The New York Entomological Society, Inc.

Incorporating the Brooklyn Entomological Society

American Museum of Natural History

Central Park West at 79^th Street

New York, New York 10024

Phone: 212.769.5613 Fax: 212.769.5277

Email: nyes@amnh.org Web: www.nyentsoc.org

Speaker: Jay Westervelt

New York Natural History Council

Presentation:

"Northern Cricket Frog Decline: Research and Recovery Strategies: What do hexapods have to do with it? Part 2"

Jay has researched the Northern Cricket frog (Acris crepitans) in New York State and has shown that there has been acute decline since the 1970s. In the largest remaining NY metapopulation node of this frog, a delphacid hemipteran (Megamelus davisi) occurs en masse over hundreds of acres of wetland habitat. Acris are observed to predate M. davisi with near-exclusivity throughout the warmer months. Comprehensive surveying of other NY habitats with historic/extirpated Acris populations (Harriman State Park, for example), reveals a total absence of M. davisi. Much of this historic-extirpated habitat was aerially treated with pesticides in the 1970s to control the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar). The Glenmere metapopulation site, centered around a public water supply, was spared the same moth control. Unlike L. dispar, M. davisi is both a habitat specialist and flightless, and would be unlikely to repopulate treated habitat quickly. The eradication of M. davisi at many historic Acris habitats may help to explain the present site vicariance. The possible role of collateral M. davisi eradication in A. crepitans decline and the proactive reestablishment of M. davisi populations is planned. A. crepitans repopulation sites are discussed, as is the role of collembolan (Podura aquatica) dispersal in A. crepitans vernal migration.

Where: People Center (enter 77^th Street)

Date: Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Time: 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Dinner: 9:00PM – TBA

Josie’s – 300 Amsterdam Avenue (at 74^th St.)

Amsterdam Ale House – 340 Amsterdam Avenue (at 76^th St.)

Isabella’s – 359 Columbus Avenue (at 77^th St.)

Spice – 435 Amsterdam Avenue (at 81^st St.)

Society meetings are always open to the public with no admission charge