Monday, June 29, 2020

Episode 531 (6-29-20): Animal Ways of Getting Water

Click to listen to episode (4:31)

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.)


Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-26-20. 

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO


From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 29, 2020.  This episode’s information is intended especially for Virginia elementary students learning about how where water is and how it's used.

MUSIC – ~ 5 sec – Instrumental

That excerpt of “Driving Rain,” by the Nelson County, Va., band Chamomile and Whiskey, opens an episode about something rain affects: that is, animals getting water.  Many animals, of course, get water simply by drinking from rivers, lakes, puddles, and other water sources.  But animals have several other ways to get water.  In this episode, I’ll play five kinds of animal mystery sounds, each for a few seconds.  After each sound, I’ll identify the animals and tell you something about how they get water.

SOUND - ~ 6 sec - Whale

That was the sound of a whale spouting water as it surfaced.  Whales and other sea mammals get most of their water from their food, including the water produced when food is digested, which is known as metabolic water.  All animals get some of their water through that process.

SOUND - ~ 5 sec – Rattlesnake

That was a rattlesnake rattle.  Snakes drink water, including water that collects on their skin, and rattlesnakes in desert areas have special skin structures that allow them to capture rainwater.

SOUND - ~ 7 sec – Gray Catbird
That was a [Gray] Catbird with a series of calls mimicking other birds.  Birds get water from food, including metabolic water, and from drinking in various ways, including pelicans opening their beaks to capture rainwater and small birds drinking from dew drops.  Some birds are able to use salt water as a water source.

SOUND - ~ 6 sec – Frogs and toad (Spring Peeper, American Toad, Gray Tree Frog)

Those were the calls of three kinds of frog or toad.  Frogs, toads, and other amphibians can absorb water through their skin.

SOUND - ~ 7 sec –Crickets and katydids
Those were the evening sounds of two kinds of insects, crickets and katydids.  Like many insects, these two kinds get water from plants they eat.  Insects can also get water by drinking from various sources, from bodily fluids of prey, and, for some insects, by taking water from the air.

Other animals, especially animals that live in dry environments, have other fascinating adaptations for getting and conserving water.  Getting water is one example of how the natural world offers plenty of surprises for inquiring explorers.

Thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the whale and rattlesnake sounds.  Thanks also to Chamomile and Whiskey for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with about 20 more seconds of “Driving Rain.”

MUSIC - ~ 20 sec – Instrumental

SHIP’S BELL

Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The whale and rattlesnake sounds were taken from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/; the specific URL for the whale sound was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/audio/id/7/rec/1, and for the rattlesnake sound was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/audio/id/61/rec/6, as of 6/29/20.

The Gray Catbird was recorded by Virginia Water Radio in Blacksburg, Va., on June 26, 2020.

The Spring Peeper, Gray Tree Frog, and American Toad sounds were recorded by Virginia Water Radio in Blacksburg, Va., on April 29, 2012.

The crickets and katydids were recorded by Virginia Water Radio in Blacksburg, Va., on July 25, 2017, about 9:30 p.m.

“Driving Rain,” from the 2012 album “The Barn Sessions,” is copyright by Chamomile and Whiskey and by County Wide Records, used with permission.  More information about Chamomile and Whiskey is available online at http://www.chamomileandwhiskey.com/, and information about Charlottesville-based County Wide records is available online at http://countywidemusic.worldsecuresystems.com/.  This music was most recently used by Virginia Water Radio in Episode 500, 11-25-19.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.

IMAGES

Tail of a Humpback Whale, April 2017, location not identified.  Photo by Bill Thompson, made available for public use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov; specific URL for the photo was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/25236/rec/3, as of 6/29/20.


Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, April 2008, location not identified.  Photo by Gary Stolz, made available for public use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov; specific URL for the photo was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/2496/rec/3, as of 6/29/20.


Gray Catbird, photographed in Virginia Beach, Va., June 14, 2016.  Photo by Robert Suppa, made available on iNaturalist at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/31149441, as of 6/29/20, for use under Creative Commons license “Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0.”  Information about this Creative Commons license is available online at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.


Seasonal pond habitat used by Spring Peepers and other amphibians, Heritage Park in Blacksburg, Va., May 28, 2020.

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Animalfoodplant, “What Do Crickets Eat?” online at https://www.animalfoodplanet.com/what-do-crickets-eat/.

Joe Ballenger, “How much water can ants drink?” Ask an Entomologist Web site, 9/29/16, online at https://askentomologists.com/2016/09/29/how-much-water-can-ants-drink/.

Biology Online, “Metabolic Water,” online at https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/metabolic-water.

CBC Radio, Rattlesnakes have skin that's sticky for raindrops so they can sip from their scales, 1/20/20.

Don Glass, “How Insects Drink,” Indiana Public Media “Moment of Science” Web site, 3/16/04, online at https://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/how-insects-drink.php.

Richard W. Hill, Comparative Physiology of Animals: An Environmental Approach, Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 1976; see particularly pages 122 and 145-154.

Robert Kenney [University of Rhode Island marine biologist], “How can sea mammals drink saltwater?” Scientific American, 4/30/01, online at https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-sea-mammals-drink/.

Liz Langley, Meet the Beetles that Harvest Fog in the Desert, National Geographic, 4/7/18.  This article has information on how several kinds of animals get water.

Mara Katharine Lawniczak, “Eastern Grey Squirrel,” University of Michigan “Biokids” Web site, online at http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Sciurus_carolinensis/.

J. Machin, “Water Vapor Absorption in Insects,” American Journal of Physiology, Vol 244, No. 2, February 1983, accessed online at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6824103/.

Catherine Myers, “How Desert Rattlesnakes Harvest Rainwater,” Inside Science (American Institute of Physics), 1/13/20, online at https://www.insidescience.org/news/how-desert-rattlesnakes-harvest-rainwater.

St. Louis Zoo, “Amphibians,” undated, online at https://www.stlzoo.org/animals/abouttheanimals/amphibians.

University of Michigan “Biokids” Web site, “Katydids/Tettigoniidae,” undated, online at http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Tettigoniidae/.

University of Washington/Burke Museum, “Facts About Frogs,” undated, online at https://www.burkemuseum.org/collections-and-research/biology/herpetology/all-about-amphibians/all-about-frogs.

Sonia Villabon, “Do Whales Drink Salt Water?” Whales Online, 9/19/17, online at https://baleinesendirect.org/en/do-whales-drink-salt-water/.

Joel C. Welty, The Life of Birds, 2nd Edition, W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, Penn., 1975; see particularly pages 98-100.

For More Information about Animals’ Biology and Habitats

Audubon Guide to North American Birds, online at https://www.audubon.org/bird-guide.

Chesapeake Bay Program, “Field Guide,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide.

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at http://www.allaboutbirds.org.

University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, “Animal Diversity Web,” online at https://animaldiversity.org.

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at http://vafwis.org/fwis/?Title=VaFWIS+Species+Information+By+Name&vUT=Visitor.

Virginia Herpetological Society, online at https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/.  Herpetology is the study amphibians and reptiles.

Virginia Society of Ornithology, online at https://www.virginiabirds.org/.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the subject categories for different animal groups (Birds, Fish, Insects, Reptiles, and Mammals), the “Overall Importance of Water” subject category, and the “Science” subject category.

Following are links to other episodes exploring water sources for animals.

Episode 313, 4-25-16, on honeybees.
Episode 343, 11-21-16, on the Wild Turkey and other birds.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

This episode was intended to support primarily the following two Virginia Science Standards of Learning (SOLs):

3.9 – Water cycle, including sources of water, energy driving water cycle, water essential for living things, and water limitations and conservation; and
4.9 – Virginia natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.

Following are some other SOLs that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript or by other information included in this post.

2013 Music SOLs

SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

2010 Science SOLs
Grades K-6 Life Processes Theme
K.7 – basic needs and processes of plants and animals.
1.5 – animals’ basic needs and distinguishing characteristics.
3.4 – behavioral and physiological adaptations.

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
2.5 – living things as part of a system, including habitats.
6.7 – natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Virginia watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; health and safety issues; and water monitoring.

Grades K-6 Matter Theme
6.5 – properties and characteristics of water and its roles in the human and natural environment.

Life Science Course
LS.6 – ecosystem interactions, including the water cycle, other cycles, and energy flow.
LS.9 – adaptations for particular ecosystems’ biotic and abiotic factors, including characteristics of land, marine, and freshwater environments.

Biology Course
BIO.4 – life functions (including metabolism and homeostasis) in different organism groups, including human health, anatomy, and body systems.
BIO.8 – dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Following are links to other Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.

Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 403, 1-15-18 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 406, 2-5-18 – on ice on rivers, for middle school.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Episode 530 (6-22-20): Virginia Rails in Sound and Music

Click to listen to episode (4:16)

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Extra Information
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.)


Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-19-20.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 22, 2020. This is a revised version of an episode from June 2013.

MUSIC – ~7 sec – instrumental

This week, that music opens an episode about wetland-inhabiting birds known for thinness, secrecy, and silent running among marshy vegetation.  Have a listen for about 10 seconds to this week’s mystery sounds, and see if you know this kind of bird.  And here’s a hint: this creature shares its name with a type of fence and with the track of an iron horse.  After the sounds, you’ll hear about 25 seconds more of the music, done by a Virginia composer in honor of the sound-maker.

SOUNDS AND MUSIC - ~36 sec - ~10 sec sound, then ~26 sec music (instrumental)

If you guessed rails, you’re right!  You heard a Virginia Rail, in a recording by Lang Elliott from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs, and the music was “Virginia Rail Reel,” by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg, on the 2004 album, “Virginia Wildlife.”  The Virginia Rail is one of nine species in Virginia in the bird family of rails, gallinules, and coots.  From the Clapper Rail to the Purple Gallinule to the Common Moorhen, rails have descriptive names, distinctive calls, and adaptations well-suited to marshy habitats.  It’s questionable whether the expression “thin as a rail” refers to this family of birds, rather than to pieces of a fence.  But there’s no question that rails’ thin bodies allow them to run, swim, feed, and nest within the dense grasses and other plants of saltwater and freshwater marshes.

Of the Virginia Rail, here’s some of what 19th-Century naturalist John James Audubon wrote: quote, “Excepting our Little Partridge, I know no small bird so swift of foot as the Virginian Rail. …[A]among the thick herbage to which they usually resort, …they run to a short distance, then tack about, and again scud away in a lateral direction, so as to elude the best dog, or if likely to be overtaken, rise on wing, fly with dangling legs eight or ten yards, drop among the weeds, and run off as swiftly as before.”

Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use the Virginia Rail sounds.  Thanks also to Timothy Seaman for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Virginia Rail Reel.”

MUSIC - ~11 sec – instrumental

SHIP’S BELL

Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 165, 6-10-13.

The Virginia Rail sounds were taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott.  Lang Elliot’s work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/.

“Virginia Rail Reel” (part of the medley “Virginia Rail Reel/Ducks on the Pond/Old Blue”), from the 2004 CD “Virginia Wildlife,” is copyright by Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, used with permission.  Mr. Seaman’s Web site is http://www.timothyseaman.com/.  The “Virginia Wildlife” CD was a collaboration between Mr. Seaman and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com.

IMAGES

Virginia Rail in 2010, location not identified. Photo by Dave Menke, made available for public use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov; specific URL for this photo was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/12858/rec/1, as of 6-22-20.



Virginian Rail (now Virginia Rail) painting originally published between 1827 and 1838 by John James Audubon in Birds of America (plate CCV [205]), as reprinted in 1985 by Abbeville Press, New York.  Image made available for public use by the Audubon Society, online at https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america; specific URL for this image is https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/virginia-rail, as of 6-19-20.



Map of the occurrence in Virginia of the Virginia Rail. Map accessed at the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ “Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?Menu=_.Occurrence&bova=040107&version=18432.

EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT THE VIRGINIA RAIL

The Virginia Rail’s scientific name is Rallus limicola.

The following information on the Virginia Rail is from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ “Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040107&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18432.

Physical Description
“[S]mall; 9-11 inches…; long, reddish bill, rusty underparts, gray cheeks.”

Reproduction and Nesting
“[B]reeding season in VA [is] May to June; incubation period unknown, but not less than 15 days; eggs 5-12…; breeding behavior secretive and highly territorial, solitary nesters… Nesting is solitary, nests almost always in freshwater marsh or near fresh water though also known to nest in brackish marshes. Nesting materials: coarse grass and cattails; shallow saucer woven into surrounding marsh vegetation….”

Behavior
“Territoriality and home range very strong. Territoriality peaks in May and decreases to eventual winter core areas…. Forages by probing mud and extracting worms and insects. Feeds on a range of prey items including small fish, worms, larval insects, snails, slugs, caterpillars, beetles, and occasionally seeds of grasses, etc.; plant material is infrequently used; they forage in shallow water or mud by gleaning or probing. Probable predators include gulls, raccoons, fish crows, snakes, owls, and hawks.”

Aquatic/Terrestial Associations
[F]reshwater and brackish marshes in winter, may visit salt marshes; prefers dense habitats; commonly found in cattails.”

SOURCES

Used for Audio

John James Audubon, “Virginia Rail,” in Birds of America, Plate 207, accessed from the Audubon Society, online at https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/virginia-rail. The quote in the audio was taken from this source.
.
Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at http://www.allaboutbirds.org.  The Virginia Rail entry is online at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Virginia_Rail/.  Information on the family of rails, gallinules, and coots (scientific name Rallidae), is online at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/browse/taxonomy/Rallidae.

Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson, Life in the Chesapeake Bay, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md., 2006; see particularly pages 232-233.

Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman, “Rail Birds,” published on Grammarphobia, 9/30/07, online at https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2007/09/rail-birds.html.

Chandler S. Robbins et al., A Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2001.

Bryan Stevens, ‘Thin as a rail’ applies to elusive marsh bird, even if the origins of phrase remain obscure, Bristol Herald-Courier, 9/9/19.

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ “Fish and Wildlife Information Service” Web page at http://vafwis.org/fwis/?Title=VaFWIS+Species+Information+By+Name&vUT=Visitor.  The Virginia Rail entry is online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040107&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18432.  Information on all five species in Virginia called “rail” (Clapper Rail, Eastern Black Rail, King Rail, Virginia Rail, and Yellow Rail) is online at this link; information on the Sora, also considered a rail, is online at this link.

For More Information about Birds in Virginia and Elsewhere

Chesapeake Bay Program, “Birds,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/all/birds/all.  The Virginia Rail entry is online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/virginia_rail.

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Merlin Photo ID.”  The application for mobile devices allows users to submit a bird photograph to get identification of the bird. Information is available online at http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/.

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and American Ornithologists’ Union, “Birds of the World,” online at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home (subscription required).  The Virginia Rail entry is online at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/virrai/cur/introduction.

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society, “eBird,” online at https://ebird.org/home.  Here you can find locations of species observations made by contributors, and you can sign up to contribute your own observations.

Stan Tekiela, Birds of Virginia Field Guide, Adventure Publications, Inc., Cambridge, Minn., 2002.

University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, “Animal Diversity Web,” online at https://animaldiversity.org/.

Virginia Society of Ornithology, online at http://www.virginiabirds.org/.  The Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, conservation, and enjoyment of birds in the Commonwealth.

Xeno-canto Foundation Web site, online at http://www.xeno-canto.org/.  This site provides bird songs from around the world.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Birds” subject category.

Following is the link to an episode on the American Coot, another bird in the family that includes rails.
Episode 391, 10-23-17.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript or by other information included in this post.

2013 Music SOLs

SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

2010 Science SOLs

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 – Virginia natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.

Grades K-6 Life Processes Theme
K.7 – basic needs and processes of plants and animals.
1.5 – animals’ basic needs and distinguishing characteristics.
3.4 – behavioral and physiological adaptations.

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
2.5 – living things as part of a system, including habitats.
3.5 – food webs.
3.6 – ecosystems, communities, populations, shared resources.
5.5 – cell structures and functions, organism classification, and organism traits.
6.7 – natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Virginia watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; health and safety issues; and water monitoring.

Life Science Course
LS.4 – organisms’ classification based on features.
LS.8 – community and population interactions, including food webs, niches, symbiotic relationships.
LS.9 – adaptations for particular ecosystems’ biotic and abiotic factors, including characteristics of land, marine, and freshwater environments.

Biology Course
BIO.8 – dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.
Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 403, 1-15-18 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 406, 2-5-18 – on ice on rivers, for middle school.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Episode 529 (6-15-20): Virginia's Biennial Water Quality Assessment Report

Click to listen to episode (5:15)

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Extra Information
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.)

Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-12-20.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 15, 2020.

SOUND – ~ 5 sec

This week, that sound of Toms Creek, a New River tributary in Montgomery County, Va., opens an episode about Virginia’s current assessment of water quality in streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries.  Water quality refers to what people often call the “health” of water bodies.  Scientifically, it involves chemical, physical, and biological characteristics, each measured in various standardized ways.  Legally, under the federal Clean Water Act and state laws implementing that Act, water quality assessments consider whether water bodies support specified designated uses by humans or by other organisms.  Virginia’s water quality standards identify six designated uses.  For an introduction to designated uses, have a listen for about 30 seconds to several mystery sounds, representing five of Virginia’s six uses.

SOUNDS - ~31 sec

Virginia’s designated uses, and the sounds you heard representing each, are aquatic life use, represented by a Green Frog sound; fish consumption, a fishing line sound; human recreation, a paddling sound; public water supply, a running faucet sound; wildlife use, ducks quacking; and shellfishing, the one use for which there was no sound.

The Clean Water Act requires states to have a water-quality monitoring program and to publish an assessment report every two years.  One of the report’s main purposes is to identify what water bodies do not support their particular designated uses, based on chemical, physical, and biological measurements over time.  Those water bodies are categorized as impaired for one or more uses.  For example, the Toms Creek section you heard earlier has been categorized as impaired for the aquatic life use, because of seasonally high temperatures, and for the human recreation use, because of high bacterial levels.  When a water body is determined to be impaired, typically the water body then undergoes a lengthy cleanup and restoration process known as a Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL.

[Note not included in audio: Other indicators of impairments of different water bodies in Virginia include measurements of dissolved oxygen, pH, nutrients, sediments, toxic substances, or the community of benthic organisms.]

On June 8, 2020, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, published its draft 2020 water quality assessment, covering data from 2013 to 2018.  The Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report will undergo a public comment period until July 9, with a Webinar about report scheduled for June 24.  Information about the report and the public comment opportunity is available from the DEQ online at www.deq.virginia.gov; click first on “Programs” and then on “Water Quality Assessments”; or phone the DEQ’s main office at (804) 698-4000.

We close with some music for our varied connections to rivers, lakes, and estuaries covered in Virginia’s water-quality monitoring.  Here’s about 15 seconds of “Waters Edge,” by the Rockingham County, Va.-based group, The Steel Wheels.

MUSIC - ~15 sec – Lyrics:“Mama, oh mama, it was out by the water’s edge.”

SHIP’S BELL

Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The sounds heard in this episode were recorded by Virginia Water Radio as follows:

Toms Creek in Heritage Park, Blacksburg, Va., June 12, 2020;
Green Frog at a seasonal pond in Heritage Park, Blacksburg, Va., August 1, 2016;
Fishing line, Blacksburg, Va., June 23, 2016;
Kayak paddling on the Potomac River in West Virginia, July 11, 2010;
Household water faucet, Blacksburg, Va., November 17, 2013;
Mallards at the Virginia Tech Duck Pond, Blacksburg, Va., December 10, 2015.

“Waters Edge,” from the 2013 album “No More Rain,” is copyright by The Steel Wheels, used with permission. More information about The Steel Wheels is available online at http://www.thesteelwheels.com/.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.

IMAGES

Toms Creek in Heritage Park in Blacksburg, Va., June 12, 2020.  The stream sound heard in this episode of Virginia Water Radio was recorded at this location.



Map showing the distribution in Virginia of impaired waters within watersheds, as identified in the “Draft 2020 305(b)/303(d) Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report” by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.  Map accessed online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterQualityInformationTMDLs/WaterQualityAssessments/2020305(b)303(d)IntegratedReport.aspx#maps, 6/16/20.

Map showing the status of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) processes by watershed in Virginia, as identified in the “Draft 2020 305(b)/303(d) Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report” by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.  Map accessed online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterQualityInformationTMDLs/WaterQualityAssessments/2020305(b)303(d)IntegratedReport.aspx#maps, 6/16/20.

EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT VIRGINIA DRAFT 2020 WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT INTEGRATED REPORT

The following is quoted from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), opening page of “Draft 2020 305(b)/303(d) Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report,” online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterQualityInformationTMDLs/WaterQualityAssessments/2020305(b)303(d)IntegratedReport.aspx.

“DEQ released the Draft 2020 305(b)/303(d) Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report (Integrated Report) on June 8, 2020.  The 2020 Integrated Report is a summary of the water quality conditions in Virginia from Jan. 1, 2013, through Dec. 31, 2018.

“This biennial report satisfies the requirements of the U.S. Clean Water Act sections 305(b) and 303(d) and the Virginia Water Quality Monitoring, Information and Restoration Act.  The goals of Virginia's water quality assessment program are to determine whether waters meet water quality standards, and to establish a schedule to restore waters with impaired water quality.

“Water quality standards designate uses for waters.  There are six designated uses for surface waters in Virginia: aquatic life; fish consumption; public water supplies (where applicable); recreation; shellfishing; wildlife

“Additionally, several subcategories of aquatic life use have been adopted for the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries.  The standards define the water quality needed to support each of these uses. If a water body contains more contamination than allowed by water quality standards, it will not support one or more of its designated uses.  Such waters have "impaired" water quality. In most cases, a cleanup plan (called a "total maximum daily load") must be developed and implemented to restore impaired waters.

“Findings in this report will be presented via webinar on June 24, 2020 at 2:00 – 3:30 pm EDT. Interested persons can register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6736552019723263503.

“The report is available for public review and comment.  Comments or questions about the report can be submitted via U.S. mail postmarked on or before July 9, 2020 to
Sandra Mueller
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Water Monitoring and Assessment
P.O. Box 1105
Richmond, VA 23218-1105
Or via email attachment to Sandra.Mueller@DEQ.Virginia.gov (please include your name, mailing address, telephone number and email address)

“A combined response to comments will be prepared after the public comment period expires and made available on this website with the final report.

“The entire Draft 2020 305(b)/303(d) Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report is a 43.7 MB ZIP file available for download.” [You may also view or download the smaller individual components of the report online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterQualityInformationTMDLs/WaterQualityAssessments/2020305(b)303(d)IntegratedReport.aspx.]

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Carolyn Kroehler, “Navigating the Currents of Water Quality Law,” and Alan Raflo, “A Fish-eye View of Water Quality,” pages 1 and 6, respectively, in Virginia Water Central, October 1998, Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Blacksburg, Va.; PDF of issue available online at https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/49336.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), “Draft 2020 305(b)/303(d) Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report,” online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterQualityInformationTMDLs/WaterQualityAssessments/2020305(b)303(d)IntegratedReport.aspx. The Executive Summary is available online (as a PDF) at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/Water/WaterQualityAssessments/IntegratedReport/2020/ir20_Executive_Summary.pdf.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), “Water Quality Standards,” online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterQualityInformationTMDLs/WaterQualityStandards.aspx.

Virginia Regulatory Town Hall, “Public Webinar [on June 24, 2020] - Notice of Availability of and Public Comment on the 2020 Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report,” online at https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewMeeting.cfm?MeetingID=30978.

For More Information about Water Quality and Water-quality Monitoring/Assessment

Code of Virginia, Chapter 21.1, “Virginia Water Quality Improvement Act of 1997,” online at https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title10.1/chapter21.1/.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
“Impaired Waters and TMDLs,” online at https://www.epa.gov/tmdl/program-overview-impaired-waters-and-tmdls;
“National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES),” online at https://www.epa.gov/npdes;
“Summary of the Clean Water Act,” online at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act.

U.S. Geological Survey, “Water Science School/Water Quality Information by Topic,” online at https://water.usgs.gov/edu/waterquality.html.

Virginia Water Central News Grouper posts on news, events, and information resources relevant to water-quality monitoring are available online at https://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/category/water-monitoring/.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Water Quality” subject category.

Following are links to some other episodes on water quality science, law, or monitoring.

Chesapeake Bay Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) – Episode 115, 6-18-12 and Episode 475, 6-3-19.
Emerging contaminants – Episode 499, 11-18-19.
Nitrogen – Episode 279, 8-24-15 and Episode 280, 9-7-15.
Stream assessment with aquatic macroinvertebrates – Episode 81, 9-26-11.
Water quality and coal – Episode 97, 1-30-12, Episode 98, 2-6-12, and Episode 99, 2-13-12
Waterways cleanups – Episode 383, 8-28-17.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript or by other information included in this post.

2013 Music SOLs

SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

2010 Science SOLs

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
6.9 – public policy decisions related to the environment (including resource management and conservation, land use decisions, hazard mitigation, and cost/benefit assessments).

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
6.7 – natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Virginia watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; health and safety issues; and water monitoring.

Life Science Course
LS.10 – changes over time in ecosystems, communities, and populations, and factors affecting those changes, including climate changes and catastrophic disturbances.
LS.11 – relationships between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.

Earth Science Course
ES.8 – influences by geologic processes and the activities of humans on freshwater resources, including identification of groundwater and major watershed systems in Virginia, with reference to the hydrologic cycle.
ES.10 – ocean processes, interactions, and policies affecting coastal zones, including Chesapeake Bay.

Biology Course
BIO.2 – water chemistry and its impact on life processes.
BIO.8 – dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

Chemistry Course
CH.1 – current applications to reinforce science concepts.

2015 Social Studies SOLs

United States History: 1865-to-Present Course
USII.9 – domestic and international issues during the second half of the 20th Century and the early 21st Century.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.6 – government at the national level.
CE.7 – government at the state level.
CE.10 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 – how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including climate, weather, and how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.4 – types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.
WG.18 – cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.

Government Course
GOVT.7 – national government organization and powers.
GOVT.8 – state and local government organization and powers.
GOVT.9 – public policy process at local, state, and national levels.
GOVT.15 – role of government in Va. and U.S. economies, including examining environmental issues and property rights.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.

Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 403, 1-15-18 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 406, 2-5-18 – on ice on rivers, for middle school.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.

Monday, June 8, 2020

Episode 528 (6-8-20): The Distinction of Gray Treefrogs, Plus a Cicada Closing

Click to listen to episode (3:58)

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Extra Information
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.)


Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-5-20.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 8, 2020.

SOUND – ~5 sec – Gray Treefrog

This week, we have a trilling episode.  That is, we feature the different trilling calls of two frog species that are indistinguishable to the naked eye.  Have a listen for about 20 seconds to the two species’ male breeding calls, and see if you know these two kinds of frogs.  And here’s a hint: think of tall woody plants and then the color of a rainy sky.

SOUNDS - ~19 sec

If you guessed treefrogs, you’re on the right track.  And if knew that the first call was the Gray Treefrog and the second was Cope’s Gray Treefrog, you’re a frog-call phenom!  The two frog species look identical, but they don’t interbreed and they differ in the number of chromosomes in their cells.  In Virginia they have somewhat different ranges, with the Gray Treefrog typically found in about the middle half of the Commonwealth and Cope’s Gray Treefrog primarily found in the Coastal Plain and the far southwest.  Those male breeding calls you heard are the usual way of distinguishing the two species.

As their name implies, these amphibians live mostly in trees or shrubs, except during their spring and summer breeding season when they move to shallow, standing waters to mate.  Both species are relatively small, from about one to three inches long; both feed on various insects and other invertebrates; and both are colored gray, green, brown, or white, except for orange or yellow marks on their hind legs.

Thanks to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and to Lang Elliott’s NatureSound Studio for permission to use the Cope’s Gray Treefrog sounds, from the 2008 CD, “The Calls of Virginia Frogs and Toads.”

We close this week with an extra sound, one that doesn’t have anything to do with frogs or even particularly with water, but results from a natural event occurring in southwestern Virginia this late spring that’s too unusual not to mention, and too loud not to notice.  That’s the 2020 emergence of Brood IX of the 17-year periodical cicada, bringing with it a chorus of mating calls by the male insects.  Have a listen for about 10 seconds to that sound, recorded on a mountain trail near Blacksburg on June 4.

SOUND - ~11 sec

SHIP’S BELL

Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Cope’s Gray Treefrog sounds in this episode were from “The Calls of Virginia Frogs and Toads” CD, copyright 2008 by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) and Lang Elliott/NatureSound Studio, used with permission.  For more information on this CD, contact VDGIF online at https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/; by mail to P.O. Box 90778, Henrico, VA 23228-0778; by phone to (804) 367-1000 (VTDD); or by e-mail to dgifweb@dgif.virginia.gov.

Lang Elliott’s work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/.

The Gray Treefrog sounds were recorded by Virginia Water Radio at a seasonal pond in Heritage Park in Blacksburg, Va., on July 8, 2016, about 9 p.m.  The sounds in the background are the “peep” of Spring Peepers and the “thunk” of Green Frogs.

The periodical cicada sounds were recorded by Virginia Water Radio on Brush Mountain just north of Blacksburg, Virginia, on June 4, 2020, about 12 noon.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com.

IMAGES

Gray Treefrog in a pond at a residence in Blacksburg, Va., April 30, 2007.


Cope’s Gray Treefrog, photographed in Chesapeake, Virginia, July 8, 2019.  Photo by David Weisenbeck, made available on iNaturalist at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/28498566 (as of 6-8-20) for use under Creative Commons license “Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0.”  Information about this Creative Commons license is available online at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.



Virginia range maps for the Gray Treefrog (upper) and Cope’s Gray Treefrog (lower). Maps taken from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at http://vafwis.org/fwis/?Title=VaFWIS+Species+Information+By+Name&vUT=Visitor.  The Gray Treefrog map is online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?Menu=_.Occurrence&bova=020007&version=18418; the Cope’s Gray Treefrog map is online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?Menu=_.Occurrence&bova=020006&version=18418.


Periodical cicada, photographed in Patrick County, Va., June 7, 2020.  Photo by Kathy Richardson, made available on iNaturalist at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/48868419 (as of 6-8-20) for use under Creative Commons license “Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0.”  Information about this Creative Commons license is available online at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT GRAY TREEFROG AND COPE’S GRAY TREEFROG

The scientific name of Gray Treefrog is Hyla versicolor.

The scientific name of Cope’s Gray Treefrog in Hyla chrysoscelis.

The following information is quoted from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=020007&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18418 for the Gray Treefrog and at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=020006&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18418 for Cope’s Gray Treefrog.

Gray Treefrog

Physical Appearance
“Usually gray but coloration ranges from gray to whitish to brown to green, dependent upon environment and activities.  There is a whitish mark beneath the eyes and a bright orange or yellow on the concealed surfaces of the hind legs.  This species ranges in length from 32 to 62 mm (1.25-2.5 in).”

Reproduction
“Males call between March and August.  The call of this species is a slower trill than that of Cope’s Gray Treefrog, 25 trills per second.  Breeding generally occurs from March to June.  The female lays clumps of 10 to 40 eggs per group on the surface of shallow ditches, puddles, and ponds.   Females may lay more than one clutch in a season…. Eggs typically hatch in 4 to 5 days, and metamorphosis occurs in 45 to 64 days.”

Behavior
“This species is not often seen on the ground or near the water's edge except during the breeding season.  It tends to forage while in small trees or shrubs near to or in standing water.  This species is an opportunistic feeder focusing primarily on larval Lepicoptera [butteflies and moths], Coleoptera [beetles], and other arthropods.”

Aquatic/Terrestrial Associations
“This species is typically associated with the following forest types: black willow, sweet gum-willow oak, white oak-red oak-black oak and mixed pine-hardwood.  They are frequently found in recently disturbed areas with shrub and herbaceous cover.”

Cope’s Gray Treefrog

Physical Appearance
“This species is identical to [Gray Treefrog] in appearance but they do not interbreed.  The two gray treefrog species can be distinguished genetically and by breeding call…. The male mating call of Cope’s Gray Treefrog is shorter, harsher and more forceful than [Gray Treefrog].  It is a faster call averaging 45 trills/second.  This species is generally slightly smaller than [Gray Treefrog].

Reproduction
“This species breeds between May and August and is usually not found outside of this period. ..Females lay scattered clumps of 10 to 40 eggs on the surfaces of shallow ditches and small ponds.  These eggs hatch in 4 or 5 days.  Metamorphosis occurs in 45 to 64 days…. This species may have two clutches per season.”

Behavior
“This species is more arboreal and is more tolerant of low humidity than [Gray Treefrog.].  Its diet consists of insects which are foraged from trees, shrubs, and off the ground preferably near water.  This species is an opportunistic feeder.  Typical prey items include larval Lepidoptera [butterflies and moths], Coleoptera [beetles], and other arthropods.”

Aquatic/Terrestrial Associations
“This species is typically associated with small ponds, ditches, beaver ponds, or other standing water.  It is frequently found in areas that have been recently disturbed but contain shrubs, herbaceous vegetation, and/or vines.”

SOURCES

Used for Audio


Eric Day et al., “Periodical Cicada,” Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication 444-276 (ENTO-105NP), February 25, 2015, online at https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/444/444-276/444-276.html.

John D. Kleopfer and Chris S. Hobson, A Guide to the Frogs and Toad of Virginia, Special Publication Number 3, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Richmond, 2011.  [This is the source used for the description included in the audio/transcript of the two frog species' ranges.]

Lang Elliott, The Calls of Frogs and Toads, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, Penn., 2004.

Bernard S. Martof et al., Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1980.

Dan Mozgai, “Cicada Mania,” online at https://www.cicadamania.com/.  Information on periodical cicada Brood IX and its emergence in 2020 is online at https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/category/broods/brood-ix/.

James Mason, “What’s that noise? The 17-year cicadas are back,” Virginia Tech Daily, May 2020, online at https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2020/05/CALS-periodical_cicada_2020.html.

Robert Powell et al., Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston and New York, 2016.

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at http://vafwis.org/fwis/?Title=VaFWIS+Species+Information+By+Name&vUT=Visitor.
The Gray Treefrog entry is online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=020007&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18418.
The Cope’s Gray Treefrog entry is online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=020006&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18418.

Virginia Herpetological Society, online at http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/index.html.  Herpetology is the study of amphibians and reptiles.
The Gray Treefrog entry is online at http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/frogsandtoads/gray-treefrog/gray_treefrog.php.
The Cope’s Gray Treefrog entry is online at http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/frogsandtoads/copes-gray-treefrog/copes_gray_treefrog.php.
Information on all frogs and toads in Virginia is online at http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/frogsandtoads/frogs_and_toads_of_virginia.htm.
The “Frog Calling Schedule” is online (as a PDF) at http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/frogsandtoads/_phenology/va-frog-and-toad-phenology.pdf.

For More Information about Frogs and Other Amphibians

AmphibiaWeb, “Order Anura—Frogs and Toads Species List,” online at https://amphibiaweb.org/lists/alpha/A-Ate-Anura.shtml.

FrogWatch USA, online at https://www.aza.org/frogwatch.  According to this Web site, this is the American Zoological Association (AZA)'s citizen science program and “encourages volunteers to collect and contribute information about the breeding calls of frogs and toads to a national dataset that is publicly available online.”

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Virginia is for Frogs” Web site, online at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/virginia-is-for-frogs/.

For More Information about Periodical Cicadas

Ralph Berrier (text) and Stephanie Klein-Davis (photos), Watch Now: The 17-year cicadas emerge across Southwest Virginia, Roanoke Times, 6/8/20.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Amphibians” subject category.

Following are links to other episodes on featuring sounds of the Gray Treefrog.

Episode 371, 6-5-17 – Herp Blitz by Virginia Herpetological Society (sounds of Bullfrog, Gray Treefrog, Northern Cricket Frog, Fowler's Toad, and Green Frog).
Episode 408, 2-19-18 – Frog and Toad Medley (sounds of American Toad, Bullfrog, Carpenter Frog, Gray Treefrog, Green Frog, Mountain Chorus Frog, Northern Cricket Frog, Pickerel Frog, Spring Peeper, and Wood Frog).
Episode 427, 7-2-18 – a July 4th “debate.”
Episode 431, 7-30-18 – on the Tazewell County, Va., community of Frog Level (sounds of Gray Treefrog, Green Frog, and Spring Peeper).
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – a sampler of animal sounds.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources of information, or other materials in the Show Notes.

2010 Science SOLs

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 – Virginia natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.

Grades K-6 Life Processes Theme
K.7 – basic needs and processes of plants and animals.
1.5 – animals’ basic needs and distinguishing characteristics.
2.4 – life cycles.
3.4 – behavioral and physiological adaptations.

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
2.5 – living things as part of a system, including habitats.
3.5 – food webs.
3.6 – ecosystems, communities, populations, shared resources.
5.5 – cell structures and functions, organism classification, and organism traits.

Life Science Course
LS.4 – organisms’ classification based on features.
LS.8 – community and population interactions, including food webs, niches, symbiotic relationships.
LS.9 – adaptations for particular ecosystems’ biotic and abiotic factors, including characteristics of land, marine, and freshwater environments.

Biology Course
BIO.1 – current applications to reinforce science concepts.
BIO.6 – bases for modern classification systems, including structures, biochemistry, and developmental stages.
BIO.8 – dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.

Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 403, 1-15-18 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 406, 2-5-18 – on ice on rivers, for middle school.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Episode 527 (6-1-20): Observing Virginia Cave Week with “In the Cave” by Pepe Deluxé

Click to listen to episode (4:12)

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Extra Information
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.)

Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 5-29-20.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 1, 2020.

MUSIC – ~9 sec – instrumental

This week, we feature a mysterious musical selection written for, and performed on, what might be Virginia’s most unusual instrument—and almost certainly the Commonwealth’s deepest.  Have a listen for about 30 more seconds.

MUSIC - ~31 sec – instrumental

You’ve been listening to part of “In the Cave,” by the Finnish group Pepe Deluxé, on the 2012 album, “Queen of the Wave,” from Catskills Records.  Pepe Deluxé’s Paul Malmström composed the music for the Great Stalacpipe Organ in Luray Caverns, in Page County, Virginia, and performed it there in February 2011.  The Great Stalacpipe Organ, invented in the 1950s by Leland Sprinkle of Springfield, Virginia, produces sounds with various tones and pitches when rubber-tipped mallets strike stalactites, one type of the underground formations for which caverns in Virginia and elsewhere are noted.

As remarkable as this human invention is, it’s matched by the natural wonders found in Virginia’s over 4000 documented caves, of which caverns are spectacular examples.  Formed over millions of years by acidic groundwater acting on limestone and other soluble bedrock, caves are one of several features characteristic of karst terrain, found especially in Virginia’s western valleys and in other areas of the United States and the world.  Sinkholes, sinking streams, and Virginia’s famous Natural Bridge are other karst-related features.

Caves and other karst formations are the focus of Virginia Cave Week, observed this year from May 31 through June 6.  Sponsored by the Virginia Cave Board, the observance aims to increase public knowledge of, and appreciation for, the Commonwealth’s karst heritage of remarkable areas formed by groundwater’s slow and steady dissolving action.

Thanks to Catskills Records for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with about 20 more seconds of “In the Cave.”

MUSIC - ~21 sec – instrumental

SHIP’S BELL

Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 158, 4-22-13.

“In the Cave” and “Queen of the Wave” are copyright by Pepe Deluxé and Catskills Records, used with permission.  More information about Pepe Deluxé is available at their Web site, http://www.pepedeluxe.com/; click on the “Album Companions” link on that page to access an article on the Great Stalacpipe Organ and the making of “In the Cave.”  A music video of the “In the Cave” is available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkvvcN6rt-I; thanks to Alexandra Thompson, a student worker in 2013 at the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, for finding that video.  This music also used in Virginia Water Radio Episode 306, 3-7-16, on groundwater generally.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.

IMAGES

A view inside a cave; date and location not identified. Photo from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation/Natural Heritage Division, “Karst Landscapes,” accessed online at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/karst-landscapes.


Barricaded opening of Adams Cave in Wildwood Park in Radford, Va., October 6, 2013.


Sinkhole along the road to Radford University’s Selu Conservancy near Radford, Va., September 22, 2009.

EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT VIRGINIA CAVES AND THE VIRGINIA CAVE BOARD

The following information is quoted from the Virginia Cave Board Web site, “Ten Questions About Caves and the Virginia Cave Board,” online at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/vcbquestions, as of 5/29/20.

1. How do caves form?
Most caves in Virginia were formed by a solution process, the dissolving a way of limestone rock by a weak acid carried in groundwater.  Limestone, being composed of calcium carbonate, is slowly dissolved away by the solutional effect of carbonic acid.  Limestone was formed from sediments deposited on the floors of shallow seas millions of years ago.  The formation of caves does not actually begin until the limestone is exposed to natural elements at the surface.  The formations (called speleothems) found in some caves have resulted from water seeping through limestone, dissolving calcium carbonate, and then leaving behind deposits of mineral calcite and aragonite as it passes into cave rooms and passages.

2. How many caves are there in Virginia?
Over 4000.  Virginia is one of only six states in the United States with over 2,000 known caves.  Many are described in H. H. Douglas, Caves of Virginia,and J. R. Holsinger, Descriptions of Virginia Caves. Data are on file with the Virginia Speleological Survey, affiliated with the National Speleological Society.

3. Do caves have economic value?
Several of Virginia's caves are renowned for their beauty and are tourist attractions, bringing thousands of visitors into the state annually.  To have a wild cave on one's property, however, probably does not increase its value and may even constitute a nuisance to the owner, although there are instances where the owner may use the cave as a water source.

4. Is there any historical significance to caves?
Professional archeologists have only begun to investigate the implications of materials discovered in Virginia's rock shelters and caves, where some evidence of prehistoric habitation has been uncovered.  Indian burial caves can yield important demographic information.  In most recent history, Thomas Jefferson visited and described one of Virginia's caves and George Washington and James Madison left other signatures in Madison Saltpetre Cave.  Up until the close of the Civil War, caves in the Commonwealth were extensively mined for saltpetre (used in the manufacture of gunpowder).

5. Do caves have an educational value?
With today's emphasis upon wilderness experience to develop self-reliance and appreciation of nature, there have been attempts to include caves as part of such programs.  However, this is not an activity to be undertaken without a person in charge skilled both in caving techniques and safety, as well as concern for the conservation of caves, which can easily be damaged.  Speleothems of great beauty can be broken in a careless moment, and it may be years before others will grow to replace them.  A muddy handprint or footprint can permanently mar an otherwise pristine mineral formation.  For the serious scientist, opportunities for research in the field of speleology (the science of caves) exist. Bones and artifacts found in caves are very fragile.  The matter in which they are deposited and preserved is as important scientifically as the objects themselves.  Much of the scientific value of these deposits is lost when they are disturbed by anyone but a trained professional.

6. Are caves hazardous?
The hazards in cave exploration are real but exist primarily for the untrained or careless.  Training for interested novices is available throughout the Commonwealth through organized caving groups affiliated with the National Speleological Society (NSS).  The NSS sponsors a National Cave Rescue Commission, and emergency telephone numbers are available to mobilize cavers in case of a mishap.  Cavers welcome the opportunity to explain caving to other groups who may be involved in rescue programs, working toward cooperation when the need arises.

7. Does Virginia have a law to protect its caves?
The Virginia Cave Protection Act was passed in 1979 to help preserve our cave resources for future generations to enjoy.  Please help!  If you are a caver, leave each cave as you found it.  If you are a cave owner, let us know of problems you may encounter.  It is our responsibility to protect and preserve these unique, non-renewable, natural resources for future generations to experience.  Caves are very sensitive environments.  The animals found in caves can easily be disturbed by man.  Bats aroused during their winter hibernation often do not survive the winter months.  Disturbance during the spring and summer months while bats are raising their young can cause the loss of young bats.  Water pollution may poison streams, thereby killing many other organisms.  Help enforce the law by reporting any and all persons in violation of the law to the cave owner or the nearest law enforcement authority.  In most states as Virginia, it is illegal to [do any of the following]:
Write or mark on walls;
Break or remove mineral formations;
Sell or transport to other states for sale, mineral deposits and/or speleothems;
Disturb or collect cave organisms, including bats;
Remove or disturb prehistoric artifacts or bones;
Litter or dispose of trash or refuge; or
Dump spent calcium carbide.
(From the Code of Virginia 10-150.11 et seq.)

8. What is the purpose of the Virginia Cave Board?
The Board was established by the 1979 General Assembly and may perform the following functions:
Serve as an advisory board to other state agencies on matters related to caves and karst;
Inventory of publicly owned caves;
Provide cave management expertise and service to other state agencies as requested;
Identify significant caves in Virginia;
Report on ways to assist local authorities in obtaining the assistance of experienced cavers in cave rescue situations construction;
Clarify laws relative to cave ownership;
Suggest ways for enforcing the Cave Protection Act effectively;
Study the possibility of a state cave recreation plan; and
Study how cave data might be stored through electronic data processing so as to be readily available to state agencies with a need for such information.”

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Catskills Music, “Pepe Deluxé,” online at https://www.catskillsmusic.com/artists/25/.

Mike Diver, “Pepe Deluxé ‘Queen of the Wave’ Review,” published by the BBC, 2012, online at https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/rdzb/.

Friends of the Virginia Cave Board, “Virginia Cave Week,” online at http://www.vacaveweek.com/.

Luray Caverns, “Welcome to Geology’s Hall of Fame,” online at https://luraycaverns.com/caverns/.

Blake Madden, “Inside the Great Stalacpipe Organ: The World's Largest Instrument,” 4/15/15, published by the “Trust Me I’m a Scientist” Web site, online at http://www.trustmeimascientist.com/2015/04/15/inside-the-great-stalacpipe-organ-the-worlds-largest-instrument/.

George Veni et al., “Living with Karst,” American Geological Institute Environmental Awareness Series, 2001, available online (as a PDF) at http://www.agiweb.org/environment/publications/karst.pdf.

Virginia Cave Board, http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/cavehome.shtml.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, “Natural Bridge State Park,” Online at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/natural-bridge.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, “Virginia Natural Heritage/Karst Program,” online at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/karsthome.

For More Information about Caves

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Centers for Environmental Information, “Speleotherm,” online at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data/datasets/speleothem.

National Speleological Society, online at http://www.caves.org/.  The organization’s information about White Nose Syndrome, a disease affecting bats in caves in Virginia and throughout the eastern United States and Canada, is available online at https://caves.org/WNS/.

Whitney Pipkin, Virginia cave, home to unique isopod, gains permanent protection, Bay Journal, 6/15/20.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “White Nose Syndrome Response Team,” online at https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/affiliation/5aeb30aeb91d1500104f24d0.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html). See particularly the “Groundwater” subject category.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources of information, or other materials in the Show Notes.

2013 Music SOLs

SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

2010 Science SOLs

Grades K-6 Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change Theme
3.9 – Water cycle, including sources of water, energy driving water cycle, water essential for living things, and water limitations and conservation.

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 – Virginia natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.
6.9 – public policy decisions related to the environment (including resource management and conservation, land use decisions, hazard mitigation, and cost/benefit assessments).

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
6.7 – natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Virginia watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; health and safety issues; and water monitoring.

Life Science Course
LS.11 – relationships between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.

Earth Science Course
ES.1 – current applications to reinforce science concepts.
ES.6 – renewable vs. non-renewable resources (including energy resources).
ES.8 – influences by geologic processes and the activities of humans on freshwater resources, including identification of groundwater and major watershed systems in Virginia, with reference to the hydrologic cycle.

Biology Course
BIO.8 – dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

2015 Social Studies SOLs

Grades K-3 Geography Theme
1.6 – Virginia climate, seasons, and landforms.

Grades K-3 Economics Theme
2.8 – natural, human, and capital resources.
3.8 – understanding of cultures and of how natural, human, and capital resources are used for goods and services.

Virginia Studies Course
VS.1 – impact of geographic features on people, places, and events in Virginia history.
VS.10 – knowledge of government, geography, and economics in present-day Virginia.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.7 – government at the state level.
CE.10 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 – how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including climate, weather, and how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.3 – how regional landscapes reflect the physical environment and the cultural characteristics of their inhabitants.
WG.4 – types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.

Government Course
GOVT.8 – state and local government organization and powers.
GOVT.9 – public policy process at local, state, and national levels.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.

Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 403, 1-15-18 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 406, 2-5-18 – on ice on rivers, for middle school.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.