Phinizy Center for Water Sciences

On a cold December day when the high temperature barely reached 45F and most insect activity has ceased, I noticed several dozen mayflies floating on the surface of the Savannah River. Upon closer inspection I discovered that they belonged to the family Baetidae. Mayflies in this family have multiple generations per year and will emerge and reproduce anytime the water temperature is above 40F. They have even been witnessed emerging in snow!

This picture was taken on the Savannah River just after a rain event in December. It clearly shows how storms can bring lots of eroded soil and debris into the river from the surrounding landscape. This is why rivers are more muddy-looking during and after storms. They are carrying a lot more sediment than they carry during a low-flow period. Land-use can be an important factor in how much sediment is transported from any particular drainage area. To learn more facts about sedimentation and what you can do to reduce it, follow this link https://cfpub.epa.gov/npstbx/files/KSMO_Sediment.pdf.

There is a variety of aquatic life that finds the sonde guards (A) at our continuous water quality stations attractive habitat. Here are photos of a few of them taken in December. Can you identify them? Scroll down for the answers. . . . .... . . . . . Answers: (B) Freshwater Shrimp, (C) Redbreast Sunfish, and (D) Madtom Catfish See more

Water can be amazing in all its forms. Find out more about water molecules when they condense and freeze. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUot7XSX8uA

This fascinating journal article delves into the possibility of mosquitoes using their antennae to detect frog calls using wavelength frequencies. Art Borkton and Peter Belton sampled for Uranotaenia lowii in Costa Rica using a typical light trap as well as one which replaced the light with a tape recorder playing frog calls. In the standard CDC light trap, only 5 mosquitoes were captured. However, the trap with the tape recorder captured 863 mosquitoes. This provides evidence that suggests that this genus of mosquito has the ability to detect the calls of their host. https://www.researchgate.net//250370718_Attraction_of_fema

Looking for something to do over the holidays? Georgiacetus vogtlensis was discovered in 1983 during the construction of Georgia Power’s Nuclear Power Plant Vogtle in Burke County and is thought to represent a turning point in the evolution of whales. The fossil is currently at Georgia Southern Museum in Statesboro. http://www.georgiasfossils.com/10-a-whale-for-georgia.html http://www.livescience.com/57082-giant-catfish-caught-in-no... https://www.sciencenews.org//waterworld-earth-preceded-lat

The staff at Phinizy Center would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

This is a picture of one of the researchers at Phinizy measuring flow in Rock Creek during one of the storms last week. Rock Creek, located in northern Richmond County, is a very flashy stream due to the amount of impervious surfaces in its watershed. An impervious surface is anything that prevents rainfall from soaking into the ground (e.g. rooftops and parking lots). Even though a few storms have been coming through lately, it is important to realize that there is still a severe drought in the Southeast US and it will take many rain events to replenish reservoirs and groundwater.

The Southeastern US is currently under a long-term drought advisory with parts of Georgia in an exceptional drought as classified by the United States drought monitor. In the link provided, you can see how the each part of the state is being affected by the drought as well as how the current drought stacks up against past conditions. The last comparable drought was in early 2013. https://www.drought.gov/drought/georgia

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division recently elevated the state's drought response levels with 58 counties under a Level 1 response and 52 counties under a Level 2 response. Level 1 counties are required to implement a public information campaign, whereas Level 2 counties have restricted outdoor water use to only two days a week determined by numbered street address. Richmond County is currently listed as Level 1, but there are several things that you can do to conserve water, such as, not watering your lawn as often, taking shorter showers, and fixing leaky faucets.

Like all reptiles, turtles are ectothermic (a.k.a., cold-blooded). So, what do they do in the winter? Renowned herpetologist and Professor Emeritus at UGA's Odom School of Ecology, Dr. Whit Gibbons, answers this question in his weekly Ecoviews column. Check it out! http://srel.uga.edu/outreach/ecoviews/ecoview070311.htm

"This is a common snapping turtle spotted from the Floodplain Boardwalk on Monday afternoon. It is the largest turtle species at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park and can be found in most aquatic habitats throughout the Park, including the Sparrow Field, Butler Creek, and the constructed wetlands."

See the wonderful work being done by Water.org around the world. http://water.org/post/what-youve-made-possible/

The Susitna is one of the last free-flowing rivers in the U.S. Other than being flanked by the railroad tracks for part of its length and crossed by three bridges, our towns and highways have made few changes to the Susitna on its 313-mile journey from glacier to ocean. It’s rare these days for such a large river 15th largest by volume in the country not to be molded in some way, at some place, to the needs and will of people. http://blog.nature.org//afloat-in-alaska-on-a-charging-ri/