Winter’s Not Over Yet
The fresh blanket of snow across the Western New York landscape is a good reminder that winter isn’t over just yet. However, some of our resident amphibians have been receiving crossed signals due to recent increases in daylight hours and above average temperatures; we have actually gotten reports of salamanders and frogs moving to nearby ponds and vernal pools to lay their eggs. With this weekend’s dropping temperatures, local pools have started to ice over indicating freezing temperatures near the surface. The eggs of some amphibian species are able to cope with fluctuating spring...
Read MoreRainforest Adventures
Rainforest Adventures Works by Artist Jan Lutz September 9 – November 13, 2016 This fall, RTPI will feature works by artist Jan Lutz of Cambridge Springs, PA. In this unique exhibition, Jan’s rainforest theme will be depicted through original oil paintings of tropical birds, landscapes, and more. Jan is a versatile painter who enjoys painting various subject, although her current focus is landscapes. Her style may be described as tonalism, impressionism, or as a curator recently stated in a review, “philosophical realism”. She has been influenced by John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer,...
Read MoreCould it Be That Time Already?!
Our winter weather has been getting stranger by the day! This week we are going to see daytime temperatures in the mid 60’s and overnight temps in the low 40’s and 50’s with possible rain. And you know what that could mean right? Amphibians could potentially begin their migrations to their vernal breeding pools within the next few days! This time last year we were still buried in snow and were still experiencing some of the winds and weather from the “polar vortex.” Due to the extreme cold last year, it wasn’t until early April when we saw spotted...
Read MoreLimosa Harlequin Toad (Atelopus limosus) & RTPI in New Scientist
In the 60 years that the illustrious journal New Scientist has been around they’ve never run a photo-led feature. I’m very proud and honored that they decided to break with that tradition with a story on our work with endangered frogs in Panama. Our research on a population of the exceedingly rare Limosa Harlequin Toad (Atelopus limosus) in Cocobolo Nature Reserve in Panama will hopefully give us more information on why these frogs are seemingly doing alright while its surrounding populations are going extinct. And with some luck, that information can help direct conservation...
Read MoreInternational Day for Biological Diversity
Sean saw a lot of great posts today about International Day for Biological Diversity and couldn’t help but put something together. He has been missing the tropics a lot lately, but can’t wait to see the biodiversity start to pick up in our area in the Northeast – and it’s happening now! Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Costa Rica and Panama for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
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