Just a Couple of Nice Days in the Field

We are having such gorgeous weather in wild & wonderful Ohio this week.  (I know weather is the stuff of old people, but I turned 40 this week and, therefore, must speak of gorgeous blue skies.)  Yesterday, I was out with my herpetology class looking for, well, herps, of course.  There’s a good crop of herpers in this group (too bad they are not reading this, because I’m sure that comment would give them a warm, fuzzy feeling).  We saw a few lovelies including the southern two-lined salamander, which we saw in all sizes, small larvae to big and chunky adult.  Such a lovely surprise to turn over a rock and find a salamander or snake.  Of course, we are turning rocks over for this very reason, but it’s still kind of like buying a lottery ticket…you don’t win every time. 

We also found a few snakes under some of those rocks—queen snakes and small northern water snakes.  A number of snake whisperers in class this year that seem to find them no matter where we are, but these were all hanging out at the water’s edge. 

Today I was out in the field for a bit checking my terrestrial pens. Notice anything?

  

I raised these northern leopard frogs from tadpoles in ponds and then placed them in these terrestrial pens.  As tadpoles, they were exposed to an insecticide at 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks after hatching and we’re following them in the terrestrial environment to see if there are long-term effects from early life exposure.  The pens are only about 6 feet by 6 feet, but these frogs are hiding Houdini’s in the grass.  I’ll hop into a pen and see a frog, but I think they have a secret hidey-hole or two.  Fortunately, there’s one nice big hidey-hole, which we elegantly call “the central pit,” and when they are in there I can catch them better than a frog can catch a fly.  Aren’t they gorgeous?  This is the last part of a very long three year study, which has had more than the normal numbers of snags.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed for something really, really, really interesting.  However, even if it’s really, really, really not interesting, they still had me out on a nice 60 degree F day working my Jedi reflexes to catch these lovely beasts.  Science is good!