Bringing you the recent scientific advancements in the field of Herpetology.
Episodes
Jul 30, 2019
Jul 30, 2019
1 hr 12 min
Venom can be deadly, but not all venoms are created equal. They serve different purposes and have evolved for different reasons. In this episode we discuss a couple of new papers around the theme of venom, and finish off with a venomous new species for our Species of the Bi-week.
Main Paper References:
Goetz, S. M., Piccolomini, S., Hoffman, M., Bogan, J., Holding, M. L., Mendonça, M. T., & Steen, D. A. (2019). Serum-based inhibition of pitviper venom by eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi). Biology Open, 5.
Healy, K., Carbone, C., & Jackson, A. L. (2019). Snake venom potency and yield are associated with prey-evolution, predator metabolism and habitat structure. Ecology Letters, 22(3), 527–537. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13216
Species of the Bi-Week:
Captain, A., Deepak, V., Pandit, R., Bhatt, B., & Athreya, R. (2019). A new species of pitviper (Serpentes: Viperidae: Trimeresurus Lacepède, 1804) from West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Russian Journal of Herpetology, 26, 13.
Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:
Barlow, A., Pook, C. E., Harrison, R. A., & Wüster, W. (2009). Coevolution of diet and prey-specific venom activity supports the role of selection in snake venom evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276(1666), 2443-2449.
Malhotra, A., & Thorpe, R. S. (2004). A phylogeny of four mitochondrial gene regions suggests a revised taxonomy for Asian pitvipers (Trimeresurus and Ovophis). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 32(1), 83–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2004.02.008
Music:
Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson
Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com
Jul 16, 2019
Jul 16, 2019
1 hr 3 min
A slightly hap-hazard episode looking at some brave lizards facing down an ever present snake menace. Lizards have to stop nest raiding some-how and a couple of recent papers shed some light on how. We also have a well armoured Species of the Bi-week. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com
Main Paper References:
Pike, D. A., Clark, R. W., Manica, A., Tseng, H.-Y., Hsu, J.-Y., & Huang, W.-S. (2016). Surf and turf: Predation by egg-eating snakes has led to the evolution of parental care in a terrestrial lizard. Scientific Reports, 6(1), 22207. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep22207
Sherbrooke, W. C. (2017). Antipredator Nest Guarding by Female Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma): Iguanian Parental Care. Herpetologica, 73(4), 331–337. https://doi.org/10.1655/Herpetologica-D-17-00028.1
Species of the Bi-Week:
Avila-Pires, T. C., Nogueira, C., & Martins, M. (2019). A new ‘horned’’ Stenocercus from the highlands of southeastern Brazil, and redescription of Stenocercus tricristatus (Reptilia: Tropiduridae)’. Zoologia, 36, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3897/zoologia.36.e22909
Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:
Huang, W.-S., Greene, H. W., Chang, T.-J., & Shine, R. (2011). Territorial behavior in Taiwanese kukrisnakes (Oligodon formosanus). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(18), 7455–7459. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1101804108
Origgi, F. C., Schmidt, B. R., Lohmann, P., Otten, P., Meier, R. K., Pisano, S. R., ... & Gaschen, V. (2018). Bufonid herpesvirus 1 (BfHV1) associated dermatitis and mortality in free ranging common toads (Bufo bufo) in Switzerland. Scientific reports, 8(1), 14737. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32841-0
Willson, J. D., & Winne, C. T. (2016). Evaluating the functional importance of secretive species: A case study of aquatic snake predators in isolated wetlands. Journal of Zoology, 298(4), 266–273. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12311
Music:
Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson
Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com
Jul 2, 2019
Jul 2, 2019
1 hr 9 min
Salamanders are famous for being slippery and liking water, but we uncover some new and surprising elements in their ecology. Stay tuned for a Species of the Bi-Week that resembles a breakfast favourite.
FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com
Main Paper References:
Mezebish, T. D., Blackman, A., & Novarro, A. J. (2018). Salamander climbing behavior varies among species and is correlated with community composition. Behavioral Ecology, 29(3), 686–692. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ary022
Moldowan, P. D., Alex Smith, M., Baldwin, T., Bartley, T., Rollinson, N., & Wynen, H. (2019). Nature’s pitfall trap: Salamanders as rich prey for carnivorous plants in a nutrient‐poor northern bog ecosystem. The Scientific Naturalist, e02770. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2770
Species of the Bi-Week:
Sugawara, H., Watabe, T., Yoshikawa, T., & Nagano, M. (2018). Morphological and Molecular Analyses of Hynobius dunni Reveal a New Species from Shikoku, Japan. Herpetologica, 74(2), 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1655/Herpetologica-D-17-00002.1
Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:
Adams, D. C., & Rohlf, F. J. (2000). Ecological character displacement in Plethodon: Biomechanical differences found from a geometric morphometric study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(8), 4106–4111. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.97.8.4106
Other Links/Mentions:
Roberts, W. E. (1994). Explosive breeding aggregations and parachuting in a Neotropical frog, Agalychnis saltator (Hylidae). Journal of Herpetology, 193-199.
Stuart YE, Campbell TS, Hohenlohe PA, Reynolds RG, Revell LJ, Losos JB. 2014. Rapid evolution of a native species following invasion by a congener. Science. 346:463–466.
Music:
Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson
Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com