collecting a few tarantulas wont harm anything, but its not a few that are being collected. its HUNDREDS being collected all over the place. it does happen and you cannot deny it. this hobby has grown so large and people go out and collect spiders. some collect ALOT more than others. we need to breed these things instead of the continied collection of wild adults. we are all guilty of it. dont deny it.
some results from a trip to california
- Thread starter josh_r
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yes that is very true, but then there are those that by themselves are trying to make a difference with the raise and release method, I personally know someone very well that does that with salamanders
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this is a perfect example of good intentions and bad methods!
no one should ever EVER raise and release natives when they also keep any other species, period. if they keep exotic species in addition to the locals they are working with they should be brought up on criminal negligence charges!
i believe in CA it is actually illegal to do raise and release for herps, as well as in other states.
there are thousands of pathogens that affect arthropods that we in the hobby know nothing about! at this point the hobby can recognize the latter stages of nematode infections and that is it. aside from that we have a lot of spiders that act funny and/or die for no reason. at least some of these cases are some kind of pathogenic affect. the only ways a hobbyist should try to conserve species is by preserving species and captive breedings that STAY CAPTIVE!
you want to talk about hurting a species... THIS is how you do it! not catching 100 spiders... but spreading some kidn of infection through tens of thousands of them!
i am working on a series of articles with a group of ppl from scabies or that i have invited to work with me. so far everthing i have found is that there are at least as many arthropod pathogens and their are human pathogens, with the same range of vectors of infection and affects.
when you consider that species and the pathogens native to species have sort of evolved together the outcome of mixing new pathogens to *our* native species could be disasterous! are you familiar with what happened to the native north and south american peoples when the europeans came? millions upon millions were wiped out by diseases that the euros didn't even know *could* be fatal!
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Heh.... They are raised in a yard away from any non native herps , fed on mosquito larva and diatoms and then released. Andrew your thoughts were considered very well that is why this is done this way.
For the past 7 years the fruits have been seen in areas that there were no amphibs.
For the past 7 years the fruits have been seen in areas that there were no amphibs.
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Collecting a few it also helps to reduce populations, specially those species who arn't found in great numbers. Of course it's not the same as collecting hundreds.
An example. I found a colony of E. campestratus in one trip I did that was right around and in a camping facility. There where many tarantulas. But the numbers I don't think there was more than 100 tarantulas. So if you collect like 60, it would hurt the colony a lot. I think the damage depends on the size of the colony...
Anyway as someone pointed out, the big problem is habitat destruction...
About realising into the wild, I think it's good if done properly. It's been done with many animals that were extinct from their natural habitats or were reduced in great numbers.
Pato.
An example. I found a colony of E. campestratus in one trip I did that was right around and in a camping facility. There where many tarantulas. But the numbers I don't think there was more than 100 tarantulas. So if you collect like 60, it would hurt the colony a lot. I think the damage depends on the size of the colony...
Anyway as someone pointed out, the big problem is habitat destruction...
About realising into the wild, I think it's good if done properly. It's been done with many animals that were extinct from their natural habitats or were reduced in great numbers.
Pato.
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Sea turtles come to mind as well as wolves. habitat destruction....well just look at Florida....introduced species ...well just look at florida. Disease vectors...heh... well just look at Florida.
That brings to a point of responsible culling when the carrying capacity is stressed ahh but that is another topic for discussion
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Aha, it's been done before.
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yes it has but that is with higher end more complex organisms. I don't know of anyone that has done it with inverts, with the exception of predatory wasps and mantids but that usually winds up backfiring
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John -
I think the debate over releasing captive bred herps can be very heated. Most world Zoo's and Institutions have extremely strict protocol in place to "ensure" that specimens released into the wild are not only capable of survival, but pose no threat to their wild congeners. I would submit that while your friend who is breeding an amphibian species to return to the wild does have the best of intentions, he may not know the full ramifications of what he is doing, and the possible side-effects. Out of curiousity, which salamander is he rearing in captivity?
Something you mentioned piqued my interest: you mentioned he has been releasing this species back in to the wild, where amphibians were previously absent? I would submit that if in fact the area he has "seeded" was previously devoid of salamanders, there is probably a logical explaination as to why, and it is likely that he may be releasing these individuals in to a locality where they cannot establish themselves and will ultimately fail.
I'll be interested to hear which species we're talking about, the specifics on how the project began, and which region of the country this is taking place. Thanks,
Tim
I think the debate over releasing captive bred herps can be very heated. Most world Zoo's and Institutions have extremely strict protocol in place to "ensure" that specimens released into the wild are not only capable of survival, but pose no threat to their wild congeners. I would submit that while your friend who is breeding an amphibian species to return to the wild does have the best of intentions, he may not know the full ramifications of what he is doing, and the possible side-effects. Out of curiousity, which salamander is he rearing in captivity?
Something you mentioned piqued my interest: you mentioned he has been releasing this species back in to the wild, where amphibians were previously absent? I would submit that if in fact the area he has "seeded" was previously devoid of salamanders, there is probably a logical explaination as to why, and it is likely that he may be releasing these individuals in to a locality where they cannot establish themselves and will ultimately fail.
I'll be interested to hear which species we're talking about, the specifics on how the project began, and which region of the country this is taking place. Thanks,
Tim
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the species is the spotted salamander and the areas that have had them put over the years had a lotta salt on the roads in winter and now those areas are designated wetlands so no salt can be used in the winter on these roads now. Not saying this was the cause of the demise, could be or not. The location is southern Michigan. the relocation was about a 90 mile trip one way
The past ten years or so have proven fruitful as we see the breeding taking place. The first jelly masses are spotted salamanders. These same areas I used to collect them when I was a sling myself. In my teen years we started to rarely see one some years none at all.
But then I don't live in Florida and release anything I buy from a pet store when I get tired of it
The past ten years or so have proven fruitful as we see the breeding taking place. The first jelly masses are spotted salamanders. These same areas I used to collect them when I was a sling myself. In my teen years we started to rarely see one some years none at all.
But then I don't live in Florida and release anything I buy from a pet store when I get tired of it
mattnsariah
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is it true??
A friend up in edwards told me that the "aphonopelma Mojave" is protected? i guess meaning there on the endangered species list??? Could some one give me insight on whether this is true or not?....thanks
:?
A friend up in edwards told me that the "aphonopelma Mojave" is protected? i guess meaning there on the endangered species list??? Could some one give me insight on whether this is true or not?....thanks
:?
aphonopelma mojave is in NO WAY protected. mojave has a range from the deserts of southern california north to nevada, NE to utah and even in far far northwest arizona. aphonopelma joshua is for the most part protected, not because it is endangered, but because most of its range is within joshua tree national monument. now, you can find A. joshua outside of the park in a few small localities where they are not protected.
-josh
-josh