Fieldnotes Archives - The Orianne Society

Gopher Tortoises are a keystone species. Pictured here is a Gopher Tortoise coming out of its burrow.

11 minute read

Fieldnotes

In a Hole in the Ground, There Lived a Tortoise…and So Much More.

ByBen Stegenga
January 15, 2025

It’s well known that Gopher Tortoises are a keystone species in the dry upland habitats of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem. Over 350 species rely upon them or their burrows in some way, but what does that actually look like?

Finding indigo snake eggs in the wild - pictured here next to a ruler for size reference.

1 minute read

Fieldnotes

Finding Indigo Snake Eggs in the Wild

ByBen Stegenga
November 15, 2024

Views:31 views Ben and Jesus have just kicked off our 2024-2025 indigo snake survey season, and while it’s…

7 minute read

Fieldnotes

Collaborative Science to Monitor Invasive Snake Parasites

ByBen Stegenga
August 15, 2024

Views:221 views Ben holds up a freshly collected fecal sample from Eastern Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum flagellum) that will…

Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander on leafy substrate

1 minute read

Fieldnotes

Flatwoods Salamander Pond Research

ByBen Stegenga
July 9, 2024

Launching long-term research projects this summer, our Georgia field crew, led by Ben, installed water monitoring wells in ephemeral ponds within pine flatwoods habitat. These ponds are crucial for Flatwoods Salamander recovery efforts, providing essential data for their conservation.

Southern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus auriculatus)

6 minute read

Fieldnotes

Secretive Blackwater Salamanders

ByBen Stegenga
May 16, 2024

My first true salamander focused foray into the blackwater creek swamps of southeastern Georgia took place years ago with my friend and former colleague Jonathon Bolton. We decided to spend a Saturday exploring a small blackwater creek system. We hiked upstream along the main channel to where it became somewhat braided, and the shallow floodplain swamp spread out beneath a dense canopy of tupelo and other hardwoods.

Hatchling indigo snake next to a U.S. 25 cent coin for size reference

1 minute read

Fieldnotes

Hatchling Indigo Snakes and Camera Trap Surveys

ByBen Stegenga
March 25, 2024

Our indigo snake season is winding down, but it was a pretty good winter for snake surveys, and we collected a lot of important data. Now the research crew is beginning to transition into some new spring projects, but they’ve still got a lot of indigo camera trap photos to go through. In this month’s episode of Fieldnotes, Ben recaps a particularly memorable day from this winter and highlights more sandhill biodiversity with another batch of camera trap photos.

1 minute read

Fieldnotes

Indigo Snake Surveys with Camera Traps & Soil Samples

ByBen Stegenga
February 16, 2024

We’re in the second half of the indigo snake survey season, and our field crew has been extra busy with the additional eDNA and camera trap surveys. In this month’s episode of Fieldnotes, Ben takes us out on a survey and demonstrates how…

using DNA to survey for indigo snakes in the wild

1 minute read

Fieldnotes

Using DNA to Survey for Indigo Snakes

ByBen Stegenga
January 15, 2024

This past November we started a new indigo snake project, investigating the possibility of environmental DNA as a means of detecting indigo snakes in the field. In this month’s episode of Fieldnotes, Ben gives a brief summary of this project and describes how we’ll test our results against other indigo snake survey methods.