Herpetology at Towson University

06/11/2015

06/06/2015

PORT DEPOSIT — The town's most famous residents were nowhere to be seen Thursday morning.

05/14/2015

Just keeping you all on your toes! The beach CLEANUP has been MOVED back to the original date and time! 10:30 am on SATURDAY the 16th at the gashouse next to Tome's Landing Marina. Wear good shoes and bring work gloves! Our apologies for the constant changes.

05/12/2015

Eastern Shore Trip - May 9th

05/12/2015

Maryland Eastern shore trip 2015

05/12/2015

The fine dining experience you get when you take Herpetology at TU! Eastern Shore (Delaware detour included) 2015

05/12/2015

Due to bad weather in Saturday's forecast, the map turtle crew will be tackling the beach debris and nesting pods on Friday morning (May 15th) starting at 10:30am! Let us know if you are still interested in helping! We so appreciate the enthusiasm!

05/09/2015

We saw a great aggregation of basking Northern Map Turtles on the Susquehanna today!

04/24/2015

Harford Glen, Friday 24 April 2015

04/21/2015

A message from Fairhill Nature Center:

Thursday Night Speaker Series April 23, 2015 - 6:30pm

Map Turtles of the Susquehanna

~ Kaite Anderson, Towson University, Biodiversity Adjunct Professor

This presentation will outline the background of our current map turtle research, including the major threats to the stability of our Maryland population, and will highlight the list of research projects we currently have going on at the Susquehanna field site.This includes nesting behavior, basking behavior, hatchling biology, public relations/outreach/education, and a population size assessment.

To register got to:www.fairhillnature.org or 410-398-4909

Kaite attended Towson University for her undergraduate (organismal biology and ecology: zoology) and graduate (MS Biology, conservation, ecology, animal behavior concentration) degrees.She finished the field component of her master's research on the map turtles in 2013 and presented the full project in 2014. Currently an adjunct professor at Towson, teaching Biodiversity, she will continue to organize the map turtle research for 2015 with a group of talented undergraduates.Her interests include outdoor education, ecology, conservation, and animal behavior, enjoying anything that gets her outdoors and results in dirty hands!

03/31/2015

Did you know that there are drivers out there that swerve intentionally to hit turtles and snakes? Some of the species that are injured/killed are even endangered species.

If you see a turtle in the road and want to help him across, always take him to the side where he was headed.

Always make certain of your own safety and the safety of your children if you stop your vehicle and get out to help a turtle.

EDIT: Yes, some people actually swerve to hit animals on the road. Turtles, salamanders, snakes and other wildlife will be crossing roads this Spring. Please help them if you can. Always move them in the direction they're headed and as closely as possible. Do not take them to a "better" place. They'll just try to get back where you found them. Read about the "turtle swerve" study at http://goo.gl/ElYOov.

Photo and some text via thestickytongue.org/

Additional information from USARK: Of utmost importance, always help turtles and tortoises cautiously and safely.

Stop and save a turtle (or other animal)! Remember to move the turtle across the road in the direction he was headed. Do not relocate the turtle to a "better" place. Move him to a safe area nearby. Image by Susquehannock Wildlife Society.

Additional information: Of utmost importance, always help turtles and tortoises cautiously and safely.

1. Do your best to identify the species.

2. Many small turtle species, including Painted, Box, Sliders, Maps, etc., should be moved by holding both sides of the shell or by placing in a bucket for moving.

3. Some species with long necks, especially Snapping and Soft-shelled turtles, should be moved by holding the back of their shells or just in front of their rear legs. Carrying by their tails may cause spinal damage.

4. Always carry turtles low to the ground just in case they are dropped.

5. Desert tortoises should be moved only if essential as they may urinate releasing needed fluids. Be sure not to tip them.

6. Beware of the which species are listed as endangered in your area as moving them could be a crime. Be sure to only help cross the road if possible and not relocate (which shouldn't be done for any species unless required).

7. Turtles should be moved in the direction they were headed as they were moving that direction for a reason. If they are turned around, they will likely simply try to cross the road again.

8. Be sure you DO NOT put tortoises in the water. For instance, Gopher tortoises are often found near water or the ocean. These are not Sea turtles!

9. It is very simple to find species listings with photos to become familiar with turtles and tortoises in your area. Usually state Departments of Natural Resources, or similar agencies, will have the information online. Or simply type your state followed by turtle species (i.e. "Geogia turtle species") into any internet search engine.

10. If living in an area where this is common, having gloves, bucket, herping field hook, towel, and other helpful tools in your trunk is a good idea. Pack a turtle crossing safety kit.

11. Just as you should do after touching any animal, including a dog or cat, always wash your hands after handling reptiles and amphibians.

12. And again, help turtles safely and responsibly.

03/24/2015

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/dotearth/2015/03/21/riled-herpetologists-press-obama-administration-to-protect-americas-salamanders-from-a-fungal-threat/?_r=0&referrer=

03/24/2015

Even with the warm outflow from nearby power plants, the San Gabriel River's an odd new habitat choice. Volunteers and researchers are working to study and track the population that's popped up there.

03/21/2015

For the fourth time, a city in Canada has decided to help out some slow amphibians by closing a road for two months during their migration period.

03/19/2015

Study is first to reveal that an amphibian, the southern toad, views fire ants as a predator

03/18/2015

Some cooler, rainy days and mild, rainy nights are in the forecast, meaning we’ll be switching back and forth between diurnal reptile searches and nocturnal amphibian searches. This is the target: Gopher Frogs. We’ve heard them call but haven’t captured one for radio telemetry yet.

“Alarming declines in a number of species (e.g., Flatwoods Salamanders, Gopher Frogs, and Striped Newts) have been directly attributed to the loss or degradation of seasonal wetlands and adjacent complementary habitat types.” - PARC Southeast Habitat Management Guidelines

Learn how you can support critically important habitat restoration and other important amphibian and reptile conservation actions by joining our mailing list. Visit http://amphibianandreptileconservancy.org/ and use the “Subscribe” feature, upper right. Type in your email address and you’re done. It’s that easy.

(Gopher Frog © Eitan Grunwald)

03/14/2015

Spring fever has begun! Last night we confirmed the first emergence of spring peepers, wood frogs, and spotted salamanders in the coastal plain of Harford County. Keep a look out on the roads tonight and during the next few weeks. If we can safely do it we try to help these guys cross the roads as they are heading to their breeding pools.
Spotted salamander and wood frog, two of our main vernal pool breeders and a sure sign of spring.

03/12/2015

You may have noticed we're big fans of chameleons. And this super cutey has just been born at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. It's a veiled chameleon. Check out our unique film of this species at http://bbc.in/1wd1kgN

03/10/2015

Check out this video of a clearly very hungry little snake putting away an egg roughly 5 times the size of its own head.

03/06/2015

The extraordinary efforts to save a peculiar 6m-long giant reptile

03/03/2015

Happy World Wildlife Day!

Every plant and animal in an ecosystem is important, but often times reptiles and amphibians are overlooked when it comes to conservation planning. We are one of the few organizations dedicated to conserving these imperiled animals in the wild, and we hope you will show your support for them today, too! Take action for World Wildlife Day at http://www.oriannesociety.org/take-action.

Become a member, give the gift of membership or simply share this post to let your friends know that you support reptiles and amphibians in the wild!

02/27/2015

02/10/2015

“Laws protecting amphibians and reptiles vary from state to state and enforcement is often lax where adequate laws exist. Eastern Box Turtles, Wood Turtles, some snakes, and some frogs and salamanders are still being collected and sold legally or illegally. The demand for turtle meat in Asian food markets and dwindling turtle populations in Asia is causing increased collection of freshwater turtles in the Northeast and elsewhere in the United States to supply these markets.” - PARC Northeast Habitat Management Guidelines”

Learn how you can support critically important habitat restoration and other important amphibian and reptile conservation actions by joining our mailing list. Visit http://amphibianandreptileconservancy.org/ and use the “Subscribe” feature, upper right. Type in your email address and you’re done. It’s that easy.

(Wood Turtle © Kevin Messenger)

02/05/2015

We're pleased to have added Dr. Spear's paper, "Using environmental DNA methods to improve detectability
in a hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) monitoring program," in the special environmental DNA issue of Biological Conservation to our publications. Click the link below to read the full paper:

http://www.oriannesociety.org/sites/default/files/UsingenvironmentalDNAmethodstoimprovedetectability.pdf