Noteworthy happenings: -July 12: Assisted Lynn Faust, a fellow field researcher, in collecting Twilight Bush Baby (P. australis) fireflies from the arboretum. To catch this particular species, we looked for the fireflies glowing yellow-orange vs. commonly seen green tinting. This was a nice relaxing pace compared to frog catching. -July 13-17: My nature-adoring parents came [...]
Believe it or not, I actually don't spend all of my time catching frogs or hiking in the Smokies (ha ha, I swear!). Instead, I center much of my free time on assisting other CRESO projects. So here is a much-deserved shout out to them! Bird Boxes Rectangular wooden bird boxes are hung upon trees [...]
The Amphibian Pathogen Project took a brief pause the week of June 27 to allow the legendary Turtle Team to come tracking for box turtles in Oak Ridge. Many of you already know that I became involved with the W.E.L. through Turtle Team activities in Illinois and it has proven to be a top highlight [...]
Simply put, a wetland habitat is an outdoor ecosystem containing reeds, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, and of course, water. It’s a place where many types of fresh water life convene to reproduce, rear young and acquire the resources they need for survival. Unsurprisingly, most natural wetlands are forgotten, and subsequently neglected, due to their annual [...]
To increase the sample size of my study, we’ve decided to search for adult frogs at night. We’re assuming that elevated daytime temperatures cause the frogs to seek refuge under water or in dense plant thickets and that they’ll be more visible and/or active at night during cooler periods. Typically this exercise involves arriving at [...]
The Amphibian Pathogen Project (APP) has officially begun and the students, teachers and myself survived some sweltering 9-hour days. A typical field day involves: 1-2 teachers, 3-4 students, 3-4 different wetlands and lots of critter catching! We use nets, buckets and our hands to catch the animals before we process them. Ideally, we’d catch mostly [...]
Greetings from Nature Lane! I arrived safely in Oak Ridge, TN with all of my gear on the evening of June 1. Packing my personal supplies took about one day, as did packing the bulk of my lab items, but somehow it seems as though I’ve forgotten a few things! During my time here, I’m [...]
