vernal pool inverts

[iturnrocks]

Look at Cacoseraph's USA scolopendrid maps. He rarely leaves his rialto centiburrow. I'm sure you have resources much better than mine (seeing as how a google turned up next to nothing), since this is your area of interest.

Perhaps you should read this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernal_pool

I couldnt tell if a site would produce without actually visiting it. Google Earth isnt clear enough for me to make an educated guess.
If you read Cacoseraph's whole post you will see that his USA scolopendrid maps arent really his.

All the taxo and range/dist. information from R. Shelley's site

Name: Rowland M Shelley
Title: Curator of Terrestrial Invertebrates
Phone: 756
email rowland.shelley@ncmail.net
Section(s): Research and Collections

Now if I was the Curator of Aquatic Invertebrates I might be able to help you out. But like I said, I am shipping and receiving guy at marine accessories warehouse. If you want to know where to get some Retractable Tie Downs, Im your man.

If you want to buy some dirt that contains branchiopods, I do sell it. PM me for more info.

 

[iturnrocks]

I finally snagged a clam shrimp and took some pics

He is about 1.5mm in length

I believe this may be Eulimnadia texana -Texan Clam Shrimp

 

[dtknow]

Wow...now that is one weird bugger.

Found a site for Triops australiensis
http://www.billabongbugs.com/

 

[iturnrocks]

Im in the process of switching hosting providers, so in the next week or so, my pictures might not show up intermittently.

 

[Stylopidae]

Yeah...I realized that, but I figured there would be some sort of enthusiast webring that I didn't know about. Or a scientist specializing it that kept some sort of website (Like Rowland Shelley.)

I'll check the link out...thanks, man.

I'll let you know if I happen to dig anything up. Or net it up...whatever

 

[iturnrocks]

Yeah...I realized that, but I figured there would be some sort of enthusiast webring that I didn't know about. Or a scientist specializing it that kept some sort of website (Like Rowland Shelley.)

I'll check the link out...thanks, man.

I'll let you know if I happen to dig anything up. Or net it up...whatever

Heres the sites I use:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fairyshrimp/
This yahoo group is basically dead.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/triopsforever/
This one is quite active- mostly about tadpole shrimp

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/exotic_triops/
This one gets posts occasionally- another tadpole shrimp group

http://www.iturnrocks.com/cgi-bin/forum/
This is a forum i started, so far only 7 members, and I make most of the posts.

http://www.ecoanalysts.com/
EcoAnalysts, an independent environmental consulting firm located in Moscow, Idaho. Our area of expertise is the identification of freshwater aquatic organisms; macroinvertebrates, periphyton, plankton, and fish. We also offer aquatic bioassessment and biological monitoring services. I would think if youre looking for a Rowland Shelley, you would find him/her here.

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/branchiopoda.html
Introduction to Branchiopoda

http://www.mytriops.com/
another page focusing on tadpole shrimp

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vernalpool/
A yahoo group about vernal pools, Discussion is encouraged about scientific research, on-going vernal pool education projects at the elementary through graduate school levels, and about the first spotted salamander sightings of spring, among other things.

http://vernalpool.org/vernal_1.htm
The vernal pool association- The Vernal Pool Association began in 1990 as an environmental outreach project at Reading Memorial High School, Reading, Massachusetts. It is now an independent group of individuals attempting to educate others about vernal pool ecology, the local environment, bio-diversity, and the protection of our resources.

 

[Scolopendra55]

Very cool!!

 

[iturnrocks]

New Pics

I just took some new pics of the larger fairy shrimp i find. This one was hatched in an artificial pond in my back yard. Pretty much a koi pond without the fish. I tossed some of my dirt in there a couple months ago, and today i netted some fairy shrimp (and a lot of mosquito larvae).

Fairy Shrimp sex ed. This is a pic of a male. No, i didnt look under the tail....

The males have (ill have to look up the actual term) horns or tusks or big things that come out of their heads. They show up quite clearly in these pics.

Beavertail Fairy Shrimp, <i>Thamnocephalus platyurus</i>

The tail wasnt showing up in my pics, so I tried a darker background

If you were to take a look underneath and see something, that would be a female with eggs.

 

[Stylopidae]

Heres the sites I use:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fairyshrimp/
This yahoo group is basically dead.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/triopsforever/
This one is quite active- mostly about tadpole shrimp

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/exotic_triops/
This one gets posts occasionally- another tadpole shrimp group

http://www.iturnrocks.com/cgi-bin/forum/
This is a forum i started, so far only 7 members, and I make most of the posts.

http://www.ecoanalysts.com/
EcoAnalysts, an independent environmental consulting firm located in Moscow, Idaho. Our area of expertise is the identification of freshwater aquatic organisms; macroinvertebrates, periphyton, plankton, and fish. We also offer aquatic bioassessment and biological monitoring services. I would think if youre looking for a Rowland Shelley, you would find him/her here.

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/branchiopoda.html
Introduction to Branchiopoda

http://www.mytriops.com/
another page focusing on tadpole shrimp

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vernalpool/
A yahoo group about vernal pools, Discussion is encouraged about scientific research, on-going vernal pool education projects at the elementary through graduate school levels, and about the first spotted salamander sightings of spring, among other things.

http://vernalpool.org/vernal_1.htm
The vernal pool association- The Vernal Pool Association began in 1990 as an environmental outreach project at Reading Memorial High School, Reading, Massachusetts. It is now an independent group of individuals attempting to educate others about vernal pool ecology, the local environment, bio-diversity, and the protection of our resources.

Woah. I have my work cut out for me now!

Thanks a million. I'll start checking this out and I'll post if I find anything.

 

[iturnrocks]

Woah. I have my work cut out for me now!

Thanks a million. I'll start checking this out and I'll post if I find anything.

You find anything yet?

 

[Scorp guy]

omg....those tadpole shrimp things....thats what i saw!!!!

i swear, when i was at my cousins house, about 4 miles from where i live, hes in the country, we saw these little things swimming around in the rice fields they looked like those trilobytes a whole lot, and then i thought they were triops they were quite large, about 6 inches long. and i saw your picsturres, and where you found them at, and it looks much like when the rice fields flood and are very deep with water......thanks for clearing that up for me...i guess. thought id seen a mini monster or something

 

[Scythemantis]

Triops and Tadpole Shrimp are the same thing

 

[iturnrocks]

Triops and Tadpole Shrimp are the same thing

The order Notostraca (colloquially referred to as notostracans, called Triops, tadpole shrimp or shield shrimp) are small crustaceans in the class Branchiopoda. Triops have internal compound eyes and a flattened carapace covering the head and leg-bearing segments of the body. The order contains a single family, with only two extant genera. Their external morphology has not changed since the Triassic appearance of Triops cancriformis around 220 million years ago. Triops cancriformis may therefore be the "oldest living animal species on earth" (Kelber, 1999).

Tadpole shrimps usually live near the ground of astatic pools, where they move with their ventral side down. However, lack of oxygen can force them to swim upside-down with their gill-like legs close under the surface of the water. Notostraca are omnivorous; they dig around in the mud using the frontal part of their shield, looking not only for plankton but also for larger prey such as worms, chironomid larvae and even weak tadpoles. Anostracans, often associated with notostracans, can also be a considerable part of their prey (especially when weak or dying).

Notostracans sometimes even cannibalise freshly moulted members of the same species. In northern and central Europe, with few exceptions, all tadpole shrimps are female, whereas the sexes in southern and western Europe as well as in northern Africa are nearly equal in number. These "females" possess hermaphroditic glands, but instead of selfing, parthenogenesis takes place. Modified appendages of the 11th pair of limbs bear the ovisacs with the mature eggs.

Triops survives in temporary pools all over the world, and are correspondingly short-lived. These ponds usually dry up during certain times of the year when there is no rainfall. Although the adult Triops die during these droughts, the embryos remain in a state of diapause (suspended animation) until the rains return and fill up the temporary pools once again, allowing them to hatch.

The maximum life spans in the lab agree with data from field observations on Triops survival. In the lab, T. longicaudatus has a maximum lifespan of about 50 days and T. cancriformis a maximum lifespan of about 90 days, with some individuals beginning to die off as soon as two weeks after hatching. Secondarily, some may suffer premature deaths from moulting complications or other reasons.

Notostracans can be found on virtually every continent.

In Austria, two notostracan species (one spring species and one summer species) were documented: Lepidurus apus (Linnaeus, 1758), Triops cancriformis (Bosc, 1801). In the Americas, several species have been identified, including Triops longicaudatus and Triops newberryi. In Australia, Triops australiensis is found. Other common types are: Triops numidicus, Triops granarius.

Notostracans are often sold to children in small packets as eggs as an interesting science project or as a beginner's kit for their first aquarium. One pours distilled or spring water onto the eggs, and they will hatch out very quickly.

These creatures can make a useful addition to a freshwater aquarium, as they keep the substrate very clean and eat almost anything they find. They may, however pose a slight danger to very small fish or other crustaceans, and may in turn be eaten by large fish. Also, they may damage the roots of aquarium plants they encounter if not kept well fed. They are also very short-lived pets, but are easily replaceable.

The easiest way to regenerate Triops is to siphon the water down to the substrate or siphon out as much water as possible without sucking up the eggs at the bottom. Let the substrate or container dry completely at room temperature and leave it dry for at least two weeks.

Dried eggs and substrate can be stored for years but only a two-week wait is needed for good hatching rates. Optionally the substrate and eggs can be frozen for a few days in an air-tight container. This simulates the passing of an entire season and has been shown in lab studies to increase the percentage of eggs that hatch on the first hydration.

Add distilled or spring water to the eggs and start the whole process over again. Some have had success using clear, unpolluted stream water. While most instructions for Triops care caution against using tap water, filtered tap water has been successfully used to raise Triops longicaudatus.

Triops are often the top predators in vernal ponds, and they will eat anything smaller than themselves. They also are an important food source for visiting birds. In some areas, certain species of Triops are considered pests, as they damage young rice plants.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triops

 

[iturnrocks]

I finally snagged a clam shrimp and took some pics

He is about 1.5mm in length

I believe this may be Eulimnadia texana -Texan Clam Shrimp

After further review, I believe this is an ostracod (seed shrimp). The sneaky clam shrimp has eluded me still.

I reworked my Branchiopod Forum, it has a new look and new location-
North American Branchiopod Forum