Recent paper on Reptiles and UVB - Baines et al. (2016)

[dpjm]

Baines et al. wrote a great paper recently on reptiles and UVB. This should be required reading - please check it out.

http://www.jzar.org/jzar/article/view/150/89

Just download the PDF file.

 

[N8bub]

Just downloaded this, wow! This is a wealth of information and +1 on the "required reading". It's good to see an independent study on the different bulbs and it reinforces what many of us have been doing when it comes to purchasing the better bulbs ( megarays and the arcadia t5s) thanks for posting this

 

[Roadkill]

That paper is both good and bad at the same time. It's a step in the right direction, but still suffers from several drawbacks.

 

[dpjm]

Can you expand a bit on your post? What do you think are the drawbacks?

 

[Roadkill]

First and foremost, a common problem with many modern papers: a lack of understanding of the equipment being used leading to conclusions that could be quite erroneous (although in this case, this would probably be more on the reader than on the authors' behalf). To put it simply, the equipment being used is imprecise and has a tendency to be rather....inaccurate. They're great for ballpark, general guessing, lousy for a truly scientific endeavor. I would say this is a paper done by hobbyists addressed to hobbyists using equipment that hobbyists would use, but is scientifically inaccurate.

Second, the terminology and usage of such indicate an inaccurate understanding of some of the matters they are addressing.

Third, this is basically a modelling type paper, and while I don't have negative bias against modelling, there is one true saying towards modelling: garbage in equals garbage out. While I sympathize with the authors in that they are basically working with what they have access to for the foundation of some of their information, I would say I see a lot of "assumptions" based on poor understanding (or poor literature).

The field of UVB and reptiles has a LOT of room to grow, and while it is great to see some trying to address it, I guess I get disappointed that by-and-large, many investigations strike me as very amateurish and fumbling with a poor understanding of the paradigms involved. It really isn't that complicated, so I have serious questions when I see people publishing science that shows a shallow understanding of the issue.

 

[Walter1]

Roadkill- I've not read the paper yet myself. In advance of that, the concerns you raise are ones often on my mind, particularly the data used for modeling.

Without belabor into the point, if so one wants to model demographics of say the garter snake, and it is for Ohio, using clutch size, parturition season, etc., from elsewhere seriously compromises the model. The answers to its question do not refer to Ohio.