Monday:
Today we set the stage for the whole week! Paul and Paige lead the way to set up our turtle traps. They both have a keen eye for identifying the best location and selecting the best bait to catch our shelly friends! After all the traps are set up we head back to the lab to prep our lab equipment and backpacks for the week!
Tuesday- Thursday:
Tuesdays through Thursdays we have a similar schedule each day. We start off at 6:30am, bright and early, to check our traps. With every turtle we catch we collect blood samples, swabs, and perform a physical exam, we call this a turtle work-up and all of the data is recorded on our trusty lab iPads provided by the Wildlife Epidemiology Lab. Along with the physical exam, we will also notch or microchip the turtles to help us identify if a turtle has been recaptured. Photos of the carapace (the top of the turtle shell) and plastron (the turtle shell ‘belly’) will be included in the physical exam as well as any abnormalities described in detail. After a morning of catching and sampling turtles, we head back to the lab to analyze our samples. Packed cell volume, total solids, Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, absolute cell counts, and plasma volume are immediately tested/recorded for each sample we collect.
**On Wednesdays, we have one additional step in our task list, rounds! Our veterinarian Dr. John Winter leads us through rounds which focus on a different topic every week. For example, the topic this week was thoroughly discussing Packed Cell Volume, Total Solids, and Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and why we use hemocytometers for turtles. Once all the data is collected it is uploaded to the physical exam form and filed into our daily file maker. The final step of the day is to restock our bags so we are ready for the next day! **
Friday:
We start off the day by checking and removing all the traps that were set up at the beginning of the week! Removing the traps is an essential part of the Friday task list to ensure no animals will be stuck over the weekend. Next, turtle work-up! All of the data collected will be the same as Tuesday-Thursday. After all of the turtle work-ups we head back to the lab and analyze our samples. The last step of the day is to perform a quick inventory and pack supplies for the upcoming week.
