ENV 311: Ecological Monitoring

Ecological monitoring provides important information about changes in the environment over time.  Following a discussion of the principles and practice of ecological monitoring, students will learn about and participate in monitoring projects involving water quality, wetlands, forests and more. They will gain experience in sampling design, data collection and management, data analysis, interpretation, and communication of results. Students will apply their knowledge of ecological monitoring in a semester-long project where they develop a monitoring plan in collaboration with local stakeholders. Interactions with professionals in the field are an important part of this course.

In ecological monitoring groups of students went out to vernal pools in the UNE 363 parcel of land. Vernal pools are natural landlocked pools of water that are typically seasonal but can be year round, they have no fish access and are feed by spring or rainwater. We monitored wood frog, yellow and blue spotted salamander egg masses. We counted the egg masses, recorded shrubbery percentage, pool depth, and temperature. Than created our own question to ask; mine was if pool temperature impacted wood frog egg masses, it does. We then presented our data at the Une symposium as a class with our data.

In this photo, my group rescued yellow salamander eggs from a man-made vernal pool.