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Central Arkansas Master Naturalist
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Written by George Lauster
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Hey Everyone,
It was a absolutely beautiful day to be beside the Little Maumelle River, and the in the river. With the lack of undergrowth the connection of the stream to its floodplain was readily apparent. There were no signs of flying insects as we walked in, but there were plenty of signs of the rains this past three months. Racks of debris were piled up on the upstream side of nearly every tree along the Kingfisher Trail, providing shelter and future summer-time shade to small animals and insects. At the stream-side several trees had been undercut and fallen in. In particular, the tree that shaded the south bank home of the resident kingfisher had fallen, and had begun accumulating debris upstream of this new dam. This process appears to be accelerating the shift of the river from the south channel as main channel, to using the north channel closer to the trail.
Stream water quality was excellent as usual, and the insect larvae were plentiful. Several passers-by joined in the fun, including a sharp-eyed father who found two of the elusive caddisly larvae. These are the larvae that construct little home out of leaves and pebbles, held together by their own web-like goo. Well camouflaged, this larvae are signs of excellent stream conditions. The strangest result was the lack of the usual dragonfly larvae. Dave Danner also captured the largest crayfish yet. It was too big to fit in the ice cube tray, causing George Lauster to quip the line from Jaws: "I think we're going to need a bigger boat." The next quarterly sampling will be in June, along with the annual offering of advanced training in aquatic ecology. By then the damselfly larvae we found will have grown to adults, and we will hopefully encounter them in all their iridescent glory as we walk the trail. -- George Lauster
 
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 08:17 |
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