About
75
Publications
30,923
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
1,192
Citations
Current institution
Publications
Publications (75)
For approximately four decades, scientists have known of the existence of several undescribed species of Siren in the southeastern United States Coastal Plain. One of these species, S. reticulata, was recently described, but a small, seepage-dwelling species has remained undescribed until now. To resolve outstanding questions concerning the phyloge...
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044821.].
Ovipleistophora (Microsporidia) is a globally distributed genus of obligate parasites that infect fish, Crustacea, and trematodes. We report on two additional crayfish hosts, Procambarus pictus (Simms Creek, Florida) and Procambarus fallax (Santa Fe River, Florida), that exhibited signs of high-intensity microsporidian infection in the musculature....
The Suwannee alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys suwanniensis) was first described in 2014. The species is thought to occur in blackwater and spring-fed streams of sufficient size throughout the Suwannee River drainage, but we have limited detailed information regarding its range. To clarify the distribution of M. suwanniensis, we compiled 111 m...
The genus Procambarus represents a diverse genus of freshwater crayfish that includes epigean species, stygobitic species, and at least one parthenogenic species. Despite its evolutionary, ecological, and economic importance, most genomic and transcriptomic resources for this genus are limited to a couple of model species. We sequenced the transcri...
We conducted roadside call surveys at 111 historical Hyla andersonii (Pine Barrens Treefrog) sites in 2013-2016. We detected the species at 49 sites (44%), which is consistent with surveys conducted in the early 1980s. We detected the species throughout its historical range except Holmes County, which only has 4 historical sites. We also identified...
Crayfish are a vital ecological asset in their native range but can be highly damaging as invasive species. Knowledge of their diseases, including high levels of research on Aphanomyces astaci (crayfish plague), show that disease plays a vital role during crayfish invasions. Microsporidian diseases in crayfish are less studied but are thought to ha...
Ovipleistophora diplostomuri (Microsporidia) is an obligate parasite of fish and trematodes in the US. In April 2019, an individual crayfish, Procambarus bivittatus (Escambia River, Florida), with a high-intensity microsporidian infection was delivered to the Emerging Pathogens Institute. Histological analysis determined that infection was restrict...
A new species of Calamaria Boie, 1827 is described based on a single specimen collected in evergreen forest at 1240 m elevation of Ta Dung Nature Reserve in Dak Nong Province, Central Vietnam. The new species is characterized by (1) rostral wider than high; (2) paraparietal surrounded by six shields and scales; (3) eye diameter larger than eye- mou...
Necturus beyeri (Caudata: Proteidae), as conceived by some, contains paedomorphic salamanders distributed from the Ochlockonee drainage of Florida to the Angelina drainage of Texas. Because these salamanders differ in color pattern and karyotype across their geographic range, we performed a phylogeographic analysis that included representatives fro...
Florida scrub is a xeric ecosystem associated with the peninsula's sand ridges, whose intermittent Pliocene–Pleistocene isolation is considered key to scrub endemism. One scrub origin hypothesis posits endemics were sourced by the Pliocene dispersal of arid‐adapted taxa from southwestern North America; a second invokes Pleistocene migration within...
Two new species of alligator snapping turtles (Macrochelys apalachicolae and M. suwanniensis) have been described, and information on their distribution is important in order to develop effective conservation strategies. Seven small coastal rivers between eastern Wakulla County and Dixie County, Florida, apparently separate these two new species. D...
The Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys temminckii, is a large, aquatic turtle limited to river systems that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Previous molecular analyses using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA suggested that Macrochelys exhibits significant genetic variation across its range that includes three distinct genetic assemblages (weste...
The Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys temminckii, is a large, aquatic turtle limited to river systems that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Previous molecular analyses using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA suggested that Macrochelys exhibits significant genetic variation across its range that includes three distinct genetic assemblages (weste...
Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation are thought to be the primary causes of declines in the distribution and abundance of the Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi) throughout its range, although no long-term studies have verified these effects. We report dramatic declines in the relative abundance of this species in the Gulf Hammock of...
With the exception of the Malay Peninsula, onychophorans have only recently been reported from mainland Southeast Asia. Here we report the second record of an onychophoran from Vietnam.
KEY WORDS
Onychophora, Vietnam, Quang Ngai, Southeast Asia, Truong Son Mountains
Little is known about the impact that the pathogenic amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has on fully aquatic salamander species of the eastern United States. As a first step in determining the impacts of Bd on these species, we aimed to determine the prevalence of Bd in wild populations of fully aquatic salamanders in th...
Records from a colubrid host are reported for Hepatozoon horridus, described originally from a viperid snake. Hepatozoon horridus in Pantherophis guttatus (Colubridae) has gamonts 14-18.0 by 4.0-5.5 microm, with length by width (LW) 60-99 microm2, and L/W ratio 2.5-3.9. Spherical to elongate, usually ovoid oocysts with L/W ratio 1.0-3.7 contain 16-...
Freshwater crayfish occur in a wide variety of habitats. Comparison of how these habitats shape population structure can lead to a better understanding of crayfish evolution and diversification. Both biotic and abiotic factors impact species distributions, with different species responding differently to changes in habitat/climate. Crayfish inhabit...
When a widespread species is sympatric with a rare, geographically restricted conspecific, recurrent gene flow can pose the risk of extinction for the latter. This can occur via genetic swamping, where the occurrence of hybrids eventually replaces the numerically less abundant species. We took a molecular genetic approach to quantify the occurrence...
The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a large apex predator with an extensive but fragmented range. Crocodylus acutus suffered a population crash and was almost extirpated from Florida (USA) during the 1970s; however, in 2007 it was federally
downlisted from endangered to threatened based on an increase of suitable habitat and a growing pop...
When the American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) was declared endangered in 1975, scant data were available for making management decisions. Results of intensive studies conducted during the late 1970s and early 1980s by the National Park Service, Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, and Florida Power and Light Company resulted in an optimi...
The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) is beset by a variety of conservation problems, including habitat loss and persecution. Effective management plans require an understanding of rangewide population structure and intraspecific evolutionary subdivisions. Northern and southern populations have been recognized as distinct subspecies, but this...
Primers used for PCR and sequencing.
(0.05 MB DOC)
External calibration points used for nonparametric rate smoothing analysis of Rag1 using r8s. Points are plotted on Figures S1 and S2.
(0.04 MB DOC)
Models applied to each data partition for Bayesian analyses.
(0.05 MB DOC)
Species and Genbank numbers for Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of Rag1 that was used for divergence time estimates in r8s.
(0.04 MB DOC)
Chronogram of salamander families calculated in r8s based on Bayesian analysis of Rag1, fixing the basal node at 161 MYA, and four external calibration points (Table S5, S6).
(5.76 MB TIF)
Specimen information and Genbank numbers 16 s, Cytb, and Rag1 from across the distribution of all three species of Amphiuma.
(0.07 MB DOC)
Specimen information and Genbank numbers for Amphiuma and outgroups used for individual and combined analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear loci (Figure 3). 16 s, Cytb, and Rag1 for these analyses are listed in Table S1.
(0.04 MB DOC)
Chronogram of salamander families calculated in r8s based on Bayesian analysis of Rag1, fixing the basal node at 250 MYA, and four external calibration points (Table S5, S6).
(5.73 MB TIF)
Haemogregarina macrochelysi n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Haemogregarinidae) of the alligator snapping turtle, Macrochelys temminckii, is characterized by slender, recurved gamonts 29-35 x 3-4.5 microm, in which the anterior limb comprises 48-54% of the total length. The gamont nucleus, 5-7.5 x 2-5 microm, is situated at approximately midbody of the gamont....
The Amphiumidae contains three species of elongate, permanently aquatic salamanders with four diminutive limbs that append one, two, or three toes. Two of the species, Amphiuma means and A. tridactylum, are among the largest salamanders in the world, reaching lengths of more than one meter, whereas the third species (A. pholeter), extinct amphiumid...
The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is a large freshwater turtle endemic to river systems that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Turtle populations were sharply reduced by commercial harvest in the 1970s and 1980s; however, the species has yet to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. While anthropogenic stressors such as ha...
Wiens (2007, Q. Rev. Biol. 82, 55–56) recently published a severe critique of Frost et al.'s (2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 297, 1–370) monographic study of amphibian systematics, concluding that it is “a disaster” and recommending that readers “simply ignore this study”. Beyond the hyperbole, Wiens raised four general objections that he regarded...
Two species of Hepatozoon, i.e., H. sauritus and H. horridus n. sp., were present in 1 of 8 timber rattlesnakes, Crotalus horridus. The narrow gamonts of H. sauritus are 15.0-19.0 x 3.5-5.0 microm, with LW 58-86 microm2 and L/W 3.2-4.7, with a narrow, rounded anterior end. The spherical to slightly ovoid oocysts produce ovoid to elongate sporocysts...
Two species of Hepatozoon were present in 1 of 8 timber rattlesnakes, Crotalus horridus, H. sauritus and H. horridus n.sp. The narrow gamonts of H. sauritus are 15.0-19.0 X 3.5-5.0 microns, with LW 58-86 microns2, and L/W 3.2-4.7, with a narrow, rounded anterior end. The spherical to slightly ovoid oocysts produce ovoid to elongate sporocysts, 21-4...
The members of the Aquarana (or Rana catesbeiana species group) form a monophyletic group comprising seven species: R. catesbeiana, Rana clamitans, Rana grylio, Rana virgatipes, Rana septentrionalis, Rana heckscheri and Rana okaloosae. Previous work has led to structural characterization of the antimicrobial peptides present in electrically-stimula...
This study provides an extensive set of mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences for the salamander genus Pseudobranchus of the southeastern United States. These sequences were analysed by multiple phylogenetic methods that support a single set of major phylogeographic divisions for its two corroborated species (P. axanthus and P. striatus). These phyl...
Previous studies have revealed considerable genetic variation, geographic localization, and genealogical depth for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes within each of several species of freshwater turtles in the south-eastern United States of America. Here we report a notable exception to such phylogeographic patterns. In control-region sequences o...
Hepatozoon priapus n. sp. from Coluber constrictor priapus has robust gamonts with broadly rounded ends, 18.0 x 4.2 microm (17.0-20.0 x 3.5-6.0), with LW 76.4 microm2 (59-105) and L/W 4.31 (2.9-5.4). The nucleus is always present in second quarter of gamont, seldom extend into first quarter but often into third quarter, 6.0 x 3.0 (5.0-7.0 x 2.5-4.0...
This study uses allele frequency and genotype array data from allozyme electrophoresis to investigate the phylogeographic and taxonomic affinities of groups within the salamander genus Pseudobranchus. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses of the allozyme data confirm the validity of the two currently recognized species (Pseudobranchus axanth...
The Rana catesbeiana species group consists of seven species, each variously distributed across eastern North Amer-ica. We estimated the evolutionary relationships among 31 exemplars and used the phylogenetic hypothesis to exam-ine the potential modes of speciation and relative role of dispersal in the evolution and zoogeography of this species gro...
Dry, sandy scrub habitats of the Florida peninsula represent naturally fragmented remnants of xeric ecosystems that were widespread during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene. This habitat is characterized by high endemism, and distribution of genetic and evolutionary diversity among scrub "islands" is of compelling interest because Florida scrub is...
Spermatogenesis in Apalone ferox from Palm Beach County, Florida, is found to follow a postnuptial or dissociated pattern. Reduction of epididymis mass and clearing of sperm from the epididymides suggest spring mating. Histology of the testes, somatic index, and tubule diameter all suggest fall spermatogenesis. Males as small as 15.2 cm PL were fou...
The alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temminckii) is a long-lived, slow-growing
chelydrid turtle found in Gulf of Mexico drainages from Florida to Texas (USA). Populations
are thought to be depleted throughout the range due in part to an increased harvest in the
1960s through 1980s. To identify population and evolutionary units, 420 base pa...
We used restriction assays of mitochondrial (mt) DNA to estimate phylogeographic variation in two sister taxa of mud turtles in the southeastern United States. Extensive mtDNA variation characterized Kinosternon subrubrum and, to a lesser degree, K. baurii. Each of 26 mtDNA haplotypes from the 83 assayed specimens was localized spatially. Collectiv...
A total of 15 species of helminths (4 trematodes, 1 monogenean, 1 cestode, 5 nematodes, 4 acanthocephalans) and 1 pentastomid was collected from 58 Florida softshell turtles (Apalone ferox) from southeastern Florida. Spiroxys amydae (80%), Cephalogonimus vesicaudus (80%), Vasotrema robustum (76%) Proteocephalus sp. (63%) were the most prevalent hel...
This study of the female reproductive cycle of Apalone ferox in south Florida was based on 220 reproductive tracts salvaged from females butchered for meat. Some females mature at sizes as small as 24 cm plastron length (PL; ca. 31 cm carapace length), but some may not mature until 30 cm PL. When compared to data from other parts of the species ran...
In 1937 Percy Viosca described Necturus alabamensis as a flattened form from the southwestern extremity of the Cumberland [=Appalachian] Plateau. Necturus beyeri was described as a more cylindrical-bodied form occurring over a wide area of the lower Gulf Coastal Plain, but sympatric with N. alabamensis in the Black Warrior River near Tuscaloosa, Al...
Frogs and toads are amphibians with four legs and no tail. At least 85 species of frogs are native to the United States, and there are three well-established exotic species. Frogs occur in almost all nonmarine habitats. Most frogs have a two-phased life cycle, including an aquatic larval form (tadpole) and a terrestrial or semiaquatic adult form. A...
Moler, P.E. and M. B. Epstein. 1994. Apalone Ferox (Florida softshell). DIET. Herptological Review 25(1):23.
A karyological survey has revealed that the salamander genus Pseudobranchus includes at least two chromosomally divergent species, one with N = 24 chromosomes and one with N = 32 chromosomes. In portions of the upper Florida peninsula, these two species occur in sympatry, but they typically occupy different habitats. However, they have been collect...
The six subspecies of the southern banded watersnake, N. f. fasciata s. l. can be clearly divided into two groups on the basis of ecology and physiology. N. f. fasciata, N. f. confluens, and N. f. pictiventris occupy freshwater habitats in an extensive area of the coastal plain of eastern North America. They are parapatric with the closely related...
A starch gel electrophoretic analysis of 19 loci in samples from five species of Necturus was conducted to clarify several taxonomic problems. There are two major clades in the genus; seven synapomorphies separate the N. lewisi-N. punctatus clade from that containing N. maculosus, N. beyeri, and N. alabamensis. Within the latter, five synapomorphie...
Two natural hybrids of Hyla andersonii are reported from Okaloosa County, Florida. Chromosome analyses confirmed the hybrid nature of the specimens and identified the parent species. The chromosome complement of each hybrid shows the presence of nucleolar-organizer regions unique to each of the two respective parents. Meiotic observations indicate...
Rana okaloosae is described from northwestern Florida. It belongs to the R. catesbeiana group of eastern North American Rana. It is distinguished from its North American congeners by its distinctive call and a combination of morphological characters.
Recent effort has extended the known distribution of H. andersonii in Florida and Alabama to the extent that the species can no longer be considered as endangered or threatened in these states. -P.J.Jarvis Florida Game & Fresh water Fish Commission, 4005 South Main St, Gainesville, Florida 32601, USA.
