Tick transect has white markers to follow the path through the woods, here is a marker with a trap
We quickly discovered the love hate relationship with the brambles, which attack us as we walk about the transect. They are beginning to develop blackberries, some of which are a bit bitter but in a couple of weeks they will be sweet and delicious.
So many berries!
Thursday morning Holly, Jana, Kathryn and I went out to check the traps finding quite a few harvest mice, a dead shrew, and a very very large cotton rat which got stuck in the can at the end of the trap. My record keeping skills have gotten better as I develop an understanding for the trapping mark-recapture system. I need to work on my small mammal ID however.
Example of trap, please note poison ivy.
Thursday night Kathryn and Dr. Rose set the traps, so on Friday morning Kathryn, Jana, and I went back out to check the 128 traps to only find one white-footed mouse; which haven't been seen on the grid for a bit apparently. I mistakenly called it a harvest mouse at first, but its ears were too big and its little white feet were a good give away too. That night we divided the transects between the three of us so trap setting went very fast and I felt proud at how fast I learned to navigate throughout the tall grasses and trees of the grid. Growing up in the country definitely helps me out quite a bit in the field.
Amblyomma maculatum adult male. Gulf Coast tick and me being a nerd playing with an overly active tick
Lastly we checked all the traps this morning to find....nothing. But that's the way it goes, especially in the summer when there are more food resources for the little critters to eat. I may only get to help out with one more trap cycle before I head back to Maine. Hard to believe how fast the summer is passing, if I've learned this much this fast, I can't wait to see what other skill sets I can develop.
I starting modelling on Monday! Wicked excited, but...until next time,
-Lexi
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