Obtaining plasma to measure baseline corticosterone concentrations in reptiles: How quick is quick enough?

There is growing interest in the use of glucocorticoid (GC) hormones to understand how wild animals respond to environmental challenges. Blood is the best medium for obtaining information about recent GC levels; however, obtaining blood requires restraint and can therefore be stressful and affect GC levels. There is a delay in GCs entering blood, and it is assumed that blood obtained within 3 min of first disturbing an animal reflects a baseline level of GCs, based largely on studies of birds and mammals.

A new species of forest-dwelling Cyrtodactylus Gray (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Indawgyi Wildlife Sanctuary, Kachin State, Myanmar.

A herpetological survey of the Indawgyi Wildlife Sanctuary in Kachin State, Myanmar resulted in the discovery of a new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray along the eastern watershed of the Mokso Mountains. An integrative taxonomic analysis based on the mitochondrial ND2 gene, morphology, and color pattern recovered this new species, Cyrtodactylus mombergi sp. nov.

A phylogenetic taxonomy of the group (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) with descriptions of two new species from Myanmar.

A phylogenetic taxonomy of species in the group from the Ayeyarwady Basin of Myanmar is constructed based on color pattern, morphology, and molecular systematic analyses using the mitochondrial gene NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2. Newly collected samples from the type locality of and other localities indicate that this clade is endemic to central Myanmar and contains at least seven species, four of which are undescribed. Three species, including occur in the low hills of the Bago Yoma Range within the central portion of the Ayeyarwady Basin.

Stressed snakes strike first: Hormone levels and defensive behavior in free ranging cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus).

Stress is believed to be an important factor mediating animal behavior. Here we explore the relationship between concentrations of a stress hormone and defensive behavior of a snake. The cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) is an abundant, large-bodied pitviper that is well known for its intense defensive behaviors.

Irresistible ants: exposure to novel toxic prey increases consumption over multiple temporal scales.

As species become increasingly exposed to novel challenges, it is critical to understand how evolutionary (i.e., generational) and plastic (i.