Oddly enough, one of my favourite parts of this job so far is the drive back and forth, particularly along a country road home from one of the parks. We’ve seen deer, all sorts of cool birds, a mink, beavers, muskrats and turtles and snakes galore! There’s always a sense of excitement when Josh stops talking mid sentence, slams the brakes and takes off running down the road after whatever he’s spotted. Eric and I now just laugh and follow. We’ve removed a bunch of critters from the dangers of the road, but the highlight so far was definitely the hatchling Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii). This marked the first Blanding’s I’ve seen (and it was tiny!) so there was an immediate thrill but it wasn’t until later that night a sense of fulfillment set in. This species is unique and cool, but also threatened in Ontario. Having always been an animal lover I knew I would enjoy working with wildlife, but I wasn’t prepared for the satisfaction that comes with the thought that maybe, just maybe, that little guy or girl will make it because we returned it to the safety of the ditch.

Adult male five-lined skink

We’ve officially started our field work here in Ontario.  Eric, Juliette and I have essentially moved from a tropical field setting to a temperate one and picked up where we left off.  We’re out looking for reptiles and an amphibians along Ontario’s southern shield as part of a Species at Risk research project which aims to gather information about five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) distribution, population size, and habitat preferences.  We are also collecting data about other species at risk including eastern hog-nosed snakes (Heterodon platirhinos), ribbon snakes (Thamnophis sauritus), eastern milk snakes (Lampropeltis triangulum), Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii), musk turtles (Sternotherus oderatus) and spotted turtles (Clemmys gutatta).

Juliette with our first capture of the 2012 season.

Our first day was very successful with 15 lizards captured and tagged.  A key element of the success of our population estimates is successful capture, tagging, and recapture of the lizards.  The more lizards we an capture, tag and recapture the more likely we will have accurate population estimates at each of our sites.  In the past two days, we have captured and tagged 36 lizards at three sites.  This is more than the number of lizards tagged during our pilot field season late last summer and fall.  Today, we actually had our first successful recapture of a lizard that was tagged on our first day in the field last year.  We are particularly excited about this as the method we are using to tag our lizards is new for this type of application.  The recapture validates the method and confirms that the tags can be detected several months after they are implanted.

Eric with our first recapture from the 2011 field season

I’m excited about this season as we are collecting some great habitat data and using some interesting methods to ID individual lizards so that we can collect data about their movements within their habitat.  For lizards with no distinct markings, we write a unique ID number on their belly with a permanent marker.  This is not an issue for lizards which, like all reptiles, have relatively impermeable scaley skin.  The writing will remain visible until the lizard sheds.  Most of the individuals we have captured to date have already completed their spring shed so we expect to be able to potentially recapture some of them a few times before the mark disappears.  We are always excited when we find a lizard with a distinctive feature or mark that can be used for ID because it will never wear off.  If we can recapture these lizards frequently, we can gather a lot of valuable information about habitat use and requirements for individual lizards.  This season we have had lizards that are missing a portion of their limb, missing toes, and some with unique scars.  The most interesting one so far is a male who has a “happy face” just behind his right forelimb.  It matches the smiles that we can’t seem to wipe off our faces as we wander the rock barrens of the southern shield in search of reptiles and amphibians.

Happy...the skink...this is not a doctored photo

My 27th birthday fell on the first day of work for Eric, Josh and I. We are spending the next 2 months conducting research on 5-lined skinks (Plestiodon fasciatus), snakes and turtles through OMNR’s Species at Risk Stewardship Fund.

We set out the first day the permits were valid, May 1, Eric and I eager to explore the sites but realistic in a low expectation of lizard observations. Spring isn’t generally a great time to see lizards because they are ectothermic, which means they regulate their body temperature externally so they’re more likely to be out in the summer when it’s hot. We were all surprised when we found our first skink less than 30 minutes in! The sightings didn’t stop all day and the cool weather actually helped us because it caused the lizards to be slow moving and therefore easier to catch.

In total we got 15, which is more than any single day last year (although last year’s data was collected in late summer and fall). For each, we recorded various habitat variables, collected physical measurements and inserted coded wire tags subcutaneously (under the scales) in order to give individual data. The various data collected at several different sites will help estimate the size of the subpopulation that occupies the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, about which very little is currently known.

Today (day 2), we captured more than 20 skinks, got our first recapture (an individual that was tagged last year) and saw tons of other critters – Ribbon Snakes, Ring-necked Snakes, Red-bellied Snake, Painted Turtles, Gray Treefrogs, Red-backed Salamanders, Blue Spotted Salamander and a newt!

I still can’t believe my job is hiking all day lifting up rocks and looking for awesome creatures. Sure beats an office!