Energetically expensive life-history events often require energy trade-offs with day-to-day maintenance activities, particularly when such life-history events are also physiologically stressful. To understand how an energetically expensive life-history event affects physiological stress and day-to-day maintenance, we compared stress levels and immune activity in male and female Midland Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta picta, hereafter Painted Turtles), during the nesting season. We captured adult Painted Turtles during the nesting season and quantified baseline physiological stress levels (by determining ratios of circulating leukocytes) and immune activity (by measuring the skin-swelling response to a phytohemagglutinin challenge). We predicted that females would exhibit higher physiological stress levels and decreased immune activity compared to males attributable to the energetic demands and stressful conditions that reproduction places on females, but not males, in this species. Contrary to our predictions, we found that the sexes did not differ in physiological stress levels and that females demonstrated greater immune activity than males during the nesting season. Our results agree with a growing body of literature suggesting that immune function in Painted Turtles is not negatively correlated with physiological stress levels, as is common in other vertebrate taxa. Instead, female turtles may demonstrate enhanced immune activity during the nesting season to counter the increased infection risk they may experience as they come into contact with new individuals and environments during overland travel to nesting sites.

Guana is a 297-ha island in the British Virgin Islands, a private wildlife sanctuary where human activity is largely restricted to small areas associated with an upscale resort hotel. Guana is free of mongooses and sustains a population of racers (Borikenophis portoricensis; Dipsadidae). Between 2001 and 2012 we marked B. portoricensis with Trovan passive integrated transponders and recorded 394 captures of 367 unique adults (males = 167; females = 200; sex ratio of 0.8 : 1) in an effective trapping area of 25.8 ha. Using contemporary capture–recapture models, we estimated annual adult apparent survival, abundance, and realized population growth. We detected no difference in apparent adult annual survival of males (0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.34–0.66) and females (0.50, 95% CI = 0.33–0.66). Recapture probabilities of males (0.09, 95% CI = 0.04–0.18) and females (0.08, 95% CI = 0.04–0.16) were similarly indistinguishable. Annual estimates of adult abundance ranged from 368 to 540, but confidence intervals overlapped broadly between years. We estimated realized population growth as 0.98 (95% CI = 0.75–1.28) over the 12-yr study. Based on the effective trapping area (25.8 ha), average density was 19 adults/ha (range = 14–21 adults/ha). The low recapture probabilities suggest that animals spend much of their lives in areas not accessible to researchers, but we detected little evidence of substantive movement. The population on Guana appears to be healthy, suggesting that declines elsewhere are indeed the results of human activities, especially the introduction of mongooses.

Many terrestrial and aquatic animals jump to escape predators. Most terrestrial animals use robust hindlimbs to produce the power needed to lift their bodies off the ground. This paper explores an alternative jump mechanism used by the lungless salamander, Desmognathus ochrophaeus. Previous work on this jump mechanism suggested that lungless salamanders invoke rapid torso flexion to hurl themselves into the air with minimal hindlimb contribution. The current study was designed to investigate how salamanders pushed off the ground to jump and to determine whether elastic structures contribute to jump power amplification. Specifically, we focused on trunk action, hip rotation, limb placement, and jump power production. We used high speed cameras to film salamander jumps and used these videos to conduct a subsequent motion analysis. Our results demonstrate that prior to jumping, the trunk flexes laterally into a C-shape while the hindlimb (inside of the bend) is planted in front of the hips. Next, the salamander rapidly undulates, rotating the pelvic girdle toward the planted hindfoot. At this point, the planted hindlimb acts like a strut that allows the salamander to pole-vault over the planted hindfoot and into the air. We estimate that the trunk axial muscles are the main contributors to jump power, but they must be aided by elastic structures that amplify jump power output. Future studies should focus on identifying the elastic structures responsible for power amplification as well as possible neurological connections between the salamander jump and the C-start escape strategy of fishes.

Eastern Hognose Snakes (Heterodon platirhinos) are considered a species of conservation concern in the northeast United States because of their association with rare and declining habitats such as pine barrens and shrublands. These are disturbance-dependent habitats that currently require management to persist. We studied Eastern Hognose Snakes on a pitch pine–scrub oak barren in western Massachusetts from 2008 to 2013 to describe patterns of space use, habitat selection, and survival of this species and to evaluate the effects of habitat restoration and fuels management. We monitored 12 snakes with radio telemetry during the months of May to October 2008–2010. We examined habitat use versus availability using paired logistic regression analyses in which availability was temporally and spatially explicit in relation to radio-tracked snakes' previous use location and likely movements. We found that radio-tracked snakes significantly avoided closed-canopy forests and power line corridors, and instead primarily used heavily thinned pitch pine and scrub oak barrens. Individuals that used some closed-canopy forested habitat had significantly larger home ranges compared to snakes that used only managed early-successional habitat, congruent with ecological theory that habitat quality can affect home range size. We calculated a probability of 0.61 for adult survival during a 150-d active season (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.22–0.85), similar to other reports of adult survival for this species. We conclude that fuels reduction and habitat restoration activities, primarily heavy thinning, are increasing the amount of preferred habitat available for this threatened species.

We studied aggressive behavior of neonate Common Five-Lined Skinks (Plestiodon fasciatus) in a controlled laboratory study. Two neonates of differing sizes were placed on opposite sides of a divided observation chamber for 48 h. Then the partition was removed, a single retreat was placed in the center of the observation chamber, and the behaviors of the two neonates were recorded for 60 min. Neonate Five-Lined Skinks did not interact unless they were within one body length of each other. During an encounter, one lizard typically displayed aggressive behavior (lunging) while the other lizard displayed submissive behavior (avoidance/fleeing), though in 24% of encounters the two lizards showed no reaction. Dominant lizards won significantly more encounters than subordinate lizards. The subordinate lizards displayed tail wiggling behavior significantly more frequently than dominant lizards, suggesting this behavior may be a visual signal of subordinate status. The larger lizard was dominant in 75% of the trials, and as relative size of the dominant lizard increased, so did its percentage of encounters won. The two lizards spent significantly more time on opposite sides of the observation chamber than on the same side, because the subordinate almost always fled from the dominant, often to the opposite side of the chamber. Nevertheless, the two lizards frequently used the retreat at the same time. These results suggest that, in the field, small neonates usually will be subordinate to (and avoid) larger ones while active on the surface, but will readily share retreat sites with larger neonates.

We examined the effect of body size on locomotor performance and movement behavior in early postmetamorphic toadlets of Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri). Dispersal, if strictly density dependent, should be favored among the relatively small toadlets that emerge from crowded growth conditions, but not among the relatively large toadlets that result from low-density conditions; however, smaller toadlets may have less physical capability to disperse than larger toadlets. The net result may thus be that actual dispersal probability is greatest among intermediate-sized toadlets. Using toadlets of various sizes purposefully raised by manipulating their densities as tadpoles, we tested toadlet locomotor jumping endurance in relation to body size. We also compared the animals' initial body size against their overall movements in the wild, determined using capture–recapture methods, over 2 yr as they grew from toadlets to adults. We calculated movement rate and dispersal probability for each individual recaptured more than twice and determined whether successful movement strategies were correlated or uncorrelated. Our results show that toadlets of intermediate size are most likely to disperse farthest, even though they do not necessarily exhibit the highest levels of endurance. Therefore, knowledge of individual life experience across multiple life stages may be necessary to understand dispersal tendencies in amphibians and may be required in future studies aiming to predict dispersal and population dynamics.

Translocations are an important conservation tool, but many are unsuccessful. Soft-release translocations involve holding animals on site for a period prior to release, whereas hard-release translocations involve immediate release of animals into a new environment. Evaluating the relative impacts of hard and soft release on site fidelity of released individuals can be informative, especially when comparing between translocated and resident animals. We monitored the movement, dispersal, and home range of both translocated (hard and soft released) and resident Jewelled Geckos (Naultinus gemmeus) for three weeks during winter using radiotelemetry. We also monitored a hard-released group during summer and incorporated data from a previously published soft- versus hard-release translocation of Jewelled Geckos undertaken in spring. In winter, soft-released geckos dispersed less than hard-released geckos and both soft-released and resident geckos had significantly smaller home ranges than those hard released. Further, area occupied by soft-released geckos remained constant during the tracking period but increased 20-fold for hard-released geckos. Mean dispersal distances were not influenced by season or the amount of time in an enclosure prior to soft release (i.e., four months yielded similar results to nine months). Translocations employing a soft-release strategy may have value for a wide range of lizard species and could contribute to translocation success.

Habitat fragmentation and subsequent disruption of animal movement are responsible for extinctions in some species, including amphibians. Amphibians that can travel across fragmented landscapes may be at lower risk of extinction. Chiricahua Leopard Frogs are threatened because of fragmentation associated with habitat loss and degradation. We sought to identify cues leading frogs to leave perennial ponds and factors related to movement ability of Chiricahua Leopard Frogs in New Mexico during the summers of 2013 and 2014. Using pitfall traps, we captured frogs leaving ponds and radio-tracked 30 individuals to characterize overland movements. We checked traps and located frogs daily for up to eight weeks. We assessed factors related to the number of frogs leaving ponds using linear models and to distances moved by frogs using linear mixed models. The number of frogs caught was related to rainfall, but not water temperature, and more frogs were found outside ponds at an intermediate level of rainfall. Frogs who left ponds moved an average of 97 m/day, but distances were highly variable among individuals. Sex and size did not explain differences in distances moved, after accounting for individual variation. One individual moved 1,658 m in a day and another 9,888 m over 36 days. These distances are farther than recorded previously for this species. Movement data are essential for developing recovery plans for threatened species, and our findings will inform planning by predicting the ability of populations to cope with the effects of habitat fragmentation and the ability of animals to colonize new habitats.

Since the early 1990s, >5,000 ha of historic wetlands (and adjacent prairie) have been restored on the row-crop agricultural landscape of Winnebago County, Iowa, USA. From 2008–2011, we surveyed 22 of these sites for probabilities of occupancy and colonization by Boreal Chorus Frogs (BCF; Pseudacris maculata), Northern Leopard Frogs (NLF; Lithobates pipiens), and American Toads (AT; Anaxyrus americanus). We used radio telemetry to measure patterns of movement and habitat use by 22 NLF and 54 AT and deployed biophysical models in available habitats to estimate their physiological costs. The BCF occupied 100% of restored wetlands; NLF and AT occupied 59–91% and 71–89%, respectively, varying according to annual weather conditions. The BCF colonized new sites within a year; NLF and AT required 3 and 2 yr, respectively. These differences were related to distances from the nearest established population and costs of intervening cover types, and were statistically related to the size and orientation of restored wetlands. The ranges of maximum straight-line distances moved by NLF and AT were 31–857 m and 42–2,932 m, respectively. Both NLF and AT selected wetlands and surrounding prairies, though NLF were nine times more likely to select wetland habitats than all others combined. About 24% of AT used row-crop fields extensively, but not until crops had grown sufficiently to reduce the physiological costs of these fields similar to that of prairies. Both BCF and AT navigated the dramatically altered row-crop landscape, but NLF depended more heavily on roadside ditches to find and colonize restored wetlands.

Ophiodes Wagler, 1828, is a poorly known legless lizard genus, widely distributed across South America east of the Andes, and composed of five described species and other additional taxa that have not been formally described but are widely referred to in recent publications. After reviewing major herpetological collections in Rio Grande do Sul and conducting fieldwork for more than 2 decades in the Lagoa dos Patos Estuary, we came across a new species of Ophiodes, herein described. The new species is diagnosed from its congeners based on the combination of a dorsum with three wide, dark brown longitudinal stripes and two pairs of conspicuous light yellow stripes, one pair paravertebral and another dorsolateral; dark vertebral line absent; background coloration of sides light gray with four to five pale and narrow longitudinal stripes; ventral region uniformly light gray; hind limb extending to the posterior vent scale margin; small eyes, smaller than half of snout–ocular distance; supralabials with well-defined, although small, supralabial blotches, restricted to their outer margins. We also provide comments on its distribution range and propose that a “Critically Endangered” CR B1b (i,ii,iii) extinction risk classification should be officially assessed and given.

Ophiodes Wagler, 1828, é um gênero de lagartos ápodos pouco conhecido, amplamente distribuído na América do Sul à leste dos Andes. O gênero é composto de cinco espécies e outros taxons ainda não formalmente reconhecidos, embora referenciados em publicações recentes. Após revisar coleções herpetológicas no Rio Grande do Sul e conduzir trabalho de campo por mais de duas décadas no Estuário da Lagoa dos Patos encontramos uma nova espécie de Ophiodes, aqui descrita. A nova espécie é diferenciada de seus congêneres com base na combinação de um dorso com três largas listras longitudinais marrom escuras e duas listras conspícuas amarelo-claras, um par composto de uma paravertebral e outra dorsolateral; linha vertebral escura ausente; coloração de fundo nos lados cinza claro, com quatro à cinco listras longitudinais e estreitas; região ventral cinza claro uniforme; membro posterior estendendo-se até a margem posterior da escama cloacal; olhos pequenos, menores que metade da distância entre focinho e olho; supralabiais com manchas bem definidas e pequenas, restritas à suas margens exteriores. Também apresentamos comentários sobre sua distribuição, e propomos que o seu status de conservação seja definido oficialmente como “Criticamente em Perigo” CR B1b (i,ii,iii).

Identification of individuals based on morphological patterns is a strategy used primarily in human forensics that has also been applied successfully in several wildlife scenarios. To date, no study has evaluated the potential of these techniques on American Crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus). We assessed whether the dorsal scute number and pattern of 110 American Crocodiles captured from the wild on Coiba Island, Panama could be used for individual recognition. We estimated scute variation using the number and position of scutes, testing both a binary and a coded assessment for scute presence and pattern, respectively. We analyzed scute patterns using 21 transverse scute lines (TSL) including the three most prominent scutes present on each side of the vertebral column axis. We found significant differences in the number of scutes per TSL and longitudinal scute lines (LSL) by individual. Based on both the binary and coded analyses, we identified all American Crocodiles assessed at the individual level, using only the first 13 and 10 TSL, respectively, in an anterior–posterior direction. This gave us a minimum probability of ≤0.0003 based on the coded analysis and ≤2.02 × 10⁻⁵ based on the binary analysis to find pattern repetition (one out of 3,333 and one out of 49,504 American Crocodiles have the most-common scute pattern, respectively). Because the C. acutus total population of Coiba Island has been estimated as no more than 1,000 individuals, we could use this individual identification pattern recognition method (IIPR) to identify every American Crocodile inhabiting this island.

La identificación de individuos con base en patrones morfológicos es una estrategia usada principalmente en ciencias forenses, la cual ha sido también aplicada exitosamente en el estudio de vida silvestre. Sin embargo, a la fecha no existen estudios que hayan evaluado el potencial de estas técnicas en el cocodrilo americano (Crocodylus acutus). Este estudio evaluó la eficacia en el uso del número de escamas y patrones dorsales de escamaje como método para la identificación de individuos en C. acutus, con base en 110 animales colectados en la isla de Coiba, Panamá. Se estimó la variación en el escamaje usando el número y la posición de las escamas, evaluando de manera binaria y codificada la presencia/ausencia de escamas y patrones, respectivamente. Se analizaron un total de 21 líneas de escamas transversales (TSL) incluyendo las tres escamas más prominentes a cada lado de la columna vertebral. Se registraron diferencias significativas en el número de escamas por TSL y por línea de escamas longitudinales (LSL) por individuo. Con base en los dos análisis (binario y codificado) se identificaron todos los cocodrilos americanos evaluados en el presente estudio a nivel individual, usando solamente las primeras 13 y 10 TSL, respectivamente, en dirección antero-posterior. Se determinó una probabilidad mínima de repetir patrones ≤ 0.0003 con base en el análisis codificado y ≤ 2.02 × 10⁻⁵ con base en el análisis binario (uno de 3,333 y uno de 49,504 cocodrilos americanos tendrá el patrón de escamaje más común, respectivamente). Para la isla de Coiba ha sido estimada una población total no mayor a 1,000 individuos, lo cual implica que el método propuesto en el presente estudio (patrones de reconocimiento para la identificación individual de animales con base en escamaje (IIPR) podría ser usado para identificar la totalidad de C. acutus que habitan esta isla.

Sperm morphology can be highly variable among individuals and across species, but less is known about its variation among populations. Within the past 20–80 yr, several species of Anolis lizards have been introduced to Miami, Florida, USA from different source islands in the Caribbean, thereby permitting comparisons of sperm morphology between native and introduced populations of multiple species. We collected sperm samples from native populations of Anolis sagrei (Bahamas), Anolis distichus (Dominican Republic), and Anolis cristatellus (Puerto Rico) and compared them to samples from introduced populations of each species that are now sympatric in Miami. In each of these three species, lizards from introduced populations had sperm with shorter tails and larger midpieces relative to lizards from native populations. We also measured testis size in A. distichus and A. cristatellus and found that introduced populations of each species had smaller testes for a given body size relative to their native counterparts. The consistency of these differences across species argues against random genetic drift as an explanation, suggesting instead that sperm morphology and testis size may exhibit predictable phenotypic plasticity or genetic adaptation in response to the process of introduction and/or the shared local environment in Florida. Though these population differences in male reproductive physiology and morphology may be repeatable, their underlying causes require further study.

The iris in Red-Eared Slider Turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans) is intrinsically photosensitive, slowly constricting the pupil when exposed to light. We hypothesized that one of the photopigments involved in the photomechanical response (PMR) is melanopsin (Opn4). The purpose of this project was to determine whether mRNA of Opn4 is present in their iris. After eyes were dissected from animals, we extracted iris tissues to carry out fluorescent in situ hybridization. Comparison of fluorescence from images revealed significant labeling in the iris for two melanopsin isoforms (Opn4x and Opn4m). We then carried out quantitative real-time PCR to identify relative expression levels of mRNA. Expressions by both isoforms in the iris were significant. In contrast to the retina, which had higher levels of Opn4m than Opn4x, the iris had higher levels of Opn4x than Opn4m. We also carried out Carr–Price reactions on tissue extracts, which were stabilized by hydroxylamine, and detected retinal oxime in the iris. Possession of retinal oxime indicates prior presence of retinal, a vitamin A-type chromophore, necessary for a functional protein. Evidence of a chromophore along with both Opn4 mRNA isoforms in the iris of this species supports presence of the photopigment and a possible role in the turtles' slow PMR.

I describe a new species of Oreophryne from Woodlark Island, the most isolated large island in southeastern Papua New Guinea. The new species is a member of the O. equus species group, characterized by having a “whinny” call consisting of a rapid series of high-pitched peeps. It differs from other members of that group in a combination of features, including having a cartilaginous connection between the scapula and procoracoid, well-webbed digits on the feet, fifth toe longer than the third, a largely unicolor brown dorsum, and red flash markings on the hidden surfaces of the thighs. All members of this species group inhabit the southeasternmost portion of Papua New Guinea, with most species endemic to single offshore islands. The species is common in secondary rain forests on Woodlark, but continued commercial interest in developing large-scale extractive industries on the island could potentially threaten this and other endemic species on Woodlark if developments were to occur across a large-enough area of the island.

The only mudpuppy (Caudata: Proteidae) known to occur in the Tennessee Valley of the Interior Highlands and Southern Appalachians is the Common Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus). Necturus maculosus is not known to co-occur with any other congeners. Here, we report evidence that an additional Necturus occurs in the Hiwassee River, a tributary of the Tennessee River, in eastern Tennessee. Some specimens from the Hiwassee River are clearly identified as N. maculosus, but others resemble the Neuse River Waterdog (N. lewisi), known from only the Tar-Neuse river system draining to the Atlantic Ocean on the opposite side of the Appalachian Mountains. Concordance between color pattern, mitochondrial DNA, and four nuclear loci demonstrate that these two co-occurring forms represent distinct lineages rather than color variants within a single, panmictic population. A few mismatched genotypes (7 of 32 individuals in total) suggest rare hybridization and backcrossing. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the new form (hereafter N. aff. lewisi) is related to N. lewisi and N. punctatus (both species from the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Piedmont), but whether this population was introduced, is a naturally disjunct population of N. lewisi, or a heretofore unknown species is yet unclear. Regardless, its existence raises new questions about the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of riverine salamander communities in southern Appalachia and for conservation and management.

Estimating population trends provides valuable information for resource managers, but monitoring programs face trade-offs between the quality and quantity of information gained and the number of sites surveyed. We compared the effectiveness of monitoring techniques for estimating population trends of Rana draytonii (California Red-legged Frog) at Point Reyes National Seashore, California, USA, over a 13-yr period. Our primary goals were to: 1) estimate trends for a focal pond at Point Reyes National Seashore, and 2) evaluate whether egg mass counts could reliably estimate an index of abundance relative to more-intensive capture–mark–recapture methods. Capture–mark–recapture (CMR) surveys of males indicated a stable population from 2005 to 2009, despite low annual apparent survival (26.3%). Egg mass counts from 2000 to 2012 indicated that despite some large fluctuations, the breeding female population was generally stable or increasing, with annual abundance varying between 26 and 130 individuals. Minor modifications to egg mass counts, such as marking egg masses, can allow estimation of egg mass detection probabilities necessary to convert counts to abundance estimates, even when closure of egg mass abundance cannot be assumed within a breeding season. High egg mass detection probabilities (mean per-survey detection probability = 0.98 [0.89–0.99]) indicate that egg mass surveys can be an efficient and reliable method for monitoring population trends of federally threatened R. draytonii. Combining egg mass surveys to estimate trends at many sites with CMR methods to evaluate factors affecting adult survival at focal populations is likely a profitable path forward to enhance understanding and conservation of R. draytonii.

I describe two new species of the fossorial elapid snake genus Toxicocalamus from New Guinea. The first is restricted to the D'Entrecasteaux Islands off the southeastern tip of New Guinea; the second is known from only a single locality along the southern versant of the Central Highlands. The first species is a member of the Toxicocalamus loriae group, whose members are poorly differentiated from each other by scalational features but can be distinguished by differences in size, color pattern, and morphometric variables; it represents one of six clades of T. “loriae” previously identified using genetic data. Remaining populations assigned to T. loriae require further collecting and research to clarify their taxonomic relationships. The second species is more morphologically distinct and is most similar to Toxicocalamus stanleyanus. It is known from a single specimen, but it occurs in a region with few obvious topographic barriers, leaving uncertain the extent to which it may range more broadly across the southern foothills of the Central Highlands.

Estimating abundance is critical in many areas of ecology and conservation biology. Despite this, methodological limitations prevent population monitoring at large spatial scales. Automated acoustic methods, such as recording devices and sound recognition models, can determine occupancy and phenology but have not been utilized to estimate abundance in amphibians. Here we evaluate a method to estimate the number of breeding female Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) on the basis of the relationship between egg mass abundance and the acoustic activity of males, using an automated recognizer to count and quantify their vocalizations. We collected egg mass abundance data and recorded acoustic activity at sites in New Brunswick, Canada and the northern United States in 2015 and 2016. Egg mass abundance at a site was best predicted by the maximum daily number of calls on the basis of a model selection approach and the predictive ability of models (root mean square error ± 16–19 egg masses or 59–70%). The number of males in the pond was best explained by mean calls per recording in 2016 but in 2015 no acoustic metric explained male abundance well. Although this method shows promise, variation in 1) the quality of the recordings, 2) the timing of vocalization activity, and 3) the sex ratios among sites and years combine to increase the error in abundance estimates. With additional research, this method could be useful for monitoring at large spatial scales and we encourage additional trials of acoustic estimates of abundance, especially where estimates of abundance already exist using other methods.

Only two species of Ixalotriton, I. niger and I. parvus, are currently known, and both are endemic to small regions of Chiapas, México. An additional population of black Ixalotriton has recently been reported from caves on Cerro Baúl, near the only known locality of I. parvus. We conducted morphological and molecular analyses of animals from the new population and I. niger to determine whether they are conspecific. Animals from the Cerro Baúl population resemble I. niger morphologically, but they are somewhat divergent in mitochondrial sequence. We assign them to I. niger because of the lack of diagnostic morphological differences. This expands the range of I. niger to a second locality and puts the two species of Ixalotriton in sympatry, although they are separated by microhabitat. Protection for the new population is urgently needed, given declines in abundance of I. niger at the type locality.