A One-Swipe Survey

58 Assorted Dragonfly Naiads -- only some of those that came out in one swipe of the net, September 16, 2021

As the water level continues to shrink, the aquatic life still in the wetland gets more and more crowded together. Today in one swipe of a 10" by 7" aquarium net (see below) through the water and soft mud of what's left of the wet area of the wetland, I captured 121 tadpoles and the 58 dragonfly naiads pictured above.* In the case of the tadpoles, the count was fairly complete as I painstakingly sorted them out of the muddy water, counted and released them back into the wetland. In that process I came across some of the dragonfly naiads, but for many others I had to sift and sort through the very soft mud that had come out in the net until I hit a point where I just had to stop even though there were certainly many more still in the mud on my sorting tray.

In addition to tadpoles and dragonfly naiads, there were shiny little water beetles, backswimmers and numerous snails, none of which I attempted to count, and no doubt many other creatures I didn't notice in the muddy water. Notably, I did not see a single damselfly naiad in my one-swipe survey. That doesn't mean they aren't there -- I later saw giant water bugs along the edge of the water but they also were not represented in my one-swipe survey. Still, I think it more likely to have randomly missed a giant water bug than a damselfly naiad.

There's a LOT of LIFE still in the wetland water, but not for long. I won't be back to the wetland for four days  and I expect to find it with no standing water remaining at that time. The muddy ground may also be drying to the point of beginning to crack by then. We will see. I also shot video along the edges of the remaining water today and will work on processing that for next week sometime.

The 10" by 7" net that captured 121 tadpoles and 58+ dragonfly naiads in one swipe

What remains of the wetland water on September 16, 2021

* I estimate that my "swipe" may have covered about 24" through the water and mud. Given the net dimensions of 10" by 7", my one-swipe sample covered about 1,680 cubic inches of water (10" x 7" x 24"), which sounds like a lot but is still a very small portion of the remaining water, so there is an awful lot of life still going on in that water for the moment.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 20, 2021 at 12:48 AM

    I am always amazed at your patience in pursuing such little critters and your keen observation skills and knowledge! Enjoy your insights a lot!

    ReplyDelete

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