More than half of turtle species in the world face extinction
More than half of the nearly 500 species and subspecies of turtles and tortoises in the world are threatened with extinction. According to a review published ...
reptiles
DNA reveals multiple rattler populations in British Columbia
Hundreds of genetic samples have revealed multiple distinct populations of western rattlesnakes in the northern part of their range in British Columbia. “Western ...
Recovering Georgia loggerheads face feral hog predation
Loggerhead sea turtle nests on Georgia’s Barrier Islands are experiencing improved survival rates, but invasive swine are the major predators affecting them. ...
Introduced lizards squeeze out native reptiles on Saipan
Thousands of miles from the West Coast of the U.S. mainland lies the tiny island of Saipan, a tropical island rainforest often known solely for the World War II ...
Storing sperm helps female sea turtles remain monogamous
Many female loggerhead sea turtles stay monogamous during mating seasons, likely by storing sperm, research reveals. Female loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) ...
Northern snakes face increasingly unstable winters
A threatened population of massasauga rattlesnakes in Canada is facing increasingly unstable conditions at the northern end of their range. Massasaugas (Sistrurus ...
JWM: Reptiles may benefit under grouse conservation umbrella
Conservation measures aimed at improving sagebrush environments for sage-grouse are also benefitting native reptile species. “There’s convincing evidence that ...
Prescribed fires burn turtles but may help egg-laying females
Prescribed fires may kill individual box turtles, but the aftermath produces favorable plots for egg-laying females. “The fire does create this challenging ...
Fungal disease drains energy and dries snakes out
A pair of new studies illuminate one of the ways that a fungal disease may be killing snakes as well as what methods may not work for protecting infected serpents. ...
JWM: Sumatran blood pythons shrinking in body size, numbers
Sumatran blood pythons are declining in body size and reproduction — possibly due to overharvesting on the Indonesian island. “This paper is the first one that ...