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Bernard Field Station Use Fall 2006

Course Uses & Projects

Request No.: 0666CACD12
Submitted on: 11/6/06 at 2:04 PM
Instructor: Nancy Hamlett, Pomona
E-mail: Nancy_Hamlett@HMC.edu
College phone: x73811

Course: BIOL189N PO - Microbial Ecology
Number of students: 1 Section, approx. 6 students per section
Dates: 11/10/2006 to 11/10/2006
Frequency: Once
Time of day: Afternoon
Areas to be used: pHake Lake
Facilities or equipment needed: Boats,
Will any plant or animal species be studied? No
Will plants or animals be collected? No
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? No
Will markings or flags be used? No

Description of course experiment, project or activity: Students will create a depth profile of chemical indicators of microbial activity in pHake Lake. They will measure oxygen concentration and temperature in situ with a dissolved oxygen meter and will also collect 1-L water samples at 2-ft depth intervals. The samples will be returned to the laboratory for determination of pH, conductivity, sulfide, chlorophyll, bacteriochlorophyll, total direct counts of bacteria and protists, and possibly ATP.

Request No.: 065B96EB9D
Submitted on: 10/19/06 at 11:31 AM
Instructor: Melinda Herrold-Menzies, Pitzer
E-mail: mmenzies@pitzer.edu
College phone: 607-7960

Course: ENVS104 PZ - Doing Natural History
Number of students: 1 Section, approx. 17 students per section
Dates: 10/23/2006 to 12/13/2006
Frequency: Weekly
Time of day: Afternoon
Areas to be used: western CSS, central CSS, pHake Lake, vernal pools, eastern CSS, oak forest, corner, classroom/infirmary area, north field, south field, lower neck, central neck, upper neck
Facilities or equipment needed: Outdoor classroom
Will any plant or animal species be studied? No
Will plants or animals be collected? No
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? No
Will markings or flags be used? No

Description of course experiment, project or activity: We will be doing a general introduction to the plant communities, some plant identification, and a good deal of observation of both plants and animals.

Request No.: 06485C3FAD
Submitted on: 9/18/06 at 8:44 AM
Instructor: Dan Guthrie, CMC
E-mail: dguthrie@jsd.claremont.edu
College phone: 607 2836

Course: BIOL620 CM - Environmental Science
Number of students: 1 Section, approx. 80 students per section
Dates: 10/01/2006 to 11/01/2006
Frequency: Other - students come on their own time in groups
Time of day: Morning, Afternoon - students come on their own time, days
Areas to be used: central CSS, eastern CSS
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? Yes - doing vegetational transects (100 ft) and bird observations (point counts).
Will plants or animals be collected? Yes
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? No
Will markings or flags be used? No

Description of course experiment, project or activity: A small sprig of perennial plants will be collected for later identification.

I will give students instructions on BFS use. They will come up on their own during the day to conduct the surveys. One week in early October for plants, and one week in later October for birds.

Request No.: 064921E958
Submitted on: 9/13/06 at 10:59 AM
Instructor: Paul Faulstich, Pitzer
E-mail: paul_faulstich@pitzer.edu
College phone: 621.8818

Course: ENVS146 PZ - Theory and practice in environmental education (LEEP)
Number of students: 1 Section, approx. 30 students per section
Dates: 01/10/2007 to 05/10/2007
Frequency: Daily
Time of day: Morning
Areas to be used: western CSS, central CSS, pHake Lake, vernal pools, eastern CSS, oak forest, corner, classroom/infirmary area, south field, lower neck
Facilities or equipment needed: Outdoor classroom
Will any plant or animal species be studied? No
Will plants or animals be collected? No
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? No
Will markings or flags be used? No

Description of course experiment, project or activity: This course concerns itself with the theory and practice of environmental education. Students are trained in principles of environmental education and serve as instructors to children from elementary schools in Pomona and Claremont. Participants work in teams to develop and teach effective environmental curricula at the Bernard Biological Field Station. In addition to teaching environmental ethics, local ecology, and critical ecological concerns, course participants serve as role models of environmental sensibility and community involvement.

During eleven-week units, classes of children visit the field station once a week for three hours to study the coastal sage scrub ecosystem, which was once prevalent in our region, and other ecosystems present at the station.

Under the guidance of college students, elementary school children conduct environmental science projects at the station’s outdoor lab, engage in cooperative problem-solving, and participate in activities that build environmental responsibility. On-site workshops addressing such topics as plant identification, animal tracking, and Native American uses of plants are geared toward the school children.

Request No.: 064485795F
Submitted on: 9/5/06 at 11:54 PM
Instructor: Nancy Hamlett, Pomona
E-mail: Nancy_Hamlett@HMC.edu
College phone: 607-3811

Course: BIOL189N PO - Microbial Ecology
Number of students: 1 Section, approx. 6 students per section
Dates: 09/08/2006 to 09/08/2006
Frequency: Once
Time of day: Afternoon
Areas to be used: western CSS, central CSS, eastern CSS, south field
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? No
Will plants or animals be collected? No
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? No
Will markings or flags be used? No

Description of course experiment, project or activity: Isolation and characterization of Bacillus sp. and actinomycetes from coastal sage scrub soil. Students will collect approximately 5-gram soil samples, which will be taken back to the laboratory for processing. Samples will be treated to select for heat-resistant and desiccation-resistant forms before plating on a variety of media. Isolates will be characterized by staining, metabolic patterns, and antibiotic production.

Request No.: 064F266C44
Submitted on: 8/30/06 at 5:12 PM
Instructor: Nina Karnovsky, Pomona
E-mail: nina.karnovsky@pomona.edu
College phone: 607-9794

Course: BIOL112 PO - Advanced Animal Ecology
Number of students: 1 Section, approx. 8 students per section
Dates: 09/29/2006 to 10/20/2004
Frequency: Other - A couple days per week (setting up one day and collecting another)
Time of day: Dawn, Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Night
Areas to be used: pHake Lake
Facilities or equipment needed: life jackets
Will any plant or animal species be studied? Yes - Daphnia and copepods
Will plants or animals be collected? Yes
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? No
Will markings or flags be used? No

Description of course experiment, project or activity: Students will determine if zooplankton (Daphnia, copepods) in pHake lake undergo diel vertical migration. Plankton will be collected at various depths along transect at different times of day/night using a plankton net. Plankton samples will be preserved to be counted later. Temperature and light will be measured at different depths.

Request No.: 064F252B31
Submitted on: 8/30/06 at 5:01 PM
Instructor: Nina Karnovsky, Pomona
E-mail: nina.karnovsky@pomona.edu
College phone: 607-9794

Course: BIOL112 PO - Advanced Animal Ecology
Number of students: 1 Section, approx. 8 students per section
Dates: 09/08/2006 to 09/29/2006
Frequency: Several-days/week
Time of day: Varies - need to measure temperatures at different times of day
Areas to be used: south field
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? Yes - Sceloporus occidentalis, Western Fence Lizard; Uta stansburiana, Side-Blotched Lizard
Will plants or animals be collected? Yes
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? Yes
Will markings or flags be used? Yes - A small “study in progress” sign will be placed by each of the enclosures that are being used.

Description of course experiment, project or activity: Students will study the concept of the niche by determining the habitat components that are important for lizards at the BFS. A critical component of a lizard’s niche is the availability of perches at certain heights that allow them to stay within a certain temperature range. Other important factors are the availability of food, and shelter to escape into. Students will collect lizards at the BFS and will temporarily place them in the lizard enclosures on the south east side of the BFS. They will then test the lizards’ habitat choices (perch height, shelter, food). They will measure the temperature of the lizard with a cloacal thermometer, and they will put temperature data loggers out to monitor the temp of the different places in the enclosures. Lizards will be marked temporarily with water soluble paint. Lizards will be returned to the exact place where they were found. Steve Adolph said it is OK for us to use the enclosures this semester. He is not going to need them.

Request No.: 064DC2FAB2
Submitted on: 8/28/06 at 11:17 AM
Instructor: Paul Faulstich, Pitzer
E-mail: paul_faulstich@pitzer.edu
College phone: 18818

Course: ENVS048 PZ - A Sense of Place
Number of students: 1 Section, approx. 25 students per section
Dates: 09/12/2006 to 09/14/2006
Frequency: Other - twice
Time of day: Morning
Areas to be used: western CSS, central CSS, pHake Lake, vernal pools, eastern CSS, oak forest, corner, classroom/infirmary area, north field, south field, lower neck, central neck, upper neck
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? No
Will plants or animals be collected? No
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? No
Will markings or flags be used? No

Description of course experiment, project or activity: Tour introducing students to the facility.