Long-term Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake Monitoring
![]() Since 2008, we have been monitoring a sea island eastern diamondback rattlesnake (C. adamanteus; EDB) population to examine questions about EDB ecology and conservation. Although project goals have changed over the years, the research uses radio telemetry and mark-recapture data to address management and conservation issues. Current research activities include:
1) Using adaptive management to develop and assess human-rattlesnake conflicts management policy 2) EDB reproductive ecology Collaborators: John D. Holloway, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Office, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC 29905, USA Stacey Leonatti Wilkinson, Will Wilkinson, and Mary Cate Miller, Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital of Georgia, 118 Pipemakers Circle, Suite 110, Pooler, GA 31322 Holly Cyphert, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, 1 John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25755 Jennifer Mosher, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, 1 John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25755 Student Participants: Marshall University Herpetology & Applied Conservation Lab: Emily Gray, Carissa Adams, Sarah Ebert, Anna Humphrey McCallum, Casey Hitchens, McKenzie Merritt Funding for this research was provided by DoD Legacy, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Office (Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island), and Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. Modeling the Extirpation of Carolina Gopher Frogs in South Carolina
In light of Carolina Gopher Frog (Rana capito) population declines and the species’ review for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, we initiated an acoustic monitoring program at historical gopher frog breeding locations in South Carolina. In collaboration with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and with support of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the goals of the current study are to use remotely sensed acoustic anuran call data and gopher frog absence from historical breeding sites to assess extirpation at a regional scale.
Long-term Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring in the South Carolina Coastal Plain
Student Participants:
Marshall University Herpetology & Applied Conservation Lab: Kelli Herrick, Marcie Cruz, Elise Edwards, Derek Breakfield, Brian Williams, Nate Shepard, and Kevin Messenger. University of South Carolina: Jennifer Fill and Mike Martin Funding for this project was provided by South Carolina DNR, Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, National Wildlife Federation, and The Gopher Tortoise Council. |
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The Marshall University Herpetology and Applied Conservation Lab acknowledges the following organizations for supporting our South Carolina research projects.