Conclusions Drawn from the Malformity and Disease Session, Midwest Declining Amphibians Conference, 1998

While the general problem of amphibian declines is well known, no issue recently has engendered as much concern by the public as amphibian malformities (Ouellet et al. 1996, Tietge 1996, Gray 1998, Helgen et al. 1998a and 1998b, D. Johnson 1998, T. Johnson 1998, Meteyer and Converse 1998). As a result, Gary Casper, Chris Phillips and I decided to assemble this symposium. The session was open to anyone who wished to participate. Nineteen papers were presented (there was one cancellation) and a panel discussion followed. I will organize this summary of, and conclusions drawn from, our symposium into two sections: 1) the ecological importance and 2) proximal causes of the amphibian malformities that now command our attention

Richard Bovbjerg and The Iowa Lakeside Laboratory

In the spring of 1977, in Ames, a struggling biology major who had earlier shown some promise was ordered by his advisor: Go to Lakeside Lab and take Dick Bovbjerg\u27s Aquatic Ecology course. I did and it worked. I\u27ve parlayed that early potential into a career. And like so many others I return to Lakeside, the first time to take another course, then to do my Master\u27s research. More recently I come back to teach the Field Vertebrate Zoology course. Likewise, Dick has shifted from mentor to colleague, and we\u27ve co-authored a paper (Lannoo and Bovbjerg, 1985). Now, I am truly honored to be the special editor of this issue commemorating Dick\u27s 70th birthday and his retirement as the Director of the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory

AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE COLONIZATION OF RECLAIMED COAL SPOIL GRASSLANDS

While habitat loss is a major driver of amphibian and reptile declines globally, a subset of post-industrial landscapes, reclaimed and restored, are creating habitat for these animals. In a previous work, we showed that amphibians and reptiles use reclaimed and restored grasslands. In the present work we quantify captures at drift-fence/pitfall trap arrays over two consecutive years and show that several species of amphibians are not only successfully reproducing but that juveniles are being recruited into the population. In particular, 15,844 amphibians and 334 reptiles representing 25 species (14 amphibians, 11 reptiles) were captured at drift fences in 2009 and 2010. Nine additional reptile species were found opportunistically while conducting other research activities at the study site. Out of a total of 8,064 metamorphosing juveniles we detected 126 malformations, a 1.6% rate. The major malformation types were limbs missing (amelia) or foreshortened (ectromely), eye discolorations, and digits foreshortened (ectrodactyly) or small (brachydactyly). Our data show that reclaimed, restored, and properly managed landscapes can support reproducing populations of amphibians and reptiles with low malformation rates, including species in decline across other portions of their range

AMPHIBIAN RESPONSE TO A LARGE-SCALE HABITAT RESTORATION IN THE PRAIRIE POTHOLE REGION

Over the next half-century, scientists anticipate that nearly one third of the currently recognized 7,450 amphibian species will become extinct. Many organizations have responded to the challenge of conserving amphibian biodiversity, some indirectly. Under the auspices of the Iowa Great Lakes Management Plan, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Natural Resources, and their partners have been implementing habitat restoration efforts designed to protect water quality, provide recreational opportunities, and benefit wildlife at the regional level. With this program, over 130 wetlands have been created in the past 30 years on recently purchased public lands—one of the largest wetland restoration projects conducted in the Prairie Pothole Region of the Great Plains. While amphibians were not the main target of these restorations, we show that in response, 121 new breeding populations of native Northern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates pipiens; n = 80) and Eastern Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum; n = 41) have been established; in addition, we found 19 populations of non-native American Bullfrogs (L. catesbeianus). Using the program PRESENCE, we show that leopard frog occupancy was greatest in newer (<18 years old), intermediate-sized wetlands, and that tiger salamander occupancy was greatest in small wetlands without fish and larval bullfrogs. These data imply that because native amphibians responded positively to these newly established wetlands, habitat availability has likely been a factor in limiting population numbers. Further, these data suggest the presence of fishes and introduced bullfrogs interferes with the ability of tiger salamanders to colonize restored wetlands

Distribution, Dispersion, and Behavioral Ecology of the Land Snail Oxyloma retusa (Succineidae)

Oxyloma retusa is a land snail found only along moist margins of freshwater wetlands and lakes. This study quantifies the dispersal pattern of O. retusa along permanent and temporary wetlands and considers the environmental factors to which this snail responds. On a lake shore, snail density peaked in the second or third meter from the water\u27s edge but snails were present in decreasing numbers up to 7 meters inland. In field experiments, marked snails, initially distributed evenly along a shore transect, assumed a similar dispersion pattern within 72 hours. Two color morphs had overlapping but zonal dispersions, the amber morph farther inland than the dark. In drying ponds, snails followed the retreating shoreline. In reflooding of such ponds snails responded by crawling with the water\u27s leading edge or ascending emergent vegetation. It is clear that O. retusa actively selects a precise microhabitat. This habitat selection appears dependent on a combination of physical and biotic factors acting separately and in combination

The Tiger Salamander

Tiger salamanders are harmless members of the Class Amphibia which easily lend themselves to observation and experimentation. As the name amphibian implies, these salamanders have two life forms, an aquatic larval stage and a terrestrial adult stage. Both forms are common and widespread throughout Iowa, yet adults, being terrestrial and less seasonal, are encountered more frequently than the larvae

Energy-effcient master-slave edge-router upgrade paths in active remote nodes of next-generation optical access

Our design rules offers maximally energy-efficient Gb/s -> Tb/s edge-router upgrade paths. One path assumes 10% average traffic intensity with 68% energy-efficiency gains over 5 upgrades, while 30% traffic load enables 45% energy-efficiency gains over 9 generations

British Balance of Competence Reviews, Part III: More reform than renegotiation or repatriation. EPIN [Working] Paper No. 42/December 2014. [see Abstract for I and II]

This paper, the third in a series for a CEPS project on the ‘The British Question’, is pegged on an ambitious exercise by the British government to review all the competences of the European Union on the basis of evidence submitted by independent stakeholders. The reviews considered in this paper cover the following EU policies: the single market for services, financial markets, the free movement of people, cohesion, energy, agriculture, fisheries, competition, social and employment policies, and fundamental rights. The declared objective of Prime Minister Cameron is to secure a ‘new settlement’ between the UK and the EU. From political speeches in the UK one can identify three different types of possible demand: reform of EU policies, renegotiation of the UK’s specific terms of membership, and repatriation of competences from the EU back to the member states. As most of the reviews are now complete, three points are becoming increasingly clear: i) The reform agenda – past, present or future - concerns virtually every branch of EU policy, including several cases reviewed here that are central to stated UK economic interests. The argument that the EU is ‘unreformable’ is shown to be a myth. ii) The highly sensitive cases of immigration from the EU and social policies may translate into requests for renegotiation of specific conditions for the UK, but further large-scale opt-outs, as in the case of the euro and justice and home affairs, are implausible. iii) While demands for repatriation of EU competences are voiced in general terms in public debate in the UK, no specific proposals emerge from the evidence as regards competences at the level at which they are identified in the treaties, and there is no chance of achieving consensus for such ideas among member states. Michael Emerson and Steven Blockmans, “British Balance of Competence Reviews, Part I: ‘Competences about right, so far’”, CEPS/EPIN Working Paper No. 35, October 2013 (www.ceps.eu/book/british-balance-competence-reviews-part-i-%E2%80%98competences-about-right-so-far%E2%80%99)(http://aei.pitt.edu/45599/); Michael Emerson, Steven Blockmans, Steve Peers and Michael Wriglesworth, “British Balance of Competence Reviews, Part II: Again, a huge contradiction between the evidence and Eurosceptic populism”, CEPS/EPIN Working Paper No. 40, June 2014 (www.ceps.eu/book/british-balance-competence-reviews-part-ii-again-huge-contradiction-between-evidence-and-eurosc)(http://aei.pitt.edu/52452/)