Anoline Assistants Announced

NEWS RELEASE
The Center for North American Herpetology
Lawrence, Kansas
http://www.cnah.org
28 March 2008

FIELD HERPETOLOGISTS NEEDED TO ASSIST IN THE STUDY OF ANOLINE FOOD WEB
INTERACTIONS

Dates: 12 May – 18 July 2008
Location: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida

Description of work: Two field assistants are needed for a study comparing the food web
interactions of native and exotic lizards of the genus Anolis in Florida. Fieldwork will
involve capturing anoles and arthropod prey species and monitoring their interactions in
field enclosures. Start and end dates are flexible. Housing and a small living stipend
($200/month) will be provided. Assistants will be responsible for travel to and from
Orlando, Florida. This is a great opportunity to see a wide variety of Florida's herpetofauna
and other wildlife.

Qualifications: Experience capturing and handling lizards preferred, but not required. Must
enjoy working outdoors and be motivated, hardworking, good-natured, and able to work
well with others. Applicants must be in good physical condition and willing to work in hot
and humid conditions in areas with biting insects and venomous snakes.

To apply: Email a letter of interest, resume or CV, and contact information for three
references to:

Nathan Turnbough
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Tennessee
nturnbou@utk.edu

Please put FIELD ASSISTANT in the subject line. Review of applications will begin
immediately and continue until the positions are filled.

---

Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.

FNPS Urgent Message - Florida Forever Program

RE:      Urgent message from FNPS President Shirley Denton &

Conservation Chair, Eugene Kelly

 

*****  Immediate Action Needed   *****

 

The future of Florida's land acquisition program, Florida Forever, is in the hands of our legislators right now.  The annual legislative session has begun and they are  discussing whether or not the program should be continued, and at what level of funding.  Money is tight this year so there needs to be a strong push from the public in order to garner the support of the legislature and ensure funding.

 

Although the program does not officially sunset until 2010, all remaining funds have already been obligated and no new land purchases can be negotiated without action by the legislature.   The current downturn in the real estate market has created opportunities that may never come again to protect critically important lands.  We should not allow short-term budget shortfalls in state government to curtail the long-term benefits of protecting these lands when over $1 billion in bonding authority remains available.  

 

We need immediate action in the form of telephone calls or letters to of your state legislator, senator, and Governor Crist expressing your support for this vital program.  Contact information is available via the Action Alerts section of FNPS website home page at www.fnps.org or in your local telephone directory.  You can also find a sample letter and a list of talking points on the website's Policy Committee page under Programs.  Additional information is available at www.supportfloridaforever.org.

 

We also strongly encourage all FNPS Chapters to pledge support for the Florida Forever program in the form of a resolution or letter of endorsement.  A sample resolution and a sample endorsement form is attached to this email. 

 

Please work hard to obtain consensus on adoption of the resolution within the next two to three weeks, complete the form and email it to Florida Forever Coalition and Ixia Chapter member Trish Gramajo at tgramajo@tnc.org    The Cocoplum, Conradina and Palm Beach chapters have already acted by submitting a resolution.

 

Thank you for assisting in this important endeavor and helping to ensure a future for Florida's native plants and plant communities by protecting the places they need to survive!

 

Shirley R. Denton, Ph.D.         Eugene Kelly, Chair

FNPS President                      FNPS Conservation Committee

---

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

Vultures 4/5; Herptiles ID & Ecology 4/11--Brooker Creek Preserve EE Center

Brooker Creek Preserve Program Highlights (North Pinellas County)

 

 

 

Vulture Exhibit Grand Opening

Saturday, April 5, 2008   9:00am – 4:00pm

Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center Staff

What do you know about vultures?  They are the subjects of a new exhibit at the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center.  Join us to celebrate this new exhibit and visit the grand re-opening of the Discovering Nature Store for refreshments.  Please call for more information about the day's events.  Admission: Free. Call 727-453-6800 to register.  Recommended for families with children 10 and older.

 

 

 

 

Adult Ecology Workshop:    Small Herptiles: Identification and Ecology

Friday, April 11, 2008  9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Rick Lavoy, Education Coordinator – Archbold Biological Station

 

The Adult Ecology Workshop offers a unique opportunity to explore focused topics in natural history under the guidance of an experienced professional. Hands-on field and laboratory investigations teach ecology, use of taxonomic keys, and techniques. The workshop will present college-level instruction and is designed to accommodate participants with a broad range of experience.  Amateur herpetologists are welcome, as are those wanting to improve their current skills. 

 

This workshop is an introduction to the ecology of small reptiles/amphibians and how to identify them.  After an introduction to the natural history and diversity of this group of animals, the late morning and early afternoon will be spent in the field collecting specimens from the Preserve.  Admission:  $ 40.00 per person ($30 – Member of the FOBCP). Pay by either check or Visa credit card. Call 727-453-6800 to register. Recommended for Adults.  Space is limited to 25 participants.

 

---

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

Disease, Climate, and Amphibians

NEWS RELEASE
The Center for North American Herpetology
Lawrence, Kansas
http://www.cnah.org
27 March 2008

RIDING THE WAVE: RECONCILING THE ROLES OF DISEASE AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN
AMPHIBIAN DECLINES

2008. Public Library of Science Biology 6(3): 441-454

Karen R. Lips, Jay Diffendorfer, Joseph R. Mendelson III and Michael W. Sears

New study questions amphibian disease's link to climate change

Once introduced, diseases may spread quickly through new areas, infecting naive host
populations, such as has been documented in Ebola virus in African primates or rabies in
North American mammals. What drives the spread of the pathogenic fungus
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which causes chytridiomycosis, is of particular
concern because it has contributed to the global decline of amphibians. Spatiotemporal
patterns of the loss of upland amphibian populations in Central and South America were
modeled as a proxy for the arrival of Bd. Amphibian declines in Central and South America
were found to be best explained by Bd spreading through upland populations with four
separate introductions of Bd into South America identified. Climate change seriously
threatens biodiversity and influences endemic host–pathogen systems, but no evidence
that climate change has been driving outbreaks of chytridiomycosis, was found as has
been posited in the climate-linked epidemic hypothesis. These findings further strengthen
the spreading-pathogen hypothesis proposed for Central America, and identify new
evidence for similar patterns of decline in South American amphibians. These results will
inform management and research efforts related to Bd and other invasive species, as
effective conservation actions depend on correctly identifying essential threats to
biodiversity, and possible synergistic interactions.

*****

A gratis PDF of this article is available from the CNAH PDF Library at

http://www.cnah.org/cnah_pdf.asp

---

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

IGES Announces Earth Day Photo Contest for Middle School Students

NASA Education <education@nasa.gov> wrote:

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies is sponsoring an Earth Day photo contest for middle school students. Interested students are asked to photograph something that is changing in their local environment. They are to take the photo between Tuesday, April 22, and Tuesday, April 29. The change could be occurring in the student's backyard, outside the student's school, in a local park or even off in the distance. Participants must research and write an explanation of the change documented in the photograph.

The contest is open to all U.S. students in grades 5-8.

Entries must be received by e-mail or postmarked by May 9, 2008.

For more information about the contest and how teachers can use it in the classroom, visit http://www.strategies.org/EarthDayPhoto. If you have questions about the contest, please e-mail your inquiries to info@strategies.org.

---

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

Intergenerational Poetry, Essay and Photography Contest

*Second Annual Rachel Carson Sense of Wonder*

(Washington, D.C. - March 18, 2008) The U.S. EPA Aging Initiative, in
partnership with Generations United and the Rachel Carson Council Inc.,

are inviting submissions for its Second Annual Rachel Carson Sense of
Wonder Intergenerational Poetry, Essay and Photography Contest.

Carson is considered to be the founder of the contemporary
environmental
movement through her landmark book, Silent Spring. Its publication is
credited with reversing the nation's pesticide policy.

Using the title of another of Carson's books, "The Sense of Wonder,"
the
contest is seeking submissions from intergenerational teams "that best
express the "Sense of Wonder" that you feel when observing the sea, the

night sky, forests, birds, wildlife, and all that is beautiful to your
eyes."

"Through this contest, we are inspiring the youngest and oldest among
us
to appreciate wonders and beauty of the natural world," said EPA
Administrator Stephen L. Johnson.

"We experience a sense of wonder at every point in our lives, whether
as
children or older adults. The contest's intergenerational message
exemplifies a long history of environmental work bridging the
generations which goes back to the first Earth Day," said Donna Butts,
executive director of Generations United. "We are delighted to again
co-sponsor this important contest."

The contest's intergenerational approach reflects Carson's desire to
have adults share with children a sense of wonder about nature and help

them discover its joys. Entries must be intergenerational involving a
team of persons related or unrelated and describe the intergenerational

project and how this project brought the team in touch with the natural

world.

The deadline for entries is Monday, June 16, 2008. A panel of expert
judges will select finalists. The winners in each category will then be

determined by the public, who will have an opportunity to vote on-line
in July and August for their favorite submission in each category:
photography, essay, and poetry.  Winners will be announced on the EPA
Aging Initiative Web site in October during Children's Health month.

Carson wrote that she would endow every child with "a sense of wonder
so
indestructible that it would last throughout life." However, "if a
child
is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship

of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy,

excitement, and mystery of the world we live in."

The contest seeks to spur and instill that same sense of wonder among
all generations.

For more information, see:
http://www.epa.gov/aging/resources/thesenseofwonder/index.htm

---

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.