Andy Adams

Naturalist. Biologist. Professor. Dad. Nerd.
#Wildlife ecology research, education, and #conservation.
He/him

[Cody Brown Bets @CodyBrownBets]

📊 NFL Week 13 Mismatch Algorithm

I’m bringing this back because you guys missed it so much last week. 🤝

It takes six unique factors into consideration then spits out a rating and a suggested prop for you.

Good luck and remember to send in any winners.

[Andy Adams @AA_ecoprof]

@DocTsuga Most definitely - might not be able to make it over there until the end of the semester, but I'm aways open to virtual chat too

[Voyageurs Wolf Project @VoyaWolfProject]

This is an *amazingly rare* and fascinating video of a wolf bounding into beaver pond and catching a beaver swimming underwater—something that has never been documented before! Further, to our knowledge, this is only the 3rd video ever of a wolf catching a beaver.

And this might be the most informative of the 3 videos that have been recorded because the hunter recording the video was able to see what the beaver was doing long before the wolves showed up.

This video was captured by Jon Galler near Hill City, Minnesota when he was deer hunting this past fall. Had a great chat with Jon about his observation and he provided some great information about the scene prior to kill.

Before the wolf and its pack mates started crossing the beaver dam, Jon had watched this beaver that the wolf killed for about 25 minutes. As the wolves were crossing the dam, the beaver was on a rock in a shallow part of the pond grooming itself and appeared unaware of the wolves

Similarly, the lead wolf did not seem to notice the beaver initially and went to scent-mark some grass on the beaver dam. After scent-marking, the wolf scraped the ground and this seemed to cause the beaver to retreat into the water off of the rock.

The wolf heard the beaver slip into the water and immediately changed its behavior. You can see this clearly in the video. The wolf then bounded into the pond and caught the beaver, who was entirely below the water.

The beaver can be heard crying/vocalizing as the wolf pulled it out of the water and Jon said he could hear bones cracking as well, likely from the bite force of the wolf. The wolf brought the beaver onshore but then appeared to see or scent Jon and dropped the beaver and ran.

However, two trailing pups checked out the beaver within a short period and carried it into the woods. It is hard to tell but it looked like the beaver still had a bit of life in it when the pups grabbed it.

This observation is amazingly cool for many reasons but probably the most amazing is that it shows wolves will not only go into the water to catch beavers but that can also catch beavers swimming underwater—something that had never been documented before!

It had been largely assumed that beavers were not vulnerable to predation in bodies of water like ponds because they are adept swimmers and could easily evade predators. Obviously, that is not always the case. And certainly, no one has speculated that wolves would catch a beaver swimming underwater.

Now, the reason the wolf was likely successful in this hunt is that the beaver it killed was a kit beaver (i.e., a young of the year beaver that was like 6-7 months old). In other words, this was a very small beaver that didn’t put up much of a fight when caught.

We suspect the interaction would have been dramatically different if the wolf had attacked a 50-60 lb adult beaver. Maybe someday someone will get footage of something like that.

Anyway, huge thanks to Jon for sharing this video and his observations with us. Absolutely amazing stuff!

[NEPARC @NEPARC]

We’re excited to announce that NEPARC’s 2024 annual meeting will be held at the Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park in Winter Harbor, Maine from July 28-30.

More details to come. We look forward to seeing you in ME and learning about all the great herp work in our region.

[HarfordCC @HarfordCC]

Wetland wonders for General Zoology students surveying amphibian diversity in #Harford County. Secretive salamanders, fascinating frogs, tiny turtles made for a great field trip! @AA_ecoprof

[Paige Madison @FossilHistory]

#OnThisDay in 1861, Charles Darwin wrote to his friend "But I am very poorly today and very stupid and hate everybody and everything." https://t.co/9IjZ8G8LKx

[Savanna Field Station 🇧🇿 @SFS_Belize]

We made it into @NatGeo! Check out the article below on our research on #turtle social behavior https://t.co/zx0QT7k3XL

[NEPARC @NEPARC]

Happy #WorldSnakeDay! Did you know that the NEPARC region has 4 venomous snakes?

The copperhead and timber rattlesnake are widespread, found from New England down thru VA. The cottonmouth is found in SE VA and the E. massasauga in isolated pops in PA and NY.

[Andy Adams @AA_ecoprof]

@Mother_of_Toads Snakes and tiger sals get my vote

[NEPARC @NEPARC]

How about some trivia? Out of these 4 snakes species, which one can be found in all NEPARC states (VA, WV, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, VT, NH, ME)?

Choices are (clockwise from top left): E. worm snake, E. hognose snake, E. milk snake, and E. rat snake.

Comment your answer!

[Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy @arcprotects]

Can’t wait to shell-a-brate #WildTurtleWeek -next week! Join us, along with our partners at @PARCorg & others, to highlight these ancient beauties all week! Plus, check out PARC’s website for educational activities, great merch, & more:
https://t.co/6HDNqO2K44
#EveryTurtleCounts

[NEPARC @NEPARC]

Registration for the 2023 NEPARC annual meeting is open! The meeting will be held 7/23-25 at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.

Meeting details and registration forms can be found at the link in our profile!

[HarfordCC @HarfordCC]

Harford is home to Fighting Owls and TURTLES! 🐢 Campus pond – perfect place for real-life research experiences in #STEM education. Maybe we need a new mascot??? @AA_ecoprof

[Amphibian Foundation @amphibianfound]

Spotted: a Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) larva!

AF's Content Writer Amanda R. snapped this photo of one of the offspring produced by our conservation initiative to re-establish this species at the #ClydeShepherdNaturePreserve!

[Hunter Howell, Ph.D. @HunterH0well]

Charismatic megafauna and invasive species dominate the ecological research in many areas, this is also true in the Everglades where the % of research on these groups continues to increase
https://t.co/C7kQBruAol

[Andy Adams @AA_ecoprof]

@ferrisifolius @snakeymama This activity looks amazing - I might try this next semester during the phylogeny unit!

[David Haskell @DGHaskell]

As mountain laurel flowers develop, the anthers get stuck in little pockets. This creates spring-loaded catapults. When bumblebees arrive, Ping!, pollination. Or, the hope of pollination as the anther-slapped bee leaves in search of the next thrill.

[Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy @arcprotects]

Amphibian Week is coming!
Before the week arrives, our partners at @PARCorg & several other organizations & agencies are seeking amphibian biologists! Act fast - submissions are needed by April 21 for this fun initiative!
Learn more:
https://t.co/EzmEyJ9DKE

[Andy Adams @AA_ecoprof]

Excited to be part of this large regional research!