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I saw two tarantulas yesterday (Sunday 18 September 2022) on Lake Mary road. This is about a week or two earlier than the last two years!

This is the start of the 3rd season of the citizen science Lake Mary tarantula project – cycle for science. I am asking folks that bicycle Lake Mary Road in Flagstaff to track their trips and mark their GPS unit when they see a tarantula. Then send the GPX or KLM (or whatever format you use) file to me.

We are trying to determine what drives the fall migration of male tarantulas. Well, mating is the driver – but we want to know what triggers the migration, temperature, day length, etc., and what habitats are associated with higher abundance of tarantulas.

Check out the webpage for more information and how to participate.

Pilar’s manuscript was recently accepted for publication! This is chapter two of her thesis. A pre-print is available for viewing.

Wolters-Rinker, P. N., Rogowski, D. L., Gibb, A. C. 2022. Allometric changes and shape comparisons of two southwestern sucker species and their hybrids using a geometric morphometric approach. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tafs.10380

for all my publications check out this page.

I recently presented a talk on Pearce Ferry Rapid as a potential barrier to fish movement in the Colorado River to the Collaborative Conservation and Adaption Strategy Toolbox (CCAST) folks. The talk was recorded and is now available on their YouTube channel. You can also find out more information about this on my research page.

I was out running yesterday from work up to Buffalo Park and ran across a tarantula on the – McMillan Mesa Flagstaff Urban Trail. He wasn’t moving, so I stopped to see if he was still alive and gave him a nudge – he reacted slowly, but he was alive. I looked for him on my return trip, but didn’t see him – so I assumed he moved off the trail.

After five bike rides (Nov. 10, 13, 14, 17, 19) without seeing any live tarantulas, I think the tarantula migration for 2021 is over.

Thank you to those that contributed to the Cycle for Science project. Hopefully, you will participate next fall (September through November). Almost a 1000 miles was surveyed over 35 trips. We have location data on 54 tarantulas spotted. Hopefully we can do better next year! I’ll do a little more outreach and remember to tell your friends.

Thank you

david

Keep your eyes open. I saw a tarantula yesterday (1 Nov 2021). Please keep sending me your data. They will probably only be active for one or two more weeks.

Went for a 30 mi bike ride today and saw one live tarantula crossing the road. Keep sending in the data!

Got out today before the rains, well… I got a little sprinkle. Saw six live tarantulas and six squashed ones over a 30 mi ride.

Please contribute to the project! I will be out of town for a week and will not be able to log any tarantula biking miles.

OK folks the male tarantulas are on the move, how many can you find?

I expect to start seeing them within the next week or two. Who will be the first to report one or more? Good Luck and please send me your files even if you did not see any spiders. Have a good weekend.

dave