aferalecologist

[aferalecologist]

the Next Chapter

Our day in the field this monday was an excellent one: we hiked high and low, from the stream to the ridgeline, and even stumbled across the rare and coveted Morel mushroom. But it was also a somber day: our final in the field. We strode up the ridgeline, ever higher, and ate our lunch in a meadow that seemed tailor made for us. Both Jack and I collected the butterfly specimens we had our eyes on, mine a Zebra Swallowtail, and his a Tiger. It was a good way to finish the chapter. But that doesn’t mean it was happy. 

I’ve learned a lot this semester. This evening we had a trivia challenge. Nobody was surprised when my team won, and in fact there were a lot of snide comments about it, but the fact stood that much of the knowledge I applied I had learned over the course of the semester. I may have had an existing bank of knowledge in January, but my experience here with the Smithsonian has enhanced and elevated my Naturalist’s skills. 

I’m getting used to a new piece of terminology: “Natural Historian”. My professors have used it to refer to me several times throughout the semester, but I wasn’t really clear on what it meant; I’d always thought of myself as an ecologist. I looked into it the other day: unlike an ecologist, a natural historian has a better understanding of organisms as individuals and species, rather than simply the overarching systems in which they exist. It’s a clunky, awkward label, and represents a field of study that’s largely died out. 

I stumbled across a Scientific American article that discussed the rise and fall of the study of Natural History; from it being essential education for grade school students, to it largely being absent from college curriculums, largely as a consequence of the Cold War. The article pointed out that the overwhelming number of universities did not require any natural history courses, even for biology majors, and I can certainly say that my experience reflects this. My time at SMSC has been the only time during my academic career that I have been asked to apply my naturalist’s knowledge. 

But I hope that this will not be the last time it is asked of me. Moving forward, I’ll be spending the summer assisting with the Smithsonian’s Orchid Survey, a study that will send me out into field and forest to find elusive and coveted flowers. I hope that it is a mark of things to come, and that I’ll be able to continue to apply my knowledge in a professional environment. That being said, a hope of pursuing natural history has walked me to an unexpected crossroads. 

My focus for a long time has been environmental policy; it has long been my goal to specialize in the policy that will protect our planet for the coming years. It is with no exaggeration that I say my goal is to save the world. Without careful and informed environmental policy, the world as we know it is doomed, and us with it. That is undeniably a noble cause, and it was for this reason that I chose it: I knew of no more crucial field than the one I had chosen. I fear that being drawn towards the field of Natural History may distract me from the goal of a career fighting the good fight in Washington. Time, and the opportunities that will be laid out before me, will tell.  

I’m glad for my time at SMSC. It taught me many things, among them the ability to properly value the skills I already have. I look forward to taking these things with me into whatever future I find. 

[aferalecologist]

Lights, Camera, Mantis

Had a funny weekend this time around: as a part of our practicum, we are expected to produce a final project that informs others about what we’ve been up to. Thanks to my dear friend, the inimitable Jack Lewis (pictured), ours promises to be off-the-rails bonkers in execution. 

You see, Jack is not the standard conservation student: rather than a biology or ecology student, he’s a film student, and this shows. Our presentation will not be a slide show or instructional video, but rather, it will be Jim and the Bug Boys: The Movie, a sci-fi adventure which composites 3 decades worth of cultural references in a 10 minute time-span in order to tell a story about entomology. We’re blessed to have him. He’s a delight to work with, and I’m really excited to see the final project. My only worry is that he’s taken a bit too much work onto him, as he is the writer, director, editor, and producer of the project. I’ve got my eyes open to help him where he needs it. I just hope he knows when to ask for help. 

Regardless of my concerns, we had an awesome (if a bit long and arduous) afternoon of shooting, were I fought a firefly using telekinetics and a butterfly net (we even managed to snag some butterflies while we did it). I felt incredibly goofy doing it, and I’m sure i’ll feel even goofier watching it. I’m looking forward to it!

[aferalecologist]

Get Wild

This week’s adventures found us in a lesser-trod corner of George Washington National Forest. The weather’s been warming up, and we were happy to come across a greater variety of insects than before, including butterflies and some enviable Tiger Beetle specimens, with their iridescent elytra and fierce jaws. Insects, however, were not the most intriguing thing we came across. Meandering from bush to bush in a clearing were some surprising characters: Bobwhite Quail. 

Bobwhite Quail are a species of grassland bird whose numbers have been in sharp decline in recent years, likely due to habitat loss. These birds live in “old-field” grasslands, meaning that they primarily find their homes in former agricultural fields which are beginning to return to the system of biological succession. Seeing one out in the field was a delightful experience. 

Later in the week, we found ourselves exploring the creek beds near campus, using them to learn about the watershed around us. We started at a small flow known as Sloan Creek, which was abundant with aquatic life, including this surprisingly massive Stonefly: 

This organism is notable for more than its size; stoneflies are what is known as an “indicator species”, meaning that their presence demonstrates a clean ecosystem. We found them in abundance at the Sloan Creek, so it was upsetting that further downstream, we found almost nothing. As the stream entered the town, organisms living in it decreased steeply. It’s an upsetting mark of how human development impacts the viability of ecosystems. 

Hopefully, we can learn to build our homes in a way that lets the wild keep theirs. 

[aferalecologist]

From the Forest to the Farm

This week began with an enquiry into where our food comes from. Due to the size of our program and COVID restraints, we split the Conservation, Biology, and Society program into two separate trips: one to a sustainable garden, and the other, a sustainable meat farm. I was a member of the latter group, which proved to be the right choice. 

The farmer at Bean Hollow, a small sustainable livestock farm in the Shenandoah Valley, was not what I was expecting. Rather than the down-home, salt-of-the-earth person that the label “farmer” conjures, Bean Hollow was run by a cosmopolitan man who had led a career in resource management in several nations in Africa before returning to the United States; but it must be said that “salt-of-the-earth” still certainly applied. He was a practical man, as one whose livelihood runs on the rearing and slaughter of animals must be. He walked us through the delicate balance of his farm, a balance both ecological and financial. All actions taken must be made with the consequences in mind. How would exploiting this field affect the grass’s yield later down the line? Is calling the veterinarian for an animal worth the animal’s value to the farm? These were tough questions to ask, but they are everyday realities at Bean Hollow. 

At Bean Hollow were cows, goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens. Having grown up on a farm myself, these were nothing new to me, but the little ones still hold a certain charm. That is, if you try not to think to hard of their fates down the line.

Something the farmer said really resonated with me, as a child of a farm. He spoke of farmers’ relationships with their children; that many children, like myself, who grew up on farms, have little interest in farming. To them, farming was just shoveling manure. I hadn’t realized that such a standpoint was a generational phenomenon, as the man had summed up my childhood in a single statement. Curious, to be understood in that way. 

My rural background has come up a handful of times throughout the semester; it’s not something I talk about often. The students here reacted in a way I hadn’t expected; my equine background seems to be something much more exciting than I ever considered it to be. Mostly because, as the farmer at Bean Hollow had said so bluntly, most of that experience was shoveling manure. 

But my experiences at Bean Hollow, as well as our experiences speaking with animal keepers at the Smithsonian, opened my eyes to the fact that my equine background left me with a set of skills and knowledge that I hadn’t appreciated in the past. I found myself, earlier in the semester, asking a keeper here detailed questions about the care and husbandry of Przewalski’s horses; something I’d never realized I was qualified to discuss in detail. It’s interesting to stumble across a cache of knowledge I’d sealed away as “useless” so long ago. Perhaps those days breaking a sweat under the sun were more valuable than I’d realized. 

[aferalecologist]

Falcons in the Fog

This week’s adventures found us in Shenandoah National Park, ascending the mountaintops along Skyline Drive. Due to some adverse weather conditions, this intended day-long adventure was cut short, but still managed to be full of memorable gems. 

On the ride to the mountains, I caught sight of something I’d not seen before: A Black bear. This, however, was not the happy sighting I’d dreamed of: the specimen in question had a nasty case of mange. This condition, caused by a parasitic mite, causes much of the afflicted mammal’s fur to fall out. As such, the bear that crossed the road in front of our van was thin and largely bald, looking almost zombified. It was a jarring image that literally haunted my nightmares that evening. 

However, the long trek to the mountains brought us to a unique destination: Big Meadow, an ecosystem, that, by all measures, shouldn’t exist. It defies the climax community of the region, by being a vast open space, high in elevation, in the middle of the woods. It has been posited that it was cleared by burning millenia ago, and maintained over the ages as a hunting ground. This claim has been backed by archeological evidence, including hunting artefacts found on the site. It began to rain as we explored this unique ecosystem. At first it felt inconvenient, but I soon changed my mind. It added to the romance of this unique landscape. Then, of course, came the fog. 

We continued to a cliffside that has served in the past as a location for the release of Peregrine Falcons. We didn’t see any birds, and, indeed, barely any mountains: in its stead we found something more unique. Devouring the landscape in a white jaw was the fog. 

Soon, the fog devoured us as well. We were thickly blanketed, so much that my friends began to vanish around me. At first I had been disappointed at the lack of view, but now I understand that this was the real view, and that we have been given a blessing from the mountains, being allowed to see her in a way few have. 

[aferalecologist]

In Bloom

This kind week, we found ourselves mostly in the field. We explored the corners of the valley just as the earth was waking; spring ephemeral blossoms are at their peak, and I’ve been able to add plenty of new blooms to my memory. Among these are: 

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis): this innocuous bloom carries a rather dramatic name. Its nomenclature is derived from the fact that its roots can be used to make a red dye. 

Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria): This peculiar bloom earns its name from its supposed appearance to pairs of pants drying in a line. Personally, I think they look more like teeth! 

Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis): Out of all the ephemeral blooms I’ve been introduced to this semester, these might be my favorite. They have such a breathtaking color, with gorgeous symmetry. Plus, they grow in huge mats, so I don’t have to feel bad if I pick one and tuck it into my beard. 

It’s absolutely magical, learning a new species. It’s one of my favorite feelings, isolating a single thread in the tapestry of life, and learning where it’s been woven. When I’m out on a walk, it always bothers me to come across organisms I can’t name. I’m very thankful to the SMSC staff for helping me illuminate the darker corners of my understandings. 

Also, (maybe) better than flowers: Waterfalls! Despite the warnings of 90′s R&B group TLC, we elected to chase waterfalls this week, including a dip under the falls in Whiteoak Canyon that was equal parts delightful and frigid. 

Gonna spend the rest of the spring looking out for more adventures!

[aferalecologist]

The Swing of Things

The start of our week found us exploring new horizons in insect collection- hitting the water! We gathered kick nets and donned waders, and collected samples in nearby ponds and streams along the Appalachian Trail. We collected a number of exciting specimens, including dobsonfly, dragonfly, and stonefly larvae. Stonefly larvae are especially exciting, as they are an indicator species. An “Indicator species” is a species that is particularly sensitive to pollution; their presence demonstrates that this is a relatively untouched ecosystem. 

In the classroom, we held frank and forward talks about the social nature of conservation. Under the tutelage of Al Fuertes, we explored the nature of human conflict and how it relates to our field of conservation. This is a crucial angle of analysis: one of the important takeaways from our semester here is that conservation is not a scientific pursuit, but a social one.  In order to execute effective conservation practices, we need to be able to observe and comprehend the stakeholders in a struggle, and operate in a way that best benefits both people and the environment. 

This was not the only heavy lesson of the week, as we delved into the topic of climate change. This is a powerful topic, and one that can feel overwhelming. However, it is important for us to face it head-on. Hopefully the conflict management skills we’ve learned can help us impact this challenge in the years to come! 

[aferalecologist]

A Wild Week

This week brought me everything I was hoping for in the program, and I hope that the pace of this week continues for the rest of the semester. 

To start, Jim and the Bug Boys spent another day in the field, spending the morning exploring Race Track Hill (a former racehorse track here on SCBI’s campus) and spending the afternoon shaking tree branches for specimens.  This brought us a few charming new specimens, including a few ladybugs and assassin bugs. While we were out touring the corners of campus, I was lucky enough to pick up some shed antlers. They’re pretty small, but I’m happy I was able to get to them before some mice chewed them up. They’ll make a nice addition to my bookshelf for now, and maybe I can cut them up into some crafts when I finally make my way back home: deer antler is one of my favorite mediums. 

This wasn’t the only time we spent in the field this week: we also had a really fun day counting amphibians beneath coverboards in a remote corner of SCBI’s training grid. These “coverboards” are simple plywood sheets; they provide a habitat for salamanders where they can be easily observed by researchers without too much disturbance. My group found 52 red-backed salamanders, a campus record! 

We then rolled down to the Leach Pond (notably not “leech”). Here, devices called Minnow Traps had been collecting specimens since the day before. The trap I checked had a staggering 35 tadpoles, and 13 red-spotted newts! I was really excited to see the newts, which I had never encountered the wild before. These newts have a fascinating life history, which involves between them rotating between being terrestrial and aquatic. We found them during their breeding season, which occurs in the water. 

That same afternoon, we went back into the field to practice radio telemetry and learn about the ecological applications of GIS. While this only included theoretical animals, it was a fun and engaging activity that serves as important experience. I’ve already added the experience to my resume. 

[aferalecologist]

Out in the feild

Started the week by spending our first practicum day out in the field! We started the day by pinning some of the wax moths that were collected last week. I love pinning Lepidopterans; it’s a unique challenge with a delightful end result. 

After a morning spent in the lab, we suited up for an afternoon in the field. Jim, our trusty entomology professor, led us deep into the SCBI campus, where we began the afternoon somewhere fairly unsavory: the manure pit. Nevertheless, we found some exciting specimens here while digging through cheetah, Prezwalski horse, and maned wolf excrement, including a small centipede. 

The real excitement came as we descended into the training grid, where we found a selection of grasshoppers along the trail, and later, cockroaches as we explored into the woods. The weather was still pretty cold, so it was slim pickings, entomologically speaking. Despite the tightly woven thicket of the forest and the overall lack of specimens, I had a really lovely time, and it’s very exciting to be back in the field after so long locked inside.  

While it might not have been an entomological find, we were fortunate enough to meet some new friends while turning over logs in the bramble: some Red-Backed Salamanders! 

Not what we came for, but delightful all the same! 

[aferalecologist]

Getting into the swing of things here at SCBI. The Conservation, Biodiversity, and Society program has selected the Takin as its focus throughout the semester; my group within the program is focusing on the education of Takins towards the public, something I will continue here.

More specifically, with homophones like "taking" and "talking", as well as slant rhymes using anything that ends with "-aking", the Takin has an endlessly pun-able name, and I cannot physically stop myself from making memes about it.

Anyway, Takins are an endangered member of the sheep family that lives in the mountains of central asia. They’re threatened largely by habitat loss, but also by hunting. They weren’t my first choice for the project, but I’m enjoying them a lot more than I thought I would.

In other news, the entomology program, affectionately titled “Jim and the Bug Boys”, has gotten underway, but I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend their first day of capturing insects, which I’ve been lead to believe involved a collecting wax moths from some defunct bee hives. 

Instead, I rolled up to Manassas for a job interview with the Prince William County Department of Public Works, doing field work for their mosquito survey. Interview went well and I’ve got high hopes for it, even if them making me drive out to the far side of Manassas was rather vexing.  

I’ve got hopes and done some networking at a few of the places I’ve applied to, but I really need to start throwing around some more applications. My biggest hope is an internship at the Defenders of Wildlife, whom we’ve had the opportunity to interact with a few times this semester. As a policy specialist, I’m really excited at their strategies for crafting legislation towards the protection of animals; a branch of environmental policy I hadn’t previously considered. Much of my time as a policy student has been focused on water or air preservation, clean energy, or plastic reduction. Animal protection policy is something I’m really excited to explore. 

[aferalecologist]

Jumping In

This week we started our practicum assignments. These mini programs are have been described to us as “more than a job shadow, but less than an internship”, and for mine, I’ll be working closely with one of our professors to get some hands-on experience in entomology. 

I wasn’t always interested in bugs. Growing up, i was more of a bird kid, obsessed with raptors, primarily owls (big Harry Potter fan as a kid). My interest in entomology stems from my days as a trail guide. It often became a hobby for me to identify anything that came along my way on the job, and those things were often insects. Identification lead to better understanding, that understanding being not of insects, but of the depth of my ignorance. The more I read, the more I realized how much there was to learn. I’m still putting work towards sealing that gap today. 

Observation led to collection: my first specimen was a Luna Moth (Actias luna) I found alongside the trail. Luna Moths, like all giant silk moths, emerge in their adult forms without mouths: they live for a week or so to mate and lay eggs, then die. I was lucky enough to stumble across a perfect specimen, waiting for me at just the right time, before an opportunistic insectivore made off with it. Unable to leave this little jewel on the trail, I emptied out my first aid kit and tucked my very first entomological specimen inside. She lived tucked away in a little box until about a year ago, when I taught myself to pin insects. I made sure to pick out a small frame just for her. 

This was my first specimen, but it hasn’t been my last. I’ve collected many other samples, and have other frames which display my Coleoptera (beetles), Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), and my personal favorite, Odonata (dragonflies). 

I’m excited to explore insect mounting and display in a more academic setting. I’m hoping to be able to refine my skills as a entomologist, in the context of identification, collection, and presentation. 

So far, we’ve undergone the exciting task of examining, cleaning and organizing a beetle collection that was donated to the Smithsonian. We’ve just started the preliminary examination of the specimens, selecting those that had been damaged for repair, and assessing what specimens require identification. It may end up being quite a bit of work, but I’m very excited for the undertaking! A very deeply set, dorky part of me is incredibly excited at the prospect of curating a library of beetles. 

[aferalecologist]

Free Birds

Spent our first week of in-person instruction here at SMSC getting a handle on our new home; classes are interwoven with the very-missed socialization. Just being in a room with other people feels exciting, no matter what the lesson is. 

Nevertheless, class continues, and so must the work. I’ve been placed in a group that’s chosen to focus on the study of the Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), an absolutely fascinating bird whose adorable exterior disguises some gruesome habits. The shrike, also known as the Butcherbird, is a passerine bird, related to songbirds, that has adapted a behavior that allows it to eat meat. Shrikes pick up their prey and impale it on spikes -either thorns or barbed wire- to kill and store it for consumption. They are incredibly adorable and incredibly metal. 

But, as always, the story of the shrike is more than just being tiny and brutal. Likely due to habitat loss, Loggerhead Shrike populations have been declining since the beginning of the 20th century. The captive breeding population here at SCBI is aiming to change that, but a lot needs to change before we could stabilize a population back in their range. 

As we’ve discussed before, science is a big part of conservation, but it is certainly not the only part. In order to save the shrike, we would need to focus on land reclamation projects; a daunting task when so much of their preferred habitat is under private ownership. What can be undertaken to reclaim lands into shrike sanctuaries? Could there be projects undertaken with landowners to those who set aside part of their lands as suitable shrike habitat? These are the types of questions my group and I will be diving into as the semester progresses. 

[aferalecologist]

Just a little something to make my empty doom room feel a little more homey. 

[aferalecologist]

Welcome.

Hey, y’all. 

Names’s Ryan, and here I’ll be discussing my adventures high in the Blue Ridge, at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. 

Essentially the National Zoo’s auxiliary campus, the SCBI is a 3,000 acre facility where the Smithsonian can more effectively manage captive populations of endangered species. I’m spending the Semester out here learning at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, a small GMU campus nestled in the middle of the Zoo facility. Here I am completing the Conservation, Biodiversity, and Society program, in which I will learn about how conservation goals are applied, both physically and socially. 

I came to SMSC with the hope that I could develop the skills I need to make a difference. I’m grew up with a passion for the woods, and in recent years it’s been made obvious to me that not everyone shares that passion. It’s because of this that my goals have shifted from research to policy; I’ve observed that science won’t be able to save the world alone. 

Here at SMSC, this idea is fully embraced. We’ve learned explicit lessons on how, while conservation is truly a economic and social issue, it is usually scientists who have to deal with the resolution of conservation problems. Conservation is not purely scientific discipline, and as such, it should not be approached from a singularly scientific angle. The same reason that I’ve taken on extra classes in policy influence the curriculum here, and I’m happy to see it. 

We’ve already had the benefit of speaking with professionals working in the field, a benefit that I hadn’t expected, and am frankly delighted in. The insight into the professional world of conservation is a blessing, and the ability to mingle and network with active professionals will be a valuable boon in the years to come. It may be that my time here could prove to be the founding of my career. I’m excited to see what comes next! 

[aferalecologist]

Free at last! 

We have been relishing in our release from quarantine, climbing a local hilltop in the snow to celebrate with sledding and snowman-building.