Week 13
Although I spent the majority of the week working in the same place (Salford Quays and the Manchester Ship Canal) I was reminded to “always expect the unexpected”, and to take a good camera with me whenever I am out on fieldwork - because I never know what I might find. Whilst out on the routine Manchester Ship Canal Oxygenation pipeline check this week, I spotted a previously unseen visitor to the ship canal. Balancing along the pipeline was …. a mink!
Finally, I have seen the type of furry face which produces the scat that I have previously reported finding (and sniffing) in my earlier blogs, when I was completing an otter and vole survey of the River Mersey. I had a fantastic opportunity to observe the mink quite closely and take a few photographs before he/she moved away. I will certainly be paying a lot of attention to the pipeline in the future, in the hope of spotting it again and trying to get a better photograph!
Highlight of the week: Obviously the meeting of the mink! It is memories like this that I will take away and treasure from my time at APEM.
Week 14
An impending storm event had me travel to the banks of the River Mersey to help put two “Darleks” in place. These automated water sampling machines were programmed to automatically sample 1 litre of water from the river flow every 2 hours. The water sample record of the storm event can reveal many things about the water chemistry, nutrient levels and sediment loads carried during the storm event so it was vital that the equipment was set up correctly.
Access to the River Mersey was through a construction site, so for health and safety purposes extra personal protective equipment was worn at all times, including the high visibility vest and hard hat that I am sporting in the picture. Prior to entering the site I also had to attend a short safety training meeting to ensure a “zero accident” record was maintained for the site.
Highlight of the week: As always, I enjoy spending so much time in the fresh air and outdoors – and even though it sometimes rains ‘cats and dogs’, I just pile on my waterproofs and look forward to getting a hot cup of tea back at the office!
Week 15
I had been eagerly awaiting this week's challenge - to survey the Zostera (eelgrass) beds near Barrow-in-Furness. I enjoyed testing my identification skills and recording the species present on the high and low shore. Quadrats were used in conjunction with a grid sampling strategy to identify if any change in species composition occurred across the bay. It was a few long days of hard and messy, muddy work, walking quite long distances across the soft sediment. Sediment cores were taken to assess if changes in substrate type occurred across the shore and if such changes affected the species present. The sediment cores, buckets and equipment were dragged along on a sledge (see below demonstration).
It looks easy in the picture above, but the sledge got progressively heavier and heavier with each wet sediment core that was added, until I was getting quite a physical work out to drag it forward! I was pleased that we managed to complete the survey work well within the planned schedule; and needless to say I slept well at the end of each day, exhausted, but with the knowledge of a job well done!
Highlight of the week: When identifying the species of macrophyte and macrofauna inside the quadrat I was very excited when I found a couple of chitons clinging to small stones. Like many marine species, the chiton is not usually recognised for being cute or cuddly, but I find them to be quite interesting and endearing!
Week 16
I continued to help with the sampling of low flow ecology on several streams this week. When carefully examining the contents of the net after one kick sample, I was delighted to find a tiny white-clawed crayfish. The crayfish was removed from the sample contents without touching it, and after a brief photoshoot next to my pencil, was returned to the river bed close to a large rock. It was a really good sign to find a young native crayfish in this stream, as it could be indicative of a healthy breeding population. I hope the white-claw’s will continue to breed and prosper in this stream, undisturbed by the invasive signal crayfish or the deadly crayfish plague which has blighted many of Britain’s streams in the past.
Highlight of the week: Seeing a native crayfish in its natural habitat. I hope I will never grow complacent about observing the aquatic environment and its inhabitants, as it is easy to forget how many other people will never get to see such things as I have!