Herps in Society and Culture: "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"

Growing up, one of the most told tales at our local library was that of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". Perhaps this was because of my hometown's ties to the celebrated frog jump just 10 miles away in the neighboring town of Springfield, South Carolina. If you've never heard the story about the jumping frog, it should be one you check out soon. We've all heard of Mark Twain and his infamous stories, but Twain first became known due to this short story. In "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", a man named Jim Smiley is known for making ridiculous bets on anything possible. One day he came across a man and bet him $40 that his frog, named Dan'l Webster, could out-jump any frog in Calaveras County, California. The man agreed to this bet if he was given a frog. Smiley agreed to find him a frog and while doing so left the man with his frog, Dan'l Webster. In the time that Smiley was away, the other man fed Dan'l Webster lead pellets that would weigh him down and secure him the $40. When Smiley returned with a frog for the man, they then let the bet begin. The man's frog began jumping, and not surprising, Dan'l Webster did not move. After the man collected his winnings and went on his way, Dan'l Webster coughed up a few of the lead pellets and Smiley realized that he had been cheated. 
While this was just a short story, Cavaleras County Fair incorporated an official frog jump in 1928 and by 1930 it became an annual event. Today the Cavaleras County Fair Frog Jump is a 4 day event with its 4th day consisting of the 50 top jumpers from the previous competition days. Among the competitors in the frog jump is a representative for the state of South Carolina. Every spring, South Carolina holds the official Governor's Frog Jump in Springfield, South Carolina to determine who will represent our state at the next Calaveras County Frog Jump. The Governor's Frog Jump has grown to become a huge festival every year and is the pride of Springfield. 
Protection of welfare of Californian bullfrogs is a result of the California Fish and Game Commission in 1933 Frog Welfare Policy adopted in 1995.  
Overall, I think having local frog jump is a great way to keep traditions and folklore alive as well as getting people out and about looking for frogs. However, it is important to return frogs to their proper homes after the events have taken place. The Calaveras County Fair and Frog Jump is the third weekend of May, so if you ever find yourself in this area at this time, check it out!

 http://thetandd.com/lifestyles/cow-drop-dance-usher-in-frog-jump-weekend/article_6f1a9f27-5ef2- 5188-9f9d-55c71ccef112.html

References: 
http://lace23.wixsite.com/frogjump/history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celebrated_Jumping_Frog_of_Calaveras_County

Ecological and evolutionary influences on body size and shape in the Galápagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus)

Many organisms on islands have morphological differences that occur between populations. This article published in Oecologia in 2016 specifically looked at Galápagos marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) to determine the cause and extent of the morphological variations in this endemic island species. The researchers Chiari, Glaberman, Tarroso, Caccone, and Claude looked at 16 sampling sites across 12 islands of the Galápagos in 1993. They looked at eight morphological characteristics; snout-vent length, tail length, length of the front limb, length of the third digit of the manus, height, length and width of the head, and jaw length.  They also obtained genetic data for each individual (343 in total). They also obtained environmental data from each population area. They measured intertidal productivity and sea surface temperature, as well as average monthly precipitation and air temperature. For their analysis they separated by population and sex. Their data indicated that body size and shape differ among Galapagos populations of marine iguanas. They explained the variation in body shape partially by evolutionary history. The results also showed sexual dimorphism in all populations except one. In the future, research should focus on determining the amount of influence from plasticity or adaptation in reference to body size and shape. This study is important because it lays the groundwork for future studies regarding the cause of significant morphological differences in island species like the marine iguana. It is important to expand our knowledge on how species of herps become diverse and the marine iguana in the Galapagos Islands is a good place to start.




Click HERE for a PDF of the article!

A Christmas Cuban Tree Frog

This winter, my family took a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. We drove down and stayed at several Disney resorts with my sister's timeshare. For the several days around Christmas, we stayed at the Saratoga Springs resort in a Treehouse Villa. This cabin-like room was surrounded by pine forest and bordered a golf course with several water features. Nearby was also the river that surrounds several Disney properties. On December 28th, I walked outside onto the Villa's porch to find a large tree frog hanging out on the patio chair. It stuck out on the dark surface and looked iridescent in the light. The frog was very photogenic and calm; I got several Instagram-worthy pictures of it. I tried to identify the species, but without proper training I failed. I knew only by the toe pads that it was a tree frog. Now that I have gone through rigorous herpetological species identification training, I can confidently identify my little frog friend as a Cuban Tree Frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis). These frogs are invasive in Florida and a small part of Georgia. Naturally, they occur in Cuba, Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands. They have also been introduced in the West Indies, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. Despite being considered invasive and non-native, it is possible the Cuban Tree Frog reached Florida by natural dispersal. These frogs can grow to between 1.5 and 5 inches. Females typically grow larger than males, though I did not measure this individual, they were fairly large and most likely were female. They are the largest tree frog in Florida and can have a variety of colorations including grey, tan, or brown with no markings, spots, or lichen-like patterns. They are distinguished from other species in the areas they exist by their large toe pads which are generally the size of their eardrums,  their fused skin on the skull, and visible greenish-blue bones in their hind limbs. They inhabit moist forests and buildings. These frogs are considered an invasive pest due to the adult's appetite and competition with native frogs as well as competition as tadpoles. They have irritant skin secretions when they come in contact with the eyes or mouth. I was unaware when I found this frog, but due to its highly invasive nature, if you find one you are supposed to catch it in a plastic bag and humanely euthanize it by poisoning it, sealing it in a plastic bag, and freezing it overnight. It is illegal to re-release Cuban Tree Frogs into the environment. Now that I know, the next time I see one I can do my part to reduce the population of this invasive, non-native species.  

Citations:

Johnson, S. A. (2011, October 16). Invasive Cuban Tree Frogs in Florida. Retrieved April 28, 2017, from 

http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/cuban_treefrog_inFL.shtml

Powell, R., Conant, R., Collins, J. T., Conant, I. H., Johnson, T. R., Hooper, E. D., . . . Collins, J. T. (2016). Peterson field guide to reptiles and amphibians of eastern and central North America (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

            

Fluorescence in Hypsiboas punctatus

While fluorescence has be documented for some time in aquatic vertebrates, parrots are the only tetrapod in which it has been found until very recently. In February of 2017 a team of scientists from Argentina,  including Carlos Taboada, Andres E. Brunetti, and Federico N. Pedron, have published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences their findings of fluorescence in the South American Tree Frog or the Polka Dot Tree Frog (Hypsiboas punctatus)  and a new group of fluorescence compounds.

Fluorescence occurs when electromagnetic radiation of a short wavelength is absorbed and then emitted at a longer wavelength in the visible range of light. They took samples of different tissues including skin with absorbed lymph, glandular secretions, lymph from lymph structures, muscle, and connective tissues containing guanine crystals. These samples were tested to determine which contribute to the frogs fluorescence by recording the incident excitation and the resulting fluorescence and recording the fluorescence spectra. It was found that all samples exhibited a maxima that matched the blue fluorescence but only the skin with absorbed lymph exhibited a maxima within the range of green light that is characteristic of this frog. Additionally, because the skin was found to only transmit a very small percentage of light despite appearing translucent and the subcutaneous structures therefore only emitted approximately 1% of observed fluorescence, the skin with absorbed lymph was responsible for the majority of the emitted fluorescence in H. punctatus.

The compound that is responsible for this fluorescence was extracted and purified from lymph and interstitial tissue and it was characterized using a variety of techniques including HPLC-Ion Trap-MS, TOF-MS, MS/MS-based fragmentation, and 1D-2D NMR.  HPLC ion trap is used to determine the polarity of molecules in a particular solution; ion trap refers to the use of a electric or magnetic fields to trap charged particles (ions). TOF-MS, or time of flight mass spectroscopy, determines the mass to charge ratio by using an electric field to accelerate the ions. The velocity is characteristic to the particular ratio of mass to charge. 1D and 2D NMR are spectroscopy techniques which determine the molecular structure of an organic compound. They found that the molecule was very polar, evident by its high solubility in water, and that it had a molecular formula of C22H31NO4. They refer to this molecule as Hyloin-L1.

This research is important because it is only the second documented example of fluorescence in tetrapods and the first in amphibians. These frogs are crepuscular and nocturnal so the implication of visual communication via fluorescence would be an interesting subject of further research. Fluorescence in most commonly found in marine organisms and is used as a communication tool and this study brings up a lot of questions about how this translates to terrestrial organisms.

Link to paper: http://www.pnas.org/content/114/14/3672.full

Komodo Dragons Get By With a Little Help from E. Coli

            Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) are the largest lizards in the world.  They are one of the monitor lizard species and are located in only five islands in Indonesia. They can grow to the size of three meters and are known to be vicious predators. They are dangerous and tear their prey up with their sharp teeth. They have been known to kill buffalos, deer, pigs and even humans! But besides having very sharp and strong teeth, something else is helping them kill their prey, the septic bacteria in their mouths.

            The septic bacteria do not originate in the dragons. They are transmitted to them at a young age from devouring flesh of giant mammals and other foods sources. They can also be transmitted when the Komodo dragons fight and bite each other. I believe this relationship between the dragons and bacteria is some type of mutualism because both the bacteria and dragon benefit from this. The bacteria have a place to stay and can grow, get food and spread to other organisms, and the Komodo dragon have a bacterium that can poison its prey and make meal hunting a lot more efficient.

            Scientists have confirmed that feeding on mammals, especially buffalo, has given the dragons their micro-sized friends. In fact, a single buffalo can “infect” twelve dragons with the bacteria. These bacteria are not just one type, but are Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Klebsiella typhimurium. The E. coli made up of 68% of the bacterium population in the Komodo’s mouth. Scientists also have confirmed that the physiology of the giant lizards have protected them from the bacteria, rather than harm them, like to the mammals. However, immunity from these bacteria is not a passed down trait. Young Komodo dragons must gain immunity from prey or from fellow dragons. Even then, the bacteria are not highly effective. Preys have been known to escape while the “venom” from the bacteria is fully effective hours later. But nonetheless, there is an evolutionary relationship between the bacteria and the Komodo dragons. And it does look like it will change as long as both sides are benefiting from the hunt.

Sources:

Bull JJ, Jessop TS, Whiteley M (2010) Deathly Drool: Evolutionary and Ecological Basis of Septic Bacteria in Komodo Dragon Mouths. PLoS ONE 5(6): e11097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011097

Merchant, Mark, Danyell Henry, Rodolfo Falconi, Bekky Muscher, & Judith Bryja. "Antibacterial activities of serum from the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)." Microbiology Research[Online], 4.1 (2013): e4. Web. 25 Apr. 2017

(Pictures are also from sources)

Turtle Island and Turtles in Native American Mythology

There are many examples of herps in pop culture and mythology from around the world, but I was most intrigued by an Iroquois creature myth which features both a frog and most importantly a big turtle that are responsible for creating the Earth.

According to the myth, there were Sky People who lived in on an island in the sky. No one ever died or was born on this island, so when a Sky Woman became pregnant with twins her husband pushed her off the island and she fell to the Earth. There was no land yet, only water, and the animals who lived there saved her from falling. They wanted to help her so a frog swam to the bottom of the ocean and grabbed some mud for her to live on. They had to find somewhere to put this mud, so the frog put it on the back of a Big Turtle, and this is how the land was created. The Big Turtle became the Turtle Island, which is known as North America.

There are other Native American Tribes that have some variation of this myth, but all of them share the belief that a turtle carried the Sky Woman and it was only with the help of animals that the woman survived.

This myth is rooted in a deep connection the Iroquois have with nature and all animals. Upon further research I found that there are many myths and stories that surround the turtle in Native American folklore. The details of what it represents may vary by tribe, but it is almost always shown in a positive light.

Below are some interesting links about this myth and other Native American turtle myths!

http://dept.cs.williams.edu/~lindsey/myths/myths_12.html

http://www.native-languages.org/legends-turtle.htm

https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-symbols/turtle-symbol.htm

Life History: Yellow-Bellied Sliders

During our field trip to Dixie Plantation, we caught quite a few yellow-bellied sliders (Trachemys scripta scripta), including this little guy!

Yellow-bellied sliders can range in length from approximately 5-9 inches; the one pictured above is probably on the lower end of that range. It was determined that this was probably a male due to its small size and small claws.

These turtles are direct developing, like all turtles, and generally live in and around ponds and lakes. They are omnivores and spend most of their time in the water. They can be found from southern Virginia down the Atlantic coast to the Gulf Coast of Florida. These turtles can be identified by the yellow stripe behind their eyes and their yellow plastron.

Even though most of the turtles we found were trying to squirm out of our hands, this one seemed halfway content being handled. This was lucky for me because I have always been a little more reserved about handling wildlife than my classmates, so I thought this was a really cool experience!

Sex-determination in Collared Lizards

Sex determination in reptiles has generally been considered to come in two forms: genetic or temperature dependent. However, recent studies have show that in some reptiles, like Bassiana duperreyi, this is not always the case. Even the three types of temperature sex-determination do not explain all forms of sex-determination now, as there are cases where temperatures override the genetic sex. The authors of the article performed test on collared lizards to determine if incubation temperatures changed the genetic sex of the hatchlings. The authors collected female collared lizards from the wild that were already impregnated and moved them into research chambers at Oklahoma State University. Next, the authors waited for the females to lay eggs and then collected the eggs once laid. The eggs were the placed in vials one of seven incubators set at a constant temperature between 21 and 35͒℃. Eggs remained in the incubators until hatched and the sex of the hatchlings were determined. Although each incubator had a sex ratio of approximately 1:1, the data showed a significant sex-bias in the temperature ranges of 27-32℃ and 32-35℃. Female hatchlings increased in the first range and decreased in the second. The sex-determination fell into a TSD II pattern, but was male-female-male instead of the typical female-male-female pattern. Theses results add to the information that sex-determination in reptiles does not fall into the prescribed categories as scientists once believed. The article mentions that sex-determination in less than 10% of all reptile species had been determined. Knowing which species fall into the TSD and GSD overruled by temperature categories is valuable information. As global climate change continues to effect overall temperatures, understanding the sex-determination of reptiles will help identify which species are most at risk for becoming too heavily dominated in one of the sexes. Having too many of one sex and not enough of the other diminishes the chances for successful reproduction, which will in turn cause a decline in the reptile species and possibly in the reptile population as a whole.


 
Images: Left-adult male collared lizard, Right: collared lizard hatchling


The article is written by Enrique Santoyo-Brito, Matthew Anderson, and Stanley Fox, and was orignially published in the Journal of Herpetology.
Link to Article

Growth Patterns in Ancient Crocodiles a Review

A topic that is currently under research is that of growth rates and patterns of most living species.  What Julio Company and Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola looked at with their study, “Long bone histology of a eusuchian crocodyliform from the Upper Cretaceous of Spain: Implications for growth strategy in extinct crocodiles,” was the growth pattern in Acynodon iberoccitanus and Musturzabalsuchus buffetauti.  These are believed to be ancestrally related to modern day crocodiles.  What they found was that there has been a slight change in growth pattern to what is seen today, with there being slow bone growth as a juvenile, then rapid bone growth, and followed by slow growth in the maturation phase.  The juvenile phase was found to be about five years in length and the rapid phase was seen to be about nine to ten years.  The mature phase would last until the animal died and was seen as the phase in which the animal had reached a maximum size.
This is important because the growth patterns of modern day reptiles may have evolved from this pattern, or they may be this pattern exactly.  This would show an evolutionary rate and could help to calculate different evolutionary processes of crocodiles.  Knowing evolutionary rates would allow for better understand of phylogenetic variation in current reptiles and could possibly aid in other animal groups as well.

Article:
Julio Company, Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola. 2017. Long bone histology of a eusuchian crocodyliform from the Upper Cretaceous of Spain: Implications for growth strategy in extinct crocodiles. Cretaceous Research, Vol. 72, pgs. 1-7. ISSN 0195-6671.

Serpents as Rebirth and Healing

                

               Snakes are often feared or considered dangerous in the modern age, but in ancient civilizations they were considered to be the symbol of rebirth and fertility.  In Native American tribes, the meaning of snakes varied yet still; retained the overall meaning of rebirth or fertility.  In the Hopi tribe there has been a long standing tradition of a snake dance, seen on bottom left, that is commonly seen as a rain dance.  This is a ceremony that would be done in the spring and would be used to protect their fields and bring forth the rain.  Other civilizations and cultures view snakes with a healing quality.

                In ancient cultures they had specific deities that are associated with snakes and healing.  In ancient Sumerian culture, Ningishzida, son of Ninazu the healer, was depicted with a staff with a coiled serpent to represent his connection with his father.  In ancient Greece, one of the sons of Apollo, Asclepius, was the god of medicine and had a staff that was entwined by a single serpent.  This symbol is still seen in medical practices today, but more commonly is the Caduceus, the staff with two serpents, which represents Hermes and was said to allow a dying person an easy death.  Snakes are represented in many cultures and in many forms, especially in r.egards to regeneration and immortality.

                The ancient Egyptians often viewed snakes as symbols of eternity.  This was due to their ability to shed a layer of skin, seen as regenerating themselves.  This is why the underworld and the Earth are often depicted with snakes, as well as why snakes were so venerated within their culture.  Ancient Egyptians equated snakes and eternity to their souls and eternity and had many gods with snake-like qualities, as seen on bottom right.  While snakes are seen as bad and dangerous today, they have been important symbols throughout history.

Sources:

"Snakes in Mythology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 08 Feb. 2017.

"Ningishzida." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2017.

"Asclepius." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2017.         

Rattlesnake Roundups: End the Abuse

           There’s a practice in the Southern and Southwest U.S. where people bring in an insane amount of rattlesnakes, which are then killed for their skin and meat. Certain species of rattlesnakes are very affected such as the eastern diamondback. Their numbers are getting cut drastically. Rattlesnake Roundups must go away.

            Why are some towns doing this? Well some towns hold roundup festivals to generate revenue.  Others are doing this because they are scared of rattlesnakes.  They believe that roundups are okay to keep rattlesnake populations in check, which is false.  Also, some hunters claim they are doing this to collect venom to help with medical research, which is also not true because the way they kill the snakes is very unsanitary and unusable to medical companies.

            Roundup organizers also harm other animals when collecting rattlesnakes. They pour gasoline into tortoise burrows, harming many organisms that also live in these burrows. So hopefully we can all agree that rattlesnake roundups are terrible. What can we do to fix this?

            Well education is very important. Many mad myths about rattlesnakes including being a serious danger to humans is one of the reasons why so many rattlesnakes are skinned and slaughtered. Also, some organizations such as the Center for Biological Diversity is using education and asking state governments to change their policies. Also, the Center for Biological Diversity is encouraging towns that do roundups to a wildlife festival instead and just display the animals to show people that these animals are not killers.  These towns have also generated more revenue from becoming wildlife displays rather than killing the snakes.

            There are still many things that need to be done to protect the rattlesnakes.  Roundups are still occurring and hosted in certain parts of the United States. Hopefully, with more education and action, we will see less of roudnups and an eventual end to the cruel treatments of rattlesnakes.

Sources:

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/outlawing_rattlesnake_roundups/

https://www.rattlesnakeroundups.com

Google was used for images