Sprint 2008

• Bird Nest Boxes. Permit 2008-006. Erect 50 or more nest boxes along roads and trails to evaluate box occupancy and reproductive success. Preparation for potential long-term study of bluebirds and swallows. Shawkey

• Continuous Long-Term Water Quality Monitoring. Permit 2008-007. Monitor stream health from four datalogging stations. Data will be posted to website in near real-time. Hopkins

• Chemical mediation of prey preferences by spider-hunting wasps. Permit 2008-008. Predatory wasps may choose which spiders to catch partly based on chemical cues. To investigate this, will collect spiders at BNP for chemical testing in the lab. Uma Divya Bellur (Georgetown University graduate student sponsored by Blackledge).

Fall 2007

• Lichen Survey. Permit 2007-024. Investigation of the environmental impact of Akron's rubber industry, using BNP as a reference site for comparison to areas downwind of the factories. William Davis (undergraduate; Pan sponsor)

• Control of Buckthorn in the Tamarack Bog. Permit 2007-025.. Mark Purdy (Audubon Society; Mitchell sponsor and collaborator.

Summer 2007

• .Effects of orb weaving spiders on plant-pollinator interactions.  Permit 2007-011. This project tests the hypothesis that spiders can influence plant-pollinator interactions by altering the visitation of pollinators such as bees to flowers. We will measure the numbers of pollinators visiting flowers as well as pollen removal and deposition at three sets of flowers. A spider on a web will be placed next to one treatment, an empty web next to a second treatment, and an empty frame (used to support webs) next to the third control treatment. Summer 2007 through Summer 2008.  Dr. Todd Blackledge and Graduate Student Andrew Wu.

• Environmental Impact of Akron's Rubber Industry. Permit 2007-013. Identify and collect small samples of lichen species growing on old (>50 years) maple, oak, and hickory trees to determine age, abundance, and composition of the lichen communities on selected trees. Results will be compared to those from Quail Hollow State Park. William Davis (UA undergraduate, J. Pan and R. Mitchell supervisors). Summer and Fall 2007.

• Meadow Voles. Permit 2007-014. Capture up to 40 meadow voles to establish a Meadow Vole Breeding Colony at the University of Akron.. Dr. Bruce Cushing.   Summer 2007

• Pollination studies. Permit 2007-015. Extension of unnumbered permit from Summer 2004 (see below). Through 2010.

• Butterfly Survey, Permit 2007-018. Photography, observation, and collection of butterflies on the Bath Nature Preserve.  Aug. - Nov 2007. Siebert and Phillips (Mitchell sponsor)

Spring 2007

• Aquatic Field Research Facility. Permit 2007-001. Improve and expand and improve safety for existing array of aquatic research tanks near the Martin Field Center. These tanks will provide researchers the ability to experimentally control environmental factors that may influence the physiology or ecology of local species. This will allow those researchers to test for the influence of anthropogenic or natural changes in the environment on the success of many local aquatic species. 2007. Dr. FBG Moore.

• Developmental and mortality effects of copper and light exposure in the Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) Toxicology of temporary ponds is a major factor in amphibian conservation.  Ponds provide essential habitat in which amphibians congregate in the spring to mate.  Although resultant embryos remain in the pond surrounded by a protective gelatinous membrane, they are still vulnerable to any toxins in the pond. Disturbance of natural habitats also often leads to a decrease in vegetation surrounding ponds. This disruption allows more sunlight to reach the surface of breeding ponds.  An increase in sunlight combined with nutrient-rich aquatic environments is favorable for the growth of algae.  A commonly used algaecide to address this problem in ponds is copper sulfate. The toxicity of this algaecide may be influenced by the level of solar radiation is present.  A number of studies have revealed correlations between delayed development and mortality in embryos and hatchlings with metals, and ultraviolet radiation. However, research is lacking in ponds with levels of pH as high as those generally found in northeastern Ohio.  Furthermore, interaction between the effects of metals and harmful ultraviolet (UV-B, 280-315 nm) radiation found in direct sunlight may exacerbate the effects of each individual factor.  Colleen Sharp supervised by Dr. Moore. Permit 2007-008. March-May 2007. CONTINUING

• Ostracode survey. Monthly sampling in Bath and Garden ponds for small freshwater crustaceans. Will also take sediment cores of these ponds to allow analysis of past abundance.  Dr. Lisa Park (Geology, UA). Permit 2007-009. April -October 2007. CONTINUING

Summer 2006

• Does Plasticity in the Web Building Behavior of the Western Black Widow Spider Latrodectus hesperus, Affect Foraging and Defense?  This project will test the hypothesis that spiders control the shapes of their webs to maximize foraging or defense based upon changes in their environment. Black widow spiders spin two different types of webs when they are fed or fasted. We will test how well these different webs protect the spiders from a common predator of spiders, mud-dauber wasps. For this experiment, at the Martin Field Center spiders will be placed in outdoor screen tents  that contain predatory mud-dauber wasps and we will observe and videotape their predatory interactions. Jacquelyn Zevenbergen (with Dr. Todd Blackledge) Permit 2006-006. June-Sept. 2006. CONTINUING

• Age-related changes in the web-spinning behaviors of a common cobweb spider. The Common House Spider, Achaearanea tepidariorum, spins large three-dimensional cobwebs in protected areas around basements, garages, outbuildings, and overhanging cliff faces. As the spiders mature, their webs can increase greatly in size but these changes have never been studied. We study how the size and shapes of webs, as well as the structural properties of the silk used to spin those webs, varies as a function of the age of spiders. Research will be at the Martin Field Station Building. Dr. T. Blackledge, Permit 2006-009. Summer 2006-2007. CONTINUING

Fall 2005  

• Ecological effects of hypoxia. Water with a low oxygen content may impair the ability of fish to swim, avoid predators, obtain food, and reproduce. We will raise fish to juvenile stage in the laboratory under low oxygen and normal conditions, then transfer them to 100 gallon tanks at the Martin Field center to determine how hypoxia as juveniles affects performance of adult zebrafish in mesocosms in the field.  Misty Ayers supervised by Dr. B. Bagatto. Permit 2005-012. Fall 2005-August 2006. COMPLETED. Thesis on file.

   Summer 2005

• Spider Fauna of Bath Nature Preserve. University of Akron is hosting the  Annual Meeting of the American Arachnological Society, and will visit the Preserve to collect, study, and inventory the spiders there.  Dr. Todd Blackledge  Permit 2005-005.  June 30 2005.  Completed

• Exploration of silk production by spiders.  A single spider may produce as many as seven distinct types of silk, some which are as strong as steel while others are as stretchy as rubber. I am currently conducting studies to characterize the mechanical properties of the silks spun by a diversity of spiders to better understand the evolution of this biological super-material. Dr. Todd Blackledge Permit 2005-004. Summer 2005-2007. CONTINUING

• Does web architecture affect prey capture by spiders? To better understand how the shapes of webs affect what types of insects are captured by spiders, we will manipulate various aspects of the shapes of the webs, such as size and spacing of silk threads, and then observing the effects of those changes on the numbers and types of insects that spiders capture. Dr. Todd Blackledge Permit 2005-003. Summer 2005-2006. CONTINUING

Fall 2004

• Bluegill parasites. Evaluate the number of external parasites on bluegill from Garden Pond (catch and release). C Komar, UA Biology (with Dr. Londraville). Fall 2004. CONTINUING

Summer 2004

• Protists and bacteria in North Fork. Collect water samples to determine protist species and E. coli concentrations in the stream during storm events and during non-storm events. (Julie Niesit, Graduate student, UA biology, Supervised by Dr. Moore). June 2004-June 2006. CONTINUING

• Plant pollinator interactions Observe, record, and sample insects visiting flowers throughout the preserve. Dr. RJ Mitchell, UA Biology. Spring 2004-Spring 2006-2010. CONTINUING through a renewal permit (2007-015 - see above).

Spring 2004

• The effects of parasitism on protein expression in bluegill sunfish.  I will collect snails, Physa sp., from Garden Pond.  Snails are the intermediate host for the parasite, Posthodiplostomum minimum, which infects the bluegill in Garden Pond. Sarah Edmonds (Londraville student). May 2004-May 2007. Amendment approved July 2004 (to allow collection in North Fork) . CONTINUING

• Color polymorphism in Red-back Salamanders. Will search for and census salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) in and near Steiner woods. Erin Petruzzi, Dr. Niewiarowski, Dr. Moore. May 2004-October 2004  COMPLETED - Thesis on file at UA (abstract available here).

• Effects of Herbivory and Granivory on the Seed Pool in a Wet Meadow. Will present 15 different types of seed in petri dishes in the open, in drainpipes, and on poles,  to determine which seeds are eaten by voles, birds, and other granivores. Coordinated with other work (see Spring 2002 permits). Erin Madson (Fraser student). June 2004. COMPLETED - thesis on file at UA

Fall 2003

Spring  2003

• Evaluation of effect of parasites on protein expression in bluegill sunfish. Comparing parasitized bluegill to non-parasitized bluegill to evaluate whether there is an effect on protein expression (how many and how much is being made in various tissues).  Sarah Lloyd; Dr. Londraville advisor. May 2003-April 2004. Request for extension through October 2004, which was approved 5/2004.  COMPLETED. Thesis on file at UA. Abstract available here

• Cuyahoga River Watershed Water Quality Monitoring. Collect water quality baseline data on the Yellow Creek that can contribute to a much larger data collection effort in the Cuyahoga River watershed.  This year would be a pilot for this project that connects high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. Oberst (Education). One time use -  May 19 2003

• Terrestrial Habitat Use by Radio-Implanted Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). As in title, mostly near Steiner woods. Ashley Nussbaum; Dr. Niewiarowski advisor). May 2003-October 2003. Request for extension through October 2004 approved 5/2004. COMPLETED - thesis on file at UA

Fall 2002

Spring 2002

Photography at BNP- especially butterflies. (Alice Phillips). Permit 2007-010. 2007

Metro Parks Photography Club (Alice Phillips, Trudy Beal, Doug Caesar, Phyllis Devlin Margy Siebert; Sponsored by R. Mitchell). Several members of the Metro Parks Photography Club will be taking photos at the Bath Nature Preserve May-October 2005.

Dr. L. Barrett, Geography and Planning (soils and GIS) - 2002

Dr. R Londraville, Biology (Fish of North Fork) - 2002

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        For any questions about these projects,  please contact 

            Dr. Randy Mitchell: 330-972-5122, or email at rjm2 at uakron dot edu