A few pics from Wisconsin

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yank gooner
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Joined: October 24th, 2014, 5:17 am

A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by yank gooner »

Reptiles and amphibians have always been my one love, but I'm ashamed I don't get out more with the sole purpose of herping. This will change come spring however. Here are a few (crappy) pics from over the summer and fall here in Wisconsin.

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Love these guys.
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One of many this year I rescued off roads...she was not pleased.
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Common or Plains Garter?
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First Blanding's Turtle for me! Found in a cold water stream, which I thought was sort of strange.
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The company I work for is situated right between some nicely protected wetland area. I found several blue-spotted salamanders in the mornings after a rainy night.
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First blue-spotted I have ever found flipping, and what a gem.
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muskiemagnet
Posts: 1253
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 8:43 am
Location: kaukauna, wi

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by muskiemagnet »

nice finds. good luck next year.

-ben
mikephoto
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Joined: May 14th, 2014, 6:20 pm

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by mikephoto »

Nice looking Blanding's. I looked for a grey phase gray treefrog all season and came up empty. Ton's of green ones.
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muskiemagnet
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Location: kaukauna, wi

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by muskiemagnet »

mike, they change color. it's not really a phase.

-ben
mikephoto
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Joined: May 14th, 2014, 6:20 pm

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by mikephoto »

color phase - one of two or more colorings assumed by an animal
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muskiemagnet
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Joined: June 11th, 2010, 8:43 am
Location: kaukauna, wi

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by muskiemagnet »

different color phases of timbers, red-bellies, hog-nose, etc. are not of their choosing. they are born that way. the individual animal cannot change color. this is a color phase(polymorphism). gray tree frogs change color on their own, on an individual basis. not a color phase. just the choice to be what they want to be at that moment in time.

you want a pic of a "gray" gray tree frog? catch a green one and put it on a tree trunk for a while. ;)

gray tree frogs have chromatophores and therefore can change color at their whim. this makes them different from a color phase which is stated below.

Polymorphism[1] in biology occurs when two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species—in other words, the occurrence of more than one form or morph. In order to be classified as such, morphs must occupy the same habitat at the same time and belong to a panmictic population (one with random mating).[2]

Polymorphism as described here involves morphs of the phenotype. The term is also used somewhat differently by molecular biologists to describe certain point mutations in the genotype, such as SNPs (see also RFLPs). This usage is not discussed in this article.

Polymorphism is common in nature; it is related to biodiversity, genetic variation and adaptation; it usually functions to retain variety of form in a population living in a varied environment.[3]:126 The most common example is sexual dimorphism, which occurs in many organisms. Other examples are mimetic forms of butterflies (see mimicry), and human hemoglobin and blood types.

According to the theory of evolution, polymorphism results from evolutionary processes, as does any aspect of a species. It is heritable and is modified by natural selection. In polyphenism, an individual's genetic make-up allows for different morphs, and the switch mechanism that determines which morph is shown is environmental. In genetic polymorphism, the genetic make-up determines the morph. Ants exhibit both types in a single population.[4][5]

Polymorphism also refers to the occurrence of structurally and functionally more than two different types of individuals, called zooids within the same organism. It is a characteristic feature of Cnidarians.[6] For example, in Obelia there are feeding individuals, the gastrozooids; the individuals capable of asexual reproduction only, the gonozooids, blastostyles and free-living or sexually reproducing individuals, the medusae.



-ben
mikephoto
Posts: 103
Joined: May 14th, 2014, 6:20 pm

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by mikephoto »

Yeah I know they can change colors Ben, but thanks for the science lesson and for nitpicking my comment. No wonder nobody posts in the Midwest section anymore. I'm done here.
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JBBoiler
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Joined: June 8th, 2010, 11:53 am
Location: NW Indiana

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by JBBoiler »

Mike - Your posts are very appreciated!!! Please don't stop posting. I don't believe Ben is trying to nitpick. I know Ben pretty well and that isn't his purpose. There are all levels of knowledge on the forum and a novice like myself can learn a lot from a post like this. Please don't be offended in any way.

You have posted some great herps from Wisconsin and clearly have outstanding knowledge.

JB
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muskiemagnet
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Joined: June 11th, 2010, 8:43 am
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Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by muskiemagnet »

mikephoto wrote:Yeah I know they can change colors Ben, but thanks for the science lesson and for nitpicking my comment. No wonder nobody posts in the Midwest section anymore. I'm done here.
sorry johnny B, i'm going to go against you on this one.

mike-

then leave already. you "threatened" to leave a few times before. what do you want? "oh mike, you are a better herper than anyone here, we need you mike. we cannot exist without all your vast knowledge." that ain't what you are going to get.

to anyone else who reads this, i will present some info and let you decide for yourself. the reality of the situation is that i don't like you mike. you have gotten snippy with me when i don't share spots with you and you have attacked me and a good friend of mine. you are a self-righteous jack-ass who craves attention on public forums even though all your spots were handed to you by others.

to everyone- these quotes are from a conversation mike and i had via PM. like i said, you decide. red is mike and yellow is me.

this part of the conversation happened after mike called me and asked where he should go find herps in the necedah area.

"You keep mentioning these good areas but so far the only help I've gotten is that the Necedah area is a good place for skinks, greens and hoggies. "


"Ben-
Ok, if I recall right you were the one who offered up the help, I never really asked you for any. I did inquire about RR but all I got was "yeah you might find a glassie or a box turtle there" :). A few weeks ago you suggested I take back routes near Necedah and look for hoggies crossing the road. This may be good advice, but I think I'll just stick to what I've been doing.

I'm out every weekend, if you want to go sometime just shoot me an email, text or give me a call (it's an open invitation). I usually only know a day or two ahead of time where I'm going to go. I am planning a trip to Mosquito Hill to photograph a red-belly, if you'd want to meet up there let me know. I don't want a lecture about the Herp Society or about people not putting rocks back where they found them. We are in agreement on that so it's not necessary.

If I don't hear from you, enjoy the fall. I love this part of the year.

Oh - I probably won't be posting here anymore this year because the Midwest section is pretty inactive except for me. So, if you want to see what I've been up to, just friend me on facebook or check out my flickr photostream."



"i'm not going to get into a pissing match with you mike. keep one thing in mind, "a little help" is subjective. you say you never asked me for help? you asked me about RR. i'm certainly going to be a bit hush. i don't know your friends or who you tell and i don't want to give info that could open up the populations to poaching. necedah area is huge. what can i possibly say about it other than being vague. i tried but you obviously don't want to take any advice anyways "this may be good advice, but i think i'll just stick to what i've been doing." that's your choice. the thing i run into in the herp world is a whole bunch of folks who think they are experts but can't back it up with anything other than textbook information. these are the people who make me very skeptical. you know, just stick to what you are doing then. i don't care. i have nothing to prove to you. i think i proved that to you at millville this spring.

so if i want to go herping with you, i have to call you and ask? see, me and my friends talk and set up trips. we invite each other, even when it is last minute.

-ben"


seriously??? you call and ask for advice but then you basically tell me my advice sucks and that you are going to do your thing anyways. why the hell did you call me then? you were pissed off that i didn't give you an exact spot. that's the truth of it.

"I'm definitely not an expert by any means but do you think it's pure luck that I've found what I've found this year? Send Nate to RR and see what he finds there. I think you think I'm a frickin tourist with a camera. "

you now are attacking my friend. not cool mike. you are an arrogant person who puts others down so you can feel big and strong. there is a name for folks like you. bullies. you are a grown man. it's about time you get over your insecurities.



I said there's an open invitation. I've expressed my interested. You have my number, email address, facebook information, etc. It's not a question of 'asking', just letting me know that you want to go. I go every weekend. I have no idea what your schedule is like of if you even go out in the field anymore. I'm pretty sure you don't live in the Madison area, so it's not like I can just call you Saturday morning and ask "so where are we heading today?"

Regarding M, I'm not sure what you mean. I didn't doubt that you were helping out with snake surveys, but I'm pretty sure we found more timbers that day than what you guys mentioned. I got one of my best photos of the year that day.

So I'm a bit disappointed we can't work together, I guess we just have different agendas/personalities. No hard feelings.

Mike



"no mike, no hard feelings. really, you had a better day at M than we did? you had to make that point didn't you? yes, we were there too early. i already knew that. the time wasn't my call. josh and i had that discussion that morning prior to seeing you. get over yourself. you were handed that site anyways. all you seem to do is beat up the spots you were handed. the fact that you pointed out that you had a better day tells me all i need to know about who you are as a person. it's all about mike day. it has nothing to do about the animals.

that's not who i am. by they way, i'm the one who is disappointed.

-ben"



"Of course it's about the animals. Did you spend last weekend helping hatchling turtles cross a bust road? I bet not."


OOOOOOOOOOOOO! you helped them survive another day. you know what the first year mortality of hatchling turtles is? not very good. what i was getting at by "the animals" was a much broader perspective. a long-term goal. thus, the reason i was asked by the DNR to help with the study.

mike, i haven't been answering your PM's for a reason. i don't want to talk to you. EVER! i don't like you. you are patronizing and condescending towards me, and you have a seriously inflated ego by attacking nate the way you did. the truth of the matter is this. i'm a pacifist by nature, and it takes a lot to provoke me. you have done a wonderful job of it. just make sure that if we run into each other in the field that you see me first and walk the other way. if not, i might bust your lip open. see, i have a big problem when people try to use me.

-ben
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David O
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Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by David O »

Ah, the old WI Chicago Garter. That brings back memories.

And nice laterale. I'd love for my lifer of that species to come from WI. Need to make a trip back.
mikephoto
Posts: 103
Joined: May 14th, 2014, 6:20 pm

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by mikephoto »

Ben - you continue to astound me with your unrelenting douchebaggery. I choose not to herp with you because you are a DNR wannabee on a constant soapbox about a Herp Society which you apparently have issues with. The story you tell about almost losing your life to a Timber Rattlesnake because a herp society member didn't return a rock to it's proper place, well you had me on the edge of my seat when I heard it the first time, but by the fourth time, well it just gets old.
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muskiemagnet
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Joined: June 11th, 2010, 8:43 am
Location: kaukauna, wi

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by muskiemagnet »

your views are your views. that's cool by me. i stated mine and now you know.

over and out.

-ben

P.S. sorry to hijack the thread but i am done now. point was made.

P.P.S. i don't want to be a DNR wannabe. that's not it. i just like to help the animals. you do not even know the whole story anyways.
yank gooner
Posts: 25
Joined: October 24th, 2014, 5:17 am

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by yank gooner »

Well that was fun.

So the spot where I flipped the laterale was a pretty small reserve with several nice sized vernal ponds. I am really hoping to get out there in spring and find everything coming out from winter to breed!
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muskiemagnet
Posts: 1253
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 8:43 am
Location: kaukauna, wi

Re: A few pics from Wisconsin

Post by muskiemagnet »

sounds like you have some great areas for early spring. good luck.

enjoy wisconsin.

-ben
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