Herpetology: the Biology of Tetrapods BIOEE 470 and 472

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Herpetology the Biology of Tetrapods (BIOEE 470
and 472)
Be sure to sign the roster for 5 pts each,
today and Thursday Be sure to respond to the
email prompt for teaching evaluations
Why does this Tropical Milksnake (Lampropeltis
triangulum) have such bright colors?
(photoM.P.Fogden)
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Herpetological fieldwork the paperwork!
Virtually all interactions with live
vertebrates are regulated by federal, state, and
local governing agencies, committees, and so
forth So much as touching a live herp
anywhere in the U.S. is probably illegal without
some sort of permit, and to collect almost
anything almost anywhere (VERY few exceptions)
requires a hunting license or a scientific
collecting permit Breaking the wildlife laws
of another country and transporting animals
collected illegally across state lines are felony
violations of the U. S. Lacey Act
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Herpetology, indoors and out more paperwork!
Any work by a staff or student of a U.S.
university almost certainly requires prior
approval of a local Institutional Animal Care and
Use Committee Includes teaching and outreach
as well as research Much of the bureaucracy
associated with doing organismal biology is
frustratingly out of touch with reality, but it
reflects legal requirements and therefore must be
endured E.g., Cornell animal policy will
let me have a pirana in an aquarium on my desk,
but not a salamander in a terrariumhuh?!
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Herpetological fieldwork the gear!
Photography SLR with normal lens, macro
lens, telephoto, and electronic flash Metric
tape, Pesola scales (ranges up to at least 1 kg),
digital calipers GPS unit, field notebook and
pens (Rite-in-Rain) Binoculars I like my
Eagle Optics Ranger Platinum 8x42s Cloth
bags, plastic bags Collecting, killing, and
preserving gear (snake hook, clamp stick, drugs,
formalin, trays, jars, tissue scissors and
vials) Food, water, sun screen, bandana,
compass, mirror, bug spray (kills frogs!)
Headlamp and back-up flashlight
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Why and how I wrote a book
Tracks and Shadows Field Biology as Art A
River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean
(University of Chicago Press) Snakes the
Evolution of Mystery in Nature (University of
California Press) How I got the ending If
you want to write a book some day