Fish and Amphibians

In May, Pennsylvania-American Water announced that eight watershed projects had been approved and were to be carried out in multiple counties across the state. One of the eight projects was introduced right here in Indiana.   On Sept. 5, Indiana borough received a check for $800 to fund a rain barrel workshop for the community. This contribution was made possible by the American Water’s 2019 Environmental Grant Program.   The grant program was originally organized in order to educate a small group of communities on environmental issues and bring those issues into the public eye by attempting to actively correct them and dispel any misunderstanding or ignorance surrounding those issues through hands-on workshops and opportunities to learn how to improve the local watershed’s health.   Indiana’s rain barrel project was targeted at the goal to educate the borough on the improved management of storm water by distributing 25 rain barrels and running a workshop to inform t...

In the arid land east of Spokane — punctuated by channels and basins carved by ancient hydraulic cataclysm — Washington biologists discovered a rare and beautiful genetic mutation in late August: A northern leopard frog with blue spots. “I thought I was just seeing things,” said Sean Dougherty, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) biologist in Ephrata. While the endangered frogs are normally green or brown, in rare cases a frog will hatch lacking the pigment molecules that create the color yellow. Without yellow, the frogs are left only with the color blue (blue and yellow make green, remember). That unusual coloration is a “genetic quirk” similar to albinism, Dougherty said. In the past 15 years, only three frogs have been found with this coloration. While that rarity is due in part to the vagrancy of genetics, the widespread decline of the once-common frog species is also to blame. Once the mainstays of high-school dissections, the frogs could be found throughou...

Western chorus frogs are one of the species in Steamboat Lake State Park's new displays. The park is looking for a local artist or group interested in completing a mural surrounding the new herpetology exhibit. Courtesy National Parks Service STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Steamboat Lake State Park is home to moose, mountain lions and more, but those are best viewed from a distance. A new exhibit at the park’s visitor’s center will allow people to get up close and learn about some of the park’s smallest creatures. As part of an effort to make its exhibits more interactive, the park is in the process of completing a new interpretive display featuring reptiles and amphibians in the park. Park Manager Julie Arington said they’re hoping a display of the park’s animals will draw people in to learn a bit more. “We’re just generally trying to make it more interactive and interesting for groups of people based on the messages that we’re trying to convey about the history of the area as well ...

Eric Wildstein Gazette staff TheGazetteEric Saturday Sep 28, 2019 at 4:12 PM Kids and adults got to see and touch snakes, alligators, turtles, frogs and other live reptiles and amphibians from across the globe. It was all a part of The Schiele Museum of Gastonia’s Reptile and Amphibian Day event held Saturday. Participants met scaly and slimy creatures, cheered on the turtles in an annual race, searched for live species around the pond on the museum’s nature trail, and enjoyed a variety of other fun activities. You can reach Eric Wildstein at 704-869-1828 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteEric. https://ift.tt/2nBOJv7

The Salina Community Theatre is being invaded — by amphibians. But it’s to be expected, with their upcoming production of “A Year with Frog and Toad.” The production is based on the book of the same name, featuring lyrics by Willie Reale and music by Robert Reale. The story revolves around Frog and Toad, who have awoken from hibernation. They frolic throughout the four seasons and celebrate the differences between their species. This heartfelt classic is a tale for the whole family. " 'A Year with Frog and Toad’ is based on the beloved books by Arnold Lobel,” said director Megan Coberly. “It tells the tale of Frog and Toad's friendship throughout the spring, summer, fall and winter. The music numbers are upbeat and entertaining, and the kids are doing a fantastic job of portraying their characters.” Coberly, a born and bred Salina resident, has been with SCT since she was 8 years old. Now, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Friends University in education and a master’...

By ERIC FREEDMAN Capital News Service LANSING – We know that dogs have personalities. So do cats. So do monkeys, horses, elk and rodents. But crayfish? Yes, and their personalities can shape how well they can escape from their predators, such as largemouth bass. Research at the University of Michigan Biological Station in Pellston explored how a common herbicide found in rivers and lakes can affect “bold” and “shy” crayfish, with implications for their ability to survive hungry predators. Shy crayfish are more apt to hide in sheltered areas for survival, while bold ones are more likely to venture out. There’s a trade-off: While shy ones get some protection from predators, the more adventurous bold ones get more access to food and opportunities to mate – unless they’re eaten, of course. Here’s how doctoral student Alexandra Steele and biological sciences professor Paul Moore of Bowling Green State University in Ohio did the personality study: They collected almost 170 female c...

OC Animal Care officials, following up on complaints of possible animal cruelty Wednesday, Sept. 25, said they removed about 200 animals that may have been left unattended for days at a Lake Forest reptile rescue organization. Deputies were dispatched at 2:26 p.m. to assist with the county agency’s  investigation at Reptile Rescue Orange, 22762 Aspan St. Ste. 208, Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Carrie Braun said. Authorities had received multiple reports suggesting possible animal cruelty at the Lake Forest nonprofit since the beginning of September, OCAC spokeswoman Jessica Novillo said. An Orange County Animal Control officer leaves the Reptile Rescue Orange County offices in Lake Forest on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019. Officials were called to the office after a foul odor was reported. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG) Local veterinarian Dr. Scott Weldy enters the Reptile Rescue Orange County offices in Lake Forest on Wednesday, Sept...

Running into a live alligator or snake may not usually end well, but the staff at the Schiele Museum are giving the public the opportunity to be around all things scaley and slithery in a safe, controlled manner at their annual Reptile and Amphibian Day, taking place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 at 1500 E. Garrison Blvd., Gastonia. Guests can get a hands-on education with reptiles and amphibians using animals who call the Schiele home. “They’re program animals, so they’re used to people. There are no other opportunities to be safe in understanding these really weird group of animals,” said Stephanie Berggrun, environmental educator at the Schiele, “And of course it’s fun, too.” Feeling lucky? Those who come can pick one of the Schiele’s turtles to race against each other for a prize. “It’s just quirky and it’s very short so everybody can enjoy it, even those with little kids,” said Berggrun. The turtles will be placed in the center of a circular mat. The first one...

The axolotl (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) is a type of salamander that has an interesting and unique trait that distinguishes it from its amphibian relatives: The axolotl retains its larval features throughout its adult life. The axolotl’s condition is known as neoteny. It means that it keeps its dorsal fin that most amphibians have as a tadpole. The fin runs almost the entire length of the axolotl’s body, and it has feathery gills on the outside of its body that come out of the back of its wide head — like a fish but with arms and legs. The large, slimy swimmers were named after Xolotl, the Aztec god of fire and lightning. The ancient Mexican tribe was reportedly the first people to have discovered the strange creatures in the 13th century, believing it was Xolotl in a changed form hoping to escape sacrifice. The axolotl is also known as the Mexican walking fish because it is found exclusively in Mexico City. To be specific, they are found in a lake series known as the Xochimi...

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (KABC) -- Orange County authorities seized hundreds of animals, some of which were dead, from a reptile rescue shelter in Lake Forest following weeks of complaints from nearby businesses of a foul odor coming from the building. Reptile Rescue Orange County touts itself online as a non-profit, with a goal of finding quality homes for reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and all other exotic animals that people can no longer care for. But patients of an acupuncture businesses located in the same plaza on Aspan Street say they've been walking past windows lined with cobwebs, horseflies and roaches. Nina Bauer says the smell can only be described as one thing: "Dead animals. Animals that have been dead a long time." On Wednesday, Orange County Animal Care and the Orange County Sheriff's Department were able to get access to the building from a former volunteer of the shop who happened to have a key. Some 200 animals were removed and transported to t...

This Rhacophorus bimaculatus frog, a native of the Philippines that makes its home in the misty spray zones beneath waterfalls, is one of the many frog species imperiled by the deadly chytrid fungus. (Photo by Rafe Brown & Jason Fernandez) From habitat loss to climate change, amphibians around the world face immense threats to their survival. One emerging and sinister threat is the chytrid fungus, a mysterious pathogen that kills amphibians by disrupting the delicate moisture balance maintained by their skin, and that is decimating frog populations around the world. “Amphibians are already one of the most imperiled groups on the planet, and this fungal disease is further threatening their biodiversity,” said Erica Bree Rosenblum, an associate professor of environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley. With the help of advanced genetic testing and hundreds of frog skin swabs, Rosenblum, along with UC Berkeley graduate student Allison By...

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (KABC) -- Orange County authorities were set to seize hundreds of animals, some of which are believed to be dead, from a reptile rescue shelter in Lake Forest following weeks of complaints from nearby businesses of a foul odor coming from the building. Reptile Rescue Orange County touts itself online as a non-profit, with a goal of finding quality homes for reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and all other exotic animals that people can no longer care for. But patients of an acupuncture businesses located in the same plaza on Aspan Street say they've been walking past windows lined with cobwebs, horseflies and roaches. Nina Bauer says the smell can only be described as one thing: "Dead animals. Animals that have been dead a long time." On Wednesday, Orange County Animal Control and the Orange County Sheriff's Department were able to get access to the building from a former volunteer of the shop who happened to have a key. That volunteer told E...

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have mapped the distribution and spread of a deadly fungal disease that is rapidly wiping out amphibians.  Chytrid is the name given to nearly 1,000 species of fungi, and some variants are more harmful than others. The variety Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis , which was first discovered in the 1990s, is deadly to frogs and has been linked to amphibian extinctions on a global scale.  One study, published in the journal Science , found that Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis had caused declines in nearly 501 species of amphibians over the years.   “Amphibians are already one of the most imperiled groups on the planet, and this fungal disease is further threatening their biodiversity,” said Erica Bree Rosenblum, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley.   Rosenblum, along with an international team of researchers, analyzed swabs taken from the skin of hundreds of frogs to help track t...

From habitat loss to climate change, amphibians around the world face immense threats to their survival. One emerging and sinister threat is the chytrid fungus, a mysterious pathogen that kills amphibians by disrupting the delicate moisture balance maintained by their skin, and that is decimating frog populations around the world. "Amphibians are already one of the most imperiled groups on the planet, and this fungal disease is further threatening their biodiversity," said Erica Bree Rosenblum, an associate professor of environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley. With the help of advanced genetic testing and hundreds of frog skin swabs, Rosenblum, along with UC Berkeley graduate student Allison Byrne and an international team of collaborators, has created the most complete map to date of when and where different genetic variants of the fungus -- analogous to different strains of viruses like the flu -- have infected frog populati...

There is a lingering effect of all the flooding earlier this year, lots and lots of frogs. If your evening serenade was a bit louder this summer, you can thank springtime flooding along the Missouri River. "It created a lot of water on the surface for a lot of our amphibians, especially frogs, to breed in," said Jeff Briggler, Missouri state herpetologist. Populations can increase quickly, because female amphibians can lay anywhere from 500 to a few thousand eggs at a time. Only about one percent of eggs result in full-grown, reproducing adult frogs or toads. This year, that one percent resulted in a much larger number. "A of these animals are pushed out of the floodplain into people's yards, so hundreds, even thousands of frogs and toads are seen across the Missouri River Floodplain."  In some places the number of frogs has been almost biblical. It could be a unique experience for folks like Briggler. "Some of these species of frogs and toads that we...

It’s been just over three years since the Environmental Protection Agency formally declared the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. plant a Superfund site — a label that cued a massive undertaking to create human health and ecological risk assessments of the site and to demolish the facility. Those two milestones are now complete, according to project managers. Mike Cirian with the EPA who is overseeing the project, said an Oregon-based company wrapped up tear-down efforts last week, hauling out what little remained from the above-ground portion of the facility at the base of Teakettle Mountain. Demolition efforts began in 2015. What remains now of the multi-million dollar plant that once served as the valley’s largest employer, is administration buildings, a few warehouses, an electrical field and little else. Crews removed main structures such as the west aluminum unloader, compressor building, laboratory, the main plant building and more. “It’s basically been completely leveled,” Cirian...

The Shasta-Trinity National Forest and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) have announced a $305,627 grant to the Trinity County Resource Conservation District (TCRCD) to plan, design and implement improvements to drainage structures on 67 culverts at stream crossings on 44 miles of roads in the Trinity Post-Fire Project Areas affected by the 2015 wildfires. The project goal is to reduce road-related erosion and sediment delivery to watercourses and enhance transportation infrastructure. This project will include stormproofing and improvements on ten roads with 67 culverts at stream crossings in East Fork Hayfork, Dubakella-Hayfork, Upper Browns and Salt Creeks. Stormproofing includes brushing and rolling dips to disperse road drainage.  The work at the stream crossings can include cleaning inlet basins, stabilizing inlets and outlets by rock armoring and some culvert replacements. Upper Bule Gulch Forest Road 30N25 – This upper photo was taken after several days of hea...

Amphibian Relationships by Chinese Contemporary artist No. 223  - a.k.a. Lin Zhipeng - is now on display at the Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington.     Delaware Public Media's Kelli Steele interviews Kathrine Page, The Delaware Contemporary’s Gretchen Hupfel Curator of Contemporary Art. The Delaware Contemporary’s Gretchen Hupfel Curator of Contemporary Art Kathrine Page says it features 40 new works created in both China and the United States. Page concedes the exhibition's title is a little confusing, “You know - what does he mean Amphibian Relationships? Because that was my first question when Willie Yao [The Delaware Contemporary’s China Initiatives Creative-in-Residence and curator for Amphibian Relationships] presented his thesis to me; so I was confused because amphibians are animals that live in aquatic ecosystems.”   Page explains that the featured works in Amphibian Relationships touch on the question of duality in human relationships in a uniq...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Rudolf Schilder, assistant professor of entomology at Penn State University, took some time to explain why Pennsylvania residents are seeing so many dragonflies this month. He studies dragonfly factors that impact their flight performance, usually in a laboratory. QUESTION: Swarms of dragonflies have been so large that they have been picked up on radar. Is this common? SCHILDER: Yes, these are likely (pre)migratory swarms or possibly feeding swarms. ... This species was observed in swarms around where we live (State College). Feeding swarms arise when there are sudden "outbreaks," or large assemblies of prey insects in a specific location. Q: What are dragonfly migration patterns? Where do they go, and where do they come from? A: That depends on what species of dragonfly we are talking about. Most dragonfly species will mate and produce eggs or larvae in the summer, which then will overwinter until the next spring. Those larvae will then become the summ...

RICHMOND — Emma Paton , the daughter of two biological scientists, comes by her interest in wildlife naturally. Now in her junior year at the University of Rhode Island, Paton, who is majoring in wildlife and conservation biology, spent 10 weeks last summer in the New Mexico wilderness with URI associate professor Nancy Karraker, studying the endangered Jemez Mountains salamander. Paton received financial support for her research trip from URI’s Coastal Fellows program. Deliberately set fires known as prescribed burns are used in New Mexico and other western states to reduce fuel sources for wildfires, and Paton explained that the burns can also affect wildlife, including amphibians like the Jemez salamander. “One of the goals that Dr. Karraker had was to learn about their movements below ground so we could maybe understand if there’s any point during the season when they go below ground and that would be a good time to do these prescribed burns,” she said. With many of the decayin...

This time of year, the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions typically peak as animals start migrating to winter habitat, mating season begins for deer and elk, and bears spend more time foraging before hibernation. To help reduce collisions, Caltrans and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) remind motorists to be on the lookout during Watch Out for Wildlife Week, which runs from Sept. 15 through Sept. 21. Watch Out for Wildlife Week marks the beginning of the migration season for California’s wildlife, particularly elk and deer. Many of California’s roadways cut through these animals’ routes. It is vital that drivers be especially alert now through December to avoid collisions with wild animals. These crashes not only harm wildlife, but they can damage vehicles and cause injury and death to drivers and passengers. “Caltrans is dedicated to improving the safety of California drivers, which includes being responsible when it comes to the environment,” said Caltrans A...