pierson_hill
New member
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 24
- Reaction score
- 7
- Points
- 3
- Age
- 43
- Location
- Tallahassee, FL
- Country
- United States
- Display Name
- Pierson Hill
I haven't been able to post here much as of late, but I thought some of you would be interested. This weekend, I kicked off some amphibian surveys in the Redhills Region of south GA/north FL. Most of the region that isn't corn or cotton fields consists of private quail plantations, which collectively house the largest, oldest, and best-maintained tracts of longleaf pine-wiregrass left in the world (only 1.5% of the original ecosystem is left). As such, the area is the last bastion for many upland amphibian species, most notably the Eastern Tiger Salamander.
On a particularly well managed piece of property, I visited two gorgeous ephemeral ponds nestled amid the a breathtaking stand of giant longleaf pine trees.
Pond 1
Pond 2
In the open moist margin were plenty of flowering yellow butterworts, with their sticky carnivorous leaves ready to catch their insect prey.
Pinguicula lutea
And found plenty of these neat-o critters, our primary target:
A. tigrinum
The following day, I assisted the USFS with some Frosted Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum) surveys in the Florida panhandle. This Federally Listed species is rapidly declining and the salamanders appear to be occupying fewer and fewer wetlands each year. Despite a really good rainy winter, the salamanders weren't found in several historic breeding sites, which was discouraging.
I did manage to find at least one pond with a few babies.
And the bonus flower.
Viola palmata
Hope you enjoyed.
On a particularly well managed piece of property, I visited two gorgeous ephemeral ponds nestled amid the a breathtaking stand of giant longleaf pine trees.
Pond 1
Pond 2
In the open moist margin were plenty of flowering yellow butterworts, with their sticky carnivorous leaves ready to catch their insect prey.
Pinguicula lutea
And found plenty of these neat-o critters, our primary target:
A. tigrinum
The following day, I assisted the USFS with some Frosted Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum) surveys in the Florida panhandle. This Federally Listed species is rapidly declining and the salamanders appear to be occupying fewer and fewer wetlands each year. Despite a really good rainy winter, the salamanders weren't found in several historic breeding sites, which was discouraging.
I did manage to find at least one pond with a few babies.
And the bonus flower.
Viola palmata
Hope you enjoyed.
.