{"id":8948,"date":"2023-01-19T09:20:32","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T15:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=8948"},"modified":"2023-01-19T09:20:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T15:20:32","slug":"reptile-read-uwl-alum-authors-book-detailing-states-turtles-frogs-and-more","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/reptile-read-uwl-alum-authors-book-detailing-states-turtles-frogs-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Reptile read: UWL alum authors book detailing state’s turtles, frogs and more"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Photo<\/a>
Josh Kapfer, \u201999 & \u201902 UW-La Crosse graduate, is the co-author and primary editor \u201cAmphibians and Reptiles of Wisconsin,\u201d a new book offering a detailed look at these organisms. Kapfer is a professor and certified wildlife biologist at UW-Whitewater.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Growing up in Stoughton, Wisconsin, Josh Kapfer always had an intense interest in wildlife \u2014 particularly amphibians and reptiles.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like many, his first wildlife experiences were capturing turtles and frogs he found outside.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI also really liked dinosaurs as a kid, and in my young, na\u00efve mind, the closest living thing to a dinosaur was a lizard,\u201d he explains.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, as professor and certified wildlife biologist in the Biology Department at UW-Whitewater, Kapfer is helping inspire students and others by getting them outside to find wildlife.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI often tell folks that I can regularly take the college students I teach in field-based classes at UWW out and have them hold frogs or turtles or snakes that we encounter,\u201d he says. \u201cI can\u2019t, however, easily have them hold a coyote or a bald eagle, so amphibians and reptiles provide rare opportunities for us as a society to directly connect with wildlife.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kapfer<\/span>, \u201999 & \u201902,<\/span>\u00a0has taken that a step further by\u00a0<\/span>being a co-author and primary editor of a book,\u00a0\u201cAmphibians and Reptiles of Wisconsin,\u201d with co-editor Donald J. Brown of the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. It\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>an extensive 1,176-page hardcover book weighing around nine pounds.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe book has an intimidating size, but I hope that won\u2019t deter the individual who is casually interested in natural resources, wildlife, or amphibians and reptiles,\u201d Kapfer says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"Photo<\/a>
Kapfer recovers data from a temperature data logger attached to an ornate box turtle (a state endangered species) in Sauk County.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The book\u2019s size is because the editors wanted to create a robust, scientific manuscript that is well-supported by referencing scientific literature and data. But they\u00a0also took great pains to design the book for the casual reader.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every species account in the book starts with a summary, so readers can gain a quick understanding of the organism without having to wade through its entire account.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, there are anecdotal stories that sometimes have little scientific relevance, but are interesting and fun to read, says Kapfer.\u00a0<\/span>These anecdotal stories, referred to as\u00a0\u201cNatural History Boxes,\u201d\u00a0are sprinkled throughout each chapter and species\u00a0account.\u00a0There are also\u00a0hundreds of full-color figures and illustrations.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven the casual reader paging through the work can hopefully find interesting things to look at and read,\u201d says Kapfer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While it includes a welcoming tone for casual readers, there are also more serious aspects. These include a substantial amount of information on the systematics, identification, ecology,\u00a0conservation and management\u00a0of each species.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The book\u2019s introductory chapters include information on prominent historical figures in Wisconsin herpetology,\u00a0a\u00a0large conservation and management chapter,\u00a0and a review of how climate change could impact Wisconsin\u2019s amphibians and reptiles.\u00a0While including\u00a0all these details\u00a0in a regional natural history guide isn\u2019t typical, Kapfer says it was necessary \u2014 particularly the information on conservation, management, and climate change.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that we are currently facing dramatic declines or losses of wildlife species globally, Donald and I felt strongly that the book should pay much greater attention to conservation than is the norm,\u201d he says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kapfer says it was as a UWL undergraduate that he discovered how being outdoors connects with scientific investigation. This realization that being an effective biologist can include working in the wild with living organisms, not just sitting in a lab, came while researching with the late Biology Professor Daniel Sutherland.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo this day, I think of Dan often and miss him,\u201d Kapfer says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Later while working on a master\u2019s at UWL, Kapfer says retired College of Science and Health Dean Mark Sandheinrich helped him evolve from an unseasoned researcher into a blossoming, effective scientist.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMark taught me a great deal about how to conduct strong scientific investigations and analyses, but also how to be an effective scientific writer,\u201d explains Kapfer. \u201cWithout the guidance of these two individuals and others, such as my doctoral advisor Jim Coggins at UW-Milwaukee and colleague Robert Hay from the WDNR (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources), my life today would be completely different.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kapfer\u2019s life-long passion for the state\u2019s amphibians and reptiles led him to spend nine years working on the book with his co-editor. With the last book on Wisconsin\u2019s herpetofauna published more than 50 years ago, he knew there was need for an updated reference on this group of organisms.\u00a0The previous review, published by Richard Vogt, is a favorite of Kapfer\u2019s and is a sort of standard for how to write regional natural history books.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kapfer says he and Brown collaborated with more than 50 of the region\u2019s top herpetological experts to complete the publication. He says the book offered an outstanding opportunity to bring many professional herpetologists and ecologists together on a large project that will hopefully have a lasting\u00a0<\/span>effect.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the book\u2019s release in early November, Kapfer says feedback from both professional and casual readers has been positive.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Joshua (Josh) M. Kapfer file<\/span><\/strong>
\nHometown:<\/span><\/em>\u00a0Stoughton.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Education:<\/span><\/em>\u00a0B.S. Biology, Environmental Science Minor, 1999, and M.S. Biology Aquatic Science Concentration, 2002, UW-La Crosse; Ph.D. ecology and evolution, 2007, UW-Milwaukee.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently:<\/span><\/em>\u00a0Professor and Certified Wildlife Biologist, Biology Department, UW-Whitewater.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Written by UW-La Crosse<\/p>\n

Link to original file: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/reptile-read\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Growing up in Stoughton, Wisconsin, Josh Kapfer always had an intense interest in wildlife \u2014 particularly amphibians and reptiles.\u00a0 Like many, his first wildlife experiences were capturing turtles and frogs he found outside.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI also really liked dinosaurs as a kid, and in my young, na\u00efve mind, the closest living thing to a dinosaur was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":8952,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-8948","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/8948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=8948"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=8948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}