It's been a while...

I have 2 Coast Garters (I still call the Humboldt County populations Coasts, since this locality has anomalies that produced a lonely 3rd cladistic branch in the recentT. elegans study, where most terrestris were absorbed by the "Mountain" clade). I also have 1 infernalis and "Lefty", the one-eyed atratatus hydrophilus. All have fed on frogs that were derived from a single mating of 2 W/C Pacific Chorus Frogs; these were raised from egg to small adult in a small backyard pond (Our neighborhood is a cacophony of P. regilla in winter and spring). I also feed W/C CA Slender Salamanders to my Ring-neck and Sharp-tail; these come from the compost bin in my backyard.

There is always a feeling of reservation when I feed my W/C snakes W/C or W/C-bred prey. No, I do not really know the specific trends of all the surrounding populations; yes, they appear healthy... I do however believe that some of my own snake research may have to discontinue in the future due to the current plight of amphibians worldwide. In our county, they are plentiful; but for how long? Chytrid is getting close, as it has been found in the Trinity Alps east of us and is entering multiple watersheds. It's not an if, but a when. Please remember, an apparently healthy population of frogs could be wiped out in a very short time with the fungus. Perhaps the time has come to get the arks started, or just leave them alone; any numbers on their side may offer an edge.

I work in invasive weed management in Redwood National Park, and the problem with exotic invasives is relentless. I see, no matter how good our intentions may be, we are too late in addressing some of the invasions. Sudden oak death, Port Orford Cedar disease, Chytrid, New Zealand Mud Snails, Bullfrogs, Scotch Broom, Himalaya Berry, English Ivy, you name it! The neverending tug of war in funding projects that address these concerns often leads to bare containment... I mean like forget even trying to eradicate any one of these completely; the vectors are almost impossible to control (#1 vector: people, the most invasive species of them all! Try telling your average American what to do... Ha! ha! ha! Not funny! I mean, really, do we honestly think we can get every hiker or fisherman to sterilize his or her boots after every outing? How would that get policed?)

In the case of my Coasts and CA Red-sided, I have already fed some pinkies to the Coasts, and hope to turn these on to the infernalis. As for my atratus, Lefty gets trout filet and yes, the occasional frog... As for the parasites, that is a risk I have chosen to take in dealing with wild-caughts.
I will soon be co-authoring some scientific text for the herp journals regarding the dietary preferences of some of the W/C snakes I keep. Some of the info has never been documented before. None of the discoveries made would have occurred without taking that risk. Please believe me when I say I do actually love frogs as much as snakes....well... okay....

As for bullfrogs, if it's west of the Rockies, kill 'em, eat 'em, feed 'em, or donate them to science.

Also, I expect to see an increase in Pacific Chorus Frogs where their populations overlap with other species affected by chytrid. These frogs are immune. I saw possible evidence of this in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, where CA Chorus Frog tadpoles and metamorphs outnumbered Red-spotted Toad tadpoles about 99 to 1. I found no live toad metamorphs, only pools full of dead ones. This sighting was reported to Roland Knapp, who works with Mtn Yellow-legs in the Sierras; he wrote he would relay it to the USGS (pics may be seen on the main index of HumboldtHerps.com if you scroll down a bit.).

Will ramble again with you all soon. Hope to send the forum some new garter pics soon.

Steve