Seining Again

This Sunday will be exactly one month since my first time seining at Cape LaCroix Creek.  That excursion focused on capturing a wide variety of species in order to determine what was in the stream.  This time I will focus on abundance and note how many individuals I capture for each species.  The fish will then be released unless I am unsure of identification because my license only allows me to collect 50 specimens (and I am near that amount already).

A Day in the Field

This past Friday I began my research of the fish fauna of Cape LaCroix Creek.  My friend Andrew and I gathered the seine, formalin, and other materials and ventured out to the creek in the middle of the morning.

The weather was overcast and quite humid.  The forecast called for rain but we didn't receive any until the early afternoon.  Our first stop was a deep, rocky part of the creek near Shawnee Park, relatively close to where the stream empties into the Mississippi River.  Seining here proved to be nearly impossible as we both found ourselves treading for water at times.  We did observe several silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) that leaped from the water when they discovered our presence.  According to Pflieger's Fishes of Missouri this highly invasive species has not been seen at many localities in the state, but the book is now fifteen years old and recent propagation has likely led to greater abundance than it indicates.

We had much greater luck when we moved to shallower waters, in particular those with heavy weed growth.  Water primrose (Ludwigia spp.) was abundant in the creek, as were several other small aquatic plants whose identity currently eludes me.  I intend to try to identify the aquatic flora of Cape LaCroix as well, but that will have to wait for another day.  There was abundance of terrestrial plants along the shoreline as well, including mist flower (Conoclinium coelestinum), monkey flower (Mimulus ringens), cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum; pictured).  In fact, the plant life is diverse enough that I intend to speak with the city of Cape Girardeau to see if I need a permit to collect along the creek.  I think a floral survey of the area would be a great asset as well.

Topminnows (Fundulus spp.) were the most abundant species in the creek, with several specimens captured in every seine attempt.  Although I need to further examine the specimens, I believe we caught both blackstripe (F. notatus) and blackspotted topminnow (F. olivaceus) Other common species included mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), an unknown cyprinid with a definitive golden hue above the lateral line, several catostomids (suckers), two darters, longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis), bluegill (L. macrochirus), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), brook silverside (Labidesthes sicculus), and two unmarked, unknown cyprinids just over a decimeter in length.  Exact identification is pending and will involve meticulous keying in the lab.

Even though it was only one day, I believe that our sample is a good overall indication of the fish fauna of Cape LaCroix Creek.  I have at least two more trips planned, one near the source of the creek and one just before the concrete channel in the center of Cape Girardeau.  During most of the summer this channel remains too dry for most fish to cross, isolating individuals away from the Mississippi River.  I am curious as to whether different fish are present east of the concrete.  I would hypothesize that larger species (such as the silver carp we observed) enter the creek via the river but do not swim through the shallow impounded channel, and are therefore limited to the deeper, easternmost portion of the stream.

Licensed to Begin

Yesterday I received my official permit to begin collecting fishes in Cape LaCroix Creek.  My first collection day will be this Friday.  I can take no more than 50 specimens so I will be releasing all individuals that I can identify in the field.

Updates will soon follow.

Concluding Research and a New Project

It's been a while since I have posted on this site.

My first field season of research on lark sparrow breeding biology is nearing completion.  I visited Sand Prairie today and neither saw nor heard any of the birds.  I will be visiting again but I think it is safe to say that outside of possible behavioral observation, my data for this summer is complete.

Overall I would consider it a successful first field season.  I located 10 nests, 8 of which held eggs at one point, and 4 of which held young.  Only 1 nest successfully fledged.  I was able to observe a plethora of behavioral activity as well as note a definite pattern of habitat preference in nest selection.  I was only able to obtain several vocalizations from two spring males, largely because my work schedule did not permit me to arrive at Sand Prairie for the dawn chorus.  Next spring I will do my best to adjust my hours and place a strong emphasis on recording vocalizations.  I have over 500 hours of flash card memory, so I am in good shape!  Over the course of the fall I will also gain experience using a plant press.  Due to a multitude of factors I decided to collect and press plant samples next year.

My next task will be to compile the data and begin to write my thesis.  In the meantime I will be conducting another research project unrelated to my thesis.  Under the guidance of Dr. Michael Taylor and with the assistance of fellow graduate student Andrew Braun, this research will be a general survey of the fish species found in Cape LaCroix Creek.  Since I first moved to Cape Girardeau I have been fascinated by this creek.  It runs through the center of the city and in my opinion looks both controlled and polluted, but there is abundant fish life, and aquatic insect life as well.  As a volunteer for a nearby nature center I helped conduct a stream survey in the creek and found both mayfly and caddisfly larvae, evidence of a healthy creek.  I have identified longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) and shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) from the shore, in addition to a myriad of unknown species.  I am enrolled in ichthyology this semester as well, which is fitting.

I will post updates of this research as it takes place.  I mailed my application for a collector's permit tonight, so I probably will not begin until early September.  Because I have not yet taken ichthyology, I will be assisting my friend Andrew Braun in his research first to learn the finer points of seining.  He is conducting a similar survey at a conservation area whose name escapes me.

That is all for now.

Quick Update

I haven't updated this blog in a long while, so this is just a quick update.

I completed the vegetation surveys around the nests and also for the random plots.  Nest #10 survived for at least two days, at which time I was able to obtain measurements to show the growth of the young.  Unfortunately it was empty after three more days, a likely victim of predation.  Nest success is indeed quite low for lark sparrows at Sand Prairie.

Starting tomorrow I will be visiting Sand Prairie for four straight days, hoping to record the vocalizations of singing birds.  I already have some songs of post-breeding males but not nearly as many as I would like.

More Nests

I haven't updated this blog in a while.  I have still been kept busy, however, conducting vegetation surveys and searching for nests.  I completed three more random plot surveys last week, but thanks to today's discoveries, it looks like I will be conducting a few more.

My main focus today was to record the songs of post-breeding males, a rather difficult task considering the inconsistency with which birds sing in the middle to late summer months.  Before hiking to check on nest #5, I decided to explore the dunes near the parking lot, where my friend Whitney and I had seen a lone sparrow egg sitting in the sand the week before.  The egg was still there, the shell intact but the contents within no longer present.  A clump of panic grass was nearby and I lifted it to reveal an abandon lark sparrow nest, nest #9.  I will be conducting a survey of the surrounding vegetation this Thursday.

Nest #5 still held two eggs.  Nevertheless I still fear that the nest has been abandoned, simply because of the amount of time they've been there.  Upon my return to the sand washes I observed a pair of birds copulating and decided to follow them to see if they were nesting.  Assuming the birds to be territorial (which all available evidence leads to), I had been seeing this pair for the past month and their last nesting attempt had failed.  One of the birds led me to its new nest, a soft green caterpillar in its beak ready to feed the newborn chicks.  They weighed less than 3 grams and were likely only 1-2 days old.  An egg also remained unhatched.  I am holding out hope that these birds survive and fledge.

Relaxing Morning

Visited Sand Prairie this morning before work with no specific goals in mind.  I hadn't been there in a couple of days and figured I would snoop around and see if I could find any new nests or observe any behavior.  I have ordered two new compact flash drives on which to record songs, and it looks like I should be able to obtain some data.  There were at least three birds still singing at 9AM this morning, following their usual habit of vocalizing from an elevated perch.  Many of them seem to enjoy short persimmons no higher than my waist, and many seem to favor a particular tree.

I revisited nest #5 and was surprised to find a second egg in the nest once again.  Just over a week ago I visited the nest (which initially had 2 eggs) and there was only a single egg.  This would indicate that the sparrows laid another egg in spite of losing the first one to predation.

I also visited nest #8 and did not see any sign of the young sparrows.  I am hopeful that their departure from the nest was a success.

On Monday I will surveying three new random plots and will be collecting plants to press.