Dear Dr. Orth Letter written week 1 of class

This was my original letter to Dr. Orth from the first week of class.  I was required to write this letter describing my current knowledge of the subject and my interests, as well as what I wanted to learn this semester.

Dear Dr. Orth, 

 

            My name is Tim Lane. I am a research specialist for the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Center at Virginia Tech. I received my undergraduate degree in Fisheries Science from Virginia Tech in 2008. Before finishing my degree I became involved with graduate students doing mussel research, and later worked myself into my current position. Through my experiences in the field and in the lab, I have developed a true passion for assisting in the rehabilitation of endangered mussel populations. I have the intentions of receiving a graduate degree at some point in the future and that is why I am taking a graduate level course. This class was very appealing to me as I believe stream habitat management will play a crucial role in the future for preserving endangered freshwater mussel populations. I intend to work hard and gain as much knowledge from your class as possible. I plan to use this knowledge in the future to assist in conservation efforts I have the privilege of being involved in.

            My experience in streams mostly has involved fish sampling and collection through backpack electro-shocking, and mussel sampling and collection through snorkeling techniques. My experience with fish sampling came from assisting Jamie Roberts with his monitoring of the Roanoke logperch for a summer. Through this experience, I learned a lot about stream channel alteration, as the Corps of Engineers has done a lot of work to help with flood control in the Roanoke valley. I also spent a summer working for Brett Ostby with his work for TVA all across southwestern Virginia and Tennessee. Through this job, I got a true appreciation for the variety of streams the region has to offer. I worked in streams that were no more than ditches on farm land up to the main stems of the Clinch, French Broad and Holston rivers (and found mussels residing in almost all of them). My work with Brett was probably the closest experience to many of the concepts I expect to come across in this course.

With my work at the mussel lab, I have spent a lot of time on the bottom of various streams across Virginia and Tennessee.  I have worked in streams no more than a few inches deep crawling on my knees up to streams 50 feet deep with scuba gear. The large majority of streams we work in have been altered for farming, water retention and industry. It has been easy to conclude that human priorities have been held in higher regard in these streams than those of the animals residing in them. I am familiar with viewing many habitat alterations in these streams. Human activities such as cattle farming, damming, coal mining, and clear cutting appear to have played the largest rolls in these alterations.

Unfortunately, I think I am quite ignorant when it comes to terms and techniques involved in stream habitat management. The little experience I do have has come from working with Brett and Jamie, collecting data on aspects of habitats their respective organisms were residing in. As a technician, I was a data collector, not an analyzer. I have gained experience measuring physical aspects of streams including, wetted width, bank full width, bank and slope angles, depth, temperature, velocity, dominant substrate, dominant vegetation, and rates of substrate embeddedness. The tools I used to assist in these measurements were a flow meter, a gravelometer, a clineometer, and various measuring tapes and sticks. I have experience measuring different parameters of water quality from my current position at the mussel lab. I am very familiar with using a dissolved oxygen meter, a pH meter, a salinity meter and a conductivity meter. I also know how to use various Hach methods for studying ammonia levels, nitrite levels, and chlorine levels in water. In addition, I have work experience analyzing organic matter in given volumes of water, as well as chlorophyll levels.

            I am very comfortable with being out in streams and collecting data on their many measurable aspects. Honestly, I don’t exactly know what to do with the data or how to reach intelligent conclusions with it. My main goal of this class would be to learn just how to do this. As far as the terms from the survey go, I would say I have never heard of half of the terms. The other half I have heard of through various undergraduate courses I have taken. Unfortunately, I feel I have a clear understanding of only a small number of these terms. I therefore am expecting to learn very much this semester from your class. I am aware I cannot become a master of all of these terms and concepts in a semester, but I do look forward to working with you and stepping somewhat in that direction from my time spent in Stream Habitat Management.

 

Cheers,

 

Tim Lane