|
|
|
|
Mimic Glass Lizard
|
|
Mimic Glass
Lizard Confirmed Extant in Alabama
|
|
|
Mimic
Glass Lizard, Ophisaurus mimicus
|
Auburn
University and Conservation Southeast
scientists captured a Mimic Glass Lizard
(Ophisaurus mimicus) in Conecuh
National Forest on May 21, 2006. Only
three specimens previously have been
documented from Alabama, but none since
1976. Strongly associated with the longleaf
pine-wiregrass ecosystem, the Mimic
Glass Lizard is distributed across the
lower Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains
from southeastern North Carolina to
the Pearl River in Mississippi. Habitat
includes pine flatwoods, savannas, and
hillside seepage bogs. In 2005, with
funding from the State Wildlife Grants
program and the U.S. Forest Service,
Auburn University and Conservation Southeast
initiated a study to acquire baseline
data for long-term monitoring of the
response of amphibian and reptile populations
to the ambitious 30-year longleaf pine
ecosystem restoration program being
implemented at Conecuh National Forest.
This study is intended to contribute
to the overall understanding of the
value of longleaf pine ecosystem restoration
to amphibians and reptiles by measuring
herpetofaunal response to various restoration
stages and corresponding control sites.
This study should result in the development
of well-informed management recommendations
for Conecuh National Forest as well
as other pine-dominated, fire-maintained
ecosystems throughout the Southeast.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
