November and December are transition months here at LCI.  The Nature Center has received a make over, our website has been redesigned and we're setting up our 2010 calendar of events.  Our conservation project done in partnership with the Spring Island Trust has been a huge success thanks to alligator researchers Tom Murphy and George Rock.  Spring Island residents Al Gerber, Martha McMahon, and Mary Humphrey have conducted spotlight surveys and are taking data on location of each alligator to determine how much individuals move and what parts of the island they are inhabiting. Tony and Kristen are beginning work on a habitat enhancement project at Whale Branch Middle thanks to a $2,000 grant from DHEC's Champions of the Environment program   They'll also be working with teachers to incorporate a new outdoor classroom into their existing curriculum.  Chris continues to speak at Beaufort County Council meetings trying to help more rigorous stormwater management guidelines to be put in place.

It is with mixed emotions that we announce that Dr. David Bishop has accepted an excellent position as natural resources specialist at Fort Carson, the US Army Base near Colorado Springs, Colorodo.  His last day with LCI was Oct. 31.  We hope you will all join us in wishing David the best of luck in the future - we will miss him!

The successes of the LowCountry Institute are the result of consistently strong support from our donors.   As we kick off our annual fund-raising we hope you will give as generously as you can.  For those of you who have already contributed this year, we say thank you!

On a recent field trip (Monday), our master naturalist class was treated to something really neat. We flipped a log in a low swampy area and discovered a female marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) underneath. Upon closer inspection we realized that she was guarding a pile of silvery spheres (a small clutch of eggs). Female marbled salamanders lay 80 to 120 eggs under logs or in clumps of vegetation in wetland areas that are likely to flood. They will brood these eggs and even protect them from small predators like insects and other amphibians. When the fall and winter rains fill these nesting sites, the eggs hatch (within a few hours) and the larvae begin to grow and develop. After 3-8 months, the larvae metamorphose into solid dark gray salamanders and start their lives on land. They will develop the bold marbled patterns they are named for over the next few months. Males have a lighter-colored pattern than females. Adult marbled salamanders may live in the woods around the wetland and return to the same pond to breed and lay eggs.

Marbled salamanders are very handsome little beasts with striking patterns of light gray bands on a dark ground color. These chubby little guys are rarely more than five inches long from head to tail tip. They feed on small invertebrates including earthworms and a variety of insects. They have been known to live as long as ten years in the wild.

These salamanders are common residents of Carolina bays, river floodplains and other wetlands in the lowcountry. Like other amphibians, they require wetlands and a surrounding buffer of woods to carry out their lives. Some colleagues of mine have collected and released as many as twelve thousand salamanders from a single wetland about the size of a large residential yard in one day.

Many of our wetlands in the lowcountry have been destroyed or heavily altered to the point where amphibians cannot use them. Many of the wetlands that remain intact have been converted into fishing ponds making them unsuitable for most species. As you can imagine many types of fish feed on amphibians and their eggs. Proper study of the amphibian communities and the wetlands they live in will help us to understand the role that salamanders, frogs and toads play in the ecology of our area. Check out the picture taken by Jean Gilbert (a member of our current master naturalist class).

-tony

I think most of you guys realize that I have a real fondness for sharks; I am rarely not more than one association away from a conversation about these cartilaginous creatures.  Beaufort County is heaven for a shark enthusiast, because we have an incredible diversity of elasmobranch fishes in the waters of Port Royal Sound. The creeks, rivers and sounds around here are home to an amazing diversity of fish, especially sharks and rays. Approximately 20 species of these non-bony fishes patrol our local creeks and rivers. Most of our sharks are relatively small species rarely exceeding 5 feet in length but many of the larger species use our local waters as "pupping" grounds venturing into Broad river and others to have their young . Port Royal Sound is even home to some of the "big boys" including tiger sharks and great hammerheads often exceeding twelve feet in length.The closely related rays are pretty abundant here as well. We have southern stingrays, Atlantic stingrays, butterfly rays, cow nosed rays and even an occasional manta ray (a species that grows to twenty feet across) as well as others.

Tiger shark

I realize this sounds like a bit of a horror story to have so many sharks around but it really is a good thing. High diversity of sharks indicates healthy waters and surrounding marsh. PRS has some characteristics that make it quite different from other aquatic systems including deep water, high salinity and high tidal amplitude. These features allow certain offshore species a place to spawn safely. We have high shark diversity for the very same reasons that we have good cobia spawning ground and great habitat for red drum.

Although shark pups can be a real nuisance as aggressive bait stealers, there is no reason to believe that sharks reduce numbers of game fish in local waters.  Sharks are probably beneficial to our fishery. Certain species are indicator species (analogous to a canary in a coal mine) letting us know about water quality and the presence of certain pollutants. If particular shark species are not in an area then there is probably a good reason for it. Besides small shark pups are likely an important food source for certain commercially important species like cobia and others as well as food for bottle nosed dolphins.

This blog is all about the joys of experiencing and learning about nature in the Lowcountry.  We believe the best way to create support for protecting our local natural resources is to share our passion for it through education and stories.  In particular, we'll be tracking the seasons of nature, telling what to look for and where you might find it.   Because we live in an area that is so rich in diversity of animals and plants, there is always something happening nature-wise nearby - even if you're in downtown Beaufort or at a shopping area in Hilton Head!   By following our blogs we hope you will be encouraged to become more observant of what is around you and come to appreciate why it is here.

So here goes! 

Monarchs are not the only butterflies to migrate through our area this time of year.  Actually, there are two other species that are more visible and much more common. 

The bright yellow butterflies are called cloudless sulfurs...

and the bright orange butterflies with silvery under-wings are called gulf fritillaries. 

In the spring, southern populations of these two species breed prolifically and their offspring move northward breeding as they go.  By late summer they can occur as far north as New York.  These two species overwinter as adults, and so, in late fall, they fly southward to winter in the Deep South where they won't freeze.  Cloudless sulfurs and gulf fritillaries are regularly seen in the Lowcountry through December and may be found throughout the winter if it is mild.    If you want to have butterflies in your yard or property, think about having a wild corner where you allow host plants for butterflies to grow.  Each species of butterfly has its own unique preferences for the plants on which it lays its eggs.  The leaves of the host plant are the food for the rapidly growing caterpillars.   For example, cloudless sulfurs lay their eggs on partridge pea and sicklepod (common roadside "weeds")  whereas gulf fritillaries lay their eggs on passionflower vines.

To learn more about species of local butterflies go to http://149.168.1.196/nbnc/index.html

To learn more about butterflies in general consider joining the Carolina Butterfly Society-  http://www.carolinabutterflysociety.org/