The Princess and the (Pickerel) Frog

This week, we worked on stream quality. You know, just my absolute favorite topic and fieldwork within environmental science.

Me enjoying my time in the deeper part of Happy Creek.

On Wednesday, we went out and did the field work at two different streams. The first was Sloan Creek, a stream that divides the SCBI property and runs through a spot on the Appalachian Trail. My partner and I tested the alkalinity before we went further down the stream to do some kicknetting.

Alkalinity is the ability for a stream to resist an acidic change to the pH. This is often determined by the rock beneath the stream and cannot easily be changed. Kicknetting is when a net is placed across the bottom of the stream, and immediately upstream the researcher kicks and disturbs the bottom so macroinvertebrates will float downstream into the net. The contents of the net are then inspected and the macroinvertebrates are identified. Macroinvertebrates are used as indicators for stream health over time because some species cannot survive if the stream is polluted.

While identifying my macroinvertebrates, I learned that I was a true Disney Princess. As I was leaning over the contents of my net, a pickerel frog hopped over and sat next to me, as pictured here.

After I finished identifications, I went to pack up and found this adorable jumping spider trying to hitch a ride back with me, further proving my status as Disney royalty.

After everyone completed their kicknetting, we drove to a park with access to Happy Creek. Sloan Creek feeds into Happy Creek, and is located closer to town.

We once again tested alkalinity, but this time we also took measurements of stream's width and depth, as well as the velocity of the stream. To do this, we set up a finish line and went ten meters back and dropped an orange and timed how long it took to get to the finish line. While the orange travelled, I took a seat in the stream shallow and found another jumping spider on my hat. When I returned him to the shore, I came back to sit down but found this crayfish molt!

While kicknetting, I found significantly less macroinvertebrates. I did, however, find some small fish, including this sculpin. In the deeper section where the first picture was taken, we also found a snapping turtle who buried himself in the rocks on the bottom. While looking at some nearby fish, I also witnessed a crayfish walking along the bottom, right towards the snapping turtle. I started yelling at him to turn around, but he didn't hear me. He got within the turtle's reach, but jumped back just in time to swim away safely.

The next day, we visited Shenandoah National Park again to test streams and also the outflow from the wastewater treatment plant. During lunch, I finalized my status as a Disney Princess when a woolly bear caterpillar climbed onto my leg and took a leisurely stroll across my legs.

I'll be waiting for my casting call, Disney!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/76a344_9dcc5e423c9d42f786ea16cae24348bd/720p/mp4/file.mp4