Although the Pantanal is a wetland refuge half the size of France bursting with tropical wildlife, much of the action takes place underwater. An astounding diversity of fishes of all sizes, shapes, and colors can be found here, from the piraputanga, a small fish that specializes in eating tropical fruits and dispersing their seeds, to the giant arapaima, a prehistoric-looking predator. For many of the smaller fish and aquatic invertebrates, even their basic biology is poorly known, so expect to make discoveries. You will work with Don Eaton (scientist from University of Nevada, Reno) to sample fishes, invertebrates, and plants along a range of aquatic habitats to determine how different variables affect aquatic diversity here.

Before we can join Don Eaton’s team we should gain an understanding of the importance of wetlands. The following web site offers a wealth of information to show just why we need to work so diligently to save these amazing ecosystems.

http://www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au/care/wetlands/facts/importance.html#Introduction

Click on "Introduction"

1. What kind of organisms inhabit a wetland? What kind of water do you find there? (see Digital Sportsman for help).
2. What do wetlands act as a border between?
3. When might these areas become a refuge for animals?
4 What important thing do wetlands provide for a large variety of animals including birds, fish and invertebrates?
5. It is said that wetlands act as an important buffer between different landscapes and waterways. What specifically do buffers do?
6. What is the function of fungus and bacteria in wetlands.
7. Have you ever been in a marshy area and smelled something like rotten eggs? This is actually a gas, sometimes called rotten egg gas, that is being produced by living organisms. What is the name of this gas?

By continually measuring changes in water quality in the Pantanal, we can evaluate the level of disturbance in neighboring regions of the Pantanal due to deforestation, mining, ranching, large-scale cultivation of soybeans & corn, etc...

Don Eaton’s Research objectives are as follows:

• Surveys during wet and dry seasons of aquatic macroinvertebrates (macroinvertebrates are the larger, more visible class of invertebrate animals) and fishes from the many different freshwater habitats in the Fazenda Rio Negro.
• Measurement of ecosystem factors that might influence the growth and reproduction of macroinvertebrates and fishes.
• Development of a long-term monitoring program to evaluate changes in the aquatic biodiversity of the Fazenda Rio Negro area and the level of disturbance in neighboring regions of the Pantanal.
  
  8. What do you think is the most important of the above objectives and why?

 

As a volunteer you will assist Don Eaton in any of the following field activities, just like Mrs. Coleman did in the photos here.

*Collecting core samples from the bottom of aquatic habitats to count invertebrates.
*Taking water samples to test for nutrient levels.
*Counting fish using traps and nets.
*Determining biomass by harvesting plots of aquatic grass.
*Set up and run detritus (dead or decomposing particles of organic matter) decomposition (breakdown) experiments.
* Evening lab work sorting and organizing aquatic samples.
*Light trapping adult aquatic insects at night.
*Taking insect life samples from 10 locations depth ranges within each salina
*Take temperature and depth readings for salinas, baias, the river and oxbows
*Measuring PH, oxygen levels, and salt content within each body of water
*Catching, measuring and weighing fish in the rivers, then re-releasing them

9. Which of these duties sounds the most interesting to you as a volunteer? (where will we see you most?)

Most of these duties must be carried out by working right in the middle of the water. Wading out into the water to collect samples is the only way to gather the data. Data is taken and stored, then later measured and graphed as it is compared to other readings from previous dates.

Dragon Fly Larvae	Single set of samples	Sorting and Censusing	Piranha

 

9. How many wetlands are there in the Southern California area?

(Coastal Conservancy - Wetlands Project) click on Maps & Photos (Sites by county)

10. Bonus Question: Look at the Partners for Wetlands. Can you define what a wetland is and why it is important?

 

Answer each question.

Send your answers to the teacher, directions will be provided in class. Be sure to type out your answers on a WORD document first, just in case your message becomes erased. You can copy it from there right into the email and send directly to your email to send.