Oklahoma is home to 54 species of amphibians (31 species of frogs, 23 species of salamanders), a group of vertebrates shown to be highly susceptible to infectious pathogens, such as the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Bd has been documented in all states bordering Oklahoma, but little is known about Bd within Oklahoma. Previous studies sampled for Bd in four isolated sites spread...

In North America, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been present for at least the last half-century; however, infectious amphibian diseases have remained poorly studied through most of the Great Plains of the United States. In Oklahoma, Bd has been documented in wild populations only three times, with four counties surveyed. It is imperative that a greater portion of the state be surveyed to...

Last weekend, Siler Lab members joined in with 350+ other participants from around the state to sample biodiversity along Lake Texoma at the OU Biological Station for Oklahoma BioBlitz! 2016.  There were a total of 19 herpetological species documented, with two notable venomous snakes caught by graduate students Nick Huron and Joey Brown.  Graduate students also led an evening night hike to look for...

In Spring 2016 nearly 40 teachers (and their students) and homeschool families participated in our Amphibian Infectious Disease Citizen Science project!  We hope to reach even more in 2017.  Our current efforts on the project involve working to extract DNA from all the frog swabs sent Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) DNA from everyone’s swabs.  Soon, we will be able to share the results of this pilot project...

Cameron is currently teaching a two-week Field Herpetology course at the OU Biological Station on Lake Texoma.  He is joined by graduate TA Nick Huron and undergrad TAs Claire Winfrey and Elyse Ellsworth (all members of the Siler Lab).  The course covers herpetological taxonomy and biology, amphibian infectious diseases, and new research techniques like epithelial microbiome sampling and eDNA water sampling.  Students...

June marks the end of our normal Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) funded field season.  We had a great year with close to 800 amphibians and reptiles collected!  We visited a total of eight counties in Oklahoma this year, which included nine WMAs and two National Wildlife Refuges (a summary of one refuge trip can be found here).  We look forward to continuing our...

The 2016 Oklahoma field season is well underway, with two sampling trips completed so far!  We are continuing the work of documenting Oklahoma biodiversity and amphibian infectious disease that we began in 2015. Last weekend we visited the amazing Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oklahoma.  Eight members of the Siler Lab were able to assist in field, allowing us to...

Siler Lab students once again participated in the Honors College’s annual Undergraduate Research Day on April 2, 2016.  Three total projects were presented (see titles below), covering the work of 5 students.  We are incredibly proud of all our undergraduate researchers!  See the full program here. Dylan Lindauer and Elyse Ellsworth*, with Dr. Cameron D. Siler, “Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) Detection in Central Oklahoma” Michelle Penrod and Marie Labonte*,...

Cameron and Nick of the Siler Lab are joined in the Philippines by Sam Noble Museum Invertebrates Curator, Dr. Katrina Menard, University of South Dakota Herpetology PhD candidate, Drew Davis, and Yale University Post-Doc Dr. Oliver Griffith.  All five researchers, plus their Philippine field crew, have spent the last 1.5 weeks in Aurora Province, Luzon Island, Philippines and have collected ~380 herptiles (including...

This past weekend, 15 other OU McNair scholars and I traveled to the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas to present our research from the past year.  The McNair Scholars Program is a federal program to prepare undergraduate underrepresented students for doctoral studies through research and mentorships.  I presented the research that the Siler Lab and I conducted over the presence of Chytrid fungus in Southeast Oklahoma. ...

The Siler Lab participated in the annual Oklahoma Biological Survey‘s BioBlitz!  This year the event was held in Osage Hills State Park, near Bartlesville in northeast Oklahoma.  Our lab was joined by previous students from the spring Herpetology course taught by Cameron Siler as well as colleague John Phillips from the University of Tulsa. We had a great time, with 31 total...