I began the week with literature paper searches. I continued to go back further in years to research Rusty Crayfish as well as the New Zealand Mud Snails. Dave also had me start researching how to culture daphnia. Daphnia are zooplankton that feed on algae and are great food for small invertebrates and fish. I have included a picture below. These zooplankton are tiny and hard to see with the naked eye but it is possible. The goal is to culture them to use as feed on a new experiment for Dave.
Once I found credible sources about raising them I began to set up tanks. I used three 3 gallon buckets for tanks. Set up is pictured below. I wanted to have separate tanks in case one colony collapses. The zooplankton need oxygen so I rigged an aerated into each tank. I also set up an above light for the daphnia. I ordered the daphnia from Carolina Biological Equipment online. For food I chose to order pellets from the online source. An alternative source of food that I may try if the pellets do not work is powder spirulina and activated baker’s yeast. I am excited to watch these creatures grow!
Dave received confirmation that the snails collected last week where not the invasive New Zealand Mud Snail. So on Wednesday we went to search again. We went near the Umatilla fish farm ponds, Umatilla Nature Conservancy, and McNary dam to collect samples. We found what seemed to be New Zealand Mud Snails near the fish ponds and McNary dam. These samples will be sent off again to be identified. Below is a picture of the sample site at McNary Dam.
Another project that I worked on this week was finishing measuring the 14 crayfish from Mule Shoe and Kimberly. Overall this week was busy and productive!
