Herps of Texas is proud to announce the addition of two new curators, Chris Harrison (sandboa) and Gerry Salmon (gtsalmon). We desperately needed these expert herpetologists now that we are receiving over 1,000 observations per month (and on our way to 2,000 for the second month in a row).

Profiles of all of our curators can be found here:
http://www.inaturalist.org/people/cullen
http://www.inaturalist.org/people/gtsalmon
http://www.inaturalist.org/people/sandboa
http://www.inaturalist.org/people/toby
http://www.inaturalist.org/people/andygluesenkamp
http://www.inaturalist.org/people/caudisona

The primary role of project curators is to provide expert confirmation of identifications. This is extremely important for the inclusion of HoTX observations in data products used by TPWD (TXNDD, Wildlife Diversity, and Habitat Assessment programs, among others) as well as academic researchers, resource managers, conservation entities, and the public. Project curators validate observations based on evidence associated with the voucher (photo, audio recording, date, time, and location) and serve as ambassadors to the naturalist community. Welcome aboard, gentlemen!

The Snake Days Leaderboard went live on June 5th, and we already have 22 species. Any observation of a reptile or amphibian made in West Texas between June 5th and the 21st counts. Find the most species and win a cool prize!

http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/snake-days-leaderboard

Herps of Texas just topped 15,000 observations! Way to go, thank you to everyone that has posted to the project. May has been especially productive, already we have over 1,300 observations as of the 18th.

Keep up the good work, and if you want to see a leaderboard for 2015 follow this link:

http://bit.ly/HOTX2015

http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/user_stats?projects[]=herps-of-texas&d1=2015-01-01&d2=2015-12-31

The 2015 THS Spring Meet will be at Honey Creek State Natural Area (adjacent to Guadalupe River State Park) on April 24-26. There will be primitive camping available onsite (port-a-potties provided) and we will have access to over 2000 acres. No pets, firearms, removal of plants, animals, or natural objects is allowed. For more information, please visit the THS webpage at www.texasherpetologicalsociety.org or visit their FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-Herpetological-Society/538386902913193.

Due to flooding on Village Creek, the bioblitz has been rescheduled for May 1-3. We hope you can make it: http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/village-creek-bioblitz

We are organizing a BioBlitz on Village Creek in Hardin County from 27 March to 29 March. The event will be based in Village Creek State Park, but observations from anywhere in Hardin County will count. One team is going to paddle part of Big Thicket National Park on Saturday, and there is a limited number of kayaks available if you want to join. On the paddle, Andy Gluesenkamp is going to be checking turtle traps set the day before. To register and learn more about the event check out the following links:
http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/village-creek-bioblitz
https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/texas_nature_trackers/workshops/bioblitz/

Crawfish Frogs have already been detected in the Attwater area, and the next warm rainy night will be ideal for finding them. This is a priority species, and any observation is really helpful. Check out our blog post to see a map of historic and recent observations: http://texasbiodiversity.com/2015/02/03/texas-nature-trackers-spotlight-crawfish-frog-lithobates-areolata/

Twenty-one amphibian and reptile SGCN (Species of Greatest Conservation Need) occur in the portion of west Texas (Trans-Pecos) that encompasses TPWD District 1. The geographic immensity and remote nature of this region, its high biodiversity, and endemism stand in contrast to our relatively poor knowledge of its amphibian and reptile SGCN. Although the Texas Conservation Action Plan list of reptile and amphibian SGCN is lengthy, we have little current information for most species and our knowledge is largely limited to published accounts and range maps. Historically, the isolation and low population density of this region has likely served to buffer SGCN from threats occurring elsewhere. However, the recent boom in energy development and resulting urbanization and infrastructure expansion has dissolved this buffer and current information on the distribution and status of reptile and amphibian SGCN in this region is sorely needed. A primary objective of this effort is to obtain new or updated occurrence data for a target list of amphibian and reptile SGCN occurring in the Trans-Pecos of Texas.
Rapid innovation of digital imagery coupled with data collection tools (GPS) has the benefit of documenting species occurrence through relatively quick, non-disruptive/non-destructive means. Online data repositories, maintained and curated by local, regional, and national taxonomic experts, provide a means to upload, vet, and curate collected observational data. In 2013, TPWD, in collaboration with Texas A&M University and the University of Texas, launched the online Herps of Texas project through iNaturalist. Since its inception, that project has collected several thousand new amphibian and reptile locality records from the general public, academic researchers, non-governmental organization staff, and government personnel. Of those thousands of records, several hundred represent new locality records for several of Texas’ amphibian and reptile SGCN that have since been incorporated into the Texas Natural Diversity Database. Application of this technology to a remote and historically under-surveyed region of Texas has the potential to rapidly document new or updated occurrences of target reptile and amphibian SGCN. A list of target taxa can be found here:
http://www.inaturalist.org/lists/175135-SGCN-Herps-of-the-Trans-Pecos

Andy Gluesenkamp just posted on the challenge of evaluating the impact of commercial harvesting on freshwater turtle populations. This is another reason why your observations of freshwater turtles have value. You can read his post here: http://texasbiodiversity.com/2014/12/23/freshwater-turtles-importance-misconceptions-and-commercial-collection/

Come join the Turtle Survival Alliance at Comal Springs on November 7th, 8th, and 9th!

The North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group is the official North American research group for the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA). This project started in 1999 at a single site in Florida and has grown over the years to include 8 state parks / preserves in Florida, Comal Springs the largest freshwater spring in Texas, Horse Shoe lake in Tennessee a large 40 acre lake, with more sites to come. With sites being planned in Virginia and Pennsylvania. The group’s main focus is longterm population monitoring of freshwater turtle assemblages. Our goal is to study each site for ~25 years to see the changes in turtle populations and communities and to act as an early warning system if negative trends are observed. We capture all turtles observed in our sites by snorkeling or by trap. All turtles are marked with two methods. Standard morphometrics are taken and overall health and damage is noted.

To date we have individually marked ~8500 turtles and captured over 13,000 turtles between all of our sites. The 2015 season marks our 4th year at Comal. In the three years of study we have marked over 2,500 turtles of four species and have found some very interesting things in the process. The NAFTRG is a student / citizen science run volunteer organization. Our goal is to teach young students about population monitoring and the issues with turtle conservation. Anyone who is interested in volunteering with us can email the Principle Investigator Eric Munscher at emunscher@turtlesurvival.org.

http://www.turtlesurvival.org/get-involved/volunteer/north-american-freshwater-turtle-research-group#.VFI0CU1OWM8