Jakob Woodall

Reading Rainbow’ is back — and the first episode was filmed in a West Berkeley library Host Mychal Threets, a librarian who grew famous on TikTok, has done events at Berkeley libraries before, including leading a day last year celebrating Black hair.

Host Mychal Threets, a librarian who grew famous on TikTok, has done events at Berkeley libraries before, including leading a day last year celebrating Black hair.

Dream Job Alert !

Herpetology Collections Manager at the University of Michigan - manage one of the largest reptile and amphibian collections in the world in state-of-the-art facilities in the best college town in the world. #herpetology

careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2...

Round 4 of surveys for the Mt Lyell #salamander (Hydromantes platycephalus). We were able to sample 7 salamanders this time, including a juvenile! #herpetology #herps #amphibians

what timeline is this

A road cruised juvenile rubber #boa, Charina bottae, from the Sierra! Managed to save two of them from traffic while looking for #herps at night. They looked exactly like sticks on the asphalt! #herpetology #snakes #snakeweek

Finally the night arrived! The first photo was my view of the salamander peeking out from a boulder. Both salamanders came from very similar habitats; next to waterfalls! We were here to swab the salamanders for chytrid and confirm the population status as it had been 20yrs since the last survey.

If possible, I try to get eyes on the area before surveying at night. It also makes for great photos!

Our daytime survey consisted of looking under rocks and boulders. Unfortunately we came up empty, but there’s always night!

The view from the camp was worth the journey itself!

The next bit of trek involved bouldering and scrambling along a snow-melt stream until we reached the site where we made camp

Join us on our survey to find the Mt Lyell #salamander, #Hydromantes platycephalus! We started our hike at 6k’ in elevation, and end it 4.5 miles later at 7.2k’. But that’s when the fun begins! #herps #fieldherpetology #amphibian #research

reattach saucer section youtube

Got skunked on our target species last survey but this young rubber boa, Charina bottae, more than made up for it! #herps #snakes #boa #herpetology

They can be tricky to find! I’ve had good luck looking in shady areas <10m from streams and on rocks immediately next to small tributaries during the middle of the day. This one was spotted at 4pm with air temps around 25C in a mature riparian corridor.

A beautiful California mountain kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata, spotted along a creek trail in Butte county. One of my favorite California endemics! #herps #snakes #herpetology #kingsnake

It’s getting snake-y out! The northern pacific rattlesnakes, Crotalus oreganus oreganus, have been popping up a lot on surveys, and they’re just too cute to ignore #rattlesnakes #herps #snakes #herpetology

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

Lizard abundance declined over 10 yrs

Side-blotched lizards declined but tiger whiptail abundance unchanging

Ornate tree lizard and zebra-tailed lizard abundance over time

New paper on long-term lizard declines.🦎 Abundance highest in wet yrs (we haven't had many!). Some species abund related to lagged effects from vegetation cover, emphasizing the delayed response of biotic communities to ecosystem changes. #urban #herps 🌎
doi.org/10.1002/eco....

It is uniquely awe-inspiring to witness simple acts of living in the wild, such as this slender salamander I observed recently munching on springtails in the San Gabriel Mts near LA. ♥️🌎

Black-bellied Slender Salander (Batrachoseps nigriventris)

Springtail sp., likely Ptenothrix maculosa

#herps

NEWS This Brazilian frog might be the first pollinating amphibian known to science

It’s the first time a frog—or any amphibian—has been observed pollinating a plant, researchers reported in 2023.

Learn more on #WorldFrogDay: scim.ag/4kGdvCy

Some recent survey observations, featuring one of the greenest pacific chorus frogs (Pseudacris regilla) I’ve seen recently, a southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida) perched in a submerged bush, and a very dapper California toad (Anaxyrus boreas halophilus). #herps #herpetology #frogs #turtles

Happy #worldfrogday! In order: a foothill yellow-legged frog, an arroyo toad, a pacific chorus frog, and a California red-legged frog. All handled under the appropriate permits. #herps #herpetology #frogs #toadsl

We are deeply concerned by the broad cuts at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), outlined in a recent Executive Order. The IMLS is a beloved and trusted federal agency that plays a crucial role in helping cultural institutions educate, entertain, and engage visitors. 🧵

World Frog Day

The earliest known public mention of World Frog Day online appears in a blog post from The Public Postcard on March 20, 2012. Get all the details at:
worldfrogday.org/about

#WorldFrogDay: March 20th Every Year
#SaveTheFrogsDay: April 28th Every Year

#WorldFrogDay2025

It was about 4” wide in total, small enough to fit in the palm of an average adult hand!

My first rattlesnake of the year! A tiny northern pacific rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus oreganus, that was found under a log during a western spadefoot survey. #herps #herpetology #snake #rattlesnake

Some flips from an urban green space in the Bay Area, including a patternless arboreal salamander! The boards ended up being a saving grace for my actual goal of capturing fence lizards to use in a lab training, after going 0/20 with the lasso #herps #salamanders #snakes #herpetology

A California and Baja California endemic, the western spadefoot, Spea hammondii, emerging for a night of foraging with the warm weather a couple weeks back. Unfortunately, this species has lost most of its historic range and is up for listing under the ESA
#herps #herpetology #frogs #spadefoot

I'll be there -- this Friday! 🧪

Don't stop protesting the dehumanization of our people and the dismantling of our institutions just to enrich a few billionaires. Protest is still the most effective tool we have.

#StandUpForScience2025 #SanctionMusk #BoycottNatureSpringer