Population genetic and population viability analyses are powerful instruments that can be used to evaluate the status o populations of conservation concern. However, these two methods are rarely integrated. To better understand the status of the last know Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens) population in Washington state, USA, and investigate the potential for translocation efforts we analyzed 96 genetic samples from 2004 and 294 genetic samples from 2014 by using seven microsatellite loci and integrate population genetic data with population viability models. Partitioning of genetic diversity indicated the presence of thre subpopulations in the area, aligning with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife subunit designation within the watershed. I both years, heterozygosity and average number of alleles per locus were low for all subpopulations (0.20–0.36 and 1.86–2.50, respectively) Point estimates of gene flow out of two of the three subpopulations decreased from 2004 to 2014 based on G″_ST (a measure of geneti differentiation) and migration estimates from BayesAss. Summed effective population size for the entire area by using tempora estimates was estimated to be small, with large amounts of uncertainty (sum of 98.4 individuals, 95% confidence interval: 15.6–infinit individuals). Population viability models using genetic estimates of number of adults and migration rates suggest that adults may be th optimal life history stage for successful direct translocation; however, because only metamorphs can be routinely collected, translocatio with head-starting was modeled and active management strategies may be necessary to establish new populations.

The symbiosis between developing Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) and the unicellular alga known as Oophila amblystomatis appears to be mutualistic, with involved parties trading apparent benefits within the salamander egg capsule, but the spatiotemporal ecology of the interaction has yet to be thoroughly explored. Using newly developed primers for quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we sampled 149 salamander egg masses of various ages from six breeding ponds in northeast Alabama. We documented the presence of algal DNA within egg capsules throughout the developmental process. Regression via linear mixed model estimation showed a positive relationship between the age of egg masses and the probability of algal DNA detection and a negative trend when comparing egg-mass age and qPCR cycle quantification value. These trends indicate an increase in both the probability that a given egg will contain algal DNA and the amount of algal DNA an egg contains, if present, as age increases. We found no effects of pond, site within pond, or year of sampling in either case.

Borneo's amphibians face an uncertain future due to high levels of forest degradation and a paucity of data for effective conservation management. Several studies identified strong species–habitat relationships in pristine and conventionally logged forests. However, these studies did not account for detectability or habitat associations in sustainably managed forest reserves. Here, we determined detectability and species habitat relationships in stream amphibians within the Deramakot forest reserve, a reduced impact logging concession in the Malaysian state of Sabah, northern Borneo. We analyzed data for 10 stream species collected along 32 stream transects. An occupancy modeling framework was used to determine the climatological, temporal, and environmental covariates associated with detection and occupancy probabilities. We identified high variability in detection probability between species, including significant associations with moon phase (six species), time since sunset (five species), humidity (five species), rainfall (four species), and temperature (three species). Stream slope and volume provided by far the best predictors of occurrence, with significant positive or negative associations with the occupancy of six species each. These associations were more similar to those found in pristine compared with conventionally logged habitats. The highly variable detectability associations within our amphibian community suggest a level of temporal separation in regard to activity and breeding phenology in these species. This stresses the importance of accounting for detection probability via surveying sites across varying climatic/temporal conditions to obtain a representative sample of amphibian communities in pristine and disturbed tropical forests.

Unprovoked mouth gaping behavior is ubiquitous throughout 24 extant members of Crocodylia, yet information on gaping is limited. Proposed hypotheses for gaping include thermoregulation and the evaluation of potential environmental conditions. To determine temperature effects, we tracked head surface (T_sh), body surface (T_sb), and ambient (T_a) temperatures with insolation utilization and positions. To evaluate potential environmental stimuli, we tested behavioral effects (i.e., open-eye frequency) and recorded conspecific presence, day and night events, and interaction with flies and fish. We included 24 extant species representatives, with detailed assessments of American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), Crocodylus siamensis, Crocodylus intermedius, Crocodylus rhombifer, and Crocodylus halli. Observations occurred during a range of T_a (3.89–32.22°C) with mean T_sh consistently higher than both T_sb and T_a across all crocodilians. Differences in T_sh and T_a were most pronounced with head in the sun. However, no significant differences in T_sh and T_sb were detected for A. mississippiensis and Cr. siamensis. Conversely, Cr. halli, Cr. intermedius, and Cr. rhombifer demonstrated statistically higher T_sh. Gaping with open eyes was more common, yet modeling suggested a relationship with closed eyes and temperature. Anecdotal observations indicated weather changes may elicit mouth gaping, and we report the second nocturnal mouth gaping observation (the first for three species). Overall, mixed results indicated unprovoked mouth gaping is a complex behavior, making it difficult to draw clear cause and effect relationships. Future research may benefit from a focus on natural history and quantitative behavioral studies.

Most animals have predators, and therefore must balance the needs of foraging and mating with those of shelter and safety. Many species rely on chemosensory cues to identify predators and organize defenses specific to particular types of predators. A large body of research in this area has focused on lizards and snakes because they have heightened chemical senses and have been shown to identify predators using chemical cues alone. We designed an experiment to examine the antipredator behavior of a common desert-dwelling nocturnal lizard, the Banded Gecko (Coleonyx variegatus), towards snake predators that use different hunting techniques: active-hunting Glossy Snakes (Arizona elegans) and ambush-hunting rattlesnakes (Crotalus cerastes). We exposed Banded Geckos to chemical cues from these two predators and measured a series of behavioral responses including tail displays, time spent investigating chemical cues while actively moving, and time spent in refugia. Geckos exhibited clear antipredator behaviors toward both snakes but spent more time actively moving in response to glossy snake cues. Because rattlesnakes use ambush strategies to capture prey whereas glossy snakes are active searchers, remaining in place while assessing rattlesnake cues is probably less risky than when assessing glossy snake cues. Our findings indicate that Banded Geckos can not only discriminate among different predatory snake species based on chemical cues alone, but they also appear to adjust their antipredator responses in a predator-specific manner.

As global climate change persists, ectotherm viability is of concern because of their reliance on the external thermal environment survival. Ecologically relevant data on temperatures inhabitable by a species can be acquired by assessing critical thermal capacities, which are often reflected by the behavior and physiology of an organism. For treefrogs, thermal capacities could be influenced by a variety of important factors and are important for assessing the impact of climate change. Here, we assessed critical thermal tolerance in Cope's Gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) in Cookeville, Tennessee, in relation to capture date by measuring critical thermal maximum (CT_max), minimum (CT_min), and breadth over a season. The CT_max for H. chrysoscelis ranged from 28.2°C to 43.0°C, CT_min ranged from 1.0°C to 22.5°C, and breadth ranged from 8.0°C to 41.0°C. We found that frogs detected later in the season had significantly increased thermal breadths and significantly higher thermal tolerances, with a slight trend of greater cold tolerance. This study demonstrates that variability may exist in thermal tolerances within a population in relation to date, which may be a result of thermal acclimation. Variation in thermal capacity within a population may allow for persistence through climate change and is a useful knowledge for making future predictions.

Terrestrial, arboreal, and semiaquatic snake species are well known to discriminate among prey types using chemosensation. In contrast, chemosensory capacities of cryptic and fossorial snake species are not well understood. We tested for interspecific differences in the ability of two fossorial earthsnakes, Conopsis biserialis and Conopsis nasus, to detect and discriminate among potential invertebrate and vertebrate prey based on chemical cues alone. Presentation of swabs treated with various prey odor extracts revealed that both snake species were able to detect prey using chemoreception. Chemosensory tongue-flick attack scores and lower latency responses were significantly different for treated swabs when compared to water controls, and interspecific differences were observed. We also found that tongue-flick attack score was higher for invertebrate prey odors than vertebrate prey odors in both earthsnake species. Additionally, differential chemosensory responses to chemicals from different prey types indicated that snakes could discriminate among at least some invertebrate prey types based on chemosensory cues.

Pheromones, a mix of proteins and lipids, are involved in lizards' conspecific recognition. In our study, we specifically address whether fecal lipids are involved in conspecific recognition of the Weeping Lizard, Liolaemus chiliensis. The feces of each sex were dissolved in n-hexane to isolate their lipidic fraction. We then exposed individuals of both sexes of L. chiliensis to the lipidic fractions of each sex and a control (n-hexane), recording their responses. Lizards of both sexes were more active when exposed to the lipids from male than from female feces or from the control, suggesting that the lipidic fraction of male feces conveys some information for conspecific recognition. There was, however, no further evidence of recognition, and herein we offer possible explanations for this low responsiveness to the fecal lipidic fractions.

The similar morphology of species in the genus Oreobates that inhabit rocky outcrops amidst the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests and Cerrado savannas of central South America has led to taxonomic inaccuracies when only external morphology was considered. Therefore, researchers frequently fail to determine the true taxonomic status of some of these populations and thus attribute them to unidentified or misidentified species. Integrating different sources of data is of fundamental importance to understand the diversity of species in this group. Herein, we used external morphology (16 characters measured in 54 adult specimens), bioacoustics (238 advertisement calls of 19 specimens of Oreobates from six localities), and molecular evidence (based on 58 16S gene fragments representing 24 of the currently available names of Oreobates) to evaluate the taxonomic status and distribution range of Oreobates from 10 localities in central South America. We performed phylogenetic analysis, principal component analysis, and discriminant function analysis to evaluate the taxonomic status of Oreobates in central South America. We redescribe Oreobates heterodactylus based on a newly collected series of topotypes and additional material from other localities. We reassess the taxonomic status of Oreobates crepitans, herein considered as a junior synonym of O. heterodactylus. We also describe eastern Bolivian populations of Oreobates as a new species.

Two species of Alopoglossus (A. angulatus and A. meloi) were recognized to occur in the Guiana Shield lowlands, northeastern Amazonia. A third group of populations forming a distinct genetic lineage related to Alopoglossus avilapiresae was recently documented in the region. The Guiana Shield lowlands area also encompasses the type locality of Alopoglossus copii surinamensis (currently considered a synonym of A. angulatus). Aiming at describing a possible new species of Alopoglossus from the Guiana Shield and evaluating the taxonomic status of A. copii surinamensis, we analyzed variation in scutellation and morphometrics of the two nominal species of Alopoglossus occurring in the Guiana Shield and A. avilapiresae, which was recovered as the sister clade of the new Guiana Shield lineage, by examining 361 specimens from French Guiana, Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Our results revealed a distinct combination of diagnostic characters that supports the description of specimens displaying the third Guiana Shield lineage as a new species. The new species is also distinct from A. copii surinamensis that we retain under a synonym of A. angulatus after examination of all species of the angulatus group and by considering updated diagnostic characters. The new taxon described here increases the total number of known species of Alopoglossus to 15.

Morphology and DNA sequences are used to describe a new species of New Guinea Worm-Eating Snake (Elapidae: ToxicocalamusBoulenger, 1896) from Papua New Guinea: Toxicocalamus goodenoughensis n. sp., endemic to Goodenough Island of the D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago. Toxicocalamus goodenoughensis morphologically most closely resembles T. pachysomusKraus, 2009, but it differs by having undivided nasal scales completely surrounding nares (vs. divided), pale yellow markings on supralabials (vs. purple), a yellow nape band (vs. unbanded uniform nape), a dark gray-brown dorsum (vs. medium brown), dark brown mottling on yellow ventral scales, darkening toward cloaca (vs. uniform light brown), and >175 ventral scales. Phylogenetically, T. goodenoughensis is sister to another D'Entrecasteaux endemic, T. nigrescens Kraus, 2017. Coalescent-based species delimitation found the new species to be uniquely delimited from all other taxa (n = 13) in all combinations of parameters settings. Micro-computed tomography (lCT) scanning revealed the presence of distinctive variation in postfrontal bone morphologies, with three morphotypes exhibited within the genus: directed forward, directed lateral/perpendicular to cranium, and absent. Toxicocalamus goodenoughensis was found to have a sickle-shaped and directed forward postfrontal bone. The directed forward morphotype was shared by T. loriae clade 3 (sensu Strickland et al., 2016), T. mintoni, T. nigrescens, and T. pachysomus. Our work is the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the genus and the first study using lCT scanning for comparative morphology of Toxicocalamus. We also provide an updated dichotomous key for the genus.