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Central Tennessee March 15-17

Started by Guest_blakemarkwell_* , Mar 19 2009 06:39 PM

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#1 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 06:39 PM

Lance and I recently went sampling around central Tennessee. There had been continuous heavy rains three days previous, so the main rivers and tributaries of were running very high and turbid. Nevertheless, we still got to sample a few smaller tributaries and creeks to yield a few species. It seemed that the first day was overcast and the second day was far too bright, could not find a happy medium. Lance and I did manage to salvage a few pictures, I am sure he will post his in the near future. Thanks to all for the sites, they were great, and would of been better if we could of hit the main rivers. I will not post specific sites, or species list because I did not keep good track. We were mainly looking for certain species and I will post more photos up in the gallery as I edit them. Regardless of the weather it was a great time!

Campostoma anomalum (Central Stoneroller)

Etheostoma atripinne (Cumberland Snubnose Darter)

Etheostoma caeruleum (Rainbow Darter)

Etheostoma smithi (Slabrock Darter)

#2 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 08:17 PM

Upon further evaluation the last one appears to not be E. smithi, anyone have any ideas?

#3 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 08:20 PM

Is it maybe Eth. flabellare?

#4 Guest_natureman187_*

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 08:36 PM

With 2 and a half inches of rain two days before we got there, we're lucky to have gotten in even small water.
All in all was a good time, we missed out on the bigwater species but got to see stuff we can't get at home.

Here's our first site...overcast, fog, high water, sheep, Blake, and the mobile.

Redband Darter

This site yielded some pretty neat critters - salamanders and fish so black they looked like salamanders.

Dirty Darter

I hit this solo last year. It's amazing what a dipnet misses.

Orangefin Darter

Rainbow Darter

On our way home we hit a creek I fished every summer as a kid that yielded one of my personal favorites.

Redline Darter

#5 Guest_jim graham_*

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 09:14 PM

Upon further evaluation the last one appears to not be E. smithi, anyone have any ideas?

Etheostoma crossopterum fringed darter?

#6 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 09:40 PM

Etheostoma crossopterum fringed darter?

It really depends on where it came from. I can totally buy crossopterum, but as I just told Lance, I am the WRONG person to ask about a Catonotus lol. I am MORE than happy to say "Catonotus" and throw it back

Nice stuff guys, esp for unfavorable conditions. I look forward to anything else you post!

Todd

#7 Guest_natureman187_*

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 11:05 PM

It really depends on where it came from. I can totally buy crossopterum, but as I just told Lance, I am the WRONG person to ask about a Catonotus lol. I am MORE than happy to say "Catonotus" and throw it back

Nice stuff guys, esp for unfavorable conditions. I look forward to anything else you post!

Todd

Next time I nab the marked gazetteer we'll chime in with a location. The barrens, fringed, blacktail, and dirty look just about identical to me...I can see why a general Catonotus id would be beneficial :cool:

The photo tank got put to work for the first time this year.

And here's what it produced -

Redband Darter

Cherry Darter

E. planasaxatile ?

Orangefin Darter

Rainbow Darter

Greenside Darter

Redline Darter

#8 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 11:23 PM

The Ulocentra you posted matches up with the one I posted, which is E. atripinne according to Powers and Mayden, 2007, matching dorsal and location.

#9 Guest_BTDarters_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 03:36 AM

Wow, you guys! Those photos are really impressive! Am I to assume on the first set of pictures that the background was cropped-out and replaced with black? Also, do you use any supplementary lighting on the fish, or just ambient sunlight? Whatever you did, you guys rock!

Brian

#10 Guest_mikez_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 06:55 AM

SWEET! Serious eye candy. Prolly shouldn't have looked at these first thing in the morning. Now all day I'll be day dreamin about a road trip. 8-)

Very nice work on the photography. I gotta admire anybody willing to lug that much gear into the field. The results make it worthwhile.

#11 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 08:10 AM

Blake is right (not that there was doubt), that's atripinne.

Careful not to post those barrens darter locales!

Man, I can't wait to get down there.

Todd

#12 Guest_PhilipKukulski_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 08:12 AM

Were the fish squished between glass in the phototank to take the pictures,
or
do you have a really good camera
and great timing with the shutter?

Never the less, the fish and pictures are great. I'll have to make room to work on darters next year.

#13 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 09:54 AM

Great photos guys.
Sorry about the water conditions. You never really can predict that kind of stuff.

#14 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 10:42 AM

Wow, you guys! Those photos are really impressive! Am I to assume on the first set of pictures that the background was cropped-out and replaced with black? Also, do you use any supplementary lighting on the fish, or just ambient sunlight? Whatever you did, you guys rock!

Brian

Thanks Brian! My pictures unedited look very similar to the third set that Lance posted, however, I then proceed to go into photoshop and crop, straighten, and use the layers method to get an all uniform black background. As for the lighting, it was just sunlight. I do not use a flash at this moment, because it would just be one more thing to lug around and natural sunlight appears well more "natural" to my eye.

SWEET! Serious eye candy. Prolly shouldn't have looked at these first thing in the morning. Now all day I'll be day dreamin about a road trip.

Very nice work on the photography. I gotta admire anybody willing to lug that much gear into the field. The results make it worthwhile.

Thank you Mike, it is a lot of work lugging that much gear and pulling it out and setting up after sampling, after hauling this stuff out of the mobile for the third of fourth time it starts to get tiring.

Were the fish squished between glass in the phototank to take the pictures,
or
do you have a really good camera
and great timing with the shutter?

Never the less, the fish and pictures are great. I'll have to make room to work on darters next year.

Yep, they are squished between the glass of the phototank and a paddle, the snubs are particularly difficult because of their three dimensional head, next time I am going to bring formalin to fix just one of each, fixing a sculpin or two would save me a lot of hassle as well. However, if I fix them with formalin, I would like them to not go to waste, mabey I could set up something where I donate them to a museum or something.... :closedeyes:

#15 Guest_natureman187_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 10:52 AM

Were the fish squished between glass in the phototank to take the pictures,
or
do you have a really good camera
and great timing with the shutter?

Never the less, the fish and pictures are great. I'll have to make room to work on darters next year.

Blake has a camera that would drive me broke. I'm free handing with a Sony DSC-H5. Uland may have some pictures of us in action from the tipi. If you have a super steady hand, any camera with a good macro will work.

#16 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 11:07 AM

Uland may have some pictures of us in action from the tipi

I have some photos from the Tippecanoe on another computer but I think I made a promise not to post the "topless" photos. NANFA guys without shirts do not always make the best subjects :biggrin:

#17 Guest_natureman187_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 11:09 AM

I have some photos from the Tippecanoe on another computer but I think I made a promise not to post the "topless" photos. NANFA guys without shirts do not always make the best subjects

I understand gorillas holding a camera may not be the most appealing :laugh:

#18 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 01:11 PM

Blake has a camera that would drive me broke. I'm free handing with a Sony DSC-H5. Uland may have some pictures of us in action from the tipi. If you have a super steady hand, any camera with a good macro will work.

Thats a funny one, I almost spit Mountain Dew all over my keyboard. But yeah Phil, neither an expensive camera nor a tripod is needed, in fact a tripod can make it harder. It takes a lot longer to adjust a tripod to the right height and distance than it does to just move your hand.

#19 Guest_natureman187_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 11:46 PM

Upon further evaluation the last one appears to not be E. smithi, anyone have any ideas?

After looking at the fishes of tn again, the barrens darter appears to be the only Catonotus with the three spots on the tail. I can't find a picture of a non colored dirty darter male to compare. Is there another source of pictures anywhere?

Edited by natureman187, 20 March 2009 - 11:46 PM.

#20 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 20 March 2009 - 11:56 PM

Here are two set up shots from the Tippecanoe. It was neat looking at these again. I had a whole lot of fun that day and I still have some streamline chub photos to edit!