Newt Research at Sonoma Mountain Ranch

For our first off-campus field trip of the semester, today I took my Field Biology class up Sonoma Mountain, to the Sonoma Mountain Ranch . . . a working cattle ranch about 30 minutes’ drive from campus. A wide variety of research is being conducted at the site, about the interaction between cattle and ecosystems, and also on the wildlife that uses the preserve. Today, our visit was hosted by Daniel Hudson, an SSU graduate student who is doing research on the various species of Pacific newts.

Before we left campus, the weather was looking a bit dodgy – overcast and chilly – and one of my students joked that it was probably snowing up on the mountain. We all laughed . . . of course, there was no WAY it would actually be snowing up there. Ha ha ha ha ahh hahahahahahahaha . . . .

Well, can you guess what the weather was like when we arrived at the top of the mountain?

No. It wasn’t snowing. Not really. I think “hailing” is a more accurate description.

Of course, this is a field biology class, and everyone knows that field biologists are not daunted by inclement weather (or biting insects, or venomous snakes, or bad road conditions, etc. etc.). So, we bundled up in as many layers as possible, and ventured out of our cars.

Daniel was there to meet us just inside the entrance gate, with a few little critters to start off the day: some lung-less slender salmanders (Batrachoseps attenuatus), and a Sierran Treefrog (Pseudacris regilla), who looked gravid (heavy with eggs).

We decided to have a quick look around near the entry gate, to see what we could find by flipping over some rocks and fallen branches. Spoiler alert: We found some really great stuff!

We really hit the motherlode when we turned over some abandoned railroad ties . . .

 

My personal favorite of the day . . . this GORGEOUS California newt (Taricha torosa):

Josh and the newt!

 

Next, we visited one of the ranch’s stock ponds – a great place to dip net for newts! Daniel had already caught some rough-skinned newts (Taricha granulosa) earlier in the day, but we also had the opportunity to try and catch some ourselves!

One of my favorite moments of the day: Régine falling madly in love with the newts. (This is a feeling I know well . . . I so often fall madly in love with all sorts of gorgeous wild critters)!

We also found a few larvae (juvenile newts), an adorable tiny newt, and Daniel and Régine did some dip netting:

We headed a bit farther up the mountain, so Daniel could show us what he’s doing with his research. The weather had cleared up (look how GORGEOUS that sky was!), and we made some mammalian friends along the way. Some curious, and reasonably friendly, cows:

Near the research station, we were met by managing ecologist Jeff Wilcox, who taught the group how to do radio telemetry. Josh was the first one to give it a whirl:

We’d already had an amazing day, and we hadn’t even see Daniel’s research yet! But finally we made it to the location where he had his Y-maze set up – an apparatus he is using to test the newts’ ability to detect chemical cues that allow them to choose an appropriate mate. He’s also PIT-tagging them, so individual newts can be identified if they are recaptured later. (Daniel actually let me insert one of the PIT tags, and I know someone took pictures – I’ll add those to the post when I’m able to track them down).

Finally, it was time for us to call it a day, and head back down the mountain. We had SUCH a fantastic day, though, and many, many thanks to Daniel and Jeff for giving us such a wonderful experience at Sonoma Mountain Ranch. And we’ll be back . . . we have another trip planned near the end of the semester.

Field Trip!

Today, I took my Conservation Biology students on a spontaneous field trip, and it was wonderful!

We were talking about invasive species, fish in particular, and when a picture of a carp popped up in my powerpoint, I remembered that a few weeks ago, Director of Landscaping Sam Youney had mentioned to me that there are some huge koi living in the campus lakes. When I told the class that there are huge fish (2 – 3 feet long, at least) in the Art and Commencement Lakes, they were skeptical . . . so I decided that we’d go on an impromptu field trip, to see if we could find them. (We were hitting the point during lecture where I usually stop to give the class a stretch break anyway, so we just took a somewhat extended stretch break). 🙂

We left the ETC and made the short trek to the Art Building, where I sent them to fan out around the Art Pond to see if they could spot the (exotic! invasive!) koi.

In the end, we weren’t able to find any koi, although we did see a turtle (invasive red-eared slider), a turkey vulture (native bird), a lovely black doggie (domesticated, walking with its humans), and hundreds of teeny, tiny fish (center bottom photo). I’m not sure what they are – Gambusia (mosquito fish), maybe? As we walked, we also talked about overgrowth of algae and aquatic plants, invasive terrestrial plant species (of which we saw several), as well as the many native trees that form the canopy along the creek.

I’m still determined that we’ll find those koi, though. I’m offering a bounty (in extra credit points) to any student who brings me a picture of one of the huge fish* before the end of the semester. 😀

 

Loch Ness Monster
Loch Ness Monster

*Also accepting photos from anyone who spots a lake monster – I’m really thinking that SSU needs its own lake monster, wouldn’t you agree?

Salmonid Field Trip

Restoration Ecology’s final field trip of the Fall, 2016 semester was a wonderful adventure in the redwoods, looking at restoration projects aimed at restoring habitat for salmonid fishes, including chinook and coho salmon. Our hosts for the day were Sarah Phillips of the Marin Resource Conservation Department (RCD), Erik Young, a lawyer affiliated with Trout Unlimited, and Eric Ettlinger of the Marin Water District. Each of them shared with us a different perspective on the creek, and how restoration projects happen.

We started out in the Leo T. Cronin parking area for a brief introduction, and then we headed a bit downstream of the lot for our first close-up look at Lagunitas Creek.

 

There was an exciting moment at Lagunitas Creek, when a chinook salmon was spotted splashing around in the rapids – possibly digging out a redd in which to lay her eggs.

Next, we headed to Devil’s Gulch, where we ate our lunch, and learned more about the restoration work that’s being done on the creek. Primarily, we learned about the importance of installing woody debris, to restore “complexity” to the creek, which in turn provides a variety of habitat types that salmon (and other organisms) need in order to thrives. There’s a great article on the work that was done here in 2015 on the Trout Unlimited website.

One of the highlights of my day was seeing some old growth redwood trees. One of them had a hollow inside that was large enough to hold several people at one time.

If you’d like to read more about our day, some of my students wrote about this excursion on our Restoration Ecology Blog: Coming Together for the Coho Salmon, and Salmon Crossing.