Thursday, April 12, 2012

Fish Stocking on Little Sewickley Creek




Fish Stocking on Little Sewickley Creek




On April 9th 2012, the QV Creekers helped to stock over 400 trout (Rainbow and Brown) into Little Sewickley Creek.  Stocking was done at several locations throughout the watershed.  Brown trout have been known to spawn in this creek.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Amphibian Restoration Site Work!

QV Creekers continue their work to improve the breeding site of a number of amphibians at the Bell Acres Sewage Plant. 
Salamanders caught during spring migration 2012 were given a small colored elastomer injection just under the skin (near underarms) to give each salamander a distinguishing mark that will allow us to identify each salamander individually. This procedure was done by Dr. Hanna from Robert Morris University.  These elastomer markings are only visible using a black light, so they will not cause increased predation on the salamanders when they are in the wild.

This process will allow us to keep track of the individual salamanders that continue to migrate to our ponds each year. We also weigh and measure the snout vent length & total of all the salamanders caught.  This will also show us how the salamanders are doing health-wise.

This experiment will shed light on the behaviors and natural history of these animals in the wild.



Amphibian Restoration Project

The QV Creekers continue their work to restore the amphibian breeding site in Bell Acres, PA.  On March 13th 2012, the Qv Creekers met with Dr Catie Hanna of Robert Morris Univesity to help mark salamanders caught during migration 2012.  Dr Hanna gave  each salamander  a small colored elastomer injection just under the skin (near underarms) to give each salamander a distinguishing mark that will allow us to identify each salamander individually.  These elastomer markings are only visible using a black light, so they will not cause increased predation on the salamanders when they are in the wild.
This process will allow us to keep track of the individual salamanders that continue to migrate to our ponds each year. We also weigh and measure the snout vent length & total of all the salamanders caught.  This will also show us how the salamanders are doing health-wise.  This experiment will shed light on the behaviors and natural history of these animals in the wild.