Download Charles J. (Jay) Cole and Carol R. Townsend Herpetological

Volume 19
July 2006
Number 7
T H I S M O N T H'S G U E S T S P E A K E R S
Charles J. (Jay) Cole and
Carol R. Townsend
American Museum of Natural History, New York
Herpetological Exploration of the
Guianan Shield, South America, and
What Happened to
"Cnemidophorus" in Arizona?
7:15 PM
Tuesday, 18th July
Arizona Game and Fish Department Office
555 North Greasewood Road
(between Speedway and Anklam, west of Pima Community College)
C
arol Townsend and Jay Cole were both hired by the
Department of Herpetology, American Museum of Natural
History, New York, in 1969. They had not met before
reporting to work. Carol arrived first, hired as a Scientific
Assistant, with a B.A. from Russell Sage College, Troy,
NY. She would assist the three Herpetology Curators with
their research, and the Chairman at the time, R. G. Zweifel,
thought that the previous laboratory experiences Carol
had at Bell Telephone Laboratories would mesh well with
the needs of the new Curator, to arrive three months
later. That was Jay, who was finishing a Ph.D. with C. H.
Lowe at the University of Arizona.
Female Stefania evansi, a treefrog from Guyana featured in the July
membership meeting talk. Note the babies on her back, just hatching
as froglets from eggs she carried through the developmental process,
and in which there is no free-living tadpole. Photo by Charles J. Cole
and Carol R. Townsend.
Carol and Jay were married in 1978. Their research
focused primarily on all-female species of lizards, particularly
whiptails (reproduction in the laboratory, evolutionary
history, taxonomy, population genetics); incorporating
genetic data into herpetological research; exploration of the
Guianan Region of South America; and forays into the
taxonomy of scaly lizards, black-headed snakes, and other
reptiles and amphibians. Their research has benefitted from
collaborations with many others, such as H. C. Dessauer, L.
M. Hardy, and H. L. Taylor. This career followed from
Jay’s college introduction to all-female whiptail lizards, from
summer studies with Dick Zweifel at the Southwestern
Research Station, and collaborations in graduate school in
Tucson with Chuck Lowe, R. L. Bezy, and J. W. Wright.
Recently, Jay and Carol retired from their daily
commute in New York City (when not in the field in the
Southwest, Mexico, or South America) to continue their
research programs from their present home, on the eastern
bajada of the Tucson Mountains. The talk will describe
adventures of living in remote camps to do herpetological
research in South America, and why it has become necessary
to use the name Aspidoscelis for whiptail lizards in Arizona.
N E X T M O N T H'S G U E S T S P E A K E R
Harry Greene
Topic to be Announced
Tuesday, 15th August
Tucson Herpetological Society meetings are open to the public and are held on the third Tuesday of each month starting at 7:15PM
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19(7) 2006
73
American Bullfrog Eradication in Sycamore Canyon, Arizona, a Natural
Open Aquatic System
David A. Kahrs
School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson. [email protected].
A
rizona was once home to six native
ranid frog species (seven including the
Ramsey Canyon Leopard Frog). Of these,
the Tarahumara Frog (Rana tarahumarae)
and the Relict Leopard Frog (Rana onca)
have been extirpated and later
reintroduced, while the other native ranids
have all suffered from population declines
and range reduction. The causes most often
cited are the usual ones, including
introduced predators (particularly fish),
habitat loss, drought, and disease. Of all of
these species, including the reintroduced
species with populations that number only
in the hundreds of individuals, only the
Chiricahua Leopard Frog (Rana
chiricahuensis) has received federal
protection as a Threatened species.
In addition to the natives, two ranid
frog species have been introduced into
Arizona. The Rio Grande Leopard Frog
(Rana berlandieri) was introduced in the
1960s or 1970s into Painted Rock
Reservoir on the Gila River. As the Rio
Grande Leopard Frog range expands
through the Colorado, Gila, and Salt
Rivers, competition is expected to occur
with the Lowland Leopard Frog
(Rorabaugh et al. 2002).
The other non-native ranid, the
American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) was
introduced as a game species at an
unknown date, presumably around 1900.
The frog has since proven a formidable
predator and competitor to native frogs,
Figure 1. Sycamore Canyon, Pajarito Mountains, Arizona, December 2004.
and has been cited as the primary cause of
Photo by David A. Kahrs.
the disappearance of populations of native
frogs in many localities. Bullfrogs now occupy nearly
birds that feed on bullfrogs in their native range are
every substantial permanent body of water in the state, absent or present in low numbers in the arid Southwest.
are capable of remarkable population densities, and
The Chiricahua Leopard Frog (CLF) now exists in
have been found to disperse distances of at least 6.8
two disjunct population segments, which may be distinct
miles across open grassland (Suhre unpublished data).
species (USFWS 2005). The northern population occurs
High population densities are supported by the ability
in the Mogollon Rim region into New Mexico, and the
of adult frogs to sustain themselves on juvenile frogs
southern population ranges through the “Sky Island”
when necessary, as well as the lack of appropriate
region of southern Arizona into the Sierra Madre in
predators. Most fish find bullfrog tadpoles distasteful
Mexico. Little is known of the status of the species in
(Kruse and Francis 1977, Smith et al. 1999), and the
Mexico.
larger aquatic predators such as snakes and wading
74
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19 (7) 2006
The Pajarito-Atascosa Mountain complex in Santa
Cruz County contains what is perhaps the most robust
remaining CLF metapopulation in the US, and likely in
its remaining geographic range (P. Rosen, pers. comm.).
The metapopulation is also potentially connected with
CLFs present in Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
and other sites in the Altar Valley, although many of
these sites have been invaded by bullfrogs. The region as
a whole has been designated as a distinct Recovery Unit
in the recently released Draft Recovery Plan.
Within the Pajaritos, much of the remaining CLF
habitat is provided by man-made stock tanks. Central to
the health and persistence of the metapopulation is
Sycamore Canyon, as the largest perennial natural
aquatic system in the area and home to a thriving
(relative to many other sites) CLF population. The
canyon was at one time home to three native ranid frogs.
The Lowland Leopard Frog and Tarahumara Frog were
last documented there in the 1970s. Heavy metal
pollution was cited as a potential cause at the time (Hale
et al. 1995), although recent research into the history
and origins of the fungal disease chytridiomycosis
suggests that it may have been an important factor
(Bradley et al. 2002). The canyon also supports high
densities of another Threatened aquatic species, the
Sonora Chub (Gila ditaenia).
In May of 2004, I passed through southern
Arizona on my way to a field job in California. I spent a
night camping in the parking lot at Sycamore Canyon,
and heard bullfrogs calling. As a California native
familiar with the impacts of bullfrogs on native frog
populations, I was of course disturbed. However, this
was prior to my familiarity with the present state of
affairs in Arizona amphibian conservation, and I
assumed this was just one more site that had been “lost”.
Upon arriving in Tucson in the fall of that year to begin
an MS project examining predator/prey relationships
within the vertebrate and invertebrate community in
Cienega Creek, I learned of the potential seriousness and
hope for the situation in Sycamore Canyon. I returned
Figure 3. Seining
American Bullfrog
tadpoles in Sycamore
Canyon, June 2005.
Photo by David A. Kahrs.
to the canyon in December of that year, and observed
what appeared to be small bullfrog tadpoles
throughout the part of the canyon that I visited.
Identification was confirmed from photographic
records, and for what appeared to be the first
documented time, the bullfrog was established and
reproducing in Sycamore Canyon.
The 2004-2005 winter was unusually wet, and
on an April visit to the canyon, I found bullfrog
tadpoles throughout almost the entire canyon,
apparently having been carried by the stream flow a
distance of up to 4 miles from the nearest point that I
found adults of reproductive size. Only a small series of
pools, the last before the stream dried up near the
border, remained free of bullfrogs. While much of the
canyon appeared unsuitable for bullfrog reproduction
due to intermittent drying and the potential for
scouring floods, the dispersal abilities of the species put
the entire CLF population at risk of predation by adult
bullfrogs. Eradication seemed to be imperative.
By one of the few strokes of good fortune to
befall me that summer, a friend from my
undergraduate program had graduated in May of
2005 and wanted to relax for a summer of herping in
Arizona before entering into his own graduate research
on pit viper systematics at the University of Texas at
Tyler. So, upon his arrival in Tucson, he was
immediately drafted as a volunteer into the eradication
attempt.
Bullfrogs now
occupy nearly
every substantial
permanent body
of water in the
state, are capable
of remarkable
population
densities, and
have been found
to disperse
distances of at
least 6.8 miles
across open
grassland.
Figure 2. Chiricahua Leopard Frog, Sycamore Canyon, July
2005. Photo by David A. Kahrs.
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19(7) 2006
75
Most if not all successful bullfrog eradication
efforts have involved closed and generally man-made
systems. Stock tanks can be securely fenced and
pumped dry during the summer, eliminating every
bullfrog with complete confidence. If reintroduction
can be prevented, this method can be very effective in
regaining aquatic habitat for native species recovery.
However, to our knowledge no eradication campaign
has been attempted in a situation similar to Sycamore
Canyon, as an open natural system. Obviously any
methods used would have to be completely manual and
minimally invasive due to the presence of two
Threatened species.
We used seines as the primary method in
removing tadpoles. We seined each pool multiple times
on a visit, until we began to catch fewer than 10
tadpoles per sweep. During the initial phase of the
eradication last summer, complete removal was not
Figure 4. Dead
Chiricahua Leopard
Frog in Sycamore
Canyon, presumably
killed by the chytrid
fungus. Photo by
David A. Kahrs.
feasible, so we directed our efforts towards removing the
greatest number of tadpoles possible. In one pool for
instance, we seined perhaps 15 times in an afternoon,
but continued to remove large numbers of tadpoles. We
removed approximately 500 tadpoles that day, only to
return the following week to find that the pool had
rapidly dried and our work had been unnecessary.
However, during the course of the summer we removed
over 7000 bullfrog tadpoles. During the same period,
we only encountered 317 CLF tadpoles.
The eradication was facilitated in most ways by
the late onset of the monsoon. Despite the high water
levels (very much higher than this year), many pools
dried completely, and many of those remaining were
greatly reduced in size, making our work much easier. It
also appeared that the CLFs, as one would expect, were
much better adapted to the timing of summer drying.
In the pool mentioned above, the bullfrog tadpoles
were far from metamorphosis. However, we also
76
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19 (7) 2006
captured 13 CLF tadpoles in the same pool. Nearly all of
them had complete hind legs and had begun resorption
of the tail. Few CLF tadpoles seemed in danger of dying
in drying pools.
Adult and metamorph bullfrogs were removed by
hand capture and shooting. We used a BB gun for most
of the summer, which was effective on the smaller frogs.
It was fatal for the larger frogs as well, although they
were often able to escape into the water and prevent
confirmation of their removal. Few large, breeding adult
frogs were found, although two gravid females were
captured and removed, thus stopping breeding events
that would have compounded the problems we still face.
As not every frog shot was recovered, an exact count of
adult and metamorph removal is not available although
the number probably exceeded 500.
Crews from AZGFD were also involved in
bullfrog removal intermittently during the summer.
Finally, a large volunteer effort
was scheduled in which we
hoped to remove nearly all of
the bullfrogs from the canyon.
The AZGFD crew with
approximately 12 volunteers
and I arrived at the campsite
only to find that the first storms
of the monsoon were
beginning. I entered the canyon
that night to conduct my usual
evening work eradicating adults
and metamorphs, only to find
that the first rain apparently
triggered a massive dispersal
event. Pools that the week
before had perhaps hundreds of
metamorph bullfrogs had a
mere handful. I found fewer
than 20 frogs that night instead
of the masses I had expected. However, the dispersal
seemed to be mostly unidirectional as few frogs were
present after the monsoon.
The work continues this summer. I observed
many dead frogs this winter, presumably chytrid-killed,
although all were in the upper canyon. We have
installed i-buttons in several pools in the canyon to get a
temperature profile and an idea of the degree of
difference between the areas with and without die-offs.
A large-scale CLF site monitoring project is also
underway with volunteer help to visit satellite
populations in tanks within the Pajaritos. Any that seem
in immediate danger of drying may be salvaged. My
eradication work will continue in the canyon, as a few
frogs still remain as well as tadpoles in some pools. Two
bullfrogs managed to reproduce last summer in
Sycamore Canyon, although it was detected early and
most of the tadpoles were removed last fall.
For a project such as this,
removal must be 100% to be of any
value at all. If one bullfrog manages
to reproduce while our backs are
turned, and the several thousand
tadpoles are spread by stream flow
again, the work will have been
nearly completely undone. Once
dispersal from potential sources such
as Ruby Lakes and other tanks in
the area becomes a possibility during
the monsoon, regular nocturnal frog
surveys will be a must to ensure that
no more breeding takes place. Until
the source populations have been
dealt with, a massive undertaking
which is just now coming under
serious discussion, continuing
immigration of bullfrogs to
Sycamore Canyon remains a distinct
possibility.
Figure 5. Using a BB
gun to eradicate the
non-native American
Bullfrog from Sycamore
Canyon. Photo by
David A. Kahrs.
Acknowledgements
I thank Robert Jadin, as
without his willing help in 2005,
little work could have been
accomplished. USGS and USFWS
have provided funding, allowing
this work to continue. AZGFD have
assisted with volunteer support and
continued monitoring. I also thank
Phil Rosen and Cecil Schwalbe for
assisting me with methods and
concepts, as well as allowing me to
be distracted from my research by
this project.
Literature Cited
Bradley, G. A., P. C. Rosen, M. J.
Sredl, T. R. Jones, and J. E. Longcore. 2002.
Chytridiomycosis in Native Arizona Frogs. Journal
of Wildlife Diseases 38 (1): 206-212.
Hale, S. F., C. R. Schwalbe, J. L. Jarchow, C. J. May, C.
H. Lowe, and T. B. Johnson. 1995.
Disappearance of the Tarahumara Frog. Pages
138-140 in LaRoe, E.T., G.S. Farris, C.E.
Puckett, P.D. Doran, and M.J. Mac, eds. Our
living resources: a report to the nation on the
distribution, abundance, and health of U.S.
plants, animals, and ecosystems. U.S. Department
of the Interior, National Biological Service,
Washington, D.C. 530 p.
Kruse, K. C., and M. G. Francis. 1977. A predation
deterrent in larvae of the Bullfrog Rana
catesbeiana. Transactions of the American Fisheries
Society 106(3): 248-252.
Rorabaugh, J . C., M. J. Sredl, V. Miera, and C. A. Drost.
2002. Continued invasion by an introduced frog
(Rana berlandieri): Southwestern Arizona,
southeastern California, and Rio Colorado,
Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist 47(1): 12-20.
Smith, G. R., J. E. Rettig, G. G. Mittelbach, J. L.
Valiulis, and S. R. Schaack. 1999. The effects of
fish on assemblages of amphibians in ponds: A
field experiment. Freshwater Biology 41(4): 829837.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005. Draft
Chiricahua Leopard Frog (Rana chiricahuensis)
Recovery Plan. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Southwest Region, Albuquerque, NM. 149 pp. +
Appendices A-N.
¬
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19(7) 2006
77
N AT U R A L H I STO R Y N O T E
Yarrow's Spiny Lizards (Sceloporus jarrovii) on Lizard Rock, Santa
Catalina Mountains, Pima County, Arizona: Adventures of a DiaperBag-Toting Herpetologist
Kevin E. Bonine
Tucson Herpetological Society, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Figure 1. The author
and family on Lizard
Rock, Santa Catalina
Mountains, Arizona.
Photo by Kevin E.
Bonine.
T
he recent attention paid Sceloporus jarrovii (Archie
et al. 2006) in the Sonoran Herpetologist was fresh in
my mind as we took our family’s newest herpetologist,
Molly, on her first hike (Fig. 1). The destination was
Lizard Rock (Fig. 2), a prominent landmark on the Mt.
Lemmon highway (near mile marker 16). Upon
reaching the summit on 21 May 2006, ca. 1015h, I
noticed one adult S. jarrovii in species-typical pose on
the lip of a crevice in the exfoliating granite boulders
that comprise much of the Santa Catalina mountains.
I briefly retreated from the summit to secure the
safety of my fellow hikers, shed my diaper bag, and
returned to the summit armed with camera. While
settling in to wait for a voucher-photo opportunity, two
other S. jarrovii emerged from the same crevice. I did
not handle the animals, but they appeared to be one
male and two females (Fig. 3).
78
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19 (7) 2006
Lizard Rock is atop the ridge that separates Bear
Canyon from Willow Canyon and, according to the
USGS, is a bit more than a kilometer straight-line map
distance from the General Hitchcock picnic area where
S. jarrovii was first documented in the Santa Catalinas in
1996 (Archie et al. 2006). The presence of multiple
individuals, and of both sexes, so far from the likely
origination point of S. jarrovii into this sky island suggest
that the population is spreading. As Archie et al. (2006)
point out, documenting the range expansion of S.
jarrovii will indeed be interesting from the perspectives
of ecology and conservation. Also of interest are the
concomitant genetic changes in a population rapidly
expanding from perhaps just a few (or even one)
pioneering individuals (see discussion in Edwards et al.
2005).
Figure 2. View of northwest face of Lizard Rock from Willow Canyon. Photo by Angela Urbon-Bonine.
I plan to take camera, diaper bag, and my young
apprentice into the Willow Canyon environs on future S.
jarrovii missions. Feel free to accompany us, but please
bring your own burp cloth.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to my wife Angela for her knowledge of,
and interest in, the natural world, and for her willingness
to shepherd a newborn and a dog while her husband
leans off into space seeking photos of invasive lizards.
Thanks to Don Swann for discussion and insight
regarding this species and many others.
Literature Cited
Archie, J. W., R. L. Bezy, and E. F. Enderson. 2006.
Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus jarrovii Cope
1875): Lowe’s line revisited. Sonoran Herpetologist 19:50-53.
Edwards, T., K. E. Bonine, C. Ivanyi, and R. Prescott.
2005. The molecular origins of spiny-tailed
iguanas (Ctenosaura) on the grounds of the
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Sonoran
Herpetologist 18:122-125.
The presence of
multiple
individuals, and
of both sexes, so
far from the
likely origination
point of S. jarrovii
into this sky
island suggest
that the
population is
spreading.
¬
Figure 3. Sceloporus jarrovii at the summit of Lizard Rock, Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona, 21 May 2006. Photo by Kevin E. Bonine.
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19(7) 2006
79
L O C A L R E S E A R C H N E W S
Rattle Reduction and Loss in Rattlesnakes Endemic to Islands in the
Sea of Cortés
Ali M. Rabatsky
Department of Biology, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA. [email protected].
“Y
ou’re committing academic suicide. You have no
degree, no job, no money. You couldn’t have crafted a
better project perfectly designed for failure. Why don’t
you just do a nice, neat, safe, laboratory project?
……something ……a little less risky?”
Because I’m a herpetologist, dammit.
Figure 1.
Comparison of rattle
morphology in gulf
island rattlesnake
species to their nearest
mainland relative. Note
the rounded lobes and
larger groove depths
and angles evident in
island forms. The
variability observed
among species is a
fascinating component
of this system.
Top group:
Clockwise from top left:
Mainland Crotalus
ruber, island C.
catalinensis, island C.
ruber (currently being
described as a new
taxon), and island C.
lorenzoensis.
Middle pair:
Mainland C. mitchelli
(left) and island C.
angelensis (right).
Bottom pair:
Mainland C. molossus
(left), and island C.
estebanensis (right).
Photos by Ali M.
Rabatsky.
80
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19 (7) 2006
I kept this rebuke to myself for the remainder of
my dissertation proposal defense. Later that April day it
was decided that I would be given the summer to try to
put my project together. Since then, my collaborator Dr.
Méndez de la Cruz and I have not only been successful
with my dissertation, but we have also been able to
support two Master’s theses
and an undergraduate
research project. And
although my chosen project
certainly presented
challenges, I knew that they
could all be overcome. As a
mere grad student, I knew
something about the
herpetological community
that my former committee
member didn’t.
For my dissertation, I
decided to investigate rattle
reduction and loss in
rattlesnakes endemic to the
islands in the Sea of Cortés.
Most herpetologists agree
that the rattle evolved to
warn away predators or
other potentially dangerous
animals. Since the islands on
which these rattleless species
occur lack terrestrial
predators, it has been
hypothesized that these
snakes are losing their rattles
due to relaxed selection for a
warning mechanism. This
reduction probably occurs
through the evolutionary
process of vestigialization.
Examples that are a little
more familiar include the
reduced wing structure in
flightless birds and reduced
eyes in cave-dwelling fish.
In certain gulf island
rattlesnake species, the shape
and characteristics of the
style, or the most basal and
living portion of the rattle, have actually been modified
and reduced such that most individuals no longer retain
segments with each shed, rendering some individuals
completely rattleless. It had already been reported that
the morphology of the Isla Santa Catalina rattlesnake
(Crotalus catalinensis) was reduced such that few, if any,
individuals retained rattle segments. The same was
suspected to be true for Isla San Lorenzo rattlesnake (C.
lorenzoensis) and the Isla San Esteban rattlesnake (C.
estebanensis), but how much their rattles were reduced
and whether or not they were reduced in a similar
fashion were unknown. Reductions in other aspects of
the rattling system, such as the physiological capacity of
island species to sustain rattling or the behavioral context
in which rattling occurred, were also unclear. To quantify
rattle reduction in these species and to better understand
the process of vestigialization, I am in the process of
comparing my data collected in the field on the island
species to the same data I have collected on the nearest
mainland relatives to each island species.
So far, it appears that only the morphological
component of the rattling system is reduced. This result
prompted me to look for additional cases of rattle
reduction in other gulf island rattlesnakes. In recent visits
to the California Academy of Sciences and the San Diego
Natural History Museum, I have discovered that
morphological rattle reduction appears to occur in up to
seven additional rattlesnake subspecies, more than
doubling the number of previously known cases. This is
an important result because it allows for at least two new
species descriptions and for the first statistical test of the
relaxed selection hypothesis for rattle reduction. It has
also allowed me to ask questions beyond the realm of my
dissertation, questions that promise to keep me busy for
many years.
I owe many thanks to the Tucson Herpetological
Society, the C. H. Lowe Committee, and especially Dave
and Billie Hardy, Sr. and Matt Goode and his graduate
students. I also owe thanks to the numerous other
societies and scientists that have supported this research
and will be formally acknowledged in future
manuscripts. The list is long and valued and I knew it
would be the day of my defense. I knew that I would
have the accumulated knowledge, experience and
support of a field with a rich history, deep sense of
community, and a commitment to facilitating the
development of its junior scientists. This spirit is
profoundly evident in the THS and its members. Thanks
for helping me turn “academic suicide” into scientific
discovery, knowledge, and education.
¬
The President's Corner
Young Cage
President, Tucson Herpetological Society.
[email protected].
Ihavehopehadthat
by the time you receive this that we will
abundant rainfall. I can never remember any
time in the Sonoran Desert when it has been this dry. I
was down in the Canelo Hills last week and not even the
lizards were moving. Live Oaks looked anything but live.
Bring on the monsoons, and hopefully it will be a long,
wet season!
Meanwhile the work of the Tucson Herpetological
Society goes on. Our activities are varied, but all come
back to our guiding principles - dedication to conservation, education, and research concerning the amphibians
and reptiles of Arizona and Mexico. With the enormous
pressures of growth in our area, much of our work
involves protecting the animals themselves and the land
and environment they live on. You can be very proud of
all the activities of your society, but these activities take
hard work and leadership, which is the thrust of my
commentary today.
The THS has annual elections coming up. We will
soon form an election committee to begin the process.
The elections will take place at our November Meeting,
with officers and new board members taking office in
January. The election will cover President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer (all for one year terms), as
well as three board members (for two year terms). Some
of our officers and board members will no doubt run
again, and that would be great because they are very
dedicated and talented people. But any organization
needs some turnover to keep the energy level high and to
bring in new ideas. So I am asking each of you to step
back for a minute and consider becoming involved in
one of the elected positions. Bring forward your talents
and passion, so that our wonderful critters can continue
to be protected and looked after. If you are interested,
please let me or one of the other board members know,
and we will answer questions or get your name on the
ballot. And as soon as our election committee is set up,
feel free to contact the committee members as well.
I have served two terms as President, and will not
run again this round. I have very much enjoyed it and
suspect I will serve again. But it is time for someone else
to come in to bring in new energy and ideas.
The THS is involved in many activities this
summer, including booths at both the Tucson Reptile
and Amphibian Show and Sale Sept 30th thru Oct 1st and
the Cienega Corridor Pioneer Days. We will keep you
posted with the details of these events.
That is all for now. Hope that you have a safe and
productive summer season.
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19(7) 2006
81
B O A R D M E E T I N G S Y N O P S I S
20 June 2006
Robert L. Bezy, Secretary
Directors Present: Robert Bezy, Kevin Bonine, Young
Cage, Dennis Caldwell, Kent Jacobs, Paul Condon,
Elissa Ostergaard, Erin Zylstra.
Directors Absent: Taylor Edwards, Brian Wooldridge,
Robert Villa.
Treasurer’s Report – Young Cage for Kent Jacobs.
30 May 2006
Beginning Balance
$9,355.75
Deposits
$415.00
Expenses
$834.00
Ending Balance
$8,936.75
Speaker’s Bureau
$1,135.70
Jarchow Award
$45.00
FTHL Fund
$443.00
C.H.Lowe Research Fund $2,006.00
General Fund
$5,307.05
CRHSD CD
$8,825.28
Itemized Deposits: Membership $195.00.00,
Speakers Bureaus $200.00 T-shirts $20.00.
Itemized Expenses: Earth Day table $40.00, Lowe
Fund $500.00, Newsletter $138.00, Postage
$156.00.
Committee Reports
Conservation – Dennis Caldwell. Four ponds are up
and running and a fifth is progressing. The
matamorph Rana yavapaiensis have emerged. One Rana
catesbeiana has been discovered and eliminated. The
surveys of tanks for Rana chiricahuensis in the Atascosa
Mts. is being conducted by students at the University
of Arizona, and Dennis is turning his attention to
other drainages.
Program – Elissa Ostergaard
Ostergaard. The lineup of speakers
includes:
18 July – Jay Cole and Carol Townsend
15 August – Harry Greene
19 September – D. Caldwell and D. Swann
17 October or 18 December Jeff Seminoff
15 November – Photo contest and elections
Old Business
Elections –Young Cage. The board is in the process of
appointing a nominating committee for this year.
THS Photo Contest – Kevin Bonine. The contest will
be held at the 15 November general meeting.
San Rafael Valley Project – Brian Wooldridge. The
project has received approval.
Upcoming Events – Young Cage. The THS is
planning to have a table at the following events, and
any member wishing to help staff the table should
contact the person listed:
Tucson Reptile Show - Robert Villa.
Pioneer Day, Vail – Robert Villa, Bill Savary.
¬
82
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19 (7) 2006
M E M B E R S H I P
U P D A T E
Membership Information
Individual
$20
Sustaining
Family
$25
Contributing
Student
$14
Life
To receive a membership form and recent issue of
Sonoran Herpetologist call (520) 624-8879 or write:
Tucson Herpetological Society
P. O. Box 709
Tucson AZ 85702-0709
$30
$50
$500
Time to Renew Your THS Membership?
I hope this is a helpful reminder to those of you whose membership renewal is
due this month. Please call or email with corrections and errors. 624-8879 or
[email protected]
Dave Hardy Sr., Membership Secretary
Due in July
William Broyles & Joan Scott
Steve Hale
Robert Kane
Patricia Latas
Robert Moses
Marty Tuegel
Betsy Wirt & Peter Holm
Louise & Jerry Epstein
Cristina Jones & Joseph Beals
Ray & Theresa Kennedy
Tom & Judy McDonald
Russ & Karen Solsky
Thomas Wiewandt
Membership Update - 4 July 2006
Sustaining
Hill Johnson
Tucson
New Members
Andrea, Emily & Hunter Eggers
Tucson
Charles H. Lowe Research Fund
Taylor Edwards
Tucson
Allison Titcomb & Chuck Fellows
Tucson
¬
Sonoran Herpetologist is the newsletter-journal
of the Tucson Herpetological Society, and is
Copyright 2005. The contents of Sonoran
Herpetologist may be reproduced for inclusion in
the newsletters of other herpetological societies
provided the material is reproduced without
change and with appropriate credit, and a copy
of the publication is sent to the Tucson
Herpetological Society. Occasional exceptions to
this policy will be noted. Contents are indexed in
Zoological Record. A complete set of back issues
are available in the Special Collections area of the
University of Arizona library. They are
accompanied by a copy of The Collected
Papers of the Tucson Herpetological Society,
1988-1991.
Editor
Don Swann, [email protected]
Associate Editors
Dale Turner, [email protected]
Robert Bezy, [email protected]
Art Editor
Dennis Caldwell, [email protected]
Book Review Editor
Eric Stitt, [email protected]
Distribution
Fred Wilson, [email protected]
Officers
President Young Cage, [email protected]
Vice President Kevin Bonine, [email protected]
The Tucson
Herpetological
Society is
dedicated to
conservation,
education, and
research
concerning the
amphibians and
reptiles of
Arizona and
Mexico.
Dave Hardy Sr., [email protected]
Information for Contributors
Authors should submit original articles, notes,
book reviews to the Editor, either via email using
an attached word processed manuscript or by
mail to the Society’s address. The manuscript style
should follow that of Journal of Herpetology and
other publications of the Society for the Study of
Amphibians and Reptiles. For further
information, please contact the editor.
Deadline for Sonoran
Herpetologist 19(8): July 15
Treasurer Kent Jacobs, [email protected]
Directors
Dennis Caldwell, [email protected]
Paul Condon, [email protected]
Elissa Ostergaard, [email protected]
Robert Villa, [email protected]
Brian Wooldridge, [email protected]
Erin Zylstra, [email protected]
Past President Taylor Edwards, [email protected]
Society Activities
Monthly Members Meeting
Elissa Ostergaard, Program Chair
3rd Tuesday, 7:15 PM
Board of Directors Meeting
Last Tuesday of each month (except December), 7:00 PM
Arizona Game and Fish Department Office
555 North Greasewood Road
Speakers Bureau (scheduled presentations)
Robert Villa, Director
Ed Moll, Director
Conservation Committee
Trevor Hare, [email protected]
Membership
Secretary Bob Bezy, [email protected]
Tucson Herpetological Society
is a registered non-profit
organization.
Dennis Caldwell, Director
Herpetological Information Hotline
Bob Brandner 760-0574
Jarchow Conservation Award
Taylor Edwards, Chairperson
Publications:
Sonoran Herpetologist, Backyard Ponds brochure,
Living with Venomous Reptiles brochure,
THS Herp Coloring Book, THS Collected Papers, 1988-1991
THS Internet World Wide Webpage
http://tucsonherpsociety.org
Marty Tuegel, Webmaster, [email protected]
For more information about the THS and the reptiles and amphibians of the
Tucson area visit tucsonherpsociety.org
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19(7) 2006
83
Your membership has expired.
This is your only reminder.
Please renew!
July 2006, Volume 19, Number 7
FEATURE ARTICLE
74
American Bullfrog Eradication in Sycamore Canyon
NATURAL HISTORY NOTE
78
Yarrow's Spiny Lizards on Lizard Rock, Santa Catalina Mountains
LOCAL RESEARCH NEWS
80
Rattle Reduction and Loss in Endemic Rattlesnakes on Islands in the Sea of Cortés
84
SONORAN HERPETOLOGIST 19 (7) 2006