On this past Tuesday, April 22nd, members of the Northeast Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative joined together with employees from other branches of the USGS and the National Park Service to host a vernal pool education program for fifth graders from the Sidwell Friends School. USGS Director Chip Groat attended this event in which students learned about vernal pool habitats and their associated amphibians. Dr. Robin Jung led the tour groups with the assistance of technicians Priya Nanjappa, Lindsay Funk, Evan Grant, and Isaac Chellman, who led smaller groups of students through the park. Chief ranger Laura Illige, NPS was also in attendance, along with rangers Bill Yeaman, Ken Ferebee and Haynes Currie, all of whom provided valuable information about the park. The event was a great success: the kids were very enthusiastic and inquisitive, learning hands-on by turning cover boards and observing several species of amphibians and reptiles. Students lucked out during their searchers, finding spotted salamanders, American toads, and even an eastern box turtle. Egg masses of spotted salamanders were also seen in large numbers in one of the few pools still containing water. The Washington Post, Metro Section, article covered the outing and detailed the many teachable moments about the significance of rainfall, cover board shelters for recording the salamanders, standardize forms to record findings, nature’s camouflage and much more. This was the children’s opportunity to see real scientists at work studying salamanders and toads.

Contact Dr. Robin Jung, 301-497-5875.

Robin Jung Appointed Editor of Herpetological Conservation.

As reported in Herpetological Review 34(1): March 2003; "Robin Jung, of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, has been appointed editor of Herpetological Conservation. SSAR thanks outgoing editor, Steve Corn, who inaugurated the series, as he steps down." The Herpetological Conservation is a new series from the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) intended to present original research and analysis of problems in the conservation of amphibians and reptiles. Monograph-length (> 100 pages) papers and edited volumes that primarily describe conservation and management of amphibians and reptiles are welcome for consideration for publication. Manuscripts submitted for publication should be derived primarily from data and analyses not published previously, should document thoroughly a need for conservation, and, where possible, evaluate and recommend management alternatives. All manuscripts are subject to refereed peer-review.

Whooping Crane Breeding Season Update

The crane program got an unusual Easter egg delivery when Anita Vincent from the San Antonio Zoo brought two whooping crane eggs to us last Saturday in a portable incubator. Imagine the interest that small wooden box with a digital temperature device on top generated at airport security. But Anita and the eggs arrived safely, and one of the eggs was already peeping when they got here. It hatched on Monday, none the worse for its long journey. The other egg is due to hatch later. The San Antonio crane chicks will become part of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) migration project. Since it's important that the WCEP chicks be exposed to the aircraft very early and start training to follow the plane almost as soon as they can walk, any chicks slated for the project will be raised at Patuxent so all their training and conditioning is consistent. The first San Antonio chick isn't alone; two other whoopers (produced from Patuxent eggs) hatched to keep him company. All three chicks are doing fine.

Three WCEP Whooping Crane Chicks in incubator, photo by Kathy O'Malley, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

We also have 6 Florida Sandhill crane chicks that are being raised in cooperation with one of our partners, the International Crane Foundation. ICF hopes to use the chicks to help develop training procedures for an ultralight-type migration that would use hang gliders in areas of the world where it would be too difficult to use ultralight aircraft. The Florida chicks range in age from 1 day to 5 days old, and so far all are healthy and thriving.

Florida Sandhill Crane Chick, photo by Kathy O'Malley, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Current production updates: We have a total of 28 whooper eggs plus 2 from the San Antonio Zoo. Three of those eggs have hatched (and all three of those chicks are in the WCEP project), and 8 more are known to be fertile. We have 8 producing females.