Blog 2: Getting out into the river!
Lily H -
Hey guys!
This week was a pretty fun for me!
On Saturday, I successfully planted my first tree! The mud was pretty wet and the tree was pretty small which definitely helped. The Anacostia Watershed Society has been conducting these tree plantings for about 10 years now. They began after the emerald ash borer beetle devastated the ash trees along the Anacostia. It is estimated that over two-thirds of ash trees were lost. The trees we planted were river birches, swamp white oaks, and pin oaks which are not only resistance to the beetle, who prefers ash trees, but also thrive in wet environments like the DC wetlands. It is important to plant trees along the Anacostia river as it increases biodiversity and makes up habitats for our native species. Furthermore, trees can help manage storm water, as they use a lot of it to grow, and they can filter surface water before it drains into the river. Storm water can have dangerous impacts on the river as it is often filled with chemicals from road salt and fertilizers.
On Monday, I participated in the Freshwater Mussel Survey at Kenilworth Lake. This was definitely the highlight of my week as I learned so much! I got to wear these super cool and stylish waders (see picture below) and use a sand rake to search for mussels. The survey is a qualitative data collection in which 8 (9 with me) volunteers sift through the mud and rocks for mussels for an hour, and then we count the number of alive mussels and document species, sex, and size. Mussels are very important for many freshwater ecosystems as one mussel can filter up to 10 gallons of water a day. Due to pollution, sedimentation, climate change, and many more reasons, Anacostia mussel populations had been on the decline for decades. In addition, mussels are unique because they rely on host fish in their larval stage, so as fish populations decline, mussel populations do as well. The Anacostia Watershed Society has been augmenting the number of mussels through releases at different locations around the watershed. By documenting and measuring the status of mussel populations, we can infer the overall health of the river because as conditions improve, the mussel populations grow.
Jorge, the mussel leader, said that recently on average they have found about 50 mussels at this site in the one hour, though this week our group only found about 8 alive ones (I didn’t find any). He said that this wasn’t typical for this site, but it was raining and visibility was low, so it is possible the mussels were burrowed and impossible to spot. I am planning on attending a future one outside of the Langston Golf course, so I’m excited to see how it differs.
I’ve begun brainstorming some ideas for models, hopefully next week I’ll have some examples!
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