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Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

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Showing posts with label HerpDigest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HerpDigest. Show all posts

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Table of Contents of Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7(1) - Special Mexico Issue


Provided by Herpdigest and ZenScienst.com

 Note: All of these articles are open access and available for download at ZenScientist.com
Contents:
Wilson LD. 2013. Preface Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7(1): i–ii.
Johnson JD, Porras LW, Schuett GW, Mata-Silva V, Wilson LD. 2013. Dedications. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7(1): iii–vi.
Wilson LD, Mata-Silva V, Johnson JD. 2013. A conservation reassessment of the reptiles of Mexico based on the EVS measure. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7(1): 1–47 (e61).
Porras LW, Wilson LD, Schuett GW, Reiserer RS. 2013. A taxonomic reevaluation and conservation assessment of the common cantil,Agkistrodon bilineatus (Squamata: Viperidae): a race against time. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7(1): 48–73 (e63).
Reiserer RS, Schuett GW, Beck DD. 2013. Taxonomic reassessment and conservation status of the beaded lizard, Heloderma horridum (Squamata: Helodermatidae). Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7(1): 74–96 (e67).
Wilson LD, Johnson JD, Mata-Silva V. 2013. A conservation reassessment of the amphibians of Mexico based on the EVS measure. Amphibian& Reptile Conservation 7(1): 97–127(e69).
Alvarado-Díaz J, Suazo-Ortuño I, Wilson LD, Medina-Aguilar O. 2013. Patterns of physiographic distribution and conservation status of the herpetofauna of Michoacán, Mexico. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7(1): 128–170(e71).
Also All previous issues of this journal have also been added to ZenScientist.com:

Friday, November 25, 2011

HERP DIGEST PRESENTS TURTLE TV

TURTLE TV is a "freaking hilarious" award winning 30 minute DVD compilation of excerpts from shows and events from a TV station run by turtles for turtles and their friends. - such as you? All shows star only turtles. Not a human to be seen

TURTLE MOVIES- - Star Wars - American Beauty - Blazing Saddles (Yep, that scene) King Kong (Yes the turtle climbs up the side of a skyscraper) and a wonderful excerpt from a hilarious turtle version of "It's a Wonderful Life." (I never thought I'd ever hear the "space time continuum" used as the punch line for a joke.)

TURTLE SPORTS-- the Turtle Hockey League, the Turtle Basketball League Turtle Drag Racing, even the Turtle Indy 500 (complete with a sensational crash).

TURTLE TV SHOWS- Turtle CSI, Turtle Cops and a turtle cooking show, which the main dish is a cricket cooked in sherry, or should be.

A turtle punk rock singer singing his unique version of "Deck the Halls"

Official turtle greetings from the station for Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanza.

All topped off with a special appearance by a former fake GOP Presidential candidate and NBC TV star.

What more can you want?

Guaranteed turtle TV fun and madness for 30 full minutes. The perfect gift for the holidays, birthdays, yourself. And only $15.00 each, which includes S&H anywhere in the U.S. Additional copies are $15.00 each S&H also included. Overseas contact us at asalzberg@herpdigest.org,


TO ORDER:

1) By check: send a check to Herpdigest/Allen Salzberg/67-87 Booth Street -5B/Forest Hills, NY 11375. Make the check out to Herpdigest.

2) By Paypal - our account is asalzberg@herpdigest.org (If you are not a member of Paypal you can still use Paypal if you have a credit card.)

3) By credit card, Master or Visa, Discover and Amex, only, send us your credit card number, expiration date, billing and shipping address to asalzberg@herpdigest.org. (Though I haven't heard of this happening, a credit card number stolen from an email, I'm told to prevent this send ccard number divided into two emails.)

And don"t forget to include those 3 numbers from the back of the credit card.

4) By phone, call us at 1-718-275-2190 Eastern Standard Time (NYC) - Any Day Of The Week, 11 A.M.- 6 P.M. If not in, leave message and we'll call back.

THERE IS A LIMITED NUMBER IN EXISTENCE AND HERPDIGEST HAS THEM ALL.

ORDER NOW, THAT LIMITED NUMBER IS SELLING OUT AS YOU READ THIS.

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO HERPDIGEST.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Creating a Successful Citizen Science Model to Detect and Report Invasive Species (Via Herp Digest)

JON: Although this is a Botanical paper, I thought that it was an interesting concept that could be adapted for animals...

Creating a Successful Citizen Science Model to Detect and Report Invasive Species by Travis Gallo and Damon Waitt BioScience 61(6):459-465. 2011 


Travis Gallo (tgallo@wildflower.org) is an ecologist, and Damon Waitt (dwaitt@wildflower.org) is the senior botanist, at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Damon Waitt is also the founder, creator, and current program director of the Invaders of Texas program. Travis Gallo is the program coordinator and runs the day-to-day operations of the program.

The Invaders of Texas program is a successful citizen science program in which volunteers survey and monitor invasive plants throughout Texas. Invasive plants are being introduced at alarming rates, and our limited knowledge about their distribution is a major cause for concern. The Invaders of Texas program trains citizen scientists to detect the arrival and dispersal of invasive plants in their local areas and to report them into an online, statewide mapping database. In order to test the value of citizen scientists' data, we compared Invaders of Texas citizen scientists' observations of Arando donax (giant reed) with previously recorded A. donax observations in Texas and found an increase in the reed's overall distribution. A comparison with observations from the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England, a similar citizen science program, confirmed that, given proper training, citizen scientists are able to detect and report invasive plants in their local areas, and the data they collect can be used by professional scientists.
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Saturday, June 18, 2011

CITES ANNOUNCEMENT FROM HERPDIGEST

CITES ANNOUNCEMENT FROM HERPDIGEST - USFWS Request Species Proposals for Consideration 16th Meeting Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

SUMMARY: USF&WS invites you to provide us with information and recommendations on animal and plant species that should be considered as candidates for U.S. proposals to amend Appendices I and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES or the Convention) at the upcoming sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16). Such amendments may concern the addition of species to Appendix I or II, the transfer of species from one Appendix to another, or the removal of species from Appendix II. Finally, with this notice, we also describe the U.S. approach to preparations for CoP16. We will publish a second Federal Register notice to solicit information and recommendations on possible resolutions, decisions, and agenda items for discussion at CoP16 and to provide information on how to request approved observer status.

DATES: We will consider all information and comments we receive on or before August 15, 2011. ADDRESSES: Send correspondence pertaining to species proposals to the Division of Scientific Authority; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive; Room 110; Arlington, VA 22203; or via e-mail to: CoP16species@fws.gov. Comments and materials we receive pertaining to species proposals will be available for public inspection, by appointment, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Division of Scientific Authority.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rosemarie Gnam, Chief, Division of Scientific Authority; phone 703-358- 1708; fax 703-358-2276; e-mail: scientificauthority@fws.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora, hereinafter referred to as CITES or the Convention, is an international treaty designed to regulate international trade in certain animal and plant species that are now, or potentially may become, threatened with extinction. These species are listed in the Appendices to CITES, which are available on the CITES Secretariat's Web site at http://www.cites.org/eng/app/ index.shtml.

Currently, 175 countries, including the United States, are Parties to CITES. The Convention calls for regular biennial meetings of the Conference of the Parties, unless the Conference decides otherwise. At these meetings, the Parties review the implementation of CITES, make provisions enabling the CITES Secretariat in Switzerland to carry out its functions, consider amendments to the list of species in Appendices I and II, consider reports presented by the Secretariat, and make recommendations for the improved effectiveness of CITES. Any country that is a Party to CITES may propose amendments to Appendices I and II, resolutions, decisions, and agenda items for consideration by all the Parties at the meeting.

This is our first in a series of Federal Register notices that, together with an announced public meeting, provide you with an opportunity to participate in the development of the U.S. submissions to and negotiating positions for the sixteenth regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP16). Our regulations governing this public process are found in Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at § 23.87.

For Rest of this announcement, it it long, full of information of what information you need to submit, history of CITEs, format, etc. email Rosemarie Gnam at scientificauthority@fws.gov or Allen Salzberg/Herpdigest at asalzberg@herpdigest.org

WOULD APPRECIATE A COPY OF ANY PROPOSAL YOU SUBMIT

Identifying plausible scenarios for the establishment of invasive Burmese pythons (Python molurus) in Southern Florida (Via Herp Digest)

Identifying plausible scenarios for the establishment of invasive Burmese pythons (Python molurus) in Southern Florida

Biological Invasions-Volume 13, Number 7, John D. Willson, Michael E. Dorcas and Raymond W. Snow
Contact: John Wilson, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Science, Virginia Polytechni Institute and State University, 100 Cheatham Hall, Nlacksburg, VA 2406, email wilsonj@vt.edu

Abstract
Successful invasions of secretive alien species often go unrecognized until spread has exceeded the point where control or eradication is feasible. In such situations, understanding factors that contributed to establishment can be critical to preventing subsequent introductions of previously-successful invaders or ecologically similar species. The Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus), a native to Southeast Asia, is abundant in the pet trade and is now well-established in southern Florida.

Although there can be little argument that the ultimate source of Florida pythons was the pet industry, there has been limited consideration of biological support for scenarios that may have lead to their establishment. In this study we use information on python capture rates and biologically-derived population growth models to evaluate the plausibility of various scenarios for python establishment. Our results indicate that scenarios involving relatively recent establishment (post-1990) require large numbers (100-1,000) of founders or unrealistically high juvenile survivorship. Intentional simultaneous release of large numbers of pythons is unlikely and accidental release of large numbers of founders is inconsistent with the spatial and temporal pattern of pythons captures in the region. We conclude that the most parsimonious scenario for establishment of pythons in Florida involves the release of a relatively small number of founders prior to 1985. Our results demonstrate that for pythons and other species with low inherent detection probabilities, early action during incipient phases of an invasion is critical and understanding likely introduction scenarios is important for preventing similar situations from occurring elsewhere or with other species.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

SPECIAL OFFER FROM HERPDIGEST

HerpDigest Special - For a Donation of only $20 (S&H is included.) Get "Diamonds in the Marsh: A Natural History of the Diamondback Terrapin." Yes, for only a $20.00 donation to HerpDigest, you can receive a copy of "Diamonds in the Marsh: A Natural History of the Diamondback Terrapin." hardcover, 219 pages, for free. S&H included. For a limited time only.

Editorial Reviews:

"A serious treatment of the natural history of one of the most beloved creatures of the Eastern Seaboard... well illustrated with photographs."--Natural New England Magazine

"A comprehensive natural history such as Diamonds in the Marsh is an invaluable tool in the study and conservations of a species, and can provide a solid foundation for future research, conservation, and management decisions. Brennessel effectively pulls together the bulk of literature on the diamondback and communicates it to the reader in a generally clear, uncluttered fashion so as to make it not only a resource for researchers, but also an interesting read for reptile aficionados."--Herpetological Review

"Useful for anyone interested in coastal species or reptiles."--Northeastern Naturalist

TO SEND IN YOUR DONATION:

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3) By credit card, Master or Visa, Discover and Amex, only, send us your credit card number, expiration date, billing and shipping address to asalzberg@herpdigest.org. (Though I haven't heard of this happening, a credit card number stolen from an email, I'm told to prevent this send ccard number divided into two emails.)

And don't forget to include those 3 numbers from the back of the credit card.

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