Relaxed and a few days into the April break, the Ecomentors (and their little brothers!) met at Lake Wallace on April 17 for the "Salamander Slop" ... with no guarantees that anyone would return free of mud.
We talked about fine quality habitat, fairy shrimp as obligate vernal pool species, and the importance of salamanders in wood/aquatic ecosystems, then headed out to the backwaters down by the swamp bridge. The valiant scientists scooped like mad, but to no avail. Especially considering how dry it had been for the previous few weeks, there was naught but amphipods and aquatic beetles. Hmmm ... and it looks like such a fine location for vernal pools. Maybe we were there at the wrong time of year?
Sounds like the mystery will continue.
In the meantime ... as always, we had fun!!
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| Mr. Clark and crew |
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| Ms. Levy's bunch is ready to go, too! |
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| Let's review the right way to explore ... respectfully and carefully |
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| Take a good, close look ... is it an amphipod, or could it be a fairy shrimp? (amphipod) |
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| Teamwork |
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| Yep, lots of little things moving around in there! |
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| Careful, Mrs. O'Rourke, we don't want you using your shoes to sample the water! |
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| Definitely lots of snails and amphipods, thankfully, no mosquitoes ... yet. |
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| Scoop, sort, identify, count ... Teams hard at work on our spring census |
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| Those beetles are truly different! |
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| Ah, the true scientist, getting close up and personal with his subject |
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| A black racer, soaking in the April sunshine |
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| Those sunglasses are perfect for gazing into the water |
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| She's learning to use the tools of the trade |
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| Next generation scientists ... it's never too early or too late to start exploring! |
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