Activities Pertaining
to the Biology and Conservation of Amphibians of California
and Nevada
Year 2001
JOURNAL
ARTICLES
Blaustein, A.R., L.K. Belden, D.H. Olson,
D.M. Green, T.L. Root, and J.M. Kiesecker. 2001. Amphibian breeding
and climate change. Conservation Biology 15: 1804-1809. (includes
Bufo boreas and Rana cascadae) Chan,
L. M. 2001. Bufo canorus (Yosemite toad). Herpetological
Review 32:101. Cook, D., and M. R. Jennings. 2001. Natural history notes: Rana aurora
draytonii (California red-legged frog). Predation. Herpetological
Review, 32:182-183. Davidson, C., H.B. Shaffer, and M.R. Jennings.
2001. Declines of the California red-legged frog: climate, UV-B,
habitat, and pesticides hypotheses. Ecological Applications 11:
464-479. Davidson, C., H.B. Shaffer, and M.R. Jennings.
Spatial tests of the pesticide drift, habitat destruction, UV-B
and climate change hypotheses for California amphibian declines.
Conservation Biology, in press. Ervin,
E. L., A. E. Anderson, T. L. Cass, and R. E. Murcia. 2001. Spea
hammondii (Western spadefoot toad). Elevation record. Herpetological
Review 32:36. Fellers, G.M., D.E. Green, and J.E. Longcore.
2001. Oral chytridiomycosis in the mountain yellow-legged frog
(Rana muscosa). Copeia 2001: 945-953.
Fellers,
G. M., A. E. Launer, G. Rathbun, S. Bobzien, J. Alvarez, D. Sterner,
R. B. Seymour, and M. Westphal. 2001. Overwintering tadpoles in
the California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii). Herpetological
Review 32:156-157. Goldberg,
S. R., and C. R. Bursey. 2001. Helminths of the California treefrog,
Hyla cadaverina (Hylidae), from southern California. Bulletin
Southern California Academy of Sciences 100:117-122.
Goldberg,
S. R., and C. R. Bursey. 2001. Persistence of the nematode, Oswaldocruzia
pipiens (Molineidae), in the Pacific treefrog, Hyla regilla
(Hylidae), from California. Bulletin Southern California Academy
of Sciences 100:44-50. Green, D. E., and C. K. Sherman. 2001. Diagnostic
histological findings in Yosemite toads (Bufo canorus) from
a die-off in the 1970s. Journal of Herpetology 35:92-103.
Griffin,
P. C., and T. J. Case. 2001. Terrestrial habitat preferences of
adult arroyo southwestern toads. Journal of Wildlife Management
65:633-644.
Jaeger, J.R., B.R. Riddle, R.D. Jennings,
and D.F. Bradford. 2001. Rediscovering Rana onca: Evidence
for phylogenetically distinct leopard frogs from the border region
of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Copeia 2001: 339-354.
Jockusch, E. L., K.
P. Yanev, and D. B. Wake. 2001. Molecular phylogenetic analysis
of slender salamanders, genus Batrachoseps (Amphibia: Plethodontidae),
from central coastal California with descriptions of four new species.
Herpetological Monographs:54-99.
Johnson, P. T. J., K.
B. Lunde, R. W. Haight, J. Bowerman, and A. R. Blaustein. 2001.
Ribeiroia ondatrae (Trematoda: Digenea) infection induces
severe limb malformations in western toads (Bufo boreas).
Canadian Journal of Zoology 79:370-379.
Johnson, P. T. J., K.
B. Lunde, E. G. Ritchie, J. K. Reaser, and A. E. Launer. 2001. Morphological
abnormality patterns in a California amphibian community. Herpetologica
57:336-352.
Karraker, N. E. 2001.
Ascaphus truei (tailed frog). Herpetological Review 32:100.
Knapp, R.A., K.R. Matthews, and O. Sarnelle.
2001. Resistance and resilience of alpine lake fauna to fish introductions.
Ecological Monographs 71: 401-421.
Knapp, R.A., P.S. Corn, and D.E. Schindler.
2001. The introduction of nonnative fish into wilderness lakes:
good intentions, conflicting mandates, and unintended consequences.
(First of seven articles in series entitled Fish Stocking Impacts
to Mountain Lake Ecosystems). Ecosystems 4: 275-278.
Macey, J. R., J. L. Strasburg, J. A. Brisson,
V. T. Vredenburg, M. Jennings, and A. Larson. 2001. Molecular phylogenetics
of western North American frogs of the Rana boylii species
group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 19:131-143.
Matthews, K.R., K.L. Pope, H.K. Preisler,
and R.A. Knapp. 2001. Effects of nonnative trout on Pacific treefrogs
(Hyla regilla) in the Sierra Nevada. Copeia 2001: 1130-1137.
Matthews, K. R., R. A. Knapp, and K. L. Pope.
Garter snake distributions in high-elevation aquatic ecosystems:
is there a link with declining amphibian populations and nonnative
trout introductions? Journal of Herpetology, in press.
Pilliod, D.S., and C.R. Peterson. 2001.
Local and landscape effects of introduced trout on amphibians in
historically fishless watersheds. Ecosystems 4: 322-333.
Pister, E.P. 2001. Wilderness fish stocking:
history and perspective. Ecosystems 4: 287-295.
Piotrowski, J. S., S.
L. Annis, and J. E. Longcore. 2001. Physiology, zoospore behavior,
and enzyme production of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis,
a chytrid pathogenic to amphibians. Phytopathology 91:S121.
Pope, K.L., and K.R.
Matthews. 2001. Movement ecology and seasonal distribution of
mountain yellow-legged frogs, Rana muscosa, in a high-elevation
Sierra Nevada basin. Copeia 2001: 787-793.
Padgett-Flohr, G. E.,
and M. R. Jennings. 2001. An economical safe house for small mammals
in pitfall traps. California Fish and Game, 87:72-74. [discusses
pitfall trapping for California tiger salamanders].
Sparling, D.W., G.M. Fellers, and L.L. McConnell.
2001. Pesticides and amphibian population declines in California,
USA. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 20: 1591-1595.
Sparling, D. W., G.
Fellers, and L. McConnell. 2001. Pesticides are involved with population
declines of amphibians in the California Sierra Nevadas. The Scientific
World 1:200-201.
Trenham, P. C. 2001.
Terrestrial habitat use by adult California tiger salamanders. Journal
of Herpetology 35:343-346.
Trenham, P. C., W. D.
Koenig, and H. B. Shaffer. 2001. Spatially autocorrelated demography
and interpond dispersal in the salamander Ambystoma californiense.
Ecology (Washington D C) 82:3519-3530.
Trenham, P. C., H. B. Shaffer, W. D. Koenig,
and M. R. Stromberg. 2000. Life history and demographic variation
in the California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma californiense).
Copeia 2000:365-377.
Welsh, H.H., Jr., and S. Droege. 2001.
A case for using plethodontid salamanders for monitoring biodiversity
and ecosystem integrity of North American forests. Conservation
Biology 15: 558-569.
Vredenburg, V. T., and A. P. Summers. 2001.
Field identification of chytridiomycosis in Rana muscosa
(Camp 1915). Herpetological Review 32:151-152.
REPORTS AND OTHER
DOCUMENTS
Bradford, D.F., Heithmar, E.M., Cross, C.L.,
Gentry, B., Momplaisir, G-M., Nash, M.S., Tallent-Halsell, N., Riddick,
L., Rosal, C., Varner, K.E. 2001. Distribution of airborne agricultural
contaminants relative to amphibian populations in the southern Sierra
Nevada, California. EPA/600/R-01/085, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Washington, DC. Contact: D.F. Bradford (702-798-2681,
bradford.david@epa.gov).
Milliron, C. 2001. Aquatic Biodiversity Management
Plan for the Big Pine Creek Wilderness Basin of the Sierra Nevada,
Inyo County, California, 1999-2005. Contact: Curtis Milliron (760-872-1125,
cmilliro@dfg.ca.gov).
National Park Service. 2001. Preliminary
Restoration of Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs; Environmental Assessment.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, California
93271. Contact: Harold Werner (559-565-3123, wernerhw@inreach.com).
PRESENTATIONS AT
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEETINGS
Bradford, D.F., A.C. Neale, M.S. Nash, D.W.
Sada, J.R. Jaeger, and B.R. Riddle. Habitat patch occupancy by
the red-spotted toad (Bufo punctatus) in a naturally fragmented
desert landscape. Oral presentation, annual meeting of the Western
Section of the Wildlife Society, Sacramento, CA February 22-24,
2001.
Bradford, D., and R. Knapp. Alien species:
their role in amphibian population declines and restoration. Oral
presentation, International Symposium on Amphibian Population Declines,
2001 SSAR/HL Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, July 30-31, 2001.
Cook, D. Ecological studies of an isolated
population of California tiger salamanders in Sonoma County. Oral
presentation, annual meeting of the Western Section of the Wildlife
Society, Sacramento, CA February 22-24, 2001.
Corn, S., and C. Peterson. Status of amphibians
in the western United States. Oral presentation, International
Symposium on Amphibian Population Declines, 2001 SSAR/HL Annual
Meeting, Indianapolis, July 30-31, 2001.
Davidson, C. Historic presticide use and
California amphibian declines. Oral presentation, 2001 SSAR/HL
Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, July 30-31, 2001.
Ervin, E.L. 8/2001: Roads and toads: amphibian
mortality in relation to rainfall, roadway surface moisture, and
traffic volume. Annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology,
Hilo, Hawaii, August 2001
Fitzpatrick, B.M., S.P.D. Riley, H.B. Shaffer,
and S.R. Voss. Hybridization between an invasive exotic and a declining
native amphibian: ecological, genetic, and political components
of the threat. Oral presentation, annual meeting of the Western
Section of the Wildlife Society, Sacramento, CA February 22-24,
2001.
Hayes, T. Atrazine inhibits development
of the male larynx in Xenopus laevis: possible disruption
of steriodogenesis. Oral presentation, International Symposium
on Amphibian Population Declines, 2001 SSAR/HL Annual Meeting, Indianapolis,
July 30-31, 2001.
Jaeger, J.R., B.R. Riddle, R.D. Jennings,
and D.F. Bradford. Evidence for phylogenetically distinct leopard
frogs (Rana onca) from the border region of Nevada, Utah,
and Arizona. Oral presentation, annual meeting of the Western Section
of the Wildlife Society, Sacramento, CA February 22-24, 2001.
Leyse, K.E. Survival and growth of California
tiger salamander larvae in experimental ponds: a comparison of
the effects of mosquitofish presence at low and high initial densities.
Oral presentation, annual meeting of the Western Section of the
Wildlife Society, Sacramento, CA February 22-24, 2001.
Jennings, M. R. Reptiles and amphibians
of California's grasslands. Invited paper presented at the annual
meeting of the California Native Grass Association, Humboldt State
University, Arcata, California, April 6, 2001.
Jennings, M. R. Richard Stege and his "California
Frog Ranch". Contributed paper presented at the 13th annual
meeting of The Gilbert Ichthyological Society, Hatfield Marine Science
Center, Newport, Oregon, September 15, 2001.
Matthews, K.R., R.A. Knapp, and O. Sarnelle.
Resistance and resilience of alpine lake fauna to fish introductions.
Oral presentation at the annual meeting of Ecological Society of
America, Madison, WI, August 2001.
Ollivier, L.M. A hierarchical analysis of
the habitat attributes of the tailed frog (Ascaphus truei)
in a low sediment stream system. Oral presentation, annual meeting
of the Western Section of the Wildlife Society, Sacramento, CA February
22-24, 2001.
Sadinski, W.J., M. Wilson, and J.E. Cleaver.
Status of Yosemite toads in Yosemite National Park. Oral presentation
at annual meeting of the Western Section of the Wildlife Society,
Sacramento, CA February 22-24, 2001.
Stephens, M R., H.B. Shaffer, and D.J. Girman.
Phylogeography of the Western Toad (Bufo boreas) in California.
Oral presentation, annual meeting of the Evolution Society, Knoxville,
June 2001.
Wake, D. Introduction: discovery of the
problem and the history of DAPTF. Oral presentation, International
Symposium on Amphibian Population Declines, 2001 SSAR/HL Annual
Meeting, Indianapolis, July 30-31, 2001.
Welsh, Hartwell H., Jr., and D.M. Boiano. Impacts
of introduced fishes on amphibian assemblages in the Klamath Mountains
of northern California. Oral presentation, Annual meeting of the Society for Conservation
Biology, Hilo, Hawaii, August 2001.
In addition, 19 oral and 3 poster presentations
were given at workshop on "Declining Amphibian Populations of California
and Nevada: Causes and Solutions," held at the 2001 annual meeting
of The Wildlife Society, Western Section, Sacramento, CA February
22-24. (see separate file for listings: TWS DAPTF 2001.doc)
PRESS COVERAGE
"Frog Research Suspends Alpine Fish Stocking,"
Sacramento Bee, 1/9/01, by Christine Vovakes.
"Decision Due Soon On Trout Stocking," San
Francisco Chronicle, 2/18/01, by Tom Stienstra.
First of two Fresno Bee articles disappearing
amphibians in the Sierra Nevada, Fresno Bee, June? 2001, by Mark
Grossi.
"Amphibious Assault: Scientists debate what's
causing Sierra frogs and toads to vanish." The Fresno Bee,7/16/01,
by Mark Grossi.
VARIOUS MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS
Forest Reptile and Amphibian Working Group
(FRAWG). Multiple meetings held, primarily by North Coast group.
Contact: Gary Falxa, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata, CA,
Gary_Falxa@r1.fws.gov.
Amargosa Toad Working Group. Meets bi-annually to review
activities and projects to benefit the Bufo nelsoni and its
habitats. The last meeting was held in Las Vegas on 8 Nov. 2001.
Contacts: Glenn Clemmer, NV Natural Heritage Program, 775-687-4245,
gclemmer@govmail.state.nv.us, or
Michael Burroughs, 702-647-5230, michael_burroughs@fws.gov.
Meetings/workshops to develop conservation
strategies, conservation assessments, and/or conservation agreements:
Rana boylii. Contact: Cathy Brown, U.S. Forest Service,
510-559-6433, Rana cascadae. Contact: Cathy Brown, U.S. Forest Service,
510-559-6433,
Rana onca. Contact: Suzin Romin, Lake Mead National
Recreation Area, 702-293-8790,
Rana muscosa. Contact Ann Carlson, U.S. Forest Service,
530-478-6237, adcarlson@fs.fed.us Bufo canorus.
Contact: Cathy Brown, U.S. Forest Service, 510-559-6433, cathybrown@fs.fed.us
Workshop: Identification and Ecology of
Sensitive Amphibians and Reptiles of the Central and Southern Sierra
Nevada - June 14-15, 2001, Fresno, California. Contact: see "Abstracts
and Minutes from Past Meetings and Workshops" at the TWS-Western
Section web site (www.tws-west.org).
Workshop on Rana draytonii given by
Norm Scott, Galen Rathbun, and Jae Abel; Piedras Blancas, CA, April
2001.
SETAC Pellston Workshop: Multiple Stressors
and Declining Amphibian Populations: Evaluating Cause and Effect,
Racine, Wisconsin. Participants from CA/NV were D.F. Bradford and
G.M. Fellers, August 2001. LEGAL/ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS:
The following list was prepared by Deanna
Spooner, Pacific Rivers Council. Contact: Deanna Spooner, PRC,
deanna@pacrivers.org; Brendan Cummings, CBD, bcummings@biologicaldiversity.org.
I. Current Legal/Administrative Actions
A. California red-legged frog (Rana aurora):
1.
Critical habitat challenge
by the Northern California Homebuilders Association and others (intervention
by Pacific Rivers Council [PRC], Center for Biological Diversity
[CBD], Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation, and Sierra Club).
2.
So. Cal. national forest
settlement (CBD).
3.
EPA pesticide registration
60 day notice sent-lawsuit pending (CBD, Californians Against Toxics).
4.
CBD challenge to Gateway
Valley golf course located in frog habitat (in Orinda adjacent to
Robert Sibley Regional Park).
5.
Blue Rock Country Club
challenge (CBD).
B. Mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana
muscosa):
1. Southern California - ESA petition
several years ago by the Biodiversity Legal Fund (BLF) followed
by litigation to force petition findings (BLF, CBD); settlement
to compel final listing due June of this year (CBD).
2. Sierra Nevada - ESA petition filed
in spring of 2000 followed by a successful lawsuit to compel completion
of the listing process by Jan. 2003 (CBD, PRC).
C. Yosemite toad (Bufo canorus):
1.
ESA petition
filed in spring of 2000 followed by a successful lawsuit to compel
completion of the listing process by Nov. 2002 (CBD, PRC).
D. Arroyo toad (Bufo californicus):
1. So. Cal. national forest settlement
(CBD).
2. Industry lawsuit to knock out critical
habitat designation (CBD will intervene).
3. Lawsuits in So Cal regarding the
Newhall Ranch development (so far unsuccessful).
E. California tiger salamander (Ambystoma
californiense):
1.
CESA petition
rejected-CBD resubmitting the petition this year.
2.
Emergency
ESA petition for Sonoma DPS of filed in June 2000-USFWS is processing
the petition but further delays may prompt a lawsuit by CBD.
II. Pending Actions
A. Foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana
boylii):
1. ESA petition to list Sierra Nevada and
Central Coast populations (PRC, CBD). B. Relict leopard frog (Rana
onca):
1.
ESA petition
to list Utah and Nevada populations (CBD).
III. Of Interest
Simpson Timber Company of California is applying
for a section 10 take permit (a.k.a. Habitat Conservation Plan)
that includes the southern torrent salamander (Rrhyacotriton
variegates) and the tailed frog (Ascaphus truei).
WEBSITE UPDATES
AmphibiaWeb
( This site, "inspired by global amphibian declines, is an online
system that allows free access to information on amphibian biology
and conservation."
Mountain Yellow-legged Frog (www.mylfrog.com).
Site provides "up-to-date information to the general public, resource
managers, and the scientific community about the natural history
and conservation of the mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa)."
US Amphibians Distribution Maps (
Site is "supported by the Declining Amphibian
Populations Task Force, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation,
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Virginia Herpetological
Society, Ball State University, and the US Geological Survey (EROS
Data Center, National Atlas Map Project)." SOME ACTIVITIES SCHEDULED FOR 2002
Jan. 10-11. Declining Amphibian Task Force,
CA/NV Working Group meeting, San Diego. Contact: Dave Bradford
(702-798-2681, bradford.david@epa.gov)
March 7-9, annual meeting of the Western
Section of the Wildlife Society, Visalia, CA (www.tws-west.org)
October 8-10. Sierra Nevada Science Symposium.
Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe, CA. (http://danr.ucop.edu/wrc/snssweb/snss2.html)
April. California red-legged frog workshop, sponsored
by the Sacramento-Shasta Chapter of The Wildlife Society, 3 days.
Contact: Charlene Hall (916-414-6739, charlene_hall@fws.gov).
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