September 2012 PNHS Newsletter

September 2012 volume 27, issue 9

Next Meeting:

Sunday, September 9, 2012

6:00 p.m. Upcoming Events… 2

General PNHS info……. 3

Letter from the

President………..…….

4

PNHS’ Members

Only Adventure at

The Outback Kan-

garoo Farm……...…..

6

Scientists Find a New

Species of Snake in

Brazil……………………….

8

New Species of Am-

phibians Rising…………

9

Drought

Scorches………………

11

Classifieds………………. 14

Contacts &

Vets…………………..

15

Membership

Application….……...

16

Inside this issue:

September PNHS

Newsletter Deadline:

Sept. 30, 2012

Pacific Northwest

Herpetological Society

Meeting Location:

Highline Community College Doors Open: 5:30 p.m.

2400 S. 240th Street, Bldg. 12 General Meeting: 6:00 p.m.

Des Moines, WA

Speaker Presentation:

Ron Gagliardo

Of the Amphibian Ark

Herp-of-the-Month:

Herps of Madagascar

Left: A Mada-

gascar Day

Gecko. Photo

Courtesy of

Wikipedia com-

mons.

Pa g e 2

Upcoming PNHS Events

Kitsap Branch Late Summer/Early Fall Meetings 2012: Monitoring for the Western

Pond Turtle Project. Contact Troy Barnhart 360-908-8766 if

interested.

September 9, 2012: PNHS General Meeting:

Speaker: Ron Gagliardo of Amphibian Ark

“ M adagascar Adventures ”

Herp-of-the-Month: Herps of Madagascar

October 13 –14, 2012: Outreach at the Seattle Reptile Expo:

Puyallup Fairgrounds Expo Hall. This event is sponsored by

PNHS members, The Bean Farm. See www.BeanFarm.com

for more information. Contact Brandon Winters if

interested in signing up for a 2 to 4 hour shift

( B [email protected] ) . There are only a

limited number of free admissions for outreach participants,

so sign up early!

October 14, 2012: PNHS General Meeting

November 3-4, 2012: PNHS Outreach: “ America ’ s Family Pet Expo ”

Puyallup Fairgrounds

November 11, 2012: PNHS General Meeting

General Information

The Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society (PNHS) is a non-profit organi-

zation registered with the State of Washington. PNHS is dedicated to the

education of its members and the public, as well as the conservation, ecol-

ogy, and captive care and breeding of reptiles and amphibians. The society

also takes an active role in legislative and environmental issues affecting

these animals and their habitats.

Meeting Information

PNHS holds its general meeting on the second Sunday of every month

(with exceptions for holidays) at 6:00pm at Highline Community College in

Des Moines, Building 12 Room 101. Doors open at 5:30. Other business

and socialization occurs between 5:30 and 6; then the General Meeting

starts. Meetings are open to the public, and the society encourages anyone

with an interest in herpetology to attend. Please purchase a membership to

show your support for the society.

Animal Donations

Looking to adopt, release an animal or donate cages and equipment?

Please contact the Adoptions Committee by email at adop-

[email protected], or by voicemail at 206- 583-0686. We will contact you

and make arrangements.

Other Donations

The Adoption Committee receives minimal financial support from the Soci-

ety, so donations of money, food, cages, and equipment are always needed

and appreciated. Please contact the Adoption Chair to make a donation.

Adoptions

To adopt an animal that is in the care of the Committee, you must be pre-

sent at the meeting, be a current member (of at least one month), and be

over 18 years of age or have parental consent. For more details see the

web site or contact the Adoption Chair.

Newsletter Information

A monthly newsletter absorbs the lion’s share of the price of a PNHS mem-

bership. In order to keep it interesting, we encourage contribution of origi-

nal articles, book reviews, letters, ads, and cartoons for publication.

Items for incorporation into articles are also welcome, though with no guar-

antee of their use. Submissions may be sent to the Newsletter Committee

or to the Society through the contacts listed on our Contacts page.

Editorial Policy

The views expressed in this publication are solely the views of the authors

and not necessarily the views of the Society, its members, or the Newsletter

Committee. The Newsletter Committee reserves the right to edit all submis-

sions including advertisements.

General information &

guidelines

re PNHS’ Monthly

Meetings are a great

place to learn

something new,

purchase feeders at a

discount, and meet new

people

V o l . 2 7 N o . 9

Above: Both Green Tree Python

Photos courtesy of the Adams’

Family.

Letter from the President By Brenda Huber Vol. 27, No.9

Continued...

Back to school season…..already? The summer always

seems too short on this end. Across the Pacific Northwest, kids are

heading back to school. What does this mean for PNHS? Two

rather distinct things: 1) Outreach Season, and unfortunately, 2)

Dumped Herps Season.

Outreaches are the perfect opportunity for our members to share

how fascinating our herps are to the general public, and more im-

portantly, the next generation of herpers. Does your school need an

Outreach? See our link at www.pnwhs.org to submit an Outreach

Request. If you are interested in joining our Outreach Team, please

contact our Vice President and Outreach Coordinator Extraordi-

naire, Brandon Winter ([email protected]) to sign up. We

have outreaches that occur during school hours as well as evenings

and weekends. You are welcome to sign up to do one or all.

Dumped Herps Season: What makes late August & early Septem-

ber “Dumped Herps Season?” This is the time when college stu-

dents head off to college, and oftentimes they’re not dragging an

aquarium hitched to their backpack. You’d be surprised how many

kids leave their herps at home when it’s time to go off to college.

Like clockwork each year, during the end of August PNHS begins

to receive “My kid is away at college and I can’t care for this ani-

“Not Dragging an Aquarium”

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 9

mal” requests. Conversely, they just pack up and leave, without their

herp. Late August brings a plethora of “animal left behind in apart-

ment” calls. In the past week alone, we have had 37 requests for either

found dumped animals or animal surrenders.

How you can help: Joining our foster care program is easy and re-

warding. PNHS provides everything that you need to care for the foster

animal (habitat, food, veterinary care;) you provide the love, care, at-

tention and electricity (if needed.) If you are interested in becoming a

PNHS Foster Home, please contact our Adoptions Coordinator Extra-

ordinaire, Rachel Shirk ([email protected]) or yours truly,

([email protected]).

- Brenda Huber

President

Letter From The President Continued….

Above:, Left: Beautiful Ball Python “Taz” and female Russian Tortoise ‘Tatiana” (above, right) didn’t make

it to college… They each were found abandoned in two separate empty apartments up in Whatcom

County, near Western Washington University.

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 9

What a wonderful

time PNHS had at

our “Members Only

Adventure” at The

Outback Kangaroo

Farm, located in

Arlington, Washing-

ton. More pictures

are posted on PNHS’

Facebook page.

PNHS’ Members-Only Adventure:

A Grand Time at

The Outback Kangaroo Farm

Left: Check out the pipes! PNHS Treasurer Dale D. poses with a

kangaroo named “Jack.” Above: PNHS Member Diane C. enjoys

holding the baby Red Kangaroo. Below: PNHS Member and Emer-

ald City Reptile Expo 2012 Vendor Jason B. demonstrates he is the

Ring-Tailed Lemur Master. Bottom, Left: Former PNHS President

Jenn S. & son Thomas watch member Saille feed a llama.

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 9

PNHS’ Members-Only Adventure, continued...

Clockwise, Above, Left: All hands on camera phones as PNHS

member Teague W. holds the baby Red Kangaroo. Above, right:

Friend Claire finally coerces her to give up the baby so she could

have a turn. Right: A Ring-Tailed Lemur starts enjoying a snack

of fresh bamboo (cut by PNHS member Saille S., (below) while

husband Tony gets assigned to “Baby Red Kangaroo Duty,”

which you can see is quite exhausting;. And finally, PNHS’

youngest supermember, Thomas, (son of former PNHS Presi-

dent Jenn Sronce) demonstrates his precocious ability to share

kindly with all animals.

All hands

on camera

phones!

Pa g e 8

New Species of Blind Snake Found in Brazil

Reprinted with permission from HerpDigest, Vol. #12, Issue #39, 8/29/12.

New Keral.com, London, Aug 2 (IANS)

Scientists in Brazil have discovered

a new species of a blind snake that is

closely related to salamanders and frogs, it

was reported here.

he Atretochoana eiselti was found after engineers drained a hydroelec-

tric dam over a river connected to the Amazon, the Daily Mail re-

ported Thursday.

Biologists discovered six snakes - each about a meter long - at the bot-

tom of the bed of the Madeira river in Rondonia.

Though the creatures were found in November last year, scientists

have just now correctly classified the snake's genus.

They confirmed it is a rare creature which has only been spotted spo-

radically since it was first seen in 1968.

"Despite looking like snakes, they aren't reptiles and are more closely

related to salamanders and frogs. We think the animal breathes

through its skin, and probably feeds on small fish and worms, but

there is still nothing proven," said biologist Julian Tupan, who

works for Santo Antonio Energy - the company which con-

structed the dam. (IANS)

Vol. 27, No. 9

Above: Atretochoana eiselti. Photo courtesy of

Wikipedia Commons.

P a g e 9

Vol. 27, No. 9

New Amphibians Species on the Increase

Reprinted with permission from HerpDigest, Vol. 12, Issue #39, 8/29/12

New Amphibian Species on the Increase- A curious paradox has be-

fallen the world's amphibians, and UC Berkeley scientists are tracking

it day by day. by David Perlman, July 31, 2012, SFGate

New species of frogs and toads, newts and salamanders, and wormlike critters

called caecilians are being discovered all the time as biologists take to the field

in the world's last unexplored places.

At the same time, naturalists say, more and more species of amphibians are dy-

ing off in what appears to be an oncoming mass extinction - particularly

for frogs.

"In all the doom and gloom about the species that are threatened and the popu-

lations that are declining, we're finding new ones at an even faster rate," said

David Wake, a UC Berkeley biologist who has long combed the continents dis-

covering new amphibians - particularly salamanders - and was among the first

to warn that many species are going extinct.

Wake and his colleagues have created an online catalog of the lives and fates of

all amphibians, called AmphibiaWeb. The site reported with fanfare this week

that 7,000 amphibian species have been recorded in the world, up from about

5,000 a dozen years ago.

In the past two weeks alone, biologists reported the discovery of 18 new spe-

cies, said Wake, director of AmphibiaWeb.org. One of them is a little green

glass frog, Centrolene sabini, discovered in Peru by a young naturalist from

San Francisco State, Alessandro Catenazzi.

"It was a rainy night in January," Catenazzi wrote in an e-mail from his explo-

ration site 10,000 feet high in the cloud forest of the Andes, "and I was just

walking along a road looking for frogs when I heard C. sabini's intriguing call.

P a g e 1 0

Vol. 27, No. 9

Continued….

This calling male was perched over a precipice above the stream, but luckily I

was able to reach the branch and record the call."

Frogs dominate the Berkeley-based project, with 6,179 frog species reported.

Newts and salamanders trail, with 631 species reported, and the caecilians

come last, with only 190 species known to biologists.

The caecilians are obscure critters indeed: legless and nearly blind, they travel

like worms and snakes, use their bony heads to burrow underground, and repro-

duce in varied bizarre ways. Three of the species are considered at risk

of vanishing.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature in Switzerland, which

tracks the status of all the world's plants and animals, reported on its Red List

this year that 41 percent of the world's amphibians are threatened

with extinction.

Fifteen years ago, the organization reported that only 18 species of amphibians

were "critically endangered." This year the count is 507 species.

"It's deeply ironical and paradoxical that so many amphibians are going extinct

right in front of our eyes, while at the same time, more and more biologists are

taking the last chance to explore in the last wild places and discovering more

and more new species of amphibians," Wake said.

The disappearance of many frogs has been documented in the Sierra, due pri-

marily to an epidemic of the toxic chytrid fungus that is spreading across every

continent in the world.

Other threats to amphibians include development on habitat lands, pollution,

pesticides and the introduction of species that overwhelm existing populations,

the AmphibiaWeb scientists say.

Pa g e 1 1

Drought Scorches Amphibians Reprinted with permission from HerpDigest, Vol. 12, #39, 8/29/12

Vol. 27, No. 9

By Matthew Berger, 7/25/12, The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, Colorado,

Although the exact details won’t be known until months or years from now,

the drought that is drying up ponds and streams throughout Colorado and

across the country appears to be affecting wildlife in significant and diverse

ways. Those animals that rely on aquatic habitats may be hardest hit—not only

fish but their amphibious neighbors, the frogs and salamanders that call west-

ern Colorado home.

In summers like this, it may be hard to imagine the hot, dry Grand Valley as

home to many amphibians—and it seems it might be home to slightly fewer,

for a while at least, in the wake of this record-setting drought.

From the chorus frogs and boreal toads found on Grand Mesa to the tiger sala-

manders that wash down from there, the red-spotted toads along Colorado Na-

tional Monument to the canyon tree frogs tucked up in the monument’s can-

yons, the spadefoot toads in their burrows out by Grand Junction Regional Air-

port to the Woodhouse’s toads common throughout town, the amphibian popu-

lation here is surprisingly large and diverse.

But a number of factors have taken their toll on amphibians throughout the

hemisphere, including in Colorado—and the drought is only compounding

those struggles.

About 39 percent of western hemisphere amphibian species are threatened

with extinction, according to the Global Amphibian Assessment, largely due to

habitat loss from agriculture and development and the rapid spread of a chytrid

fungus that has already wiped out some populations and species.

The long list of other threats that have made amphibians the most imperiled

class of animals today includes environmental contaminants, climatic changes

and invasive species.

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 9

Drought, continued...

Though Caribbean and Central American species are the most imperiled, 21

percent of North American amphibian species are threatened, especially those

found at higher elevations. In Colorado, the boreal toad has been listed as en-

dangered by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, largely due to the spread of

the chytrid fungus, including on Grand Mesa.

Amphibians here also face other threats, including diseases and parasites

spread by leeches and ticks, said Steve Werman, a molecular biologist and

herpetologist at Colorado Mesa University.

“Drought could clearly affect amphibians,” he said. “And if drought weakens

them a little bit, that can stress them and allow diseases and other things to

get in. They would be more susceptible to things they would normally fend

off.”

The main impact from drought arises from the drying up of ponds where

some amphibians breed.

After winters with low snowpacks, such as this year’s, there are fewer of

those breeding sites, according to Stephen Corn, a herpetologist with the U.S.

Geological Survey’s Missoula, Mont., office.

With Colorado State in the 1970s and early 1980s, Corn studied leopard frogs

in the Red Feather Lakes north of Fort Collins. During the course of those

studies, several populations went extinct following the drought of 1976-77,

he said.

“The dry winters led a lot of sites to dry up over winter, and frogs never

really came back to these sites for the most part,” Corn said. “If we see long-

term drought that really dries up amphibian habitat, that has a chance to have

effects.”

The scope of those impacts depends on species, and species that move to

temporary breeding ponds to reproduce are expected to be impacted less

Pa g e 1 3

than those that remain in a permanent habitat that may dry up and leave

the animals with nowhere to go.

“You see expansion and contraction in those species that use temporary

habitats, but in those that use permanent habitats, like leopard frogs,

those impacts can be much worse,” Corn said.

Boreal toads, he noted, stay in their habitat rather than moving to tempo-

rary breeding grounds, potentially adding drought impacts to their plight.

“Certainly when you have multiple things, they’ll have a harder time

coming back than if it’s just drought or just fungal outbreaks,” Corn said.

CMU’s Werman noted salamanders and canyon tree frogs could also be

in that category, potentially stuck with a dried-up pond. The exact extent

of that damage will not be clear immediately, he said, as dry ponds can

affect populations both this year and next.

Spadefoot toads, for instance, typically stay underground and are fine if

there is no rain, but they can be impacted if they stay underground for

multiple years.

“It takes a long time to see impacts — more than a year,” noted Erin

Muths, with USGS’s Fort Collins office, though she did say one frog

pond she studies in Cameron Pass west of Fort Collins was completely

dry already. It usually stays wet through mid-August.

“The big thing is these breeding ponds. If these dry up really fast that can

really decimate a local population,” Werman said. “Anything with an

aquatic water stage is going to be hurt.”

Drought, continued….

Classifieds

Join the Global Gecko Association Today!

The GGA is a six year old international organization dedicated to the needs of all people interested in geckos.

Members receive the twice-yearly, full-color journal, “Gekko”, plus “Chit-Chat”, our quarterly newsletter.

Annual Membership is $32 US, $34 Canada/Mexico, $36 Overseas.

Email: [email protected] (503)-436-1064 or www.gekkota.com

Pa g e 1 4

Advertise in the PNHS Newsletter!

Business Card .............................$5

Quarter Page................................$10

Half Page ....................................$15

Full Page .....................................$25

If you would like to place an ad

in the PNHS newsletter, please contact:

[email protected]

GET PUBLICITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

& SUPPORTING PNHS!

Feeder Insects & Rodents

I have superworms, giant mealworms, and lots more!Plus, I now carry frozen rodents.

Order in advance: special pricing for PNHS

members,,as well as quantity discounts!

For pick up and PNHS meeting delivery.

Jennifer Sronce (425) 750-0477

[email protected]

Bean Farm’s Creative Habitats

Slide-Top Aquariums

Various sizes available.

We can deliver the cages to the meetings, as well as any other item from the Bean Farm catalogue.

Please contact us by the Friday before the meeting in order for items to be delivered. Thank you!

Paula & Giovani Fagioli (877) 708-5882

Email: [email protected]

www.beanfarm.com

Screaming Roaches!*** Dubia Roaches For Sale

All sizes available -Our roaches are gutloaded with Re-

pashy “Superload” as well as a mixture of fresh fruits

and vegetables. Your herps will love them!

*** They’re roaches; I’m screaming. Please save me by

contacting: [email protected]

Contact Information

PNHS

P.O. Box 27542 Adoptions:206-583-0686

Seattle, WA 98165 Email: [email protected]

www.pnwhs.org General information: 206-628-4740

Area Representatives

N King & Snohomish Brenda Huber 206-334-7168 [email protected]

S King & Pierce Dale Drexler 253-606-4328 [email protected]

Greater Seattle Brenda Huber 206-334-7168 [email protected]

Kitsap, Island Troy Barnhart 360-908-8766 [email protected]

Oregon Elizabeth Freer 503-436-1064 [email protected]

Officers for 2012

President Brenda Huber [email protected]

Vice President Brandon Winter [email protected]

President-Elect Rachel Shirk [email protected]

Treasurer Dale Drexler [email protected]

Secretary Teresa Montoya [email protected]

Members-At-Large Ted Adams [email protected]

David Brunnelle [email protected] Carol Dean [email protected]

Matt Lee [email protected]

Julie Sharkey [email protected]

Adoptions Coordinator Rachel Shirk [email protected]

Event Coordinator Norm Hill [email protected]

Newsletter Editor Marian Huber [email protected]

Webmaster Geoff Sweet [email protected]

Find us on

FACEBOOK!

V o l . 2 7 , N o . 9

Recommended EXOTIC VETS

Dr. Tracy Bennett

Dr. Daniel Lejnieks

Bird & Exotic Clinic of Seattle

4019 Aurora Ave. N.

Seattle, WA 98107

(206) 783-4538

www.birdandexotic.com

Dr. Elizabeth Kamaka

Kamaka Exotic Animal Vet-

erinary Services

23914—56th Ave. W. #3

Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

(425) 361-2183

www.kamakaexoticvet.com

Dr. Adolf Maas

The Center For Bird & Exotic

Animal Medicine

11401 NE 195th St.

Bothell, WA 98011

(425) 486-9000

www.avianandexoticanimalhospit

al..com

To join PNHS, please print & complete the following application,

enclose your yearly or multi-yearly membership fee and return to:

PNHS Membership Secretary

P.O. Box 27542

Seattle, WA 98165

Membership applications and fees may also be received at the monthly meetings by the Membership Secretary. With your yearly or multi-year membership fee you will receive the monthly PNHS E-Newsletter, access to membership pricing for adoption ani-mals, and the opportunity to participate in the many outreaches and special “Members Only” events held throughout the year.

Please select one of the options below:

Please select your preferred membership category:

Individual Membership Family Membership

(One person) (1-2 parents + Children)

Institutional Membership Correspondence Membership

(Institutions/Organizations) (E-Newsletter Only)

Please select the format in which you would like to receive your newsletter:

Today’s Date: ___________________________ Joining Kitsap Branch? Yes____No____

Name(s) (please print clearly): ______________________________________________

Parent or Guardian (if member is a minor): ___________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________________

City: ____________________________________ State: _____ Zip: ______________

Email Address: ________________________________________________________

Phone: _______________________________________________________________

Would you be interested in volunteering for PNHS: YES / NO

Please make checks payable to PNHS. Thank you!

PNHS only: Membership Expiration Date: _______________________ Contacted: ____

September 2012 PNHS Newsletter

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Transcript of September 2012 PNHS Newsletter