Michael Carlo

Michael Carlo

May 25, 2016

Group 6 Copy 109
0

Things that go bump in the night

All of the photos I've posted so far have been from the tracking we do during the daytime. However, we track around the clock, 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Fence lizards (at least those in South Carolina where we are studying them) will nest any time of the day or night, depending on thermal conditions. So, Martin and I work in overlapping shifts to accomplish that potentially overwhelming task. 

(Here is a female we tracked to a nook on a dead tree where she was resting for the night)

(Sometimes it can be pretty challenging to find them at night, such as this one tucked deep inside an old rotten pine log)

So, I thought I would share with you some of the interesting things we run into while tracking through the dark forest. A lot of different organisms dominate the night in the forest than those that are active in the daytime. These photos represent a small sample of the animals, insects, etc that we find at night (the ones we managed to get decent photos of, at least).

**I did my best with identification, though some of the pictured organisms are beyond my expertise. So, please correct me if I have something listed incorrectly.

(a nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus, out foraging)

(I know this is a daytime picture, but I wanted to give you a good look at this really cool little mammal. Still can't believe it let me get this close for a picture!)

(a Southern devil scorpion, Vaejovis carolinianus; we found it using a UV flashlight because many different insects and arachnids fluoresce under UV light)

(a female wolf spider, Hogna carolinensis carrying her offspring)

(another female wolf spider, Hogna carolinensis, carrying her offspring)

(a fishing spider, Dolomedes tenebrosus)

(a mating pair of two-striped walking sticks, Anisomorpha buprestoides; notice the size difference between the female and the male!)

(a luna moth, Actias luna, that could easily be passed by at night looking like a leaf)

(a Carolina mantleslug, Philomycus carolinianus)

(a lone carpenter ant, Camponotus spp.)

(a grass spider, aka funnel weaver, Agelenopsis spp.)

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About This Project

The decision of where to nest is perhaps the greatest one a lizard can make for her offspring. Many lizards dig nests in open, sunny spots because warm temperatures help lizard embryos grow and survive. However, climate warming is raising temperatures at those nest sites to the point they may soon become harmful and even lethal to lizard embryos. This project investigates whether lizards can choose shadier, cooler places to nest, which could buffer offspring from effects of climate change.

Blast off!

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