Table 1.

Bartholomew’s proposed natural history questions and their proposed relationship to herpetoculture. Bolded questions are Bartholomew’s broad questions (numbers) with sub-questions (letters) that fall under them. Question #5 which was added by the author and is not a Bartholomew question.

1. What species is it?

a. Species description.

b. Systematic revision.

c. Evolutionary analysis.

2. Where does the species live?

a. Global distribution.

b. What biomes does it occur in?

c. What broad climatic patterns impact species?

d. What seasons exist where species occurs?

e. What macro/micro habitats exist where species occurs?

3. How does the species survive?

a. Thermoregulation and thermal needs?

b. Forage types and frequency?

c. Water needs?

d. Specific shelter needs?

e. Specific causes of stress?

f. Diel/circadian rhythms?

4. How did the species end up here?

a. Drivers of inter/intra specific competition?

b. Behaviors and behavioral ecology?

c. Species functional and realized niche in nature?

5. What is the species’ life history?

a. What is the species’ age at sexual maturity?

b. What is the species’ life span?

c. What is the species’ fecundity?

d. What is the species’ parity?

e. Do ontogenetic shifts occur in this species ecology?

f. What is the species’ life history strategy; r or K?