For the past two days I have made an immense amount of progress on my independent study project. Dr. Sarah Oktay was kind enough to take me out to two groundwater wells on Wednesday 3/13 that I had not been to before. I took the normal measurements at each site such as salinity, total dissolved solids, pH, dissolved oxygen, etc. I then took water samples from each site and returned to the UMASS Field Station to do Nitrate and Phosphate tests. Nitrate levels were high for each site, but the water samples showed no change in color. They would usually turn amber if Nitrate was present in a high concentration. So, I decided to let all of my samples sit overnight and I returned today (Thursday 3/14) to retest them. Strangely enough, the Nitrate levels increased dramatically within the samples. Dr. O. explained to me that a possible reason for this hike in Nitrate concentration could be due to microbes in the water. These microbes transform atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia via the process of nitrogen fixation. I still don’t know all of the details but I will keep researching and hope to figure it out! Also, I put all of my data for my independent study into an Excel spreadsheet; Professor Ellen Dounglas would be proud!

Vern Laux, resident bird expert and naturalist took the class out birding yesterday to various sites around Nantucket Island. We encounter a northern mocking bird, which can mimic calls from other birds as well as horns, sirens, or other human made noises. Sifting through a field of Canada geese, we attempted to sneak up on the three Northern Lapwings, some of the rarest birds here in North America, which blew over the Atlantic during the unusual weather events of Hurricane Sandy.

Moving onwards to some of the ponds, we saw American Coots, Ring-Necked Ducks, Wigeons (both American and Eurasian) as well as several types of Gulls and shore birds like the Black Bellied Plover.

Eurasian Wigeon

Ring-Neck Duck

Over head we noted Red Tailed Hawks among the fleet of Crows and other common birds.

Later that day, Vern took me out to the Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s Cranberry Bogs in search of a more uncommon Raptor, although it is found on every continent except Antarctica. There we came across a Peregrine Falcon, full on some recent meal, she lazily sat along the road not far from a flock of small shorebirds called Dunlin. We were able to get nearly 10 meters away and snap some good photos. Through the binoculars I was able to observe the faster animal on earth, full, and lackadaisically perched on a cranberry bog road. Cool Video on Peregrines.

As for my independent project – I have been designing new “self guided nature trail posts” for the 11 posts along the UMB Field Station’s Nature trail. Check here for the Current Posts Virtual Tour. I will be focusing on several different topics, including some birds that may be spotted during the off season months. If other students are interested, it would be great to collaborate on some of these posts in order to bring the research and study on specific topics such as salt marshes, coastal change, or hydrological systems into the field posts.

All for now

Peregrine Falcon, Hunting

Dunlin, a small shore bird

I have made substantial progress with my independent study over the last few weeks. I have spent plenty of time on the computer researching documents and analyzing aerial photographs on Arc GIS software with the help of Eddie Saenz and Steve Nye. Below is my abstract and sample photographs I will be analyzing.

Salt Marshes are unique coastal habitats that provide ecosystem services and hold important roles to the surrounding environment.  The services and roles consist of providing nutrients to the coastal ocean, protection to the mainland, filtering pollutants and decomposition. Medouie Creek salt marsh is located on the northeast portion of Nantucket Island along Polpis Harbor, which is currently being restored. Mosquito ditches and a dike road have changed the hydrology of the area being studied. The main objective of the restoration projected conducted by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation (NCF) was to increase tidal action by installing a low flow box culvert, which increased the salinity and decreased the abundance of the non-native invasive plant Phragmites australis, also known as the Common reed. Improving tidal exchange has been done in hopes of restoring the salt marsh to a suitable state. The trend of this salt marsh shows the changes it has encountered over time from both human and natural activities. An analysis of this specific area using Arc Geographical Information Systems (GIS) will show physical coastal habitat alterations by comparing historic and current aerial photographs of Medouie Creek salt marsh. GIS will also be used to examine the impact of the restoration project and possible management techniques for future success.

Biology 306 started this week, which means we’ve been getting our feet wet in the field- literally! We are typically lecturing mid morning and entering marshes either early morning at low tide or early afternoon to obtain water and soil samples. The class has been very hands on and we have beneficially been able to see what we learn within the classroom outside in the field. It has been a lot of work, but a good ride so far. I’ll let you know how Nantucket is next week when I’m a little more sleep deprived from hitting the books 🙂

Rubio and Nicole Folger’s Marsh

The start of Marine Coastal Ecology was good. Enjoyed being in the field learning about the different marsh flora and organism. Looking forward to the rest class and being out in the field.