TSTP.tv

May 20, 2013 /

Front Row Seats to Climate Change

By day, insects provide the white noise of the South, but the night belongs to the amphibians. In a typical year, the Southern air hangs heavy from the humidity and the sounds of wildlife. The Southeast, home to more than 140 species of frogs, toads and salamanders, is the center of amphibian biodiversity in our nation. If the ponds and swamps are the auditorium for their symphonic choruses, the scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative, [...]

May 20, 2013 /

The Importance of Fire

Wildfires can be devastating to property and lives. But the fact is many of our native habitats are fire-dependent and will eventually burn sooner or later.

May 13, 2013 /

The Sardinian or Gene’s Cave Salamander

Amazing Amphibians #10: Classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM, the Sardinian or Gene’s Cave Salamander, Atylodes genei, is endemic to Europe, occurring only in southwest Sardinia, Italy. It has a relatively small range (less than 20,000 km2) and has been recorded in fewer than 10 locations. This species lives in moist rocky outcrops, caves, and forested areas near streams. The Sardinian Cave Salamander is amazing for being lungless and for laying eggs on land that hatch into [...]

May 9, 2013 /

Biologist Maps the Family Tree of All Known Snake and Lizard Groups

A George Washington University biologist and a team of researchers have created the first large-scale evolutionary family tree for every snake and lizard around the globe.

May 8, 2013 /

Decline in Snow Cover Spells Trouble for Many Plants, Animals

For plants and animals forced to tough out harsh winter weather, the coverlet of snow that blankets the north country is a refuge, a stable beneath-the-snow habitat that gives essential respite from biting winds and subzero temperatures.

May 6, 2013 /

Backyard Wildlife Tips

Here are few quick tips to help you conserve amphibian and reptile populations in your own backyard.

May 6, 2013 /

New scientific studies reveal Midwestern frogs decline, mammal populations altered by invasive plant

Researchers at Lincoln Park Zoo and Northern Illinois University have discovered a new culprit contributing to amphibian decline and altered mammal distribution throughout the Midwest region – the invasive plant European buckthorn. This non-native shrub, which has invaded two-thirds of the United States, has long been known to negatively impact plant community composition and forest structure, but these two innovative studies slated to publish in upcoming editions of the Journal of Herpetology and Natural Areas Journal demonstrate how this shrub negatively impacts native amphibians [...]

May 6, 2013 /

Madagascar Tortoise Trafficking Rages Out of Control

Illegal trafficking of two critically endangered tortoise species from Madagascar has reached epidemic proportions, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Turtle Survival Alliance, Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Turtle Conservancy, Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund and other groups who urge authorities to clamp down on wildlife smuggling before some species are collected out of existence.

May 6, 2013 /

The Ethiopian Short-headed Frog

Amazing Amphibians #9: The Ethiopian Short-headed Frog, Balebreviceps hillmani, is listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. This poorly-known amphibian is endemic to the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia, where it has been recorded from just a single site, at an elevation of around 3,200 metres. This species comes from a family of frogs that live underground, but its habitat in the Bale Mountains is so humid that researchers don’t think that the Ethiopian Short-headed Frog needs to [...]

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