Disease Task Team
Task Team Purpose
Photo by Todd Pierson
This team's goal is to increase awareness of herpetofaunal pathogens and the occurrence of herpetofauna morbidity and mortality events in the Southeast US. The Task Team develops information sheets on herpetofaunal pathogens, primarily those that impact populations. The team also provides protocols for collecting and shipping diseased animals and instructions on disinfecting field equipment.
This team was involved in the collaboration that developed the Global Ranavirus Reporting System (GRRS; https://mantle.io/grrs), and provides interactive workshops on herpetofaunal diseases, necropsy techniques, and submission protocols to diagnostic laboratories. In addition to these outreach activities, the team has published several peer reviewed manuscripts on the above topics.
Task Team Leaders
Rachel Goodman (Hampden-Sydney College; rgoodman@hsc.edu)
Natalie Stilwell (Mississippi State University; natalie.stilwell@msstate.edu)
Amanda Duffus (Gordon State College; aduffus@gordonstate.edu)
Task Team Products
Information sheets developed by this team on pathogens of amphibians and reptiles and their collecting/shipping protocols are available on the Diseases and Parasites of Herpetofauna product page.