2025 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference

AUTHORS: Melissa B Youngquist, John G. Shedd Aquarium

ABSTRACT: This opening talk will welcome attendees to the Midwest PARC symposium and provide an overview of Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) and the midwestern regional group, Midwest PARC.

AUTHORS: Jeffrey T. Briggler, Missouri Department of Conservation

ABSTRACT: Missouri is home for 117 native species of amphibians and reptiles with 33 considered species of conservation concern. Six species of conservation concern (i.e., Hellbenders, Western Chicken Turtles, Blanding’s Turtles, Yellow Mud Turtles, Mississippi Green Watersnakes, and Massasaugas) are listed as state endangered. These species occur in a variety of habitats (e.g., upland and bottomland grasslands, Ozark Highlands rivers and streams, bottomland, forested swamps, etc.). Most of these species have declined due to loss of terrestrial and wetland habitats throughout Missouri. Considerable effort has been devoted to the management and recovery of many of these species for decades. An overview of their status and conservation efforts will be presented with other interesting highlights.

AUTHORS: Justin M. Elden, Saint Louis Zoo

ABSTRACT: The Saint Louis Zoo has a longstanding commitment to both in situ and ex situ conservation efforts for reptiles and amphibians across the globe. From the highlands of Western Asia to the streams of the Ozarks, the Zoo takes pride in being a conservation-focused institution. This presentation provides an overview of the Zoo's Herpetology department conservation initiatives, highlighting both local and international projects, with a focus on their in situ and ex situ contributions to the preservation of vital species.

AUTHORS: J. DAREN RIEDLE1, DAY B. LIGON2, AND TREVOR STARKS1
1Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
2Missouri State University


ABSTRACT: The Neosho and Verdigris rivers were once major corridors for movement of Alligator Snapping Turtles between Oklahoma and Kansas. Historic harvest and the proliferation of impoundments in both states resulted in highly fragmented and reduced populations. Alligator Snapping Turtles have long been considered extirpated from Kansas. The last known living Alligator Snapping Turtle in Kansas was outfitted with transmitters and released in 1991 and has not been located since 1992. A series of surveys were conducted in Kansas from 2016-2020, but no individuals were captured. In concert with these survey efforts a Programmatic Agreement, which includes a Safe Harbor Agreement and Candidate Conservation Agreement, that allows our agency to enter into agreements with private landowners. Using habitat information collected during survey work several interested landowners with adequate habitat were identified and agreed to come on as signatories to our programmatic agreement. In Fall of 2024, forty, 6–10-year-old head-started turtles were released on a Segment of the Neosho River in eastern Kansas. An additional 60 turtles will be released in Spring 2025. The initial 40 turtles will be monitored via ultrasonic and radio-telemetry. Depending on the success of the initial releases, future releases will be planned for the Verdigris River drainage.

AUTHORS: Callie Klatt Golba, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences; Gary Glowacki, Lake County Forest Preserve District; Kathryn McCabe, Lake County Forest Preserve District; Richard King, Northern Illinois University

ABSTRACT: Reintroduction is a tool used in conservation biology to establish a new population of previously extirpated species. It is often necessary when habitat fragmentation prevents natural reestablishment. In freshwater turtle species, reintroduction is becoming more common, but due to their longevity, continued monitoring and adaptive management is necessary to properly assess success. From 2020 to 2022, 175 headstarted Blanding’s Turtles were reintroduced at a recently restored site in Lake County, Illinois. The plan was to continue releases to meet or exceed an adult population size indicative of resiliency (Adult N ≥ 50) and maximize genetic diversity. Follow-up monitoring revealed lower than expected survival due to high predation. Releases were halted after detection of a shell rot fungus among captives in 2022. To determine the best strategy going forward, we used population viability analysis to compare release scenarios that differed in the age at release (direct release of hatchlings, 1st year headstarts, 2nd year headstarts), the number released, and the implementation of predator removal. Releases of older headstarts with concurrent predator removal were projected to result in the largest population size. Increasing number of egg donors resulted in relatively small effects on allelic richness, genetic diversity, and inbreeding. Results from the initial years of an experimental reintroduced population demonstrate the utility of continued monitoring to guide adaptive management in wildlife conservation.

AUTHORS: Elizabeth M. Lang* – Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University

Dr. Stephen J. Dinsmore – Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University

Dr. Anna M. Tucker – U.S. Geological Survey, Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Iowa State University

Dr. Karen E. Kinkead – Iowa Department of Natural Resources

ABSTRACT: Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are declining throughout their range due to habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and nest depredation. They have high adult and juvenile survival and varying hatchling survival and fecundity rates. In Iowa, there is little knowledge about current vital rates among Blanding’s populations, so land managers do not know which management actions will be most effective to reverse declines. Determining the outcomes of conservation is vital to land managers to plan efficiently and cost-effectively. To bridge this knowledge gap, we monitored six Blanding’s populations from June 2020 to August 2024. These projects offer preliminary vital rates that we used to model population viability under several management scenarios. We developed an age-based matrix model and conducted a literature review to parameterize the model. When using vital rates from published studies we modeled an Iowa population that is declining slowly (λ = 0.98). In Iowa, there is a concern about small, isolated populations, lower hatchling survival, and lower fecundity rates than those noted in other studies. We developed multiple scenarios representing these hypotheses for the Iowa population as well as potential management actions, including head starting, nest protection, and habitat improvement. We compare projected population sizes and growth rate with cost of implementation to aid managers with identifying the most cost-effective conservation strategy for this imperiled species.

AUTHORS: Allison Sacerdote-Velat, Chicago Academy of Sciences

ABSTRACT: Smooth Greensnakes (Opheodrys vernalis) are small-bodied, oviparous, grassland dependent colubrids, that are declining throughout much of the Midwest due to grassland loss and degradation. We used a before-after-control-impact (BACI) approach to examine effects of prescribed fire, burn interval, and mowing for shrub control, on Smooth Greensnake detection, and nesting activity. This approach parses out temporal effects from management effects. Pre-management data were collected in two grassland sites from multiple long-term monitoring plots. Prescribed fire and mowing were implemented across study plots in both grasslands while maintaining unmanaged plots as controls. Smooth Greensnake detection was greater in post-burn plots than in the control or mowed plots. However, nest abundance decreased following burning, and did not reach pre-management levels until after two to three years of post-burn recovery. In contrast, Smooth Greensnakes continued to nest in post-mow plots with no difference in nest abundance pre- and post-mowing. In Site 1, snake detection and nest abundance did not differ between the control and the mowed plot. In Site 2, willow encroachment in the control plot reduced Smooth Greensnake activity overall. Subsequent burns occurred in Site 2, one year after the initial burn, and in Site 1, three years after the initial burn, allowing further examination of the effects of fire interval. Again, we observed greater snake detection, but reduced nest abundance following the burns. Burning significantly reduced nesting activity for Smooth Greensnakes, which we attribute to the loss of vegetative thatch, which may help retain critical moisture in nesting sites. These results have conservation implications for recruitment based on fire intervals and the extent of burn units. Snake responses to habitat management may be influenced by aspects of reproductive requirements, reiterating the need for a mosaic-approach to management, and including variation in fire intervals in managed grasslands.

AUTHORS: Nicholas F Sekits, Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago; Sara Ruane, Field Museum of Natural History; Joseph R. Milanovich, Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago

ABSTRACT: Midwestern snake populations are in decline therefore an understanding of their ecology is paramount. This understanding is often lacking since snakes are cryptic and difficult to capture. Many sampling techniques have arisen to combat this such as drift fence-trap configurations and coverboards with varying levels of investment for researchers. Our study examined whether time of sampling, type of coverboard (rubber mats or carpet squares), and temperature influenced the number of captures or size of individuals at capture for two common species of snakes found in northern Indiana, Common Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis) and Dekay’s Brownsnakes (Storeria dekayi). We deployed 30 coverboards (20 carpet and 10 rubber mats) at 20 sites across a 12-county area in northern Indiana. Coverboards were checked every 14 to 28 days and all snakes captured were identified and measured. We used general linear models to examine what factors predicted captures and size at capture. Our results show that month significantly predicted captures of T. sirtalis, but not S. dekayi, where T. sirtalis were captured at higher rates in July and August compared to April, May and June. Size of snakes at capture was predicted by month for both T. sirtalis and S. dekayi (and temperature for T. sirtalis) with captured snakes being significantly smaller in August compared to other months. We found no significant difference in captures between coverboard types. These results suggest both species show no preference between board types, T. sirtalis use cover at higher rates in July and August, and utilization of cover by larger snakes of both species declines in August.

AUTHORS: Autumn Straessle; Bruce Kingsbury

ABSTRACT: Severed landscapes and habitat fragmentation can result from anthropogenic effects and climate change on habitat. These fragmentations can have lasting negative effects on surrounding species, especially reptiles. Wood Turtle populations are experiencing a decline due to dwindling habitat, making research for management and conservation crucial to their survival. My research aims to observe the movement patterns of these turtles throughout suitable habitats and developed land within Michigan. To accomplish this, I will attach GPS units to individual turtles to gather data on preferred habitats and movement. This data will be used to identify corridors and possible barriers that can aid in conservation. This data will also be used to construct maps using ArcGIS to visualize patterns of movement and connectivity.

AUTHORS: Thanchira Suriyamongkol, Southern Illinois University; Brent Pease, Southern Illinois University; James Zaczek, Southern Illinois University; Jon Schoonover, Southern Illinois University; Clayton Nielsen; Southern Illinois University; John Groninger, Southern Illinois University

ABSTRACT: Destruction of wetlands reduced vegetation cover and habitat structures, which negatively impacted herpetofauna populations. Giant cane (Arundinaria gigantea) forms dense monodominant patches (canebrakes), once a prominent wetland feature throughout the lower Mississippi Valley. Although high herpetofauna richness is associated with landscape where canebrakes remain abundant, specific relationships between herpetofauna and canebrakes remain poorly studied. We conducted herpetofauna inventory and evaluated the influence of giant cane on herpetofauna richness and habitat use from April to June, 2022 and 2023 at 64 sites in southwestern Illinois, USA, using area search method. We detected 225 individual herpetofauna of 24 species, with17 species in canebrakes and 22 species in non-canebrakes. We examined differences in herpetofauna richness and communities between canebrakes and non-canebrakes using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarity. We also assessed the occupancy probabilities of herpetofauna using a community occupancy model. Species richness was not significantly different between canebrakes and non-canebrakes (p = 0.42). The NMDS analysis revealed no differences in herpetofauna community between canebrakes and non-canebrakes. However, frogs (e.g., Hyla spp. and Lithobates spp.) were more commonly in areas with dense canebrake and herbaceous cover, while reptiles and salamanders (e.g., Eurycea spp. and Plethodon spp.) were associated with contiguous forest cover. Overall herpetofauna occupancy increased in areas with 1) increased canebrake density, 2) more canopy closure and tree density, 3) less ground vegetation cover, and 4) farther from road, forest edge, agriculture, and open water source. Current canebrakes structure, which are sparse and fragmented, might explain the lack of strong influence of canebrake on herpetofauna communities. However, variations in the relationship patterns between herpetofauna and other habitat components were expected given diverse life histories among species. Therefore, maintaining habitat heterogeneity and managing other microhabitat components in wetlands are important for conservation of herpetofauna.

AUTHORS: Madelynn M. Sinclair, University of Chicago; Michelle E. Thompson, San Diego Natural History Museum; Thomas G. Anton, The Field Museum; Sara Ruane, The Field Museum

ABSTRACT: Will County is the most herpetologically rich county in northeastern Illinois, with 18 amphibian and 25 reptile species known to occur in the region. It is also home to the extensive Forest Preserve District of Will County, which has grown steadily since its founding in 1927 and now covers 23,119 acres of land. However, Will County is becoming increasingly urbanized, and many of the preserves border or are surrounded by residential and industrial development. Beginning in 2022, we have been conducting resurveys of these forest preserves to learn how the herpetofauna of Will County has survived, thrived, or been displaced since the last comprehensive compilation in 2015 (which was primarily based on surveys from 1986-2009). We present here the results of these ongoing surveys, summarizing our observations thus far of the relative abundance and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in comparison to historical datasets. We have, so far, collected tissue and/or vouchers of 15 amphibian and 24 reptile species. These modern records may inform management efforts on how their work is affecting local amphibians and reptiles. We have also added dozens of specimens and hundreds of tissues to the collection of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, helping create a library of modern voucher and genetic materials for work on midwestern amphibian and reptile diversity.

AUTHORS: Jean-Baptiste Johnson, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Bruce Kingsbury. Purdue University Fort Wayne.

ABSTRACT: This study’s goal is to understand the ecology and dynamics of a population of Chelydra serpentina (Common Snapping Turtle) in an urban riverine environment. Wildlife evolving in an urban environment may encounter challenges and disturbances due to anthropogenic activities and infrastructure such as bridges, levees, or boat ramps. It is important to understand the interactions between wildlife and infrastructure in order to limit the impact of development on the local ecosystems.

To collect data for this study, hoop net traps are used to catch turtles. Each turtle is processed which means various types of morphological data is recorded, and the shell is marked for future identification during re-capture.

Select individual Common Snappers are fitted with a VHF transmitter in order to be tracked for a year. Tracking data will provide info on preferred locations for foraging, nesting, and overwintering. Once enough tracking data is obtained, probability of occurrence can be mapped based on the characteristics of the habitat.

Habitat characteristics may include density of vegetation, type of soil on shore, slope of the shore, presence of infrastructure, etc. which may impact turtle movements and behavior.

I expect to find that turtles avoid areas where infrastructure is present due to reduced cover for hiding and foraging, and poor quality substrate. I also expect to find that turtles spend more times in locations offering dense vegetation cover and natural basking sites such as downed trees.

AUTHORS: Thomas L Anderson, Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville



ABSTRACT: Documenting species occurrences in different habitat patches across spatiotemporal gradients is critical for understanding demographic trends. Species occurrence information also can help inform management actions by determining what patches constitute consistently occupied areas versus more infrequently used areas. Identification of the drivers of consistently occupied patches is also critical to infer high quality habitats. We monitored the occurrence of ringed (Ambystoma annulatum), a Species of Conservation Concern, and marbled (A. opacum) salamanders across an 11-year period (2012-2022) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. We surveyed 55 wetlands for the presence of each species during the larval period using a combination of minnow traps and dipnets. We analyzed occupancy using single-species multi-season occupancy models from the spOccupancy package in R. We compared the fit of spatial models, which account of spatial autocorrelation in state processes, with non-spatial models. We use a combination of habitat variables (e.g., canopy cover and hydroperiod) and climatic variables (e.g., drought or winter severity) to predict occupancy patterns. We found that non-spatial models fit the data better than the spatial models for both species. Using the non-spatial models, both species showed significant declines in occupancy over time. For marbled salamanders, occupancy probabilities were higher in years with reduced drought severity indices (i.e., wetter conditions) and semi-permanent wetlands compared to permanent wetlands. For ringed salamanders, occupancy probabilities tended to be higher in permanent wetlands, but no other habitat features or climate variables strongly affected ringed salamander occupancy. Further research on aspects of potential declines in these species’ occupancy at this study site are needed to identify potential mechanisms.

AUTHORS: Melissa B. Youngquist, John G. Shedd Aquarium

ABSTRACT: Many wetland species are reliant upon predictable patterns of precipitation for breeding and recruitment. However, climate change models show that unpredictable precipitation may become the new normal. And while many studies have investigated the effects of global warming on amphibian phenology, few have investigated effects of changed precipitation patterns. Between 2020-2024, the Chicago area experience a wide range of annual precipitation patterns. Notably, 2021 and 2023 had winter and spring droughts followed by extreme precipitation in mid-summer that refilled some wetlands. Here, I report the phenological breeding response of six amphibian species to various patterns of annual precipitation. Boreal chorus frogs (Pseudacris maculata) and American toads (Anaxyrus americanus) seemed to have a high degree of plasticity in breeding phenology - I documented delayed and repeated breeding by these species in drought years when wetlands refilled in late June – mid July. However, species with explosive breeding strategies did not show delayed or repeated breeding. Overall, this study highlights the potential adaptability of some species to changes in patterns of precipitation.

AUTHORS: Neil R. Balchan1, Owen M. Edwards1,2, Yucheol Shin3,4, Kaleb M. Banks1, Michael S. Reichert1, Bo Zhang1, Damien Esquerré51 Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA

2 Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA

3 Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA

4 Department of Herpetology, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA

5 School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia

ABSTRACT: The crawfish frog (R. areolata) is an ecologically enigmatic species that is endemic to the United States and is of conservation concern throughout most of its range. Despite recent research, little is known about population and landscape genetics of this species. Traditional taxonomic schemes have suggested the presence of a northern and southern subspecies, with an area of contact in Oklahoma. While these subspecies designations were based on morphological descriptions of disparate individuals and likely do not represent range-wide morphological or genetic, they have largely been accepted and used by various agencies. Here, we use genomic data to understand these themes in Oklahoma, with the goals of understanding the patterns of spatial genetics for this species. We use a panel of genome wide single nucleotide polymorphism loci to understand population differentiation, relatedness of individuals across the landscape, and connectivity of populations. We also explore the roles of two proposed biogeographic barriers, the Arkansas and Canadian rivers, in structuring subspecies limits. Finally, we use ecological niche modelling to explore how post-glacial expansion of species ranges might contribute to patterns of current population structure seen in the crawfish frog. Our data reveal that crawfish frogs in Oklahoma exhibit minimal genetic structuring, inconsistent with what would be expected for a contact zone between two evolutionarily significant units. Our models suggest a constrained distribution for this species in southern Texas during the last glacial maximum, and subsequent rapid expansion northward over the last 20,000 years as deglaciation occurred. Conservation approaches should consider the current genetic makeup of crawfish frogs when planning management efforts, and our data suggest little genetic differentiation among populations in northern parts of the current geographic distribution.