Mid-week Reptilian #17: Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)

Known for their eagerness to bite when handled (and the anticoagulant properties of their saliva), Northern Water Snakes are a common species throughout much of eastern and central North America (map).  These snakes appear to either have evolved color patterns that mimic venomous snakes like the Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus), or their coloration is simply a case of convergent evolution.  Either way, many people are quick to kill any venomous snakes they encounter and the similarity between Nerodia sp. and some venomous snakes often costs the misidentified water snake it's life.

Below are a few photos of Ithaca, NY area Northern Water Snakes from July and August of 2009 (as always, click to enlarge).  I was actually out trying to get bit when I took these, as I wanted to informally check out their anticoagulant saliva by comparing bites between these and comparably sized Eastern Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis). The results? Well, I wimped out... all I could get close to were the larger water snakes and I wasn't THAT eager to see how much they could make me bleed.  Hopefully I'll have better luck this year - ha! 

Figure 1: A largish individual getting ready to shed. Note the opaque eyes and overall faded look.

Figure 2:  An even larger (female?) individual basking on a boulder in the middle of a creek.

Figure 3: A smaller (male?) found a few feet from the above female.

Happy Earth Day!

An appreciation for nature and science is all about knowing what's out there in the world, and the ways of discovering how it all works.  To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day a valuable gift you can share with others (especially children) is the simple ability to observe.

In fact, if I had only one bit of advice on encouraging an interest in the natural world, it would be this: foster keen observation and encourage curiosity.

If you're thinking "... but, how?" well, you're in luck: getting started is easier than you think!

First, get outside and into close contact with the natural world.  This should involve dirt, maybe a little mud, plants, insects, rocks, untreated water, and a distinct lack of paved surfaces. Fortunately for most of us, this is as easy as heading into the back yard or to a nearby park or natural area.

Second, bring along tools that enhance the senses: magnifying lenses, binoculars, headlamps, telescopes, mirrors -- whatever you've got. Anything that broadens what one can observe with their own senses is going to enhance the experience.  Additional items to bring include things like nets and containers for temporarily collecting various critters. These are great items to bring along, but must be used responsibly and in accord with any local laws that might apply. 

Third, don't just passively observe, but be active about it!  Encourage interaction (safely, of course) and the active documentation of the experience. Passive forms of documentation (e.g. photographs) are easy, but do little to make one think about the experience or to get one to pay attention to details.  By "active documentation" I mean bring a notebook and measure things, count things, weigh things, describe things, identify things, and write it all down.

One of the very best ways I know to develop keen observational skills is to sketch, draw or otherwise describe subjects in a journal or field notebook.  You'd be amazed at the details you need to notice when trying to draw part of an insect under a magnifying lens, or a bird at your local park.  Later, encourage the use of field guides, books and online references to answer questions inspired by these experiences and notes from the excursion.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, part-time sitter, or just a friendly neighbor -- try and set aside some time today to teach someone something about our planet. 

How big is a billion? Well... it depends.

Over at the (very awesome) blog Bad Astronomy, Phil Plait ponders the enormity of a billion, citing an image made up of a grid of dots from this post at Tomorrow is Another Jay.  Here's the image...

All this made me wonder about the issue of dimensionality in trying to understand "a billion".  Let me explain...

Previously, I'd come up with my own way of thinking about "1 billion years" in terms of distances. This was all in the context of thinking about "deep time" when it comes up in geology and evolution (that post is here).  After all, today, people get to travel quite large distances pretty easily, yet we can also appreciate the idea of small distances like centimeters and millimeters. 

That's how the question of dimensionality came up.  The grid above is a two-dimensional grid.  In contrast, my distance example is a one-dimensional illustration of "a billion".  So does dimensionality matter? Does it matter whether we're thinking about "a billion" in terms of a length, an area or a volume?

I haven't quite worked out an answer yet, but I think it does.  To illustrate this fact,

The appropriate response to an awesome new animal...

"Wow! Whoa! Wow!"

How open-minded are you?

Note: Another long-lost draft that was saved and forgotten a few months ago, only to have been recently rediscovered and deemed worthy of posting. 

Have you ever been accused of not being "open-minded", or questioned someone else's open-mindedness?  Here's a superb video I've seen a few other places on what it means to be open-minded.





The source of this video is the YouTube channel "QualiaSoup" - I highly recommend taking a look around! The channel contains a variety of other well made videos, including this one.