There is a first time for everything.
I did not realize the significance of my first spill on the marsh during which I struggled to climb out of the deep crevice hidden in the grass. The marsh sucked me in and it has been a delightful struggle ever since. My first job in the science community was as an undergraduate research assistant for a large-scale salt marsh fertilization project. I remember my first day when I was given a tour of the marsh, the field manager walked me over to the edge of a creek and pulled up a minnow trap full of mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus, a common marsh fish), I was in love. I remember the first time I went flume netting on the marsh at midnight, walking through the flooded marsh, swimming across overflowing creeks, and pulling up the nets to catch fish. The sky was lit up with stars that night and I remember watching bioluminescent ctenophores dancing between the submerged grasses. That first field season was a relentless crash course in field research, full of mud, rain, bugs, and thousands of plant samples and measurements, in short, it was wonderful. I am continuing my relationship with the marsh as I pursue a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology at Columbia University. My graduate research is on Phragmites australis invasion in the Hudson River Estuary. You can read more about it as I post new blogs entries and update my research page. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me and please go out and get muddy exploring your friendly neighborhood marsh!
Thanks,
Chris Haight
Thumbs up for flume nets!
Mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus)
A Graduate Student in the Marsh 