The following article is a guest post by Brian Folt. Brian is a Ph.D. student at Auburn University, where he studies the community ecology of amphibians and reptiles. He grew up in the Midwest and received a B.S. from Ohio University in 2011. Brian conducted field work in Costa Rica for his undergraduate thesis and is interested in future tropical ecology work. Brian is an avid hiker and a die-hard Cleveland sports fan.
At some point in the
late 1980s, Dr. James Lazell, a conservation biologist, found two strange
salamanders -- in a museum -- that were collected in 1964 near Bay
Springs, Mississippi, by the late naturalist Harold Jackson Ainsworth. The animals
resembled slimy salamanders of the genus Plethodon…. But these two were different.
Compared to other slimy salamanders, the specimens had more elongate bodies,
shorter limbs, and lacked a color pattern. Surely, Lazell thought, these were
something different, a new species.
Throughout
the 1990s, Dr. Lazell undertook efforts to find more individuals of the purported
species. Alone or with colleagues, Lazell visited and searched the site (at
least 15 times!) where the two specimens were originally collected. They used
various searching methods but were ultimately unable any
additional animals.
Dr.
Lazell consulted colleagues at various herpetological meetings: some were
impressed and encouraged him to write a new species description, but others
were skeptical, as the specimens were poorly preserved. Despite the mixed
criticism, Lazell officially published his description in the journal Copeia
in 1998, formally naming the species Plethodon ainsworthi, in honor of
the man who collected the only two known individuals. At the end of the
description, Lazell urges the state of Mississippi to encourage future searches
for this species.
A Bird-voiced Treefrog (Hyla avivoca) found while searching for the Bay Springs Salamander. Their choruses can be deafening! |
Coming
into April 2012, Auburn University was undefeated in bioblitz competitions, a
point of pride among current and former Guyer lab members. However, as a first year student in the
lab and a rookie ‘blitzer, I was nervous to keep the streak alive. What if this
was the year that UGA would finally out-compete us? My name would surely be
shamed… With this healthy fear in mind, I rallied the troops, did the
background research, obtained the proper permits, and set out to search every
nook and cranny of Jasper County, Mississippi.
Pigmy Rattlesnake-my first! |
Unlike
Timber (Crotalus horridus) or Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Crotalus
adamanteus), pigmies are much smaller variety of rattler. This adult was no
longer than 30 cm in total length. In Alabama, they are a secretive species of
snake that is rarely seen, except during late summer and early autumn. Some
folks refer to them as the “September snake”, because the pigmies are most
commonly found that time of the year. Excited by recording a species that UGA
surely wouldn’t get, we continued on.
UGA often can't find many species because they're either too busy photographing the few animals they do see or checking in with their significant others |
A
theme of the trip was finding “sets”. Of species that probably occur in the
area, we successfully found all four species of skink, both species of brown
snake, and both species of earth snake. Sure, we found at least one species for
most genera in the area… But our ability to collect the “sets” is what
ultimately made our species list so formidable.
Although
the atmosphere of the Spring 2012 Bioblitz was largely competitive, we did team
up with the UGA gang to target Plethodon ainsworthi. After the
charismatic Todd Pierson, the UGA master chief, obtained us
landowner permission, we searched the type locality (the site where the only
two known specimens were collected), both during the day and at night. The type
locality (a series of connected springs in forest that was previously harvested but is now growing back) was home to a number of amphibian and reptile species. But, alas, we didn’t
find any Bay Springs Salamanders either here or at other good-looking springs nearby.
The spring 2012 Bioblitzers L to R: Danny, Todd, Jeff, Brian, Sean, Jeff. Not pictured is David L. Great job, fellas! |
The
Guyer laboratory at Auburn University gladly welcomes future Bioblitz
challenges. And while we didn’t rediscover Plethodon ainsworthi in the
Spring 2012 ‘blitz, we did find an amphibian species new to the state of
Mississippi. More to come on that in the future.
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Want to learn more? Check out these articles:
Lazell, J. (1998). New Salamander of the Genus Plethodon from Mississippi Copeia, 1998 (4) DOI: 10.2307/1447343
Graham, S., Steen, D., Nelson, K., Durso, A., & Maerz, J. (2010). An Overlooked Hotspot? Rapid Biodiversity Assessment Reveals a Region of Exceptional Herpetofaunal Richness in the Southeastern United States Southeastern Naturalist, 9 (1), 19-34 DOI: 10.1656/058.009.0102
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Want to learn more? Check out these articles:
Graham, S., Steen, D., Nelson, K., Durso, A., & Maerz, J. (2010). An Overlooked Hotspot? Rapid Biodiversity Assessment Reveals a Region of Exceptional Herpetofaunal Richness in the Southeastern United States Southeastern Naturalist, 9 (1), 19-34 DOI: 10.1656/058.009.0102
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