Everyone kept telling us about UNF's 24 hour survey. And I can tell you I was anxious about it, both god and bad. Turns our it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be! We started our day around 1100 (am) at GTMNERR weir. For the next 24 hours we were split into 3 groups of 4 to examine two locations on either side of the dam. Ever hour we collected YSI data and a water sample to be ran through a flourometer and colorometer. Every 3 hours we would pull a seine net and measure/count the different species we caught. We spent 6 hours above the dam at the lake, 6 hours below the dam at the river, and 6 hours on break to take naps. This schedule continued for 24 hours! I was in group 3 which had our break from 2330 to 0530 (11:30 pm to 5:30 am). That was really nice, because we were tired by then.
I spent half of my break outside with everyone else because I couldn't sleep, but eventually joined my group members in the museum building to nap for 5 hours. The sky was so beautiful that night, a storm had just barely passed us earlier in the afternoon so the stars were out and I could clearly see the big dipper above me. We finished our survey at 1100 on Tuesday and headed back to the UNF campus to clean the equipment and recoup before we all sat together to go over the data and put it into graphs.
On Friday, we returned to the UNF lab to go over our graphs with Dr. Smith and Dr. Hackney. There were a few issues with the data, but everything was sorted out. Then we were taken on a tour of their Biology building (amazing!!!) After lunch we go together for our skills test and said our goodbyes. I wish UNF was closer to where I live because the campus is absolutely fantastic and I love the beautiful gardens the Biology department has put together. Thank you so much Kelly and Courtney, I definitely enjoyed my week with you!
(Sorry no picture, got some technical difficulties. I'm sure everyone else will have great ones.)
No comments:
Post a Comment