Brook Trout Combat and Courtship Derek Wheaton 2016-10-15 | Footage of some beautiful brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), sporting full spawning colors, engaging in territorial combat and redd-building. The female fans the stream bottom with her tail to clear away silt and expose suitable spawning substrate, while the male escorts her, defending his right to spawn by chasing away rival males.
Northern map turtle (Graptemys geographica) Derek Wheaton 2015-08-25 | A quick peek at a map turtle I found while snorkeling in the North Fork Holston River near Saltville, Virginia.
Heavy Metal Dragonfly Derek Wheaton 2015-07-04 | This female Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera) has grand plans of her offspring growing up to be vicious destroyers of all manner of aquatic and flying life. Here she is depositing eggs on a stick in a beaver pond in the coastal plain of southeastern Virginia.Song is "Destroyer of the Universe" by Amon Amarth. Awesome band, and they conveniently had this song at 180bpm that worked perfectly for this video. Go buy their CD!
Candy darter Courtship and Spawning Behavior Derek Wheaton 2015-06-12 | Candy Darters (Etheostoma osburni) are an imperiled fish species of Virginia and West Virginia. These beautiful animals breed in springtime in cool and cold mountain streams. I was fortunate to catch some of this activity on video. I hope you enjoy. For more photos and videos of the underwater world, check me out at facebook.com/EnchantingEctotherms or Enchanting Ectotherms on Instagram!
Riverweed Darters Derek Wheaton 2015-05-23 | Just a quick clip of a pair of male riverweed darters (Etheostoma podostemone) sparring over spawning territory in the Roanoke River.
Flame chub eggs - captive spawned Derek Wheaton 2015-04-17 | Finally had success getting my flame chubs to spawn! I was amazed how active these were considering how early into development they looked. After researching a bit, it turns out they get eye pigment a day or two after hatching, unlike most fish. A few minutes after shooting this video I checked again and had a fry that had hatched!
Brindled and Northern Madtoms Derek Wheaton 2015-03-31 | Just a quick video of my brindled (Noturus miurus) and northern (Noturus stigmosus) madtoms at feeding time for ID purposes.The Brindled is visible at the beginning of the video as the madtom with strongly contrasting markings and a kinked spine. The Northern madtom is a bit more shy and has a darker appearance with shades of chocolate brown.
Mountain Redbelly Dace foraging in a mountain stream Derek Wheaton 2015-03-29 | A quick little clip of some mountain redbelly dace grazing on algae and biofilm on the rocks of a mountain stream in Virginia.
Dragonfly vs beetle Derek Wheaton 2015-02-17 | So this was a mistake that I learned from and at least provided a cool video opportunity. I had placed these two into a small container so I could clean and change water in their "tank" and apparently small containers mean whoever is smaller is a snack. They'd been fine together before this. A bit gruesome, but cool.
Bluefin Killie Combat Derek Wheaton 2015-02-14 | While snorkeling in the Rainbow River in Florida, I observed a few Bluefin Killifish (Lucania goodei) males sparring with each other while a group of females swam nearby. It's always fascinating and entertaining to watch these interactions, and I always feel fortunate to be able to catch natural behaviors like this on camera.
75 Gallon Native Fish Display tank Derek Wheaton 2015-01-22 | 75 gallon display tank in the living room. Some of the plants have weirded out a bit. Originally this tank had 2 150w metal halide lights on it. A few months back one of the ballasts died, so the right half of the tank had relied on a pair of screw-in flourescent lights. Luckily my friend Anna came to the rescue with an unused LED light she very generously gave me. This is what the tank looks like without the one working halide (now flipped to the right side of the tank. In response to lower light levels, the Cryptocoryne stand in the front of the tank has grown SIGNIFICANTLY, though I want to replant them towards the back of the tank. My baby tears has died back to a few clumps in the middle/back of the tank, though hopefully it will recover now with better lights.
Baby Pickerel Eating Derek Wheaton 2015-01-05 | Just a quick video of what I believe is a Redfin Pickerel (Esox americanus americanus) chowing down on some baby brine shrimp. This guy was caught 12/26/14 and I estimate was about a month old when caught. He is about an inch long currently.
Gravid(?) Logperch (P. caprodes) Derek Wheaton 2014-12-29 | Trying to figure out whether these guys will be able to spawn this spring. I feel like their body shapes are different, which would indicate sexual development of females/males, but I'm not an expert at breeding darters.
Fieryblack Shiner (Cyprinella pyrrhomelas) Combat Derek Wheaton 2014-11-27 | Fieryblack Shiner (Cyprinella pyrrhomelas) males sparring and attempting to hold spawning territories during the 2014 NANFA convention in North Carolina. If you like native fish, check out NANFA, the North American Native Fish Association.If you enjoyed this, subscribe to my channel for more!If you enjoy native fish, insects, reptiles, and nature, find me on Facebook at "Enchanting Ectotherms"facebook.com/EnchantingEctotherms
South Toe River Liquid Sunshine Derek Wheaton 2014-10-15 | A little video I made at the 2014 NANFA convention in North Carolina. This is an aggregation of spawning Largescale Stonerollers (Campostoma oligolepis), Tennessee Shiners (Notropis leuciodus) and a few others who came to check out the party. Hit HD, put it in fullscreen, and enjoy!
Two-toed Amphiuma Derek Wheaton 2014-10-14 | Just a little video of my two-toed amphiuma chowing down on some mysis and brine shrimp.
Armored Mayfly - Baetiscidae Derek Wheaton 2014-07-06 | Found this strange little creature while out stream sampling. Had never seen one like it before and it took some close inspection to even figure out the order. Didn't look like any mayfly I had ever seen. Pretty cool little critters.
Roanoke Logperch Feeding Behavior Derek Wheaton 2014-07-05 | Took this footage while taking my dad on his first river snorkeling experience last summer. My attempts to show him Roanoke Logperch (Percina rex) seemed difficult in the faster riffles where they are usually found, but once we dropped back down into a slower pool habitat, we saw quite a few going about their rock-flippin` business.
A few Roanoke River suckers Derek Wheaton 2014-07-05 | This video is only 11 months late! A few clips of torrent suckers (Thoburnia rhothoeca) and White Suckers (Catostomus commersoni) and friends.
Fishes of Beaverdam Creek Derek Wheaton 2014-03-08 | Just compiled a few bits of video from sampling this past summer. Hope you enjoy.Featuring:Saffron ShinerRainbow Trout Swannanoa DarterGreenfin Darter
Snubnose Darter Prespawn Derek Wheaton 2014-03-04 | A quick video of some Snubnose Darters (Etheostoma simoterum) going through prespawn nest-choosing motions in Whitetop Laurel creek.
Streamline Chub Derek Wheaton 2014-02-19 | Not sure why, but these Erimystax minnows are just really cool to me.
Horsehair Worm - Phylum Nematomorpha Derek Wheaton 2014-02-14 | NematomorphaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaNematomorpha (sometimes called Gordiacea, and commonly known as horsehair worms or Gordian worms) are a phylum of parasitoid animals superficially similar to nematode worms in morphology, hence the name. They range in size in most species from 50 to 100 centimetres (20 to 39 in) long and can reach in extreme cases up to 2 metres, and 1 to 3 millimetres (0.039 to 0.118 in) in diameter. Horsehair worms can be discovered in damp areas such as watering troughs, swimming pools, streams, puddles, and cisterns. The adult worms are free living, but the larvae are parasitic on beetles, cockroaches, orthopterans, and crustaceans.[1] About 351 freshwater species are known[2] and a conservative estimate suggests that there may be about 2000 freshwater species worldwide.[3] The name "Gordian" stems from the legendary Gordian knot. This relates to the fact that nematomorpha often tie themselves in knots.[4]
Aquatic Millipede Derek Wheaton 2014-02-14 | See if you can figure this one out. An unexpected aquatic macroinvertebrate, for sure!So the scoop is this: while doing a snorkel survey, I see this guy walking around on a boulder in a large, deep (9 feet if I remember correctly) pool in a mountain trout stream. I am understandably incredibly confused and, especially considering the activity level of this guy, it seemed as though this animal was really aquatic. I frequently drop insects I find around the house in my fishtanks and they typically suffocate within a minute or two if they are a terrestrial animal. So, being excited, I videoed this guy and tossed him in a jar of alcohol to preserve. Maybe 15 minutes later while I was back in this pool grabbing flow measurements, I happened to look above me and note that a dead tree was angled partially over the water and had a collection of these millipedes, maybe a dozen, hanging on the underside of the tree, either drinking the spray from the nearby riffle, or perhaps feeding on moss or lichen on the tree. Made me feel bad for throwing this guy in a jar of alcohol.
Bluehead Chub Spawning Behavior Derek Wheaton 2014-02-13 | Bluehead Chub male building his nest-mound as female chubs, white shiners, and stonerollers look on. Spawning activity starts at 2:42
Whitetop Laurel Liquid Sunshine - Minnows in breeding dress Derek Wheaton 2014-01-26 | In late spring and early summer, chubs and stonerollers construct nests which provide clean swept gravel in which to lay their eggs. However, many other species also depend on them to create this habitat, which they all utilize. When the fish spawn, the eggs fall into the spaces between the gravel where they are safe from predators and are provided plenty of oxygen, since the water is able to easily move through the unembedded gravel. There is evidence that rather than this hurting or even just inconviencing the larger nest building minnow species, this arrangement actually benefits all parties. The more nest-associate eggs are in a given nest, the less vulnerable the nest-builder's eggs are to predation, via a phenomenon known as "dilution effect." It's basically a spin on the "safety in numbers" idea. Many of these nest associate species develop brilliant colors during the breeding season. I was able to spot these nests from the far side of the creek, standing on the bank, because the stream bottom glows brilliant red-orange as these guys jockey for position over the nest.
Swannanoa darter Derek Wheaton 2014-01-11 | Finally got some good footage of these guys. They specialize in torrential currents and with their lack of swim bladder and huge pectoral fins to pin them to the bottom, they make it look effortless. Meanwhile, I was hanging on to the rocks for dear life!
Elassoma fight Derek Wheaton 2013-12-13 | Elassoma gilberti (Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish) territorial interaction.
Wavy rayed Lampmussel, Clinch River Derek Wheaton 2013-12-08 | A gravid female Wavy Rayed Lampmussel displaying her lure, attempting to entice a fish to bite in order to spread her young, larval, mussels, which are parasitic for a short time before dropping off to settle as juvenile mussels. To read more about freshwater mussels, read here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unionidae
Redhorse in Beaverdam creek Derek Wheaton 2013-10-26 | These were seen while doing a snorkel survey for Greenfin darters in a surprisingly small creek in the Holston drainage. My hunch is they are Black Redhorse.This video is not polished, I am simply uploading it for ID purposes.
Mystery worms Derek Wheaton 2013-10-06 | I've had these guys pop up on and off through the last few years in my tanks. These guys are in a 3 gallon plant grow-out tank that has been fishless for a few months, but I still sometimes see one or a few even in tanks with fish. They're very thin. Too thin to be Tubifex or Blackworms as far as I can tell, but they are slightly larger than Dero worms (and deros don't seen to wave nearly as fast/constantly). Anyone have any idea what these could be?
Feeding Tangerine Darters in the Clinch River Derek Wheaton 2013-10-02 | I'd heard you smash invasive Corbicula while snorkeling, you can create a feeding frenzy of sorts, so I tried it. I had a nice pretty male Tangerine Darter (Percina aurantiaca) trailing downstream of me and, while he wouldn't take it directly from my hand (the chub almost did!), he quickly snatched it up once I set it behind a rock for him.
Candy Darters Derek Wheaton 2013-09-22 | Some video taken this spring of Candy Darters (Etheostoma osburni) in Virginia.
A few common Clinch River darters Derek Wheaton 2013-09-21 | These three were all within two feet of each other. The Clinch is a pretty amazing river. Greenside Darter, Redline Darter, and Banded Darter.
Margined Madtom (?) Eggs Derek Wheaton 2013-08-02 | While doing a hellbender survey, these ended up in one of the nets after we flipped a rock. I'm going to try to raise them up for fun. I put my finger in next to them to show some scale. They are pretty large eggs, I'd say at least 4mm across.
Pandora Sphinx Moth Caterpillar (Chowing on Virginia Creeper) Derek Wheaton 2013-07-29 | From Wikipedia:The Pandora sphinx moth (Eumorpha pandorus), also called the Pandorus Sphinx Moth, is a North American moth in the Sphingidae family. It is a large, greenish gray moth with darker patches and pink edges and small pink eyespots. The underside is usually pale yellow-green or brown. It has a wingspan of 3¼--4½ inches (8.2--11.5 cm), females being slightly larger than males. Pandora sphinx moths fly during dusk. Some places see only one generation a year, while others see two.Life cycleFemale adults lay translucent eggs singly on leaves of the host plant, mainly Vitis (grapes), and Parthenocissus (Virginia creeper). Caterpillars are large, green or red with a swollen third thorax segment into which the head and first two thoractic segments can be drawn. The abdomen has a small white spot on the second segment, and big white oval spots the last five spiracles. They also have the characteristic "horn" at the end of the abdomen, until it is replaced by a button in its last instar. Larvae consume copious amounts of foliage, and when they are ready they climb down their host plant and burrow underground, where they pupate. The pupa is dark brown in color, quite slender, and has a long cremaster. There the pupa will remain for either a couple of weeks or a couple of months, depending on the generation. When the pupa is ready, it wiggles to the surface just prior to eclosion. The newly emerged adults then climb on a plant or some other surface, and pump fluid into their wings to extend them. Females emit pheromones at night, and males fly into the wind to pick up and track the pheromone plume.Full caterpillar photo: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_x29Pef-T4FQ/TUMQNPO7WQI/AAAAAAAATaQ/bigr-LacM-g/s400/MN09%2Bpandora%2Bsphinx%2Bcaterpillar%2B509_9109.jpgAdult Photo: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3125/3090301684_fe49dd2a15.jpg
38 gallon Kentucky native fish tank Derek Wheaton 2013-07-19 | In this tank: Scarlet shiner, Southern Redbelly Dace, Fieryblack Shiner (from NC), Northern Studfish, Banded Darter, Headwater Darter, Rainbow Darter, Orangefin Darter, Frecklebelly darter, Fantail Darter, Elegant Madtom, and lovely geodes from SE KY riverbeds. The Orangefins and my big male studfish did not want to come out to play while I was shooting this.
Whitetail Shiner and Satinfin Shiner sparring Derek Wheaton 2013-06-29 | Whitefin Shiner (Cyprinella galactura) and Satinfin Shiner (Cyprinella analostana) peak males battling over territory. The satinfin is about half the size of the whitetail, but certainly doesn't act like it!
Roanoke River Nongame Fishes - Starring the Roanoke Logperch Derek Wheaton 2013-01-17 | On October 12th, 2012, I went out with Mike Pinder of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to capture some video of the Roanoke Logperch
Brook Trout Redd Building Derek Wheaton 2013-01-15 | Brook trout building redds and engaging in pair-building behavior in Little Stony Creek at the Cascades in Giles Co Virginia on October 19th 2012
Redbreast Sunfish Spawning Derek Wheaton 2012-12-12 | Video of redbreast sunfish spawning behavior in the Rapidan River near Fredericksburg, Virginia on 6/23/2012.
Roanoke Logperch, Montgomery Co, Virginia, 9/14/2012 Derek Wheaton 2012-10-09 | Stone-flipping behavior observed while filming the Federally endangered Roanoke Logperch (Percina rex).
Satinfin Shiners in the Rappahannock River 6/9/2012 Derek Wheaton 2012-07-15 | Satinfin shiners (Cyprinella analostana) near Fredericksburg Virginia. Males have iridescent white tips on the fins during the warm months and are among the most common and conspicuous fish in the river.
Northern Hogsucker in the Rapidan River, Virginia Derek Wheaton 2012-06-23 | Juvenile (~1.5 inch) Northern Hogsucker (Hypentelium nigricans) feeding in a riffle in the Rapidan River between Fredericksburg and Culpeper, Virginia, on 6/20/2012. At the end of the video, a few Shield Darters (Percina peltata) can also be seen.
