Geology topics
C. Kenneth Dodd
Publications and source records attributed to C. Kenneth Dodd.
Herpetology in the federal government: a personal view
In late 1976, I received a phone call from an ichthyological colleague who asked if I would be willing to take a temporary position in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Office of Endangered Species (OES) in Washington. They had a backlog of proposed and final rules that needed to be finished, and they thought that a 30-day stint by a temporary herpetologist would clear the slate. Thus began a 23-year odyssey through the sometimes bizarre, sometimes rewarding, sometimes discouraging, but always different federal government. Fortunately, I have been able to stay involved with herpetology, both as a science and in terms of conservation policy. In my career, I have worked both in an administrative and in a research capacity. Many individuals with an interest in herpetology enter the federal government as field biologists and drift into administration as they become older and removed from the dynamically changing nature of their science. I moved in the other direction.
Geographic distribution: Scaphiopus holbrooki (Eastern spadefoot toad)
No abstract available.
NIEHS sponsors workshop on amphibian deformities
No abstract available.
Desmognathus auriculatus at Devil´s Millhopper State Geological Site, Alachua County, Florida
No abstract available.
The life-history and conservation biology of an island population of Florida box turtles Terrapene carolina bauri
No abstract available.
Amphibians
Amphibians are ecologically important in most freshwater and terrestrial habitats in the United States: they can be numerous, function as both predators and prey, and constitute great biomass. Amphibians have certain physiological (e.g., permeable skin) and ecological (e.g., complex life cycle) traits that could justify their use as bioindicators of environmental health. For example, local declines in adult amphibians may indicate losses of nearby wetlands. The aquatic breeding habits of many terrestrial species result in direct exposure of egg, larval, and adult stages to toxic pesticides, herbicides, acidification, and other human-induced stresses in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Reported declines of amphibian populations globally have drawn considerable attention (Bury et al. 1980; Bishop and Petit 1992; Richards et al. 1993; Blaustein 1994; Pechmann and Wilbur 1994). Approximately 230 species of amphibians, including about 140 salamanders and 90 anurans (frogs and toads) occur in the continental United States. Because of their functional importance in most ecosystems, declines of amphibians are of considerable conservation interest. If these declines are real, the number of listed or candidate species at federal, state, and local levels could increase significantly. Unfortunately, because much of the existing information on status and trends of amphibians is anecdotal, coordinated monitoring programs are greatly needed.
Reptiles and amphibians in the endangered longleaf pine ecosystem
The Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States contains a rich diversity of reptiles and amphibians (herpetofauna). Of the 290 species native to the Southeast, 170 (74 amphibians, 96 reptiles) are found within the range of the remnant longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) ecosystem (Fig. 1). Many of these species are not found elsewhere, particularly those amphibians that require temporary ponds for reproduction. Many Coastal Plain species are listed federally or by states as endangered or threatened or are candidates for listing (Fig. 1). Examples include the flatwoods salamander ( Ambystoma cingulatum ), striped newt ( Notophthalmus perstriatus ), Carolina and dusky gopher frogs ( Rana capito capito and R.c. sevosa ), eastern indigo snake ( Drymarchon corais couperi ), gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus), eastern diamondback rattlesnake ( Crotalus adamanteus ), and Florida pine snake ( Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus ).
Marine turtles in the Southeast
Five species of marine turtles frequent the beaches and offshore waters of the southeastern United States: loggerhead ( Caretta caretta ), green ( Chelonia mydas ), Kemp's ridley ( Lepidochelys kempii ), leatherback ( Dermochelys coriacea ), and hawksbill ( Eretmochelys imbricata ). All five are reported to nest, but only the loggerhead and green turtle do so in substantial numbers. Most nesting occurs from southern North Carolina to the middle west coast of Florida, but scattered nesting occurs from Virginia through southern Texas. The beaches of Florida, particularly in Brevard and Indian River counties, host what may be the world's largest population of loggerheads.
Burrow associates of the gopher tortoise : proceedings of the 8th annual meeting of the Gopher Tortoise Council
No abstract available.
Duration of immobility in salamanders, genus Plethodon (Caudata: Plethodontidae)
Immobility is a potentially important antipredator behavior in salamanders, especially for those posessing noxious skin secretions. The duration of immobility in 15 species of terrestrial salamanders ( Plethodon ) varied among species. Most salamanders (78.8%) became immobile when initially contacted under field conditions, and remained immobile from 1-180 s. Immobility duration was inversely correlated with substrate temperature and covaried with air temperature, but snout-vent level (SVL) had no effect on duration. Only immobility times of Plethodon shenandoah were significantly different from any other species. Substrate temperature, air temperature, SVL, and species accounted for only a small percentage of the variance ( r 2 =0.09). The degree of disturbance received during a predator-prey encounter is probably more important than the subtle effects of temperature and SVL in determining immobility duration.
Secondary sex ratio variation among populations of the flattened musk turtle, Sternotherus depressus
No abstract available.