Jaz's summer job

This summer I am a tech for Kachemak Bay Research Reserve. KBRR is part of the national estuary system. I will mostly be working on a project at the head of the bay at Fox River Flats. The pictures below show some of the sampling procedure. We seine in several side channels and then ID and measure all the fishes we catch.The plastic totes are insect fallout traps to look at prey availability.
The overall focus of the project is looking at habitat use of salmon smolt before they make the transition to the ocean. In the picture above Tammy is measuring the temperature, salinity, & conductivity of the channel water. Almost all of the fish caught are released after being measured and weighed. There also is a diet component, so a few salmon smolt (shown above) come back to the lab with us. We have had one week of field work so far with many more to come. It has been fabulous to be out in the field again. The group of people I work with are a lot of fun. The site is just starting to green up, but the surrounding mountains are still covered in snow. I look forward to watching summer take over at the flats.
Besides all the fishes we catch there is a lot more wildlife happenings, gobs of birds, and even the occasional wolf track. I hope to see more than just wolf tracks this summer.