December 4, 2011
The final Field Herpetology trip of the semester took us to Galbreath Wildlands Preserve in Mendocino County, primarily to look for Rough-skinned Newt.
The trip did not disappoint: we found adult males in various stages of transformation into their aquatic stage and preparedness for mating in both Wood Duck Pond, as well as a nearby seasonal pond.
We collected two specimens and took them back to the research shed to run them through a Y-maze trial, similar to the experiments performed by Emily Harvey for her master’s thesis research. Emily also demonstrated data collection on a newt specimen, showing us how they would be measured and toe-clipped for recapture identification.
Species List
Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa)
Let me know what you think!