Conservation of a target species is often hindered by the absence of basic demographic information. Lithobates [Rana] okaloosae (Florida Bog Frog) was discovered in 1982 and occupies only three counties in northwest Florida, with its geographic range occurring almost exclusively on Eglin Air Force Base. This limited distribution has led to the listing of the Florida Bog Frog as a species of special concern in Florida. We used a mark-recapture approach to 1) estimate population sizes and densities of male Florida Bog Frogs at four sites; 2) estimate recapture rates of males among sites, within years, and between years; 3) examine the relationship between male body condition and residency time in breeding sites; and 4) examine the variation in male body condition across sites. Florida Bog Frog population sizes and densities differed among sites, but not across years. Recapture rates were high within a breeding season but low between years, suggesting that males have high site fidelity and survival rates during the breeding season, but that annual mortality or dispersal rates are high. Lastly, body condition of males did not differ across sites or affect residency time during the breeding season. Understanding basic demographics of this species will aid future conservation efforts and management decisions.

When a widespread species is sympatric with a rare, geographically restricted conspecific, recurrent gene flow can pose the risk of extinction for the latter. This can occur via genetic swamping, where the occurrence of hybrids eventually replaces the numerically less abundant species. We took a molecular genetic approach to quantify the occurrence and degree of contemporary hybridization between two species of frog co-occurring in a small geographic area in northwest Florida, USA. The Florida bog frog Lithobates okaloosae is a small ranid limited in distribution to a few acidic seepage and steephead streams that feed the Yellow, Shoal and East Bay river drainages in Walton, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties, Florida. The bronze frog Lithobates clamitans is a widespread (Eastern North America) congener. Data from nine microsatellite loci and 350 frogs were analyzed using Bayesian clustering (structure) and a Bayesian hybrid classification method implemented in newhybrids. Power to detect hybrids with the dataset was assessed through simulations. Both methods detected hybrids in similar proportions (5–10%), including congruent confirmation and rejection of samples previously classified as putative hybrids based on phenotypic characteristics. However, the nine loci lacked sufficient power to differentiate among F1 and backcrossed individuals, leaving open the question of the extent of genetic introgression. Longitudinal genetic monitoring is recommended to evaluate whether the observed level of hybridization represents a long-term threat to the distinction of one of North America's most geographically restricted frogs.

The Florida bog frog ( Rana okaloosae ) is restricted to approximately 25 seepage drainages on the Florida Panhandle, southeastern USA. We evaluated fine-scale (<1–10 km) genetic structure among 80 samples from a long-term study area in one portion of its range. We also included co-distributed samples ( N = 48) from bronze frogs ( R. clamitans ). Individual R. okaloosae were significantly more related to one another than expected under panmixia, though significant patterns of isolation-by-distance were detected reflecting limited dispersal. Bayesian clustering failed to identify discrete genetic clusters within species. Subtle, though important differences in genetic structuring between R. okaloosae and R. clamitans suggests that future efforts to predict the impact of landscape changes on Rana okaloosae , should focus on the species itself rather than R. clamitans as a surrogate species.

Rana okaloosae is endemic to northwestern Florida and is sympatric with R. clamitans clamitans, its closest relative and possibly its main interspecific competitor. We evaluated the movements, dynamic interactions, and nearest neighbor distances of male R. okaloosae and R. c. clamitans In Okaloosa County, Florida. Mean minimum daily distances moved and maximum daily distances moved were greater for R. c. clamitans than R. okaloosae. Dynamic Interactions tended to be positive and suggested that there were positive associations between individuals of the two species. Further, nearest neighbor analyses suggested that calling males of both species were positioned in a clumped distribution on any single night. The intraspecific and interspecific Interactions of these species were complex and suggested that these species may have selected similar calling locations and appeared not to exclude either conspecifics or heterospecifics.

The flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum) was listed as federally threatened in 1999. Alteration of habitat was considered the main threat to the species, especially the loss of habitat for larval flatwoods salamanders that develop in isolated, seasonally flooded wetlands. Our objectives were to evaluate a suite of within-pool factors (i.e., vegetation structure, water level, and an index to presence of fish) that could influence occupancy of breeding wetlands by larval flatwoods salamanders on Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, USA. We dip-netted for larval salamanders from January through March 2003–2006 and we measured a suite of vegetation characteristics in 2006–2007. Further, in 2006 we measured the level of water and relative presence of fish over the salamander breeding season. Site occupancy over the four year period was best described by a model that incorporated high herbaceous vegetation cover and open canopy cover. Detection probability was assessed, but it varied among years and was not included in the model. Our study suggests that managing the breeding habitat of flatwoods salamander for open canopies and dense herbaceous vegetation may contribute to this species’ recovery.

: This report describes research conducted on vertebrate species of concern inhabiting the longleaf pine ecosystem on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, during January 2001 through December 2005. This work was conducted first through Research Work Order Number 68 of the USGS-BRD Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Virginia Tech, and subsequently through a contract awarded through Fort Detrick, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. The research reported here represents a five-year study that had three components: (1) assessment of the success of a new base-wide management strategy for red-cockaded woodpeckers (RCWs); (2) an experimental study of interactions of RCWs with other members of the cavity-nesting bird community; and (3) population studies of bog frogs and flatwoods salamanders. The project also supported graduate student training.

Recovery of the federally threatened Ambystoma cingulatum (Flatwoods Salamander) will require monitoring of known populations, as well as continued searches for additional populations. In an effort to develop recommendations for maximizing efficiency of future surveys of larval Flatwoods Salamanders, we combined data from surveys conducted between 1990 and 2004 in Florida and Georgia. Analysis of these data revealed variation in the number of larvae captured, survey effort, capture rates, and larval body size among years and months. An average of 16 min or 45 one-m long dipnet sweeps was required to catch each larva. For wetlands surveyed twice in a season, results (i.e., larval presence or assumed absence) were consistent in 74% of consecutive surveys. We make recommendations for conducting future surveys and the implementation of a coordinated research and monitoring program for Flatwoods Salamanders.

The federally threatened flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum Cope) inhabits fire-adapted longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Miller) flatwoods and savannas in the southeastern coastal plain. It breeds in ephemeral wetlands that typically dry during summer and refill in fall and winter. We collected data on burning trends of A. cingulatum habitat across the range of the species. Rangewide surveys indicate that prescribed fires typically are applied in winter and early spring. If prescribed fires are conducted primarily in winter, fires are unlikely to burn through water-filled wetlands, potentially affecting larval habitat. Based on what is known about the natural history of the species, the historical burning regime of the longleaf pine ecosystem, and the effects of fires on ephemeral wetlands, we suggest that land managers diversify their fire-management strategy to increase the likelihood of burning the breeding wetlands of flatwoods salamanders.

The green anole (Anolis carolinensis, Sauria: Polychrotidae) is the only native member of the neotropical genus in the United States and can be found as far north as North Carolina and Tennessee. Green anoles remain active throughout the winter in Tennessee, a rare behavior for reptiles at this latitude (35° 34′ N). In the Little Tennessee River population observed, individuals shift habitats in winter to a south-facing bluff where they aggregate in rock crevices at night and on cloudy days. The crevices provide thermal protection from air temperatures that routinely drop below freezing. Aggregations did not seem to provide any thermal benefits to lizards. Lizards emerged from the crevices when the sun illuminated their section of the bluff. The emergence order of lizards from a crevice was nonrandom; some lizards consistently emerged earlier than others. Position in the emergence sequence was determined by the depth of the lizard within the crevice, with shallow lizards emerging first. Lizards remained close to the same group of crevices throughout the entire winter and often returned to the same section of the bluff the following winter season.

Anolis carolinensis (Sauria: Polychrotidae) does not hibernate, and in an East Tennessee population near the northern limit of its geographic range, individuals aggregate on a south-facing rock bluff and are active throughout the winter. During the winters of 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, we obtained data on body size (snout-vent length and mass) of aggregated lizards early in the season and again in March. There was significant growth in SVL in both field seasons but in mass only in 1999-2000. Growth rate was greater in 1999-2000 than in 1998-1999, possibly attributable to the earlier onset of warmer temperatures in 1999-2000. Males grew at a greater rate than females. Our data also indicate that the winter sex ratio of aggregated individuals is male-biased.