HUNTINGTON WEEKEND FIELD TRIP
SEPTEMBER 10-12 2004
$38 should be paid to either Karin Limburg or Kim Schulz prior to departure, in order to
cover room and board at Huntington.
This Huntington trip will be a field expedition with both the Fisheries Biology
and Limnology Laboratory classes. By combining forces on this field trip, we hope that
you will be exposed to some additional aspects of aquatic systems that you might not
have encountered in either class alone. We will also demonstrate some linkages between
limnological aspects of lakes (lake physics, chemistry and lower food web biology) and
fish biology.
Everyone will have a chance to participate in the activities of both classes. In
addition to each course’s activities, we will also have several demonstrations open to all.
Come prepared for all weather; expect to learn a lot of field techniques, work hard, and
have a good time.
This handout will describe:
(1) The accommodations and what you should bring
(2) The goals of the fisheries class trip
(3) The goals of the limnology class trip
(4) A general schedule for the weekend
1. Accommodations:
We will be staying in cabins at Huntington and meals will be provided by
Huntington staff.
The Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF) is a 6,000 ha plot near Newcomb, N.Y.
that was donated to SUNY ESF in 1932 and has been used for research ever since. The
protected area includes 5 lakes, some of which are reputed to be amongst the most
pristine in the Adirondacks. For more information on the HWF you can check out their
webpage:
http://www.esf.edu/aec/id38.htm
PERSONAL ITEMS TO BRING:
1. Sleeping bag and pillow
2. Toiletries (showers will be available)
3. Towel
4. Warm clothing (including hat and gloves)
5. Rain gear (rain pants are useful)
6. Field boots
7. Field notebooks and field identification books (fish, zooplankton and aquatic
plants), pens and pencils.
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8. Snacks (meals will be provided, but a few snacks may be good for the long field
days).
9. Water bottle
10. Waders or rubber boots (if you have them)
11. Bug repellent/sunglasses…
12. Small pack for carrying food, water, notebooks, etc…
13. Fishing and hiking gear (we will have some free time to go fishing or go on short
hikes; only bring fishing gear if you have a valid N.Y. State fishing license).
14. Optional -- Musical instruments -- we’ll have a campfire in the lodge on Saturday
night. If any of you is musically talented, feel free to bring along a guitar,
harmonica or other instrument for our listening pleasure.
2. Fisheries Biology field trip to Huntington Forest
On this trip, we will team up with the Limnology course and conduct combined
investigations of the biology and chemistry of some of the lakes at the Huntington Forest
Research Preserve, located near Newcomb, NY.
The main objectives of our fisheries investigations will be the following:

Sample three lakes (Arbutus, Rich and Catlin) with trap nets

Assess the communities of fishes in these two lakes (as before, by
identifying and assessing the abundance of different species, and
collecting length and weight data)

Collect scales from one or more abundant species, for age and growth
analysis
The general procedure for us will be:

Friday evening: set two trap nets in Arbutus Lake

Saturday morning: pull the traps, process those fish, and then set 2 trap
nets in Wolf Lake and 2 trap nets in Rich Lake

Saturday afternoon: finish setting trap nets and assist the limnologists

Sunday morning: pull the Catlin and Rich traps and process these fish
(with limnology students).
In addition, we hope to run a number of demonstrations (see general schedule).
3. Limnology Field Trip to Huntington Forest
This will be our first field trip of the term, so everyone will be gaining experience
with all of the field gear that we will be using on the next three trips. Because we have a
bit more time on the weekend (as opposed to during the 3 hour lab), we should be able to
master sampling and sample processing without worrying about missing dinner! The
Adirondack Lakes that we will sample will be very different chemically and biologically
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from the other lakes (Skaneateles, Onondaga, Oneida, and Green) that we will visit later
this semester.
Also, because we will be staying near the lakes overnight, we will be able to do
some diurnal measurements of lake metabolism and to observe the nightly migrations of
large zooplankton in the water column.
On this field trip we are going to:
 Learn how to use limnological sampling equipment.
 Sample the physical (temperature, conductivity), chemical (oxygen,
water chemistry – phosphorus, nitrogen, carbon, and silica), and
biological (chlorophyll, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, and
macrophytes) characteristics of the three lakes that are being sampled
by the Fisheries Biology class (Arbutus Lake, Catlin Lake, and Rich
Lake).
 Learn how to process water chemistry, phytoplankton, and
zooplankton samples for analysis in the lab.
 Measure the diurnal community respiration and production in Arbutus
Lake, Catlin Lake and Rich Lake, using an oxygen sonde.
 Sample zooplankton at night and day to see if we can observe the daily
vertical migration that many zooplankton perform from bottom waters
(in day) to surface waters (at night).
 Observe some live phytoplankton, zooplankton, and benthos.
The general procedure for us is:
 Friday evening:
o Set up oxygen sonde in Arbutus Lake and other lakes if time
o Optional night sampling of zooplankton in Arbutus
 Saturday morning:
o Sample Arbutus Lake
o Set up sondes if necessary
 Saturday afternoon
o Sample Catlin and Rich Lakes with Fisheries students
o Process water samples
 Sunday morning
o Assist fisheries class with trap net removal and fish sorting
o Demos
o Retrieve sondes
o Pack up and return to ESF
Everyone should have a chance to help with setting or retrieving trap nets and identifying
fish. We’ll have several demos set up as well.
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4. General Schedule
Friday:
2:00 PM
Leave ESF for Huntington Forest (if you are in the Limnology Lab
and can not leave at 2:00, please see Kim Schulz for
alternate arrangements)
5:30 PM
Set up trap nets in Arbutus Lake
Set up oxygen sondes in Arbutus Lake and others if time
DINNER
7:30 PM
Orientation talk from Huntington personnel
AFTER DARK
Optional night plankton sampling in Arbutus Lake
Saturday:
6:45 AM
Breakfast; pack your lunch for the field
8:00 AM
Retrieve trap nets from Arbutus Lake; process fish catch
Limnological sampling on Arbutus Lake
Set up extra sondes in other lakes if necessary
Late morning
Set trap nets in Rich and Catlin Lakes
LUNCH
Wherever you are in the field or at the lodge
Afternoon
Limnological sampling on Rich and Catlin Lakes
(including Fisheries students)
Process limnological samples
6:00 PM
Dinner
Evening
Complete any sample processing
Campfire; free time
Sunday:
6:45 AM
Breakfast and pack your lunch
8:00 AM
Retrieve trap nets from Rich and Catlin Lakes; process fish
(Limnology students included)
As time permits: demos and free time
10:30 AM
Retrieve sondes
HAND IN ALL DATA SHEETS!
Pack and clean up
Noon
Depart for ESF
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