They really should. I know most of the nature documenting I do is totally old hat to anyone actually doing field studies, but the experience is so enriching.
The other day I spent 4 hours recording baby coho salmon in disconnected pools along a creek bed. Coho have been researched enough so I’m not doing anything particularly important, but in the process I learned some really cool stuff:
- The creek bed is absolutely filled with sculpins. A pool perhaps 3 inches deep and 3 feet in diameter could contain over a dozen of them
- Tiny puddles containing perhaps 500ml of water contained half a dozen fish or so; typically sculpins and sticklebacks but occasionally coho fry as well
- As the water levels were lowering, dozens of huge ravens were staked out and waiting for stranded fish. I returned days later and sure enough, every dried body of water had been picked clean
- The sheer number of nymphs, larvae, and adult arthropods was staggering once I looked closely
- Under every rock on the dried creek bed I could find everything from developing insects to animals like frogs hiding out
The amount of life far exceeded what I expected. And the diversity of life from micro to macro was also amazing. To think the creek bed extends several kilometres and it’s essentially all like this for most of it (though much drier higher up). I can’t wait to explore it more. I’m mostly curious how the coho will manage before rains return, and at this point it looks pretty grim. Some pools with at least 100 individuals will almost certainly be okay, but many more smaller pools containing dozens of fish are rapidly draining. The ravens are having an easy summer, I think.
edit: I have some videos and photos here https://steve-adams.me/coho/ (I don't normally share what I record but recently decided I might as well, because I wish more people did).
The other day I spent 4 hours recording baby coho salmon in disconnected pools along a creek bed. Coho have been researched enough so I’m not doing anything particularly important, but in the process I learned some really cool stuff:
- The creek bed is absolutely filled with sculpins. A pool perhaps 3 inches deep and 3 feet in diameter could contain over a dozen of them
- Tiny puddles containing perhaps 500ml of water contained half a dozen fish or so; typically sculpins and sticklebacks but occasionally coho fry as well
- As the water levels were lowering, dozens of huge ravens were staked out and waiting for stranded fish. I returned days later and sure enough, every dried body of water had been picked clean
- The sheer number of nymphs, larvae, and adult arthropods was staggering once I looked closely
- Under every rock on the dried creek bed I could find everything from developing insects to animals like frogs hiding out
The amount of life far exceeded what I expected. And the diversity of life from micro to macro was also amazing. To think the creek bed extends several kilometres and it’s essentially all like this for most of it (though much drier higher up). I can’t wait to explore it more. I’m mostly curious how the coho will manage before rains return, and at this point it looks pretty grim. Some pools with at least 100 individuals will almost certainly be okay, but many more smaller pools containing dozens of fish are rapidly draining. The ravens are having an easy summer, I think.
edit: I have some videos and photos here https://steve-adams.me/coho/ (I don't normally share what I record but recently decided I might as well, because I wish more people did).