Students transfer the collected samples to a single "composite" sample that is representative of the lake, which will be sent to Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks for microscopy analysis.
Our Wildlife in the West students recently went fishing at Upsata Lake but they didn't want to catch anything, except maybe some plankton, aquatic insects or algae. Motored gently about in a small skiff by volunteer Barry Gordon, and led by Blackfoot Challenge's Caitlin Mitchell, we hand-reeled in a white, three-foot net on a hundred-foot rope. Shaped like a wizard's hat, our net yielded just a little draft of fluid the color of weak green tea, which we promptly conveyed into a 250mL plastic bottle. There were some crumbles and scum in the fluid, some of which squirmed.
Combine a pinch of anxi...
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