Gearing up for field work

I took a trip up to Yale-Myers Forest in northeastern Connecticut today to check on the experimental cages that I left in the field all winter. Usually some get damaged by snow, wind, or the occasional deer that steps on one or knocks one over. But this year, I'm happy to report, all the cages are in pretty good shape! So now, in anticipation of my field season beginning at the end of May, it's time to gear up.

Gathering one's gear together for ecological field work can be a humbling experience. In your mind you're using state-of-the-art equipment to wrestle some of Nature's secrets away from her, but then you look at the bed of your pickup truck and just see piles of duct tape, PVC piping, stainless steel wire, and a drill. Sure I use some fancy equipment for special purposes, like a respirometer to measure metabolic rates of animals in the field, or a hydrophone to monitor the underwater movements of aquatic animals tagged with transmitters. But what you can do with cheap, everyday items is where the real magic happens.

Using a respirometer to measure the metabolic rate of a grasshopper in the field

For example, the experimental cages that are the backbone of all my climate change research in New England are made out of garden fencing, insect screen, and staples. My experimental climate change treatments (warming and drought) are made possible by two-by-fours, plastic tarps, and vinyl sheeting.

A rain shelter covering two experimental cages

Even the expensive hydrophones I mentioned earlier were useless until I slipped them into a PVC pipe embedded in a cement block base and covered them with pantyhose and duct tape (to prevent animals like oysters and tube worms from attaching themselves to the hydrophone and ruining the equipment).

The author and his hydrophone

By far my favorite part of all of this is buying the materials and explaining to people what I'm going to use it for. A typical encounter goes something like this:

Adam: Hi, can you tell me where I can find the vinyl tubing?

Home Depot employee: Well, what kind of tubing are you actually looking for? There are a couple of different varieties. Are you a plumber?

Adam: No, and I think that type of tubing would be too large for my needs.

Home Depot employee: Oh ok, the small diameter tubing is over in the electrical section. Are you working on an electrical project?

Adam: Not exactly . . . I'm going to use the tubing to help attach a small tracking device to the tail of an alligator.

Hope Depot employee: [blank stare]

Adam: Thanks for your help!

When many people think of scientists, they commonly picture people in white lab coats mixing chemicals according to strict protocols. However, in my experience, science is a much more creative endeavor, and it is often the design and execution of experiments where the creativity of the scientific process shines through. It turns out that creating scientific knowledge usually requires taking everyday materials and concepts, then combining and re-purposing them into novel forms.