The crew on the Lamar River near Specimen Ridge. We found a small population of Alyssum near the river. GPS coordinates came from the Montana State invasive species survey. Today we sampled this site, Crystal Bench (across the road from this site) and the Cinnabar site in Gardiner Basin. We collected seed bank samples to test for germination of Alyssum, soil cores for microbial biomass and tube cores for Nitrogen mineralization experiments using 15N (stable isotope of N) labeled nitrogen. The germination trials are underway and we will work up the rest tomorrow during the forecasted snowstorm (I'm not convinced about that but we shall see).
Black bear
Bison jam on Yellowstone River Bridge approaching mammoth.
Newborn bison calf playing on the playground at Mammoth.
Here's a link to our Picasa Web album where we will post addtional pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ewhamilt/YellowstoneSpring2010#
Our first day in the field went smoothly. We didn't have any blunders! The weather was great until about 3 p.m when snow clouds started rolling in. At the time we still needed to collect a few samples from Gardiner Basin and we hustled over there and grabbed them in snow flurries and brisk wind. We survived! And returned to the labge (lab + lodge). We were able to see a black bear today, one of three mega fauna we had not seen (the other two are grizzlies and wolves).
ReplyDeleteA successful first day in the field! We did not have any blunders and the weather was great until about 3 p.m. when a snow storm started moving in. At the time we still needed samples from Gardiner Basin and we hurried over to collect them in snow flurries and strong winds. We survived! And returned to the labge (lab + lodge). We were able to see a black bear today, one of three remaining megafauna on our list to see (the other two are grizzlies and wolves). We plan on goinig wolfing sometime in the next couple of days, as soon as the snow clears!
ReplyDeleteWent to the health center today and someone who works there told me that they loved these pics.
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