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56 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2008

Prescribed Fire and 
the Herpetofauna of Mississippi 

Pine Savanna
Few of us have not encountered Smokey
the Bear and his anti-fire message over
the years. Research over the last few
decades, however, consistently shows that
fire is important to many ecosystems,
and that preventing it leads to both eco-
logical consequences and more severe
fires. Because of the historical importance
of fire in some ecosystems, prescribed
burning has become a common and
important tool for ecosystem manage-
ment. The southeastern United States is
one of the most fire-dependent ecosys-
tems. However, past research has typi-
cally focused on plants, mammals, and
birds. Research in historic pine savanna
communities led to the conclusion that
frequent fire is necessary to prevent hard-
wood encroachment and remove under-
story vegetation associated with anthro-
pogenic fire exclusion. Little information
exists on the effects of prescribed burning
on amphibians and reptiles.

LANGFORD ET AL. (2007.
Herpetological Conservation and Biology 2:
135–143) examined the effects of a
restoration burn on an amphibian and
reptile community within a wet pine
savanna in Grand Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve and surrounding U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service’s Grand Bay
National Wildlife Refuge. Prescribed fire
was predicted to have a positive effect on

the herpetofaunal community. To test this
hypothesis, the authors recorded abun-
dance, species diversity, evenness, and
species richness of amphibians and rep-
tiles. They found 429 individuals and 29
species during the study period. Although
species diversity was equal between
burned and unburned treatments, the
authors found greater numbers in burned
than in unburned areas.

Climate Change and Lizards 
in the Genus Uma

Global climate change is likely to affect
diverse aspects of our lives over the next
century or more. Concerns are growing
about its biological impacts on other
species as well, including reptiles.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel

on Climate Change, the warming trend is
expected to continue at even higher rates
during the 21st century, and is likely to
affect species with higher environmental
specialization and more restricted distrib-
utional ranges. To address this,
BALLESTTEROS-BARRERA ET AL. (2007.
Journal of Herpetology 41: 733–740) stud-
ied two species of Fringe-Toed Lizards,
Uma exsul and Uma paraphygas, in
Coahuila, Mexico. Habitat conversion by
humans has had an impact on both
species, resulting in a reduction of popu-
lation sizes and leading to a high degree of
inbreeding. Both species exhibit low
genetic variation, reduced vagility, and
low effective population sizes.

Strong climatic changes are pro-
jected to occur in the central
Chihuahuan Desert, particularly in the
period 2020–2050. The combination of
anthropogenic habitat transformation
and climate change is expected to be
severe for both species. One model pre-
dicts a 40% reduction in the range of U.
exsul and 60% in that of U. paraphygas
by 2020. By 2050, the ranges of both
species are expected to be completely
eliminated. Both species may be extinct
in our lifetimes.

Fungal and Viral Pathogens 
in Costa Rican Amphibians

Amphibians are declining globally at rates
far above historical levels, leading to major
concerns about both the taxonomic group
and what its ongoing disappearance may
presage for other taxa. Two hypotheses for
enigmatic declines in Neotropical

C O N S E R V A T I O N  R E S E A R C H  R E P O R T S

CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS

Anthropogenic habitat transformations and climate change could result in a 40% reduction of
the range of Uma exsul by 2020.

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The Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus) was one species found only in Mississippi savanna
habitats that had been subjected to prescribed burns.

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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2008 57CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS

amphibians include disease and climate
change. One amphibian pathogen,
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (often
abbreviated Bd), has been detected at
many sites of declines, and is implicated as
the main cause of enigmatic Central
American amphibian declines. PICCO AND

COLLINS (2007. Journal of Herpetology 41:
746–749) examined amphibian declines
attributable to Bd, as well as another
implicated pathogen called “ranavirus,”
which has also been suspected to cause
amphibian population declines.

Bd was detected in amphibian pop-
ulations at two Costa Rican study sites
with histories of amphibian declines. Of
the 16 species tested in this study, five
(Hyla ebraccata, Centrolenella prosoblepon,
Hyla pseudopuma, Eleutherodactylus
underwoodi, and Duellmanohyla rufiocu-
lus) were positive for Bd infection.
Ranaviruses were not detected at either
study site.

Amphibians and Reptiles 
in Madagascar

Madagascar is a center of herpetological
diversity, but little research has been con-
ducted in the Montagne des Français.
D’CRUSE ET AL. (2007. Herpetological
Conservation and Biology 2: 87–99) sur-
veyed the amphibians and reptiles of the
area in order to document the geograph-
ical, ecological, and seasonal distribution
of the species found within the massif,
highlight the herpetological importance
of this area and reinforce the need for its

protection, and create an effective man-
agement plan. Research conducted over
one year consisted of four sampling peri-
ods (two wet and two dry seasons).

Of the 61 species found, 37 (61%)
occurred only in relatively undisturbed
forest. Human-dominated landscapes
contained only five species. Because most
of the species appear to be dependent on
undisturbed forest habitat, conservation
of this area is crucial.

Post-Nesting Migrations of
Leatherback Turtles

The Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys cori-
acea) has the largest geographic range of
any living marine reptile. Protecting these
turtles requires a better understanding of
their movement patterns. BENSON ET AL.
(2007. Chelonian Conservation and Biology
6: 150–154) tracked nine Leatherback
Turtles from one of the largest remaining
western Pacific Leatherback nesting
beaches in Jamursba-Medi, Papua,
Indonesia. Satellite-linked transmitters
were attached to nesting females to track
distances traveled over 111–695 days.
Turtles moved into tropical waters of the
Philippines and Malaysia, into the Sea of
Japan, and across the equatorial Pacific to
temperate waters off North America, pro-
viding the first record of a trans-Pacific
migration by a Leatherback. The longest
distance traveled by a single turtle was
12,744 miles. The track between New
Guinea and shelf waters off Oregon
(USA) may represent the longest known
migration between breeding and foraging
areas of any marine vertebrate.

The Golden Palm Treefrog (Hyla ebreccata, recently reassigned to the genus Dendropsophus) was
one of five of 16 sampled species that tested positive for the Chytrid Fungus (Batrachochytrium
dendrobatidis) in Costa Rica.

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Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) may complete extensive migrations in both the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

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The Panther Chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) is
one of only 16 (of 52) species recorded from
both relatively undisturbed forests and
anthropogenically disturbed habitats in
northern Madagascar.

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