Many of the litter samples I brought to Holden Arboretum were not sufficiently ground for Elemental Analysis, so I used a coffee grinder to break up tough litter material (like cattail and Thalia), and then sub-sampled that material to grind in small red-capped vials with metal beads in them. Here are a few photographs of the process.
Some standards and polar extractives used to determine total phenolic content in litter samples.
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been grinding litter samples and wrapping them into small tins for elemental analysis. The analyzer here incinerates a 4 mg sample of dried, ground litter and measures the amount of several gases that are formed during the incineration (which is at about 1000 degrees C, by the way!). The gases measured included carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas (I’m not 100% sure about the nitrogen…), and, once we know the amount of those two gases released from a sample, the percent carbon and nitrogen of the sample can be determined. Then, of course, the C:N ratio is calculated, which is what I was after – an index of commonly used in decomposition studies because of it’s relation to decomposition rate and litter quality (in terms of food for microbial decomposers and larger, usually insect, decomposers).
So this was my view for several days.
At Wallace Lake this past weekend, I went with Jenn, Matt, Sheri, and Betty (Jenn’s mother and grandmother) to the Dog Splash sponsored by Berea Animal Rescue Fund. Brewster and Honey, Jenn and Matt’s dogs, were adopted from this organization, and were not totally enthusiastic about enter the water. Nor was Sheri’s dog, Abbey. They did actively sniff and wag their tails with a few other dogs and were thoroughly tired upon returning home. Brewster also attempted to claim several trees and structures in the park…
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The Kent State campus and surrounding city was draped in fog this morning.
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Dermot nearly tirelessly enjoys fetching his frisbee. There does come a point, however, where he begins to overheat, pant rapidly, and run to the door to rest in the air conditioned house.
Virginia Bluebells, Skunk Cabbage and Wild Leek cover the forest floor at Jennings’ Woods in the river’s flood plain.
| The largest crayfish (at least, Orconectes obscurus) that I’ve ever encounter was probably about 48 mm in carapace length. This is an extremely common species at Jennings’ Woods, where much of the graduate work done in the Kershner lab is done, but it is native from the Genesee River watershed (where its type-specimen was collected) westward through northeastern Ohio, including the West Branch of the Mahoning River and Breakneck Creek (part of the Cuyahoga Riva watershed) where this big guy was found.
I measured this specimen at 51 mm CL (which is about where the ruler is measuring – from the tip of the rostrum to the end of the carapace). I’m not quite sure, but the last record holder was caught drifting down a stream, completely legless. It was brought back to the lab, fed using forceps, cleaned regularly with a small sponge, and named Nubs. He lived about a month, until he began to molt, but was unable to complete the process and died.
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The crayfish, as I mentioned, was caught in Breakneck creek while I was assisting a Conservation Biology in the Field course a few weeks ago. The field location is owned, but little-used, by Kent State and includes some stunning forested wetlands. |
Scott, Joe and I retrieved a single Peromyscus sp. (probably leucopus) mouse during a mammal trapping trial early this summer. Joe had a position in Missouri trapping out mammals of all sorts from areas that they were not wanted, and he advised Scott in setting and baiting the Sherman traps. Here, Joe weighs the mouse; soon after, it escaped…
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Fertile frond of Cinnamon Fern Osmunda cinnamomea (?)
Common hawkweed Hieracium lachenalii
Orange hawkweed Hieracium aurantiacum
Pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea
Yellow flag Iris pseudacorus
