Spider lillies
The eggs of an oyster drill (a predatory snail) inhabiting an oyster shell
A tiny, flowering succulent
Don't judge a book...
At first glance, the vast salt marshes in the Gulf of Mexico seem like a monocultural tesselation of seagrass and water. But take a closer look and you will be amazed at the microcosm of life that exists in its diversity of microhabitats. The expansive flats of marsh grass are teeming with life, concealed in their verdent blades are a menagerie of birds, fish, and invertebrates. When we motor up to a site, my eyes have to adjust from staring at a blanket of marsh grass, to carefully examining the activity in the marsh. If you are patient, and keep a watchful eye, the grass will come to life. Seaside sparows and red-winged blackbirds bustling among the blades, tiny crabs scuttling in and out of mudholes, snails noisily munching on blades of grass, minnows darting around stems. And once you really start to pay attention you notice the gator slides, bird nests, and all the abiotic features that the animals create in their marshland paradise.
Back to the Greasy Gulf...
I'm back on oil-spill detail in the Gulf of Mexico, this time working in the sweltering salt marshes of southern Louisiana. As part of a marsh-assessment team, our task is to collect vegetative data as well as soil and plant tissue samples to assess the extent of oil damage to the marsh grass beds.
This work was started last spring just after the spill happened (a year ago now!) and we are re-sampling the study plots that were initially erected to account for changes in vegetative structure. Already we have seen signs of erosion. As oil contamination killed the marsh grass, the beds have eroded back. At some sites, residual oil can still be seen in the grass beds and in the wrack line of dead vegetation.
At this point, our findings are only empirical; the samples we collect are sent off to a lab for physical and chemical analyses. I am hopeful that the data we are collecting will be a critical tool in elucidating the details of how the oil spill has impacted the marshes, and the native flora and fauna of the Gulf of Mexico.
One of our sample sites
This work was started last spring just after the spill happened (a year ago now!) and we are re-sampling the study plots that were initially erected to account for changes in vegetative structure. Already we have seen signs of erosion. As oil contamination killed the marsh grass, the beds have eroded back. At some sites, residual oil can still be seen in the grass beds and in the wrack line of dead vegetation.
At this point, our findings are only empirical; the samples we collect are sent off to a lab for physical and chemical analyses. I am hopeful that the data we are collecting will be a critical tool in elucidating the details of how the oil spill has impacted the marshes, and the native flora and fauna of the Gulf of Mexico.
A Kestrel Conundrum
Had a lively day volunteering at the raptor center. The raccoons are at it again and the education department, regrettably, lost one of their birds. Those feisty little opportunists have found themselves a quarry of easily-targeted prey and are exploiting it big time. I'm curious to see how the staff at the center will combat them!
We (unfortunately) had another loss today. A beautiful male American kestrel had to be euthanized due to a severely fractured, non-repairable ulna. I was helping radiograph his injuries before it was determined that he had to be put down...
We (unfortunately) had another loss today. A beautiful male American kestrel had to be euthanized due to a severely fractured, non-repairable ulna. I was helping radiograph his injuries before it was determined that he had to be put down...
Poor little guy, gone to birdy heaven.
Ecogeekin' it up in NC
On my way back to Alabama I made a pit stop in Charlotte, NC to spend time with Rob and Haley, the brains and legs behind Untamed Science. We shot some footage for my bio video for the high school chemistry video series and a few short pieces on coyote ecology for the Untamed Science webpage. We did some exercises for me to work on developing my on-camer presence and brainstormed ideas for new projects. It was a lovely visit and they got me even more excited about future Ecogeek adventures.
I went geocaching for the first time! We got some fun footage of Haley, Falcon (her dog), and I playing in the woods for my bio video.
We didn't bring a pen with us so I filled out the geocache log with my lip gloss...classy! :)
Time flies when you're having fun!
Some harsh winter weather has kept us at bay for a while on the sumberged oil study. A colleague shared his hobby with me and I now have a new favorite passtime...
I don't fly fish, but making these things is great fun! I am seriously contemplating investing in my own personal fly tieing kit!
SOCS Update
The crew has been rockin'and rollin' and we have completed 8 of our 10 sites in Mississippi. Albeit in miniscule amounts, we are finding oil. The dispersant really broke things up and the oil we are detecting is in tiny specs suspended in the water column and on the ocean floor. Our initial 'presence/absence' search for oil will be enhanced with subsequent sampling. Following laboratory examination of the samples we submit, the field operations team will decide where our targeted sampling effort will begin.
Some more shots of the crew...
Late winter on the Mississippi coast is surprisingly warm and we have been graced with mild weather, which makes our work a lot more pleasant! Some more shots from the deck of the Horn Island...
Some more shots of the crew...
Late winter on the Mississippi coast is surprisingly warm and we have been graced with mild weather, which makes our work a lot more pleasant! Some more shots from the deck of the Horn Island...
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