Day 6 August 10, 2009

Today, Suoko and I were assigned lab duty in the "zoo". Angela Smilanich, post doctoral student working with Lee, is supervising our new duties. This lab is where we keep all of our caterpillars. Our job is to empty every ziplock baggie (high tech science containers!) and look for pupae (plural for pupa), remove the fras (cat. poop), and return them to the bag. If the cat. is running out of food, we are making a "shopping list" so more host plant food can be collected. I would estimate there are over 100 baggies hanging on the rack at this moment. There could be anywhere from 1 to 20 cats. in each bag. As they grow and take up more space, they will be separated into more bags. Every day team members are going out collecting more specimens. So the job of emptying fras is neverending.

Suoko is moving much quicker than I am because I am absorbed in the moment. I am thinking about how I can use these techniques with my students and also taking pictures of them. Another new word I have learned is cryptic. That is the word used to describe the camoflaged effect used by the cats. to blend into their host plant. Each cat. has been identified by the "processors" (another lab job performed by Earthwatch teammembers) and the cat. is given an identification number. These numbers are written on the baggie. We also have to check the number of cat. written on the bag with the number found inside. Considering how cryptic they are, this is a very tedious job just looking for them. One bag I checked had 3 cats. missing, so Angela said to make another list titled: escapees. Imagine, caterpillars escaping from their food source....how dare they alter our scientific data!!!

In another bag I emptied, there were one cat., one pupa, and one parasitized cat. This means the parasitoid already developed into its adult form, consumed the entire cat. and was gone. All that was left was the faint trace of the cats. body and the empty pupa of the parasitoid. I don't know where the parasitoid went, but it wasn't in the bag. So another duty is to mark a separate bag and place the parasitoid into it and place all pupae found into a different baggie and mark it accordingly.

I realized halfway through the morning that I was very thirsty and felt dehydrated. So we went to buy a Gatorade from the office. While there, we discovered someone captured a rattlesnake from the garage yesterday. It is being kept in an enclosure, stored in the office, and I discovered during lunch that they plan on tagging it. That is one job I don't care to explore.

Lunchtime came quickly.....they ring a dinner bell for every meal. So off we went to eat beef tostados, salad, and watermelon. They do make good, nutritious food and allow you to serve yourself with generous portions. They don't frown on seconds as long as everyone has had their first helping.

After lunch everyone returned to their assigned duties. Lee said we can change jobs tomorrow since some of us have not finished our morning duties. I know he was directly talking about us because Angela spoke up and said we hadn't finished removing all the cat. fras. I understand their committment and realize we are here to learn about their research and assist as needed. No one has complained about their job assignments. Although, one person has expressed a desire to stay in the field collecting, rather than work in the lab.



FYI for Astronomy Lovers!!!

The annual Perseid meteor shower will occur late Tuesday night and into the early morning hours of Wednesday morning. You might see more than 80 meteors an hour streak across the sky during the best viewing times, when the moon's glare will be the weakest. To see the Perseid meteor shower, bring a blanket to a place away from city lights and lay on your back, taking in as much of the sky as possible. The meteors will originate in the northeastern sky near the constellation Perseus and then shoot off in all directions.


Here is a good link: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810085310.htm

After a dinner of baked (previously frozen) fish, tater tots, salad, and jello, Mike Singer, Professor of Biology at Wesleyan University, CT, gave a very detailed talk about the "Advantage of specialist over generalist temperate forest caterpillars at avoiding bird predation". I know it sounds like a long and detailed lecture and it was. I took notes 90% of the lecture and just became overwhelmed with information overload towards the end. As I looked around the room, I could tell the other team members felt the same. About half of us take notes when there are lectures. I wonder how reflective the ones who don't take notes can be unless they have a "gift" of remembering details. But considering this lecture is on a graduate level, I doubt much of this information would be recalled. As for using my notes in the future, that is yet to be determined, but at least I have them for a reference.

Lee returned us to Cave Creek around 9:00 pm and everyone decided to call it a night. Tomorrow night we have plans on taking a night walk into the desert near Portal, AZ. This is about 3-5 miles towards the east of Cave Creek. And of course, Jared is most excited about seeing the meteor shower in the night sky. So be sure you take a look outside Tuesday evening for the annual event. I hope you appreciate today's photos. Goodnight!