The Toad Team pull off a spectacular presentation for Cape Herp Club
In these times of uncertainty, there are opportunities to do things differently. Normally, the Cape Herp Club meets every other month in the lab of one of the host groups. This month, we couldn't meet as we are all confined to our homes to comply with the government emergency legislation to fight COVID-19.
As it was the MeaseyLab's turn to host the Cape Herp Club, we decided to have a whole bunch of talks about Guttural Toads, Sclerophrys gutturalis, and the work that the lab is currently engaged in. Because we weren't allowed to meet in person, we decided to do a video conference, and that allowed us more opportunities to get creative about the talks we could give.
Many blog readers will remember the visit of Carla & Adriana last year from Brazil (see blog entries here, here and here). You will also remember that last month, Max had to go back to Germany before finishing his experiment (see blog post here). We were able to invite them them all to participate in our presentation.
Interrogating an invasion: details on differences between native and invasive populations of Guttural Toads
Giovanni Vimercati (couldn't make it but sent a presentation from Switzerland)* - Insights from more invasions
James Baxter-Gilbert (in Stellenbosch) - Morphology and performance of native and invasive populations
Max Mühlenhaupt (in Berlin) - Breaching the gap: From egg to toad
Carla Madelaire (in Arizona) - Water seeking behaviour of native and invasive toads
Adriana Barsotti (couldn't make it but sent a presentation from Cyprus)* - Challenges of a novel range
Carla Wagener (in Bellville) - Shit don't lie
Sam Peta (in Stellenbosch) - Proposed work on dietary niche and trophic interactions
Natasha Kruger (in Mosel Bay) - Parasites of native and invasive populations
It was amazing to see more than 30 people join this Cape Herp Club meeting.
But because we didn't have to have people physically present, we could invite our collaborators from all over the world.
In attendance were Guttural Toad collaborators:
Claudia Baider & Vincent Florens (Mauritius)
Morne du Plessis (Pretoria)
Fernando Ribiero Gomes (Sao Paulo)
Louis du Preez (Potchefstroom)
Of course, most people were alone in their houses, but a few were able to show us how (and how not) to do social distancing.
