Sorry this blog is so long - the internet has been down for a few days so I've had a while to write it:
One of the major components of this study abroad program is the completion of two independent projects (IP’s). These projects allow us to experience the work that is needed to plan, carry out, and write up scientific experiments. For the past week, we have been working on our first IP. Because this is our first experience with this type of fieldwork, the subject area was somewhat assigned - all projects needed to have something to do with termites. This announcement was a little disappointing to a lot of people (myself included), who had envisioned doing a project on animals that are more exciting and glamorous than termites. After actually doing research and carrying out the project, I realized how interesting termites actually are. They play a huge role in determining the soil and nutrient dynamics of the savanna by cycling soil to build their mounds. Even though they are only millimeters in length, they are still able to create termite mounds that are taller than I am.
I ended up working with three other students on a project that expanded on a project that was completed by students last fall. In their study they found out that termite mound height decreases as you move down a catena (basically a slope down to a river that has changing vegetation patterns). We decided to take this project further by studying if this change in height was related to a change in termite species down the catena. We spent three days in the field gathering data, and two days analyzing and writing up a report. The fieldwork was definitely intense. Because it’s the middle of summer here, we needed to try to get all of our work out of the way in the morning before it got too hot towards the midday. As a result, we usually got up around 4:45 each morning and headed out to our study site by 5:30, finishing up around 12:30. The work itself was pretty tiring. We selected 40 termite mounds to sample, and for each mound we had to take measurements and obtain a specimen for identification. Some of these mounds were over 2 meters high and other were about 4 meters in diameter, so it usually took a while to dig far enough into the mound to actually reach the termites. I think that we were all envisioning putting a stick into a hole in the mound and coming out with termites. In reality though, it required a lot of hard work with a shovel and a pickax to actually get the samples we needed.
Other groups of students worked on project about vegetation diversity on termite mounds, soil moisture in and around mounds, and rodent species that are found near termite mounds. While they were done every day when fieldwork was over, my group had to continue our work once we got back to the classroom. We had to look at samples of termites from each mound that we sampled in order to identify their species. It required a lot of time looking through a microscope and trying to pick out tiny differences between the termites. It reminded me a lot of looking at fruit flies in genetics lab.
Although the project was a lot of work, it was worth it in the end when we actually got to analyzing our results. There are only 5 genera of termites that build mounds in Kruger National Park, and even though we sampled a very small area, we found all 5 genera. In total we found 11 out of the 22 possible genera of termites in the area, which is really impressive. There’s also the chance that we could have discovered a new species of termite. The key that we were using to identify the termites only went down to the genus level, so we weren’t able to figure out the specific species of our samples. For one of our termites, the book that we were using said that there are only 2 previously identified species of that genus, but they know that there are a lot more left to be discovered. Not many people actually study termites, so the work that our program is doing could be substantial. We still have a lot more revising to do, but eventually we will present our project to the staff here at the park.
So now that I’ve bored you with all of this science stuff – an exciting fieldwork story. Because we are part of this program, we have the rare opportunity to actually do work in Kruger National Park. When tourists come here, they aren’t even allowed to get out of their cars and explore on foot, so we are incredibly lucky to have this experience. Doing fieldwork here comes with its risks though. The terrain here is nothing like you would expect, if you watched the Lion King. Disney wants you to view the savanna as a flat plain with lot of short grass, sand and a few trees and rocks scattered here and there. Although other places might look like that, the terrain here is very different. There is waist high grass and large clumps of short bushes and vegetation, making it impossible to see past a few feet. Basically every plant has some sort of thorn or burr which immediately imbed themselves into your shoes and clothes. In addition, because we are working out in the open, there is always the danger of encountering wild animals. Because of this, each group was assigned to a game guard for protection purposes. My group was lucky and was assigned to one of our professors (who is also a licensed game guard), so he was able to help us out with the academic side of our project as well. Although we knew that there were animals out there, for the first two days we never really encountered anything except for a few impala (and of course, our termites). On the third day though, we got a first-hand experience on what working in the field truly means. We were sampling our third mound of the day when all of a sudden, we saw our professor/game guard (Alan) aiming his gun at something. We quickly realized that there was a hyena right in front of us. Alan tried to scare it off by shouting at it and waving his arms, but it kept inching closer with its head up and its ears moving. When it was probably about 5 meters from us, Alan fired a warning shot into the ground next to it, which thankfully sent it running. Not five minutes later though, we saw it walking past us again, but luckily it didn’t stop this time and we were done sampling our mound so we were able to move on. No one was hurt (including the hyena), and although it was startling, not many people can say that they’ve been that close to a wild hyena. Later that day we also came across a large group of elephants. Because they are so large and unpredictable, it’s not a good idea to be anywhere near them in the field. We ended up skipping 2 of our sampling mounds because it was better to get out of the way of the elephants. Even with the danger of being out in the field, I definitely prefer this to learning in the classroom.
And finally - a link to my newest pictures (all from Skukuza):
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