Vol. 28 (2008), No. 2

M I N N E S O T A HERPETOLOGICAL S O C I E T Y N

February 2008

E W S L E T T E R

Volume 28

Number 2

President Jennifer Hensley Vice- President David Dewitt

Treasurer Nancy Haig Membership Secretary Chris Smith Recording Secretary Ellen Heck News Letter Editor James Soos

mhsnewseditor@yahoo.com MEMBERS AT LARGE Jeff LeClere

Minnesota Herpetological Society FEBRUARY 2008

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MHS VOICE MAIL: 612.624.7065 MHS WEBPAGE: HTTP://WWW.MNHERPSOC .ORG GROUP E MAIL : HTTP ://WWW. GROUPS.YAHOO.COM/ GROUP/ MNHERPSOC The Purpose of the Minnesota Herpetological Society is to: • Further the education of the membership and the general public in care and captive propagation • Educate the members and the general public in the ecological role of reptiles and amphibians; • Promote the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

The Minnesota Herpetological Society is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Membership is open Newsletter is published monthly to provide its members with information concerning the society’sto all individuals with an interest in amphibians and reptiles. The Minnesota Herpetological Society activities and a media for exchanging information, opinions and resources.

Pete Kazek Christine Dunathar Kathy Claugherty

General Meetings are held at Borlaug Hall, Room 335 on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota on the first Friday of each month (unless there is a holiday conflict). The meeting starts at 7:00pm and lasts about three hours. Please check the MHS Voice mail for changes in schedules or cancellations.

COMMITTEES Adoption Sara Richard

Education Jan Larson

Library Carmelita Pfar Webmaster Anke Reinders theMHSwebmaster@yahoo.com

Cover Animal Bull Snake

By Sherry L. Peterson

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Ads or Notices must be submitted no later than the night of the General Meeting to be included in the next issue. Longer Articles will be printed as time and space allows and should be in electronic File format if possible.

See Inside back cover for ad rates.

Submissions may be sent to: The Minnesota Herpetological Society Attn: Newsletter Editor Bell Museum of Natural History 10 Church St. SE. Minneapolis, MN 55455.0104 Please send email to mhsnewseditor@yahoo.com

THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Molecules, Maps, Mountain Slopes and the Salamander Tree of Life By Ellen Heck The speaker for January was Ken Kozak. Ken is an assistant professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at the U of M and is also the Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Bell Museum.

In the salamander world, there are 2 main groups – the plethodontidae or lungless salamanders, and all others.

There are about 354 species of plethodontidae, which comprise 70% of all salamanders. The “all other” group has about 158 species in it.

Plethodontidae salamanders literally have no lungs.

They conduct respiration through their skin and the tissue lining their mouths. They also have no larval stage; the young look pretty much the same as the adults do. The larval stage can be relatively short – about a year – or several years. They also tend to have elaborate courtship rituals.

The largest populations occur in the eastern US and Central America, with others scattered world-wide in western US, South America, southern Europe and Korea.

Most of Ken’s research has taken place in the south Appalachian highlands. This area encompasses a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, and the salamanders have evolved to match. Some are completely aquatic, others (almost half ) are completely terrestrial and then there are still others that are somewhere in between. Several species are even adapted to life in caves, or climbing on rock faces. The completely terrestrial species have gills in the egg, where they basically undergo an accelerated metamorphosis and hatch more or less mature.

There are several that are known as “cryptic species”.

These are 2 species that look identical, live in the same area, but are distinct both genetically and in courtship behavior. These species can only be distinguished by DNA and protein testing. This is one reason why the number of known species has grown exponentially since the early 20th century; this sort of testing only became readily available in the mid-1980s.

Speciation – that is, one species separating into two or more – occurs when a population is split and the individual groups are isolated from each other. Over time, various factors in the new environments, such as predators, terrain and food/water supply, will cause the groups to develop different traits.

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Even more subtle influences, such as temperatures resulting from elevation changes or how the drainage basins are laid out, can play a part. By sequencing the DNA of the various species, it is possible to determine approximately how long ago the populations split.

When this data is considered in relation to geographical changes over time, it is possible to see some of the factors that drive speciation. Salamanders are extremely sensitive to temperature and precipitation levels. Over the last 18,000 years since the last ice age, the climate has warmed significantly. So a population that may have lived at the base of several mountains, to stay in a climate range that they can exist in, have moved up the mountains. But if the same population were to move up two different mountains, differences in their new environments would cause them to evolve into distinct species.

Species are always as dramatically separated; populations can diverge simply because groups are separated and cannot tolerate the region that lies between them. The effect of man-made divisions in populations, such as a road, could also cause some speciation, but would have to be able to split off a large enough group to be genetically viable enough to survive. A handful of individuals would probably die off before they were able to establish a new species.

Although plethodontidae probably originally developed in the temperate zone, there are more species in the Central American region. One reason for this may be that, being a tropical region, there is far less variation in annual temperatures. This produces more opportunity for speciation, since the salamanders (or any other creature, for that matter) can’t adapt to climates they never encounter.

The ranges for the tropical species show less overlapping temperatures, implying some very specialized adaptation.

But this will be future study for Ken. All this points to a less than stellar future for the salamanders; as the climate warms, even projections for the next 50 years show a dramatic decrease in viable ranges.

This has already become noticeable in the tropical species, where populations have already declined.

Other Reading: http://www.tolweb.org/Plethodontidae/15441 http://amphibiaweb.org/lists/Plethodontidae.shtml

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THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

San Diego Turtle & Tortoise Society is going Galapagos.

Saturday - Baltra Island and Dragon Hill Transfer to board the ship. Visit Dragon Hill visitors center, a hypersalinic (saltier than the ocean) lagoon often frequented by flamingos, common stilts, pintail ducks and other species of birds. View the bay and a nesting site of land iguanas. (L,D) Sunday - Bartolome Island & Egas Port, Santiago ( James or San Salvador ) Island Here you will feel as if you were walking on the moon.

Climb a steep slope to the summit of Bartolome’s dormant volcano. Gaze out across a panoramic view.

You will see tropical fish and perhaps, penguins too. On the other side of the island, encounter sea turtles (mating season) and White-tipped Sharks. Stroll along the shore at Egas Port , Santiago Island ( James) to look for octopi, starfish, and sea life in the tide pools. See Great Blue Herons, Lava Herons, oystercatchers, and Yellowcrowned Night Herons and fur sea lions. (B,L,D) Monday - Espinoza Point, Fernandina Island & Vicente Roca Point, Isabela Island Find the largest Galapagos colony of marine iguanas basking in the sun. Watch sea lion harems with resident bulls as they guard their territory; and see Flightless Cormorants build their nests, while Galapagos Hawks fly overhead. After lunch, sail to Vicente Roca Point to view dramatically carved cliffs and a system of rookeries and canals that are a geological wonder. This area also promises the highest probability of seeing whales. (B,L,D) Tuesday - North Seymour Island & Black Turtle Cove, Santa Cruz Island On North Seymour Island, there are hundreds of magnificent Frigate Birds (species distinct from the Great Frigate Bird) that display their red pouches during mat-

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ing season and nest along side Blue-footed Boobies in a grove of Palo Santo trees. Afternoon, see various vegetation zones in the Santa Cruz highlands. About 40 giant tortoises live in the wild. You can find and observe a turtle on your own or to hike to tunnels made by cooling lava. (B,L,D) Wednesday - Interpretation Center , San Cristobal Island Visit the impressive Interpretation Center which is an opportunity to gain a more complete understanding of the natural and human history of the Islands .

For More information Please refer to the website: http://www.sdturtle.org/GALAPAGOS.HTM

J’ A R At this point we seem to have our usual slow January.

3 Ball pythons 1 Red Eared Slider 1 Painted Turtle Ation utet ad tat.

1 Leopard Gecko Tionsequam nulla and our first Iguana in 3 months (nice looking adionum esed with clipped nails) tin estrud magna feugait All came in and found homes thisveliqua month. mconum dolorting Rember, you are the one makes the society er si etum velit lut what it is and makes our programs nostisi. Work.

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Adoption Chair Minnesota Herpetological Society

THE NEWS LETTER OF THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY

FEBRUARY 2008

VOLUME 28

NUMBER 2

S     : Treasurer Report

FEBRUARY : Jamie Pastika will be speaking on herping in Belize and Guatamala.

M: Dr. Doug Rossman will be speaking on Garter Snakes.

F S: The year is filling up fast, if you have any ideas of a guest speaker to the MNHS. Please contact Dave Dewitt at ddewitt777@ comcast.net

This space is empty, and I need writers and photographers. If you are interested and feeling up to the task please contact me at: mhsnewseditor@yahoo.com 1

Veiled chameleon: Jill Griffith 4

Minnesota Herpetological Society Bell Museum of Natural History 10 Church Street SE Minneapolis, MN 55455-0104

Postmaster: Please deliver by February 1

Friday, February 1st, 2008 Room 335 Borlaug Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus