Episode 540 (8-31-20): A Water-related Mammals Quiz

Click to listen to episode (4:18)

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 8-28-20.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of August 31, 2020.

SOUND – ~5 sec

This week, that sound of a Humpback Whale’s song opens an episode about water-related mammals. In scientific classification, or taxonomy, mammals are one class of vertebrates, that is, the animals with internal backbones. Other vertebrate classes are fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and birds.  While many mammals—including humans—live primarily on land, some other species are aquatic, meaning they actually live in water, while others are semi-aquatic, meaning they spend time both in water and on land.  As of August 2020, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources’ Fish and Wildlife Information Service listed 149 mammal species and subspecies known to occur in the Commonwealth, including 30 marine mammal species.

To give you a chance to see what you know about various aquatic or semi-aquatic mammals that are found in Virginia or in ocean water off Virginia’s coast, here's a short quiz of five questions.  After each question, I’ll play a ticking timer for about three seconds to give you time to think before I give the answer.

1. What semi-aquatic mammal with a long tail like a rudder can remain submerged for as long as 15 minutes?  TIMER SOUND - ~3 seconds  - That’s the muskrat.

2. What weasel-like, semi-aquatic mammal makes distinctive slides through mud or snow?  TIMER SOUND - ~3 seconds - That’s the river otter.

3. What small semi-aquatic mammal, whose name rhymes with shoe, is found near fast-flowing rocky streams, feeds on aquatic insects and small fish, and is in turn eaten by larger fish such as trout and bass?  TIMER SOUND - ~3 seconds – That’s the water shrew.

4. What long-eared semi-aquatic mammal swims well and is found only in marshes and swamps?  TIMER SOUND - 3 seconds - That’s the marsh rabbit.

5. What aquatic mammal, listed on the federal endangered species list, is the largest living species of mammal?  TIMER SOUND - 3 seconds – That’s the Blue Whale.

From gigantic whales to small shrews, aquatic and semi-aquatic mammals exhibit a wide range of sizes, shapes, adaptations to water, behaviors, and ecological functions.

Thanks to the National Park Service for the Humpback Whale sound.  We close by letting three water-related mammals have the last calls.  Here are about 15 seconds of sounds of a beaver tail splat, an otter at a wildlife center, and an underwater recording of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins. Thanks to Freesound.org contributors for the otter and dolphin sounds.

SOUNDS - 15 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 Humpback Whale sounds were taken from a National Park Service recording (“Humpback Whales Song 2”) made available for public use on the “Community Audio” page of the Internet Archive Web site, at http://www.archive.org/details/HumpbackWhalesSongsSoundsVocalizations.

The otter sounds were recorded by user Motion_S (dated March 5, 2014) and made available for public use by Freesound.org, at online at https://freesound.org/people/Motion_S/sounds/221761/, under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.  For more information on Creative Commons licenses, please see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/; information on the Attribution License specifically is online at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

The Atlantic Spotted Dolphin sounds were recorded by user geraldfiebig (dated March 25, 2017) and made available for public use by Freesound.org, at online at https://freesound.org/people/geraldfiebig/sounds/385796/, under the Creative Commons Universal/Public Domain 1.0 License.  For more information on Creative Commons licenses, please see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/; information on the Public Domain License specifically is online at https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/.

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


Humpback Whale at Moss Landing in California; date not identified. Photo by Wade Tregaskis, made available for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 License (information about this Creative Commons License is available online at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/).  Image accessed from the Chesapeake Bay Program, “Discover the Chesapeake/Humpback Whale,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/humpback_whale, 8-31-20.


Marsh Rabbit, location and date not identified. Photo by Perry Everett/iNaturalist, made available for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (information about this Creative Commons License is available online at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.  Image accessed from the Chesapeake Bay Program, “Discover the Chesapeake/Marsh Rabbit,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/marsh_rabbit, 8-31-20.


River Otter, location and date not identified. Photo by Tom Koerner/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, made available for use under Creative Commons Attibution 2.0 Generic License (CC BY 2.0; information about this Creative Commons License is available online at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en_GB).  Image accessed from the Chesapeake Bay Program, “Discover the Chesapeake/River Otter,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/river_otter, 8-31-20.

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Biology Online, “Aquatic,” online at https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/aquatic.

Chesapeake Bay Program, “Mammals,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/all/mammals/all.
Aquatic mammals specifically are online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/all/mammals/aquatic.
Semi-aquatic mammals specifically are online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/all/mammals/semi-aquatic.

Encyclopedia Britannica, “Mammal,” online at https://www.britannica.com/animal/mammal/Classification; and “Vertebrate,” online at https://www.britannica.com/animal/vertebrate.

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

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “List of Native and Naturalized fauna of Virginia,” as of April 2018, online (as a PDF) at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/virginia-native-naturalized-species.pdf.

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/.
Mammals are online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/?Title=VaFWIS+Report+BOVA&lastMenu=Home.Species+Information&tn=.1&geoArea=&sppName=&geoType=None&geoVal=no+selection&sppTax=05&status.
Marine mammals are online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/?Title=VaFWIS+Report+BOVA&lastMenu=Home.Species+Information&tn=.1&geoArea=&sppName=&geoType=None&geoVal=no+selection&sppTax=12&status.

WorldAtlas, “Examples of Semi-aquatic Animals,” online at https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/examples-of-semiaquatic-animals.html.

For More Information about Mammals in Virginia and Elsewhere

Richard A. Blaylock, The Marine Mammals of Virginia, Virginia Sea Grant Publication VSG-85-05, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 1985, online (as a PDF) at https://www.vims.edu/GreyLit/VIMS/EdSeries35.pdf.

iNaturalist, “Mammals of Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas,” online at https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/8061.

D.W. Linzey, The Mammals of Virginia, McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company, Blacksburg, Va., 1998.

National Park Service, “Shenandoah National Park/Mammals,” online at https://www.nps.gov/shen/learn/nature/mammals.htm.

Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), “Chesapeake Bay Mammals,” online at https://www.vims.edu/test/dlm/critters/mammals/index.php.

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 Mammals subject category. For episodes on other animals, see the following subject categories: Amphibians; Birds; Fish; Insects; Invertebrates Other Than Insects; and Reptiles.

Following are links to some other episodes on animals’ behavioral and physiological adaptations.

Animals’ ways of getting water – Episode 531, 6-29-20.
Sounds of animals – Episode 524, 5-11-20.
Temperature in animals – Episode 309, 3-28-16.

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, or other information included in this post.

2010 Science SOLs

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.

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.
4.5 – ecosystem interactions and human influences on ecosystems.
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.
LS.11 – relationships between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.

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.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.
Episode 539, 8-24-20 – on basic numbers and facts about Virginia’s water resources, for 4th and 6th grade.

Episode 539 (8-24-20): A Few Noteworthy Numbers about Virginia’s Waters

Click to listen to episode (5:19)

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 8-21-20.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of August 24, 2020.  This week’s episode is intended especially for Virginia science students and their teachers in grades 4 and 6, and for anyone interested in water-related numbers.

MUSIC - ~ 20 sec – instrumental

That’s part of “The Water is Wide,” a traditional Scottish tune, performed by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg, Va.  It sets the stage for exploring some numbers and facts about the wide variety of Virginia’s water resources.  We start with some mystery sounds about water bodies, that is, places that contain surface water.  Have a listen for about 25 seconds, and see if you know these four kinds of water bodies.

SOUNDS – ~ 23 sec

 If you guessed river, stream, lake, and estuary, you’re right!

Those were sounds from the James River in Lynchburg; a small stream in Montgomery County; a boat on Claytor Lake in Pulaski County; and waves in the Chesapeake Bay, which is the United States’ largest estuary.  An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal water body where fresh water and salt water mix.

According to a 2019 state government report, Virginia has almost 43,000 square miles of surface area, and about 3300 of those square miles are covered by surface waters.  That includes over 100,000 miles of rivers and streams; 160,000 acres in 248 publicly-owned lakes, not counting hundreds of privately-owned lakes or ponds; over 2300 square miles of estuaries; over 1 million acres of wetlands; and 120 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline.

All surface water bodies have an associated watershed, that is, the land area that drains to the water body at any given point.  Small-stream watersheds might cover considerably less than one square mile, while large-river watersheds can cover thousands of square miles, such as the over 10,000 square miles in the James River watershed, almost one-fourth of Virginia’s landscape.

Besides surface water, the other main component of water resources is groundwater.  Underground formations of rock or other materials that yield water in wells are called aquifers.  Aquifers occur all over Virginia, varying in rock type, size, depth, and amount of water they hold and yield.  One particularly large example is the Potomac Aquifer, the major source of groundwater in Eastern Virginia; it’s found from Georgia to New Jersey.

We know a lot about water in Virginia, but many unknowns—about climate change, groundwater, streams, and more—will probably still be wide-open questions when today’s elementary students have become tomorrow’s scientists.

Thanks to Timothy Seaman for permission to use his version of “The Water is Wide.”  We close with some more music, with a title appropriate for wandering around to explore Virginia’s great diversity of waters.  Here’s about 20 seconds of “Wandering Boots,” by the Charlottesville- and Nelson County, Va.-based band, Chamomile and Whiskey.

MUSIC - ~19 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 version of “The Water is Wide” heard here, from the 2006 album, “Jamestown—On the Edge of a Vast Continent,” is copyright by Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, used with permission.  More information about Timothy Seaman is available online at https://timothyseaman.com/en/.  More information on this traditional tune is available from Jürgen Kloss, “Just Another Tune/‘The Water Is Wide’—The History Of A ‘Folksong’” (July 2012), online at http://www.justanothertune.com/html/wateriswide.html.

“Wandering Boots,” from the 2013 album “Wandering Boots,” is copyright by Chamomile and Whiskey, used with permission.  More information about Chamomile and Whiskey is available online at https://www.chamomileandwhiskey.com/.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio in Episode 265, 5-11-15.

The sounds heard in this episode were recorded by Virginia Water Radio as follows:
James River at Percival’s Island in Lynchburg, Va., June 15, 2013; small stream flowing through a wetland in Heritage Park in Blacksburg, Va., July 27, 2016;
boat on Claytor Lake in Pulaski County, Va., August 31, 2013;
Chesapeake Bay at Kent Island, Maryland, June 22, 2010.

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


James River at Lynchburg, Va., June15, 2013.


Small stream in Heritage Park in Blacksburg, Va. (Montgomery County), June 2, 2015.


Claytor Lake as seen in Claytor Lake State Park, Pulaski County, Va., September 23, 2012.


Chesapeake Bay as seen from the boat ramp in Kiptopeke State Park, Northampton County, Va., October 7, 2007.


Map of Virginia's major river watersheds, from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, “Virginia’s Major Watersheds,” online at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/wsheds 

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Chesapeake Bay Program, “The Estuary,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/ecosystem/the_estuary_system.

Hampton Roads Sanitation District, “What is the Potomac Aquifer?” online at https://www.hrsd.com/swift/potomac-aquifer-diminishing-resource.

Carrie Jensen et al., “Headwater stream length dynamics across four physiographic provinces of the Appalachian Highlands,” Hydrological Processes, Vol., 31, No., 19, 15 September 2017; accessed online at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hyp.11259 (subscription may be required).  This research article has some numbers on the watershed area of small streams.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Basic Information about Estuaries,” online at https://www.epa.gov/nep/basic-information-about-estuaries.

U.S. Geological Survey, “Aquifer Basics,” online at https://water.usgs.gov/ogw/aquiferbasics/index.html.

U.S. Geological Survey, “Water Science School,” online at https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school:
“Aquifers and Groundwater,” online at https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/aquifers-and-groundwater?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects;
“Groundwater,” online at https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/groundwater;
“Surface Water,” online at https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/surface-water;
“Watersheds and Drainage Basins,” online at https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/watersheds-and-drainage-basins?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, “Status of Virginia’s Water Resources – A Report on Virginia’s Water Resources Management Activities,” October 2019, online at https://rga.lis.virginia.gov/Published/2019/RD416/.  This report is the source (Appendix 1 page 30) for the numbers cited in this episode.  The 100,000 miles number used in the audio is the estimate used in the report for non-tidal rivers and streams.

For More Information about Water Resources in Virginia or Elsewhere

Alan Raflo, “Divide and Confluence,” Virginia Water Central, February 2000, pages 8-11, online at https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/49316. This is a basic introduction to watersheds and to Virginia’s main river basins.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “How’s My Waterway?” online at https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/hows-my-waterway.  Formerly called “Surf Your Watershed,” this site allows users to locate watersheds and watershed information across the United States.

U.S. Geological Survey, “Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center,” online at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/va-wv-water.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, “Hydrologic Unit Geography,” online at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_and_water/hu.shtml.  This site provides detailed information on how watersheds are designated, plus access to interactive maps of Virginia’s watersheds.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, “Virginia’s Major Watersheds,” online at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_and_water/wsheds.shtml.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, “Watershed Roundtables,” online at http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterQualityInformationTMDLs/WatershedRoundtables.aspx.  This site provides access to online information about watershed groups in Virginia’s major river basins.

Virginia Department of Health, “Private Well Water Information,” online at https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/environmental-health/onsite-sewage-water-services-updated/organizations/private-well-water-information/.

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), “Rivers and Streams,” online at https://dwr.virginia.gov/rivers/.

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” and “Rivers, Streams, and Other Surface Water” subject categories; the latter category has entries for specific rivers and other water bodies, including the Chesapeake Bay.

Following are links to some episodes on various topics related to this week’s episode.

On Geography Generally

Episode 265, 5-11-15 – on the subject of geography (used “Wandering Boots”).

On Groundwater

Episode 75, 8-15-11 and Episode 379, 7-31-17 – on springs.
Episode 258, 3-23-15 – on winter precipitation and recharge of groundwater.
Episode 306, 3-7-16 – an introduction to groundwater.
Episode 534, 7-20-20 – on Eastern Virginia groundwater.

On Watersheds

Episode 140, 12-10-12 – on early exploration of the Chesapeake Bay and tributary rivers.
Episode 156, 4-8-13 – on watershed basics.
Episode 209, 4-14-14 – on the Blue Ridge and three major watersheds.
Episode 251, 2-2-15 – featuring a musical tour of several river basins.
Episode 288, 11-2-15 – on mountain gaps, including their role as watershed divides.
Episode 334, 9-19-16 – featuring a quiz on rivers and watersheds, covering major Virginia river basins.
Episode 397, 12-4-17 – on headwater streams and related research.

On Estuaries

Episode 326, 7-25-16 – an introduction to estuaries.

On Wetlands

Episode 429, 7-16-18 – an introduction to marshes and other kinds of wetlands.

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

This episode is intended to support specifically the following Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs).

2010 Science SOLs

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

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.

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.

Following are some other SOLs that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources, or 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 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
6.9 – public policy decisions related to the environment (including resource management and conservation, land use decisions, hazard mitigation, and cost/benefit assessments).

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.

Virginia Studies Course
VS.10 – knowledge of government, geography, and economics in present-day Virginia.

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.

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.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.

Episode 538 (8-17-20): “Smart” Chesapeake Bay Buoys Describe Geography, History, and Current Conditions

Click to listen to episode (4:40)

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 8-14-20.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of August 17, 2020. This episode is a revised repeat of an episode from April 2013.

MUSIC – ~ 19 sec

That’s part of “A Song for the Sea,” by the Richmond, Va.-based band Carbon Leaf.  The music opens an episode about Virginia’s famous connection to the sea—the Chesapeake Bay—and a wireless, floating system for getting current data and historical information about the Bay.  Have a listen for about 55 seconds to a recording from that system.

VOICE - ~56 sec – “Welcome to NOAA’s First Landing buoy, part of the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System. … This buoy lies on a shoal in the Chesapeake’s mouth, approximately halfway between the junction of the Thimble Shoals and Baltimore channels, and east of the middle section of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.  The first landing buoy sits at the crossroads of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic. Weather and water conditions at this intersection reflect the dynamic daily interplay of Earth’s third-largest estuary and her second-largest ocean. … In this location, the First Landing Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System buoy anchors the lower end of the buoy system.  It provides fascinating observations on both water quality and weather conditions, assisting many users, from pilots handling large ships, to anglers in small boats, and even tourists driving across the Bridge-Tunnel.”

You’ve been listening to excerpts of a recording from the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System, or CBIBS, about geography at the First Landing buoy near Cape Henry, Virginia.  Sometimes called “smart buoys,” these buoys provide current weather and water conditions at ten Bay locations, from the Susquehanna River’s mouth near Havre de Grace, Maryland, to Cape Henry.  Begun in 2007 and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, CBIBS buoys collect meteorological, oceanographic, and water-quality data and relay that information through wireless technology to users of the system’s Web site or related mobile apps.  Along with the data measured at the buoys, CBIBS offers geographic, historical, and seasonal information for each buoy location, both in text and in audio recordings like the one you just heard.  This information helps interpret the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, a water trail marking Smith’s explorations of the Bay and area rivers from 1607 to 1609.

Whether you’re venturing out on the waters of the Chesapeake, or you have a land-based interest in Bay data, geography, or history, you can get information from CBIBS online at buoybay.noaa.gov or via mobile apps for the system.

Thanks to Carbon Leaf for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with about 20 more seconds of “A Song for the Sea.”

MUSIC – ~ 21 sec - “Sail, sail, sailor beware,” then 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 replaces Episode 159, 4-29-13.

“A Song for the Sea,” from the 2013 album, “Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle,” is copyright by Carbon Leaf and Constant Ivy Music; used with permission of Constant Ivy Music.  More information about Carbon Leaf is available online at https://www.carbonleaf.com/band-bio; at https://www.facebook.com/carbonleaf/; and in Carbon Leaf still going strong after 26 years, by Mike Holtzclaw, [Newport News] Daily Press, 3/14/19.

The voice excerpts were taken from the online audio file, “Geography,” for the First Landing buoy in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS), online at https://buoybay.noaa.gov/locations/first-landing#quicktabs-location_tabs=1.

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



Image of a Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS) buoy and its components. Image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration CBIBS Web site, “About the Buoy Technology,” online at https://buoybay.noaa.gov/about/about-buoy-technology.


Map showing the 10 Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS) buoy locations, as of August 2020. Image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration CBIBS Web site, “About the System,” online at https://buoybay.noaa.gov/about/about-system. Abbreviations for locations, from north to south, are as follows:
S = Susquehanna River, near Havre de Grace, Md.;
SN = Patapsco River, near Baltimore, Md.;
AN = Annapolis, Md., at the mouth of the Severn River;
UP = upper Potomac River, near Washington, D.C.;
GR = Gooses Reef, in the Bay channel off the mouth of the Little Choptank River in Maryland;
PL = Potomac River, at the river’s mouth near Point Lookout, Md.;
SR = Stingray Point, at the mouth of the Rappahannock River near Deltaville, Va. (Middlesex County);
YS = York Spit, in the York River near Perrin, Va. (Gloucester County);
J = James River, near Jamestown Island (James City County, Va.); and
FL = First Landing, near Cape Henry, Va. (City of Virginia Beach).

EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHESAPEAKE BAY INTERPRETIVE BUOY SYSTEM (CBIBS) AND THE CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH CHESAPEAKE NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL

The following information is quoted the CBIBS Web site, “About” page, online at https://buoybay.noaa.gov/about, as of 8-17-20.

“You set out in your kayak from a canoe launch somewhere along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay—the same geography traveled by Captain John Smith some 400 years ago.  As the first English settler to fully explore the Chesapeake Bay, Smith traveled more than 2,000 miles during the summer of 1608 in an open ‘shallop’ boat with no modern conveniences.

“But your trip is quite different. While you are also in an open boat, you are equipped with a cell phone and waterproof maps of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail—the first water trail in the National Park Service's National Trail System—giving you many advantages that the early explorers didn't have.

“In particular, you have access to NOAA's Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS), a network of observation buoys that mark points along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.  These on-the-water platforms merge the modern technologies of cellular communications and internet-based information sharing.  You can pull out your cell phone and check out real-time weather and environmental information like wind speed, temperature, and wave height at any of the buoys.  Unlike John Smith, you know what's ahead of you, and can decide on an alternative plan to strike out for a landfall closer to home—protected from the elements and sheltered from the growing waves on the Bay.

“Not only do these ‘smart buoys’ give you real-time wind and weather information, they can to tell you something about John Smith's adventures during his 1608 voyage.”

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Chesapeake Conservancy, “About the [Captain John Smith Chesapeake] Trail,” online at https://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/what-we-do/explore/find-your-chesapeake/about-the-trail/; and “History of the Trail,” online at https://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/what-we-do/explore/find-your-chesapeake/about-the-trail/history-of-the-trail/.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA), “Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS),” online at http://buoybay.noaa.gov/.

National Park Service, “Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail,” online at https://home.nps.gov/cajo/index.htm.

For More Information about the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay Program, online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/.

Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson, Life in the Chesapeake Bay, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md., 2006.

Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), “Bay Info,” online at https://www.vims.edu/bayinfo/index.php.

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 “Rivers, Streams, and Other Surface Water” subject category.

Following are links to some other episodes on the Chesapeake Bay.

Bay Barometer and other reports – Episode 305, 2-29-16.
Bay environmental conditions as of 2019-20 – Episode 537, 8-10-20.
Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan – Episode 115, 6-18-12.
Bay TMDL, Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan – Episode 475, 6-3-19.
Chesapeake Bay Commission – Episode 496, 10-28-19.
Estuaries introduction – Episode 326, 7-25-16.
Oysters and nitrogen (Part 1) – Episode 279, 8-24-15 .
Oysters and nitrogen (Part 2) – Episode 280, 9-7-15.
Submerged aquatic vegetation (“Bay grasses”) – Episode 325, 7-18-16

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, or 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 Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic Theme
1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, and 6.1 – Gathering and analyzing data.

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 Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems Theme
4.6 – weather conditions, phenomena, and measurements.
5.6 – characteristics of the ocean environment (ecological, geological, and physical).

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.

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.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.
ES.12 – weather and climate.

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.

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

Physics Course
PH.1 – current applications to reinforce science concepts.
PH.2 – analyzing and interpreting data.

2015 Social Studies SOLs 

Grades K-3 History Theme
1.2 – Virginia history and life in present-day Virginia.
1.3 – stories of influential people in Virginia history.

Grades K-3 Geography Theme
1.6 – Virginia climate, seasons, and landforms.
2.6 – environment and culture of three Indian peoples: Powhatans, Lakotas, Pueblos.

Virginia Studies Course
VS.1 – impact of geographic features on people, places, and events in Virginia history.
VS.2 – physical geography and native peoples of Virginia past and present.
VS.3 – first permanent English settlement in America.
VS.10 – knowledge of government, geography, and economics in present-day Virginia.

United States History to 1865 Course
USI.2 – major land and water features of North America, including their importance in history.
USI.3 – early cultures in North America.
USI.4 – European exploration in North America and western Africa.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.6 – government at the national level.

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.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.2 – early European exploration and colonization and interactions among Europeans, Africans, and American Indians.
VUS.4 – Major pre-Revolution events.

Government Course
GOVT.1 – skills for historical thinking, geographical analysis, economic decision-making, and responsible citizenship.
GOVT.7 – national government organization and powers.

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.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.

Episode 537 (8-10-20): Exploring the Story of the Chesapeake’s Condition

Click to listen to episode (4:59)

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 8-7-20. 

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of August 10, 2020.

This week, we focus on the Chesapeake Bay, and we start with some original music composed for that large, historic, and complex body of water. Have a listen for about 30 seconds.

MUSIC – ~32 sec – instrumental

You’ve been listening to part of “Chesapeake Bay Ballad,” by Torrin Hallett, a graduate student at Lamont School of Music in Denver.  A ballad is a song that tells a story, and the Chesapeake is rich in stories. One long, complicated Chesapeake story is the condition of the Bay’s water quality, habitats, and aquatic life, as told in various periodic reports by universities, government agencies, and other groups.

A recent overall look at Chesapeake environmental conditions was the May 2020 edition of the annual Chesapeake Bay Watershed Report Card from the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science.  Like some other Bay health reports, this assessment generates a condition score ranging from zero to 100 by comparing various indicators to established goals.  The 2020 Maryland report examined Bay waters data available in 2019 [Note not in audio: the report released in May 2020 is called the 2019 report] for dissolved oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll, water clarity, aquatic grasses, and the benthic, or bottom-dwelling, community.  The overall score was 44, considered by the report as a “C-.” For comparison, the score in 2019—that is, for data from 2018—was 47; the highest score since 1986, when this record began, was 55 in 2002, and the lowest was 36 in 2003.  In their news release about the 2020 report, the Maryland Center asserted that low scores were believed due in part to unusually high rainfall and river flows in 2018 and 19.  The 2020 Maryland report also, for the first time, generated an index score for the overall Bay watershed, that is, beyond the Bay waters.  At that level, the score was 60; the highest scoring sub-watershed was the Upper James in Virginia, at 72; the lowest was the Lower Eastern Shore in Maryland, at 42.

Besides the Maryland Center’s annual report, the Chesapeake Bay Program produces a yearly “Bay Barometer” report; the Chesapeake Bay Foundation produces a biennial “State of the Bay” report; various groups produce reports on individual Bay aspects, such as Blue Crabs and aquatic grasses; and real-time updates on the goals of the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Agreement are available from the Bay Program’s “Chesapeake Progress” Web site.

These sources, and more besides, are among the many tellers of the Chesapeake Bay’s story.

Thanks to Torrin Hallett for composing this week’s music for Virginia Water Radio, and we close with the final 15 seconds of “Chesapeake Bay Ballad.”

MUSIC – ~18 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

“Chesapeake Bay Ballad” is copyright 2020 by Torrin Hallett, used with permission.  Torrin is a 2018 graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio, and a 2020 graduate in Horn Performance from Manhattan School of Music in New York.  As of 2020-21, he is a performance certificate candidate at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver.  More information about Torrin is available online at https://www.facebook.com/torrin.hallett.  Thanks very much to Torrin for composing the piece especially for Virginia Water Radio.  To hear the complete piece (51 seconds), please click here.

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




Summary charts for Chesapeake Bay waters (upper) and watershed (lower) from the “2019 Chesapeake Bay & Watershed Report Card” (covering data through 2019; published in May 2020), University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.  Images accessed from the report PDF, page 3, online at https://ecoreportcard.org/site/assets/files/2265/2019_chesapeake_bay_watershed_report_card-1.pdf, as of 8-10-20.

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake’s grasses hard hit by heat, high flows in 2019; SAV in higher salinity water fared the worst, Bay Journal, 7/8/20.

Karl Blankenship, Heavy rains clobbered water quality, but it wasn’t a total washout, Bay Journal, 7/10/20.

Cambridge Dictionary [Cambridge University], “Ballad,” online at https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/ballad.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation, “State of the Bay 2018,” online at https://www.cbf.org/about-the-bay/state-of-the-bay-report/.

Chesapeake Bay Program, “Bay Barometer,” March 2020 (for 2018-19 data), online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/what/publications/bay_barometer_health_and_restoration_in_the_chesapeake_bay_watershed_2018_2.

Chesapeake Bay Program, “Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement” (signed June 16, 2014), online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/what/what_guides_us/watershed_agreement.

Chesapeake Bay Program, “Chesapeake Progress,” online at https://www.chesapeakeprogress.com/.

Rachel Felver, This year’s Bay Barometer sets a different type of foundation for Bay restoration, Chesapeake Bay Program, 3/25/20.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources, “Eyes on the Bay,” online at http://eyesonthebay.dnr.maryland.gov/.  See http://eyesonthebay.dnr.maryland.gov/eyesonthebay/whatsitmean.cfm for “Data Available for Viewing” (dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, turbidity, algal blooms, and temperature).  See http://eyesonthebay.dnr.maryland.gov/eyesonthebay/links.cfm for links to other Bay water-quality data and information sources.

Jake Solyst, Annual Bay report card notes overall watershed health is faring better than the Bay itself, Chesapeake Bay Program, 5/20/20 news release.

University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, “Chesapeake Bay & Watershed Report Card,” online at https://ecoreportcard.org/report-cards/chesapeake-bay/publications/ (as a PDF) and at https://ecoreportcard.org/report-cards/chesapeake-bay/.

For More Information about the Chesapeake Bay and its Condition

Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake crab population shows resiliency just in time for ‘price war,’ Bay Journal, 5/28/20.

Chesapeake Bay Program, online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/.

Jeremy Cox, Mercury widespread in Chesapeake Bay headwaters fish, Bay Journal, 7/2/20.  This article refers to the following reference: James J. Willacker et al., Mercury bioaccumulation in freshwater fishes of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Ecotoxicology, Vol. 29, No. 4 (May 2020), pages 459-484; accessed online at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32239332/ (subscription may be required).

Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson, Life in the Chesapeake Bay, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md., 2006.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources, “2020 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey,” online at https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Pages/blue-crab/dredge.aspx.

Timothy Wheeler, Maryland's wild oyster harvest doubles from last year, Bay Journal, 6/16/20.

Timothy Wheeler, PCB cleanup makes uneven progress, Bay Journal, July 2020.

Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), “Bay Info,” online at https://www.vims.edu/bayinfo/index.php; and “SAV Monitoring and Restoration,” online at https://www.vims.edu/research/units/programs/sav/index.php.

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 “Rivers, Streams, and Other Surface Water” subject category.

Following are links to some other episodes on the Chesapeake Bay.

Bay Barometer and other reports – Episode 305, 2-29-16
Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan – Episode 115, 6-18-12.
Bay TMDL, Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan – Episode 475, 6-3-19.
Chesapeake Bay Commission – Episode 496, 10-28-19.
Estuaries introduction – Episode 326, 7-25-16.
Oysters and nitrogen (Part 1) – Episode 279, 8-24-15 .
Oysters and nitrogen (Part 2) – Episode 280, 9-7-15.
Submerged aquatic vegetation (“Bay grasses”) – Episode 325, 7-18-16

Following are other music pieces composed by Torrin Hallett for Virginia Water Radio, with episodes featuring the music.

“Beetle Ballet” – used in Episode 525, 5-18-20, on aquatic beetles.
“Corona Cue” – used in Episode 517, 3-23-20, on the coronavirus pandemic.
“Geese Piece” – used most recently in Episode 440, 10-1-18, on E-bird.
“Lizard Lied” – used in Episode 514, 3-2-20, on lizards.
“New Year’s Water” – used in Episode 349, 1-2-17, on the New Year.
“Rain Refrain” – used most recently in Episode 455, 1-14-19, on record Virginia precipitation in 2019.
“Spider Strike” – used in Episode 523, 5-4-20, on fishing spiders.
“Tropical Tantrum” – used most recently in Episode 489, 9-9-19, on storm surge and Hurricane Dorian.
“Turkey Tune” – used in Episode 343, 11-21-16, on the Wild Turkey.

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, or 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
3.10 – impacts on survival of species, including effects of fire, flood, disease, and erosion on organisms; effects of human activity on air, water and habitat; and conservation and resource renewal.
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
2.5 – living things as part of a system, including habitats.
3.5 – food webs.
3.6 – ecosystems, communities, populations, shared resources.
4.5 – ecosystem interactions and human influences on ecosystems.
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.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.
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.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.
ES.10 – ocean processes, interactions, and policies affecting coastal zones, including Chesapeake Bay.

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.6 – government at the national level.
CE.7 – government at the state level.
CE.8 – government at the local 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.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.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.

Episode 536 (8-3-20): Cuckoos as Rain Crows

Click to listen to episode (3:47)

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 7-31-20.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of August 3, 2020.  This week’s episode is a revised repeat of an episode from August 2013.

MUSIC – ~5 sec – instrumental 

That music is named for a bird which provides this week’s mystery sound.  Have a listen for about 10 seconds, and see if you can guess what’s making the repeated cooing sounds, and what that they might have to do with water.  And here’s a hint: predicting the weather is rarely just like the clockwork connected to this bird.

SOUNDS  - ~13 sec

If you guessed a cuckoo, you’re right!  That was the call of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, recorded around sunrise on August 9, 2013, in Blacksburg, Virginia.  The music you heard is part of “The Cuckoo’s Nest,” performed by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg, Virginia, on the 2004 album, “Virginia Wildlife.”  The Commonwealth is a summer home for two of North America’s three cuckoo species, the Yellow-billed and the Black-billed.  Both species are found in woods, thickets, and orchards; both are secretive and are heard more than seen; and both feed in summer primarily on insects, particularly caterpillars.  Cuckoos are in the same taxonomic family as roadrunners, and cuckoos do, in fact, sometimes run or hop along the ground to capture prey.

Now, all of that may be interesting, but what do cuckoos have to do with water, particularly?  For that, we turn to folklore, which has nicknamed both species as “rain crow” from the belief that they tend to call more frequently before rain.  Cuckoos are only one of the many kinds of animals considered in folklore to predict rain or other weather.  For example, a North Carolina publication on popular beliefs includes 25 pages of comments from many states about weather prediction by animals, from mammals and birds to spiders and crawfish.  Some of the other rain predictors noted in that publication, beside cuckoos calling, are a snake dying on its back, turtles crawling up on dry land, and frogs calling.  How much truth lies behind that folklore?  I certainly don’t know, but, for what it’s worth, it did rain the day I recorded the Yellow-billed Cuckoo!

Thanks to Timothy Seaman for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with about 10 more seconds of “The Cuckoo’s Nest.” 

MUSIC - ~ 10 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 is a revised repeat of Episode 174 (8-12-13), which has been archived.

Thanks to David Brady, Thomas Brobson, Eric Day, and Stephen Schoenholtz for information about Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos.

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo sound was recorded by Virginia Water Radio in Blacksburg, Va., on August 9, 2013, at approximately 6:30 a.m. EDT. 

The version of “The Cuckoo’s Nest” heard in this episode, from the 2004 album “Virginia Wildlife,” is copyright by Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, used with permission.  More information about Timothy Seaman is available online at http://www.timothyseaman.com/.  The “Virginia Wildlife” CD was a collaboration between Mr. Seaman and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which is now the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.

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

Yellow-billed Cuckoo, photographed at North Garden, Virginia (Albemarle County), July 25, 2020.  Photo by Rando_boyo, made available on iNaturalist at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/54354156 (as of 8-4-20) 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/.

Black-billed Cuckoo, photographed in Smyth County, Virginia, June 4, 2020.  Photo by Bruce Grimes, made available on iNaturalist at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/48539028 (as of 8-4-20) 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/.

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Frank C. Brown, The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, Vol. 7: Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from North Carolina, Duke University Press, Durham, N.C., 1964, available online at http://archive.org/stream/frankcbrowncolle07fran#page/n9/mode/2up)l.  See particularly pages 305-330.  Following are some examples from that source of comments about animals and weather prediction:
“When you hear the cuckoo calling, it is the sign of rain”;
“If a snake dies on its back, it is a sure sign of rain”;
“When turtles crawl to high land, rain is expected”; and
“Tree frogs cry just before a shower.”

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search.  The entry for the Black-billed Cuckoo is online at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-billed_Cuckoo/.  The entry for the Yellow-billed Cuckoo is online at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-billed_Cuckoo/. 

Roger Tory Peterson, A Field Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies, Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, 1980.

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

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/.  The entry for the Black-billed Cuckoo is online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040203&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18474.  The entry for the Yellow-billed Cuckoo is online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040202&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18474. 

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. 

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Birds of the World,” online at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home, (subscription required).

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 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.

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, or 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 English SOLs

Reading Theme
8.4, 9.3, 10.3, 11.3, and 12.3 – knowledge of word origins, analogies, and figurative language to extend vocabulary development within authentic texts.
8.5, 9.4, 10.4, 11.4 – symbols, imagery, figurative language, and other literary devices.

2010 Science SOLs

Grades K-6 Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change Theme
2.7 – Weather and seasonal changes affecting plants and animals. 

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

Grades K-6 Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems Theme
4.6 – weather conditions, phenomena, and measurements.

Grades K-6 Life Processes Theme
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.

Life Science Course
LS.4 – organisms’ classification based on features.
LS.8 – community and population interactions, including food webs, niches, symbiotic relationships. 

Earth Science Course
ES.12 – weather and climate.

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 3^rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5^th and 6^th 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 12^th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5^th grade.
Episode 403, 1-15-18 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3^rd grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4^th through 8^th 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.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3^rd and 4^th grade.