Yesterday, I had the greatly appreciated help of several individuals that came along with the Tropical Biology OTS course. Pictured in the foreground are Abbie and Amanda, and in the background, Justin and Stevland. Not pictured is Mo Donnelly.
They fearlessly helped collect living Eichhornia at the crocodile-infested waters at the Catalina sector wetland for placement in competition enclosures in Palo Verde. The bags full of hyacinth are shown in the other picture.
Awesome…how did the Eichhornia weather the trip back to the station?
Are there any other IRES students there?
The Eichhornia is looking really good today. They righted themselves for the most part within 24 hr and some even produced flowers (I can’t be certain the flowers weren’t already started for various reasons; it would be cool if flowering were a stress response). There are no IRES students yet.
I’m amazed at how quickly the wetland filled and how deep it is! Have you ever encountered areas that are deeper than 5’8″ (or however tall you are)?!
I also recognize the backpack in the foreground : )
This was at Catalina, which has been nearly this deep since I got here. It’s just a channel of water basically. And I’m certain there are parts over my head. Remember the big crocodile post? I was alone in that water with that croc.