Week 1: Getting Started
- emilyvanvlack
- May 26, 2017
- 3 min read
Welcome to my blog! This week marked the start of our carp tracking project on Candlewood Lake. If you would like to learn more about the project or those that are similar, please refer to the "About" and "Additional Information" pages to better acquaint yourself with the study. I thoroughly hope that you enjoy the content that will be posted here in the coming weeks, and maybe even learn a bit from it too. Happy reading!
May 24, Wednesday:
The first day of field work! Today was spent learning how to use the radio receiver for tracking the carp by getting out on the lake. Accompanied by Dr. Pinou, Luke, and our wonderful volunteer boat captain Allan, we spent a total of five hours on the lake, under a beautiful blue sky.
We left from Echo Bay Marina, in Brookfield, CT, to begin our search for the carp in the Southern half of the lake. The first few sites we visited had no fish, but after about an hour, we found our first carp. As the Milfoil beds are still not fully grown, and no tracking of the carp has been done since September of 2016, we had little idea of where to expect the carp. Therefore, it was very exciting to hear the signal of the first carp we found over the receiver. Throughout the day, we managed to pick up the signals of 11 of the 50 marked carp. Although this may seem like a poor ratio for five hours out in the field, the lake's size and bizarre shape make it very difficult to pinpoint the whereabouts of fifty small creatures. So, we were very excited to "hear" these 11 carp. Even more exciting, we heard the radio signal of one carp who had not been found by researchers in the lake since its release in June of 2015. Using the receiver, we were also able to pinpoint that all the carp that we were able to locate were in shallow water, close to the shore where Milfoil beds had been recorded in previous years. This lends to the idea that the fish are likely feeding on the young Milfoil plants that are growing back after the winter draw down.
In addition to the carp, we also saw a variety of water birds out on the lake, including Mallard Ducks and several Great Blue Herons. Although these species are not included in our research in regards to the overall health of the Candlewood Lake ecosystem, we were happy to see that the lake functions as a habitat for so many species of water fowl. This particular duck, pictured above, was very friendly, and decided to follow our boat for about 45 minutes while we were conducting our research, likely in search of a treat. While adorable, please remember to be responsible in the feeding of wildlife while enjoying the lake!
Overall, our first day out on the lake was very successful, and gives promising results that the addition of the carp to the lake is indeed helping to control the population of Eurasian Milfoil. We hope to continue to see these results next week. I have high hopes for the Triploid Grass Carp program in Candlewood Lake and am excited to see what our research reveals as we progress through the summer!
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