Herpdigest Volume # 9 Issue #54 12/6/09

HerpDigest.org: The Only Free Weekly Electronic Newsletter That Reports on The Latest News on Herpetological Conservation, Husbandry and Science
Volume # 9 Issue #54 12/6/09
Publisher/Editor- Allen Salzberg
________________________________________________________________________
2010 FULL COLOR TURTLE CALENDAR $13.99 Plus $6.00 S&H- (Few Left not re-ordering)
__________________________________________________________________
"TURTLES: THE ANIMAL ANSWER GUIDE." By Whit Gibbons and Judy Greene
of the Savannah River Ecology Lab. © 2009 176 pages, 35 color photos, 64 halftones, Paperback., 7" x 11"-$24.95 PLUS $6.00 S&H (Limited number of autographed copies left)
______________________________________________________________________
Table of Contents
1) Japanese zoo donates 6 giant salamanders to Smithsonian
2) The Londonist, 12/5/09
3) Strafford Man Fined For Selling Protected Turtles
4) Florida Python Hunts To Be A Year-Round Effort
5) Popular Herbicide (Atrazine) Affects Sexual Development in Frogs, Research Finds
6) New N.C. Laws on Reptiles
7) As Sales Vanish, Skins Stay on Alligators (Alligator Farming Business Crashes)
8) Can Murals Save Turtles?

________________________________________________________________________
"THE FROGS AND TOADS OF NORTH AMERICA" is an amazing book.
It contains:
A CD of all 101 species found in US & Canada./Almost 400 great color photos
101 color location maps /In just 344 pages.
Books this comprehensive usually go for at least $50.00.to &75.00. Or just $19.95 for the
CD. But the publisher is offering it  JUST FOR $19.95 Plus 7.50 S&H.(See below on how to order)
________________________________________________________________________
1) Japanese zoo donates 6 giant salamanders to Smithsonian
HIROSHIMA - 12/5/09

Six rare and highly protected Japanese giant salamanders bred and raised at the Asa Zoological Park in Hiroshima City will be sent Monday to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, officials of the two zoos said Friday.

The huge amphibians-two 19-year-old females and four 11-year-olds comprising two of each sex-were all born at Asa, the only zoo in the world where the species has been successfully bred on a regular basis.
______________________________________________________________________
2) The Londonist, 12/5/09

The Saturday Strangeness (excerpt - editor, Interesting, to show how clean the Thames is they mention two ialien species - turtle has to be a snnaper. (Chelydra)

The River Thames was once so polluted that it harboured little life. Now, the river is said to be so clean that many species of creature are said to lurk in its depths. Over the years reports of whales have made national news. Seahorses have also found their way to the waterway, whilst on rare occasions leather-back turtles and walking cat-fish have also been discovered. Certainly the last big fish to have been caught in the Thames were the sturgeon and more recently a Wels catfish, but there is one obscure rumour that a shark was once caught!
_____________________________________________________________________________
3) Strafford Man Fined For Selling Protected Turtles
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 4:
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Springfield News-Leader) - A Strafford turtle breeder has been fined $5,000 for selling a protected Missouri turtle species to Japan.

Prosecutors say 51-year-old John F. Richards is the owner of Loggerhead Acres Turtle Farm. He was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Springfield for unlawful exportation of protected turtles.

In 2004, federal and state investigators found Richards was commercially raising Missouri native species such as Mississippi map turtles, Ouachita map turtles, river cooters and alligator snapping turtles.

Richards was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2008 on four counts of violating the Lacey Act, a federal wildlife protection law. He pleaded guilty in May.
___________________________________________________________________________
4) Florida Python Hunts To Be A Year-Round Effort
December 4, 2009, Los Angles Times

Florida wildlife officials have announced that the state-sanctioned hunting of Burmese pythons will be resumed in January and will be a year-round effort.

The four-month pilot hunting program ended in October, with 39 of the invasive species captured.

Snake owners who released pythons when they became too large to manage are believed largely responsible for this troubling phenomenon. The snakes, which are reproducing in the wild, have become a threat to native wildlife.

"We were able to collect some initial data during the first phase of this program that will help us determine the extent of the population on state-managed land," Scott Hardin, exotic species coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a news release.

Applications are required and only qualified applicants will be approved. Florida residency is a must, as is possessing a reptile-of-concern permit plus experience in capturing and handling the snakes and knowledge of euthanizing reptiles.

The constrictors can measure 18 feet long and weigh 160 pounds, and wildlife officials say they could number in the tens of thousands in the South Florida region -- mostly in the Everglades.

"We want to continue allowing experts out there to ensure this exotic species does not spread any farther north in Florida," added Hardin.
_____________________________________________________________________________
5) Popular Herbicide (Atrazine) Affects Sexual Development in Frogs, Research Finds

ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2009) - The controversy surrounding the unintended effects of herbicide and pesticide use has intensified as researchers from the University of Ottawa's Department of Biology have identified that atrazine, a heavily-used herbicide, alters the sexual development in frogs.

There have been numerous scientific and journalistic reports on the detrimental effects of herbicides, including atrazine, yet investigations by other research teams report no adverse effects of the popular herbicide.

In an attempt to help resolve differences between the various reports, Dr. Vance Trudeau and his team at the University of Ottawa's Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics developed a system to evaluate the effects of a commercial formulation of atrazine. Specifically, PhD student Valérie Langlois applied it to outdoor tanks where tadpoles of leopard frogs were kept for an entire spring and summer. Under these semi-natural conditions in mesocosms, the levels of atrazine were low and comparable to those measured in the Canadian environment.

At the end of the summer, the results showed that atrazine levels in the tanks were at levels within currently acceptable guidelines. However, researchers also found that the herbicide reduced the number of tadpoles reaching the froglet stage. Also noteworthy was that atrazine had a feminizing effect on the animal, resulting in sex ratios favouring females, with a reduced number of males.

This study, recently available online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, raises important questions about the level of atrazine in the environment, and its negative effects on animal development.

Atrazine is one of the top selling herbicides used worldwide and was designed to inhibit weed growth in cornfields. It is so widely used that it can be detected in many rivers, streams and in some water supplies. This has raised the alarm on the possibility of other serious detrimental environmental effects.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Ottawa.
__________________________________________________________________________
6) New N.C. Laws on Reptiles
by Gary D. Robertson, AP 12/1/09

RALEIGH - People who own crocodiles, venomous snakes and large pythons in North Carolina must secure them in containers and face prosecution if the reptiles gravely attack a friend or stranger in legislation that takes effect Tuesday in North Carolina.

The minimum safety requirements for keeping dangerous reptiles are designed to update an abridged 60-year-old reptile law, said Andrew Wyatt of Coinjock, president of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers. Increasing numbers of people now own these reptiles as a pet or for business who aren't linked to zoos or museums.

"People that want to work with these type of animals are going to have to meet best industry management practices," said Wyatt, who helped draft the state legislation sponsored by Sen. Ed Jones, D-Halifax. "They're going to have to step up to the plate to make sure that all the proper protocols are adhered to."

Private owners now will have to store or transport venomous reptiles, large constricting snakes and nonnative crocodilians in "escape-proof" and "bite-proof" enclosures with a working lock. The enclosures must be labeled to include emergency contact information and what should happen if the reptile bites someone or escapes.

Someone who intentionally or negligently handles these reptiles in an unsafe manner could be charged with a misdemeanor. The owner could face up to 150 days in jail if someone besides a family member or employee suffers a life-threatening injury or dies as a result. A current owner who doesn't want to follow the new rules also could face a similar punishment if the person releases a nonnative reptile into the wild, instead of finding a new owner.
________________________________________________________________________
7) As Sales Vanish, Skins Stay on Alligators (Alligator Farming Business Crashes)
RACELAND, La.11/30/09 by Campbell Robertson, New York Times

After five years, Tommy Fletcher and his alligator farming business are facing irreconcilable differences.
"It's like a marriage," he said. "It was a bumpy road, and then all of a sudden it was over."
The alligator industry makes for an odd mix of hardy men on the bayou who smoke Camels and drive crumbling pickup trucks, and Paris and New York fashion setters who consider it reasonable to spend $12,000 on an alligator-strap watch.
This peculiar relationship worked well enough for decades, but it has soured as of late. Last year Louisiana farmers, who produce most of the world's alligator skins, collected over 500,000 eggs from the wild. This year, for the first time, most farmers did not pick up any.
The economy is the lead culprit. Since the fall of 2008, even wealthy customers have begun balking at the price of alligator skin products, which can range from the expensive to the wildly expensive. Bumper crops in previous years, people in the industry say, left an oversupply just as the luxury market began to falter.
But some farmers insist that the newfound frugality of the Gucci set cannot by itself explain the absolute washout of the alligator business. More than a few are beginning to blame the practices of executives in the European fashion business.
"How can this industry fall out so quickly?" Stephen Bonnecarrere asked while tossing live alligators into bins at his father-in-law's farm outside Houma. "It happened too fast."
Since the 1980s, the State Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has worked with farmers to maintain the state's alligator population, estimated at one million to two million.
Alligator farming is hard, messy, costly work, and the lifestyle could not be further from that of the eventual Bergdorf Goodman shopper browsing for a pair of alligator skin loafers. Farmers, often in father-son teams, mark alligator nesting sites from helicopters, then go into the swamps by boat to gather the eggs, fending off mama gators with a pole. (By law, 12 percent of the grown alligators are returned to the wild.)
The landowners are paid for the eggs, and it is expensive to raise an alligator once hatched. The big ones - those that could end up as lavender handbags - tend to bite one another, making the skins worthless. So roughly 9 of 10 alligators reach their demise when they are only about four feet long.
Stolid men wade into shallow tanks and pull the alligators out by hand. Biting happens. After the gators are killed with a stab to the brain, they are skinned and sorted: heads and claws for the French Quarter souvenir shops, meat for the Cajun restaurants, guts for turtles, dogs or anything else whose tastes run that way.
For decades, the skins would be sold to 10 or 15 independent, often family-owned tanneries around the world that specialized in reptile skin, or so-called exotics. The prices were generally good, even generous. Some farmers, the ones that ran big operations, made millions of dollars.
The tanneries in turn would sell to the high-end fashion houses like Cartier, Hermès and Gucci, and from there the alligator would end up wrapped around someone's wrist.
But things changed. In the mid 1990s, Hermès began buying tanneries and, as of a couple of years ago, became the largest player in the exotic tannery business.
Hermès bought aggressively from the farmers, and is still buying, though recently at prices far lower than in the past and lower even than the price of raising an alligator. All of this could be attributed to a very bad market. Luxury watch sales, on which the farmers are hugely dependent, are off by as much as 25 percent. But farmers look at the situation and say something does not add up.
While the tanneries are offering farmers little for their raw product, citing the recession, fashion houses are complaining about the astronomical prices for tanned hides. Many labels are giving up and moving away from alligator altogether, and well-known luxury brands like Manolo Blahnik say it is increasingly difficult to make a profit on such an expensive product.
"Every time I go to Neiman Marcus and say every year the price is going up, they fight me tooth and nail," said George D. Malkemus III, the president of Manolo Blahnik. "They say, 'I'm not going to spend $4,000 for an alligator shoe.' "
If alligator is still popular but is simply unaffordable, asked Zachary Casey, who until three years ago owned one of the largest farms in the state, why are thousands of the reptiles sitting unwanted in Louisiana? And why have prices for the raw product dropped so low? He says Hermès is hoarding the skins, forcing other fashion houses to pay dearly and leaving the farmers with few other options.
Caroline Schwartz-Mailhe, a spokeswoman for Hermès, said in an e-mail message that the company bought only about a third of the skins produced in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, far from a monopoly. Ms. Schwartz-Mailhe added that the continued aggressive buying from farmers was a way "to support them in these difficult times and to respond to Hermès' increasing development in alligator skins."
Recent signs suggest that the luxury market is rebounding, at least somewhat. But some of the smaller farms simply will not make it.
Mr. Fletcher has been losing $15,000 a month on his little farm off the highway here near Raceland, about 50 miles southwest of New Orleans. He found a python and a loggerhead turtle and is considering opening a roadside zoo for tourists. But the plan of making it big in alligators, which once seemed like a good idea, has left him heavily in debt.
"I guess it's like being married to Miss America," Mr. Fletcher said. "You get all the benefits of the hugs and kisses, but she's mighty high maintenance."
______________________________________________________________________
8) Can Murals Save Turtles?
12/1/09 -From  The School for Field Studies http://bit.ly/8c3Un6

Murals depicting marine life can be found in most towns on the Baja
peninsula in Mexico - on restaurant walls, the façades of schools, or the
sides of gas stations. What were once drab, white block walls now feature
large illustrations of endangered sea turtles in a variety of scenes: a
grinning anthropomorphic turtle recycling a bag of plastics, a bale of
turtles feeding on shrimp; a group of citizens releasing "Adelita," a famed
local equipped with a transmitter to track her migration. In nearby
Magdalena Bay, their real-life counterparts slice and row through the waters
of their breeding ground with large teardrop shaped shells, rubbery
flippers, and little, blunt heads. These endangered turtles are the flagship
species of conservation in Baja and murals act as tools of a larger movement
to protect marine flora and fauna.

How does a college student with a combined major in art history and
environmental studies make use of this phenomenon? Alyssa Irizarry, a senior
at Tufts University, used hers to create an award winning research project
while studying in Baja, Mexico last spring with The School for Field Studies
(SFS). Her pioneering project Imaging Conservation: Sea Turtle Murals and
their Affect on Communities' Environmental Consciousness and Behaviors in
Baja California Sur, Mexico, which won her the School's Distinguished
Student Researcher Award, not only broke ground in academic circles but also
reinforced the mission of this conservation movement in Mexico.

Irizarry set out to discover just how much of an impact these murals make on
local awareness, opinions, and actions in regard to conservation. Her
project contributed to a component of the SFS Center for Coastal Studies'
Five Year Research Plan, which investigates the outcomes of the sea turtle
conservation movement in Baja California Sur. Under the direction of SFS
professor A.J. Schneller, she sought to better understand how this medium
works as an effective means of developing local awareness of an
environmental issue, which could in turn incite community behavior change.
Complementary to the School's scientific methods, her work posed the
question, "Can the artist as well as the scientist make a contribution to
toward developing this environmental ethic?"

Public murals throughout Mexico's history have not always been utilized as a
tool for environmental conservation. Nor have they always been designed to
be purely aesthetic. In her paper Irizarry outlined a history of public art
in Mexico as a platform for protest and social commentary. Jose Guadalupe
Posada, whose early 20th century prints, often depicting skeletons living
the high life with fancy hats and drinks in hand, not only mocked bourgeois
attitudes in a time of social strife but also conveyed ideas that were both
accessible and easy to understand by the general public. Irizarry cites
McCaughan (2000) who said that public art can be a "function of democracy
inspiring public debate and a sense of entitlement among broad sectors of
the population." She argues that sea turtle murals can be used as a powerful
tool to transmit conservation ideals as well as bring together a community
that may be conflicted.

Indeed, the sea turtle has acted as an icon of conflicting cultural values
throughout Baja's recent history according to Irizarry. Since Spanish
colonization, sea turtle meat has been heralded as an important food item
which continues to present day. Beginning in the mid 1900s, they were
commercially harvested in Baja for trade in the international market.
Overexploitation caused the collapse of turtle populations in the 1980s.
Despite a federal ban in the 1990s on the extraction, capture, and pursuit
of all sea turtle species, their consumption remains an important cultural
tradition in many communities. Furthermore, economic activity of Baja
depends on marine resources and fishing, in spite of decreasing productivity
and overexploitation. Irizarry's survey responses, however, show a trend
that indicates a shift away from the consumption of sea turtles and the
"increase in the desire to care for them." Sea turtles are becoming an icon
of preservation rather than nutrition.

The seeds of preservation were initially planted in community consciousness
with the formation of Grupo Tortuguero in 1999, a marine conservation
organization with the goal of enhancing public cooperation and participation
through a community-based, grassroots model. The group is made up of
concerned fisherman, scientists, and NGO representatives from acrossNorth
America. Grupo Tortuguero has received international attention and has led
to the formation of other community groups around Mexico, all encouraging
civic engagement in the protection of Baja's marine resources. The sea
turtle, their flagship species, is used as a visible community icon of their
message in various creative outlets including murals, comic books, videos,
and posters.

All of Irizarry's surveys results from town showed that exposure to sea
turtle murals are especially effective in developing pro-environmental
consciousness and possible action. As Irizarry states in her paper, "It is
unknown whether or not the actions are realized, but sea turtle murals can
provide the motivation for community discussion and participation in turtle
conservation." Students and adults alike responded that their behaviors were
affected beyond the initial attraction to the mural's aesthetic qualities. A
substantial number of students reported that sea turtle murals were a strong
reminder to the plight of the species. Irizarry attributes this to existing
knowledge on sea turtles arising from exposure to environmental education in
schools and suggests that viewing the murals reinforces the message.

Irizarry's research project provides both a fresh contribution to academia
of art history and environmental studies and a rural Mexican community with
meaningful information. In discussing a future career she says, "Ideally, I
would love to do environmental education with children or young adults using
art. I think encouraging an environmental ethic at a young age is critical
if we want an environmentally conscious future generation, which we
undoubtedly need. Art can be a way to get students to think outside of the
box, see the environment from a different perspective, and build
appreciation for it."

What does a college student with an award winning project on murals and sea
turtle conservation under her belt do next? After graduation from Tufts,
Irizarry hopes to intern at the SFS Center for Coastal Studies in Baja where
she will continue her mural research in secondary schools.
_______________________________________________________________________
HerpDigest Inc. is a non-profit, 501 (c) (3), corporation that publishes the electronic weekly newsletter called HerpDigest and runs the website under the URL www.herpdigest.org

The editor reserves all rights to decide what should be included in these publications. Publication does not indicate endorsement or accuracy of any article or book included, sold or mentioned. It is up to the reader to make that determination. All copyrighted material is rewritten or excerpted to pass the fair use law or permission has been given for HerpDigest to use.  Since the editor can't guarantee the accuracy of the articles, HD, Inc. is not liable for anything said in an article. Documented corrections of an item included in HerpDigest will be considered for posting as a "Letter to the Editor. No Back Issues are available. No issues in print are available. If you have any suggestions, articles or announcements you wish to see posted in HerpDigest please contact the editor at asalzberg@herpdigest.org
__________________________________________________________________
You are receiving HerpDigest because through your own request, which was confirmed by HerpDigest by email. If you wish to stop receiving HerpDigest just contact asalzberg@herpdigest.org and your subscription will be terminated immediately
________________________________________________________________
If you have any questions or complaints please send them directly to us at asalzberg@herpdigest.org  And you'll receive a response or acted on immediately.
________________________________________________________________________
Sales From All Items Advertised In HerpDigest Goes Directly To Keep HerpDigest.org Free, Alive And An Independent Voice In The World Of Herpetology. HerpDigest.org Is A 501 © 3 Non-Profit Organization. So Donations Are Of Course Gratefully Accepted.
________________________________________________________________________

Still available:

2010 FULL COLOR TURTLE CALENDAR $13.99 Plus $6.00 S&H

THE COMPLETE NORTH AMERICAN BOX TURTLE
Carl J. Franklin, and David C. Killpack with foreword by C. Kenneth Dodd (who wrote the now classic "Natural History of North American Box Turtles"
Just published. 260 Pages  Over 300 full color photos and illustrations.
Hardcover, Eco/Serpent's Tales
Only $49.95 plus $7.50 S&H, lowest price on net
Not even Amazon who are offering it for $59.95.


THE TURTLES OF U.S. & CANADA by Carl Ernst and Jeffrey Lovich, 2009, 840 pp. 240 color photos, 11 line drawings, 52 maps, 8 ½" X 11
Two autographed copies left at list price $95.00
Non-autographed copies on sale for $75.00
($6.00 for S&H sent media mail, delivery confirmation)

THE ECOLOGY, EXPLOITATION AND CONSERVATION OF RIVER TURTLES
by Don Moll and Edward O. Moll. Considered by turtle scientists, and conservationists as one of the best books on turtle conservation. 420 pages; 90 halftones & 3 line illus.; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4; List price $80, now $30.00 plus $7.50 S&H.(3 copies left at this price)

"THE BIOLOGY OF BOAS AND PYTHONS"
Edited by R.W. Henderson and R. Powell
2007,Eagle Mountain Publishing,
448 pages, 30 chapters by 79 authors, over 200 color photographs, maps, figures, and drawings, Table of Contents available,  $100.00 PLUS $7.50 For S&H.

LIZARDS OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST, (Includes 5 Mexican States) edited by Lawrence Jones and Robert Lovich,  560 pages, Rivo Neuvo Publishers, Tucson, AZ, Over 400 color photos, Covers all 96 species found in the American Southwest.  Seventy-Seven experts on these lizards contributed to this book making it the most comprehensive guide to Lizards of the Southwest. An amazing bargain at only $24.95 Plus $7.50 for shipping and handling in the U.S. (autographed copies available) (see below on how to order)

AMPHIBIAN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION: A HANDBOOK OF TECHNIQUES (TECHNIQUES IN ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION) (Paperback) by C. Kenneth Dodd Jr. (Editor) 556 pages, USA, Oxford Univ. Press. Available. $59.95 plus $7.50 S&H LIMITED NUMBER AUTOGRAPHED COPIES, By editor Kenneth Dodd
Table of Contents Available, Chapter one available, free at http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/13/9780199541188_chapter1.pdf

On how to order see below

(IF YOU ARE OVERSEAS -WHICH INCLUDES CANADA AND MEXICO-EMAIL US FIRST FOR SHIPPING COSTS.).
*********************************************************************
TO ORDER:

ATTENTION ----- IF USING A CCARD WE NOW NEED THOSE THREE LITTLE NUMBERS ON THE BACK OF THE CARD TO PROCESS YOUR ORDER.

1) Send a check to Herpdigest/Allen Salzberg/67-87 Booth Street -5B/Forest Hills, NY 11375. Make the check out to Herpdigest.

2) By Paypal - our account is asalzberg@herpdigest.org

3) By credit card, Master or Visa, Discover and Amex, only, send us your credit card number, expiration date, billing and shipping address to asalzberg@herpdigest.org. (Though I haven't heard of this happening, a credit card number stolen from an email, I'm told to prevent this send ccard number divided into two emails.)

And don't forget to include those 3 numbers from the back of the credit card.

4) By phone, call us at 1-718-275-2190 Eastern Standard Time (NYC) - Any Day Of The Week, 10 A.M.- 8 P.M. If not in, leave message and we'll call back.
________________________________________________________________________

AND DON'T FORGET HERPARTS.COM FOR THE PERFECT HERP GIFT.

ORDER NOW TO INSURE YOUR GIFT ARRIVES IN TIME FOR THE HOLLIDAYS