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Wild River Ramblings Des Moines County Conservation’s Newsletter Winter 2015-16 Trematode By Frances Owen DMCC Naturalist Inside I was leading my campers back to the Nature Center after a quick trip to the This Issue compost bin when it happened. “A frog!” exclaimed one of children. As I turned, several campers were already converging on the lone amphibian. Calendar of Activities After several near escapes, the frog was apprehended and offered to me for .....page 2 examination. As I peeled back the girl’s fingers to peer inside, I didn’t initially notice anything peculiar. It was a tiny green frog (Rana clamitans), Trematode only about 3 cm in length, indicating it was likely a recent metamorph. I .....page 3 took possession of the frog to get a closer look and I realized this frog had a special story to tell. We all rushed back to the nature center, put some Winter Concert Series & water in a shallow tub, and I released the frog into its temporary home. As Public Programs we all gathered around, the children began to notice something strange. This frog had an extra leg. .....page 4 Green frogs are classified as amphibians. The word amphibian means “dual Cross Country Ski Rentals life” which refers to most amphibians living the first part of their life in …..page 5 water, and the second part on land. This group includes many different types of animals including frogs and toads, salamanders, newts, and Rent Starr’s Cave caecilians (little known worm-like creatures). The key to how our green .....Back Page frog ended up with an extra leg has to do with the amphibian life cycle. While many amphibians live on land for the majority of their life, most require standing water for reproduction. Amphibian eggs are small, gelatinous globs, and must remain moist throughout incubation. After wiggling their way out, most amphibians begin life as water-dwelling larvae (tadpoles) breathing through gills on the side of their head. Most amphibians replace those gills with lungs as adults, so permeable skin helps them acquire oxygen when underwater for long periods of time. Continued on page 3 Winter Calendar of Activities 1st Wednesday each month at Friday, January 15, 7:30 pm 5:30 pm, Des Moines County Eric Pettit Lion concert, Starr’s Cave Conservation Board meetings are Nature Center held at the DMCC main office Saturday, January 23, 10 am 1st & 3rd Friday night each month, Eagle Count, begins at Port of Witte Observatory is open free to the Burlington Welcome Center public for stargazing provided by Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club Friday, February 5, 7:30 pm members at sundown Appleseed Collective concert, Starr’s Cave Thursday & Friday, November Nature Center 26 & 27 Saturday, February 6, 10 am Thanksgiving holiday, main office and Kids Ice Fishing Clinic, Big Hollow nature center closed Recreation Area Tuesday, December 1, 6 pm Thursday, February 11, 6 pm Shooting Range Certification Course, Owl Prowl, meet at Starr’s Cave Nature Starr’s Cave Nature Center Center Thursday & Friday, December Friday, March 18, 7:30 pm 24 & 25 Crane Wives concert, Starr’s Cave Christmas holiday, main office and Nature Center nature center closed Monday, March 21, 5 pm Friday, January 1 Hunter Safety begins, Starr’s Cave Nature New Year’s holiday, main office Center and nature center closed Saturday, January 9, 1 pm Shooting Range Certification Course, Starr’s Cave Nature Center Des Moines County Our Mission... Des Moines County Conservation is dedicated to the Conservation sustainability of natural resources through land stewardship, conservation education and by providing quality outdoor Board Members recreation opportunities. James E. Steer, Chair Jim Garnjobst, Vice-Chair LaVon Worley, Secretary/Treasurer Angela Vaughan Wild River Ramblings Cathy Ziglar Conservation Staff Winter 2015-16 Chris Lee, Executive Director Volume XXXIII, Number 4 Joel Behne, Office Manager Wild River Ramblings is a quarterly publication distributed free of Alex Buhmeyer, Operations Supervisor charge by Des Moines County Conservation. Everyone is entitled Pat Rogge, Park Ranger - Technician to full and equal enjoyment of the opportunities, privileges, and John Mercer, Park Ranger- Technician advantages available in the conservation areas within Des Moines Jeremy Yost, Natural Resource Manager County. For those who can not read the size of the print in this Kent Rector, EE Coordinator publication, a large print version is available by contacting Starr’s Frances Owen, Interpretive Naturalist Cave Nature Center, 11627 Starr’s Cave Road, Burlington, IA 52601, (319) 753-5808. Edited by Kent Rector. 2 Des Moines County Conservation • 13700 Washington Road • West Burlington, Iowa 52655 • (319) 753-8260 Continued from page 1 Green Frog Tadpoles are vulnerable to predation from a found during SCNC summer variety of different animals including bird, camp mammal, reptile, and fish species. Even aquatic Photo by insects like water scorpions and dragonfly nymphs Frances Owen will feed on tadpoles. Our green frog’s extra leg was the result of a very different predator, a parasite called Ribeiroia ondatrae, a trematode. Trematodes are small parasitic flatworms with a complex lifecycle. The trematode which infected our green frog likely began life as an egg, excreted through the waste of a predatory bird such as a heron or hawk. Once trematode eggs touch water, they hatch and search for a planorbid snail to live inside while they develop. From the snail, the parasitic larva emerge to infect a tadpole. These small free-swimming larvae find their way into a tadpole in an area where its limbs are developing. In doing this, it affects limb development in such a way that another leg can be formed. Limb malformations often cause infected frogs to become weaker and more susceptible to predation which causes the frog and trematode parasite to be eaten by a heron or other predatory bird. Once inside a bird, the parasite reproduces, the bird Trematode Life host excretes the parasite’s eggs through its waste, Cycle Diagram, courtesy of green- and the trematode lifecycle begins again. museum.org This trematode parasite is of no physical danger to humans since we are not part of its lifecycle. However, research suggests we might indirectly influence the number of frogs affected by these parasites. Increased nutrient runoff into aquatic environments, biodiversity loss, and climate change are all factors that can contribute to higher numbers of these parasitic worms. If you happen to find a frog with malformed limbs, take a picture and let us know by sending an email to [email protected] or by calling (319) 753- 5808. Leopard Frog Photo by Pieter Johnson, courtesy of Oregon State University 3 E-MAIL [email protected] • WEB SITE www.dmcconservation.com Winter Concert Series and Public Programs Concerts are on Friday evenings September - May (except All programs can be made fully accessible for the December) at Starr’s Cave Nature Center. disabled. Please call (319) 753-5808 so we may Doors open at 7 pm and concerts begin at 7:30 pm. accommodate your special needs or if you would Admission is $10 for adults, $2 for those 18 and under. like to register for a program. Eric Pettit Lion Eagle Count January 15 Saturday, January 23, 10 am - 12 pm After a decade of self-released albums (We Are in Meet at Port of Burlington Welcome Center Rome, The Urban Edge, Coconino County EP, Only Music, et All ages. Free. No registration required. al.) and life experiences piling up, including a tumultuous stint Learn about bald eagles during a short program at the in the American Southwest, Eric Pettit finds his new sound in the very place he started. Based out of Burlington, Iowa, Eric Welcome Center then head to Lock and Dam 18 to help Pettit has surrounded himself with his once-estranged family count eagles. Be sure to dress warm! and land to harness a brazenly raw sound. Collaborating with Dave Schwarm and blues veterans Ice Fishing Clinic Tim Buhmeyer and Greg Floyd, Pettit has amplified his Saturday, February 6, 10 am - 12 pm Americana singer/song writer sound. Big Hollow Recreation Area, East Picnic Area Like the gritty Mississippi River they reside by, Eric All ages. Cost: $5. Registration begins January 18. Pettit Lion continue the classic river metaphor by creating Learn all about safety on the ice and how to ice fish. If the music that everyone can relate to with the passage of time. Raw temperature is below 15° or if ice is not adequate, the music about real issues with real consequences heading downstream. event will be cancelled. Each kid will receive their own ice fishing pole to keep and bait will be provided. Hurry, Appleseed Collective space is limited to 30 kids! February 5 Owl Prowl Formed in 2010, The Appleseed Collective has become a force of nature powered by their local community and Thursday, February 11, 6 - 7 pm developed by a strong sense of do-it-yourself drive. In an age of Meet at Starr’s Cave Nature Center corporations and climate change, the band’s commitment to For older children & adults. Free. buying & selling local, eating from gardens, and being their Enjoy the nighttime listening for barred own bosses has led to the kind of success that feels simply owls calling during mating season. We'll be outside so organic. dress for the weather. The Appleseed Collective is not a bluegrass band. It’s not The Hot Club of Paris. It’s not a ragtime cover band. The Hunter Safety Appleseed Collective represents Americana music rooted in traditions from all over the world and from every decade, Registration for Hunter Safety must be done through the Iowa DNR creating a live experience that welcomes every soul and is website.