Herpetofaunal Habitat Management in Cambridge

Winter is the time of year in the UK when most amphibian and reptile habitat management is done. This is the case for pond work if great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) are known to inhabit an area, in order to comply with legislation. In regards to the other species, winter is a good time to…

Wildlife Friendly Gardening And Amphibians

Conservation at home aiding a global protection initiative in your own garden. Unfortunately, most of us know of the impending doom amphibians seem to be facing. For those of us who maybe don't, here is a sample of the doom which we as individuals can help change for them. Most experts in the field of…

Newt Mortalities On An Urban Cycle Path

Recently a paper I co-authored with a colleague was published in The Herpetological Bulletin, regarding smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) mortalities on an urban cycle path in central Cambridge. It's well known that roads can be detrimental to amphibian populations due to collisions with cars but this is the first time that amphibian mortalities have been…

Point Reyes

Over the holidays, Brandon and I visited the Point Reyes area. This area is just north of San Francisco along the Pacific coast of California. While there we spent time hiking around the Point Reyes National Seashore, Tomales Bay State Park, Samuel P. Taylor State Park, and areas in the town of Bolinas (including a…

Amphibians of SF Bay Area Workshop

Two weeks after working in Sonoma County (See Sonoma County Herping) I was back for a workshop. I attended the two-day Amphibians of the San Francisco Bay Area Workshop hosted by the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation. The first day was spent discussing sixteen amphibian species that occur in the SF Bay Area (see Table 1). We…

Sonoma County Herping

Earlier this month I had the pleasure (be it tired and long hours pleasure) of working in Sonoma County. The purpose of my job was to save any California red-legged frogs (CRLF, Rana draytonii) from potentially getting harmed during removal of equipment and supplies at a job site. If we saw a CRLF we were to…

Spring Salamander

Spring salamanders (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) range from southern Quebec to northern Louisiana. There are four recognized subspecies: northern spring salamander (G. p. porphyriticus), Blue Ridge spring salamander (G. p. danielsi), Carolina spring salamander (G. p. dunni), and the Kentucky spring salamander (G. p. duryi). Similar species are red salamanders and mud salamanders. Spring salamanders can be…

Slimy Salamander

The slimy salamander species complex ranges from New Hampshire to Florida to Texas. This species complex includes 13 species: western slimy salamander (Plethodon albagula), Chattahoochee slimy salamander (Plethodon chattahoochee), Atlantic coast slimy salamander (Plethodon chlorobryonis), white-spotted slimy salamander (Plethodon cylindraceus), northern slimy salamander (Plethodon glutinosus), southeastern slimy salamander (Plethodon grobmani), Kiamichi slimy salamander (Plethodon kiamichi),…

Codfish Creek Hike

Earlier in September Brandon and I went for a hike along the American River and Codfish Creek in the Auburn State Recreation Area in Placer County, CA. The main reason we picked this area was to hike a trail that led to the Codfish Creek Falls because where there are waterfalls there are usually amphibians. Unfortunately,…

Jordan’s Red-Cheeked Salamander

Jordan’s red-cheeked salamander, Plethodon jordani, exists only in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina. It is generally 3.5 to 5 inches long. They are completely black on the back and tail with plain grayish bellies. Their head shape is distinct with huge, buggish, black eyes. Their cheek patches are pink or red,…