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Projects of the SREL Herpetology Program

Below is a list of projects under way in the Herpetology Division of the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. For each project, there is a description of the work under way, pictures (research sites, animals studied, etc.), links to the researchers involved and funding acknowledgments. You can also link to these projects through the home pages of the researchers involved in each project.

Current Projects...

• Impacts of Crab Trapping on Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) Populations of Kiawah Island, South Carolina (Principal Investigators: Mike Dorcas, J. D. Willson, Whit Gibbons)

• LEAP - Landuse Effects on Amphibian Populations (Betsie Rothermel, Brian Todd, Gabrielle Graeter, Brain Metts, and J. Whitfield Gibbons)

• Treefrog colonization of pools in altered forest habitats (Betsie Rothermel, R. D. Mahan [University of Missouri], D. J. Hocking [University of Missouri] )

• Factors influencing postmetamorphic survival of ambystomatid salamanders (Betsie Rothermel, K. J. Schlatter, Tom M. Luhring)

• Incidence of a fungal pathogen ( B. dendrobatidis ) in SE national parks (Betsie Rothermel)

• Using Stable Isotopes as a Marking Tool for Amphibians (David Scott, Betsie Rothermel, Melissa Pilgrim, and Chris Romanek)
   
• Terrestrial Distribution of Salamanders around an Isolated Wetland (David Scott, Dean Croshaw, and Mark Komoroski)
   
• Herps of the Southeast Virtual Walk  (An educational project for Student Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, SPARC -- managed by David Scott)
   
• Maternal transfer of mercury in Carolina diamondback terrapins (Aaliyah Green, Terry Norton, John Maerz, and Andrew Davis )

• Mercury contamination in turtles from the Asian food trade (Aaliyah Green, Kurt Buhlmann, and Cris Hagan)

• How much is enough? Evaluating herpetofaunal surveys in the southeastern United States using island biogeography. (J.D. Willson, M. Dorcas, T. Tuberville, and J. W. Gibbons).

• Herpetological Inventory of the Southeast Coastal Network National Parks (Tracey Tuberville, Mike Dorcas, J.D. Willson, and J. Whitfield Gibbons)

• Herpetological Inventory of Sumter National Forest (Brian Metts, Judy Greene, and Whit Gibbons)

• Intestinal and epidermal bacteria in developing anurans (Luke Fedewa)

• Just a bump in the road--snake responses to highways (Kimberly Andrews)

• Defensive behavior of selected crotaline species (Xavier Glaudas)

• Repatriation of Gopher Tortoises on the SRS (Tracey Tuberville, Whit Gibbons, Erin Clark, and Kurt Buhlmann)

• International Trade in US Snakes and Turtles (Bob Reed, Whit Gibbons, Tony Mills)

• The Rainbow Bay Long-term Amphibian and Reptile Study (David Scott, Brian Metts, Judy Greene, and Whit Gibbons)

• Enhancing Amphibian Biodiversity on Golf Courses through Use of Seasonal Wetlands (David Scott, Brian Metts, and J. Whitfield Gibbons)

• Determination of the Impact of Crab Trapping on Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) Populations of Kiawah Island, South Carolina (Principal Investigators: Whit Gibbons, Meg Hoyle)

• Environmental Risk Assessment and Cleanup on DOE Lands: Using tissue banks and turtles as biodetectors of contamination (J. Whitfield Gibbons and Judy Greene)

• Marbled Salamander Projects (Overview and "A Breeding Congress" (David Scott)

• Determining Significant Endpoints for Ecological Risk Analysis (Tom Hinton, Justin Congdon, Christopher Rowe, David Scott, J. Bedford, Ward Whicker)

• Sublethal Impacts of Coal-Derived Trace Elements on Amphibians, Reptiles, and Invertebrates (Bill Hopkins, Brandon Staub, Chris Rowe and Justin Congdon)

• Ova and Neonate Variation in the Southern Leopard Frog, Rana utricularia ( Mark J. "Komo" Komoroski)

• Adult Amphibian Migration and Neonate Dispersal (Mark J. "Komo" Komoroski)

Past Projects...

• A Large-Scale Experimental Approach to Determine the Effects of Coarse Woody Debris on the Species Richness and Relative Abundances of Amphibians and Reptiles on the Savannah River Site (Michael E. Dorcas, J. Whitfield Gibbons)

• How Dangerous Are Venomous Snakes in America? (Whit Gibbons, Michael E. Dorcas, Tony Mills, Kurt Buhlmann, Mark S. Mills)

• Ecology and Life History of the Brown Water Snake, Nerodia taxispilota (Mark S. Mills)

• Landscape Level Research on the Little Pee Dee River in South Carolina: Herpetofauna and Forest Management (Michael E. Dorcas, J. Whitfield Gibbons, Yale Leiden)