SL Partner:
San Joaquin River Stewardship Program
Student Name(s):
Deidre Bayne, Susan Howard, Chris Gutierrez
Project:
Monitoring of water quality in Cottonwood Creek
Synopsis:
Reason: To determine water quality. The creek drains grasslands with intense cattle grazing. Creek water flows into a heavily used recreation area of the San Joaquin River.
Methods: Set clay tiles to collect information on algal biomass & chlorophyll abundance. Collected water samples and processed in the lab for determination of nitrate, ammonia, and phosphorus levels. Also field measurements of water temperature, dissolved oxygen levels, and conductivity.
SL Partner:
San Joaquin Experimental Range / USDA Forest Service
Student Name(s):
Theresa Lowe, Jan Moua
Project:
Assessment of Western Pond Turtle habitat
Synopsis:
We conducted a Western Pond Turtle habitat assessment on a pond in the San Joaquin Experimental Range. We took physical measurements of the pond every two weeks as well as after intermittent rain events. Measurements included hourly temperatures (using data loggers) at the surface and deepest water, dissolved oxygen at the surface & bottom, pond circumference, surface area, and volume. These measurements were correlated with weather data from a weather station near the pond in order to improve predictive capability for the pond has habitat for this sensitive species.
SL Partner:
Friends of Lost Lake Park
Student Name(s):
Kathryn Barretto, William Steinert, Adrian Borque
Project:
An invertebrate survey of pools in Lost Lake Park
Synopsis:
This project is designed to be a qualitative and relatively quantitative analysis of the invertebrate organisms present in a local habitat – vernal pools of Lost Lake Park. The park features two drainage pools from a nearby worm hatchery, Lost Lake itself, and a vernal pool. Invertebrate activity traps were deployed for 48hrs. Resulting samples were concentrated and preserved. 3 x 1ml replicates were taken from each of the three replicate traps from each site. Invertebrate taxonomic keys were used to identify the invertebrates to the lowest possible taxonomic level. The project was designed not only to help characterize the park fauna, but also to examine spatial and physical differences between the pools and how they relate to the organisms present.
SL Partner:
CA Fish & Game Department
Student Name(s):
Lauren Moles, Rachel Conway, Robert Delmanowski
Project:
Habitat monitoring for San Joaquin River Salmon Restoration Project
Synopsis:
We helped personnel CA Fish & Game Department study potential spawning areas as part of the San Joaquin River Salmon Restoration Project. We met with project manager Eric Guzman to discuss when and where to sample. He provided us with reading material so we would be accustomed to what we will be monitoring in the river. We collected and analyzed data on river velocity, depth, discharge, and river bed substrate composition in order to see if the study areas
SL Partner:
CA Fish & Game Dept
Student Name(s):
Daniel Jeffcoach
Project:
Fish sampling & data analysis
Synopsis:
1) Gill netting fish at Shaver Lake after it was drained for dam repairs. Tried to determine what, if any, species survived by setting gill nets overnight near the dam.
2) Used Marble Fork (Kaweah River) multipass depletion data and MicroFish software to calculate fish population estimates, length & weight statistics.
SL Partner:
Tenaya Middle School
Student Name(s):
Lacee Sherman
Project:
Guest speaker and assistant to the Wildlife Club
Synopsis:
Tanaya Middle School of Fresno was given the unique opportunity to receive a number of Chinook Salmon eggs in a classroom every year as part of the CA Fish & Game Department’s ‘Salmon in the Classroom’ program. My service learning project was to research and create a lesson teaching the students about the salmon life cycle. I created a powerpoint presentation that included a game at the end to test their level of understanding. Since the presentation, I went to Tanaya once a week to gain classroom experience and learn techniques that help students learn and be successful. I accompanied the students on three field trips, two of which were with the Tanaya MS Wildlife Club. This will hopefully provide me with some good references within the science teaching field.
SL Partner:
CA Fish & Game Department
Student Name(s):
Mike Grill
Project:
Net pen study of salmonid survivorship & growth
Synopsis:
In March 2012 the San Joaquin River Restoration Program received 80,000 rainbow trout eggs. The eggs are to be placed in riverside incubation boxes and then transferred to net pens. The goal is to evaluate the best possible means in which to imprint non-native chinook salmon to the San Joaquin River, to reduce the inclination of the salmon to return to native spawning grounds.
SL Partner:
Kings River Conservation District
Student Name(s):
Marc Serrano
Project:
Study of rainbow trout natural spawning habitat in the Kings River
Files:
Mark S.pptx
Synopsis:
Assisted with the sampling of rainbow trout fry to study areas that can support natural spawning. By determining the densities of the juvenile trout, the agency can better determine attributes of good spawning habitat. This can lead to management decisions that will manage the habitat to foster additional natural spawning of rainbow trout in this river.
Projects
