First assignment - get wet!

Our first day on the field was quite chilly and I was assigned to the team going into a salina (salt water lake). We had to collect insect samples inside one square meter of area - completely deplete it of all living things visible to the eye. We had to do this five times - one time for each 10 meters out into the lake, so that we covered 50 meters in all.

Scientists are trying to understand why birds come to a saltwater lake - what insect life grows here and how much. It was previously thought that birds would not be able to feed in salinas, but this idea has been erased, thanks to specimens like we collected this day.