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Cfreptiles & Amphibians HTTPS://JOURNALS.KU.EDU/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSREPTILES • VOL & AMPHIBIANS15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 • 28(2):189 213–217 • AUG 2021 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS FromFEATURE ARTICLES Pets to Threats: Invasive Iguanas . Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: and OtherOn the Road to Understanding Species the Ecology and Conservation Cause of the Midwest’s SignificantGiant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer Harm 190 . The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................to Native Iguanas Robert W. Henderson 198 RESEARCH ARTICLES Gad. The TexasPerry Horned1, Charles Lizard inR. Central Knapp and2,3 Western, Tandora Texas ....................... D. Grant Emily3,4, Stesha Henry, Jason A. PasachnikBrewer, Krista 3,5Mougey,, and and Ioana Gad Perry Coman 204 6 . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida 1 Department of Natural ............................................. Resource Management,Brian J. Texas Camposano, Tech KennethUniversity, L. Krysko, Lubbock, Kevin M.Texas Enge, 79409, Ellen M. USA Donlan, ([email protected] and Michael Granatosky [corresponding 212 author]). 2Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA ([email protected]) CONSERVATION ALERT3IUCN SSC Iguana Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland 4San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, California 92101, USA . World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 5 . More Than MammalsFort ...............................................................................................................................Worth Zoo, Fort Worth, Texas 76110, USA ([email protected])....................................... 223 6 . TheCollege “Dow of Jones Media Index” and of Communication, Biodiversity ............................................................................................................................... Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409, USA ([email protected])............ 225 HUSBANDRY . Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226 ompared to fictional voracious cinematic sharks or the PROFILE very real crises of climate change and COVID-19, the C . Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234 genuine threat of Common Green Iguanas (Iguana iguana; Figs. 1–2) and Spiny-tailedCOMMENTARY Iguanas (Ctenosaura similis and C. pectinata; Fig. 3). The seems Turtles Havequite Been innocuous. Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Originating in Eric Gangloff 238 the Neotropics, BOOKthey are REVIEW at risk in parts of their native range because their habitats. Threatened are being Amphibians degraded of the andWorld animals edited by S.N.are Stuart,cap- M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, tured for human consumption.R. Berridge, P. Ramani, Being and intentionally B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. moved, Robert Powell 243 primarily via the pet trade, and unintentionally hitchhiking CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 with horticultural NATURAL and construction HISTORY RESEARCH materials REPORTS has allowed: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 these lizards to spreadNEWBRIEFS widely, ............................................................................................................................... especially Common Green ....................................................... 248 Iguanas. Knapp etEDITORIAL al. (2020) INFORMATION discussed the ............................................................................................................................... dismaying estab- ...................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252 lishment of non-native iguanas in more than 25 countries. Front Cover. Shannon Plummer. Back Cover. Michael Kern Totat et velleseque audant mo Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia- ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as accullabo. Fig. 2. A local Puerto Rican Racer (Borikenophis portoricensis) feeding on a juvenile Common Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) introduced to Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Photograph by Richard Land. As with many other invasive species, the impacts of invasive iguanas are especially large on island ecosystems (IUCN SSC Iguana Specialist Group 2017). Although other lizards such as tegus and monitors can be problematic in places like Fig. 1. A Common Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) (on rock, center) on Florida, Common Green Iguanas stand out because of the Saba, Caribbean Netherlands. The iguanas are common in some habitats on the island, but whether they are native or introduced, and if so when scale of their spread and reported impacts (Perry et al. 2020a). and by whom, is unclear (Powell et al. 2005). Photograph by Gad Perry. Indeed, Common Green Iguana invasions have been get- Copyright is held by the authors. Articles in R&A are made available under a 213 Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 2332-4961 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. PERRY ET AL. REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 28(2): 213–217 • AUG 2021 2020). Where more aggressive efforts to regulate the trade of pet iguanas and other dangerous species were made, as with the July 2020 changes to Florida statutes, public pushback and legal challenges prevailed, once again setting back an attempt at protective measures against these invasions (Knapp et al. 2020). To the best of our knowledge, the market-based approach suggested by Perry and Farmer (2011), in which risk-adjusted fees on the pet trade are used for education and quick response at the local level, has yet to be implemented anywhere. However, the recent implementation of regula- tions that require pet iguanas and tegus to be microchipped Fig. 3. An adult Common Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis) in northern Costa Rica, where they are native. The species inhabits a wide in Florida (Luscombe 2021) does represent an effort to place range of habitats and is often seen near human habitations. Photograph responsibility for feral animals on the individuals that allowed by Gad Perry. them to get loose or, worse, let them go. Perhaps detection using drones (e.g., Aota et al. 2021), possibly even application of control measures (e.g., Song et ting coverage in the popular media, ranging from local press al. 2020) will eventually offer an effective and rapid response (Kay and Associated Press 2017) to international news (e.g., methodology. However, as important as they are in address- Knight 2020). However, these stories generally focus on the ing novel invasions (Reaser et al. 2019), rapid detection nuisance created by invasive iguanas, rather than the more and response are reactive approaches. The Florida Fish and complex situations that professional conservation biologists Wildlife Conservation Commission is set to proactively ban are documenting and attempting to address. For example, the breeding and trade in ecologically damaging invasive van den Burg et al. (2020) discussed damage to infrastruc- herps, including several constrictors, all tegus and some moni- ture, agricultural losses and other economic impacts, and tors, and Common Green Iguanas (Florida Fish and Wildlife threats to biodiversity caused by the spread of Common Conservation Commission 2021). Of course, with these Green Iguanas in mainland Asia. Further, Moss et al. (2018) species already established in many locations and chances reported the alarming intergeneric hybridization with endan- of eradication unclear, this may be a case of closing the ter- gered native iguanas in the Caribbean. Interbreeding is a rela- rarium door after the iguanas have bolted. Experience has tively common outcome of human-caused species invasions shown that pre-invasion, proactive prevention is more effec- (Ottenburghs 2021). These and other devastating impacts are tive than post-invasion control efforts, although remarkable commonly the result of invasive species in general but often progress in eradication of invasives, primarily small mam- remain unnoticed by the public until the damages reach large mals on small islands, has been seen in recent years (Capizzi scales (e.g., Pyšek et al. 2020). Knapp et al. (2020) and others 2020). Prevention requires not only policy-maker engage-
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