Sweat Mountain: An Environmental Impact Study

Almost done

Mon, 07 May 2007 10:48:40 -0500

Our research is coming along great! Most everyones research is done. One member of our group is almost done with their project but they have to record their data in their logbook. They still have to take the alluminum foil off of the plants. Another member of our group still has to average all of their data. When they are done with the averaging they can start on the final report. The last member of our group is done with all of their data collecting and just needs to type up the final report. When everyone is done doing their individual reports we need to work on the group presentation. We are going to do a slide show with graphs and the pictures of the trees and plants that we took.

Cray Crazy Update

Mon, 07 May 2007 09:52:06 -0500

It is a new season and we have realized it is harder to catch crayfish. Our project will be done in a week from now. Last time we were out we made a lot of progress. Now we will only have to go outside one more time, which is today. After a quick scan of aour data it looks like crayfish prefer rocky bottoms.
OUR TEAM WILL GIVE OUR LAST UPDATE AFTER WE ARE COMPLETELY FINISHED WITH OUR PROJECT!

Simple Life--Protists

Sat, 05 May 2007 10:37:25 -0500

I am finally getting around to posting. I have been too caught up in my project (O_o) lately!
Actually...
I am done collecting my data. The past two months or so have been filled with going down to the creek, collecting samples, viewing them under the microscope, and sketching what I see in my field of view. The samples came from three different areas each of the three trials.
A=squeezed from the PF block
B=deeper water (pool)
C=shallower water (riffle)
I decided whether or not the protists I saw were algae (plant-like) or protozoa (animal-like) and made a still-incomplete table of that data. Now I am working on typing up my final report.
I have also discovered that my original hypothesis is not supported at all by the collected data. In the beginning, I thought that the most protists, would be found in sample A; however, after viewing all the samples, C is actually the one with the most algae AND protozoa. I thought this was interesting and wonder why this is so.

Murky Waters Moving On

Fri, 04 May 2007 13:57:23 -0500

We have now completed 4 tests and we are getting ready to start wrapping up the project. We have 4 test sites, site 1 is the farthest away from the dog park located next to a small culvert, site 2 is located write next to the dog park, site 3 is located on the main creek where the water always looks clearest, and site four is second furthest away from the dog park where the water always has a rusty look. Site 2 has had the highest coliform count on 3 of the four occasions, leading us to believe the hypothesis is correct.

Leaves, Trees, and Wannabees Update!

Fri, 04 May 2007 12:52:26 -0500

We seem to have been so busy lately that our blog reports have not been updated diligently. The group that is working with lichens has gotten very far, along with our leaves correspondent. Also, the person mapping out the park has finally begun their work!
Lichens- We have nearly completed all of our data collecting in three different locations around the school grounds. Also, we have begun to write our observations in a manner that can be submitted to our instructor. Although we can not yet be sure of this, since we are not completely done, we believe that the majority of lichens grow facing the north. This, however, may not be accurate, since the light intensity was always strongest in the north, thus the amount of sunlight reaching the lichens may be an important factor instead of the direction.

Leaves- My leaf analysis is going well. I finished my first trial in December, and am now about to start my second. I am going to repeat the trial this week. For my first testing, I used pointsettas, and I am deciding whether to repeat my second trial with the same plant or use another common household plant. A chat with my instructor should clear this up.

Trees- So far, in my tree idntification, I have marked off ten trees to identify. I have also identified four out of these ten and have possibile identifications for all of them. In addition, I have made a calendar including all of my goals and due dates.

Crawfish

Fri, 04 May 2007 10:59:03 -0500

Now our data is 5=riffles, 8=runs, and 9=pools. So far more caryfish are found in pools. Since January 25 we haven't found as many crayfish as before, but they seem to have grown in size.

Macroinvertebrates

Fri, 04 May 2007 10:21:05 -0500

The macroinvertebrates are definetly more active in cool water. The latest test I took shows that few are caught in warm or hot water, but the same happens with cold water. The most macroinvertebrates were caught when the water was 10.8 C. This shows the temperature of the water macroinvertebrates like.

Macroinvertebrates and Bacteria

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:16:30 -0500

The macroinvertebrate and bacteria projects are going well. The macroinvertebrates

come out when it is cool, but not cold. This was around ten degrees celsius. Mostly

crane flies and crayfish were caught, so this means that the river's ability to support

more sensitive is low. These two organisms are somewhat tolerant of poor water, but others

are not. If the creek had more of the sensitive macroinvertebrates, that would mean it

had a higher water quality.

The bacteria in the Sweat Mountain Creek has been improving with less fecal

coliform and E-coli. The last time I took a data collection the temperature was warmer

and it was closer to the dog park and that resulted in more bacteria. Near the dog park

there were 140 colonies of bacteria in the sample I took. Far away from the dog park

there were 48 colonies. Each time there were few or no E-coli and fecal coliform

colonies.

project research

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 13:16:13 -0500

hi i'm monkey #3. When expirementing always keep a project journal. In science if you didn't write it down, then it is like it didn't happen. It also helps you keep track of progress.

Protist Project

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 13:13:53 -0500

Hi, I'm Monkey #1 and this is my first post. I am currently collecting water samples from a creek nearby and I am analyzing them for microscopic creatures called protists. Protists were the first organisms when Earth was created, so it is interesting to observe them.

Zonebies: Day 1

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:06:16 -0500

Our research project is about the condition, in terms of the amount of different kinds of vegetation, of the Riparian Buffer Zone of a tributary of Rubes creek that runs through the Sweat Mountain Park area. As of now, we only plan to investigate the first 15-20 ft. of the entire RBZ.

Wednesday we put six stakes in the ground to mark out the area we will be researching. It took a while, so we didn't get anything else done. We will begin collecting data next Wed.

Slippery Salamanders -December 12

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 10:22:24 -0500

Only 3 salamanders were found today. One in a pool, one in a riffle, and one in a run. Most of these were found towards the dog park. The teams working on crayfish have also caught a couple of salamanders that we have used. I was very suprised that only 3 were found. Be sure to read our next post, thank you!
-Julia

Slippery Salamanders -December 12

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 10:22:24 -0500

Introduction to "Salamanders in Sweat Mountain Park"

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 10:07:23 -0500

Hi and welcome to the Sweat Mountain Park blog. This area of the blog is on the salamanders in Sweat Mountain Park. My name is Julia and along with my partner Alex and the rest of my class we go into the creek and conduct our designated projects. I'm studying what type of salamanders can be found and where and Alex is studying the size of the salamanders that we find.
So far we've had luck finding the salamanders using the kicksein in the pools of the creek. It has been difficult finding them in other places such as the riffles and runs. I need to find them on land, pools, riffles and runs. Only 2 specimens of salamanders have been found. Only 11 have been found. 10 of those are a muddy brown color and 1 is orange-green. I was suprised that we never found another of the orange-green kind.
Please contine reading the other entries for more information on the salamanders in Sweat Mounatin Park. We hope that you will find it interesting. Thank you!

Creek Erosion

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 09:41:49 -0500

I've gone through a few ideas, but finally decided on a good one. I tied a string across the creek's depression and marked it every 30 cm with yarn. Now I'll measure down to the ground the surface of the creek every other week. It should work pretty well.