Watching the Wild Things with Ms. Andrews

Your Questions...

2007-10-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Melissa, for reading the entire blog. (Also, thanks for your post, Jasmine.) I know there was a lot to take in! You're right, it was a very busy two weeks; but so rewarding. The two things I will miss most are the new friends that I met there (It's surprising how quickly people grow on you!) and being out in nature every day knowing that I would be learning new things.

I really loved learning how to trap and safely handle the small mammals. Even though I felt a bit timid in the beginning, by the end of the two weeks, it felt very natural and I looked forward to checking the traps twice a day. It was a great experience for me and I felt that I made a some small contribution to science and the environment.

By the way, Room 106, I forgot to answer your tree question the other day. If you get a chance to read this, the reason that the roots grew on top of the boulder was that the hemlock tree started to grow in the moss and soil on the top of the boulder.

The Invincible Team V: Mammals of Nova Scotia

2007-10-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Below is the photo of my Earthwatch team and a bit of biographical information, provided by my new friend Jen Griffith. Thanks Jen, for all your wonderful photography!

Drs. Christina Buesching and Chris Newman—Principal Investigators, University of Oxford
Jennifer Griffith—2nd Grade Teacher, Chicago, IL
Amy Andrews—3rd Grade Teacher, Chicago, IL
Bob Minoff—5th Grade Teacher, Long Island, NY
Sharon Avis—Bank Compliance Manager, England, U.K.
Carole Bradley—Retired Music Teacher, Richmond, VA
Elaine Clubley—OR Technician, England, U.K.
Lyman Davenport—Radiologist, Providence, RI
Karen Elder—Telephone Co. Compliance Manager, England, U.K.
Catherine Harkness—Physician, England, U.K.
Cheryl Liddiard—Midwife, England, U.K.
Jane O’Shaughnessy—Civil Servant, Ireland, U.K.
Joan McBain—Retired, Hartford, CT
Lycos—Chris & Christina’s dog and team mascot

Day Eleven, (Wednesday) Last Day in the Field

2007-10-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

We are almost at the end of our journey! Checking our traps for the final time, we realize once again that out of the five that are closed, all are empty. A few other teams were still catching new red-backed voles, mostly in the clear-cut area.

Chris and Christina inform us that there will be no Deer Pellet Inventories today (oh, shucks!) but I will learn how to do a "Botanical Survey" under the direction of Christina and five other team members who are already experts. Cheryl scribed the results as the rest of us identified and counted the trees in 1o meter x 10 meter areas (just like in the DPIs.) The types of trees we found are birch, maple, service berry, various spruce species and white pine. It was enjoyable activity and we returned to base camp after surveying seven areas in the same woods in which we had been trapping.

When we got back to base, the gazebo was gone! The other members of the team had broken down the camp as we were completing the surveys. So we enjoyed our last picnic lunch and admired the work of other team members (like Bob and Carol) who were up in the trees installing bat boxes constructed by the team that had worked this site before us.

The final activity was Survival Training, taught by Chris (Dr. Newman) as Christina (Dr. Buesching) secured the rest of the site. During this training we learned about the four main survival points called PLAN: 1. Protection, moving way from danger and guarding yourself from the elements, 2. Location, figuring out where you are and where you can find help, 3. Acquisition, finding water and food sources you need for survival, and 4. Navigation, moving towards civilization with the sun as your guide.

After Chris demonstrated how to build a tree trap (very cool!) he showed us a device that can be used to make a fire. Several of us took a turn at it to see if we could create the smoke needed to make a fire. It seems I need a bit more practice, but it was certainly fun trying!

Another full day's work, and a very productive one at that. It was time to pack up the pickup and the Earthwatch bus for the drive back to Cherry Hill--but not before Jen took a team photograph--it took awhile but was well worth it!

Day Ten, (Tuesday) Field Work and "Chataway"

2007-10-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

This morning we repeated the same sequence of trapping and then completing several rounds of Deer Pellet Inventories. My team (Team B: Jen, Bob and I) each captured and released one vole. Once again, though, we had several more traps that were closed, but turned out to be empty. We are finding that the majority of voles were being caught in the areas that Christina and Chris referred to as "clear-cut" and not the heavily forested area where you might think they would be more prevalent. This is definitely worth looking into, to find out why. Our results, so far, were different from what our P.I.s had hypothesized. Perhaps we can email Chris and Christina to find out more about what they think is happening here and why.

The latter part of the day included a trip to the "Chataway" Cafe for the teachers, so that we could go over our field notes, make contacts to the school and do some posting to our blogs. Bob took some pictures of the cafe and surrounding area. As you can tell by the photo, I was beginning to feel just a little bit tired. Our work is almost done!

In your Science Notebooks...

2007-10-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

Did you get a chance to answer any of the journal questions in your science notebooks? Hopefully you did. First the question, “What makes a mammal a mammal?” Some of the characteristics that distinguish them are: mammary glands, sweat glands, a covering of hair, jaw articulation, ear anatomy, live birth, (or reproductive specialization), a diaphragm, and a soft palate for breathing and chewing. Some other important features are: specialized teeth for grinding and highly developed brains.

Now another important question…Why look for scat (poop)? There are many reasons it is important to locate and identify mammal droppings. The most obvious reason is that it tells us which animals reside, or at least “use” a certain area. Another reason is that it gives us an idea of population size, based on how many droppings (or piles of droppings in the case of deer) that we find. One more reason is that it can tell us about what an animal eats, and where it falls in the food chain. If scientists take a closer look at a scat sample they may also examine DNA or possibly parasite detection.

One interesting thing I learned about (white-tailed) deer is that they often contain a parasitic brain worm called a nematode. Although this parasite is not lethal to the deer, it is often lethal to the moose with which they compete. They way the moose contract the nematode is a bit complicated, but I would be happy to explain this further if anyone is interested.

Let's Talk about the Weather...

2007-10-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Lucy, Nicole, Devon, William and several others of you asked about what the weather is like here and more specifically about high and low temperatures. (See the picture of the weather station that is checked daily at Cook’s Lake.)

This is an interesting question because all of last week the temperature hovered around 20 degrees Celsius (which is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit) which Christina said was atypical for this time of year. As of this past Sunday, though, the temperature dropped significantly. The thermometer on our weather station read 12 degrees Celsius (which is about 54/55 degrees Fahrenheit.) So you can see that between the two weeks there has been a big change. This is, of course also having a dramatic effect on the flora, and the many deciduous trees in the area. The leaves are changing to their full fall colors right before our very eyes. Each day when we ride the Earthwatch bus to Cook’s Lake we are in for a treat of gorgeous new scenery.

This idea of temperature is very important to the science of this project. The question of the missing mice (or at least very low numbers of mice) could possibly be directly related. Isabella asked about which mammals could be affected by climate change. Could the decrease in numbers of mice be a result of change in climate? Why would this be?

One thought is that it has something to do with last year’s reportedly cold winter. The temperatures last winter here in Nova Scotia were significantly colder then average. The amount of energy that mice need for survival is directly dependent on temperature. Remember that mice have very large ears, eyes and a long tail, which means that they lose heat (energy) quickly. Voles, on the other hand, are largely adapted for colder conditions with their smaller orifices. In addition, Chris and Christina told the team that there was a snowstorm here in the late spring, which may have made it difficult for the mice to find food at a time that was crucial for them to find nourishment.

Think then of all the other animals in the food web that depend on the mice for energy. How would all of this affect them? This is a question that Chris and Christina hope to answer through their research in years to come.

Compared to Chicago

2007-10-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

Mr. Hall and Room 202 asked about how Nova Scotia compares to the Windy City.

I have included some things about location and climate earlier in this blog, but generally Nova Scotia is considered a Canadian province and the city of Halifax is located within this larger region. Halifax has a population of about 372,000. (Remember that Halifax is where my plane flew in last week). To learn more about Halifax, please see the link at the right of this page. Much of Nova Scotia is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and so you will see a lot of fishing villages, lighthouses, harbors and marine animals Actually 4,750 miles (or 7,600 kilometers) of Nova Scotia is seacoast. Unfortunately, you can’t find lobster in Lake Michigan! Nova Scotia is generally much cooler than Chicago. Their currency (money) is currently about equal in value to the American dollar right now.

I believe it was Charlie and Joseph who asked about the forest. I found out that 87% of Nova Scotia is actually forest landscape. Good question! And yes, most of the pictures (of forested area) were taken at Cook’s Lake, which was our work site.

Your Posts/Comments

2007-10-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a pleasure reading all of the comments and questions you've posted to the blog. I have tried to answer some of them within my daily journal (posts) but I realize that there are many I've not yet answered, so thank you for your patience. The limited access to internet has been a little challenging, but our P.I.s have made sure we have at least an hour every other day. This leaves me little time, however, to address your individual questions.

Many of the questions can be answered by scrolling through the blog. For example, all the animals I saw over the last two weeks are pictured within the posts. Sorry to report I have not seen any bears or moose as yet. Sorry Hannah and Janelle. Most of what we've seen are birds and small mammals.

Hunter and Megan, I really appreciate you taking the time to access the blog at home to read through and post questions. Let's see... My favorite things have been learning how to do capture, mark and recapture with the small mammals, and I also really enjoyed getting to know some wonderful new people (and dog.) I mentioned my non-favorite things in a new posting, which are deer poop surveys and same lunch every day.

The big track in my hiking pictures likely belongs to a brown bear. May be Bigfoot, though, you never can be too sure. I can't wait to share more information with you about field signs--mainly scat and tracks. I have a lot more pictures of these things, too, that I hope to get up on the blog soon.

There are 11 other people on the trip (not including our bosses, the P.I.s) . I will post a special feature on my team very soon. The two other teachers are Bob Minott from Long Island, New York and Jennifer Griffith, also from Chicago. No other Lincoln teachers.

Alex, Hunter and others who asked about my house, yes it is the "yellow house" pictured in my blog. Not too fancy, but it does the job quite comfortably. I share living space with Jen, Bob (the other teachers) and a fun couple, Lyman and Carol who have done 18 Earthwatch trips in the past! They are amazing and I am in awe of them.

Carly and Andrew, thanks for your question about what I was sniffing in Catherine's hand. It was not an insect...was your second guess otter poop? If so, you are correct! Again, we will talk more about scat later. By the way, Nikki and Devon, I appreciated your answers to the Science Notebook question regarding searching for scat.

They answered: You can tell if an animal is sick (very true), you can tell what lives where and what eats what (excellent) and that you can tell if an animal is affected by global warming. Follow-up question for you girls: How can deer poop give clues about animals affected by global warming? Please explain.

Beatrice, your question about the traps is an important one. Rather than trying to answering it in the next 3 minutes (the bus is on its way) I will include a specific post about trapping. It's very interesting.

Joseph and Charlie--Did you mean how big is the forest in which we're working, or how much land in Nova Scotia is wooded? Let me know, but good question.

I'm sorry if I did not get to your question, but hopefully I'll have some more time online tomorrow.

Talk to you again soon!

Day Nine, (Monday) Field Work

2007-10-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

Today was a bit of a longer day at Cook's Lake Farm, but we definitely got a lot of work done.
As usual, we checked our mammal traps as soon as we got to the site. Pictures here are Karen with her catch, a red-backed vole, and Joan (close-up) with a bog lemming. Bog lemmings are caught much less frequently. Like voles and mice they are in the rodent family, but tend to be much smaller, and as you can see in the picture, the juveniles are dark-gray in color. My team (Team B) did not do well at all today on the trapping scene. We found six closed traps, but they were all empty!

The team completed another round of deer dropping surveys after checking our traps. Pictured are my teacher friends Jan and Bob taking a much needed rest. Of course, our project dog Lycos is never far away. Even our project leaders Chris and Christina found time for a short rest.

We ended the day with two hours of path clearing. Chris and Christina need some new paths at the lake site for future mammal monitoring, so Earthwatch Team Five was on board to help out!
I grabbed the axe, Bob OWNED the saw and Jen found a pair of hedge clippers to help her do the job. We definitely earned our dinner that night.

Before and After

2007-10-11T10:46:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be fun to look back at day one in the field to review my reaction to my first vole-trapping experience.

As we move closer to the end of the expedition, (see black shirt picture)
I have become more confident with handling the rodents and am no longer afraid.

A couple of other differences are colder temperatures (which obviously you can't tell from the pictures) and two different vole species.

Orange shirt picture: meadow vole
Black shirt picture: red backed vole.

Day Eight, (Sunday) Continued

2007-10-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Once again, I've been dropped off at the internet cafe so that I can fill you in on my trip happenings..we're almost at the end. Room 106, thanks for today's post. What a great question (I will answer it in a separate post.) I will be flying back to Chicago this weekend, and ready to report to work on Monday. I can't wait to see everyone!

OK, I left off by telling you that we redeployed our Longworth traps in a forested area of Cook's Lake; very different from the first week's grassland area. Pictured is my teammate Bob setting one of our traps.

We had lunch at our base camp (the gazebo) as usual. I believe it was Hunter who asked about the things that I am NOT thrilled about. By now, I must say I am growing a bit weary of the same picnic lunch everyday, which consists of egg and tuna salads, small pieces of sausage and sandwich rolls. The deep pellet surveys are also not my favorite, but I'm getting through them.

After lunch, we were back off into the grassland (where we trapped last week) to conduct more Deer Pellet Inventories, otherwise known as poo time! Once again we measured out 10 meter by 10 meter sections to find as many scat piles as possible, which gives us an idea of the white-tailed deer population. Bob and I took some pictures of this activity so you can see the sequence. Hours of fun! Some days, we survey as many as seven sections.

The sideways picture (sorry about that I forgot to turn it before uploading) is my friend Carol holding something I learned is called a fummet. A fummet is a pile of deer droppings that has been molded together as one clump. Need I say more? See Carol looking lovingly at her fummet. I never in a million years thought I would be so excited about finding deer poop.

Day Eight, (Sunday) Back to the Field at Cook's Lake

2007-10-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

Our day began with Chris’ presentation of the preliminary data collected from the first week of field work. This was the work that was completed only in the grassland area. He showed us how to take the numbers and plug them into a formula (called the Jolly-Seber) which would provide an estimate for each small mammal accounted for (meadow voles, bog lemmings, short-tailed shrews and mice, or should I say mouse.) This number is called the MNA, which stands for the Minimum Number Alive. The resulting numbers for each species is as follows: Meadow Voles 34, Bog Lemmings 3, Shrews 3, and Mice 1. What we actually measured is the population and the distribution of the mammals, using the common method of Capture, Mark, and Recapture.

In addition, we went over the deer population surveys that we had conducted throughout the first week. Chris showed us a method of calculating the droppings (called deer pellet groupings) in order to estimate how many deer per hectare are using (or living in) the Cook’s Lake area. We figured out that using our data, there are .375 per hectare, which ultimately comes out to about 30 deer per kilometer. According to Chris, this number was fairly consistent to what Teams 1-4 came up with this year. The number of deer living on this land affects the project because the deer eat the vegetation that serves as shelter for the rodents being monitored. When the covering is lost, the voles become vulnerable.

After the data crunching, it was back out to the field. Back at Cook’s Lake, we reset the traps at a new site, one that seemed much more challenging to maneuver. Our new site is deep in the woods and in order to set the traps we had to do some fancy footwork. Jen, Bob and I (Team E-the teacher team) hypothesized that we would not trap as many voles as we did in the grassland area. We found out that a different subspecies of vole inhabits the forest. It is called the red-backed vole, as you might guess, due to its coloration.

I will share a few more tidbits about Day Eight on Thursday, when we hopefully be able to return to the "Chataway" Cafe for the final time. Right about now, Chris and the others should be coming to pick us up in the Earthwatch bus. I hope you enjoy perusing the blog until then.

Last of the "Keji" Pictures...

2007-10-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

Read about some of these pictures in the post below. Can you tell I really loved this place?

More "Keji" Park Pictures

2007-10-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

See post below.

Day Seven, (Saturday) Visit to Kejimkujik National Park

2007-10-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

Still taking a break from our research and field work at Cook’s Lake, Chris (Dr. Newman) took the team on a trip out to “Keji” National Park and Historic Site. It was a long drive (about two hours) from our Cherry Hill home base, but well worth the trip. Although we did not see any bears or moose, we did certainly take in some lovely scenery, and Mike, you will be happy to know we saw a few herps (a garter snake and some more frogs to be specific.) Can’t you ever get enough? I know, they are irresistible!

If you take a look through the photographs you will see some of the interesting natural phenomena that I observed at the park. These include: huge, old fallen hemlock trees, lush blankets of moss, and hemlock tree root systems growing on a huge boulder. Hiking through the park with Chris at the lead was a relaxing treat for me and the rest of my Earthwatch team. Of course, walking along, we are always looking for scat! Pictured here is a sample found by teammate Katherine, being identified by Chris as fox droppings. Also, do you notice anything special about my fall tree pictures?

The team was also honored to be invited to a presentation given by a native woman who identifies with the Mi’kmaq tribe, which has inhabited the park for an estimated 5,000 years. Some tribe members still live just outside the park borders. She talked about the rock carvings, or petroglyphs which were left along canoe routes by some of her native ancestors, and the meaningful stories they tell. This was a perfect ending to our restful day off. Tomorrow morning it will be back to work.

A Little Turned Around!

2007-10-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

Since most current postings move to the top of the blog, from now on my entries may seem a bit backwards. Sorry about that. Also, Room 202, thanks for all the great questions you just posted. I reviewed them quickly, but likely won't be able to answer them until Thursday, which is the next time I will have access to the internet. I will never take technology for granted again!

Note: To see many of the postings that don't show up on the first page, you'll need to click on "older posts" which will bring you to the next page.

Leland, in response to your question, "Have you seen any voles?" please see the video toward the end of the postings. Most of the animals we are catching and counting are different species of voles. The mammal in the video is a meadow vole. Also, Beatrice, the trap shown in the video is the type (Longworth) we are using for monitoring. We also have camera traps, but thus far have not been very successful with those.

Day Six, (Friday) Visit to Lunenburg

2007-10-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

As you know Friday, October 5^th, was a day off for my team, and we spent the day in Lunenburg. Although Bob, Jen and I spent most of the day at the local library (blogging and video-conferencing), our new friends explored the charming little town and brought back pictures to prove it! Some of the highlights were the Fisheries Museum, the Bluenose II (which was the sailboat in my blog), the Fishing Memorial and the famous Lunenburg Academy. Thank you to Carol B. for sharing her fabulous photos.

Great Expectations: Teaching from the Field

2007-10-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Many of you asked about the type of work I will be doing, why it is important and what my expectations are for this experience. Great questions. I am here in Nova Scotia to help with a long-term research project that focuses on the effects of climate change on mammals in Nova Scotia. The project is led by Dr. Chris Newman and Dr. Christina Buesching, two research biologists from Oxford University. My Earthwatch teammates and I (also known as Team 5) are now considered “Amateur Scientists” and/or “Citizen Scientists.” Our job will be to look at the populations (numbers) of various animals as well as their distributions (how they are spread out) in the field. We will set up 100 traps each day in a region called Cook’s Lake to see how many small mammals we can catch and count. They will be released after we mark them. The purpose of this is mainly to monitor the voles, mice, shrews and (possibly) chipmunks in this area. Next week we will take a look at some of the larger mammal populations. The data that we collect will be compared to last year’s data, which will give us an idea of how the population has changed over time. More details to come about how this will actually happen.

~Here are a couple of questions for you to respond to in your science notebooks: How do you think mammals are affected by changes in climate? What are your ideas/thoughts about how the climate here might be changing, and why?

When I heard about this Earthwatch opportunity, I thought it would be a great way to find out more about climate change and animal conservation efforts. These are things I am very interested in, and by being here I plan to learn much more about them. I also hope that my work here will inspire you to learn more about the environment and how we might impact it in positive ways. It’s a pleasure to be sharing this experience with you, and I hope you will continue to ask me thoughtful questions throughout this project.

Day One, (Sunday) Introduction to Nova Scotia

2007-10-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

Today we began with a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs and waffles. Yummy!

With a full tummy, I was all ready to focus on Dr. Chris Newman’s project presentation. (I know many of you really want to know what types of mammals we will be looking at, and now I can answer this a bit more accurately.) If I start talking (or writing) like a Brit, you’ll have to excuse me. Most of my cheeky team members come from the United Kingdom. What an interesting and fun crew! More about them later.

Dr. Newman (Chris) began by talking about the importance of wildlife conservation. We learned about how the mammal behavioral data we collect might be used to preserve wildlife. He discussed some of the reasons we monitor mammals, the first being biodiversity protection laws. Another is that mammals are indicators of climate change.

Did you know that mammals are effected by: environmental pollution, loss of habitat, exploitation, competition from other animals, and invasive species? That is just the short list of things to consider.

~Another question for your science notebook: What makes a mammal a mammal? Make a list of the characteristics that distinguish it from other animals. (Give it your best shot!)

I’ll post the list Chris shared with us during his talk today on my next blog entry, and you can compare it with yours.

Dr. Newman and Dr. Buesching also shared with us some of the data from another project they have been working on since 1987. They are monitoring the population and distribution of badgers near Oxford University in England. Busy beavers! Or should I say busy badgers? Anyways, their passion for their environmental work is admirable and inspiring.

Mice and voles were also a popular topic of conversation around the lunch table.

You’ll be hearing much more about these little critters in entries to come.

The Stars of the Show:

There are many types of mammals in Nova Scotia, both small and large. Some of the mammals are: voles, mice, shrews, skunks, bats, moles, bog lemmings, squirrels, rats, marmots (otherwise known as groundhogs or woodchucks), snowshoe hares, porcupines, chipmunks, raccoons, muskrat, beavers, foxes, coyotes, marmots, whales, porpoises, harbor seals, river otters, seals, deer, moose, minks, lynx, fishers, bobcats, and our favorite, the black bear. We will revisit this list again and update as necessary.

Day Two, (Monday) Field Work

2007-10-05T11:50:00.001-07:00

After another wonderful and hearty breakfast, we set out to Cook’s Lake to begin our field research. This will be the site for the majority of our research. Christina (Dr. Buesching) explained to us how her parents had acquired this thirty-acre piece of Nova Scotia farmland. They did this with the intention of using it for environmental research and animal conservation. Christina and Chris, who had been conducting their badger monitoring in the UK happily agreed to use this site to monitor small mammal populations in Nova Scotia, to see how/if climate change is having an effect on their survival. (Below, in the center of photo, are Chris and Christina. Pictured in the other photo is Christina training us how to load and set the traps.)

Now we were ready to begin. The first task was to set the traps. The ones we are using for this project are called Longworth traps, and run about $100. (US) per trap. Our principal investigators (Chris and Christina) carefully taught us how to add the right amount of straw, seed and apple to the little aluminum boxes. Setting them was a bit challenging at first, but after the first few we got the hang of it. The teacher team (Team E, Jennifer, Bob and I) set twenty traps in a grassland area, in two columns about ten meters apart from each other. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

After gathering at our Cook Lake Base Camp (a netted gazebo) we had a delicious lunch of sandwiches, chips and fruit and cookies. We needed the energy for our introductory afternoon hike. Shortly after setting off into the woods, Christina spotted some extra-large tracks, which could only belong to our all-time favorite mammal, the black bear! Could I be so lucky to see one yet again this year? Only time will tell! Anyway, we walked toward the lake.

Another interesting thing we spotted was a porcupine latrine. Christina said that at some point earlier this year there had been a predator-prey interaction between a fisher and a porcupine. We were able to see the remains of the porcupine at the base of the tree; we found its quills, a shoulder bone, and an arm bone.

Finally, we saw a grouse perched up in a tree. This was a first (sighting) for me… Knowing that the traps were now set, our P.I.s explained that we would need to check each of our (20) traps for three consecutive days in order to collect our experiment data. Altogether there were 100 traps set by five different teams. We couldn’t wait until the next day (Tuesday) to check our traps. Back to Cherry Hill for some dinner and a good night’s sleep!

Day Three, (Tuesday) Field Work

2007-10-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

Back to work! As we dispersed into the field (in this case we are working in grassland habitat) most teams realized that many of their trap doors were closed! Success!! Jen, Bob and I caught five meadow voles, which was not bad for first-timers. (Jen and Bob, or Mrs. Griffith and Mr. Minott to you, are pictured above.) It takes a bit of skill to remove the voles from their traps without harming them, but Christina is an excellent trainer, and we all learn quickly under her tutelage. She showed us how to mark them (by clipping a bit of their fur) before releasing them back into the field, in case of recapture. We also learned how to identify their gender, observe for pregnancy (which was actually common at this time of year), and then mass the voles using a spring scale. All of these things are an important part of the project’s data collection.

(Bottom picture from left to right: Karen, Elaine and Jen, otherwise known as the "Cheeky Monkeys.")

Next task: monitoring deer droppings, also known as “scat.” We had seen several sample of mammal scat on Sunday during our hike at Broad Cove, but now we were looking specifically for deer poop. In order to do this, we went into the woods and surveyed the land one section at a time. With two meter poles we plotted 10 meter by 10 meter grids, and then went searching! At first finding the droppings seemed difficult but after a while, we all got the hang of it. In addition to deer droppings, we also found some snowshoe hare scat. While we were searching, my teacher friend Bob found a little yellow frog, which he thought was some type of tree frog. It looked like a juvenile because of its size, but Bob said it was a full grown adult.

Note: I will discuss the reasons for the deer dropping surveys in a future entry. Don’t forget to write about this (and ask good questions!) in you Science Notebook so that when it comes time you can compare your responses.

At this point, we had earned our lunch. (Have you ever tried Canadian “All Dressed” potato chips? YUM!) That’s what I love about traveling. You learn so much! By the by, (as my British friends would say) checking the traps once a day is not sufficient. To get the desired results, we must complete a second round of trap monitoring. Once again, we had a few hits! All tolled, for our first, day, we didn’t do too badly. The team as a whole for day one caught 11 voles. Was it beginners’ luck? Time to pile back into the van for the hour-long ride back to Cherry Hill and another scrumptious dinner. As my housemate Carol would say, “Off we go, like a herd of turtles!” Is there such thing as a herd of turtles?

~Next journal (Science Notebook) question: Think about how (and why) a warming climate might affect the deer population in Nova Scotia. How might other animal species be affected as a result?

What other questions come to mind about this topic? (Please write them down so we can discuss them.)

One other question for us all to ponder (also a very important one on the minds of our PIs): Why are there absolutely NO mice this year? (The previous four “Mammals of Nova Scotia” teams from this year found none in their traps). If we know that last year the number of voles and mice were almost equal, than where are the mice this year?

Day Four, (Wednesday) Field Work

2007-10-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

After our usual scrambled eggs and bacon feast, we are off to Cook’s Lake once again. This is our third day working in the field, and as usual, we begin by checking traps. Most of us, by this time, have become a bit more confident and adept at handing the rodents. Save a few bog lemmings and short-tailed shrews, the majority of our catches are meadow voles. These voles are fairly easy to trap due the fact that they are herbivores and are very attracted to our traps, where they visit to dine on various seeds and apple pieces. The hay inside also creates a warm and dry shelter. Many of the voles are being listed as "recaptures" as we can tell by the hair clippings that Christina and teammate Jane have oh so carefully made on their side bodies.

Just to give you an example of some of the animal sightings of the day, please check out the pictures above. While we were surveying for deer droppings after lunch, we saw a yellow frog, (top middle) and a grouse (bottom left). Also, walking along the road, we came upon coyote tracks, (top right) and we foound out that although elusive, they do frequent the area.

Other stars of the day were my new friend Lyman (a radiologist from Rhode Island) handling the ever-so-popular meadow vole. Far sake of comparison, see the white-tailed mouse at bottom center (actually not found until Thursday) and the short-tailed shrew next to him on the right. What a wild day!

Day Five, (Thursday) Field Work in the Morning

2007-10-05T10:20:00.001-07:00

What a day! This was our fourth day of field work and time to bring in the traps. We have spent these last four days trapping in the grassland area of Cook's Lake, and now it is time to end this phase of the data collection. Above you see Mr. Minott's Flat Stanleys (who accompanied him from Long Island, New York) helping with the organization and management of the Longworth traps. I hope they have handled them carefully!

We were in for a big surprise today when teammates Karen and Sharon (otherwise know as Team B) caught a white-tailed mouse! This is the first mouse that has been caught at Lake Cook this year. (His picture is at the very top of this post.) Compared to the meadow vole, the white-tailed mouse has much longer whiskers (an adaptation for hunting), as well as large eyes and much larger ears. Since mice are omnivores and will eat just about anything, their body parts allow them to move around quite a bit without being caught by their many predators.

On our last deer dropping survey, we were not very successful, likely due to the fact that we were searching in dense, boggy forest. It was beautiful, but obviously not a place that deer like to hang out. Instead, our Mr. Minott (bob, the teacher from New York) discovered yet another amphibian friend. This one (pictured with Mrs. Griffith, or Jen at the top right of this post) was a leopard frog, and was very cooperative about letting us hold him. (or her?) Although we found very little deer scat, it was still a very productive day.

How's the Weather? Nova Scotia's Location and Climate

2007-10-05T10:12:00.001-07:00

Location
Geologically, the province of Nova Scotia is the oldest part of the North American shield. It is almost completely surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, connected to mainland Canada’s east coast by a tiny piece of land. Across the Bay of Fundy from Nova Scotia is New Brunswick, Canada, north of the state of Maine in the United States. A large part of the province, Cape Breton, is an island connected to Nova Scotia’s mainland by a causeway. The province is twice the size of Massachusetts, just a bit smaller than Ireland, and two-thirds the size of Maine. It is 575 kilometers (360 miles) long and, on average, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) wide. Its total land area is about 53,000 square kilometers (25,000 square miles). There is no place in Nova Scotia where you are more than 56 kilometers (35 miles) from the sea. The coastline is nearly 7,500 kilometers (4,700 miles) long and is accented by many bays, inlets and salt marshes. Halifax, the capital city of Nova Scotia, is just about halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. Some American cities are just as far north, such as Portland, Oregon and Minneapolis, Minnesota. By air, Halifax is 670 kilometers (420 miles) northeast of Boston, 1,350 kilometers (850 miles) east of Toronto, 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) east of Chicago and 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) across the Atlantic from London, England.
Climate
Winter in Nova Scotia is fairly cold, with temperatures usually ranging from -15 to 4°C (5-40°F). There is typically a good covering of snow, though not nearly as much as Maine or New Brunswick. Spring is generally cool, with temperatures averaging 6-15°C (42-60°F). Summers are mild, with temperatures in the 16-25°C (60-80°F) range. Because of this, many tourists come from hotter parts of the US and Canada to escape the heat and enjoy some fresh air and cool sea breezes.

A Day Off!

2007-10-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday and it is our day off! Our P.I.s (Principal Investigators) dropped the team off in the small town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The temperature is a perfect 70 degrees, which Dr. Newman was said was very uncharacteristic for this time of the year.
To get here, we had to take a ferry from the small town of LaHave, and our van just drove right onto it.

What a charming little town! Hopefully, this afternoon I will venture out and take a look around. (Note: The picture above and to the right is for Jesse. Welcome back, Jesse! The picture at the top of this post is for Leland. I hope you are researching Nova Scotia's transportation.)

This morning I attempted to communicate with my classroom but we had some technical difficulties. It was certainly nice, though, to be able to see their faces, and at least say hello.

Right now, I am at the public library accessing their WIFI, which is a little slow but much appreciated. I have posted the video clip below to show you an important aspect of our work in the field--trapping and releasing small mammals.

Small Mammal Monitoring: Cook's Lake

2007-10-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Finally connected!

2007-10-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I am glad to tell you that I am enjoying Nova Scotia immensely. Some of you asked about whether I was traveling with friends. As you can see, I have made a new friend. His name is Lycos and he is the project dog. (Lycos is Greek for wolf.) He is a big help on this project because he can sniff out all the animals at the work site, and also navigates as we make our way through the woods.

Thank you for being so patient for responses to your questions. I cannot wait to update all of my photos (yes, David I have taken many!) and all the new information I have learned.

Tune back in tomorow for a detailed update of my week of field work.

Hello, Halifax!

2007-09-29T13:52:00.001-07:00

Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments and questions. I will reply as soon as I can with more details about what I'm doing!

So long, Chicago!

2007-09-29T13:45:00.001-07:00

Are you ready?

2007-09-23T18:56:00.001-07:00

test

2007-09-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hi :)