These objectives have been achieved but not without massive aherations in the natural systems of south Florida. Among the mostly detrimental effects are: (1) reduction of the storage capacity of the system, severely decreasing the amount of holdover of wet season water to meet dry season needs; (2) increase in loss of fresh water to the sea; (3) increase in the severity of droughts, extent of salt water intrusion, and frequency of fires; (4) eutrophication of Lake Okeechobee; (5) creation of more distinct but smaller storage units;(6) intensification of dependence on energy intensive technology to solve water management problems (Browder, Littlejohn, and Young 1977). These effects continue to the present day.Climatic changes. -WisXoncdiWy , south Florida received about 75% of its rainfall during the six wet season months from May through October, a rainfall pattern typical of tropical areas to the south. The resulting freshwater was held in the Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades catchment basin to moderate drought during the dry-season months. However, south Florida has experienced several droughts since the dry-season of 1970-1971, and each was severe enough to rank with the worst during the previous hundred years.Furthermore, predictions of future world weather patterns suggest that south Florida may be entering a dry period of approximately 30 years duration (Fairbridge 1974; Browder. Littlejohn, and Young 1977). It can be expected that the dry season effects, enhanced by the water management practices in south Florida, will be intensified. Such changes will be aggravated, by an increasing demand for water

Single-locus molecular barcoding is a useful method for identifying overlooked and undescribed biodiversity, providing the groundwork for further systematic study and taxonomic investigation. A variety of methods for delimiting species from barcoding libraries have been developed and applied, allowing for rapid estimates of species diversity in a broad range of taxa. However, tree-based and distance-based analyses can infer different group assignments, potentially over- or underestimating the number of putative species groups. Here, we explore diversity of mainland species of anole lizards from the Chortís Block biogeographical province of northern Central America using a DNA barcoding approach, generating and analyzing cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences for over 400 samples assignable to 33 of 38 (86.8%) native and one introduced mainland species. We subsequently tested the effects different models of nucleotide substitution, different species-delimitation algorithms, and reducing our dataset had on species delimitation estimates. We performed of two distance-based (ABGD, RESL) and three tree-based (bPTP, mPTP, GMYC) analyses on both the full dataset and a dataset consisting only of unique halotypes. From 34 nominal taxa, analyses of the full dataset recovered between 34 and 64 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), while analyses of the reduced dataset inferred between 36 and 59. Reassigning individuals to either mPTP-inferred or ABGD clustered (7.2% threshold) groups improved the detection of a barcoding gap across three different models of nucleotide substitution, removing overlap between intra- and interspecific distances. Our results highlight the underestimated diversity of mainland Chortís Block anoles, but the lack of congruence between analyses demonstrates the importance of considering multiple analytical methods when dealing with single-locus datasets. We recommend future studies consider the effects of different models of nucleotide substitution on proposed barcoding gaps, as well as the effect reducing a dataset to unique haplotypes may have on proposed diversity estimates.

A substantial number of changes to the composition of the herpetofauna of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, including taxonomic additions and deletions, have occurred in the five years since our original assessment of this region. These changes now establish a herpetofauna of 480 species for the state. A number of taxonomic and nomenclatural changes involving the Oaxacan herpetofauna also are discussed. Updated patterns of physiographic distribution, endemism, and conservation status of the members of the state herpetofauna are examined.

Geophis Wagler is the fourth largest genus of colubrid snakes in the Western Hemisphere, with 46 species currently recognized. Since the last major treatment of this genus, there have been 12 new species described, three taxa elevated to the species level, and two taxa previously recognized at the species level synonymized with other taxa. We present a checklist for the genus Geophis, summarizing information on taxonomic history, type material and locality, distribution, and species group assignment for 46 species. We also provide an identification key for the 46 species, followed by a brief analysis of distributional patterns and conservation status.