Last Day...

My internship here in Louisiana ends very soon. This will be my last post. I've had such a  great time down here and I've learned so much! It may have even altered the end goal of my degree slightly. I had never thought of going into fish management, but after spending this summer with LSU Fisheries, I may also apply for jobs in that field as well. I had such a great time down here and it has really been a great experience. I've made some good friends that I hope I keep in touch with, and at the very least I've definitely strengthened my the network of people in my field. I'm definitely going to miss Louisiana, the swamp, and all the culture when I leave, but I do know this... I'll most definitely be back at some point. This place is too awesome to leave forever!! Who knows, maybe I'll end up working here after graduation. Here's Hoping!!

It's gonna be hard to leave this behind!!!

Last Week Or So...

I haven't posted much lately because it seems like I've been doing more lab work than field work lately. Lab work isn't as much fun as being out in the field. I did get to go out once last week, though. I went out to help an LSU graduate student on his project. He is studying the trophic levels of sunfish, meaning he's trying to discover if they all eat the same things or if there is a slightly distinct food source for each. He shocks, captures, and dissects all bass and sunfish that are the size of a normal human hand and bigger, and then he inspects their stomach contents. I got to go out and help him catch the bass and sunfish, so that was fun. It gave me a slightly different perspective than I'm used to, seeing as his project is unrelated to the one that the lab I'm working in is doing.

Other than that, I've mostly just been helping with maintenance on the boats and trucks, as well as helping "pick bugs," like I've mentioned before. It's not that much fun, but it really helps out another graduate student, seeing as she wouldn't be able to get through all of her samples without us helping her. She has over 700 samples, each taking about an hour on average, and she's still collecting data! That's a lot of samples to go through!

Well, there's only about 3 weeks left of my internship. I'm really enjoying it here and I love the job, but now that most of the internship is behind me I kinda do want to go home. I just wanna get that 21 hour drive over with one last time! Plus, I'm anxious to start my senior year of college! With any luck, this'll be my last year of education before finding a real job. I'm excited to graduate, find a job, and begin building my adult life!

Halfway Over...

Well, my internship has passed the halfway point. I only have about five weeks left of work here at LSU. It's been a great experience for me and I hope to continually enjoy it for the next few weeks. I'm going out shocking again tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get to catch some more awesome fish! I really love being out in the swamp and trying to catch the big bowfin, bass, and gar.

It's also been getting progressively more humid down here. The humidity has been something that I have to adjust to, since Pennsylvania's humidity cannot compare to Louisiana humidity. Yesterday, it was so humid it was almost hard to breathe.

Also, I almost got to experience my first real hurricane, but it missed Louisiana. It wasn't supposed to be too nasty, just a category one. It would have been neat to get to see a hurricane down here.

Well, that's really all I have for now. I plan on spending the next 4 weekends absorbing as much of the culture as I can, because I don't know if I'll ever make it back down this way. I'm planning a trip to New Orleans soon, so I should have some cool pictures and stories from down that way.

One interesting thing that I did find in the last few days was a back scratcher made from an alligator foot. I've always heard the swampers talking about using "all of the gator" in this way, but until the other day, I had yet to see it. It's actually a very gruesome looking item.

Pictures Galore!

So, I figured I'd throw up some pictures that I've actually taken out and about in the bayous. I'll give a little explanation of each with the pictures.

So here's a picture of a barge unloading and loading equipment at a gas pipeline location out in Bayou Sorrell. This is one of many locations out in the swamp where they are doing pretty heavy pipelining of natural gas and oil. It's pretty amazing to see these giants going up and down in a foot or two of water. It's a wonder they don't get stuck!

Here's a picture of a gator that I took out in Henderson, La. It was huge! It was over 12 feet in length and the funny thing is that we got really close before it knew we were there... but once it realized it had company it freaked out and dove underwater, splashing us with its tail. It was hilarious seeing this monster frightened by us.

So, this is the giant silver carp that jumped in the boat with us. They are a serious problem down here. this is probably close to a 50 lb. fish, and it almost knocked the girl I was on the boat with overboard. These fish could easily knock a person unconscious and then into the swamp. You can see its relative size by looking at it near that white cooler; it was roughly the same length.

This is the I-10 bridge that runs from Baton Rouge to Lafayette. It's 18 miles long and it runs over open swamp for the whole length of it. It is really impressive to see and to be on this bridge. Most people can't even imagine a bridge of this size. and there's no exists, just swamp!

Even though this looks like land and grass, it's not.  This is another problem we face every day. The water level in the swamp right now is really low, so we can't always get to our testing locations. Shown in the picture is water hyacinth, or water lilies. They will grow right over the top of the water and they are a floating plant. They are an invasive species, and most boats can't make it through a canal that is solid hyacinth.

So this is a bowfin. We caught it during a shocking trip. These are really cool and unique fish found in the swamp. I think they're a rare find, but that day we found several.Again, this guy was the size of the cooler and just barely fit inside. These fish are very aggressive and will bite and slap you. In fact, moments after this picture, this guy slapped me right in the face!

This picture needs no explanation. It's simply beautiful out in the swamp. There is no other place like it. It's the most beautiful landscape I've ever seen. I truly love working out here. Consider this my office. Jealous? You should be!

I don't know how to flip the picture, but this is me holding a 3.5 foot spotted gar. These things are truly amazing fish. They are very aggressive, and they love biting (trust me, I know!). I caught this guy when I was shocking. Gar don't have scales like normal fish. Their scales are much thicker and stronger and feel like body armor. This guys scales were also very sharp. In fact, Native Americans from the area used to use their scales for arrowheads, due to the strength and sharpness of each scale. It was awesome getting to hold this prehistoric fish. They have been around since the days of the dinosaur!

 And now for perhaps the most awesome part of the trip! This is me with Mike Kliebert from the History Channel's Swamp People. I went up to their farm and got to meet him and his son, T-Mike. They do tours through their farm and I got to see some huge alligators (the ones I mentioned before). It was really cool getting to meet these guys!


Well, that's all for now. More pictures later.

It's been a while...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I broke my computer and I've been busy at work, so there was no way to post. Anyway, it has been an even crazier week. I believe it was on wednesday of last week that we were out in Henderson, Louisiana. We were doing testing along the Atchafalaya River. We got to see some pretty big gators, and I swear that day you couldn't turn your head without seeing them. Remember the giant jumping carp I posted about last time? Well, the girl I was in the boat with was "carp-slapped" right out of her seat. "Carp-Slapped" is the term we've given to the action of being hit in the face with these carp. The carp that hit her was huge. It was the size of the cooler that she was sitting on. I have the picture, so maybe I'll post it when I get my laptop back. Anyway, she was almost thrown out of the boat.

These carp jump when they hear the motor running, and just a few feet away from us, another group was jumping. As one of them hit the bank of the bayou, it was impaled on a stick. We turned around to get a closer look, but not thirty seconds after being stuck by the stick, the carp was attacked by a pretty large alligator. It was one of the coolest things that I've ever seen. However, it was a little unnerving, because right where the gator surfaced to get the fish, we had just been sticking our arms and legs into the bayou to clean off the fish blood. That means the gator was probably looking at us the whole time, trying to decide if he was hungry enough to pull us out of the boat.

We also got to see some feral hog tracks on the bank and one of the girls I was working with needed to leave the boat to use the bathroom. When she went a little way up into the weeds, she turned around and came right back, saying that she had seen a feral hog mating area. These hogs are very dangerous animals and will attack humans, especially when defending their young. Below is a picture I found online of the hogs moving through the bayou, just to give you an idea.

Also, I finally got to visit the Kliebert's Alligator and Turtle Farm in Hammond, LA. These are the guys that were on the first season of swamp people. I got to meet Mike and T-Mike Kliebert and T-Mike gave the tour. They are really cool and funny people to be around and they really know their stuff! I even got to take a picture with "Big Mike" Kliebert and I got to chat with him. I got to try their fresh alligator and I purchased some alligator meet to bring home with me when I leave.

 I really enjoyed meeting them and taking their tour. I got to see some really big alligators. They have a pond where there are over 250 alligators that were caught by T-Mikes grandfather Harvey back in the 1950's. All of the gators in this pond are over 55 years old and all the males are at least 12 feet long. They pretty much leave these gators alone and just use them for the tours, as they are way too big to be harvested for meat. Plus, the Klieberts' are pretty proud to have the world's first, second, and third largest captive alligators. On my tour, I got to meet Crush, who is the third largest alligator in captivity. He is around 17 feet and weighs as much as a car. It was really awesome getting to see this gator. He truly is a dinosaur. They two bigger ones are around 19-20 feet long, but they don't come out from their "honey hole" on the far side of the pond. For this reason, the Klieberts are building a bridge back there for people to see them. T-Mike also mentioned that Crush, the gator I saw, was big enough to eat a 9-10 foot gator whole. This means that he could eat me like a chicken nugget! It truly is amazing seeing these creatures and learning what they are capable of in captivity, but there's nothing like seeing 12 to 14 feet gators in the wild that aren't used to humans.

This is a picture of Crush. This should give you an idea of the size he is. Dinosaur really is the only word that one can use to describe this animal. That, and maybe monster.

Well, that's really it for now. I'm really, really loving my time here. It's getting to the point where I don't want to leave. I really love my job. I love being able to go out every day and help collect data that keeps the bayous clean and protects them for years to come. It's truly a unique place. There's nothing else like it in America. If you wanted to find another wetland ecosystem that is comparable to the Atchafalaya, you would need to go to China. But even there, you don't get the wonderful Cajun culture that is so prevalent in this region. Being in Louisiana makes Pennsylvania seem dull and unexciting. If things keep being this awesome I'm going to have to find a job down here after I graduate!

Crazy Past Few Days...

So, the last few days have been pretty crazy. Lots of awesome things have been happening down here. For example, a few friends from home drove down and are spending the week with me. Last weekend, we got out and really explored Baton Rouge and took in some of the culture. We have been sampling different types of food from the area, including New Orleans style cuisine and of course Cajun food as well. We got to hang out it Tiger Land and watch an LSU baseball game. Tiger Land is basically LSU's saturday night hotspot with all kinds of entertainment.

I also took them out in the swamp on a tour. We went pretty close to the coast near Morgan City and had a really nice tour. The guide even let us hold and play with a baby alligator. We learned a lot on the trip, including the fact that the largest Louisiana Alligator caught was over 27 feet in length. At first I questioned this, but after talking with some of the professors and Graduate students, this seems likely. They told me that on one of their recent trips they were in an 18 foot crawfish boat and they saw a gator swim by that was larger than their boat. It's kind of a creepy feeling knowing I'm working in their territory and they're all around me, but I can't see them. Anywhere I go the banks are covered in claw marks and slide trails.

Another thing I have been experiencing is a period of extremely low water in the bayous and swamps. there are a lot of places that our boats can no longer go. In fact, the place I went on my second day of work has lost about two feet of water between then and now. Some places look really deep, but in reality there is only around six inches of water. There have been a few instances where we have almost gotten stuck. Most of the work I've been doing is in Bayou Sorrel, which may sound familiar from the show swamp people. In fact, yesterday, I'm pretty sure I saw one of the cast members who lives in Bayou Sorrel putting his boat into the water as I was putting our boat in. It's so cool being around those guys and knowing that I pass their house everyday! I also work in and near some other locations from the show, including Bayou Pidgeon, Pierre Part, Morgan City, and Lake Verret. This is the best job ever! I love watching the show and being like "I know that place! I worked there today!"

I've even gotten to see huge barges going up and down the intercoastal waterways near Bayou Sorrel. It's truly amazing to see these large ships sharing the water with you. The one I saw was carrying a load of loaded tractor trailers.

Even with all this going on, perhaps the craziest things that I have seen include a dead 8 plus foot alligator that was chewed almost completely in half by an even larger alligator, and being attacked by killer carp! Ok, so maybe the carp aren't killers, but both yesterday and today a silver carp weighing around 50lbs. jumped over our boat, almost knocking us out of the boat. Yesterday, the one almost hit me in the face and the one today almost hit the driver. For this reason, these fish are probably more frightening to me than the gators that swim near me. However, I did have a 4 or 5 foot gator surface near me while I was taking measurements. That was pretty cool.

Another cool thing I have been a part of is called Bathymetry. Using a sonar device, we were able to capture and produce an image of the bottom of the bayou. Using GIS, we can create a map that helps us understand what's going on below the surface. It's also really cool because it picks up the fish and other things under the surface, and yesterday we got to see a gator swimming under us on the unit!


Well, that's really all for now, but sometime in the next day or two my friends and I are going to take a tour of Kleibart's alligator farm in Hammond, LA. This is run by three of the main cast on swamp people. We also plan on bringing back some fresh alligator to Pennsylvania to cook up and have our families taste!


I'll update again soon!

Electrofishing!!

    So, this week's been kinda slow. I've done a lot of lab work due to the weather. We haven't gotten any rain down here since I arrived in mid May. This has the swamps at an unusually low level for this time of year. Because the swamp is so low, we cannot access all of our research locations, and so we've gotten most of the week's field work done in one day.

Monday I got to shock for fish samples in the boat.  That was really a lot of fun. I didn't get to take pictures because shocking requires you to pay full attention to the bow of the boat and scoop up the fish as they get shocked. It was really exciting because most of the fish we were catching, especially the bass, are bigger than the ones that I would catch back home. I was most excited to catch the gar species, since they are very unique to the south. We caught several 2-3 foot gar, most of which were spotted gar. These animals are very interesting, since they have long flat bills filled with razor sharp teeth. However, the gar have a lot of fight. We had a hard time keeping them in the boat. They kept jumping back out.

We also caught large bass and some huge common carp. We caught several mullet, which is another unique southern fish. These fish are known to jump out of the water frequently, and often they will jump into the boat, and even hit the people in the boat. Another interesting catch was a fish called the buffalo. It kinda looks like a carp, but it's not.

In fact, the location that we were shocking was named after them. It was called Buffalo Cove. While out shocking, I got to see my first Louisiana Alligators up close and personal. They were only 4 or 5 feet long, so they were little guys. It's really a cool feeling knowing they're out there with you, but you can't see them. The banks are also heavily marked with their presence.



As I said, though. Most of my week was spent inside. Thursday it finally rained a little, so maybe the swamps will start to rise again. While in the lab I am tasked with helping a grad student sort samples of bugs. She has over 700 samples spanning a few years in time. Each sample takes about an hour. Basically, I dump the sample into a tray and begin scanning for tiny bugs and other macro-invertebrates. This is a pretty boring job, but I guess someone has to do it.

Well, that's all for now. I got some bugs to pick! I'll post again soon...