Gopher Frog & Crawfish Frog Task Team
Task Team Purpose
This task team is composed of persons interested in the biology and conservation status of the eastern United States ranid clade consisting of Lithobates (Rana) capito, L. sevosus, and L. areolatus. Lithobates sevosus is federally endangered; L. capito is known from fewer than 20 populations in all states where they occur except Florida.
The status of L. areolatus is uncertain; currently most of the work is being done in Indiana.
The ultimate goals of this task team will be:
To understand the biology of these three species, in order to;
ensure that all three species are on a secure conservation footing moving into the future.
Task Team Leaders:
Jeff Hall (NC Wildlife Resources Commission)
Mike Sisson (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)
Stacey Lance (Savannah River Ecology Lab)
Task Team Products
This group met for the first time at the 2010 SEPARC meeting in Ocala, Florida under the leadership of Mike Lannoo. The group met again at the 2011 SEPARC meeting in Mississippi. This team has used a listserv to stay in contact about several issues. The biggest issue is the US FWS' proposal to designate 11 sites as critical habitat for R. sevosa – members of this group have commented and discussed this proposal. Other information that has been shared on the listserv includes recent publications, effects of chytrid on populations, and findings from investigations into activity patterns, habitat selection, genetic relationships within the group, and tadpole density effects. Other topics of interest to this group are prescribed fires and buffer zones.
Task Team Meeting Summaries