Journal Entry 2
This past week in the field was filled with lots of excitement. During the 15 minutes of silence I was quietly pacing back and forth along the bank of the vernal pond. I not only wanted to hear the noises of nature but also try to detect where the noises were coming from. During this time I heard the same general sounds from the past two weeks, but also could hear splashing. This was intriguing as in the weeks prior there had been little to no activity in the water. I went to investigate and kept seeing ripples in the water from something, which we later identified to be a frog, submerging into the water to hide. I followed the frog for about a minute to make sure I hadn't imagined the movement before breaking the silence and calling out to the rest of my team to come and see the exciting discovery. We then proceeded to span the pond in search of frogs, and one of the members came very close to catching one. As I continued to walk up and down the pond, I was far more aware of the ripples that were popping up all over. There was way more activity this week than there was last week.
Another thing to note that was new was the presence of mosquito larvae in the water. There were so many babies swimming around that hadn't been present in the past weeks. Though the vernal pond has been in tact over the past few weeks, the warmer weather is bringing forth more organisms who are going to breed and lay their eggs in the safe, shallow waters. Along with the larvae, the mosquitoes (and other insects) were thriving, flying around everywhere. Again, this was a large contrast with the past few weeks. It really got me thinking about how only a few days can have such a strong effect on an environment. That said, research field work for must be harder than I had initially thought because there are far more variables to consider when outside that don't need to be accounted for inside (weather, time of year, scaring away things you want to observe, etc.).
Finally, as I was walking back to the biocube to prepare to leave the pond, I stumbled upon a bunny at the edge of the water. That was the first mammal I had seen near the pond and was very excited to see it. Unfortunately, I saw the bunny too late and scared it away, otherwise I would have observed it for a bit to see how it was interacting with the pond. However, it noticed me before I noticed it and scampered off before I could do anything. Regardless, seeing the bunny along with the other flourish of life within and around the pond was very exciting and I'm glad I was able to witness the slow development of the ecosystem over the past three weeks.
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