Homeward Bound!

What a wonderful experience--I am truly amazed at how much I learned not only from Chris and Christina, but also from my fellow Earthwatch volunteers. Although I am looking forward to going home and seeing my friends, family, and students; I will truly miss my friends family, and students, I will truly miss my friends in Nova Scotia!

The Earthwatch "bus"

The Second Week

voleshrewmouse

What’s the difference?

• Voles—are vegetarians (eat grass mostly)
• Shrews—are insectivores, have long pointy noses and short tails, smaller than voles and mice
• Mice—are scavengers and hunt (will eat almost anything), have bigger ears and eyes, and are agile

Lycos

Green Bay!

Deer tracks
Amy setting traps

A pregnant bog lemming

A tree frog that we caught!


Day 8—Saturday October 6, 2007--Kejikujik National Park

Today was another beautiful day and we were lucky enough to travel to Kejimkujik National Park. “Keji" (which means 'Our Place" in the Mi'Kmaw language) has been designated as a national historic site and is 22 square kilometers of protected wilderness on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. Keji plays an important part in the history of the Mi’Kmaq people with its rock carvings—also called petroglyphs—that tell about their culture. I particularly enjoyed our walk through the hemlock forest--look at how tall they are!


Day 9--Sunday October 7, 2007

In the morning, the team analyzed the data that we collected the first week. Chris gave us a crash-course on the “Jolly Seber” method of calculating the population of mammals in the land we surveyed. We used this equation:

(N+R) / R x M = P

(New mammals found + Recaptures) / Recaptures x Mammals marked = Population

Here are the number of animals that should be in the area, according to our data:
White-tailed deer—30
Meadow voles—33
Bog lemmings—at least 3
Short-tailed shrews—at least 3
Mice—at least 1

Chris and Christina were surprised (as we all were) at the small number of mice that were trapped and we discussed the factors that might have effected our count (a cold winter in 06-07, or a late spring thaw are possible reasons).

This afternoon, we drove to Cook’s Lake and once again prepared and set 100 traps, but this time in a forested area. We are interested to see if we will find more or less animals in the traps and what types they will be.


Day 10--Monday October 8, 2007

After taking bets again on how many animals we would find in our traps, we set out for Cook’s Lake after breakfast (estimates ranged from 7 to 14). There were a lot of empty traps this morning and we only found a total of 6 animals all day! We did see a new type of vole, the Red-backed Vole that lives primarily in the forest. We also caught 2 bog lemmings (1 had a remarkably short tail!) and, although slightly disappointed, we know that the following days should be more fruitful.

(Of course we have to rest once in a while....this is a picture of Bob & me soaking up some sun after lunch!)

This afternoon, we split into teams and I helped a group clear a new path so that future groups will be able to navigate the forest easier. Finally, what would a day be without looking for scat? I was very successful again and found deer, porcupine, and even some snowshoe hare poop to add to our data.


Day 11--Tuesday October 9, 2007

Back to checking traps today, but the weather was noticeably cooler! Some rain this morning and the ground was a little muddy. We have been VERY lucky with our weather (last week was65-75 degrees each day!), but this week calls for highs in the 40s. Good
thing I brought a fleece! We also collected our camera traps to see what
had been recorded. Camera trapping provides a limited view of certain animals in their natural habitat that are more difficult to observe in person. The special cameras that we used are triggered by movement and equipped with electronic lighting to record these animals’ activities. Trapping larger mammals can pose the threat of injury to the animal, so camera "traps" are the least invasive option.

Day 12--Wednesday October 10, 2007

The last day in the field turned out to be a wet and rainy day. This morning, we collected the traps and checked one last time for any "friends". Our team (me, Amy & Bob) had 5 closed doors, but 5 empty traps! After watching our fellow volunteers "scruff" their voles and bog lemmings, we went to collect all 100 traps and clean them, since we are the last team for the season. The next tasks were doing a botanical survey of the trees in specific areas and taking down the gazebo. One last "Survival Skills" session and our days at Cook's Lake were over........so sad!
Chris treated us to a geology seminar this evening and I certainly learned a lot about how this area of Nova Scotia was formed (and also about Chris' extensive knowledge of the topic!)

Day 13--Thursday October 11, 2007

This morning we used the data that we had collected while trapping in the forest to calculate how many animals SHOULD be in the area we've been working in......
Red-backed voles--20
Meadow voles--2
Bog Lemmings--10
It was once again surprising that we found NO mice in the area (the only mice that we've trapped this week were in our own yellow house!)



The Yellow House

Some information about the animal that we saw most often this week........red-backed voles are small rodents that have limited hearing and vision, and freeze when they see predators. For these reasons they often become prey for foxes, weasel, bobcat, coyote, owls, and raptors. How do they survive as a species? They rely on protection from the underground, and loose fitting skin that allows them to turn around when caught and bite their predators on the nose. The skin of their tail can break off if a predator grabs it and it will not grow back.