What do I do all summer?

Apr 19, 2017

What do I do all summer?In the summer I head out to southern Iowa to do field work. Between May and August I catch tadpoles, fish and crayfish, and measure vegetation. Here are some photos of the logistical side of field ecology!
                
Sometimes I need a kayak to check traps on large ponds. This pond was built about 20 years ago by flooding a ravine, leaving dead trees in the middle of the pond.
 
Every day I head out to the field with a big SUV full of equipment- traps, waders, nets, kayak, tadpole identification guides, and lots of water and snacks!
 
This trap was deployed in a pond with cattle. When I returned the next morning, the cows had made it clear that my traps were not welcome in their pond. RIP funnel trap.
 
This trap also didn't fair too well. It seems like traps full of tadpoles are a tempting snack for snapping turtles and raccoons.

Dawn like this.

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About This Project

A Bird's-eye View of Frog Habitats: Using a Drone to Survey Wetlands

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

I study vulnerable frog species that inhabit human-constructed wetlands in the Grand River Grasslands of southern Iowa. I want to test whether farm ponds in the region support frog populations and what pond and landscape characteristics are beneficial to these species. I will use an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone) to generate high-resolution imagery of the wetland, enabling me to incorporate seasonal vegetation dynamics into habitat models for frogs.