Ultimate Herp Challenge
We are challenging you to find all 22 species of herptiles in Nova Scotia. This will not be an easy task and for every category you complete, you will earn one of four badges, the Frog Finder, Salamander Scout, Turtle Tracker or Snake Seeker. When you find all 22 species you will earn your fifth and final badge, the Ultimate Herper.
To enter the challenge, you must sign up online (https://forms.office.com/r/FnhAWyAi8j) so that we can track your progress. You can submit sightings through our Herp Atlas website, via email or through iNaturalist, just make sure you join the Nova Scotia Herp Atlas project. The atlas is a collaborative effort to learn about the abundance and distribution of reptile and amphibian species. You can help by getting outside and uploading all the reptiles and amphibians you see or hear.
Remember to herp responsibly, please follow all public health guidelines and minimize disturbance to wildlife.
For this challenge, everyone will start from the beginning and only sightings made after January 1, 2024 will be considered. Are you ready for the Ultimate Challenge?
Comentarios
Yes I joined. This will be fun. Although the challenge has no deadline, this would also make a great BIG YEAR for herptiles, I've been wanting to do that ever since I retired and moved back home to Nova Scotia. This might be that year. A few questions:
CALLS. Is a recording of a frog calling acceptable as proof?
NEWTS. Is either form acceptable? Not that we wouldn't aim to get both. I guess the same question applies to any tadpoles that might be identifiable to species. In my limited skill range, that would only be bullfrogs. :-)
22 SPECIES? I am miscounting the number of species that we have. Salamanders (4), Frogs (8), Turtles (4), Snakes (5).. That is only 21. However if we include the marine turtles then that goes to 24. If I assume we only include the Leatherback then we get to 22 as the Ridley and Loggerhead would be so accidental as to be nearly impossible to ever see. Is that how we get to 22 species?
TRIPLOID. At one point the triploid blue-spots in Nova Scotia, if memory serves me correctly, were listed as A. tremblayi. Since I don't see that listed any more then I am assuming the species status was removed or there has been a completely different re-evaluation of the Jefferson complex. So is the assumption that there is only one blue-spotted salamander in Nova Scotia correct? Again not that I wouldn't want to look for overly large blue-spotted salamanders anyway. :-)
TIME OF YEAR. This is more a generic question than one on this challenge. Although it came to mind as I started to think where and more importantly when, I would start the 2024 herping year. When we look at earlier reports of emerging amphibians, most, if not all, were in early April. Yet we now have records of multiple species from late March. Has anyone made a comparison of emergence dates, even from only 30-40 years ago, compared to today? It would be curious to see if there were actual changes in emergence dates or maybe something more simple such as more people now observing herptiles than decades ago.
Looking forward to the challenge.
For sure, yes calls will be acceptable as long as they can get to the research grade! Any life stage of any herp will be acceptable as long as it is research grade to the species. Yes, there are 22 species, within Salamanders I am counting the newt, giving 5 in that category (Yellow-spotted, Blue-spotted, Four-toed, Redbacked, and the Newt). For all intents and purposes, we will say only 1 Blue spotted in Nova Scotia, but if someone happens to find a triploid, it will be counted towards the Blue-spotted find.
As for the time of year, that is a very good question. The data collected will be used to examine such things, the original Nova Scotia Herp Atlas conducted in the late 1990's will serve as a great comparison for many variables. Thank you for your comments and questions!
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