TABLE OF CONTENTS 189 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS · 2015-03-17 · INTRODUCED SPECIES IRCF REPTILES...
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IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 20(2):92–94 • JUN 2013 O n 16 April 2013, during annual turtle population sam- pling at Comal Springs (Landa Lake) in New Braunfels, Texas (29.714917°N, -98.135292°W, Datum WGS84), the authors collected and identified an adult male (CL 166 mm) Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta; Fig. 1). This turtle was caught by hand while snorkeling the north- ern escarpment side of Landa Lake, the headwaters of the Comal River. Photographs of the specimen were sent to the Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA DC #s 8054–8056), INTRODUCED SPECIES IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNAL First Account of the Yellow-bellied Slider ( Trachemys scripta scripta) in Texas Eric C. Munscher 1 , Stephen G. Ross 1 , Chris Havel 2 , L.K. Wolfe III 1 , Chris Collins 1 , and Roxanne A. Losey 3 1 SWCA Environmental Consultants, 10245 West Little York Road Suite 600 Houston Texas 77040, USA ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]) 2 Seaworld San Antonio, 10500 SeaWorld Drive, San Antonio, Texas, 78251, USA ([email protected]) 3 Disney’s Animal Kingdom, 551 N Rainforest Rd, Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830. USA ([email protected]) Photographs by L.K. Wolfe III 92 Copyright © 2013. Eric C. Munscher. All rights reserved. Fig. 1. An adult male Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta; UF 168594) captured during the 2013 spring sampling session of a long-term moni- toring program at Comal Springs (Landa Park), New Braunfels, Texas. Note the yellow cheek patch characteristic of this taxon.
Transcript of TABLE OF CONTENTS 189 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS · 2015-03-17 · INTRODUCED SPECIES IRCF REPTILES...
IRCFREPTILES&HIBIANS•20(2):92–94•JUN2013
On16April2013,duringannualturtlepopulationsam-plingatComalSprings(LandaLake)inNewBraunfels,
Texas (29.714917°N, -98.135292°W, Datum WGS84),theauthorscollectedandidentifiedanadultmale(CL166mm)Yellow-belliedSlider(Trachemys scripta scripta;Fig.1).
Thisturtlewascaughtbyhandwhilesnorkelingthenorth-ernescarpmentsideofLandaLake,theheadwatersoftheComalRiver.PhotographsofthespecimenweresenttotheAmphibianandReptileDiversityResearchCenterat theUniversityofTexasatArlington (UTADC#s8054–8056),
I N T R O D U C E D S P E C I E S
IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTS
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S
Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190
The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198
R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E S
The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida
.............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212
C O N S E R V A T I O N A L E R T
World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225
H U S B A N D R Y
Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226
P R O F I L E
Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234
C O M M E N T A R Y
The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238
B O O K R E V I E W
Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243
CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252
Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos accullabo.
Back Cover. Michael KernTotat et velleseque audant mo
estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus
aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque
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IRC
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REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSC O N S E R V AT I O N A N D N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y
WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNAL
First Account of the Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) in Texas
EricC.Munscher1,StephenG.Ross1,ChrisHavel2,L.K.WolfeIII1,ChrisCollins1,andRoxanneA.Losey3
1SWCAEnvironmentalConsultants,10245WestLittleYorkRoadSuite600HoustonTexas77040,USA([email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected])
2SeaworldSanAntonio,10500SeaWorldDrive,SanAntonio,Texas,78251,USA([email protected])3Disney’sAnimalKingdom,551NRainforestRd,LakeBuenaVista,Florida32830.USA([email protected])
PhotographsbyL.K.WolfeIII
92Copyright©2013.EricC.Munscher.Allrightsreserved.
Fig. 1.AnadultmaleYellow-belliedSlider(Trachemys scripta scripta;UF168594)capturedduringthe2013springsamplingsessionofalong-termmoni-toringprogramatComalSprings(LandaPark),NewBraunfels,Texas.Notetheyellowcheekpatchcharacteristicofthistaxon.
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whereDr.Carl J.Franklin,basedonkeymorphologicalcharacteristicsthatdiffersubstantiallyfromthoseoftheRed-earedSlider(T. s. elegans)(e.g.,ConantandCollins1991,Buhlmannetal.2008), identifiedthisturtleasaYellow-belliedSlider. ThissubspecieshasneverbeenreportedfromTexas.OurphotographicvouchersrepresentnotonlyaComalCountyrecord(Dixon2000,2012)butanewrecordforthestateofTexas(Dixon2000,2012).SeveralotherturtlescapturedduringthefirstyearofsamplingatComalSpringsalsohadcharacteristicsofYellow-belliedSlidersthatincludedlargeyellowcheekpatchesandblackplastralmottling(Fig.2).WebelievethattheseindividualsmightbeintergradesbetweenYellow-belliedandRed-earedSliders. Manyturtlespecies,includingRed-earedSliders,Yellow-belliedSliders,andMississippiMapTurtles(Graptemys pseu-dogeographica kohnii),havebeenwidelysoldthroughoutthecountrybythepetindustry(Kryskoetal.2011).AlthoughYellow-belliedSliderscurrentlyarenotabundantintheTexaspettrade,webelievethatthevoucherspecimenismostlikelya“petturtle”dropoff,whereinayoungturtlewaspurchased
andtheownersubsequentlyreleaseditintoalocalwaterway.Thisindividual’srelativelysmallsize(presumablyreflectingayoungageclass)suggeststhatthisturtlehadrecentlybeenreleasedatthepark.Roseetal.(1998)reportedasimilarsitu-ationinanearbylocalitybydocumentingtheintroductionofFloridaRed-belliedCooters(Pseudemys nelsoni)inHaysCounty,Texas. InvasivespecieshavebeenamajorissueinFloridaformanyyears(Kryskoetal.2011).AlthoughTexashasfewerinvasivespeciesthanFlorida,speciesliketheYellow-belliedSlidercanposeseriousecologicalissues.Introducedsliderscouldcompetewithnativespeciesor,assuggestedbythepresenceofputativehybrids,compromisethegeneticinteg-rityofnativeRed-earedSlidersthroughinterbreeding.
AcknowledgementsWethanktheSWCAEnvironmentalconsultantsforsupport-ingtheresearchcrewduringthesamplingatComalSpringsaswellascurrentandpastNorthAmericanFreshwaterTurtleResearchGroup(NAFTRG)volunteers,whohavefacilitatedthislong-termstudyoverthepast14years.
Fig. 2. PossiblehybridbetweennativeRed-earedandintroducedYellow-belliedSliders(Trachemys scripta elegans xT. s. scripta)showingcharacteristicsofbothsubspecies.Thisturtlewascapturedduringthe2013springsamplingsessionofalong-termmonitoringprogramatComalSprings(LandaPark),NewBraunfels,Texas.
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Literature CitedBuhlmann,K,T.Tuberville,andW.Gibbons.2008.Turtles of the Southeast.
UniversityofGeorgiaPress.Athens.
Conant,R.andJ.T.Collins.1991.A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians, Eastern and Central North America. 3rded.HoughtonMifflinCompany,Boston,Massachusetts.
Dixon,J.R.2000.Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas.2nded.TexasA&MUniversityPress,CollegeStation.
Dixon,J.R.2013.Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas with Keys, Taxonomic Synopses, Bibliography, and Distribution Maps.3rded.TexasA&MUniversityPress,CollegeStation.
Krysko,K.L.,K.M.Enge,andP.E.Moler.2011.Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Florida.FinalReport,ProjectAgreement08013.FloridaFishandWildlifeConservationCommission,Tallahassee.
Rose,F.L.,R.W.Manning,T.R.Simpson,andS.Jenkins.1998.Asustainingpopula-tionoftheFloridaRed-belliedTurtle,Pseudemys nelsoni(Reptilia:Emydidae)inSpringLake,HaysCounty,Texas.Texas Journal Science50:89–92.
