearing and developmental malformations and disease afflicting others, scientists, conservationists, and concerned citizens need up-to-date, accurate information. Frogs of the United States and Canada is a comprehensive resource for those trying to protect amphibians as well as for researchers and wildli...

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has a long and distinguished history of employing herpetologists to conduct basic and applied research to better manage amphibian and reptile populations on public lands and even outside the boundaries of the United States. This history extends back over 125 years with roots in the U.S. Biological Survey, t...

Disturbances can affect the structure of ecological communities, and their impacts may have consequences for individual species' population dynamics and long-term persistence. Even without catastrophic mortality, survivorship could be reduced following a disturbance, thus leading to population decline. We used a 16-year mark–recapture dataset to de...

Four extant subspecies of Terrapene carolina in eastern North America, Terrapene carolina bauri, Terrapene carolina carolina, Terrapene carolina triunguis, and Terrapene carolina major, are recognized based on morphological studies. A fifth subspecies, Terrapene carolina putnami, has been described from Pleistocene deposits but is very similar morp...

A decreased tannin load during 2006–2007 in a northern Florida blackwater river allowed us to make observations on the ecology of the Suwannee cooter (Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis), a species otherwise usually studied in clear, spring-fed rivers. We conducted a capture–mark–recapture study of this protected species and recorded the locations of...

This practical manual of amphibian ecology and conservation brings together a distinguished, international group of amphibian researchers to provide a state-of-the-art review of the many new and exciting techniques used to study amphibians and to track their conservation status and population trends. The integration of ecology and conservation is a...

Previous attempts to establish an independent, science-based, environmentally focused federal research agency, including the National Biological Survey and the National Institute for the Environment, have ended in failure. Now we are treated to calls for “An Earth systems science agency” (M.

From 1999 to 2006, we sampled > 1200 amphibians for the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) at 30 sites in the southeastern USA. Using histological techniques or PCR assays, we detected chytrid infection in 10 species of aquatic-breeding amphibians in 6 states. The prevalence of chytrid infection was 17.8% for samples of postmetamor...

Disturbances often help structure ecological communities, and their impacts may have consequences on population dynamics and long-term species persistence. Should disturbances affect resources, a trade-off may result between reproduction and individual growth, which in turn could affect the timing of sexual maturity in animals dependent on reaching...

We conducted health screenings for infectious diseases of amphibians at four warm-water fish hatcheries and onenational wildlife refuge in the southeastern United States. We confirmed the presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis(amphibian chytrid fungus) in Rana catesbeiana (Bullfrog) from one hatchery; as well as, potentially new species ofmicro...

We conducted an intensive inventory of Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge in coastal Georgia to determine the feasibility of establishing an amphibian monitoring program at this location. Thirteen semi-aquatic amphibian species were identified at 21 locations. Amphibian species richness at Harris Neck was similar to that of nearby barrier islands...

Population declines of amphibians and reptiles throughout the world have led to the initiation of projects to monitor their status and trends. Historical collections give an indication of which species occurred in an area at one time, although the ambiguity surrounding locations and environmental conditions associated with collection decreases the...

Little is known concerning home range and activity of large terrestrial snakes. During the course of an inventory of a large biological preserve in north-central Florida, 5 individuals of Drymarchon and Masticophis were tracked from 49 to 322 days. A single eastern indigo snake had a home range of 100-185 ha depending on estimator, whereas the coac...

Disturbances have the potential to cause long-term effects to ecosystem structure and function, and they may affect individual species in different ways. Long-lived vertebrates such as turtles may be at risk from such events, inasmuch as their life histories preclude rapid recovery should extensive mortality occur. We applied capture-mark-recapture...

Recent studies suggest that freshwater turtle populations are becoming increas- ingly male-biased. A hypothesized cause is a greater vulnerability of female turtles to road mortality. We evaluated this hypothesis by comparing sex ratios from published and unpublished population surveys of turtles conducted on- versus off- roads. Among 38 166 turtle...

We conducted an amphibian inventory at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from August 2000 to June 2002 as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior's national Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative. Nineteen species of amphibians (15 anurans and 4 caudates) were documented within the Refuge, including one protected species, the Gopher Fro...

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Wewish,to thank the personnel of the state Natural Heritage Programs and wildlife management,agencies in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming and the many North American natural history museums for providing current and historical distribution and natural history data for ornate box turtle occurrences in USFS Region...

Most research to assess amphibian declines has focused on local-scale projects on one or a few species. The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is a national program in the United States mandated by congressional directive and implemented by the U.S. Department of the Interior (specifically the U.S. Geological Survey, USGS). Program...

In recent years in North America and in other locales, there has been a surge of interest in the status and conservation of amphibian populations. Concern centers on the disappearance or decline of individual populations, species, and even geographic assemblages of amphibians, particularly anurans. Although there is likely no one cause for populati...

The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) began in 2000 as an attempt by the United States Geological Survey to determine the status and trends of amphibians on federal lands in the United States and its territories. ARMI research focuses on determining causes of declines, if observed, developing new techniques to sample populations a...

Amphibians and reptiles are taken from the wild and sold commercially as food, pets, and traditional medicines. The overcollecting of some species highlights the need to assess the trade and ensure that it is not contributing to declines in wild populations. Unlike most countries, the United States tracks the imports and exports of all amphibians a...

Most research to assess amphibian,declines has focused on local-scale projects on one or a few species. The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is a national program,in the United States mandated,by congressional directive and implemented,by the U.S. Department of the Interior (specifically the U.S. Geological Survey, USGS). Program...

A critical variable in both ecological and conservation field studies is determining how many individuals of a species are present within a defined sampling area. Labor intensive techniques such as capture-mark-recapture and removal sampling may provide estimates of abundance, but there are many logistical constraints to their widespread applicatio...

3%ofthisonce-widespreadecosystem remains (Ware et al. 1993). Longleaf pine sa-vannas are home to at least 35 amphibian, 46 reptile, 45bird, and 36 mammal species, many of which depend al-mostexclusivelyonlongleafpinesavannas(Means2004).Manyresearchershaveconcludedthattheseandotheran-imals benefit from maintenance of longleaf pine savannaby prescrib...

We tested two predictions associated with the hypothesis that certain populations of pond-breeding amphibians are structured into metapopulations using minimum relative abundance estimates of nesting four-toed salamanders (Hemidactylium scutatum Schlegel) from 11 different ponds in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Coefficients of variation...

We estimated survivorship, recapture probabilities and recovery rates in a threatened population of Flattened Musk Turtles (Sternotherus depressus) through a disease outbreak in Alabama in 1985. We evaluated a set of models for the demographic effects of disease by analyzing recaptures and recoveries simultaneously. Multiple-model inference suggest...

Many standardized techniques are used to monitor terrestrial salamanders, but fewer protocols have been tested for inventorying stream-dwelling salamanders, especially larvae. One new method uses artificial refugia (leaf litterbags) placed in shallow streams. Totest the utility of litterbags, we sampled three transects of 6 litterbags each (2 large...

We sampled a population of two species of hylid treefrogs using 90 vertical ground-placed PVC pipes of 3 diameters positioned along a 1500-m transect at a forest-open pond ecotone in north-central Florida in order to identify potential capture biases. We recorded 1,981 treefrog observations (778 unmarked, 1,203 recaptures) in 8 months. Our results...