Since my last post we have still been very busy. We were required to attend the MOCC (Motorboat Operator Certification Course) in Stockton, CA for a week. Having never driven a boat before, I was not surprised that I did not pass. I for sure need a good amount of practice before I feel confident being responsible for everyone on a boat I would be driving. They will be coming back later in the summer so I will get another chance.
Myth Dispelled! You will not sink when wearing waiters. During PFD section of class and water retrieval of people in trouble
Prior to this training week, we had been going out at night to catch larval suckers using a drift net over a private bridge in Chiloquin, OR. We did this for multiple nights and before leaving for the trip we had a total of 2,427 larvae. The net pens/ dock were also brought out into the bay and anchored down. When we returned from the training there had been a mass die off of the larvae most likely due to very high nitrogen levels and the fact they hadn’t been brought out to the net pens the previous week because our boat had been broken. With the help of the BOR our remaining fish were brought to the net pens. More night collection of larvae was done for a couple more nights and those were added as well.
Net Pens in Upper Klamath Lake. Fish were put into two of the pens.
Using a drift net off a bridge to catch larval suckers
We have started working on a few more projects in these last few weeks of June: Night collection of larvae was done one final time after memorial day to begin my co-intern’s larvae raising project in Lower Klamath Ponds; We began performing surveys of an endangered plant in the Pea family (Fabaceae), the species name is Astragalus Applegatei, or Applegates Milkvetch as it is commonly called. We have done surveys for this plant in 3 different locations, one of which is a newly reported population and has required more time to complete than expected (already 4 days and still not completed), but this abundance in the thousands is great news; We have been helping another fish biologist in our office with habitat surveying for good potential pools in streams in Modoc County, CA for the Modoc Sucker to be found in the next coming field season; We have also been assisting in electrofishing surveys and in pit tagging the fish in streams on Gearhart Mountain to determine the presence of and monitor native species such as Bull Trout and Red Band Trout as well as those that are non native like Brown Trout.
Modoc Sucker potential habitat beneath this large undercut. Marked tree above to survey in next year
Applegate’s Milkvetch, Astragalus applegatei
Myself and one volunteer still surveying newly found site, in this section alone there were 1,638 plants
In the most recent week we have been able to further progress in getting data on our larvae. We have figured out how to work our data sondes and calibrate them correctly to capture water quality data. As of yesterday we put the data sondes in both the ponds and in the net pens in Upper Klamath Lake. We installed a solar powered aerator in the net pens as well. We both were able to capture fish with minnow traps to asses the growth of the larvae, my larvae in the net pens are now at sizes 15- 28 mm which is a good sign of growth. The ones caught in her ponds were quite a bit bigger (multiple inches) than they should be, which leads us to believe they are not the ones that were put in, but from a different project that somehow got into the ponds unknowingly.
The babies are growing! size of larval suckers from net pens as of 7/05
There have been other days when we have been able to be a part of some other fun activities as well. We went nest searching to check on bald eagle chicks with the Wildlife Biologist in our office one day and found 7 chicks during our search of 10 nests, and a few adults. We were able to be a part of a Canada Goose banding session with USFWS out at the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge which was fun and very interesting in learning how to sex the birds. There was also one day where I was able to go with my supervisor to RAP Camp (Resources and People). This was a camp where high school students were able to learn about a lot about different biological and ecological processes, and also gave them an opportunity to be out in the wilderness and enjoy fun outdoor activities like kayaking and bird watching. We were running the fish dissection station where the kids worked in teams to dissect Steelhead Trout. There was a interesting activity they do every year with this which is to match up the internal organs to the face template of Mr. Fish E. Guts. To some this may seem a bit morbid but it was actually a good tool in getting the kids to be able to identify each organ and seemed to gauge some of their interest more when they were making his face. My supervisor and I were available if any of the kids needed help with identification.
This was a female Canada Goose who I banded and am about to release
This was captured through the spotting scope. There is the adult on top and actually two chicks in the nest but you can only see one
This is my update!
Shilah Allen, intern with USFWS in Klamath Falls, OR