AT23-296 Hybrid Blindcats and Blind Salamanders in the Edwards Aquifer

Event Title: The Search for Satan: Blindcats and Blind Salamanders in the Edwards Aquifer, Bexar Audubon Society Monthly Meeting

VMS-AT: AT: Hill Country Chapter Other Approved Training (Enter AT#, Class Title as posted, Location, and Presenter)

Comments: AT23-296 The Search for Satan: Blindcats and Blind Salamanders in the Edwards Aquifer, Presenter: Dr. Andy Gluesenkamp, San Antonio Zoo (AT=1h)

Event Date: 9/27/2023
Event Time: 6:00p – 7:30 pm
Note virtual meeting starts at 6:30

Event Summary:
Researching Satan —Satan eurystomus, the Widemouth Blindcat, and other aquifer organisms can help us better understand and manage the invaluable underground water that supports both humans and amazingly diverse subterranean aquatic ecosystems.

Event Description:
Dr. Gluesenkamp is teaming up with Dr. Dean Hendrickson, Curator of Fishes at the UT-Austin Biodiversity Center, to search the San Antonio Pool of the Edwards Aquifer more than 1,000 feet below the city for a rare cave species—Satan eurystomus, the Widemouth Blindcat which is dependent on the same vital liquid that sustains us humans.

But they won’t be going down there in person or netting the fish directly. Instead, they will use a new type of survey based on environmental DNA (eDNA) extracted from the water. The surveys for Satan in fact will use eDNA metabarcoding to search for the elusive species. From this data, species presence can be determined and overall biodiversity assessed from one water sample.

Researching Satan and other aquifer organisms can help us better understand and manage the invaluable underground water that supports both humans and amazingly diverse subterranean aquatic ecosystems.

About Dr. Gluesenkamp
As a student at the University of California at Davis, Dr. Andy Gluesenkamp helped survey rare and threatened amphibians in the San Joaquin Valley. During graduate school at the University of Texas-Austin, he also discovered caving and biospeleology. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Zoology in 2001. Andy was the State Herpetologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department before becoming the Director of Conservation at the San Antonio Zoo. He is probably best known locally for his work on the reintroduction of the Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum), the state reptile of Texas—the iconic “Horny Toad.”

Cost: No cost

Pre-Register @:https://bexaraudubon.org/3174-2/?sheet_id=89 for in person meeting
For zoom: no registration required, login before 6:30p
Meeting ID: 885 3365 2398
Passcode: 807438

Event Location:
Alamo Colleges District, 2222 N. Alamo Street, San Antonio, TX 78215
Park in front and enter the first set of doors on the right to reach the reception area. The conference room is behind the reception area

Presenter: Dr. Andy Gluesenkamp, Director of the Center for Conservation & Research at the San Antonio Zoo

Contact Information:
BexarAudubonSociety@bexaraudubon.org

Organization Website:
https://bexaraudubon.org/

Sponsoring Organization:
Bexar Audubon Society