April 2003 Field Trip To Park. - Surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates were conducted 27 April - 1 May; samples were collected from 12 stream sites and four spring/seep sites. Specific locality information for sites surveyed in April/May 2003 (including the first three sites pictured immediately below) is provided HERE.

September 2003 Field Trip To Park. - Additional surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates were conducted 21-25 September; samples were collected from 13 streams, one spring, and Smokemont sewage treatment lagoon). Specific locality information for sites surveyed in September 2003 (including those sites pictured below) is provided HERE.

1. On Sunday 27 April, we had the opportunity to participate in a DLIA-sponsored public outreach opportunity - ''Take a Llama to Lunch'' hike along Lynn Camp Prong, located SE of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. During this hike, DLIA Administrative Officer Jeanie Hilten and NPS/ATBI entomologist Becky Nichols introduced 14 participants to the ATBI project and several of the current research projects being funded by DLIA, including our surveys for aquatic oligochaetes and other macroinvertebrates. Local naturalist and author Ila Hatter (Stecoah, NC) shared her botanical expertise with participants, and photographer Kevin Fitz Patrick recorded participants' experiences for the ATBI project. Llamas were provided by Sandy Sgrillo of Smoky Mountains Llama Treks - and were quite well-behaved during this outing. - - ->>

2. On Monday 22 September, we had the opportunity to work with Susan Sachs (NPS-Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob) and Jonathan Mays (NPS) during a public education/outreach activity with two science classes from Cherokee High School; we worked with each class and their forestry instructor Miki Powell at Mingus Creek, near the Smokemont Visitors Center, demonstrating field collecting techniques for aquatic invertebrates, and discussing the behavior, habitat requirements, and morphological adaptations of many of the stream macroinvertebrates that students collected from the stream. Students' enthusiasm, attention, and involvement remained high in spite of the continuous rain (and low light conditions) during both morning and afternoon sessions. - - - ->>

Collecting and observing aquatic invertebrates with Cherokee High School biology students at Mingus Creek; photos © M.J. Wetzel, INHS.

1. ''The Aquatic Oligochaeta (Annelida, Clitellata) of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee, USA.'' Presented by M.J. Wetzel and P. Morgan at the 9th International Symposium on Aquatic Oligochaete Biology, convened in Wageningen, The Netherlands, 6-10 October 2003.

2. ''The Aquatic Oligochaeta (Annelida, Clitellata) of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee: Update - December 2003''. Presented by M.J. Wetzel and P. Morgan at the Annual meeting of Discover Life In America, Inc., Glenstone Lodge, Gatlinburg, TN, 2-6 December 2003.

3. ''The All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory program in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee, with focus on the Aquatic Oligochaeta (Annelida, Clitellata) of the Park.'' Presented by M. J. Wetzel and P. Morgan at the 17th Annual Meeting of the Florida Association of Benthologists, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Naples, FL 11-12 December 2003.

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 has been expanded extensively over the last year; please visit and familiarize yourself with its own 'virtual' diversity of information and resources!