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Photos:
Mon, 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 observing and using a field notebook. There was also a lot of looking up and careful examination of leaves as we learned how to use dichotomous keys to identify trees. By lunchtime the students could recognize white and black oak, black cherry, hickory, sassafras, basswood, white pine, and also poison ivy. In the afternoon we got to know insects in the prairie of Nichols Arboretum. Students used a variety of insect sampling methods, including a white sheet, tuna bait, and aerial and sweep nets. We became familiar with the characteristics of eight common orders of insects and could categorize what we found, which included dragonflies, beetles, and leaf hoppers.
We then did pilot studies about what habitats different insects prefer.
Tues, Day 2 We spent the morning 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 and peanuts) 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 counting them after lunch. 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.
Field explorations continued into the night on Tuesday. As the sun set we got a close up view of raptors at the Leslie Science Center. We then hiked through Black Pond Woods and listened for frogs - just green frogs on this coolest night of the summer! Along the edge of the forest we got a good display of bats and listened to their nightly hunt for insects with bat detectors.
Wed, Day 3 Wednesday's theme was birds and wetlands. To really get the feel for a wetland we took a "hike" through Crosswinds Marsh with canoes. We got close up views of the plants and animals (including invasive watermilfoil and soaring bald eagles) that have come to be a part of this mitigated wetland. Everyone stayed dry, and in the afternoon we went birding around the marsh, learning how to use binoculars and use key characteristics to identify a bird, including its behavior and habitat. We learned a variety of birds by sight and/or sound, such as robins, chickadees, red-winged black birds, a marsh wren, great blue heron, and barn and cliff swallows. With the nests in such great view we studied whether the frequency of visits to a barn swallow nest relates to the number of chicks in the nest. We also got a great look at a hefty snapping turtle.
Thurs, 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 so far- 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). We discussed the many possible follow-up experiments we could do.
In the afternoon - back into the field. We explored the constructed wetland at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and brainstormed research questions. Then we did a focused study of pollination in the floral display. Different groups did research on pollinator loyalty, visitation rate and flower density, and floral syndromes - sets of floral traits that match certain pollinator types.
Fri, Day 5 The last day of week one we visited some magical mystery wetlands - some rare Michigan ecosystems. First to Tiplady fen - with characteristic sedges and marl flats - and as we discovered, it was a bit wetter and muddier this year (those white shoes will never look quite the same). Then for lunch a refreshing visit to Pickerel Lake, where we rinsed off and found butterfly species we hadn't seen yet and newly emerged dragonflies and their left-on-the-plants exuvia (their final aquatic exoskeleton). Ready for another wetland we hiked along an esker (imagining the under-glacier river that flowed there) and down the hill, across a moat (our waders kept us nice and dry), and into a bog. We bounced on the floating mat of sphagnum moss, saw carnivorous pitcher plants in action, and even tasted some wild ripe blueberries!
Mon, Day 6 Today we expanded our field sampling skills. In the morning we went to Saginaw and compared the soil chemistry (pH and nutrient levels), herbaceous layer, insects, and birds of coniferous vs. deciduous forests. In the afternoon we sampled an upstream site of the Huron River. Students waded in the water to measure dissolved oxygen and phosphate levels, as well as the diversity of macroinvertebrates (small and fascinating organisms, such as caddisflies that form 'nests' of twigs and sand and the aquatic form of dragonflies).
Tues, 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.
Wed, Day 8 & Thur, Day 9 Time for Independent Projects. Students braved the heat on Wednesday and worked throughout Matthaei Botanical Gardens and the Nichols Arboretum to complete their designed experiments in the field - this included a variety of projects from looking at the lobes of sassafras leaves, to sampling for insects in the leaf litter, to counting earthworms in prairie vs. lawn soil (coaxed upward with a mix of ground mustard seed and water), to sampling ponds that differed in size and amount of surrounding impervious surface. All day Thursday the students came inside to enter, analyze and interpret their data.
*** Join us for a presentation of their research posters on Friday afternoon at 1:30 pm in the Math Atrium to find out more about this year's projects!!***
Fri, Day 10
Course Description
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