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| Photo By: Olivia Riccio Green Frog |
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| Photo By: Olivia Riccio Near Ongley Pond |
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| Photo By: Olivia Riccio Swabbing a Smaller Green Frog |
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| Photo By: Olivia Riccio Swabbing the Stomach of a Green Frog |
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| Photo By : Olivia Riccio Releasing the Green Frog |
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| Photo By: Olivia Riccio Frog Prints |
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| Photo By: Olivia Riccio Bever Tracks |
For the past couple of weeks, the weather has been perfect for catching and sampling frogs; sunny, clear, and warm. However, catching them as always is the difficult part. I have seen anywhere from 30 to 40 green frogs at Ongley pond, Pike marsh, and Duck pond. But as of right now I have only caught and swabbed 16 of them (see above along with the swabbing technique)! I have learned along with my fellow volunteer, Rebecca Solnit, that frogs ( of any kind) have a tendency to speed up as the weather gets warmer (go figure, just as I get slower)! On June 30, with the help of the head research biologist, James Fischer, I had the pleasure of sampling a different (less jumpy) amphibian, the salamander. We uncovered and sampled 12 amphibian cover boards located at duck pond. We found and swabbed 8 red phase salamanders, 2 lead phase salamanders, and 1 red eft salamander. I learned very quickly that these slimy creatures are hard to hold and swab, due to the fact that if a salamander is held by the tail to tightly, the tail will actually fall off and eventually re-grow (I was not going to be part of that)! Even after catching 3 frogs and 11 salamanders, the day continued to have even more surprises. On our way back to white memorial, we found frog tracks and beaver tracks (see above) imprinted in mud. Overall, the question is chytrid fungus present in Connecticut is still being explored, but we hope that our continuous amphibian sampling will help answer this intriguing question.
2 comments:
Great Post! I am glad to hear that you are having so much fun with this project!
I would like to add that it sounds like you are getting better at catching frogs with every site visit. Keep up the good work, Olivia!
Great Photos! They were worth the extra work that Blogger is forcing you to do! I really like the first green frog shot and the habitat shot.
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