March 20, 2010 AHS Meeting Notice (note date change!)

[TheWillaWoman]

Speaker: Jake Jackson

Topic: "Rio Grande Sliders" Location: Jack's house, see attachment for directions and contact information.

Jake Jackson was raised in Huntsville, Texas and received a BS in Forestry from Texas A&M University in 1997. He worked for the Houston ISD Outdoor Education Center Program after graduation from A&M.

Jake then moved to Taos, NM and worked for a number of years as a guide for fly fishermen in Northern New Mexico, Southern Colorado, and Wyoming.

He returned to Texas in 2004 and enrolled in the Graduate college at Texas State University-San Marcos soon after, where he has been pursuing his PhD in aquatic resources under mentor-ship of Dr. Michael Forstner.

During this time, Jake has worked on many herpetological research projects in and out of Texas, with his primary focus being the Big Bend Slider, Trachemys gaigeae, in Texas and New Mexico. He has completed 5 years of field sampling for the Big Bend Slider, including genetic data collection as well as mark-recapture and radio-telemetry studies.

He will hopefully be completing his dissertation this year, and moving on to some sort of gainful employment.

Trachemys gaigeae is a freshwater turtle endemic to the Rio Grande/Rio Conchos basin in the Chihuahuan desert. Much of this species historic range has been greatly affected by irrigation withdrawals, impoundment, and exotic vegetation. T. gaigeae is considered by many to have been extirpated from 1/3 or more of its range for quite some time. No recent information is available on the distribution of this species in the Rio Conchos. Introduction of a non-native congener, Trachemys scripta elegans, within the range of T. gaigeae has resulted in hybridization of the two species in some areas. We have employed contemporary molecular methods (microsatellite markers and mitochondrial DNA) to evaluate the current status and structure of T. gaigeaeT. gaigeae populations, and it appears that there is a significant threat from hybridization and exotic competition. populations, as well as the extent of and potential threat from hybridization with introduced species. There is little apparent genetic variation present in remaining

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We meet at 7pm for food/drink and socialize until 8 pm at which time our speaker gives their presentation. After the presentation we go back to socializing. We encourage everyone to bring side dishes, deserts (chocolate!), and BYOB. Alcohol is allowed in moderation!.
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RODENT ORDERS: Contact Robert


A video of this meeting will be available on this forum.
Still photos may also be available. I will update this post with a link when they are uploaded.

2nd notice edit