Explorations of a Field Biologist

Session 1
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Day 1 Our first field excursion was to a local park - Furstenberg Natural Area - where we could see a range of Michigan ecosystems - marsh, oak-hickory forest, prairie, and the Huron River. We practiced observation skills and using a field notebook. There was also lots of looking up and careful examination of leaves as we learned how to use dichotomous keys to identify trees like white and black oak, black cherry, hickory, and basswood. In the afternoon we walked the trails of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, including listening to green frogs in the wetlands and identifying trees in the floodplain forest.

Day 2 In the morning we learned how to use binoculars and identify birds and then went birding in Black Pond Woods where we saw and heard many birds including downy woodpeckers, indigo buntings, chickadees, and nuthatches, and then at the Leslie Science Center got a close up view of some very large raptors. In the afternoon we went to Saginaw Forest to have our first practice in measuring and quantifying patterns in the field. We compared the soil, herbaceous layer, insects, and birds of forests with a pine vs. oak canopy.

Day 3 We spent the day testing two hypotheses in the Arboretum. One study investigated whether foragers like squirrels and chipmunks prefer food with low handling time (shelled vs. unshelled sunflower seeds) or cover from predators (food in the forest near large trees or out in an open field). This involved deciding on a study design, counting out lots of seeds, placing them throughout the forest and field, and recounting them twice throughout the day. We also tested the predator escape hypothesis for invasive plants. We looked at the leaves of many honeysuckle bushes and their neighbors to see if the non-native honeysuckle really does have less insect damage than its potential competitors. Along the way we saw (and heard) some familiar and some new birds and plants and did some forensic entomology on a dead snake we found. Tomorrow we'll take all the numbers we collected and analyze and interpret them.

Day 4 
We came in from the field for one morning to use Excel on the computers in the Science Learning Center. We summarized, graphed, statistically analyzed, and then interpreted data collected on Wednesday - with very interesting results!! We found that leaves of introduced honeysuckle did have significantly less insect damage than their neighbors, supporting our hypothesis that escape from predators may contribute to their competitive advantage. Our foraging experiment results revealed that being close to cover (forest vs. field) had a greater effect on squirrel and chipmunk foraging decisions than being easy to eat (shelled vs. unshelled), though we discussed how the timing of our data collection may have influenced these results.
In the afternoon, we went to a field site that was far from the computer world -- a bog! After crossing the waste-high fosse, or moat, we felt the floating mat of sphagnum moss bounce beneath our waders, and marveled at the feathery tamarack trees, delicious blueberries, and carnivorous plants of this unique ecosystem.

Day 5
On Friday we continued our exploration of wetlands with a visit to Crosswinds Marsh. Canoeing through this mitigated wetland allowed us a close-up view of the plants and animals (including bald eagles - though on this day we only got to see their massive nest) that have come to be a part of this marsh. Everyone stayed dry, and in the afternoon we learned some new techniques for observing and quantifying animal behavior. Working in small groups students designed and completed their own behavior studies. These included testing whether the frequency with which adult barn swallows return to a nest relates to the number of offspring in the nest, and whether schools of sunfish respond differently to sound and movement.

Day 6 We started week 2 by really getting to know insects. We used a variety of insect sampling methods, including a white sheet, yellow pans, tuna bait, and aerial and sweep nets, to scope out what kinds of insects we would find in the prairie of Nichols Arboretum. After learning some of the key characteristics of eight common insect orders, we were able to identify all of the insects sampled at least to order. Based on our new skills we came up with some hypotheses we could test about insects – may be for independent projects. In the afternoon we went to the flower display at Matthaei Botanical Gardens to focus on one type of insect – pollinators. In small groups we did studies to answer question about pollinator loyalty, visitation rate and flower density, and floral syndromes. We ended the day with a trip to the tropics and desert – appreciating some plant adaptations in the conservatory.

Day 7 Tuesday we studied the concepts of biodiversity and productivity in two agricultural settings. We performed a bioblitz - assessing the biodiversity of insects, plants, and birds in two sites: conventional monoculture and organic polyculture. At Tantre Farm - a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm near Chelsea - we also visited with the 'wildlife' - cows, goats, and chickens. In the afternoon we visited the Eddy Discovery Center in the Waterloo Rec Area and developed some independent project ideas.

Day 8  Wednesday was river day. We compared water quality at two sites along the Huron River- upstream at Dexter-Huron Metropark and downstream in Ann Arbor at Island Lake park. We hypothesized that because of possible pollutant and sediment inputs to the watershed water quality would be lower downstream. We measured chemical and physical aspects such as water temperature, phosphate levels, turbidity, and speed, as well as sampled marvelous-looking macroinvertebrates - worms, snails, and aquatic insect larvae. Though our chemical and physical measures did not differ greatly between sites, our indicator species show that water quality was lower downstream - we found much fewer pollution-sensitive animals, like mayflies, at the downstream site. We also finalized independent projects in the afternoon.

Day 9  On our second to last day students completed independent research projects. They worked throughout Matthaei Botanical Gardens and the Nichols Arboretum on a diverse research questions about the abundance and distribution of organisms such as ants, earthworms, birds, and beetles. If you'd like find out about the effectiveness of a constructed wetland in improving water quality, or whether syrphid flies and honey bees use the same resources, or if non-native plants support insect biodiversity, or many other fascinating topics, then please JOIN US Friday, July 10 at 2pm in the Math Atrium of East Hall for a poster symposium of very interesting results!!

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Session 2

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