25 de abril de 2023

Figuring Out The Arboreal Salamander in Southern California

Given that it is located in the dry American West, California has a surprisingly high diversity of salamander species. In fact, California is one of the greatest salamander diversity hot spots in the world outside of the Eastern United States. Many of the species and genera found in California are also endemic to the California Floristic Province, from obscure species such as the Mount Lyell Salamander to more wide-ranging species such as the genus Batrachoceps. With such a wide variety of unique salamanders in California, it is hard to pick a favorite. However, one that has always stood out to me is the Arboreal Salamander (Aneides lugubris), as species found only along the Western Sierra Nevada and the coastal mountains of California and Northern Baja California. Everything about this weird salamander species interests me. For one, it is a member of the family Plethodontidae, the most diverse family of salamanders. All plethodontid salamanders are unique in that they lack lungs, meaning that all of them rely entirely on their skin for respiration. They also spend their entire lives on land and lack the larval stage of development that many other salamanders have. In addition to their neat physiology, Arboreal Salamanders have an intriguing life history. Like most salamanders in California, Arboreal Salamanders emerge from estivation during the first major rains of the winter and spring and stay active until the logs and other objects they use for shelter dry out. While they are usually found on the ground or on rock formations, they can, as their name suggests, climb trees. Some have been found several feet up trees and it is likely that they use tree cavities to estivate during the dry summer. Rock crevices and logs can also be used as estivation sites, where as many as a dozen individuals can be found together. The majority of their diet consists of a wide variety of invertebrates and fungi, although they can eat larger prey items such as small salamanders. Whatever the Arboreal Salamander eats is quickly torn apart by its sharp teeth. Although it rarely bites people when handled, it occasionally does and can leave quite the wound. Its sharp teeth and strong jaws alls assist the males in defending territories and mates during the winter, when it is not uncommon to see individuals with scars on their bodies from fights. Rather common in the Northern part of its range, the Arboreal Salamander is rather spottily distributed in the Southern half of its range and is a good find anywhere South of San Luis Obsipo, CA. It can be found in a wide variety of wooded habitats, from pine forest and redwood forest, to oak woodlands and riparian corridors with sycamores. On top of all of this, the Arboreal Salamander is just straight up weird looking. Its head is wide and bulky with bulging eyes. Its toes have unusually wide tips to help with climbing. Its tail has many caudal grooves, which along with the maroon color make the tail look like an earthworm. If there was a salamander that was actually an alien in disguise, this would be it.

I have been wanting to learn about this species’ habits in the wild since I first learned about the species in 2020. I managed to find my first Arboreal Salamander in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 2021 and my first subadult from Southern California in 2022, but I still wanted to see more of this species and better understand how to find it in wild reliably. For this, I got lucky with the 2022-2023 rainy season, which turned out to be one of the wettest years on record for California. One adventure that I already had planned for this rainy season was to visit the Bay Area to try and find salamanders there. There was one spot in the East Bay at the top of hill at the edge of a pine and oak forest, where I was able to find 9 Arboreal Salamanders under logs under pieces of bark, 2 subadults, 3 adults, and 4 hatchlings. It was really cool to get to see a great variation in the looks between the life stages of the species, as well as to see an old egg mass attached to the underside of a log with a hatchling underneath it. One of the adults also had unusually heavy spotting, making it an even more impressive salamander. From surveying that site, it was clear to me that most of the Arboreal Salamanders there were using either rotten logs, burrows, or tree cavities to estivate. This makes sense given that large trees and logs were in plentiful supply in this habitat, and I am guessing that this is the case for pine and oak forests throughout the Bay Area.

But I also wanted to learn more about the Arboreal Salamanders in Southern California since they are rarer in this part of their range. Thanks to my friend Brandon Troth, I knew a site where the species is occasionally seen under logs in an oak woodland, and this is where I saw my first individual from Southern California in 2022. However, I could not help but wonder where the Arboreal Salamanders go during the summer and why the species is only occasionally seen under logs at the site. Could it be that the species was just uncommon in this area? One thought I had was that the Arboreal Salamanders may be using a rock formation in the oak woodland as shelter. This would make sense given that the species does use rock crevices in other parts of its range. As luck would have it, I was looking for salamanders under logs at the site with Brandon during a heavy downpour in Early January and decided to shine a flashlight into some of the cracks of the rock formation to see what was there. I was not expecting to see anything, but I figured it was worth checking anyway. I am so glad that I did, because I was surprised to see an Arboreal Salamander deep in a crevice. I did not get a good look before it backed up further into the crevice, but I was so happy to see one in the crevice. A few more minutes of searching revealed three more Arboreal Salamanders in crevices. This proved my theory that the species was using the rock formation as shelter during the summer months. I also realized that these salamanders were preparing to leave the crevice at dark and walk around at night. I simply had to see this. I came back just a few minutes after sunset, with the rain still pouring hard. Sure enough, I saw several adult and subadult Arboreal Salamanders emerging from cracks in the rock to forage during the night. I was also lucky enough to see a huge, very old adult male emerge from a hole beneath a large rotten log. This salamander was at least 8-10 years old and the king of his domain. Earlier in the winter, Brandon and I had found a subadult with fresh wounds under a log next to where we found this large male, and it is very likely the large male pushed the subadult out from under the rotten log. Later in the wet season, Brandon and I went out again at night to do a more dedicated search for the Arboreal Salamanders during another rainy night and it was definitely worth it. We ended up seeing 24 Arboreal Salamanders of several different life stages and even got to see one climb a tree. It is clear to me that the presence of the rock crevices has a major role to play in the abundance of the species at this site, and it is likely that rock crevices and caves are important habitat features for the Arboreal Salamander in Southern California, although rotten logs, burrows, and tree cavities are also likely used as shelter. It is also clear that the best way to find this species is to look for the salamanders as they emerge from their shelters on rainy nights, just after dark.

I will never forget that first night of seeing Arboreal Salamanders emerging during the winter rains. It was simply amazing to get to see some great specimens of my favorite salamander and to finally learn how to find this species in Southern California. Figuring this out has to be one of the most rewarding herpetological discoveries I had made so far.

Publicado el abril 25, 2023 01:45 MAÑANA por tothemax tothemax | 15 observaciones | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

24 de abril de 2023

Year of the Kingsnake: My Best California Kingsnake Field Season Yet!

Being one of the greatest reptile and amphibian diversity hotspots in the United States, California offers a wide range of treasures for the field herpetologist to find. One of the most iconic members of the California herpetofauna is the California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula), a nonvenomous colubrid snake that is found throughout most of California, as well as parts of Nevada, Arizona, and Northwestern Mexico. Throughout its range, the California Kingsnake displays great variation in pattern and color, some of which is genetics based and some of which is environmentally determined. Most individuals have a banded pattern with alternating dark and light colored bands, but the width of the bands and color can vary wildly between individual snakes. Some have narrow light bands, while others have wide light bands. Some are black and white, while others are yellow and brown. It is also not uncommon for California Kingsnakes to have incomplete bands or chainlink bands, introducing even more variation in the pattern. The markings on top of the head also vary between individuals. Some populations also have darker faces and darker light bands than normal, often being referred to as mud morphs. But perhaps the most extreme form of pattern variation in the California Kingsnake is the striped and scrambled morphs that are found in Southern California, where the typical banded pattern is replaced with either a dorsal stripe, a mottled pattern, or a combination of the two. All of this phenotypic variation makes the California Kingsnake one of the most visually variable snakes in the world, and it is no wonder that countless field herpetologists have journeyed out to California to find this beautiful snake.

But it is not just looks that makes the California Kingsnake awesome. It also has an amazing life history. Most people are probably familiar with the kingsnake’s habit of occasionally hunting and eating rattlesnakes, and this is certainly impressive. It is immune to rattlesnake venom and kills its prey by biting the head and then constricting it until the prey dies of asphyxiation. But rattlesnakes are not the only prey items the California Kingsnake eats. Just as often, it feeds on rodents and lizards, making the California Kingsnake an important secondary consumer in the ecosystems where it occurs. But the most interesting part of the California Kingsnake’s life history has to be its secretive, often subterranean nature. While its habits vary between habitat types, the California Kingsnake spends much of its time underground in animal burrows and natural cracks in the soil, and the degree to which it can do so is mind boggling. If the burrow network is large enough, a California Kingsnake can rest, find food, cool off or warm up, keep its skin moist, and possibly even find a mate without ever coming above ground. Because of this, some experts estimate that a single California Kingsnake may spend as little as just two weeks worth of time above ground during an average rain year. During a drought year, that time could shrink down to only a few days. Some populations of California Kingsnakes spend more time moving above ground than others, but even these populations likely do not stay active above ground more than a few weeks a year. The California Kingsnake is also very sensitive to changes in ground moisture and air humidity, preferring to be active during moderately humid weather. As a result, it is active above ground less frequently than other snake species in the same ecosystem and is seldom seen.

However, there are some methods for increasing the probability of finding this snake. In desert habitats, driving roads at night during warm, humid weather is the best bet, but there is still no guarantee of seeing California Kingsnakes this way. The most productive method for finding this species is to place pieces of plywood (called coverboards) over vole and mouse burrows in the California grasslands and then checking underneath the plywood for any snakes that might be hiding there during the warm, relatively humid spring months (Late February through April most years). Called board flipping, this strategy works great for finding this species because well-placed coverboards can both create a moist microclimate underneath that the kingsnakes like and persuade the kingsnakes to thermoregulate under the coverboard instead of inside a burrow (the snakes still think they are underground). When the conditions are right, a site with many well-placed coverboards can reveal several California Kingsnakes in a day, making it possible to not just see the snakes but learn more about their local densities and movement patterns as well.

I have been actively searching for California Kingsnakes since the spring of 2019 and not only have I seen a good number of these incredible snakes, but I have also learned a lot about their life histories. However, this helping season, the spring of 2023, has been by far the most rewarding kingsnake field season I have had. For starters, I found 15 individual California Kingsnakes this year alone, by far the most I have ever seen in one year. Several of these snakes had unusual patterns, such as a bright brown and yellow banded morph I found in San Diego County, CA and a banded morph from Los Angeles County, CA with atypically wide and white light bands. Others were just overall spectacular snakes, such as a large banded morph I got to see on a field survey in Ventura County, CA. I also got to experience two "perfect" days for looking for snakes, those days when the conditions are perfect, the timing is right, and you end up finding a lot of snakes. The first was on April 2nd, when I found the first 3 California Kingsnakes of the year at boad line with 20-24 boards. In addition to the kingsnakes, I also found 4 Gophersnakes and 4 Ringneck Snakes, meaning that I was finding snakes at a rate of one under every other board, something that I had never done before. It is Southern California snaking at its finest. The second perfect day was April 13th, where I was able to find 6 kingsnakes in one day, beating my record for most seen in one day.

But the most rewarding California Kingsnake observations of the year were personal discoveries I made. The first of these was finding a hatchling in shed under a coverboard I placed a year and a half earlier in Santa Barbara County, CA. While the in-shed snake was not much to look at, I was still so excited to see it, as this was the first time I had found a California Kingsnake under a board that I had placed. I have found snakes under my own coverboards before, but never a kingsnake, as they are more particular about the moisture under the board and the placement of the board over rodent burrows. I also learned a lot about above-ground kingsnake movement thanks to one board line in particular, where I was able to find 7 of the 15 kingsnakes I saw this year. Three of these kingsnakes I found on multiple occasions, with each one being easily identified by its pattern. It is not unusual to find the same snake again when visiting a board line multiple times in a season, but it is unusual to find the same snake under different boards, or so I thought. All three of the kingsnakes I found multiple times this year moved to a different coverboard between encounters. What was more was that many of the boards I was finding kingsnakes under at this spot did not have holes or cracks underneath them. This meant that the kingsnakes were finding the boards by traveling above ground and were then moving considerable distances above ground to reach other boards. One individual that I found under a board with no holes was found just over a week later under another board around 200 feet away from the first board. Clearly, it had reached the board above ground. I was truly amazed to find that this snake had not only moved such a great distance, but had also done so above ground. After my experiences with the kingsnakes this year, I believe that it is likely that the California Kingsnakes in Southern California probably spend a lot more time traveling above ground than previously thought. Of course, further observations will have to be made to investigate this. But perhaps the greatest California Kingsnake find I had this year was a typical banded adult from a known board line in Ventura County, CA. While it did not look too special as far as California Kingsnakes are concerned, it is one of the most significant herpetological finds I have made in my life. To my knowledge (from talking with other field helpers and personal experience), this was the first California Kingsnake to ever be found at this site, a site where other common snakes are plentiful and the habitat looks like a California Kingsnake paradise. Being my last field day of the season, this was one heck of a way to end the spring herping season of 2023.

I will never get tired of searching for the California Kingsnake and this year has only made me more curious about the habits of this amazing species. I am sure that I will see more of this species in the future, but it is going to be hard to top the experiences I have had with the California Kingsnake in 2023.

Publicado el abril 24, 2023 11:10 TARDE por tothemax tothemax | 15 observaciones | 2 comentarios | Deja un comentario

15 de diciembre de 2022

Completing the Snake-a-month challenge in 2022

One of the most notable field herping challenges is for a field herper to find a live snake in ever month of a calendar year in his/her home state. In addition to a lot of luck, achieving this goal requires a thorough understanding of the landscape, snake activity patterns, the affects of weather on snake movement, and abiotic conditions. Only experienced field herpers who end up at the right place at the right time can achieve this goal. I first heard about this challenge from Silence Dogood on youtube, who made a video on his experience completing the snake-a-month challenge in Southern California and the tips he had for others attempting the challenge (You can find the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEObMGrY7Ek). At the time I watched his video, I was just getting into snaking as a hobby and was amazed that achieving such a goal was even possible. However, I never actually thought that I would be able to achieve the goal given just how much time and energy would go into the effort. But then, the year 2021 came around. Stuck at home during the pandemic, I spent most of my free time during the winter and spring of that year field herping in Southern California and I saw more snakes in a year than I ever had previously. Even after spring had ended, I managed to find snakes in the summer months and throughout the fall through random sightings and lucky storm events. I even found my first ever sharp-tailed snakes on a really cold morning in December of that year after it froze the night before. When I realized that I may have accomplished the snake-a-month challenge in California unintentionally, I looked at my records to check. Then, the tragedy stuck! I realized that I had seen a snake in every month of 2021 EXCEPT MAY! I was only one month away from completing the challenge! I was really bummed that I had come so close to accomplishing this major field herping accomplishment and had not succeeded.

But instead of throwing in the towel, I simply decided to try again next year! So when 2022 came around, I attempted the snake-a-month challenge for the state of California again, this time being more mindful of the challenge throughout the year. It took a lot of hard work and dedication, but I eventually pulled it off and achieved the snake-a-month-for-a-year goal. I have successfully seen a live snake in the wild during each month of the calendar year 2022 within California, a task that is not at all easy. Achieving this goal has given me a greater appreciation for the art of snaking and taught me a great deal about the lives of California's snakes. Below is the story of my journey to accomplish this feat, subdivided by the month. I have also included all of the observations of my first snake of each month. Enjoy!

January:
While it may be the middle of winter and cold most days, January is not a terribly tricky time to find snakes. Yes, snake movement on the surface may be low, but it is not uncommon for snakes to bask or hide under cover objects on sunny days at this time of year. The normally wet weather also produces humid conditions, and while the ground is usually a little wetter than ideal during January, this is more favorable than being too dry. I found my first snake of the year rather quickly on January 8th, when I flipped an adult gophersnake under a random coverboard I found in Santa Barbara County. The weather was cold, but the snake was still warmed up enough to go through the motions and put on its full rattlesnake-mimic display. The rest of January turned out to be a better month than normal for snakes in Southern California, as it was sunny and unusually warm for most of the month.

February:
February is normally the month where winter in Southern California transitions to spring. As a result, February is the first month where finding snakes in Southern California is relatively easy and predictable. All that is needed is to check under cover objects on a warm and humid day. My first snake of February was a valley gartersnake that was resting under a coverboard the morning of February 3rd in Santa Barbara County. Just like January, February of 2022 was unusually warm and dry, making it a better month for snake activity than normal.

March:
As someone who likes looking for snakes by flipping cover objects best, March is my favorite month for field helping in California. Checking under cover objects to find reptiles and amphibians is most productive during this month and regular basking and movement patterns start this month as well. March is by far the easier month to find a snake, and my first snake of the month was a gophersnake found under a coverboard in Santa Barbara County on the 11th. The rest of March was full of awesome snake encounters, including my first ever mountain kingsnake.

April:
All around, April is the best month of the year for nature watching across the U.S., and April in California is no exception. Checking cover objects for reptiles and amphibians during this month is normally still productive, although looking for snakes basking and moving around is equally so. For April, my first snake was a Northern Pacific rattlesnake that I observed basking at the entrance of a ground squirrel burrow on April 1st at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve in the Bay Area. April is also the month when looking for snakes in mountain habitats in Southern California first becomes possible. I experienced a taste of this when one of my peers found a mountain kingsnake at James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve during a field course that we were on.

May:
From my experience, the month of May can either be an easy or difficult month to find a wild snake in California depending on where you are and the weather. This is the best month to look for snakes in mountain habitats and the start of reliable weather for looking for snakes on desert roads at night, both of which can be productive options. By the coast and in the lowlands, weather has a bigger role to play. If it is too dry, then finding snakes that are moving around is the only option. However, if it is not too hot and not too dry, snakes will still use cover objects during this month. I was able to find the first snake of May in the Bay Area, when I found a pair of Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes under a piece of tin in Blue Oak Ranch Reserve on May 11th. The rest of the month was decently productive, with me finding several more rattlesnakes in the Bay Area and several desert species on two road cruising trips.

June:
With the end of May, the dry and warm summer weather usually starts in June. Throughout most of California, the best way to find a snake in June is either looking for snakes moving overland or exploring creeks and ponds in search of gartersnakes. For me, since I was stationed in Modoc County for half of the month, checking cover objects was also an option, as Northern California still had a decent amount of soil moisture left during this time of year. My first snake of June was actually a Western yellow-bellied racer found under a piece of tin on June 18th in Modoc County. Hiking, driving on roads during the day, and exploring ponds and wetlands also proved to be productive options for finding snakes in Northern California. There was even one reservoir I went to that had 50-70 gartersnakes, the most snakes I have ever seen in one place!

July:
While it can be a tricky month in some places, the warm temperatures of July mean that this month is still a decent time of year to find snakes in California. The easiest methods for this month are searching around water sources for gartersnakes and driving roads at night or day to find moving snakes. A Western yellow-bellied racer crossing the path at Modoc National Wildlife Refuge on July 1st was the first snake I saw for this month. The rest of the month was full of other common snakes in Modoc County, including gophersnakes, gartersnakes, and more racers.

August:
August is where the going gets tough. Looking for snakes at night in the desert becomes much less productive, although this sometimes changes with the birth of baby snakes in the late summer. If they are still out, this is usually also the last month where gartersnakes are commonly seen out and about in Southern California. Cover objects rarely produce during this month. However, August in Northern California is more productive. With a decent amount of effort, I was able to find a large mountain gartersnake at Modoc National Wildlife Refuge on August 7th. While I did see a few more snakes in August, the frequency of my snake encounters greatly decreased this month.

September:
The best bet for finding a snake in September is trekking out to the deserts and driving roads to look for newborn snakes. Other than that, this month is tricky given that it is usually very dry. That being said, finding snakes out and about during the day in all habitats is still a possibility. I found my September snake, a valley gartersnake, basking on a road in Modoc County on the 2nd of the month. I did see a few more snakes out on the roads during September, but even fewer than in August.

October:
Because of the lowering temperatures and dry conditions, October is another difficult month to find snakes. This is especially the case in Southern California, as gartersnakes are generally not active at this time and cover objects rarely get used. With my time in Modoc County ending this month, I knew my best bet was to hope that the weather in Northern California would remain warm and that the snakes would continue to be crossing roads like they had been the last two months. On the 1st of October, I went out to Modoc National Wildlife Refuge and biked the main loop, hoping to find a snake crossing the road. I passed four dead snakes before finally finding a live, hatchling gophersnake basking on the road. That was the only live snake I saw that October.

November:
November is the most difficult month of the year to find a snake in California. Not only is it usually too dry for cover objects to produce snakes, but it is also usually too cold for much diurnal snake movement. As a result, most snakes retreat into rodent burrows to wait until favorable conditions return in the late winter. However, weather permitting, some snakes may choose to use cover objects during this time, especially if they have not eaten enough prior to winter. Luckily, this worked out for me, as I was able to find a Southern Pacific rattlesnake hiding under a piece of tin in Ventura County on November 1st.

December:
This was it: the final showdown. I had reached December, the last month of 2022 and only needed to find one more snake. While winter rains can increase the soil moisture during this month, December is still nearly as challenging November given that it is much colder. Despite this, snakes will use cover objects or bask in December if they can find microclimates that are warm enough. This was my saving grace, as I managed to find a young Southern Pacific rattlesnake under a piece of tin on December 14th, ending the journey to my completion of the snake-a-month challenge for 2022.

Publicado el diciembre 15, 2022 08:18 TARDE por tothemax tothemax | 12 observaciones | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

13 de diciembre de 2022

Shaking up Sarasota's Birding Community

This past November, I joined my mom and dad on a month long road trip to the East coast to spend time with family, doing some sight seeing and wildlife watching along the way. We spent several days visiting my grandmother in Sarasota, Florida, and it was during this time that I got to go birding at several of Sarasota's birding hotspots. While I have visited Sarasota many times during my life to visit my grandmother, this was the first time I had done any birding in the area. With this in mind, one park I wanted to visit was Urfer Family Park along Bee Ridge Road, as it was only a short distance away from my grandmother's house and I had visited it before. I walked the small boardwalk near the parking lot with my dad on November 19th, and while I did not spend much time there, it was a decision that I wouldn't regret.

About midway down the boardwalk, I spotted two birds foraging for insects in the trees right next to me. One was a Blue-headed Vireo, an unusual bird for me given that I live in California. The other was a Golden-crowned Kinglet, a bird that I saw dozens of in the California mountains over the summer prior to this trip. Because I was more familiar with the kinglet, I did not think much of it at the time, only snapping enough photos to identify it later. I then moved on to the end of the boardwalk, where the forest canopy had been opened up by hurricane Ian and several trees had fallen over. This area was bustling with song birds! All within the span of five minutes, I saw another Blue-headed Vireo, several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Carolina Wren, and my first ever Northern Parula. The latter of these was really exciting to me, and since I like to keep my life list on EBird complete, I decided to submit a EBird list for the outing (see https://ebird.org/checklist/S122666029).

Later that night, I got an email from John Groskopf, one of the EBird data reviewers for Sarasota County, FL. He asked me to be more precise in my description of the Golden-crowned Kinglet sighting on my list so that he could confirm the sighting. According to him, this was only the second ever recorded sighting of a Golden-crowned Kinglet in Sarasota County, FL. When I heard this, I was so excited to have found a really rare bird for the area while just casually birding at a local park. Being pretty bad at explaining my ID thought process, I simply downloaded the photos of the kinglet from my camera and uploaded them to EBird, knowing that the photos would speak for themself. Two days later, I traveled back to Urfer Family Park to look for Barred Owls. As I was approaching the trail towards the oak scrub and pine woods, I noticed a large group of birdwatchers, dispersed over the area and searching intently for something. At first I thought it was an organized bird walk, but then I went up to someone to ask about it and they said that everyone was looking for the Golden-crowned Kinglet that had recently been reported on Ebird. I then mentioned how I was the one who found it and everyone came over to talk to me and ask me questions about the encounter and where I was from. It was amazing how I had completely shaken up the birding community with a quick visit to a local park on a family trip and it was an experience I will never forget.

But one question still remains about the second ever confirmed Golden-crowned Kinglet sighting in Sarasota County, Florida: how did the bird get there? This is always the question when it comes to accidental and rarity bird sightings, but in this case, I actually have a possible answer. The year 2022 has been a difficult weather year for the Southeastern states, with multiple hurricanes passing over Florida and Georgia, one of which took place just a few weeks prior to my sighting of the kinglet. It is likely that these storms impacted the migration patterns of small song birds and forced them outside of their normal range boundaries. Normally, Golden-crowned Kinglets that winter in Florida only do so in the forests of the Florida Panhandle, never moving farther South into the Florida Peninsula. It is possible that all of the recent storm activity pushed some of these tiny birds farther South into the Florida Peninsula, beyond their normal range. While this makes sense, the real reason remains to be discovered.

Publicado el diciembre 13, 2022 11:21 TARDE por tothemax tothemax | 1 observación | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

24 de mayo de 2022

Spring 2022 UCNRS California Ecology and Conservation Field Course

This spring quarter was my last quarter as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I had already completed all of my graduation requirements before this quarter, but there was still one major course that I was lined up to take. Early on in my undergraduate experience, I heard about a field course for biology and environmental science majors that was based out of the University of California's Natural Reserve System (UCNRS). I read about how this course brings together around 30 undergraduate students from across the University of California system to spend 7 weeks in the field learning how conduct field research in the fields of ecology and conservation. I instantly knew this was for me. I applied for the spring of 2022 run of the course in Fall of 2021 and was lucky enough to be accepted.

While the purpose of the field course was to learn about conducting scientific research, I was mostly excited about that fact that we were going to be visiting 5 unique ecosystems in California, all with a great diversity of animal species. I wanted to use this as an opportunity to familiarize myself with the natural history of several regions in California that I had not spent much time in previously, and that is exactly what I did.

At the start of the field course in late March, we all met at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, just East of San Jose. Although we never conducted any research projects at this reserve, it was my favorite by far. Not only did I love the rolling hills of oak savannahs, but the wildlife viewing there was unparalleled by similar habitats I had been in. California Quail and brush rabbits and were literally everywhere and it was often easy to get close to them. An enormous colony of California ground squirrels surrounded the main barn and many individuals allowed me to get within a few feet of them before running to their burrows. There were also several blonde (leucistic?) individuals, with light patterns. California Thrashers, Acorn Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers were also commonly seen around the barn. But by far the best part of Blue Oak Ranch Reserve was the field herping. Not only were rare species like the California red-legged frog and Western pond turtle present at the reserve, but there were so many common amphibians and snakes that could be observed by flipping cover, walking roads at night, and by checking the edges of ponds. There were also rattlesnakes everywhere and they were extremely tame, allowing close up, yet safe views. In total, I observed 16 different reptile and amphibian species on the reserve in just 6 days of being there, making Blue Oak Ranch Reserve the single best herping location diversity wise that I have ever been to.

Next up was Kenneth Norris Rancho Marino Reserve along the central coast in Cambria. The main highlight of this reserve was the rich tidepooling offered by the rocky intertidal zone. In our time at Rancho Marino, we observed octopuses, ochre sea stars, black abalone, nudibranchs, sea urchins, mussels, barnacles, bat stars, pickleback, crabs, brittlestars, and cling fish. There was also a large sea lion rookery along the coast there, and that was the topic of my first group's research project. We investigated if the rising tide causing increased levels of aggression in the sea lions at the rockery, but we found this not to be the case, although further studies would need to be conducted to verify this. The best moment of this project was when a Steller's sea lion showed up and started bullying the California sea lions on the rockery. In addition to the coast, Rancho Marino also had vast expanses of coastal bluffs. Deer were everywhere here, as were Turkey Vultures and Brewer's Blackbirds. We also observed three gophersnakes crawling around in the grasslands on just our second day at the reserve, which blew my mind. Finally, there was also a large pond in the middle of a monterey pine forest on the reserve. Walking through the woods produced glimpses of unusual forest birds like Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Pygmy Nuthatches, and Steller's Jays. But the best part was the pond, where a Sora was hanging out. I spent several days with the other birders in our group trying to get a picture of this elusive and skittish bird and only got a barely IDable photo, but it was worth it for the adventure.

The next reserve we visited was James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve near the Northern tip of the penninsular ranges. Overall, this was my least favorite reserve, as wildlife in general was fairly hard to observe here. Part of me thinks that something funky was occurring in the ecosystem while we were there, as we never saw any deer, never heard any insects at night, and only heard a single owl during our entire stay, even though were knew for a fact that there were several owls living in the area. To me, the place seemed dead in a way. However, we did manage to see a few things of note while at James Reserve, the coolest of which was a coast mountain kingsnake, which was ironically found by someone other than me. We also saw several unusual birds, including the White-headed Woodpecker and Black-throated Gray Warbler. The Mountain Chickadees and Steller’s Jays were also really abundant here, and they become the study subjects of my next group research project. Specifically, we investigated whether or not bird foraging patterns varied between densely covered and open sections of forest and if this variation differed between bird species. We found that neither species was affected by such variation in forest structure.

After conducting our research at James Reserve, we then travelled to the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center in the Colorado Desert for our course’s writing retreat. Other than writing a scientific paper on our previous project, my time at this reserve was entirely spent exploring the desert and getting to know its wildlife. There were washes on both sides of the research center that provided glimpses of black-tailed jackrabbits, coyotes, and Black-throated Sparrows. Behind the research center was a rocky hillside where several chuckwallas watched over the nearby washes. The research center itself had a several palm trees, desert bushes, and a pond that attracted a wide variety of birds. A resident Greater Roadrunner, a pair of American Kestrels, and several White-winged Doves were easily observed from the center. We also visited the research center during the peak of the spring bird migration season, and migrant songbirds such as Yellow Warblers, Wilson’s Warblers, Warbling Vireos, Western Tanagers, and Black-headed Grosbeaks could be seen every day in the trees and bushes around the research center. In addition to exploring the research center, we also got a chance to explore several public locations in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which allowed me to observe even more birds and several lizard species that I had never seen before.

But our time at the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center ended all too soon when we travelled to the last new reserve of the trip: the Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center in the Mojave Desert. This was it: the last reserve where we would be conducting field research. What would I choose to study? What would the challenges be? As it turned out, the Granite Mountains tested my ability to problem solve and think outside of the box. After much trial and error, my group ended up studying how woodrats affect the health of buckhorn cholla, as common plant species in the area that woodrats build their middens (nests) under. We found that middens were more commonly seen under larger chollas and that larger chollas were on average more stressed, but these results were found independently of each other and we did not find an effect of woodrat presence on cholla health. In addition to the woodrats, a lot of other unique desert species occupied the area surrounding the research center. Western whiptails were everywhere and we even got to observe a pair mating. The area also had a lot of night lizards that could be found under the fallen yucca branches. I also observed a few jackrabbits that allowed me to get really close to them. But by far the best part of the reserve was the birds, as not only was migration season still well underway, but there were a bunch of other unusual desert birds found in the Granite Mountains, such as the Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay, Phainopepla, and Scott’s Oriole. Additionally, we also traveled to the Kelso Dunes and Amboy Crater during our free days to explore other sections of the Mojave Desert. The Kelso Dunes in particular was an exciting place to explore, as you could clearly see the tracks of anything and everything that traveled on the surface of the dunes.

Finally, we returned back to Blue Oak Ranch Reserve to write our papers on our final project and present our results. In the gaps of the hard work, I made sure to get out and take advantage of what could potentially be my last visit to Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, and it was so worth it. As I had predicted at the beginning of the field course, Blue Oak Ranch Reserve had changed in subtle, yet significant ways since the beginning of Spring. Other than most open areas being much drier than before, there were also differences in which plants were flowering, which residential birds were more commonly seen, and the greenery in the trees. I also observed several migrant species of birds in the area that were not there earlier in the spring. It was genuinely enlightening to see how much a habitat could change in just a matter of weeks.

Taking the UCNRS California Ecology and Conservation field course was without a doubt the single best part of my undergraduate college experience. Not only did I actively practice scientific skills and get to know 5 unique California ecosystems, but I also met a lot of passionate, like-minded students from across the University of California system and had so much fun along the way. I now have a much more wholistic view of the state, its ecosystems, and how to learn more about it all on my very own.

Publicado el mayo 24, 2022 04:04 TARDE por tothemax tothemax | 110 observaciones | 2 comentarios | Deja un comentario

02 de febrero de 2022

Detecting 200 Bird Species in Santa Barbara County!

A few months ago, I decided to challenge myself to raise my bird life list for Santa Barbara County up to 200 species. I have been visiting the Santa Barbara area for almost as long as I have been living in California (~9 years at this point), but it was only when I started out as an undergraduate student at UC Santa Barbara in 2018 that I really was able to start exploring the area and looking for its bird life. Since then, I have thoroughly explored many of the region's open spaces and have gotten to experience the great plethora of bird diversity present in this unique part of California. The area has so many kinds of habitats: coastal scrub, chaparral, wetlands, shoreline, pelagic, grassland, oak woodland, riparian woodland, you name it! It is all here.

Up until this past Fall, my life list for the county was around 180 species, so I was very close to reaching my goal of 200. However, getting those last few birds meant looking for unusual birds and learning how to identify rarer species from morphologically similar ones. As a result, I greatly improved my birding skills and became much more active in this form of wildlife watching. On January 18th of this year, all this hard work and dedication payed off when I found my 200th species for the county: the Common Merganser. Along this journey, my favorite of the more unusual species that I saw were the Ferruginous Hawk, Summer Tanager, Little Blue Heron, Lewis’ Woodpecker, Burrowing Owl, Short-eared Owl, Sora, Wilson’s Snipe, Green-tailed Towhee, White-throated Sparrow and Lawrence’s Goldfinch.

After getting to know the bird life so well in Santa Barbara County and visiting other parts of California, it is my opinion that Santa Barbara County is one of the best counties overall in the state for birding. There are just so many different habitats in such close proximity to each other, virtually all North American bird groups are present at least part of the year, and both warm and cold weather species visit the region. If you live in California, are a passionate birder, and have not already visited the Santa Barbara area, I strongly recommend that you visit this region at some point.

Below is the list of bird species that made it onto the list. Birds were added to the list when they were detected by sight or sound by me. Non-native species counted.

• Lewis’ Woodpecker
• Acorn Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Red-breasted Sapsucker
• Nuttall’s Woodpecker
• Downy Woodpecker
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Burrowing Owl
• Great Horned Owl
• Short-eared Owl
• Barn Owl
• Belted Kingfisher
• Eurasion Collared Dove
• Rock Pigeon
• Band-tailed Pigeon
• Mourning Dove
• Sora
• American Coot
• Turkey Vulture
• California Quail
• Wild Turkey
• Surfbird
• Sanderling
• Western Sandpiper
• Dunlin
• Least Sandpiper
• Short-billed Dowitcher
• Long-billed Dowitcher
• Willet
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Whimbrel
• Long-billed Curlew
• Wilson’s Snipe
• Black Turnstone
• Marbled Godwit
• Red-necked Phalarope
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Royal Tern
• Elegant Tern
• Forster’s Tern
• Bonaparter’s Gull
• Herring Gull
• Western Gull
• Heermann’s Gull
• Mew Gull (Short-billed Gull)
• Ring-billed Gull
• California Gull
• Black Skimmer
• Snowy Plover
• Killdeer
• Semipalmated Plover
• Black-bellied Plover
• Pacific Golden Plover
• Pigeon Guillemot
• Common Murre
• Cassin’s Auklet
• Scripps’ Murrelet
• Black-necked Stilt
• Pacific Loon
• Common Loon
• Red-throated Loon
• Eared Grebe
• Western Grebe
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Northern Fulmar
• Sooty Shearwater
• White-faced Ibis
• Brown Pelican
• American White Pelican
• American Bittern
• Little Blue Heron
• Snowy Egret
• Great Egret
• Great Blue Heron
• Black-crowned Night Heron
• Yellow-crowned Night Heron
• Green Heron
• Peregrine Falcon
• American Kestrel
• Merlin
• Common Poorwill
• Anna’s Hummingbird
• Allen’s Hummingbird
• Rufous Hummingbird
• White-throated Swift
• Vaux’s Swift
• American Wigeon
• Gadwall
• Blue-winged Teal
• Cinnamon Teal
• Green-winged Teal
• Northern Shoveler
• Mute Swan
• Mallard
• Northern Pintail
• Bufflehead
• Red-breasted Merganser
• Common Merganser
• Hooded Merganser
• Snow Goose
• Ross’ Goose
• Greater White-fronted Goose
• Surf Scoter
• Ring-necked Duck
• Greater Scaup
• Lesser Scaup
• Redhead
• Ruddy Duck
• Canada Goose
• Osprey
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Northern Harrier
• Ferruginous Hawk
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Red-tailed Hawk
• White-tailed Kite
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Brandt’s Cormorant
• Barn Swallow
• Tree Swallow
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Cliff Swallow
• Brewer’s Blackbird
• Browned-headed Cowbird
• Yellow-headed Blackbird
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Hooded Oriole
• Western Meadowlark
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Oak Titmouse
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee
• House Sparrow
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• Red-breasted Nuthatch
• European Starling
• Wrentit
• Canyon Wren
• Rock Wren
• House Wren
• Bewick’s Wren
• Marsh Wren
• American Robin
• Hermit Thrush
• Western Bluebird
• Townsend’s Solitaire
• Hutton’s Vireo
• Warbling Vireo
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Lark Sparrow
• Lincoln’s Sparrow
• Song Sparrow
• Fox Sparrow
• White-crowned Sparrow
• Golden-crowned Sparrow
• White-throated Sparrow
• Green-tailed Towhee
• Spotted Towhee
• California Towhee
• Rufous-crowned Sparrow
• Savannah Sparrow
• Northern Mockingbird
• California Thrasher
• Blue Grosbeak
• Black-headed Grosbeak
• Summer Tanager
• Western Tanager
• Scaly-breasted Munia
• American Pipit
• Wilson’s Warbler
• Yellow Warbler
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Townsend’s Warbler
• Hermit Warbler
• Common Yellowthroat
• Nashville Warbler
• Orange-crowned Warbler
• Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
• Bushtit
• Cedar Waxwing
• California Scrub-jay
• Island Scrub-jay
• Common Raven
• American Crow
• Steller’s Jay
• Yellow-billed Magpie
• Lesser Goldfinch
• American Goldfinch
• Lawrence’s Goldfinch
• House Finch
• Purple FInch
• Ash-throated Flycatcher
• Western Wood-Pewee
• Pacific-slope Flycatcher
• Cassin’s Kingbird
• Tropical Kingbird
• Say’s Phoebe
• Black Phoebe

Publicado el febrero 2, 2022 03:46 MAÑANA por tothemax tothemax | 3 comentarios | Deja un comentario

11 de septiembre de 2021

Studying Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs and Bd in the Sierra Nevada

The cold, rugged, and exposed peaks of the high mountains are not the sort of place that you would expect to find ectothermic animals. However, in the high Sierra Nevada in California, amphibians not only survive these harsh conditions but thrive. Some species have become so well suited to the high Sierra Nevada that they are found nowhere else in the world. One such amphibian is the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog, which is often the most numerous amphibian in the alpine and subalpine lakes and creeks where it occurs. Due to the unusual nature of the habitats that they live in, these frogs have very peculiar life histories. For starters, they live much longer than similar species of frogs, sometimes living as long as 15 years! The tadpoles also take longer to metamorphose, usually taking 2-3 years to transform into juvenile frogs and becoming gigantic for tadpoles in the process. For comparison, the tadpoles of most frogs species in the U.S. only take a fraction of a given year to complete metamorphosis. Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs also behave weirdly. In addition to being active at much lower temperatures than most frogs can tolerate, they also bask on rocks, logs, and the ground during the Summer to increase their body temperatures. During the Winter, they remain underwater as their water sources freeze, spending time moving around to the warmest patches of water and hunkering down in the mud at the bottom of the lakes and creeks. Evolving to survive in such a harsh habitat has made these frogs different from almost every other and resulted in a truly unique type of amphibian.

Unfortunately, as with many frog species around the world, the Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs have experienced severe population declines due to the emergence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a species of chytrid fungus that appears to attack the skin and heart of frogs. This fungus, along with the other causes of Mountain Yellow-legged Frog population declines, had such significant effects that the populations in the Sierra Nevada have been Federally listed as an endangered species. At one point, it was thought that the species would eventually go extinct. However, to the surprise of many, Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs have not only survived into the present day, but they are also thriving in many parts of their range. While Bd is still a significant threat and the endangered species ranking is still warranted, the future of these frogs looks much more secure than it did several years ago. But exactly how are these frogs persisting in the face of a deadly disease? What factors are contributing to their survival? And why are some populations still declining while others are persisting? Is there some sort of immunity that the frogs have been evolving, or is it possibly environmental factors?

The answers to these questions are unclear and researchers are trying better understand the struggle between Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs and Bd. The Briggs Lab at UCSB is one of the organizations at the forefront of Mountain Yellow-legged Frog research and has devoted a lot of time and effort to gaining a better understanding of this relationship. As part of this research, the lab sent a small group of students from the university into the Sierra Nevada to collect data on these frogs as part of a new study aimed at investigating the role of genetics in how frog populations and Bd interact. I was fortunate enough to be one of the assistants in that group and spent two full months conducting fieldwork in the Sierra Nevada this Summer. To collect our data, we backpacked out to remote locations across the Central and Southern Sierra Nevada on overnight trips, sometimes for six days or more at a time. We would then conduct a visual encounter survey of every site (population) we visited and tally up every Mountain Yellow-legged Frog adult, juvenile, and tadpole that we saw in order to get a better idea of the current population size. We then caught 10 adult frogs from each site and took both skin and tissue samples from them to retrieve their DNA as well as that of any Bd that was on the frogs. All of this work was done with the proper permits and done as efficiently and humanely as possible in order ensure that our impact of these endangered frogs was kept to a minimum. With the samples all collected at this point, all that is left is for the grad student in charge of the project to analyze the data, interpret the results, and write up a scientific report on the study.

This was an amazing experience for me in so many different ways. For one, it was so cool to be able to explore such remote and scenic wilderness areas and find these endangered amphibians in the middle of them. I got to handle endangered species, learn precise field methods, and engage in profession fieldwork that was completely different from anything I have ever done. I also got to see the wholistic view of a research project and make the connection between the big picture and the specifics that make it up. But perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of this experience was getting to know such a unique ecosystem at such an intimate level. Like everywhere I explore, I saw lots of wildlife, but spending 2 months in the Sierra Nevada did more than that. By paying close attention to the environment, I was able to detect changes in the rhythms of the ecosystem, such as when the transition from Summer to Fall occurred and when the birds started to migrate South. I was so in tune with the ecosystem that I could detect subtle changes that I never experienced in any other ecosystem. Thanks to this opportunity, I have become more passionate about the subtleties of the environment and have developed a great appreciation for one of the strangest frogs in the world.

For more information on the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog, please see my video on its biology and conservation. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mNsVf_FbVg)

Publicado el septiembre 11, 2021 05:30 TARDE por tothemax tothemax | 22 observaciones | 1 comentario | Deja un comentario

17 de mayo de 2021

Herping Away the Pandemic: The 2021 Herping Season

Field herping, or the act of searching for reptiles and amphibians in the wild, has been one of my favorite outdoor activities every since my first survey with the Southwestern Herpetologist Society. Reptiles and amphibians are just such beautiful animals and the intimate knowledge of their life histories that is required to find many of them makes this process so much more rewarding than other forms of wildlife watching. In 2019, I decided to conduct a personal field project all on my own while working on my undergraduate degree at UC Santa Barbara in order to learn how to find wild reptiles and amphibians in Santa Barbara and what conditions were most suitable for different species. The 2019 and early 2020 seasons were very productive and taught me a lot about field herping and herp biology. Unfortunately, the middle of 2020 season was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. I was forced to leave campus and move back in with my parents. Although I was able to make a few trips back out to Santa Barbara to collect data that season, I was mostly restricted to the Western Los Angeles County area where I live. This forced me to broaden the scope of my project from a focus on Santa Barbara to Coastal Southern California more generally. This transition also resulted in me finding a bunch of new sites to look for herps, although the herping season had ended before I found most of them. As a result, I prepared and waited for the 2021 season to arrive.

Now, as the 2021 season draws to a close, I can say that the wait was worth it. Both as part of my study and just for fun, I did more herping and saw more herps this year than I have ever done in one season. The weather was not optimal this year, with comparatively little rain and extreme temperatures for Spring, and yet I still saw more than ever before. What rain did fall was enough for chorus frogs and slender salamanders to be found in oak woodlands. I was also able to find my first Monterey Ensatinas, a species that is very spotty in its distribution in Southern California. Thanks to a few sites in particular, I was able to find dozens of gophersnakes and rattlesnakes, including some very unusually patterned and colored individuals. Unfortunately, several of my encounters with rattlesnakes this season were close calls, so I will be meditating on those experiences in preparation for future expeditions. I also found several nightsnakes this year, a species that I have not seen many of. Skinks and alligator lizards were found in great numbers as usual, but I was also able to find them in new places. Despite the dry weather, I found a decent number of Ringneck Snakes this season, including some of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen. This season was also my personal record for the most kingsnakes in one season, with three of them being striped-phase kingsnakes that I found in San Diego County. Additionally, I spent a decent amount of time walking creeks this season and have become much more experienced in looking for Pacific Chorus Frogs, California Tree Frogs, Two-striped Gartersnakes, and California Newts in such habitats. Other amazing finds for this season included a black-headed snake, a legless lizard, a striped racer, a whiptail feeding on a jerusalem cricket, my first arboreal salamander, and a rattlesnake feeding on a pocket mouse.

With the exception of finding Western Toads, I saw every species I wanted to see this season and then some. It was an amazing experience and I will not forget it, as it is probably the only season of Coastal California Herping that I will ever be able to experience as fully. I learned so much from all my encounters and I can't wait to reflect back on these experiences again when I finalize my project in 2022.

Publicado el mayo 17, 2021 05:49 TARDE por tothemax tothemax | 38 observaciones | 5 comentarios | Deja un comentario

03 de agosto de 2019

5,000 Observations!

I have uploaded over 5,000 observations to INaturalist as of today. It has been nearly two years since I first got involved with this amazing citizen science outlet and contributing to it today feels as exciting as it did when I first started. Not only am I able to making a difference by helping progress scientific research through INaturalist, but I am learning so much about the animals that I encounter as I explore their worlds. As an aspiring zoologist, this is simply thrilling to me. I must make a big shout out to Greg Pauly of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum and Founder of the Reptiles and Amphibians of Southern California (RASCals) INaturalist project. I remember when he came to the Southwestern Herpetologist Society to give a talk about the RASCals project and talked about how he was doing important research with INaturalist data and how this data is created by ordinary people. It was then that I learned about INaturalist and that I became interested in getting involved. Looking back on it now, I am very glad I did.

Publicado el agosto 3, 2019 12:18 MAÑANA por tothemax tothemax | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario