UBAP staff present at theJoint Meeting of Ichtyhologists and Herpetologist

Members of the Illinois Natural History Survey’s Urban Biotic Assessment Program and Herpetology Lab recently attended the Joint Meeting of American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, and Herpetologists’ League in Austin, Texas from 12 July to 16 July 2017.  They presented on a variety of topics from rattlesnakes to darters and from wildlife disease to community changes.  The combined topics for presentations and posters were:

 

Presentations:

Baker, S. J., M. J. Dreslik, C. A. Phillips, and M. C. Allender. Impact of snake fungal disease on population viability.

Dreslik, M. J., C. E. Petersen, S. M. Goetz, J. D. Kleopfer, and A. H. Savitzky.  Factors affecting the movements of Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) from the mid-Atlantic coastal plain.

Low, K. M., M. C. Allender, C. A. Phillips, and S. J. Kimble. A ranavirus-associated mass mortality event in an Illinois amphibian community.

Ross, J. P., C. Y. Feng, and M. J. Dreslik. Evaluating reptile and amphibian passage gates using remote camera traps.

Sites, A. J., J. L. Sherwood, J. S. Tiemann, and M. J. Dreslik. Assessing the distribution of Iowa Darters (Etheostoma exile) in streams of northern Illinois.

 

Posters:

Baker, S. J., and M. C. Allender. Comparison of testing methods for snake fungal disease.

Dreslik, M. J., C. E. Petersen, S. M. Goetz, J. D. Kleopfer, and A. H. Savitzky. Spatial ecology of the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) from the mid-Atlantic coastal plain. View Poster

Sherwood, J. L., and J. A. Stein. Habitat and fish community changes in Champaign County, IL over the past 100 years.

Illinois team tackles mysterious disease afflicting wild and captive snakes

INHS scientists are collaborating to understand Snake Fungal Disease and its impacts on endangered snakes in Illinois. 

“We’re trying to protect an endangered species,” said INHS herpetologist and postdoctoral researcher Sarah Baker, a collaborator with Allender on several studies. “A lot of pit viper populations are declining – not only in Illinois, but nationwide. Snake fungal disease is just one more threat that they have to contend with, and anything we can do – to find effective treatments, for example, or disinfectants that stop people from spreading the disease from place to place – could make a difference for their long-term survival.”

Read complete article at the Illinois News Bureau