Thanks guys! For the white balance issue, I try to remember to calibrate it each time I get in the water. The auto setting leaves a bit to be desired, and being underwater only compounds the problem (see how yellow those first underwater pictures were). I almost always have the EV compensation set to -2.0 in order to increase shutter speed, because keeping that at an acceptable level is a big challenge. I pretty much keep it in Program mode all the time, and have it set so the "Green" button can be used to quickly control EV, Autofocus, White Balance, and ISO on the fly without scrolling around in the menus. I pretty much always keep it in macro mode underwater, but for those closeups I will kick on the super macro every now and then.
I don't know what the process is like for other people, but I still feel rather embarassed about how much work I do in photoshop to make the pictures look good. I just recently learned how to use the "Unsharp Mask" tool, both with large pixel ranges to boost contrast in the image, as well as to tease out a little fine detail at small pixel ranges. I often still have to fool with the color balance stuff significantly, but I'm working on it.
One major disappointment with my model is the video quality. Those youtube videos I posted have been compressed slightly by youtube, but the original video not only has ridiculous file sizes (which wouldn't bother me if the video was better) but the quality seems really lacking for a camera that's supposed to take "HD720" video. Casper, I'd be very interested to see the video you took, as I see they have supposedly increased video performance on the newer model.
Isaac, the photos of the satinfin shiners were pure luck. I don't know how bad it is for you with your gear and skills, but trying to pull off photos of any quickly moving fish involves a lot of burst shooting and finger crossing.
Casper, I would love to come see your neck of the woods.
2012 - The Year Of The Fish
Started by
Guest_Kanus_*
, Jan 17 2013 02:15 PM
57 replies to this topic
#43
Guest_IsaacSzabo_*
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Posted 20 May 2013 - 05:31 PM
Thanks for the helpful tips, Derek.
Yes, correct color balance is one of the more difficult aspects of natural light underwater photography (you've gotten pretty good at it). It is unlikely that auto or any other of the camera's white balance presets will be quite right. Like you say, it's really best to perform a custom underwater white balance on a gray card at the start of each snorkel (especially if you're not shooting RAW). Still, there are so many variables that affect underwater white balance that some color correction in post-processing is usually required as well.
The unsharp mask with a large radius can be helpful to restore some local contrast to images taken in water with subpar clarity.
Yes, fast-swimming small fish like shiners are a difficult subject. Like you said, it usually requires taking lots of photos to get a few good ones. It's one area where the fast AF and low shutter lag of a DSLR offers a big advantage. I would imagine it would be quite difficult with a compact camera. Casper shared a technique of prefocusing on a rock at a similar distance to your subject and then, keeping the shutter pressed halfway down, framing and taking your shot. It eliminates much of the delay between pressing the shutter and taking the shot.
Yes, correct color balance is one of the more difficult aspects of natural light underwater photography (you've gotten pretty good at it). It is unlikely that auto or any other of the camera's white balance presets will be quite right. Like you say, it's really best to perform a custom underwater white balance on a gray card at the start of each snorkel (especially if you're not shooting RAW). Still, there are so many variables that affect underwater white balance that some color correction in post-processing is usually required as well.
The unsharp mask with a large radius can be helpful to restore some local contrast to images taken in water with subpar clarity.
Yes, fast-swimming small fish like shiners are a difficult subject. Like you said, it usually requires taking lots of photos to get a few good ones. It's one area where the fast AF and low shutter lag of a DSLR offers a big advantage. I would imagine it would be quite difficult with a compact camera. Casper shared a technique of prefocusing on a rock at a similar distance to your subject and then, keeping the shutter pressed halfway down, framing and taking your shot. It eliminates much of the delay between pressing the shutter and taking the shot.
#44
Guest_Kanus_*
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Posted 01 June 2013 - 01:51 PM
On June 20th of last year, I took a little dip in the Rapidan river, upstream of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The day was hot, and the water was warm, but enjoyable. I stuck my face underwater on a sandy flat along an island and saw tiny black specks fluttering along the sand. Black bass seems like a misnomer when looking at any adult Micropterus but these little guys proved how appropriate the name can be. Hundreds of baby smallmouth bass, the size of a grain of rice, hovered above the sand, trying not to be noticed by predators, yet sticking out against the light colored sand.
On another flat nearby, Swallowtail shiners (Notropis procne) and Spottail shiners (Notropis hudsonius) (not pictured) similarly patrolled the sandy shallows, hoping for a morsel of food to present itself.
An odd sight in a mainstem river was the discovery of two juvenile Longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataracae) holding in the current near a newly scoured bank along the island. I had never encountered these snorkeling before, really only ever finding them in the cooler, more high gradient creeks in the area, usually in the most torrential current. Perhaps these got flushed out during a rain event and were wondering what to do next.
I was rather excited to see my first Glassy darter (Etheostoma vitreum) in natural habitat. I always thought of them as sand-loving fish, but this one seemed comfortable and well camouflaged over gravel.
Small hogsuckers vaccumed the silt and sand for morsels...
Ever-present Satinfin shiners (Cyprinella analostana) jockeyed for position in the current
Much to his dismay, I attempted to take a few pictures of some Redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) fry that had just swam up from this guys nest. I didn't get any good pictures of the fry, but this portrait concluded my day at the river...
On another flat nearby, Swallowtail shiners (Notropis procne) and Spottail shiners (Notropis hudsonius) (not pictured) similarly patrolled the sandy shallows, hoping for a morsel of food to present itself.
An odd sight in a mainstem river was the discovery of two juvenile Longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataracae) holding in the current near a newly scoured bank along the island. I had never encountered these snorkeling before, really only ever finding them in the cooler, more high gradient creeks in the area, usually in the most torrential current. Perhaps these got flushed out during a rain event and were wondering what to do next.
I was rather excited to see my first Glassy darter (Etheostoma vitreum) in natural habitat. I always thought of them as sand-loving fish, but this one seemed comfortable and well camouflaged over gravel.
Small hogsuckers vaccumed the silt and sand for morsels...
Ever-present Satinfin shiners (Cyprinella analostana) jockeyed for position in the current
Much to his dismay, I attempted to take a few pictures of some Redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) fry that had just swam up from this guys nest. I didn't get any good pictures of the fry, but this portrait concluded my day at the river...
#45
mattknepley
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Posted 01 June 2013 - 05:25 PM
More nice stuff, Derek. That little hogsucker is a cutie, and you can almost hear the redbreast saying, "Dude! What's your problem?" But the most interesting picture is that one of the satinfins. They look just like my greenfin shiners! No wonder we have to tell those two apart by range...
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."
#46
Guest_IsaacSzabo_*
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Posted 02 June 2013 - 08:57 AM
Great photos, Derek. It's cool to see some of these interesting species that we don't have over here like the Glassy Darter and Satinfin Shiners. I have seen adult smallmouth bass that are pretty much as dark as your juvenile.
#47
Guest_Kanus_*
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Posted 08 June 2013 - 03:35 PM
Three days later I went back out for an afternoon at the river after I got off work. This was again in the Rapidan River, and I didn't see as much diversity but witnessed sunfish spawning for the first time. I also got to educate a few people tubing down the river after they asked me what was so fascinating.
I got a chance to photograph a Rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) for the first time this trip. While he was patternless and washed out, I was still glad to see one.
Redbreast Sunfish, as usual, were abundant. I was able to snap this picture of three handsome youngsters foraging among vegetation. One of them is in the process of pulling prey out of the sand.
A Queen Snake (Regina septemvittata) was seen cruising in a run, searching for a meal of freshly molted crayfish. I was not able to capture any good pictures from underwater, but once the snake got back to shore, I snapped a photo. Not great, but he already knew I was chasing him.
I spied a small speckled fish moving stealthily through the vegetation, and was treated with my first opportunity to photograph a small largemouth bass
The highlight of my day was coming across a bedding redbreast sunfish showing off for the ladies. I watched his strutting for a few minutes until a small, very dark colored sunfish approached the edge of the nest. This was a female, who paused, very quickly developed bold bands across the body (I assume a communication letting the male know she was willing, as his aggression immediately stopped) and swam in to spawn. I captured some photos of the action...
The video turned out even better...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsIV8HiJrfw
I also stirred up an American eel (Anguilla rostrata)
Not a very good photo, but I had to include this to show how abundant shield darters (Percina peltata) can be...
And I would be remiss in not including this frequently encountered citizen of our waters. Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon). I see these just about every time I go to this particular spot. Once I found 3 individuals of 3 different year classes in about 5 minutes.
Thanks for viewing!
I got a chance to photograph a Rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) for the first time this trip. While he was patternless and washed out, I was still glad to see one.
Redbreast Sunfish, as usual, were abundant. I was able to snap this picture of three handsome youngsters foraging among vegetation. One of them is in the process of pulling prey out of the sand.
A Queen Snake (Regina septemvittata) was seen cruising in a run, searching for a meal of freshly molted crayfish. I was not able to capture any good pictures from underwater, but once the snake got back to shore, I snapped a photo. Not great, but he already knew I was chasing him.
I spied a small speckled fish moving stealthily through the vegetation, and was treated with my first opportunity to photograph a small largemouth bass
The highlight of my day was coming across a bedding redbreast sunfish showing off for the ladies. I watched his strutting for a few minutes until a small, very dark colored sunfish approached the edge of the nest. This was a female, who paused, very quickly developed bold bands across the body (I assume a communication letting the male know she was willing, as his aggression immediately stopped) and swam in to spawn. I captured some photos of the action...
The video turned out even better...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsIV8HiJrfw
I also stirred up an American eel (Anguilla rostrata)
Not a very good photo, but I had to include this to show how abundant shield darters (Percina peltata) can be...
And I would be remiss in not including this frequently encountered citizen of our waters. Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon). I see these just about every time I go to this particular spot. Once I found 3 individuals of 3 different year classes in about 5 minutes.
Thanks for viewing!
#48
Guest_Kanus_*
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Posted 08 June 2013 - 04:50 PM
About the time that freakish derecho wrecked much of the eastern US, I was getting out a lot. Due to some strange wiring in my apartment complex, I lost power to my kitchen and, of course, my air conditioner. I still had power to most wall outlets, meaning luckily that my tanks continued to be circulated. The bad news was that the entire week after the storm was record high temperatures, and I was without AC for 4 days or so. With my apartment at 95 degrees, even with frequent trips to (try to) obtain bags of ice to cool down my tanks, water temps got to 92 degrees. By some miracle, I only lost one fish.
But back on topic. I was staying with a friend that was gracious enough to let my girlfriend and I, along with our animals, move in for those miserable days. With little else to do, I went to the Rappahannock River to cool off. Water flows were VERY low, and the water was so warm it was barely any more comfortable than the shade.
I braved the water for an hour or so and got some enjoyment out of the clear waters. I only really saw the usual suspects, but got some good shots nonetheless.
I'm pretty sure this is an Eastern Elliptio (Elliptio complanata) but I am far from a mussel expert.
Meanwhile, the invasive Corbicula were also clearing the water, living in piles of gravel between large rocks...
I was watching a male Redbreast sunfish guarding his nest, when another male made him VERY angry and provoked him to pursuit. I was amazed by how long he left his nest unattended, since nest raiders arrived the instant he was out of sight. A small rogue group of smaller redbreast, bluegill, and even a small largemouth bass immediately moved in and started snapping up eggs from his nest. It was rather sad watching the next generation of redbreasts disappearing before my eyes, but I knew I wasn't the reason the male had shirked his responsibilities, so I didn't interfere and instead watched with amazement...
I was rather confused by a lack of sightings of Shield darters (Percina peltata) that had seemed so abundant earlier in the year. I then found these two juveniles under a small rock. I suspect the water temperature may have reached a point where these guys just didn't feel like being active, and found shady spots to hide.
For a fish that has no bright colors besides a striking iridescent white, Satinfin shiners always impress me. They look like if they were scaled up to gigantic proportions, they would give tuna a run for their money. Their speed and agility is impressive. This isn't the best quality photo overall, but I thought it was really cool that I got a perfect head-on shot of this individual flaring his fins. He looks like an airliner with flaps engaged, coming in for landing...
Among multiple shots, I was able to get a photo of nearly 100% of a margined madtom (Noturus insignis). Trying to photograph a madtom is basically an exercise in chasing the fish until it is trying to hide, but failing. This first shot is quite amusing to me. Reminds me of a little kid hiding their face, saying "YOU CANT SEE ME" Yes I can...
This next one is also good since it shows a little bit about where madtoms usually end up if you chase them while snorkeling. Margined Madtom, guest starring: the laces of my wading boot!
Stay tuned for more
But back on topic. I was staying with a friend that was gracious enough to let my girlfriend and I, along with our animals, move in for those miserable days. With little else to do, I went to the Rappahannock River to cool off. Water flows were VERY low, and the water was so warm it was barely any more comfortable than the shade.
I braved the water for an hour or so and got some enjoyment out of the clear waters. I only really saw the usual suspects, but got some good shots nonetheless.
I'm pretty sure this is an Eastern Elliptio (Elliptio complanata) but I am far from a mussel expert.
Meanwhile, the invasive Corbicula were also clearing the water, living in piles of gravel between large rocks...
I was watching a male Redbreast sunfish guarding his nest, when another male made him VERY angry and provoked him to pursuit. I was amazed by how long he left his nest unattended, since nest raiders arrived the instant he was out of sight. A small rogue group of smaller redbreast, bluegill, and even a small largemouth bass immediately moved in and started snapping up eggs from his nest. It was rather sad watching the next generation of redbreasts disappearing before my eyes, but I knew I wasn't the reason the male had shirked his responsibilities, so I didn't interfere and instead watched with amazement...
I was rather confused by a lack of sightings of Shield darters (Percina peltata) that had seemed so abundant earlier in the year. I then found these two juveniles under a small rock. I suspect the water temperature may have reached a point where these guys just didn't feel like being active, and found shady spots to hide.
For a fish that has no bright colors besides a striking iridescent white, Satinfin shiners always impress me. They look like if they were scaled up to gigantic proportions, they would give tuna a run for their money. Their speed and agility is impressive. This isn't the best quality photo overall, but I thought it was really cool that I got a perfect head-on shot of this individual flaring his fins. He looks like an airliner with flaps engaged, coming in for landing...
Among multiple shots, I was able to get a photo of nearly 100% of a margined madtom (Noturus insignis). Trying to photograph a madtom is basically an exercise in chasing the fish until it is trying to hide, but failing. This first shot is quite amusing to me. Reminds me of a little kid hiding their face, saying "YOU CANT SEE ME" Yes I can...
This next one is also good since it shows a little bit about where madtoms usually end up if you chase them while snorkeling. Margined Madtom, guest starring: the laces of my wading boot!
Stay tuned for more
#52
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Posted 15 June 2013 - 02:29 PM
Midsummer of last year I was pretty busy packing for the move to Blacksburg, but I managed to find time to help out on a DGIF survey for Blue Catfish in the James River, downstream of Richmond, Virginia. I had heard the guys talking about what an experience this was, and how I would absolutely love it. Considering I was about to move away from the area and would be too far to help out with this in the future, I found a way to make it happen.
In case you're not familiar with blue cats, these are a bit unlike many catfish in that they are mid-water predators that grow to epic proportions. They were introduced into the James River years ago and their populations is beginning to reach a critical point where there are many, many trophy sized fish left from the first few generations, while smaller fish are abundant and beginning to have an impact on forage. Basically, the population is stabilizing, and large fish are going to be coming more and more rare.
This video gives a good little lesson about the situation.
Anyway, if you're not familiar and have never been electrofishing, it is typically not terribly effective on catfish. They thrash about, may be stunned for an instant, but are often awake and swimming away before you have a chance to catch them. Lower frequency electronic pulses, however, are incredibly effective as well as selective. For this operation we had a single boat doing the shocking, along with 2 or 3 other "pickup" boats that trail behind and pick up fish after they have been stunned and come to the surface. Each pickup boat has two "dippers" that spend their time netting catfish as fast as possible. We also have a "workup" boat that has enough room and people on board to efficiently take data and process the catch. Some of you may recognize the workup boat as being the same one we used to collect American Shad eggs. Amazingly, the fish are so abundant that each run lasts about 10-15 minutes and there is barely time to breathe while dipping. I really wish I had mounted a GoPro on myself while I was there, because it was absolutely intense. The water literally appeared to be boiling, there were so many fish splashing on the surface. In the area of a baseball field, we saw thousands of fish, more than 8 people with nets could net in the sampling time. At the end of each run, my arms were sore. It was a blast.
This represents about 10 minutes of effort onboard one of the pickup boats.
This is a typical sample. That broad back belongs to one of the bigger fish at that particular site. Probably about 35-40 lbs. This size fish was common at other spots.
This is the only flathead that we got a hold of. We saw the native White Catfish sporadically, but for the most part they have been pushed out by these invasives from the midwest. I was incredibly impressed with the ferocity of this flathead though. This was the first one I had ever seen, and only moments after being shocked, one of the biologists was resting his hand on the livewell when this catfish snapped his fingers. The experiment was repeated two or three more times: each time fingers were wiggled at the top of the livewell, this fish keyed in on the vibrations and attempted to bite the fingers. FEARLESS!
This fish is being handed off to the workup boat to be aged. A random sample of 20 fish from each boat was analyzed for weight and length. A few of the largest fish from each site were sacrificed for otoliths (earbones) so they could be aged later in the lab.
This one had just been weighed. 46 lbs if I remembered correctly.
There was one particular spot that was sampled that was above an old sunken barge. This cover structure held an astonishing number of large catfish. This site was a backbreaker, and with so many 40lb plus fish we were only able to net a small fraction of them. This photo shows what the boat looked like afterwards. We had started running out of room in the livewells partway through. Also, it was getting to the point where it was difficult to find the strength to heave these beasts into the boat, let alone aim for the livewell.
I'm glad the yellow 5 gallon bucket is in the second picture. It gives a little sense of scale...
The workup boat after the crazy barge site..
This cat was in the 50-60 lb range I think.
And a little comic relief...
Funny story. One of the biologists was on the phone talking to someone about wanting to get some cutbait so he could go fishing for red drum the next day. Literally while he is saying this, a 15 inch striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) jumps out of the water and lands on the ground 5 feet in front of him. I saw the whole thing. What are the chances?
An unfortunate sidenote regarding this fishery: These monster catfish (an invasive species) can and do make up a trophy catfish fishery. However, this section of river is below an industrial plant that decades ago, dumped so many kepones in the river that contamination still exists. These catfish that make up so much of the biomass in this river, and primarily prey on other fish. Because of bio-accumulation, these fish are absolutely unsafe to eat. Not only would it be desirable to get people to harvest an abundant invasive species, but most good fisheries thrive on limited harvest in order to make resources available to produce bigger, healthier fish.
In case you're not familiar with blue cats, these are a bit unlike many catfish in that they are mid-water predators that grow to epic proportions. They were introduced into the James River years ago and their populations is beginning to reach a critical point where there are many, many trophy sized fish left from the first few generations, while smaller fish are abundant and beginning to have an impact on forage. Basically, the population is stabilizing, and large fish are going to be coming more and more rare.
This video gives a good little lesson about the situation.
Anyway, if you're not familiar and have never been electrofishing, it is typically not terribly effective on catfish. They thrash about, may be stunned for an instant, but are often awake and swimming away before you have a chance to catch them. Lower frequency electronic pulses, however, are incredibly effective as well as selective. For this operation we had a single boat doing the shocking, along with 2 or 3 other "pickup" boats that trail behind and pick up fish after they have been stunned and come to the surface. Each pickup boat has two "dippers" that spend their time netting catfish as fast as possible. We also have a "workup" boat that has enough room and people on board to efficiently take data and process the catch. Some of you may recognize the workup boat as being the same one we used to collect American Shad eggs. Amazingly, the fish are so abundant that each run lasts about 10-15 minutes and there is barely time to breathe while dipping. I really wish I had mounted a GoPro on myself while I was there, because it was absolutely intense. The water literally appeared to be boiling, there were so many fish splashing on the surface. In the area of a baseball field, we saw thousands of fish, more than 8 people with nets could net in the sampling time. At the end of each run, my arms were sore. It was a blast.
This represents about 10 minutes of effort onboard one of the pickup boats.
This is a typical sample. That broad back belongs to one of the bigger fish at that particular site. Probably about 35-40 lbs. This size fish was common at other spots.
This is the only flathead that we got a hold of. We saw the native White Catfish sporadically, but for the most part they have been pushed out by these invasives from the midwest. I was incredibly impressed with the ferocity of this flathead though. This was the first one I had ever seen, and only moments after being shocked, one of the biologists was resting his hand on the livewell when this catfish snapped his fingers. The experiment was repeated two or three more times: each time fingers were wiggled at the top of the livewell, this fish keyed in on the vibrations and attempted to bite the fingers. FEARLESS!
This fish is being handed off to the workup boat to be aged. A random sample of 20 fish from each boat was analyzed for weight and length. A few of the largest fish from each site were sacrificed for otoliths (earbones) so they could be aged later in the lab.
This one had just been weighed. 46 lbs if I remembered correctly.
There was one particular spot that was sampled that was above an old sunken barge. This cover structure held an astonishing number of large catfish. This site was a backbreaker, and with so many 40lb plus fish we were only able to net a small fraction of them. This photo shows what the boat looked like afterwards. We had started running out of room in the livewells partway through. Also, it was getting to the point where it was difficult to find the strength to heave these beasts into the boat, let alone aim for the livewell.
I'm glad the yellow 5 gallon bucket is in the second picture. It gives a little sense of scale...
The workup boat after the crazy barge site..
This cat was in the 50-60 lb range I think.
And a little comic relief...
Funny story. One of the biologists was on the phone talking to someone about wanting to get some cutbait so he could go fishing for red drum the next day. Literally while he is saying this, a 15 inch striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) jumps out of the water and lands on the ground 5 feet in front of him. I saw the whole thing. What are the chances?
An unfortunate sidenote regarding this fishery: These monster catfish (an invasive species) can and do make up a trophy catfish fishery. However, this section of river is below an industrial plant that decades ago, dumped so many kepones in the river that contamination still exists. These catfish that make up so much of the biomass in this river, and primarily prey on other fish. Because of bio-accumulation, these fish are absolutely unsafe to eat. Not only would it be desirable to get people to harvest an abundant invasive species, but most good fisheries thrive on limited harvest in order to make resources available to produce bigger, healthier fish.
#53
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Posted 15 June 2013 - 03:08 PM
Also, around this time I made it out for a little night work. Mid summer is the time to monitor the American Shad reintroduction effort in the Rappahannock River. Remember me saying that millions of fry had been released into the river to try to boost the population? At night in July is pushnetting time. This is a rather interesting technique. Id had never seen or heard of this before doing it.
What you see here is a pushnetting boat. Basically, that metal frame/cage on the front of the boat is raised and lowered by a winch on the boat. A roughly 4 foot diameter hoop net is clipped onto the frame and the boat is driven upstream at a few miles per hour for a standardized time period. The small planktonic fish feeding in the water column are run down by the boat and end up in the net. Blueback herring (1-2 inches long, little guys) make up the bulk of the catch, though American shad, bluegill, spottail shiners, and the occasional oddball sometimes make it into the net. Typical sampling begins around sunset and continues until 10 or 11 pm.
I don't have many photos from this because a) it was dark, and b) we saw very little that wasn't a blueback herring. However, we did get some American shad. Not many, but some. These juveniles were saved and sent back to the lab. Remember the neat trick I mentioned about exposing the fry to tetracycline in order to apply a fluorescent marking to the otolith? These small fish give us insight on how much of the population is a result of stocking vs natural reproduction. Pretty neat.
I don't have photos of them side-by-side unfortunately, but I will mention that sorting a net full of 50 juvenile Clupeids, looking for different species, is no picnic. There is a very small difference in the way the jaw hinges that allows them to be differentiated, but I will admit that over the course of 3 or 4 nights of doing this, I was still pretty terrible at it. This is an American shad, but they all pretty much look like this...
As for the interesting oddball, we got a few Atlantic Needlefish (Strongylura marina). These are a salt/brackish water fish that sometimes ascend rivers. I was pretty amazed to see them this far upstream, but apparently in summer the salt wedge from the Chesapeake Bay will get upriver far enough to bring some estuary residents along.
I learned last week though, while doing a mussel survey in the Appomattox River in Petersburg, VA, that estuary species are not uncommon at the fall line. An electrofishing survey a few days before the mussel survey yielded a needlefish or two, and while I was snorkeling in shallow water looking for mussels, I put my hand on a patch of sand only to see a large blue crab pop out of the sand about two inches away from my hand and swim off. Strange things happen when fresh water meets salt, apparently.
What you see here is a pushnetting boat. Basically, that metal frame/cage on the front of the boat is raised and lowered by a winch on the boat. A roughly 4 foot diameter hoop net is clipped onto the frame and the boat is driven upstream at a few miles per hour for a standardized time period. The small planktonic fish feeding in the water column are run down by the boat and end up in the net. Blueback herring (1-2 inches long, little guys) make up the bulk of the catch, though American shad, bluegill, spottail shiners, and the occasional oddball sometimes make it into the net. Typical sampling begins around sunset and continues until 10 or 11 pm.
I don't have many photos from this because a) it was dark, and b) we saw very little that wasn't a blueback herring. However, we did get some American shad. Not many, but some. These juveniles were saved and sent back to the lab. Remember the neat trick I mentioned about exposing the fry to tetracycline in order to apply a fluorescent marking to the otolith? These small fish give us insight on how much of the population is a result of stocking vs natural reproduction. Pretty neat.
I don't have photos of them side-by-side unfortunately, but I will mention that sorting a net full of 50 juvenile Clupeids, looking for different species, is no picnic. There is a very small difference in the way the jaw hinges that allows them to be differentiated, but I will admit that over the course of 3 or 4 nights of doing this, I was still pretty terrible at it. This is an American shad, but they all pretty much look like this...
As for the interesting oddball, we got a few Atlantic Needlefish (Strongylura marina). These are a salt/brackish water fish that sometimes ascend rivers. I was pretty amazed to see them this far upstream, but apparently in summer the salt wedge from the Chesapeake Bay will get upriver far enough to bring some estuary residents along.
I learned last week though, while doing a mussel survey in the Appomattox River in Petersburg, VA, that estuary species are not uncommon at the fall line. An electrofishing survey a few days before the mussel survey yielded a needlefish or two, and while I was snorkeling in shallow water looking for mussels, I put my hand on a patch of sand only to see a large blue crab pop out of the sand about two inches away from my hand and swim off. Strange things happen when fresh water meets salt, apparently.
#55
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Posted 10 August 2013 - 02:40 PM
I'm back to being over a year behind. Gonna try to wrap up 2012.
On August 5th of last year, I took another trip to the Rappahannock as a sort of last hurrah before packing a truck to head to the mountains. I cashed in a favor with my buddy at the tattoo shop and had a little work done to commemorate the transition. Before my tattoo appointment, though, I got to do a little snorkeling. Saw much of what I usually did here, and spent less time taking pictures and more time bonding with friends. I did, however, finally happen across a species I'd never gotten to photograph. It was a large-ish skittish fish. I tracked it for ten or fifteen minutes before wearing it down enough to make it want to rest, and snapped away.
Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens
This one's not a fish, but rather a really cool, primitive invertebrate. This happened to be a particularly attractive colorful one as well.
Freshwater Sponge
In celebration of my moving to southwest Virginia, and to add an eastern species to my collection, I got a Candy Darter on my calf. I already have a California kingsnake on my arm, a replica of a pet kingsnake I've had since I was 5 (and is still going 21 years later!), as well as a symbol of my upbringing as a native Californian until I was 16. I hope to soon beginning adding to my leg to create an full wraparound stream scene with more darters and some minnows.
On August 5th of last year, I took another trip to the Rappahannock as a sort of last hurrah before packing a truck to head to the mountains. I cashed in a favor with my buddy at the tattoo shop and had a little work done to commemorate the transition. Before my tattoo appointment, though, I got to do a little snorkeling. Saw much of what I usually did here, and spent less time taking pictures and more time bonding with friends. I did, however, finally happen across a species I'd never gotten to photograph. It was a large-ish skittish fish. I tracked it for ten or fifteen minutes before wearing it down enough to make it want to rest, and snapped away.
Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens
This one's not a fish, but rather a really cool, primitive invertebrate. This happened to be a particularly attractive colorful one as well.
Freshwater Sponge
In celebration of my moving to southwest Virginia, and to add an eastern species to my collection, I got a Candy Darter on my calf. I already have a California kingsnake on my arm, a replica of a pet kingsnake I've had since I was 5 (and is still going 21 years later!), as well as a symbol of my upbringing as a native Californian until I was 16. I hope to soon beginning adding to my leg to create an full wraparound stream scene with more darters and some minnows.
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Posted 10 August 2013 - 03:57 PM
After settling in in Blacksburg, I took an afternoon to head to the North Fork Roanoke River to take in a little of the local scenery. I was rewarded with getting to see a number of new species doing their thing in the wild.
Riverweed Darter, Etheostoma podostemone. This one isn't in color, but still displays a much heavier peppering of black pigment and different facial markings than a Johnny. I wasn't sure at first, but after comparison, it jumps out at you.
Johnny Darter, Etheostoma nigrum. I wasn't sure in the field that I was looking at anything different, but I've gotten a feel for the difference.
Torrent Sucker, Thoburnia rhothoeca First time seeing these performing natural behaviors. They act more like stonerollers than typical suckers I'm used to seeing. These guys spend more time nipping algae, detritus and biofilms off rocks than sifting sand and silt. Pretty neat, and very pretty in the springtime.
Torrent sucker in habitat. This was tough snorkeling, with swift water and carved bedrock jutting out at odd angled. I believe my ribs were pretty sore afterwards...
More clear-cut example of a Riverweed Darter. This was probably a male outside of spawning color, with richer golden tones. I got a chance to photograph a breeding male earlier this year and they are spectacular (and different).
Margined Madtom, Noturus insignis. These guys are ubiquitous in Virginia, occurring in every drainage as far as I am aware (maybe not on the Delmarva Peninsula). I recently heard that there was some doubt regarding their native status in the Roanoke drainage, and so many surveys didn't occur until well after 1900, it was quite a mystery. Apparently, however, an archeological site at a 600 year old Native American camp yielded over a hundred madtom spines, near a campfire where they were eaten as food. I don't remember the exact numbers, but the spines were turned over to ichthyologists, who determined that 80-90% of the spines belonged to margined madtoms, while the rest belonged to Orangefin Madtoms, a state endangered species endemic to the upper Roanoke. Mystery solved: Margined were always in the Roanoke, and as best we can tell, Orangefins have always been a less common species. Pretty neat.
This was absolutely the largest fishing spider I've ever seen. I would estimate its leg span was comparable to a full sized softball. I got a decent photo of it on the rock above the waterline, but I moved a step closer and it vanished underwater. I thought it was awesome to get an underwater photo of one of these. You can tell it is encased in an air bubble thanks to the hair on the body. Don't need fancy materials to make a drysuit if you're a spider!
Riverweed Darter, Etheostoma podostemone. This one isn't in color, but still displays a much heavier peppering of black pigment and different facial markings than a Johnny. I wasn't sure at first, but after comparison, it jumps out at you.
Johnny Darter, Etheostoma nigrum. I wasn't sure in the field that I was looking at anything different, but I've gotten a feel for the difference.
Torrent Sucker, Thoburnia rhothoeca First time seeing these performing natural behaviors. They act more like stonerollers than typical suckers I'm used to seeing. These guys spend more time nipping algae, detritus and biofilms off rocks than sifting sand and silt. Pretty neat, and very pretty in the springtime.
Torrent sucker in habitat. This was tough snorkeling, with swift water and carved bedrock jutting out at odd angled. I believe my ribs were pretty sore afterwards...
More clear-cut example of a Riverweed Darter. This was probably a male outside of spawning color, with richer golden tones. I got a chance to photograph a breeding male earlier this year and they are spectacular (and different).
Margined Madtom, Noturus insignis. These guys are ubiquitous in Virginia, occurring in every drainage as far as I am aware (maybe not on the Delmarva Peninsula). I recently heard that there was some doubt regarding their native status in the Roanoke drainage, and so many surveys didn't occur until well after 1900, it was quite a mystery. Apparently, however, an archeological site at a 600 year old Native American camp yielded over a hundred madtom spines, near a campfire where they were eaten as food. I don't remember the exact numbers, but the spines were turned over to ichthyologists, who determined that 80-90% of the spines belonged to margined madtoms, while the rest belonged to Orangefin Madtoms, a state endangered species endemic to the upper Roanoke. Mystery solved: Margined were always in the Roanoke, and as best we can tell, Orangefins have always been a less common species. Pretty neat.
This was absolutely the largest fishing spider I've ever seen. I would estimate its leg span was comparable to a full sized softball. I got a decent photo of it on the rock above the waterline, but I moved a step closer and it vanished underwater. I thought it was awesome to get an underwater photo of one of these. You can tell it is encased in an air bubble thanks to the hair on the body. Don't need fancy materials to make a drysuit if you're a spider!
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Posted 10 August 2013 - 05:04 PM
After doing a little recon, I had discovered a likely spot to find the Roanoke Logperch. This is a federally endangered species with a few disjunct populations, each with a relatively small number of individuals. I took advantage of a nice afternoon in September to see if I could have any luck finding any...
Roanoke Darters, Percina roanoka, were abundant at this site. They had amazingly bright colors for the beginning of fall as well.
These caddisfly cases were a new one for me. I've seen them all over SW Virginia at this point. Interestingly, it appears that these cases are static, glued to the rock. I've seen legs reaching out into the flowing water, presumably to try to grab food floating by. These function more like barnacles than anything I've seen in freshwater.
A nice thing about Northern Hogsuckers, (Hypentelium nigricans), is that they THINK you can't see them unless they move. Sculpin are similarly cooperative photography subjects. This large sucker sat still while I approached it while floating downstream. I noticed it and steered myself so I could approach it from the side. It sat perfectly still until I decided to test his patience by seeing if I could touch the tail. ALMOST. I've tried to find others that were more bold, but they always seem to dash away once I get about an inch away.
Cutlips Minnow (Exoglossum maxillingua). First time I have seen them while snorkeling, they were pretty common in this riffle. I didn't get a good shot of it, but one of them was swimming around with a snail shell in its mouth. In captivity, I had a single 3" specimen rid my entire 75 gallon tank of snails.
Portrait of a fantail...
An influx of springs in the area drops an otherwise large valley stream to a temperature at least somewhat acceptable for trout. Brown trout live up to their reptutation as a very spooky fish. I startled this one out of a rootwad and this is the best I could manage.
Finally, success! Adults remained elusive, but I found a pair of juvenile Roanoke Logperch (Percina rex) swimming together together and flipping small pebbles to search for food.
I shot some video of them doing their thing...
https://fbcdn-sphoto...062804947_o.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphoto...988197246_o.jpg
I followed them for about twenty minutes, snapping photos and marveling at their behavior. Logperch are fish with some intelligence! After I noticed my sunlight was starting to fade, I broke off to try to locate an adult.
https://fbcdn-sphoto...435464417_o.jpg
I did locate a huge adult for about 10 seconds before it darted far out of range. I went back later and found them much more cooperative (post on that one to come!)
https://fbcdn-sphoto...584004604_o.jpg
A somewhat blurry Crescent Shiner Luxilus cerasinus with a somewhat well-fed smallmouth bass in the background...
https://fbcdn-sphoto...348955374_o.jpg
State endangered Orangefin Madtom Noturus gilberti that I sorta accidentally caught while trying to catch a few Roanoke darters. First time seeing one. They are more different from margined madtoms than I had imagined, with a much more slender body and smaller mouth. That orange tab on the dorsal side of the caudal fin is a good diagnostic feature.
Roanoke Darters, Percina roanoka, were abundant at this site. They had amazingly bright colors for the beginning of fall as well.
These caddisfly cases were a new one for me. I've seen them all over SW Virginia at this point. Interestingly, it appears that these cases are static, glued to the rock. I've seen legs reaching out into the flowing water, presumably to try to grab food floating by. These function more like barnacles than anything I've seen in freshwater.
A nice thing about Northern Hogsuckers, (Hypentelium nigricans), is that they THINK you can't see them unless they move. Sculpin are similarly cooperative photography subjects. This large sucker sat still while I approached it while floating downstream. I noticed it and steered myself so I could approach it from the side. It sat perfectly still until I decided to test his patience by seeing if I could touch the tail. ALMOST. I've tried to find others that were more bold, but they always seem to dash away once I get about an inch away.
Cutlips Minnow (Exoglossum maxillingua). First time I have seen them while snorkeling, they were pretty common in this riffle. I didn't get a good shot of it, but one of them was swimming around with a snail shell in its mouth. In captivity, I had a single 3" specimen rid my entire 75 gallon tank of snails.
Portrait of a fantail...
An influx of springs in the area drops an otherwise large valley stream to a temperature at least somewhat acceptable for trout. Brown trout live up to their reptutation as a very spooky fish. I startled this one out of a rootwad and this is the best I could manage.
Finally, success! Adults remained elusive, but I found a pair of juvenile Roanoke Logperch (Percina rex) swimming together together and flipping small pebbles to search for food.
I shot some video of them doing their thing...
https://fbcdn-sphoto...062804947_o.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphoto...988197246_o.jpg
I followed them for about twenty minutes, snapping photos and marveling at their behavior. Logperch are fish with some intelligence! After I noticed my sunlight was starting to fade, I broke off to try to locate an adult.
https://fbcdn-sphoto...435464417_o.jpg
I did locate a huge adult for about 10 seconds before it darted far out of range. I went back later and found them much more cooperative (post on that one to come!)
https://fbcdn-sphoto...584004604_o.jpg
A somewhat blurry Crescent Shiner Luxilus cerasinus with a somewhat well-fed smallmouth bass in the background...
https://fbcdn-sphoto...348955374_o.jpg
State endangered Orangefin Madtom Noturus gilberti that I sorta accidentally caught while trying to catch a few Roanoke darters. First time seeing one. They are more different from margined madtoms than I had imagined, with a much more slender body and smaller mouth. That orange tab on the dorsal side of the caudal fin is a good diagnostic feature.
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