January 19th, 2012
This is Passport to Texas
When you’re hunting, fishing, or camping in January, remember: even though we’re in Texas, temperatures can drop well below freezing. Cold temperatures and strong winds increase the risk of hypothermia.
Dorian Drigalla (Dre-gal-a) is an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at Scott and White Memorial Hospital.
09—Hypothermia is a condition where the body’s temperature drops below normal and certain physiologic changes happen the body because of that.
There are three stages of hypothermia that determine the severity.
41—Stage one, or mild hypothermia, is when the body’s temperature drops from what is considered normal down between 1 and 3 degrees below that.
Stage two – becomes a little bit more obvious in that the person starts to realize they are more than just cold and while they are still conscious, they do realize that they are shivering more, the shivering becomes more noticeable and the rest of the body’s movements are less coordinated. It’s at this point that the body starts to appear more pale.
Stage three is when the body temperature drops below ninety degrees. At this point, the body’s reflexes start to fail, the shivering intended in the prior two stages to help warm the body starts to fail. Concentration, speaking and thinking become more difficult.
Severe hypothermia can lead to organ failure and death.
Back country treatment of hypothermia tomorrow
That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Education | Comments Off on Hypothermia
January 18th, 2012
This is Passport to Texas
Just as we’re physically weaker when we lose muscle, freshwater ecosystems weaken when they lose their
mussels.
14—They’re a very important part of the aquatic ecosystem. They’re the foundation. I like to call them the vacuum cleaners; their main diet is bacteria and other small particles. They’re the filtration systems of the rivers, lakes and ponds.
Texas Mussel Watch coordinator, Marsha May, says one species of Texas mussel is on the federal endangered species list. US Fish and Wildlife is considering listing additional species of freshwater mussels.
03—We’ll see what happens in the next three to five years.
You can help keep track of these important species as a member of Texas Mussel Watch.
24—Texas Mussel Watch is a program designed to get citizens involved in monitoring freshwater mussel species throughout the whole state of Texas. We hold workshops normally in the springtime. They can learn about freshwater mussels. Once they’ve gone through the workshop, they can be put on my
scientific permit, and then go out and monitor mussels within their own community and give us information on what they find, because it’s very important information.
Find information about mussel watch on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.
That’s our show with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Freshwater, Wildscaping | Comments Off on Wildlife: Texas Mussel Watch
January 17th, 2012
This is Passport to Texas
Texas is home to nearly fifty species of freshwater mussels.
07—They have just really fun names—like the Texas Pig Toe, and there’s the Louisiana Fat Mucket…
Texas Mussel Watch coordinator, Marsha May, says wherever there’s freshwater, you’re likely to find mussels.
08—The live in freshwater streams, lakes, ponds and even tanks. So you can find them pretty much anywhere in freshwater in Texas.
The only place you’ll have a hard time finding mussels is in deep east Texas where the water is too acidic for the mollusk to survive.
06—They prefer more alkaline water. They need to have that calcium in the water to help them build their shells.
Speaking of those shells…if come upon one with or without its occupant…Marsha May says leave it where you find it.
20—Freshwater mussels are protected. In order to handle the shells or live animals, you have to have some sort of license or permit. Either a fishing license, which you can handle any mussel greater than two and a half inches long for most species, and then, my Mussel Watch volunteers have a scientific permit so they can handle all species.
Learn about Mussel Watch tomorrow.
That’s our show with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m
Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Freshwater, Wildlife | Comments Off on Wildlife: Mussels, Look but Don’t Touch
January 16th, 2012
This is Passport to Texas
Freshwater mussels—soft bodied organisms that live inside hard shells—are vital to Texas’ aquatic ecosystems.
03—They’re the foundation of the aquatic ecosystem.
Marsha May is Texas Mussel Watch coordinator, which is part of the Texas Nature Trackers program at Texas Parks and Wildlife.
14—I like to call them the vacuum cleaners of the system. Their main diet is bacteria and other small partials. They’re the filtration systems of the rivers lakes and ponds. So they have a very important role in cleaning that water.
Marsha says mussels are an indicator species—the aquatic equivalent of a canary in a coalmine.
09—They’re definitely a canary in a coalmine. You start losing these freshwater mussels, then you know something definitely detrimental is going on with that system.
We have lost some mussel species. Historically Texas has had more than fifty species of freshwater mussels, but today we’re down to 47.
22—We currently only have one species that’s federally listed as endangered, and that’s the Ouachita rock pocketbook. We’ve never found it alive in Texas; we’ve only found recently dead shells. So it goes on and off the Texas list. We have 11 species that US Fish and Wildlife is looking at possibly listing.
More on mussels tomorrow.
That’s our show with support from the SFWR program… funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Freshwater, Wildlife | Comments Off on Wildlife: Freshwater Mussels
January 13th, 2012
This is Passport to Texas
The nine-banded armadillo is a Texas icon that has captured the imagination and hearts of Texans and non-Texans a like. Sadly, though, the only time some of us have seen an armadillo is in a flattened state on Texas highways.
About the size of a terrier dog…and covered with bony plates the color of pavement…it’s easy to understand why motorists might not see the armadillo as it attempts to cross roadways on summer evenings in search of food.
Speaking of the preferred cuisine of armadillos… they enjoy a diet of worms, beetles, larvae and caterpillars, among other “delicacies.”
Armadillos generally live where the soil is easily dug – because they probe for food beneath its surface. You’ll find the largest populations of armadillos where the soil texture is sandy.
Although the armadillo can swim, it tires easily when forced to go a long distance. Yet, if the stream is narrow enough, you might just see this unusual little creature enter the water on one bank, walk underwater along the bottom, and come out on the other side. Interesting, huh?
They’re also able to ingest air, which makes them more buoyant for the times when they do swim. I bet you never think of armadillos in quite the same way again.
Well, that’s our show…thank you for joining us.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Wildlife | Comments Off on Wildlife: The Nine-banded Armadillo
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