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Monday, May 9, 2011
Salamander Survey Year 4
We have been citizen scientists for the past four years. Every spring we join volunteers all over Wisconsin by helping to check for salamanders.
Salamanders mate in shallow ponds...so in early spring you can trap them with fish traps...or so we are told. We have tried for the past four years..but so far no luck. This year was our "worst" year...usually we at least catch frogs or minnows or interesting bugs. This year we caught 2 leeches, 3 water beetles, and fairy shrimp ( this is the first year we have caught fairy shrimp) Others have caught salamanders..even in Dane County...so we aren't giving up yet.
Want to find out more about the Salamander Survey?
Want to find out more about the Salamander Survey?
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2 comments:
Those dastardly sneaky slimey little reptiles (which, by the way, is also how I have referred to past boyfriends). I know these creatures exist as I remember finding them as a child growing up in the Lake Geneva area. Otherwise I would say that after 4 years one would wonder if they were just mythical creatures of Dane County. Like snipe.....everyone talks about them, laughs about them, dreams about them, but they don't really exist.
Does the fact that you can't find them mean the population is down, or that you 3 are just having bad luck. I have seen Nate and Ben search for all kinds of "creatures" at the cabin and find them, so I seriously doubt this has anything to do with skill set?
I think the population is probably down..but since we don't have a baseline to compare it to we don't really know.
It is a little tricky to get the timing right...they are only in ponds for a short time...so we could be missing them.
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