Abstract Book JMIH 2015
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Abstract Book JMIH 2015 Abstracts for the 2015 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists AES – American Elasmobranch Society ASIH – American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists HL – Herpetologists’ League Reno, Nevada 16-19 July 2015 Edited by Martha L. Crump 1 May 2015 0381 Poster Session II, Reno Ballroom & Tahoe Room, Saturday 18 July 2015 Connor Adams1, Brandon Bowers1, Brad Wolaver2, Heather Prestridge1, Toby Hibbitts1, Wade Ryberg1 1Texas A&M University, College Station, USA, 2University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA Distribution and Population Status of the Western Chicken Turtle (Deirochelys reticularia miaria) in Texas The Western Chicken Turtle (Deirochelys reticularia miaria) is thought to be rare and declining throughout its range. As a result, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a 90-day finding (FWS 2011) that states listing the species as threatened or endangered may be warranted. In this 90-day finding, FWS requested information on current and future threats to D. r. miaria populations and habitat throughout its range. Current information on the distribution and population status of D. r. miaria in Texas is lacking, and development of a comprehensive conservation and management plan at either the state or federal level is not possible. To address this problem, we initiated a state-wide survey of suitable D. r. miaria habitat. Survey locations were selected from suitable habitat areas based on access and proximity to public roadways where access was denied. When access was granted, turtles were captured using a combination of aquatic traps and nets (e.g., hoop nets, crayfish traps). When access was not granted, wetlands near public roadways were surveyed with binoculars and spotting scopes. Here, we present preliminary results from this survey effort and discuss the implications of our findings for conservation of D. r. miaria populations and habitat in Texas and distribution wide. ______________________________________________________________________________ 0387 Poster Session II, Reno Ballroom & Tahoe Room, Saturday 18 July 2015 Cory Adams, Daniel Saenz USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Nacogdoches, TX, USA Calling Phenology of the Introduced Rio Grande Chirping Frog (Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides) The Rio Grande Chirping Frog (Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides) is a small direct developing frog species in the family Leptodactylidae. Their native range extends from northeastern Mexico to extreme southern Texas; however, it has been rapidly expanding into other parts of Texas presumably by way of accidental human transport, primarily the potted plant trade. Very little information is known about this anuran across most of its introduced range. The purpose of this study is to determine the calling habits of the introduced Rio Grande Chirping Frog. We surveyed for calling Rio Grande Chirping Frogs at three study sites using automated recording devices set to record for the first minute of every hour, each day. We detected frogs calling at all three of our survey sites. Rio Grande Chirping frogs can call any month, with calling mainly occurring during the warmer months. Frogs called primarily during dark hours but did occasionally call 1 during the day. The mild climate of eastern Texas appears to be suitable to support an established population of Rio Grande Chirping Frogs. 0576 Poster Session II, Reno Ballroom & Tahoe Room, Saturday 18 July 2015 Joseph Agugliaro Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ, USA Absence of Metabolic Acclimation during Artificial Hibernation in Rubber Boas (Charina bottae) Defining reptilian hibernation, as either an intrinsic physiological or purely behavioral phenomenon, has long been problematic. In part, this uncertainty has been due to the diversity of metabolic responses exhibited by reptiles during cold acclimation. Among snakes, the few species for which appropriate measurements are available have variously exhibited decreases, increases, or no change in metabolic rate during the winter season. At present, sampling is insufficient to distinguish among differences in phylogenetic position, geographic origin, and/or experimental methodology as potential sources of this apparent physiological diversity. To improve our understanding of snake metabolic responses to hibernation, I measured the effects of seasonal laboratory acclimation, acute temperature, and body mass on resting metabolic rate (CO2 production) in the Rubber Boa (Charina bottae), an erycine snake with a wide latitudinal distribution in western North America. Metabolic rates of 10 C. bottae from southeastern Idaho were measured as a function of acute temperature (5, 9, 13, 17°C) during the simulated late active season and during artificial hibernation. Repeated- measures ANCOVA revealed significant effects of acute temperature and body mass, but no effects of acclimation treatment or the interaction between treatment and temperature, on resting metabolic rate. Despite the absence of any downregulation in metabolic rate during artificial hibernation, metabolic rates of C. bottae are still quite low relative to other snake species for which similar data are available. Clearly, before attempting to explain the diversity of snake acclimation responses, more rigorous studies of the effects of hibernation on snake metabolism are needed. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2 0392 AES Conservation & Management, Carson 2, Thursday 16 July 2015 Matthew Ajemian1, Philip Jose1, John Froeschke2, Gregory Stunz1 1Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, USA, 2Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Tampa, FL, USA Trends and Characterization of the Land-based Recreational Shark Fishery off Texas Most analyses of shark population trends use seasonally-limited fishery-independent data that generally neglect important nearshore coastal habitats (i.e.,<20m bottom depth). The Texas coast supports one of the largest year-round, land-based recreational shark fisheries in the United States. However, no studies have characterized the catch composition and overall trends in this fishery despite its beginnings several decades ago. We used fishery-dependent data from two distinct periods (historic = 1973-1986, and modern = 2008-2014) to assess the status of the nearshore shark community off Texas. Monthly catch records from both data sets were examined using multivariate techniques to examine seasonality in shark assemblages as well as potential shifts in catch composition over time. These fishery-dependent data revealed relatively distinct assemblages by season (ANOSIM Global R = 0.159; P = 0.0001) and period (ANOSIM Global R = 0.222; P = 0.0001). Similarity Percentange analysis showed a general shift in shark community assemblage from larger to smaller species. Most notably, Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) dominance decreased over time while Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) contribution increased. Our analyses also identified a large decrease in mean total length (TL) of Bull Sharks from 232.8 cm to 175.1 cm and a modest increase in Blacktip Shark size from 125.1 cm to 127.9 cm TL. These findings document a significant change in the size and composition of Texas’ nearshore shark community potentially driven by overfishing and removal of large (>2 m) sharks. Future management decisions should account for these removals as stocks are rebuilt to historical levels. ______________________________________________________________________________ 0371 Poster Session I, Reno Ballroom & Tahoe Room, Friday 17 July 2015 Matthew Ajemian, Gregory Stunz Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, USA Migratory Behavior and Habitat Use of Large Sharks in the Western Gulf of Mexico Large sharks serve as critical apex predators in many marine ecosystems around the world, yet the habitat requirements and migration patterns of these species remain poorly understood throughout much of their ranges. The growing demand for shark habitat use information has supported a proliferation of satellite biotelemetry studies. Despite the multitude of anthropogenic pressures in the region, few data exist on large shark movement patterns in the western Gulf of Mexico. In summer of 2014, four large 3 sharks (2 Scalloped Hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini; 2 Tigers, Galeocerdo cuvier) were tagged and released near an offshore production platform and tracked with Smart Position or Temperature transmitters. Sharks were tracked for thousands of miles, and demonstrated some important ecosystem connections between nearshore locales and open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. While Scalloped Hammerheads provided more frequent reports and fidelity to the Texas continental shelf, Tiger Sharks exhibited larger dispersal patterns, including a cross-basin venture towards the Campeche escarpment (Mexico) as shelf waters cooled in December and a subsequent return to the Texas shelf. Tiger Sharks also demonstrated use of NOAA-designated Habitats Areas of Particular Concern such as the south Texas hard banks and the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary. Our work highlights the connected nature of many seemingly disparate habitats within the Gulf of Mexico by large sharks and the importance of establishing satellite tagging programs for conservation and management purposes. Continued tagging efforts in 2015 will assess potential year-to-year variability in the movement