|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Educational Activities > Brian Head Field Ecology
|
||
|
Brian Head Field Ecology |
|||
|
Brian Head Field Ecology is a cooperative project between Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Dixie National Forest, Southern Utah University, Cedar Breaks National Monument and the Utah State Office of Education. The week-long course (held each year during June) is designed to facilitate learning for science teachers and to fill information gaps in the Brian Head area. In fact, it was through this course that teachers and biologists discovered that the Brian Head spruce-fir forest is home to the Northern flying squirrel. Teachers use state of-the-art equipment to learn various surveying techniques from U.S. Forest Service and Division of Wildlife Resources personnel. In addition, they learn to write field notes, analyze data, prepare reports, and most importantly, develop research skills to strengthen and supplement current secondary science curriculums. Interested teachers can contact Dr. Kate Grandison, Southern Utah University, at 435-865-8345 or email: grandison@suu.edu to become involved. |
|
||
|
Project Overview | Mammals | Birds | Invertebrates | Vegetation |
|||
 Teachers learn hands-on how to conduct field sampling. |
Sampling the birds and the bees at Brian Head is not for the weary or those simple of mind. The course is intense, from sampling small mammals at 6 a.m. to mist netting bats at 11 p.m. But for those that brave the elements - the rewards far outweigh the discomforts and lack of sleep. "Long-term monitoring of ecological diversity in the spruce-fir forest is important to direct management practices," says Dr. Kate Grandison, Assistant Professor at Southern Utah University and project lead. By monitoring three similar forest patches, each affected by the spruce bark beetle, but currently under different management practices, biologists look for a correlation between dead and down trees to invertebrate diversity and abundance, nesting of forest-dependent birds, and small mammal population trends. Grandison, along with biologists and teachers, sample the three areas each year along transect lines - 500-meter long pre-determined routes. The control transect, Rattlesnake, is located partly in a national park and partly in a wilderness area, and will not be logged or otherwise manipulated. Logging, to remove beetle infested and vulnerable trees, has been conducted at Sugarloaf, the second transect, while heavy logging is planned for Radar, the third transect. Different techniques are used to sample each species, and although some require the use of sophisticated equipment, still others utilize simple household tools, found in most kitchens. Project participants have an opportunity to visit each of the three areas, and to develop simple hypothesis in their own minds regarding the spruce-fir forest and bark beetle infestation. |
 Sherman traps are baited with peanut butter and cotton, and are checked early each day. |
|
| Mammals | |||
 Gabby Diamond takes measurements on a Townsend's Big-eared bat, a Utah sensitive species. |
Small mammals - One hundred small metal traps and 30 wire mesh traps are used along each transect, and traps are baited with peanut butter to attract ground dwelling mammals as well as tree-climbing chipmunks and squirrels. Traps set at dusk for each of the four nights are checked at sunrise, and animals caught identified to species and sex. Past participants have found deer mice, least chipmunks, northern flying squirrels, red squirrels and longtail voles.
Bats - Sampling bats requires patience and some sophisticated equipment. An AnaBat II Bat Detector records bat calls in an audible format for future identification. In addition, fine nets are placed over water or near cave openings to capture the bats as they fly to and from the area. Two different Myotis species were captured using the mist nets; however, many other species are known to occur throughout the forest. |
||
|
Stop, call, and listen are the techniques employed to determine the presence of western tanagers, hermit thrush and three-toed woodpeckers on the forest. All birds are distinguished by their distinct song. Participants play a recorded “bird call” and then listen for a response from these forest dwelling species. Tanagers, thrush and woodpeckers have been heard at all three locations. |
 U.S. Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Priscilla Summers demonstrates bird calling techniques. |
||
 Bees are sampled using colorful plastic "picnic" bowls. |
Insects- Beetles and ants are selected as invertebrate indicators. Ten pint-sized plastic cups filled with 1/4 inch water and then buried to the rim catch insects off the forest floor. Over 150 insects, representing six different orders, are captured along the transects at Brian Head. Bees - Solitary bees are an important component of the forest, and diversity, habitat and color preference are sampled using "bee bowls." Bees are attracted to yellow, white and blue plastic picnic bowls filled half-way with a water/liquid soap mixture. This simple sampling technique, which could easily be converted to a classroom project, is used to detect over 22 different species of solitary bees in the spruce-fir ecosystem. Previous studies had suggested as few as five species of solitary bees in these same forest locations. |
||
| Ground cover/species composition - Using a 1 m x 1 m sampling quadrat (similar to a 16 section tic-tac-toe board) percent of the forest floor covered by vegetation and species composition is estimated. Researchers found as many as 23 different plant species at some locations.
Snag/log counts - Standing snags and dead, decomposing logs serve as food and shelter for many plant and animal species in the spruce-fir forest. Snags and logs are classified according to size and degree of composition at different sites along the transect. |
 Plant diversity differs in each study area. |
||
| Teacher Lesson Plans - TBA Fall 2002 | |||
