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VSG Summer Bulletin 2017.Indd Vipera: The IUCN Viper Specialist Group Bulletin Issue 2 - July 2017 newsletter sTEERING cOMMITTEE OFFICERS Christopher Jenkins, Ph.D. Chairman Stephen Spear, Ph.D. Deputy Chairman Johannes Penner Red List Authority Coordinator Heidi Hall North America 20 Program Manager Photo: Matt Simon Matt Photo: Regional Coordinators Jelka Crnobrnja Isailovic, Ph.D. European Regional Coordinator Jesus Sigala, Ph.D. Mesoamerican Regional Coordinator Marcio Martins, Ph.D. Photo: Ian Recchio Photo: Photo: Asghar Mobaraki Photo: Photo: Photo: 7 Herpactive Photo: 13 11 14 South America Regional Coordinator EUROPE EAST ASIA WEST ASIA/ MESOAMERICA Pritpal Singh Soorae, M.S. North Africa/West Asia Regional Coordinator NORTH AFRICA Rulon Clark, Ph.D. North America Regional Coordinator Anita Malhotra, Ph.D. East Asia Regional Coordinator Kevin Messenger. Ph.D. East Asia Regional Coordinator Bryan Maritz, Ph.D. Photo: Tammi Nowak Tammi Photo: Anslem de Silva Photo: 4 Soorae Pritpal Photo: 28 Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Coordinator VSG OFFICERS HOW TO JOIN Luca Luiselli Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Coordinator About All articles within Vipera: The IUCN Viper Specialist Group Bulletin are the The Viper Specialist Group is a species exclusive property of the authors. Those wishing to redistribute these articles may specialist group under the International only do so with the express permission of the author of the article. Union for Conservation of Nature. This is a group of viper experts from around the world that act as a global voice for the direction of viper conservation. 2 VIPER SPECIALIST GROUP AUGUST 2017 Issue newsletter Message from the Chair A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to give a presentation to a group of people interested in learning more about how to coexist with the Timber Rattlesnakes that live around their homes. Though they came there to hear more about snake bite protocol; how to avoid bites and what to do if you do receive a bite, they were also very interested in the snake ecology portion of the talk. By the end of the presentation and after everyone had the opportunity to touch a Timber Rattlesnake I had safely tubed, I felt really good about what I had accomplished that day. I believe I dispelled a few myths around rattlesnakes and hopefully changed some opinions about these often maligned animals – which may result in a few less being intentionally killed this year. As always, this was very inspiring to me. Later that day as I sat down to dinner, I kept thinking about the need to conserve vipers and contemplated where The Orianne Society wanted to go next with their Global Viper Conservation Initiative. Should we help out with the Greek Meadow Viper conservation efforts? Do we connect with the folks conducting conservation efforts in a viper diversity hotspot in northeast Turkey, working with species such as the Highland Dwarf vipers? What about China and working to conserve a species such as the Mangshan Pit Viper? Or do we try to find out more about a data deficient species and head to Africa to study Mole Vipers? Oxford Pete Photo: The unfortunate reality is that all of these species, I’d even say most viper species, need some form of conservation effort or a significant amount of research into what populations are doing to know if they are in need of conservation. We need people out on the ground in all of these areas, doing just what I had done that morning – talking to people about the need for viper conservation, dispelling myths and promoting an intrinsic value to vipers. And we have the start of that in the Viper Specialist Group. If we are going to truly conserve viper species in the wild, we need all viper experts, researches, biologists, hobbyists, enthusiasts – everyone that cares about vipers - on board with this effort. We need people on the ground, giving talks, conducting status assessments, developing conservation action plans and implementing these plans. If you are reading this letter, we need people like you to be a part of this effort. We can have a big impact on viper conservation; we can make a difference by changing the trajectory of declines and preventing extinctions of viper species. But to really make an impact, we need to do it together. If you are not yet a member of the Viper Specialist Group, I encourage you to contact the regional coordinator where you live and join our team. Share data, promote your work and the work of others, volunteer on someone else’s project; work together as a united voice for viper conservation. Christopher L. Jenkins, PhD Chairman, IUCN Viper Specialist Group 3 VIPER SPECIALIST GROUP AUGUST 2017 Issue newsletter VSGchairs status assessments for all the vipers of of vipers. While much of my days the world; 2) we have hosted multiple are spent running a nonprofit, I have VSG meetings to foster partnership carved out the time to have a pet project among members; 3) we published the where I work in a focused way on the first global analysis of conservation conservation of Timber Rattlesnakes in priorities for vipers; 4) we are beginning the Appalachian Highlands of eastern the process of conducting regional North America. conservation action plans; 5) we are currently working to prioritize land conservation efforts for endangered viper species; and 6) we are working with IUCN to help develop a Reptile and Amphibian Subcommittee, which will give reptile and amphibian conservation biologists a significant voice within IUCN. Tammi Nowak I have a B.S. and M.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. from Idaho Photo: Photo: State University where I worked on the Chris Jenkins, Ph.D. conservation biology of Great Basin VSG Chairman Rattlesnakes. I founded The Orianne As the founder and current Society and currently hold the position Chairman of the International Union of Chief Executive Officer. Orianne is for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) a science-based, applied conservation Viper Specialist Group (VSG), I am nonprofit focused on saving imperiled responsible for the development species of reptiles and amphibians. Unknown Photo: of strategic direction, building our As CEO of Orianne I have had the steering committee and membership, opportunity to play a role in the Stephen Spear, Ph.D. and implementing our conservation conservation of a variety of species, VSG Deputy Chairman programs. I founded the VSG in 2009 including but not limited to Eastern As Deputy Chairman of the VSG, I and formed a steering committee of Indigo Snakes, Gopher Tortoises, am primarily responsible for serving as a viper conservation biologists from Eastern Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes, liaison between the regional coordinators each region of the world and built a Hellbenders, Timber Rattlesnakes, Wood and the chairman. I also am available membership that includes hundreds Turtles and bushmasters. to help regional coordinators identify of people from many countries. I In the past I have worked for new members for the specialist group, also appointed a Red List Authority a variety of groups including the as well as to answer any questions that Coordinator who recruited individuals to Wildlife Conservation Society, National they may have. I am excited to be able form the VSG Red List Authority. I have Geographic, the United States Forest to serve the VSG because I have been worked with our committee, membership Service, and the United States Fish and interested in viper conservation since and Red List Authority on many projects Wildlife Service. My career has found I was a child. Growing up in central for the conservation of vipers. me working on a wide range of species Virginia, Copperheads (Agkistrodon For example, 1) we are currently conservation issues in many places, but contortrix) were our native viper species, working with IUCN to conduct updated my greatest interest is in the conservation and I successfully lobbied my parents to 4 VIPER SPECIALIST GROUP AUGUST 2017 Issue newsletter leave this secretive snake alone whenever snake for three months and learned that vast range of species covering most it ventured into our yard or across the this female bushmaster had a very small vertebrates, but also various other taxa, driveway. I even saved up my allowance home range and was completely solitary are assessed globally (http://www. to “adopt” the Copperhead at the local the entire time. The combination of iucnredlist.org/). A catalogue of criteria nature center. restricted movement and low density is used to make sure that assessments I didn’t formally work with vipers explains why they are so difficult to find. are comparable and scientifically robust. until after I finished my doctoral degree. We are currently experimenting with Criteria range from Least Concern over I had the opportunity to work on an using a conservation detector dog to find Near Threatened to the three Threatened Orianne Society project with Midget- bushmasters in a manner that is safe for categories: Vulnerable, Endangered and faded Rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus the dog. Controlled trials have gone well Critically Endangered. There are also concolor), a dwarfed subspecies of the so far, and we are excited to do a field Western Rattlesnake and a species of trial with the dog in early 2017. If the the self-explaining categories Extinct concern in Wyoming. Along with my dog is effective, we will be able to survey and Extinct in the Wild, plus for species collaborator, we conducted surveys the bushmaster’s historic range in Costa with not enough data, Data Deficient. of snakes at den sites, field validated a Rica and understand where the snake still Data to inform these categories fall into model that predicted den habitat and exists so we can protect populations.
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