The End of Week One

Today, it was Erinn's turn to bear-watch. While she didn't see any bears, she did spy a few seals out on the Hudson ice!

Here is what one of the seals looked like from our vantage point on Bluff D: It took us a little while to identify these mysterious, blubbery black creatures, rolling around and at times seeming to have two heads. But we're pretty sure they're ringed seals, laying on the ice near a breathing hole. We're pretty sure they're not collembolas.

Another exciting discovery of the day was...purple saxifrage! A sign of spring!
These first blooms give us hope that all this ice and snow really will melt. It really doesn't feel like it, from the cold temperatures and bitter winds. Though, we HAVE been taking advantage of this wind to try our hands dispersal...the Zooplankton Way...

We did this on Bluff C in order to gather qualitative observations about metacommunity dynamics in the Churchill rock pool system. Karl, we feel that this experience greatly supplemented the hours spent staring at your concept map.

Our last "exciting" discovery was that of a paw print...which turned out to be an Erinn print...
...it was slightly embarrassing when we figured out the true origin of this "bear track". But, in our defense, we're planktoneers, not mammalogists!

So...the end of the first week was a pretty fun-filled day. Tomorrow is our Polar Bear and Firearms Safety Course...a sure way to kick-off an interesting Week Two.