Day 3 The day was hot and the mud thick.

The third day of our restoration ecology lab was geared toward capturing and categorizing fish and invertebrates. This post entails the techniques used that day to do so. We used two different methods to sample for organisms. One method involved using a sediment grabber to capture a clump of mud within a specific area and space:

Figure 1. Examples the mud grabber's business end. They can either be fitted with a pole that has a button to               close the clamp or a line that uses a weight to close it. Picture courtesy of
              Ricky Hydrological Company. (http://www.rickly.com/as/bottomgrab.htm)

The best reason for using these devices is you will know the area and depth that you sampled. this means that each sample can be approximately the same in size and more accurate. This does not help, however, when the substrate is too hard to sample! This was the case as even after wading into 4 feet of water the substrate did not give up much in the way of organisms. After sifting the mud that was sampled, all that was found was bits of coquina and oyster shell.

Our first site of sampling was below the dam while the tide was rising. The site we should have chosen  for the grabber sampling was on the other side of the dam. It had feet of mud below the surface but by this time of the day we were all exhausted from using the seine nets. At each sample site, above and below the dam, we used seine nets to pull out organisms from the water column. It worked well too!

Figure 2. A well illustrated seine net showing each participant along with the floats and lead lined                                  bottom. Illustration donated to the wiki commons site by Pearson-Scott Foresman Company.

               (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seine_(PSF).png)

The seine net used was a 75 ft long monstrosity that worked beautifully. It required but work by two to three people by wading between waist to neck deep water. This became quite the entertaining challenge when neck deep water met sucking mud. Many different animals were captured so it was worth the effort. The technique behind the net is simple. Like the Grabber, you know the area of the net and as long as you walk a specific distance with each sample a specific sample size can be acquired each time. We walk approximately 150-200 ft each time sample.

Really that is the key to any good scientific process, finding a good repeatable sample size.

Introduction to the First Two Days at the GTMNERR

Hello everyone! My name is Nadja and I am currently a junior majoring in Coastal Biology and minoring in Environmental Studies at UNF. When I heard about this course, I definitely wanted to sign up for it, not only because it was a topic I found interesting, but also because it was going to be a hands on experience in the field with local natural environments. It is certainly different from any biology course I've ever taken and I am looking forward to carrying out our restoration project at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR). 

The first field day consisted of an overview of the major habitats at the GTMNERR. We had the opportunity to ride in the mules which was very cool, but don't be the last one (unless you like dirt flying at your face). We were able to see some interesting creatures such as a fiddler crab. We visited both the estuary and the beach where we learned about different coastal formations, different types of vegetation, and human impacts. The second day of field consisted of taking water and phytoplankton samples above and below the dam. Proper sampling techniques and water quality analysis was covered. One piece of equipment used was a colorimeter which was used to measure different parameters such as ammonia levels and turbidity of the water samples collected. I've only had limited exposure to field sampling and water quality analysis before this course, so this was a wonderful learning opportunity. 

I look forward to learning more and working with everyone as well as to having a great semester ahead!

First Day of Field

Fiddler crab

GTMNERR

  

The First Few Weeks at GTMNERR

Hello All!
My name is Kierstin and I am a Junior majoring in Coastal Environmental Science at the University of North Florida. I've lived in Jacksonville all my life and I am really excited to take this course and learn more about restoring some of the natural environments around me. Growing up in Jacksonville I have had the opportunity to live near some of the most beautiful ecosystems Northeast Florida has to offer and it is the least I can do to help preserve some of these locations for future generations.
The first few weeks at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (phew, that was a mouthful) aka the GTMNERR have been very informative. On our first trip as a class out to the reserve we were able to visit the site that our project will take place as well as several other locations around the GTMNERR. We learned some of the basics about how a marsh is formed as well as some of the vegetation that can be found in a marsh ecosystem and how they come to occupy an area. We also went over a few basic techniques in sampling a site as well as actually performing sediment core samples at the beach located adjacent to the Educational Center.
The following week we made another trip to the GTMNERR to practice collecting water quality parameters and water samples above and below the dam at Guana Lake. This was a shortened trip due to the fact that we had to return to the UNF campus to actually analyze the water samples collected. While still on-site we used a YSI to take water quality parameters such as water temperature, conductivity, salinity and dissolved oxygen in locations both above and below the dam. We also collected plankton samples using a a net with very fine mesh. When we returned to campus we separated into two groups. The first group used the water samples to calculate color, turbidity, concentration of chlorophyll-a and the presence of ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, and phosphates. The second group analyzed the plankton samples from each site and determined cell counts as well as attempted to classify the plankton.
This week we focused on collecting macrofaunal samples above and below the dam. We used a 75' Seine net to collect fish and crustaceans in the area. We then put the samples into various buckets to work up the samples. To do this we had o identify everything caught, measure the lengths on up to 20 of each species as well as measure the species abundance of each species. We also had to work quickly in order to prevent as much death as possible. There was quite an abundance of species collected- southern flounder, sea trout, mojarra, blue crabs, silversides, anchovies, and more.

Fiddler Crab found near our restoration Site

Previous oyster bagging samples

Restoration Location 

Sediment Core Sample

Dr. Smith explaining changes in strata

Look what Jesse found!

Below the Dam at Guana Lake

Waiting on water quality parameters

Collecting the Plankton

Working up the water quaility samples

pH Test

Collecting Benthic Sediment Samples

Seine Net below the dam

Waiting on the second seine sample

We found a crab molt while waiting on the second seine

Trying to work around the multitude of fishermen above the dam

Fun Day At The GTMNERR!!

Hey there everyone, I figured before I start off about the awesome day we had at the NERR I'd give a little background information about myself. So, as you all probably know, my name is Eric Boe I've grown up here in Jacksonville for the last 15 years and love to do just about anything in the outdoors! I'm currently a senior in the coastal environmental science program and I'm hoping to graduate in the spring of 2014.

Moving on though, this past lab day at the NERR has probably, for me, been the most fun and exciting day I have had. Not only did I get to spend my morning before class out in the marsh duck hunting, I got to wade through the water on the south side of the dam with a 75 FT seine net! It was a first for me and an exciting experience, especially when we finally made it to the boat launch area after what seemed to be hours of dragging the net through the water. Once the net was pulled to shore I was amazed by the diversity of marine organisms we had caught in the net!! It was by far my favorite up to this point and can't wait to see what the rest of the semester has to offer!

First day - Introduction

Hi I am Natalia and I am a Coastal Environmental Science senior graduating at the end of Spring 2014
I am very happy we have already started to get to know each other and we can have some fun and of course learn a lot while doing this project.

Introduction day consisted of getting an overview of what GTMNERR is all about and what we can expect while working on site. The tour was enjoyable and it was very cool to cruise around in the mules. My rubber boots were a bit too short and I got water in them... not cool, but aside from that and the heat, I loved being out.

I hope we all have a great semester ahead!

Careful! wear your boots! 

Restoration Ecology Blog: Introduction

Edge of the Tolomato River showing marsh vegetation.  June 2013.

I am Dr. Kelly Smith, and I will be leading an undergraduate biology course that is focused on restoration ecology.  As part of the course, students will be assisting in carrying out a small, experimental coastal restoration at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas Estuarine Research Reserve.  

Our goal is to apply a combined living shoreline restoration and begin the process of assessing success.

Students are asked to post about their experiences during the restoration course.