advancing research and conservation of Texas Eurycea salamanders
An article by Betsy Blaney of the Associated Press appeared in the Austin American Statesman yesterday (August 30, 2011) entitled, “State prepares to capture, move endangered Hill Country species if drought worsens” and discusses the impact of the current drought on aquatic species throughout the hill country, including some of the Texas Eurycea, and the development of possible contingency plans should any springs go dry. In related news, an MSNBC photoblog post by Rich Shulman depicts the Texas Blind Salamander (Eurycea rathbuni) and San Marcos Salamander (Eurycea nana). This follows last Friday’s article in the Statesman on how the drought is affecting the Barton Springs Salamander, Eurycea sosorum.
It’s too bad it takes a severe drought to get Eurycea in the news, but I’m glad they are getting some attention.
ARKive.org (an online archive of images and videos of rare and threatened species) recently featured the Barton Springs Salamander (Eurycea sosorum) on its “ARKive On The Road” blog during the Ecological Society of America meeting in Austin, Texas. Click here to read the full story. If you’ve never explored ARKive.org, take a few minutes to see what it has to offer.
Call for photos and videos of Texas Eurycea!
Many species of the Texas Eurycea are featured on ARKive.org, and the site is in need of high-quality videos of many of the Texas Eurycea species in their natural habitats. Consider this an open call to EuryceAlliance members who have such video to please email (eurycealliance@gmail.com) and let me know what type of video you have for which species of Eurycea. I’ll pass on your contact info and a list of videos to the ARKive organizers . Images and video are especially needed for the Salado Salamander (Eurycea chisholmensis).
You may also notice that not all of the species profiles on ARKive.org for the Texas Eurycea are complete. A program called ARKive and Universities in which graduate students write species profiles (that are credited to them on the website) that are then reviewed by species experts. If you have any graduate students that are interested in writing Texas Eurycea profiles, or are willing to serve as a reviewer for these profiles, please email eurycealliance@gmail.com and I’ll pass on your information to ARKive.
Thanks for your interest!
A Barton Springs Salamander from Eliza Spring (Travis County, Texas). Photo by Hayley Gillespie
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