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www.arguk.org No 7 Spring 2010 Contents ARGToday Onwards and Upwards ...... 1 Newsletter of the Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK Around the ARGs .............. 2 Chytrid Update ................. 4 Onwards and Upwards Scientific Paper Review 2009 A word from David Orchard, Chair of ARG UK ...................................... 5 The Herpetofauna Workers‘ Meeting earlier this constitution now Bats, Toads and Planning .. 7 year was another greatly enjoyable conference, stipulates that Help for Pond Management held in the unusually sumptuous surroundings of committee ...................................... 8 Barceló Hinckley Island Hotel. members can remain in post for Request for Records of The HWM is the key networking event for a maximum of Melanism in Snakes .......... 9 anyone involved in amphibian and reptile three years, so Lost Life .......................... 9 conservation, providing opportunities to learn this year Jan from presentations, participate in workshops Amphibians and the OPAL stood down and I Water Survey .................. 10 and meet and exchange ideas with fellow herp was pleased to workers. It‘s also supposed to be fun and be elected as in Conservation Volunteers Unite something of a well-earned ‗thank you‘ to ARG her place. as Firemen Save the Day . 10 members for their ongoing efforts towards herps 100% Fund..................... 11 conservation. Over the last five years, the ARG Review: The New Naturalists The meeting was spread over the weekend, with network has gone ..................................... 12 presentations on Saturday and workshops on from strength to the Sunday. This year there were some strength, notably seeing greater interest and particularly informative presentations and herping activity in South Wales, Yorkshire and summaries are available from the ARG UK the Northwest of England. website www.arguk.org. ARG UK secured funding for John Baker, This year‘s meeting included the ARG UK Annual widespread species officer with Amphibian and General Meeting, which gives an opportunity for Reptile Conservation, to support the work of any ARG member to stand for election onto the ARGs. More recently, ARG UK has secured a ARG UK committee. All members of this high profile as a major partner in the Million committee are volunteers and many chair their Ponds Project. local ARGs. Despite all this work, there‘s always more that The role of ARG UK is to support the ARGs by: needs to be done. Over the next few years I‘d like to see the ARGs becoming an even more Organising the annual HWM important part of the national herp conservation Producing a bi-annual newsletter, ARG Today scene. To do this, ARGs will need a higher profile and funding to support individual group Arranging public liability insurance cover for projects. This is quite a challenge, but I‘m often ARGs inspired by the enthusiasm, dedication and Helping to establish new groups and provid- expertise of ARG volunteers and so it‘s a great ing advice to ARGs when required honour to represent you as the chair of ARG UK. Representing the ARG network at a national Since its inception, ARG UK has received support level. from The Herpetological Conservation Trust (HCT). As the HCT has metamorphosed into Nobody has been more involved with the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, this close development of ARG UK than Jan Clemons, who working relationship has continued to grow to became the first chair when the former the benefit of both organisations. This year Herpetofauna Groups of Britain and Ireland ARG UK and Amphibian Conservation will be were ‗rebranded‘ as ARG UK in 2005. Our working together on the coming Sliding Scales ARG Today p. 1 project, to promote snake conservation. Keep videos gave a good opportunity to convey some an eye on the ARG UK website for further useful conservation messages. During the details! Mentro Allan nomination video, I used the opportunity to talk a little about pond creation I‘m looking forward to working with you all over and the reason as to why we had created the coming months and years. If you have any multiple ponds rather than just a single one. thoughts or ideas about how the ARG network The SWWARG nomination video featured a gang could work more effectively for improved of volunteers forking and wheel-barrowing conservation of amphibians and reptiles, then manure to create grass snake egg-laying sites. I‘d be pleased to hear from you. Once again the video was an opportunity to raise awareness of conservation issues, in this Around the ARGs case grass snakes and their habitat requirements. South and West Wales ARG Picks Wearing the suit paid off as SWWARG and Up Awards Mentro Allan managed to win their respective categories. Additional funding opportunities Raising the profile of an ARG can be helpful in have been offered as a direct result of the achieving herps conservation locally. Recently, awards. One prospective project that funding South and West Wales ARG were also rewarded offered by Environment Wales may support is with new funding opportunities. Being prepared training volunteers to monitor the latest sand to do things we wouldn‘t normally do is a major lizard introduction site, but materials for element in profile and awareness raising, which awareness raising, pond creation and all manner in my case meant putting on a suit. Why the of projects are all areas funding is currently need for a suit? To attend an awards evening. being applied for since the award ceremony. The purchase of survey equipment to monitor One way in which SWWARG has managed to and research a recently discovered colony of raise its profile has been through the Local wall lizards in Wales is another project that Authority Environment Awards. The idea for the SWWARG hopes will get off the ground sooner Awards came from the Neath Port Talbot than anticipated, also as a result of the awards. Environment Forum (www.nptef.org.uk). They were organized by the team from the Climate Change Unit in Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC) and by members of the Forum. Over 50 applications were received in 2009. Short-listing and judging took place during October-November and the Awards Evening was held in the Towers Hotel, Swansea on 20 November, all paid for with money gained through sponsorship from Corus (the steel producer) and The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW). The evening was hosted by Iolo Williams, the BBC wildlife presenter. The night was a huge success with 180 people attending, including 140 shortlisted finalists. This was truly a community event with an Left to right: Iolo Williams, Jessica Lloyd excellent atmosphere. It also raised £600 for (SWWARG treasurer), Peter Hill (SWARG Children in Need, which took place on the same Conservation Officer) and Mark Sabine, night. Images from the awards evening are Environment Agency. available at www.nptef.org.uk I highly recommend that ARGs contact the SWWARG was nominated for the ‗Action for Environmental and Biodiversity units of their Wildlife‘ category, and the project that I work on local Authority to find out if similar award as my day job, Mentro Allan, was nominated for schemes are in place locally. If not, then the ‗Green Public Sector‘ category. Nomination perhaps suggest such a scheme. The Neath ARG Today p. 2 Port Talbot Environmental Awards began only Wildlife Gardening Competition...for last year, perhaps a similar scheme could be in place near you soon? If so, then take Herps advantage of it, raise your ARG profile, and maybe even some additional funding. Peter Hill Action for Wildlife Award - South and West Wales Amphibian and Reptile Group This group was chosen for its achievement in the conservation of an under-appreciated group of species. The group has helped to de- Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group (KRAG) is velop its volunteers’ building skills and confi- delighted to be joining with Kent Wildlife Trust dence, and has increased access to the natural (KWT) this year to give a Dragons in Your environment. Visit http:// Garden award to the most herp friendly www.swwarg.co.uk/. garden. This is a new award as part of KWT‘s Global Sustainable Development Cymru. wildlife gardening scheme and competition, open to private, school and business gardens Sand Lizards and Slow-worms in the among other categories. The winner will receive a special Dragons in Your Garden KWT blue Northwest plaque and a prize from KRAG. North Merseyside ARG recorded over 300 sand Jo Richards, Events, Publicity and Education lizards (including hatchlings) on the Merseyside Officer, Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group, coast in 2009. The most exciting finding was www.kentarg.org that about 20 seen at a site where they had not been recorded for at least 30 years! Due to the Pond Demonstration Site in Fife isolation of this particular site, the recent observations are unlikely to have stemmed from Fife ARG has a full programme of activities and re-colonisations from nearby populations. It is events for 2010. A key project for the group's more likely that these are lizards from a second year of existence is the completion of a population that has persisted, but at low pond demonstration site in Cupar, now fully numbers and has hence gone undetected for funded and under construction. many years. Two other population foci were David Bell, Secretary Fife ARG located last year, one a former release site. Hi Vis Jackets NMARG members have also been studying a slow-worm colony just outside the county Thanks to the British Herpetological Society, boundary, which has proved more extensive ARG UK was offered some high visibility jackets than previously thought. We are still, however, earlier this year. trying to locate any colonies existing within the Jackets were available county boundary! to delegates at the Herp Workers‘ Mike Brown (North Merseyside Amphibian Meeting and a further and Reptile Group recorder) 330 have been sent out New Chair for Avon RAG to ARGs requesting them.

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