Alabama Chapter of Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation |
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Alabama Hellbender Initiative
Recently published, this study was conducted by ALAPARC volunteers Graham, Sean, Eric Soehren, George Cline, Christina Schmidt, William Sutton, James Rayburn, Sierra Stiles, and James Stiles. 2011. Conservation status of hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) in Alabama, USA. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 6(2):242?249. (pdf) In many states where hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) were once common, drastic declines have occurred, and this salamander is now one of the most imperiled amphibians in North America. Museum collections indicate hellbenders once occurred in many drainages in northern Alabama, however, the last verified record of a living hellbender in this state was in 1990 (see below). The purpose of this initiative is to generate voluntary interest from experienced herpetologists in Alabama to determine the current range and status of Alabama hellbenders. Early thoughts on how this could easily and cheaply be accomplished are:
Is this the last Alabama hellbender?? This summer, the kind folks at Dismals Canyon Preserve gave ALAPARC members the hellbender specimen they had found dead in the canyon back in 2006. This hellbender was found on 21 July 2006, and thus is currently the most recently encountered hellbender in the state. Such a recent find has certainly reinvigorated our hopes that the ALAPARC hellbender initiative will succeed in documenting live hellbenders somewhere in the state! The specimen is now housed in the Auburn University Herpetological Collections, currently the largest repository for Alabama hellbender specimens. Two follow up surveys attempted this year at the canyon have been unsuccessful in documenting additional specimens. For more information about the spectacular Dismals Canyon Preserve, visit their website. |
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Conservation |