Matt Armes 🦎 🇪🇺

Deadline for applying is 9 march. Don't miss out!

Amphibians migrating to breeding ponds has to be the best sign that spring is coming 🐸

It was another good one!

Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt

Biodiversity and climate issues are holistically linked to other modern day threats, and we need to start taking them seriously.

Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Please consider filling this in for Tom Smith, an MPhil researcher at the University of Wolverhampton, if you have seen an alpine newt preying on/being prayed upon by another amphibian! UK only!

A mystery seed from a Breckland, eastern England ghostpingo core as found by @hayleymcmechan.bsky.social. help oh botanists!!! 1 mm scale @annasolcova.bsky.social @jo-the-botanist.bsky.social @bramblebotanist.bsky.social @timholtwilson.bsky.social

Great thanks!

Thanks, it is the herptile article I'm most interested in, being a Norfolk boy at heart. If there are any physical copies, I'd be happy to make a donation to the society in exchange for postage to me :) otherwise I'll wait for the digitised version.

Don’t forget about the #FindThatLizard Scholarship!! Please share

#science #scholarship #funding #herps #HERpers #lizards #snakes #frogs #salamanders #game #challenge #education

Is it possible to purchase individual issues, or do you only print enough copies for members? I'd be interested in this edition!

Awesome study out now from @miaryras.bsky.social studying the impacts of winter warming on wall lizards! 🦎❄️🌡

🚨Looking for a PhD project on 🐝? look no further! ✅

"Metapopulation dynamics of pollinating bees under pesticide pressure"

Hosted @bristolbiosci.bsky.social and University of Swansea, with myself, @harrysiviter.bsky.social, and Miguel Lurgi

Full details:
bpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.bristo...

Great to see #lizards represented! 🦎

Losing the common: evidence of long-term decline of a widely distributed and cold-adapted Lizard using opportunistic citizen-science data - European Journal of Wildlife Research Monitoring species distribution and dynamics is essential for conservation strategies. While monitoring efforts often focus on rare or endangered species, common and widely distributed species are oft...

New study modelling common lizard declines in Belgium, using structured survey and citizen science data 🦎📉
#lizard #zootoca #herpetology

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

More evidence for the successful use of wildlife underpasses! 🐸🦎

Announcing our Vanishing Viper 2025 conference to be held in September at Chester This special two-day event focused on our native adder, Viper berus, seeks to unlock the drivers behind adder declines & determine how research & landscape-level projects can meet the challenges #vanishingviper2025

An adder basking in the sun on top of bracken

Hi all! I've been shortlisted for the BIAZA Photo Competition 2025 in the Native Species category!📸 Please can you vote for my photo on their Facebook! (just by reacting to my submission!)

www.facebook.com/share/16MksF... - voting closes on Thursday night!

The image below is the one to look for!🐍

It was a great day, we were able to create some nice hibernacula for the adders! 🐍

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to give it a go! I've noticed that if the lasso disturbs just a little bit of grass, the lizards sometimes chase it like an insect has just landed. Too much movement though and they're off...

Very cool, I imagine my lasso wouldn't do very well even with baby alligators 😅

I've had a few captures, but many more failed attempts so I'm hoping this is a skill I improve over time. For now, the photos show a male common lizard I caught and sampled over the weekend 🦎🤙

My first experience with lizard lassoing was in Peru over 10 years ago, where I captured Amazonian lizards to record their body temperatures. Fast forward to the present day, and I'm trying my luck again!

For my PhD, I need to catch lizards to take a mouth swab to retrieve a DNA sample. In comes the lizard lasso! A fishing rod with a small lasso loop tied to the end, I sneak up on lizards as they bask and (hopefully) slip them into the lasso 🦎

EURAXESS | Research in motion Explore academic positions and career development opportunities through Euraxess, a unique pan-European initiative, which implements the HRS4R Charter to deliver information and support-services to re...

American researchers looking for funding: @euraxessudc.bsky.social is an all-purpose platform for researchers & scientists seeking to advance their careers by moving to EU countries.This link includes job, funding, hosting opportunities, & career development guidance. euraxess.ec.europa.eu

This week marked the true beginning of my PhD, where we got out and collected our first common lizard DNA samples! This will all feed into mapping lizard population genetics across the UK, and to hopefully work towards a brighter future for these little guys in the age of nature's decline 🤙🦎

India experiences an extreme burden from snakebite each year, averaging 58,000 snakebite deaths annually. Some good news to help combat this problem: a new app for everyday Indians to connect with snake catchers and hospitals across India in times of emergency to help prevent and manage snakebite.

Here are the viviparous lizard and toad! 🐸🦎

Spring has certainly arrived in the UK with the first herp sightings of the year this week! 🐍🦎🐸

✅️Common frog (Rana temporaria), pair in amplexus
✅️Common toad (Bufo bufo)
✅️Smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris)
✅️Viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara)
✅️European adder (Vipera berus)

Quite important for European herpetology, the scientific name of the Alpine newt shifts again to Mesotriton alpestris:
www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/co...

#amphibians #herpetology #newts #Mesotriton

Thanks to all who turned out in the cold and damp weather to set up our reptile survey at Chasewater.
A collaborative effort between BBCARG, SASARG and the Chasewater rangers, this is the first crucial step in mapping herps across the site! 🦎 🐍 🐸

Photos thanks to Steve Holland