We went to Marion, Virginia to see the hellbenders in the AQUATIC WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CENTER. We got to feed and learn about them. We learned that leeches might cause an infectious disease called Ranavirus. Biologists are doing an experiment to determine if the leeches can cause Ranavirus in hellbenders. Currently hellbenders can't be released in Marion, Virginia due to pollution and diseases in the South Fork River. -by Jonah Kim |
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The True Fly is a aquatic larva of a fly that acts like Harry Houdini. NO matter where you put it, it always tried to escape. Was it looking for the way out or for it's next meal? With a head that looked like it's tail only it knew where it was going. The True Fly in the picture is currently visiting the Net Spinners next door. -by Jonah Sometimes good things come in very tiny packages without a backbone. Today we learned about freshwater benthic macroinvertabrates that inhabit Sideburn Branch Stream. Some of our favorites were the Damselfly, the Net-spinner Caddisfly, and the True Flies. We learned that regardless of how we feel about the dredging displacing the local animals, it is desperately needed. The sediment from all of the run off in our area has made conditions that don't support the variety of life needed to have a healthy stream. After collecting over 300 macroinvertabrates, we realized that Sideburn Branch Stream has unacceptable conditions ecologically. One way to correct that is by dredging the sediment from the lake. We have plans to reduce our own ecological footprint and spread the word, but for now we are happy to have been a part of the biological survey. -by Anna |
The KIMSWe are a homeschooling family in VA trying to make a difference in the world. Archives
March 2018
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