The Midwest PARC PostSummer Newsletter 2009

of Midwest PARCwww.mwparc.org

IN THIS ISSUE

1. MWPARC Annual Meeting2. PARC 10th Anniversary3. Announcements4. MWPARC Chapters5. Unusual Find

2009 MW PARC MeetingMWPARC will meet at Howell Nature Center inHowell, MI on August 13-15, 2009. The themethis year is Collaboration: Identifying Hurdlesand Overcoming Them. Registration is available at: www.regonline.com/MWPARC_2009 Those wishing to present a poster at the meeting can do so using the registration website.Costs for attending the meeting are $75 for students and $135 for professionals, this cost includes housing and meals. Costs for the meeting for professionals staying off site are $85. Thursday will be devoted to a "Herpethon" (survey) of the Nature Center grounds, while Friday and Saturday morning will be devoted to the meeting. An optional fieldtrip Saturday afternoon to the ES George Reserve is also available.

Nominations sought for Co-chairNominations are currently being solicited for the position of Co-chair for Midwest PARC. Co-chairs serve for a two-year term and are responsible for directing the activities of the regional working group as well as serving on PARC's Joint National Steering Committee. Interested individuals should review the Co-chair Duties and Responsibilites document at: http://www.parcplace.org/documents/PARC_RWG_co_chairs_duties_FINAL.doc If you are interested in this position or making a nomination, please contact the current co-chairs. Election of a new co-chair will take place on the final day of the annual meeting.

Scholarships Available for MWPARC meetingTwo student scholarships will be offered to attend the 2009 MWPARC meeting. Greater consideration will be given to students enrolled in a Michigan school and be able to demonstrate monetary need to be able to attend the meeting. For more information, email David Mifsud at DMifsud@HerpRMan.com

2009 marks the 10th anniversary of Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation

Established in 1999 as one of the most ambi-tious, all-volun-teer conserva-tion partner-ships in the country, PARC brings together representatives of science and education, in-

dustry and commerce, state and federal gov-ernment, conservation societies, pet and field hobbyists, and the general public from across the US and including Canada and Mexico. PARC stands alone internationally as being the only effort to address the conservation of all amphibians and reptiles through partnerships that connect and complement existing efforts.

Over the past decade, PARC has come a long way in bringing people together and creating the tools and services that address the many challenges in amphibian and reptile conserva-tion. We have featured some of the great projects and the partners involved in our efforts in a commemorative brochure, available for download via the link below. We will also have a number of these in print available at up-coming meetings and for our partners.

http://www.parcplace.org/parc10years.htm

As part of our 10th Anniversary activities, and to better serve all of our members and part-ners, we are also re-initiating a quarterly newsletter to keep you updated on all that is happening in PARC. See the latest issue here:

http://www.parcplace.org/newsletters/PARCnewsletter2009-1.pdf

We thank you for your interest, enthusiasm, and the continued support that will help make PARC one of the foremost amphibian and reptile conservation partnerships in the world!

The Midwest PARC PostSummer Newsletter 2009

of Midwest PARCwww.mwparc.org

Malformation Mystery Solved?Biologist Stanley Sessions (Hartwick College, in Oneonta, NY), claims the mystery is solved. His latest findings, along with Brandon Ballengee (University of Plymouth, UK) show that dragonfly nymph predation is the cause for missing limbs. Depending on the stage of predation, some tadpoles are able to regenerate the eaten limb, but as they mature, they lose that ability and deformities occur. "Once they grab the tadpole, they use their front legs to turn it around, searching for the tender bits, in this case the hind limb buds, which they then snip off with their mandibles," says Sessions.

Sessions’s earlier findings showed that multi-legged frogs were the result of parasitic flatworms called Riberoria trematodes. A parasitic cyst forms in the limb bud causing the limb to grow malformed.

Sessions is careful to say that he doesn't completely rule out chemicals as the cause of some missing limbs. But 'selective predation' by dragonfly nymphs is now by far the leading explanation, he says. "Are parasites sufficient to cause extra limbs?," he asks. "Yes. Is selective predation by dragonfly nymphs sufficient to cause loss or reduction of limbs? Yes. Are chemical pollutants necessary to understand either of these phenomena? No."

Read more and see photos and a video of tadpole predation by a dragonfly nymph at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8116000/8116692.stm

Great Plains PARC We are gauging interest in the idea of creating a group within PARC that would work specifically on the conservation of Great Plains herpetofauna. Currently, PARC is organized into five working groups, one of which is the Midwest working group. You can see what the boundaries of these working groups are at http://www.parcplace.org/find_parc.html. (Just click on the map at the left-hand side of this webpage.) Those of us in the Great Plains fall into the Midwest regional working group (see www.mwparc.org), but recently some of us that are located in the Great Plains have been discussing the biological distinctiveness of Great Plains herps and the distinctly different conservation issues we face. The geographical distance involved has also prevented us from getting together regularly to talk about Plains herps and their conservation. For these reasons, we are considering forming some sort of subdivision within PARC (or Midwest PARC) to work on distinctive Great Plains herpetofaunal conservation issues. The nature of this group and its geographical boundaries have yet to be determined—it depends on who wishes to participate, and whether we can identify leadership and critical mass. If there is strong interest in forming a new group within PARC, we’d like to know if there are some people out there that are interested in taking a leadership role. One of us, Dan Fogell, is willing to co-lead this group, along with someone else. We’d like to know if there is a second person out there that might be willing to co-lead along with Dan (or two or more people willing to do it on their own, with assistance from us and others in PARC).

If you are interested, could you please e-mail us? Please tell us your level of interest by answering the following questions: Would you participate in regular meetings of a Great Plains group within PARC? if so, would you be willing to serve in a leadership role? Would you want to be part of a Great-Plains-specific e-mail listserv? Please send your replies to GPherps@gmail.com Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to working with you.

Dan Fogell, Southeast Community College,Lincoln NE Brian Smith, Black Hills State University,Spearfish SD

Greater Short Horned Lizard Phrynosoma hernandesiJuvenile found at Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, SD

Photo by Hugh and Holly Quinn, D.A.R.N.Dakota Amphibian and Reptile Network

www.dakotaamphibianandreptilenetwork.org

The Midwest PARC PostSummer Newsletter 2009

of Midwest PARCwww.mwparc.org

Michigan State Chapter of PARC Inaugural Meeting:Over 60 people representing 4 federal agencies, 5 local conservation groups, 3 county or local level management agencies, 2 consultants, 8 state level management divisions, 6 universities, one of the major car companies, and 2 zoos met at the Midland Center for the Arts on February 20th for the 1st

Annual Michigan Herpetological Symposium to talk about herps and to kick off the new MIPARC state chapter.

Attendees discuss herp conservation issues.

The meeting started with a series of talks that reviewed the status of herps in Michigan; the kinds of research happening in the state; a review of what PARC is and does; and an overview of the trends of herp conservation in Michigan. The afternoon breakout sessions covered three very general topics: Management, Education, and Research. Attendants joined the group of their choice and each group identified and prioritized the top issues in Michigan related to the session topic. We found that, as with many states, some of the main issues related to education were the compilation and distribution of lesson plans to help teachers, a need to educate people keeping herps as pets, and the necessity to provide information to law enforcement about herps in general. In addition, the lack of exposure of “city folks” to herps was of concern to the group. Research and Management both identified a need to have a central repository for herp related data that is computer based and

easily accessible. They also recognized a deficiency in natural history data on many species in Michigan. In addition, the Research group identified raccoon control measures as an area of study that needed work, and the Management group requested a way to identify important habitats and populations in the state.

MIPARC wants to thank the Midland Center for the Arts for the generous donation of the meeting space, the Ann Arbor Natural Areas Preservation for use of the projector and the donation of the afternoon snack, Sue Sonntag for donating her catering services for lunch and the morning snack, and the Michigan DNR’s nongame fund, Michigan Sea Grant, and the City of Ann Arbor for their financial support. We would also like to thank Bill Flanagan, YuMan Lee, and Rachel Mifsud for moderating the afternoon sessions and Edi Sonntag and David Mifsud for all of their hard work in organizing this great meeting.

For more information, please visit http://mwparcinmi.ning.com/

2008 Farm BillFormer SWPARC Co-chair, Randy Gray, who was also the former National Biologist for the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), has created “The Field Guide to the 2008 Farm Bill for Fish and Wildlife Conservation” for broad application in the conservation community. This guide can be found online in an interactive format at: http://www.nabci-us.org/fbguidehome.htmRandy and colleagues will be updating this site as new information becomes available through policy changes and final rule making.

“Collaboration: Identifying Hurdles and Overcoming Them”

Register now for the 2009 Annual Midwest PARC meeting, to be held August 13-15 at the Howell Nature Center in Howell, MI. www.regonline.com/MWPARC_2009

The Midwest PARC PostSummer Newsletter 2009

of Midwest PARCwww.mwparc.org

An Unusual FindAlbino Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)

from a property near Kearney, Nebraska that has produced another albino as well as a couple of snakes that can only be described as "calico" - piebald, mostly

patternless with a LOT of white on them.

Photo by Jeff Parmlee

Upcoming Meetings

July 8-10 - Wetland Construction Workshop - Mark Twain National Forest, Potosi, MO More information at:http://parcplace.org/meeting%20-%202009.05.29b.pdf

July 18-20 -5th Snake Ecology Group meeting Donnelly, Idaho. The meeting details can be found at: http://www.projectorianne.org/SEG_5.html

July 22-27 The Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists will be held in Portland, Oregon.More information at: http://www.dce.k-state.edu/conf/jointmeeting/

Aug 5-8 - 7th Annual Turtle Survival Alliance Symposium on Chelonian Conservation and Biology St. Louis, MO More information at: http://www.turtlesurvival.org/

Aug 13-15 -Midwest PARC Annual MeetingHowell Conference and Nature Center, Howell, MIwww.mwparc.org/meetings/2009

Oct 9-11 -Midwest Herpetological SymposiumGeorgio’s Comfort Inn, Chicago, IL http://www.chicagoherp.org/mhs/

Contacting MW PARC Midwest PARC Co-Chairs

Greg Lipps 1473 Country Road 5-2 Delta, OH 43515 Greglipps@aol.com

To submit articles or meeting information to be considered for the

next quarterly MWPARC Post Newsletter, please contact the Co-chairs

listed below. Thank you.

Midwest PARC Advisory Board♦ Kent Bekker (The Toledo Zoo) ♦ Jeff Briggler (Missouri Department of

Conservation)♦ Bob Brodman (St. Joseph’s College, IN) ♦ Gary Casper (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Field Station) ♦ Rich King (Northern Illinois University) ♦ Bruce Kingsbury (Indiana University-Purdue

University Fort Wayne) ♦ Mike Lannoo (Indiana University-Purdue University

Indianapolis) ♦ David Mifsud (Herpetological Resource and

Management LLC, MI) ♦ Steve Mullin (Eastern Illinois University) ♦ Mike Redmer (US Fish and Wildlife Service, IL)♦ Kristin Stanford (Northern Illinois University and

OSU’s Stone Laboratory)

Karen Kinkead Iowa DNR Boone Wildlife Research Station1436 255th Street Boone, IA 50036Karen.Kinkead@dnr.iowa.gov