Field Work
April Field Trip To Park - Surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates were conducted at 11 streams, 2 spring / seep areas, and in rimstone pools in Gregorys Cave.
August Field Trip To Park - Surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates were conducted at 3 streams and 2 springs, and blacklight and malaise traps set for adult aquatic insects.
Public Outreach
1. Slide show / Presentation - To guests staying at the Swag Country Inn. [Wednesday, 21 August].
2. Guests of the Swag Country Inn visited the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob to observe live aquatic macroinvertebrates collected from nearby streams. [Thursday, 22 August].
3. Cherokee High School science class (20 students and their Forestry instructor Miki Powell) visited the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob; for an all-day field trip. [Friday, 23 August]. During this visit, they were presented a slide show on general research on aquatic biology, an introduction to the ATBI project, and a summary of my research on aquatic oligochaetes in the Park. After the slide show, students were introduced to a diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates - - first observing movement and behavior of live specimens in white pans, then handling live specimens, and finally learning to use dissecting microscopes for closer observation of specimen morphology and behavior - - - ->
After lunch, students hiked to a small springrun (headwater tributary of Hemphill Creek), where they were introduced to the use of a blacklight trap to collect flying adult insects, many of which are aquatic during the immature stages of their life cycle - - - ->
Students then hiked to another headwater tributary of Hemphill Creek. There, they participated in a research project under the direction of Susan Sachs (NPS), assisting her with a salamander mark and recapture study. Students were also introduced to various field techniques used in the collection of aquatic organisms - - - ->
2002 Publications summarizing research objectives, goals, and findings to date
Wetzel, M.J, & P. Morgan. 2002a. Worms! Segments, Hairs, Maybe Gills - Oh My! ATBI Quarterly, Vol. 3 (1): 8-9 (Winter Newsletter 2002). This article is accessible in a PDF of this issue of the newsletter HERE.
Wetzel, M.J., & P. Morgan. 2002b. Aquatic Oligochaeta (Annelida, Clitellata) of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee. Southeastern Biology 49(4): 389-392.
This research adheres as closely as possible to the tenets of the ATBI Science Plan, available as a downloadable PDF (Adobe Acrobat Reader is necessary to open and read this document).
Please familiarize yourself with the navigation bar a the bottom of this page; from there you can access numerous aspects of this research on aquatic oligochaetes in the Park, including site locality information and map of the Park; field and lab methodologies; progress; links to sponsors of this research; an acknowledgment page recognizing the numerous people whose collective assistance has been instrumental in the conduct of this research; publications and presentations summarizing progress on this research; a literature cited section (full citations for references in the text of webpages associated with this website); and short-and long-term goals of this project.
I especially encourage you to visit the Discover Life in America, Inc. (DLIA) website; there you will find contact information for scientists associated with the various taxonomic working groups (TWIGS), volunteers already contributing to this project, the administrative and scientific staff of DLIA, and a variety of opportunities for public involvement in research and education in the Park. Please Note: The new DLIA / ATBI website currently is being reorganized; information is being updated and transferred from websites hosted previously at other institutions, so please check regularly.
page update: 12 April 2010