Graeme Hall: Swamp Day

Today is first field collection day. The beginning of the day was dedicated to game plan and out collection techniques. I may have my days mixed up, but there was one day where everyone had to go out in the field. Now, in the what to bring list - they said bring some clothes for Graeme Hall that you won't mind getting muddy. When they said muddy, they meant muddy. As you can see, the boys demonstrated proper swamp fashion. Tyler also demonstrates the art of zen lepidoptera and odonata collection. Or as he calls it: Oh-no-data.

Dr. Kramer worked with the fish group while Dr. Buddle worked with the two arthropod groups. We set out pit-fall traps, which are cups of ethanol set into the ground that bugs will walk into, fall in, and be preserved in the ethanol. The picture shows Dr. Kramer and the fish group trying to identify their bounty while puzzling over this weird growth on some of their fins. The growth actually turned out to be a parasite, and when you looked at it under the microscope, it sort of pulsated and moved - straight out of an alien movie!