Myself and the rest of the Field Zoology class went out to the Lumber River Conservancy looking for spotted turtles, unfortunately we didn't find any.
Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus)
The Southern Cricket Frog, is a small frog and member of the family Hylidae which makes it a treefrog. You can find Southern Cricket Frogs in coastal plain bogs, ponds and in our case vernal pools.
They have a distinct linear "Y" shaped marking on their back, though often green the marking can vary in shade and color as well as pronouncement.
Though they are called cricket frogs they mostly feed on smaller insects like mosquitoes, some crickets would actually be the same size as this frog and would prove difficult to swallow.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Lab #6
Date: 3/2/16
Location: Lumber River Conservancy
Lab Activity: Placement of motion camera and audio recorder
Habitat: Pine/Hardwood Forest
Temperature: Not Recorded
Wind: Not Recorded
Humidity: Not Recorded
Additional Information: We didn't take note of any animals while we were out there, with the exception of some amphibian eggs.
This camera uses a noninvasive flash and uses infrared detection. In order to set off the camera, anything that passes in front of the detector would have to be large enough and would also have to show temperature contrast to the background. Because of the temperature contrast requirement, this camera does not pick up reptiles and amphibians.
We set this camera up on tree only about 2.5 feet above the ground. We placed in an open area and placed bait in the form of corn and cat food in front oft, we also brought in a special concoction filled with all types of stuff like egg and deer liver as a scent lure which was buried underground. We also placed some food underneath some rocks, the purpose of that is to make it a bit harder for the animal to eat it and have it stay in front of the camera longer.
We put this recorder device in the back section of the conservancy in hopes that no cars would effect the recording and so that no one was likely to find and steal it. We placed it within a couple feet of a two vernal pools, as the goal is to record frog calls. The recorder itself was set to record sound for one minute at the start of every new hour during the later hours of the day.
In one of the vernal pools we came across some amphibian eggs.
Everything below is an update made April 20th, 2016 which contains the findings from our camera and recorder put in the form of the list of the species observed.
Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), bottom right next to the stick
White Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) I believe that this is a gray fox and not a red fox because of the tail. The tail on a red fox has a white tip and the gray fox has dark colorations on the end of its tail, like the one observed in the photograph.
Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
American Crow (Corvus Brachyrhynchos) It is a bit hard to see in this picture but you will find it on the right side of the photo next to the corn kernels. I believe that this an American Crow and not a fish crow because it is holding its head up like an American soldier at attention, while Fish Crows typically lean forward like a fisherman leaning over a ship's railing to pull up a net.
Frogs recorded:
Spring Peeper
Southern Leopard Frog
Green Frog
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Lab #5
Date: 2/17/16
Location: Lumber River Conservancy
Lab Activity: Searching for winter breeding salamanders at Hamby's Bay
Habitat: Vernal Pool
Temperature: 61 F
Wind: 3 mph
Humidity: 39%
Tiger Salamander Ambystoma Tigrinum
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The pattern of the Tiger Salamanders vary and can be spotted like the one we found but are usually striped like the name suggests. The base color is black and they have yellow markings. They have a short snout and can reach lengths of up to 14 inches making them the largest terrestrial salamander alive.
You can find the Tiger Salamander over most of the continental USA, and you can find them burrowed in holes or underneath coverups like logs or metal sheets.
Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)
The Spring Peeper, which is distinctively recognized by the X shaped marking on its back, is a member of the family hylidae which makes it a tree frog. These guys will call out in huge choruses and often drown out the sound of any other frogs calling and they start peeping right around the beginning of spring.
Spring Peeper Calling in Chorus
Mabee's Salamander (Ambystoma mabeei)
The Mabee's Salamander is an example of mole salamander, family Ambystomatidae. The adults are dark in color with small light colored splatters of color all over the topside of the animal. This species is not particularly common in this area so we were lucky to find it. The adults are mostly terrestrial but will usually remain near to a breeding area which usually takes the form of a vernal pool like where we found this or a pond.
This species was found underneath one of the pre-setup coverboards probably using it for shelter and gather up some moisture. It may have also been looking for some food. The slimy's main diet consists of spiders, harvestmen, and other such small terrestrial arthropods.
You can identify this species by its solid black colored body which is covered in several tiny white dots. Adults of this species can be anywhere from 4.5 inches or as long as 8 inches from head to tail.
The slimy is a member of the Plethodontidae family of salamanders, commonly known as the lungless salamanders. The slimy doesn't breath with gills either as it is a terrestrial species, they instead breath through their skin and membranes lining their mouths and throats.
