Day 3: Natural Resources Field Day- Electrofishing!
My Journey with the Scientists in the Field!
Counselor Connections
- There are a lot of job opportunities out there if you have a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science. I had no idea that an Engineering firm would have scientists, but it is a very important job and there is a need for them out there to help test, restore, and clean up streams and other bodies of water.
- If you like fish, bugs, plants, and the outdoors, then you will enjoy working in this field!
- If you want to make difference in the environment and the lives and health of people and wildlife, then this is the job for you!
- Find what makes you happy but also be a hard worker and there will be lots of opportunities available for you.
Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science from Mount St. Mary's
Master's Degree in Environmental Science from Towson University
Today I get to go electrofishing! I hear this involves shocking the fish for a short period of time in order to catch them and collect data. I have no idea what to expect so I am both excited and nervous. It’s a super hot day and I am told to wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. I make sure to bring lots of water and prepare for the heat. I meet Rob Owen, the lead Project Scientist, in a cute little neighborhood located in Arnold, Maryland in Anne Arundel County, right below Severna Park. I feel like we are parked in someone’s yard, which we basically were because a neighbor asked us if she was expecting guests and Rob said “no, we are just testing the stream down there” and I think she thought that was pretty neat. Rob seems like a really chill guy and I can tell he’s going to make it a fun day. Rob interned at KCI during his Junior year in college which led him in to his career at KCI. He is another employee who has been at KCI since his internship for many years. Two other young Project Scientists arrive, Shannon and Alex. Both are young and about the same age as me and are full of energy!
I especially enjoyed
talking with Shannon because she has actually changed careers and is now a
Science teacher at Sparrows Point High School, right down the road from the
high school I work at! I also know a few counselors and teachers who work there
so we had a lot to talk about! Shannon said she was hired to teach
conditionally this past Fall and she is currently in the process of getting her
Master’s in Teaching. She was lucky enough, however, to have KCI hire her for
the summer to help with the stream studies, which is a lot of work in the
summer. Shannon talked to me about her previous experiences working for KCI in
Indianapolis, where she did vegetation monitoring. It sounds like she prefers
working with bugs and fish in streams though! She will have a lot of cool
experiences to share with her students!
Back to electrofishing…Rob, Shannon, and Alex gear up and get me some waders (basically waterproof overalls with boots attached). Now I really feel legit! Rob shows me the electrofishing backpack that he will use, which looks ancient but costs like $7,000-8,000! They also grab a bunch of large buckets and some nets and we are off! We walk through some tall grass and down a slightly steep hill into the forest. I had no idea we would be doing some hiking- good thing I have just recently gotten into hiking so I am comfortable with my footing! We walk through lots of vegetation and wet, muddy sand and I am glad I am wearing these waders! We wind around the forest and there are no trails so we are just stepping through the brush. I have no idea where we are going so I just follow! I don’t know how far we walk but it's not too far…probably less than a ¼ of mile. Then Rob stops in front of a tree with a small silver metal dot the size of a large coin and this is where the electrofishing will start. How in the world did he find this location? Rob says that they give him GPS coordinates but he is familiar with what the markers look like as well. He also tells me to watch out for the poison ivy which we are surrounded by- I’m glad he told me that!
Then everyone sets out 2 fish nets to block out the site. The nets are set 75 meters apart and are stabilized with rocks and sticks. The nets prevent the fish from escaping the site during testing. Once the nets are set up, Rob puts on the backpack and turns on the electricity. He looks like a Ghostbuster! Rob uses a metal apparatus that looks like a metal detector and then there is a string (they call it a “tail”) that follows him as well. He tells me that they are both need in order for the electricity to work in the water. Then Rob slowly starts from downstream to upstream “scanning” for fish. Rob tells me that there are typically 3 species in this stream: American eel, Eastern mudminnow, and Pumpkinseed Sunfish. Shannon, Alex, and I walk along the bank with buckets and nets as Rob moves through the stream. As he finds a fish, he scoops it up in his net that he is carrying, gives it to one of us in our net, and then we put it in a bucket with some water in it. I think the first fish we caught was an American eel, which I never even knew existed in our streams! Then we catch even more…some are small and some are actually huge like a snake! We also caught a couple Eastern mudminnows but mostly they are American eels. I think we caught about 12-15 eel on that one run! Once we hit the other net, it’s time to take the fish back to the starting point and identify them, count, them, and weigh them. After that is complete, they are released outside of the site.
Then it’s time to do this all over again a second
time! Rob explains that it’s crucial to do the run a second time in order to
catch any fish that they missed. Sometimes, depending on the turbidity (a new
term I learned), they may need to do it more than twice. Turbidity means how
cloudy the water is. Turbidity often happens when you move through the water,
especially when the bottom is muddy or sandy. Since the bottom was sandy, that
is why Rob was the only one walking in the stream. It’s too hard to see and
catch the fish if the water is too turbid. However, for the second round, Rob says he’ll let me walk behind him to get a better feel of what he is doing. He
warns not to touch the water though because it may shock me! What I found
interesting is that Rob says that some bodies of water are so turbid that you
have to wait an hour before doing a second run and it involves some waiting-
who would have thought!
While we do the run all over again and identify, count, and
weigh the fish, Alex takes some other data points on what’s called a Summer
Habitat Data Sheet. He uses a device to check the temperature, pH level, and
conductivity of the water. He checks for erosion and measures with a yardstick.
He collects a vial of water to test for turbidity later. Alex also observes and
documents woody debris, root wad, and vegetation and plant life. They also
document other wildlife they see along the way. We saw several salamanders and
frogs which I found really cool! Then we are on to the next site, which is just
another walk through the forest. We are testing 3 sites today at this stream. Rob said they usually go to 2 sites a day with a lunch break in between, but
since this is a small stream and the sites are right next to each other, we do
all 3 sites back-to-back and each site takes a little over an hour each to
complete. Rob says they do this exact
same process every single day in the summer months! What a neat job!
So why do they do this you may ask? Well Rob explains that
these are Maryland Biological Stream Surveys and counties are required to have
these completed on an annual basis in order to monitor water quality and assess
the need for any restoration. In this case, Anne Arundel County has asked KCI
to do the study on this stream/restoration site. Rob said that these stream
studies happen all over the state and they travel all over between the months
of May and August to do these fish studies! The species of fish, quantity of
fish, and variety of fish alone can indicate how healthy the stream is! This particular
site, Rob says, is not very healthy and the ratings and scores are pretty low.
We didn’t find a lot of fish (at the most 20 at the first section of the
stream) which is one indicator. Rob said at some sites he would find hundreds and
even 1,000 fish! Wow that’s a lot to collect and count!
During the March and April months, Rob and his team do benthic
(bug surveys) where they skim the rocks on the bottom of streams and assess
bugs. Bugs are a little different and they actually have to send them to the lab
to get tested. These are bugs that typically turn into flies. These bugs can
indicate how healthy the stream is as well- how cool! Now what do Rob and his
team do from September to February? Well,
that is when they work on all of the reporting of the data they collected the
rest of the year and then they send the reports to the county/state. So these
are the months when they are in the office. This job definitely has seasons,
which I think is really neat. It provides some variety throughout the year and
work both out in the field and in the office. The main part of the job is out
in the field though so it’s a very hands-on type of job.
At the end of the day, I find that I am hot and tired (I did, however, get used to the heat and the shade was great) but I feel like we really accomplished something and are making a difference in the environment! I loved seeing the fish we caught. That one eel was massive! I loved talking with Rob, Shannon, and Alex along the way. Rob really took his time with me, which I appreciated, especially with his wife going into labor today! They are a really fun group of people who I would have a great time working with on a daily basis!
A couple other things I found interesting…I was amazing how well they all could identify species of fish! Rob said that he is/was a certified taxonomist, which is someone that can identify and categorize specific organisms. Rob said that it is extremely challenging to get certified. You have to be able to identify at least 36 out of 40 images of fish (can’t get more than 4 wrong). And someone comes out to watch you catch and identify fish and you can’t get more than 1 wrong! Rob also talked about how he had such a great Environmental Science teacher in high school and that really motivated him to go into Environmental Science as a career. I have heard this from a few other people at KCI as well. I love hearing how much of an impact teachers can have on students’ lives and I’m excited to share this with my students. What a fun and exciting day! Plus, I got in the mud, walked through water hip deep, touched eels, braved the heat, and didn’t fall once! I call that a success!
How would you describe your job to a high school student in
a few sentences?
“I catch and play with fish and bugs!”
What advice do you have for high school students?
“It’s okay to not have it all figured out right away. Try a
lot of different things until you’re happy.” KCI tries to keep you and will
move you around to give you different experiences to find what you like. KCI
wants to keep the good people who have a hard work ethic.
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