My native Noto habitat

[jbherpin]

Here's a view of where I herp for Notos in the wild!

A beautiful lake in the mountains of PA!

I hope you liked the view!

-jbherpin-

 

[oregon newt]

That is definitely beautiful!

 

[Greatwtehunter]

Wow! That sure beats the view of my vernal pool.

 

[slowfoot]

Newts know how to live

 

[Jennewt]

Do the newts live in that actual lake? Does it have fish in it?

 

[Otterwoman]

That reminds me a bit of a place where I go newting (for Notos) here in NY. It's a lake named after a certain fish, and it's full of them.

 

[jbherpin]

Do the newts live in that actual lake? Does it have fish in it?

Yep, they live in the lake shown for sure! I've been studying them there since I was 5 years old! To answer your other question, about the fish, yes there are. We have Large-Mouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Catfish, gobbs of minnows, Blue-Gills, and Sunfish. Aside from the fish fauna, there is also things like fogs(Bull, Green, Wood, etc.), some toads...Bears, and Deer. I've caught 5 Lined Skinks there, Dusky Sals, N. Red Sals, 2 Lined Sals, etc. The lake and surrounding forested mountains are a rich habitat for many species!

 

[exotics]

yeah that definetly shows up my local puddle where i find all my native newts. i just have a motorway run off pond!!

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Yeah...that's the spot all right. And yes, for those that asked, its not uncommon to find the newts in the lakes and ponds that have fish in Pennsylvania. Breeding however tends to be more common in the vernal pools and ponds. We used to catch the larvae in the deeper pools of streams around Warren and Southern Crawford Counties, often in the presence of catfish and various trout. Interestingly enough we often discovered that if there were Snapping Turtles present, newts and salamanders were not.

 

[jbherpin]

The lake shown above does have turtles(including snappers), but not a large amount. I've seen maybe 5 turtles-in ALL my years going there- (in total, including all species together) so I doubt that the minimal predation would ever drive off the newts. However, you do make a good point in that the larvals are hard to find in the lake itself. You have to go to the streams that "feed" the lake to find the gilled larvs. Even then, they are only in specific parts(quiet, still stretches) of the streams.
the last time I was there we saw a Snapping Turtle about 12" long (carapace) cruising down the middle of a VERY clear stretch heading into the lake itself. The only things it could have been doing would be: nesting up-stream, preying on the various minnows or small Trout, tadpoles, and newt larvals. Lastly, my brother has a daughter that is a herp girl, and she has 2 baby Red-Eared Sliders. He decided that 2 Notos would compliment the enclosure so he got them for her. Needless to say their toxins didn't warn or discourage their demise as both were consumed and both Sliders survived with nothing more than a full belly. I couldn't believe that he would try the mix in the first place, but what can I do? On a flip side I also couldn't believe that the turtles had NO ill-effects! I KNOW that Noto's are considered a more potently toxic newt, which is why it amazed me.
Thanks for the replies, I love to share experiences with other herpers!
-jbherpin-

 

[marco]

That sure is a beautiful habitat, I'd love to live near something like that....