First Week Complete

Hello everyone! I have officially completed the first week of my internship and what a week it has been! On Monday, I had the chance to explore the city of Madison, where I will be completing my internship. The city is vibrant, filled with many neat shops and restuarants and a very impressive State Capitol. My first "official" day began on Tuesday where I received a crash course about the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. One interesting fact that I learned that day was that during the summer the number of employees of the DNR almost doubles due to the many part time or short term workers (LTEs). A DNR staff member even mentioned that he would never want any of the LTEs (such as me) to refer to themselves as “just an LTE”. Rather he emphasized that every person in the DNR is valuable and that the DNR functions best when everyone works together as one. After this introductory day I was ready to get work! On Wednesday I met my supervisor as well as two other members of the fisheries staff that I will be working with this summer. After a few more introductions, the team and I headed out to a creek to survey and tag brook trout. Although it was pouring rain we were equipped with waders and rain jackets that allowed use to stay completely dry. Throughout the morning we electrofished the stream to catch and tag over 30 brook trout and catch a few to bring back to the lab. By inserting a small PIT tag into the fish, it allows scientists to keep track of specific fish. Once a fish is recaptured a small reader can be used to “read” the code of the inserted tag and identify the fish using the specific number. This then allows scientists to look compare for example how the fish has grown between the first tagging and the recapturing. This field day showed me how modern technology gives researchers the ability to track and monitor individual fish in large stream over a long period of time. The following day was also very exciting because I was able to watch and be involved in dissecting a big Muskellunge fish. It was so fascinating to explore the anatomy of the fish and even apply concepts that I had learned in biology class at Juniata. For example at Juniata we had learned about the concepts of countercurrent exchange and two chambered hearts in fish. Being able to apply what I had learned to real life was extremely rewarding and shows me how my education can be useful in my future. Finally, I rounded out my first week by attending a trout management meeting and was able to meet fishery biologists from all over the state. Even though my internship this summer will be mostly science focused, I really enjoyed learning about how to manage fish and trout populations in the state. In my opinion it is very important for scientists to know how their research can guide management decisions and for there to be open communication between researchers and managers. This first week has been filled with exciting opportunities and each and every day I have learned something new and exciting. I am looking forward to seeing what the next few weeks hold and enjoying the beautiful city of Madison!