Nahant Marsh, a cattail marsh and sedge meadow located in southwestern Davenport in Scott County, Iowa, is the focus of current student research. Nahant Marsh was once used as a shooting range and significant deposition of lead shot led to the marsh area being designated an EPA Superfund site.
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Sheri Pennock, a senior Biology major from Davenport, Iowa, conducted a basic survey of the turtle population of Nahant Marsh (Sheri's proposal). Based upon casual observations, five species of turtles were thought to occupy the site, but no information existed on their densities, relative abundance, or other population characteristics. Included among these turtles is Blanding's Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), a threatened species in the state of Iowa. In her preliminary work, Sheri documented the presence of Blanding's turtle (a Nahant Blanding's Turtle captured by Sheri), documented the presence of Red-eared Sliders, Trachemys scripta, and made numerous observations on the distributions and density of other species. Here, Sheri is preparing to mark a Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta, the most common species found in Nahant Marsh. In this second photo, Sheri is working with a large common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina. Sheri completed her field work in early fall of 2003 and her final report and her Nahant presentation which contains numerous photographs are both now available. (Photos courtesy of Jody Patterson, staff naturalist at Nahant Marsh). |
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Rachel Helle, a junior Biology major from Dubuque, Iowa, examined small mammals for residual lead contamination (Rachel's proposal). Small concentrations of heavy metals are sequestered in a variety of mammalian tissues, including hair, and their concentrations may be measured with atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Here, she is examining a short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda, collected in the Duck Creek floodplain in northwest Davenport. Rachel collected specimens in fall of 2003, completed her laboratory analyses in spring 2004, and her final report is now available. |
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Jay Foley, a sophomore Chemistry major from Atlanta, Georgia, used AAS to search for residual lead (Jay's proposal). Jay examined tissues of cattails sampled throughout the marsh. He completed his work in the spring of 2004 and his final report is now available. |