Nature's Archive #64: Keith Williams - Deep Discoveries in Shallow Water
Snorkeling can be a life changing endeavor for those who take it up. A new world of aquatic life is revealed before your eyes - sometimes colorful, sometimes cryptic, and always changing.
I’ll forgive you if you are thinking about ocean snorkeling, because as you’ll hear today, there’s magic waiting just beneath the surface of your nearby freshwater streams and rivers.
Keith is a freshwater underwater naturalist, educator, writer and photographer. He has a BS in Environmental Biology and MS in Ecological Teaching and Learning. He is the author of multiple books, most recently “Snorkeling Rivers and Streams: An Aquatic Guide to Underwater Discovery and Adventure”, and is the owner of Freshwater Journeys, which organizes snorkeling trips to show people the amazing life in freshwater systems close to home.
Today we discuss Keith’s own journey into freshwater systems, and then get into the ecology of these environments. If you are like me, this will serve as a great primer for the basics of these systems. And even if you are more advanced, Keith’s descriptions of river herring, trout, chubs, salmon, caddisflies, and more will have you longing to get into a nearby stream.
And if you do decide to take the plunge, Keith tells us what equipment is needed and how to do it safely - both for you and for the ecosystem you are observing.
What a fun conversation - you’ll hear Keith’s enthusiasm shine through. You can find Keith at freshwaterjourneys.com, and also on Facebook at freshwaterjourneys.
FULL SHOW NOTES
People and Organizations
Jeremy Monroe, Freshwaters Illustrated
Shannon White PhD - brook trout research [twitter]
Dr. Shigeru Nakano
Freshwater Journeys
Books and Other Things
Note: links to books are affiliate links
Desert Solitaire, by Edward Abbey
Down the River, by Edward Abbey
RiverWebs movie
Snorkeling Rivers and Streams: An Aquatic Guide to Underwater Discovery and Adventure, by Keith Williams
Credits
Emily Smith provided rough cut editing for this episode.
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com
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Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!