by Greg Mayer
I’m going to try to post some of my own wildlife photos while Jerry is not in a position to post readers’ wildlife photos. (We can look forward to Jerry’s posts of Galapagos wildlife photos, which we eagerly await!) To start, here are some pictures from a field trip I took to Vilas County, Wisconsin, last summer with colleagues from the University of Wisconsin Zoological Museum in Madison. These pictures are from our visit to Escanaba Lake, where the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has a small field office that conducts careful surveys of the fish in the Lake.
We went out with DNR fisheries biologist Greg Sass, who showed us some of the research being carried out by the DNR. Greg got his PhD at Madison, where he is affiliated with the Center for Limnology.
Part of the DNR’s research involves fyke net surveys:
Here are some of the fish found in the Lake. My ichthyological expertise is minimal, so the IDs will be to family only; feel free to volunteer species IDs in the comments. [Added: see species IDs by Mark R in comment #2.] Centrarchidae:
Ictaluridae:
Esocidae:
A large Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) tadpole also turned up:
But the highlight for me was that Northern Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon) were very common at the boat launch. There were little ones:
And big ones:
Measuring the big one– about 44 inches, total length:
Sometimes, the big and little hung out together:
The biggest ones were under and around an overturned boat:
The snakes were so common, I told Greg it would be a great place for someone to do a thesis on their population biology and behavior. Some more water snake photos:
This being Wisconsin and all, we had dinner the night before at a supper club, accompanied, for most of us, by brandy old fashioneds:
A welcome relief from depressing politics!
In order of appearance, I think the common fish names are:
Orange spotted sunfish
Yellow bullhead
Northern pike
Thanks for the post. Those snakes are beautiful.
I have an old friend who is from Wisconsin, his favorite drink is a brandy old fashioned. I also like Wisconsin’s tradition of serving a schooner of beer when you order a bloody Mary. I used to do a lot of press checks at Quad/Graphics, so I’ve been to a lot of Wisconsin bars. 😉
wonderful picture, fish and snakes, loved this post for intersting information well presented. Thank you! And yes, all are beautiful!
Beautiful sunfish, bullhead, and pike. Takes me back to my childhood!
I recognized fish #2 and 3 bc I grew up fishing them.
And jeez, I can’t imagine trying to pick up a water snake! At least from my one attempt many years ago, I believe that all they wanna do is repeatedly bite you.
Great photos and commentary, thanks! And yes, Jerry’s Galapagos pictures are keenly awaited.
Super cool photos and story! FYI, that water snake species was the subject of a classic study showing natural selection was strong enough to overcome the gene flow between an island in Lake Erie and the mainland (Camin and Ehrlich, 1958, Evolution). Selection favored different color morphs in the two locations, if I’m remembering right.
Yes, that’s right. Banded snakes did better in ‘normal’ habitat, while unbanded snakes did better on islands with flat, limestone substrate. Visual predators were presumed to be the cause; gene flow and selection were assessed by differences in morph frequency between juveniles and adults. Rich King (Northern Illinois University) continued studies of the Lake Erie snakes. The snakes at Lake Escanaba are banded and in ‘normal’ habitat.
GCM
FWIW I concur with Mark R. And that’s a whopper of an orange-spotted sunfish. Possibly a hybrid?
Great photos Greg! And my mother (from northern Wisconsin) loves Old Fashioneds.