Biology students conduct off campus research

The Turner Endangered Species Fund and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks are collaborating to restore a population of west-slope cutthroat trout to Cherry Creek near Bozeman, Montana. This project requires removal of non-native fish with antimycin, a toxicant that is believed to be highly lethal to fish but relatively benign to other vertebrates and most invertebrates. Because the Environmental Protection Agency may issue many permits for fisheries restoration with antimycin, it is important to quantify the effect of this toxicant on non-target organisms. Three Biology Majors at Oglethorpe University have helped collect data in the field since 2005.

I monitor Cherry Creek’s population of American Dippers. These aquatic birds are excellent indicators of stream quality, because they feed almost exclusively on aquatic invertebrates. By monitoring occupancy of territories and the physiological condition of individual birds, I hope to estimate the size and duration of the toxicant’s impact on a non-target species.

Roarke Donnelly, Associate Professor of Biology and Director of the Urban Ecology Program