Please Join us for our October AHS Meeting - 24/10/12
John Mostyn will be presenting on the Venom Program at the Australian Reptile Park. John has put some great video footage together of the great work done at the Park in providing potent
ially life saving venom that is used in the production of antivenom.
Again there will be some great raffle prizes up for grabs, including our limited edition AHS wines and some great books.
Meetings begin with about ten minutes of business (field trips etc) followed by a one-two hour presentation by a guest speaker. There is tea and biscuits with general milling about chatting. If you want information about reptile keeping, it is best to talk to people between 7 and 7.30pm, and then again at the conclusion of the meeting.
Visitors Welcome, memberships are available on the night.
When and Where
The Australian Herpetological Society meets on the fourth Wednesday (subject to venue availability, please check our calender at www.ahs.org.au)of every month, except December, at the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, Mitchell Theatre, 280 Pitt ST, Sydney NSW. Entry is via Pitt St, take the elevator to level 1.
Doors open from 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start.
Sydney Olympic Park Herpetofauna Surveys
The AHS is committed to surveying the herpetofauna of Sydney Olympic Park. This is consultative work we undertake that is both beneficial to the society and SOPA's on-going park management. This year the first 2 surveys will be held on Sat 24/11/12 and the Sat 15/12/12 (TBC). If you would be interested in coming along to help with these surveys, please contact our SOPA field trip co-ordinator Bob King on [email protected]
Martin Whiting request for research help
Dear Sydney herpers,
I am writing to request your assistance in a study of blue-tongue skinks. My lab at Macquarie Uni (www.whitinglab.com) works on lizard behaviour and communication and we have large outdoor enclosures in which we can keep lizards under semi-natural conditions and essentially study aspects of behaviour and reproductive success in ways that would be very difficult in the wild.
We have two projects on Tiliqua scincoides from the greater Sydney region: (1.) testing how social networks influence reproductive success; and (2.) establishing the function of the very conspicuous blue-tongue that has helped make this lizard an iconic symbol in Australia. We have an optic spectrometer for measuring colour. This will enable us to quantify aspects of colour and to find out how variable it is and whether it signals anything about the individual. We will also be testing some hypotheses about its role as a flash signal in an anti-predator context. For the social network study we will have a single, small population of blueys in inter-connected enclosures for which we will quantify social interactions and even, personality.
This work is being conducted under a NSW permit and animal ethics clearance from Macquarie Uni.
How can you help? As you know, blueys can be scattered and difficult to find in the wild in appreciable numbers. However, they seem to pop up repeatedly in suburbia. I am hoping that a network of spotters will help us locate blueys that can be used in this study. If you happen to see or know of the location of adults in the Sydney area, please contact me and I can come and collect the animal. Please keep in mind that we need to make sure that we follow all the restrictions that apply to NSW herps.
Cheers GIRD
AHS President
Again there will be some great raffle prizes up for grabs, including our limited edition AHS wines and some great books.
Meetings begin with about ten minutes of business (field trips etc) followed by a one-two hour presentation by a guest speaker. There is tea and biscuits with general milling about chatting. If you want information about reptile keeping, it is best to talk to people between 7 and 7.30pm, and then again at the conclusion of the meeting.
Visitors Welcome, memberships are available on the night.
When and Where
The Australian Herpetological Society meets on the fourth Wednesday (subject to venue availability, please check our calender at www.ahs.org.au)of every month, except December, at the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, Mitchell Theatre, 280 Pitt ST, Sydney NSW. Entry is via Pitt St, take the elevator to level 1.
Doors open from 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start.
Sydney Olympic Park Herpetofauna Surveys
The AHS is committed to surveying the herpetofauna of Sydney Olympic Park. This is consultative work we undertake that is both beneficial to the society and SOPA's on-going park management. This year the first 2 surveys will be held on Sat 24/11/12 and the Sat 15/12/12 (TBC). If you would be interested in coming along to help with these surveys, please contact our SOPA field trip co-ordinator Bob King on [email protected]
Martin Whiting request for research help
Dear Sydney herpers,
I am writing to request your assistance in a study of blue-tongue skinks. My lab at Macquarie Uni (www.whitinglab.com) works on lizard behaviour and communication and we have large outdoor enclosures in which we can keep lizards under semi-natural conditions and essentially study aspects of behaviour and reproductive success in ways that would be very difficult in the wild.
We have two projects on Tiliqua scincoides from the greater Sydney region: (1.) testing how social networks influence reproductive success; and (2.) establishing the function of the very conspicuous blue-tongue that has helped make this lizard an iconic symbol in Australia. We have an optic spectrometer for measuring colour. This will enable us to quantify aspects of colour and to find out how variable it is and whether it signals anything about the individual. We will also be testing some hypotheses about its role as a flash signal in an anti-predator context. For the social network study we will have a single, small population of blueys in inter-connected enclosures for which we will quantify social interactions and even, personality.
This work is being conducted under a NSW permit and animal ethics clearance from Macquarie Uni.
How can you help? As you know, blueys can be scattered and difficult to find in the wild in appreciable numbers. However, they seem to pop up repeatedly in suburbia. I am hoping that a network of spotters will help us locate blueys that can be used in this study. If you happen to see or know of the location of adults in the Sydney area, please contact me and I can come and collect the animal. Please keep in mind that we need to make sure that we follow all the restrictions that apply to NSW herps.
Cheers GIRD
AHS President
