UWOL 20- Total Darkness- Mike Sims

Ruth Happel · April 29th, 2011, 08:16 AM

Mike,

Sorry but my heart really belongs to the salamanders :) Just kidding, I am happily married. But I've been fascinated by salamanders for a LONG time. One of the highlights of my years living in the PNW was seeing the Pacific giant salamander. After searching everywhere, it ironically appeared in our yard around 2 AM. The only one I've ever seen- of course it was well photographed and videotaped probably to the consternation of my neighbors at the time. As a biologist, though, I am glad to be back in the southern Appalachians. In addition to salamanders, there is just so much biodiversity here.

It is awesome you got to see Eurycea latitans, they are so rare. Just to let you know how serious I am about salamanders, though, the hat I usually wear in the field is a specially made baseball cap with a spotted salamander on it!

Mike Sims · April 29th, 2011, 09:29 AM

Cool! If I had a hat like that, I’d wear it with my shirts from the Vernal Pool Association!

Geir Inge · April 30th, 2011, 03:26 AM

Hi Mike.
What a great contribution to this round of uwol.
Your video take us to a place not many of us have opportunity to visit.
Fine colors and a good story. Excellent work!
It's remarkable how nature make it's own way to fit all kinds of habitats.
These blind creatures don't need eyes to see in total darkness.
I've learned a lot from your video about life in caves, thank you for sharing.
I think it fit the theme perfectly and wish you good luck.

Mike Sims · April 30th, 2011, 09:06 AM

Thank-you Geir Inge! I had to reschedule some field work that I would have done during the three weeks of the Challenge and now I’m scrambling to catch up (mostly breeding bird counts and a few bat surveys). While I was out this morning pre-dawn counting owls I looked down and one of the cave critters I had looked and looked for was crawling across the toe of my boot- a cave cricket! Along with bats, they represent another group of cave dwellers. They retire to the caves by day and come out at night to feed. Members of this group can see but have heightened other senses to deal with the dark. I had intended to cover them. I replaced that part with that silly animation trying to convey that I was walking into the cave and extra material on types of cave formations. Most of the bats in the caves I shot in were displaced by a wave of Spring Break recreational cavers just prior to the Challenge (there was a nursery colony in one cave but I didn’t want to disturb the mothers with video lights; my bat surveys are in a series of bat houses- not caves), so I really hunted for cave crickets- without any luck! It was a real surprise to see one when I wasn’t looking for it. It made me realize, once again, that nature has it’s own schedule and I am very foolish to try to impose my own schedule upon it!

Mike Sims · May 27th, 2011, 09:38 AM

According to the statistics this little video has been played off of my server well over six thousand times in the past month. Not exactly viral- but approaching bacterial, perhaps? It’s curious because I’ve never linked to it anywhere but in this thread. Anyway, thank-you for watching.

April 29th, 2011, 08:16 AM	#16
Ruth Happel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Black Mountain, NC Posts: 488	Re: UWOL 20- Total Darkness- Mike Sims Mike, Sorry but my heart really belongs to the salamanders :) Just kidding, I am happily married. But I've been fascinated by salamanders for a LONG time. One of the highlights of my years living in the PNW was seeing the Pacific giant salamander. After searching everywhere, it ironically appeared in our yard around 2 AM. The only one I've ever seen- of course it was well photographed and videotaped probably to the consternation of my neighbors at the time. As a biologist, though, I am glad to be back in the southern Appalachians. In addition to salamanders, there is just so much biodiversity here. It is awesome you got to see Eurycea latitans, they are so rare. Just to let you know how serious I am about salamanders, though, the hat I usually wear in the field is a specially made baseball cap with a spotted salamander on it! __________________ http://rockfowl.com/

April 29th, 2011, 09:29 AM	#17
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Re: UWOL 20- Total Darkness- Mike Sims Cool! If I had a hat like that, I’d wear it with my shirts from the Vernal Pool Association!

April 30th, 2011, 03:26 AM	#18
Geir Inge Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Larsnes, Norway Posts: 1,343	Re: UWOL 20- Total Darkness- Mike Sims Hi Mike. What a great contribution to this round of uwol. Your video take us to a place not many of us have opportunity to visit. Fine colors and a good story. Excellent work! It's remarkable how nature make it's own way to fit all kinds of habitats. These blind creatures don't need eyes to see in total darkness. I've learned a lot from your video about life in caves, thank you for sharing. I think it fit the theme perfectly and wish you good luck. __________________ Geir Inge B. Brekke Visit me at: https://vimeo.com/gibbfilm

April 30th, 2011, 09:06 AM	#19
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Re: UWOL 20- Total Darkness- Mike Sims Thank-you Geir Inge! I had to reschedule some field work that I would have done during the three weeks of the Challenge and now I’m scrambling to catch up (mostly breeding bird counts and a few bat surveys). While I was out this morning pre-dawn counting owls I looked down and one of the cave critters I had looked and looked for was crawling across the toe of my boot- a cave cricket! Along with bats, they represent another group of cave dwellers. They retire to the caves by day and come out at night to feed. Members of this group can see but have heightened other senses to deal with the dark. I had intended to cover them. I replaced that part with that silly animation trying to convey that I was walking into the cave and extra material on types of cave formations. Most of the bats in the caves I shot in were displaced by a wave of Spring Break recreational cavers just prior to the Challenge (there was a nursery colony in one cave but I didn’t want to disturb the mothers with video lights; my bat surveys are in a series of bat houses- not caves), so I really hunted for cave crickets- without any luck! It was a real surprise to see one when I wasn’t looking for it. It made me realize, once again, that nature has it’s own schedule and I am very foolish to try to impose my own schedule upon it!

May 27th, 2011, 09:38 AM	#20
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Re: UWOL 20- Total Darkness- Mike Sims According to the statistics this little video has been played off of my server well over six thousand times in the past month. Not exactly viral- but approaching bacterial, perhaps? It’s curious because I’ve never linked to it anywhere but in this thread. Anyway, thank-you for watching.