For students in Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Field Ecology program, the Adirondacks are the classroom.

Adirondack Field Ecology provides a field-based introduction to fundamental ecological principles and biodiversity in the Adirondack Park. The class starts with an exploration of basic concepts of ecology, and then delves into specialized modules taught by a series of PSC faculty members and area experts that take advantage of Paul Smith’s location.

This program allows students to explore many different ecological topics and fields, teaches students real-world knowledge, skills and techniques, and lets them interact with experts in the various fields.  Targeted to students who have just finished their junior or senior year in high school, it provides students exposure to a wide array of conservation and ecological concepts that can help them focus in on their interests, and is also a terrific introduction to college life before starting on a college career.  The course consists of online material to be completed before arriving on campus, two immersive weeks in the Adirondacks, and provides four college credits.

Below, you will find a selection of writing completed by students who participated in this summer’s program.             

Aquatic Invertebrates

by Meagan Sherry

Examining varieties of aquatic insects was an informative experience. With Professor Janet Mihuc, we gathered samples from multiple locations on Saranac River, and then compared them to insects we found at Lower St. Regis Lake.  After collecting adequate samples, we went back to the classroom and looked at some of the organisms under a microscope in order to classify them.  We discussed the categorizations of aquatic invertebrates as well as their functions. 

We observed the assortment of insects and categorized them based on functional feeding groups.  Aquatic invertebrates can be grouped by this function because of the physical adaptations they have in common to feed from similar sources.  A few of the types, for example, are collectors, scrapers, and shredders.  Their unique mouth parts were the main influence on what food they were adapted to eat.  For instance, the filtering collectors had sieve-like mouth parts to retrieve fine particulate organic matter suspended in the water.  I found these functions very interesting due to their highly specialized qualities that allow insects to flourish in almost any water source.

The concept that intrigued me the most was how examining the types of aquatic insects present in a water source can provide usable points of reference about the quality of water.  Certain species are more tolerant of pollution and can thrive in conditions that are toxic to most.  These species would also be less populous in cleaner water, due to the presence of, and therefore higher competition from, pollution intolerant species. Other characteristics of the water that can be determined include oxygen levels and bottom sediments.  Overall, learning about aquatic invertebrates was interesting for me.

Aquatic Invertebrates

by Meagan Sherry

Examining varieties of aquatic insects was an informative experience. With Professor Janet Mihuc, we gathered samples from multiple locations on Saranac River, and then compared them to insects we found at Lower St. Regis Lake.  After collecting adequate samples, we went back to the classroom and looked at some of the organisms under a microscope in order to classify them.  We discussed the categorizations of aquatic invertebrates as well as their functions. 

We observed the assortment of insects and categorized them based on functional feeding groups.  Aquatic invertebrates can be grouped by this function because of the physical adaptations they have in common to feed from similar sources.  A few of the types, for example, are collectors, scrapers, and shredders.  Their unique mouth parts were the main influence on what food they were adapted to eat.  For instance, the filtering collectors had sieve-like mouth parts to retrieve fine particulate organic matter suspended in the water.  I found these functions very interesting due to their highly specialized qualities that allow insects to flourish in almost any water source.

The concept that intrigued me the most was how examining the types of aquatic insects present in a water source can provide usable points of reference about the quality of water.  Certain species are more tolerant of pollution and can thrive in conditions that are toxic to most.  These species would also be less populous in cleaner water, due to the presence of, and therefore higher competition from, pollution intolerant species. Other characteristics of the water that can be determined include oxygen levels and bottom sediments.  Overall, learning about aquatic invertebrates was interesting for me.

Wetlands 

By John Notoris and Caitlin De Bellis                

Wetlands provide society with several important benefits but have been abused and mismanaged since the colonization of America. The functions of wetlands originally were not fully understood, and thus their numerous values have been overlooked. With these oversights came the destruction of wetlands, and the total number being greatly reduced. As we now know more about the values and functions of wetlands, we can better protect them and attempt to restore those we lost.

Wetlands were once viewed as swampy lands that bred diseases, restricted overland travel, impeded the production of food and fiber, and acted as overall obstacles to frontier survival during the 1700’s. Wetlands were also known to hold limitless resources, such as their timber and very fertile soil, leading to their further destruction. These thoughts persisted in the minds of the colonists (and later Americans) for centuries to come. Therefore, the original acreage of wetlands in the contiguous United States, 221 million, has been reduced to a mere 103 million as of the mid 1980’s. However, as their values and functions become more widely understood, more efforts are being made to protect and restore these vital ecosystems. 

A wetland’s value is determined by its functional importance to society, therefore it is rarely consistent. Furthermore, every wetland is different, and serves a different purpose, or the same purpose less or more efficiently; no wetland is the same. Wetlands have a wide variety of functions, from water quality improvement, floodwater storage, fish and wildlife habitat, aesthetics, to biological productivity. Water quality improvement and stability is probably one of a wetlands most notable functions. Generally viewed as natural sponges, wetlands can absorb not only water, but toxins, as well as release water more slowly and reduce flooding. Additionally, wetlands can release water during dry periods, making them extremely useful for other vegetation.

Throughout history, wetlands have gotten a bad reputation. Although they don’t necessarily please the eye, they’re highly important to the survival of all other ecosystems. Even though efforts to fix the destruction caused by past generations are being pursued, we still have a long way until wetlands will be restored, if they will ever be restored.

Botany

by Kimi

Today we traveled through the Boreal Life Trail at the  Paul Smith’s College VIC with Professor Dan Spada, where we learned the basics of botany. Our main focus of the day was common tree and shrub identification. Before we headed out into the field, our class got a lesson on some plant physiology, to understand how they work, before we learned to identify them.

The tree species that we focused on included American beech, eastern hemlock, red spruce, black spruce, and tamarac. We took the time to discuss each tree’s characteristics that made them unique and distinct from one another. Once we got into the bog part of the trail, we talked mainly about smaller plants and shrubs which included sphagnum moss, magnifollium moss, bog bean and the pitcher plant. We learned how bog habitats are very acidic, and how all of the plants in it are adapted to live in these conditions.

LAKE ECOLOGY

By KIMI

Today, Corey Laxson gave us a lesson on lake ecosystems. We started off in the classroom, where we learned what makes up a lake and the factors that affect the ecosystem within it. He took us out in the boats to Upper St. Regis and Spitfire lakes, where we measured temperature, light and dissolved oxygen at different water depths, and then took samples of chlorophyll-a throughout the different depths of the lake. After our data was collected we worked in the computer lab in the Library on campus where we learned how to put our raw data into a professional looking graph.

Bog-Coring Night

by Alex

I personally consider the bog-coring night to be the most interesting module we did in the entire two weeks of Field Ecology. We went out to a bog one night with Professor Curt Stager and using a specially made rod with a core digger at its end we took a bog core sample. We had to connect about seven length-extending attachment pieces to the core digger so that it could be deep enough to reach the bottom. Once the core digger had bored to the bottom of the bog where the dirt is, DJ gave the rod a 180-degree twist, and we pulled up the digger to see the dirt core sample we had taken.

Professor Curt Stager said that the sample we took was much better than the one the last Field Ecology group had taken. The core digger takes a perfectly cylindrical chunk out of the dirt in order to see all the different layers. The sample we took represented a history of what went on in that area for the past 7,000 years – we could see all the different types of organic matter. Every layer tells a story about the stages the forest went through.

Another really cool fact we learned from Professor Curt Stager was that a bog starts out as a lake, but gets covered with sphagnum moss over time. As the vegetation continues to grow, the moss gets so thick that it completely encloses the lake and eventually it can be walked on, which feels like walking on a waterbed because the moss is so saturated with water. Also, if you pull up sphagnum moss, you can see the many “generations” of that moss’s family because the bog is acidic and does not decompose plant matter, so new sphagnum moss grows on top of the old sphagnum moss. The only other types of plants that can survive in this environment is a certain kind of carnivorous plant that eats insects. The other plant that grows in bogs are cranberries, but the deer eat the cranberry plants before they can reach maturity and produce fruit.

Over all I felt that this was the most interesting module, because it’s not everyday that you can touch 7,000 year old dirt beneath massively thick vegetation under a lake. All in all, a very cool and fun experience!

In Conclusion…

The students in our Adirondack Field Ecology program worked hard and learned a lot this summer. This program went a long way towards preparing them for more in-depth study in ecological sciences. We can’t wait until they all become full-time students at Paul Smith’s College!