Brook Trout Eggs are Hatching

We popped newly hatched alevins onto out classroom digital projector, at Northeast Elementary. 

Brook trout eggs are about 4mm in diameter, while newly hatched alevins are about 9mm in length.  How does that alevin fit into that egg?? 

Do The Math:  The internal (inside the eggshell) diameter of the eggs is probably about 3mm.  Calculate the circumference of that internal space by multiplying the 3mm diameter by Pi (3.14).  You get just over 9mm!

Brook Trout Egg Delivery Day - Mission Accomplished!

With the help of Justin and Gian from US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Ryan at DEC's Morrisville Hatchery, yours truly delivered brook trout eggs to Dryden, Caroline, Northeast and Lansing Elementary Schools today, as well as Lansing High School. 

Students viewed the eyed eggs up close before we placed them in their new aquarium homes.  We are always amazed by the size and potential of these tiny eggs.  The kids will make regular observations of the developing embryos and newly hatched brook trout, which tend to run 3-4 weeks behind out brown trout eggs.  Thanks to Patti Jennings and her great 3rd grade enrichment students at Lansing Elementary for these pix!
 

Hi Everyone!  Finger Lakes area Trout in the Classroom is up and rolling for the 2014-2015 school year.  Many thanks to Ken Osika and the crew at DEC's Bath Hatchery for providing BROWN TROUT eggs for 10 schools, delivered on October 16.  BROOK TROUT eggs are going to be delivered to the rest of our schools on Nov. 5. 

Lots of questions about where trout eggs come from, so here is a great video from our sister TIC program, down in NYC.  Enjoy!

Union Springs Trout are Thriving

Students in Tom Owens' classes in Union Springs are raising some absolutely beautiful trout! 

They recently worked with Cory Vannederynen, using dichotomous keys to identify stream macro-invertebrates and assess stream health. Turns out those little bugs are also great trout food. Who knew??

Stream Ecology Visits!

Students are getting their first look at live stream samples this month, in preparation for stream ecology projects and trout releases, coming up soon!  See our Facebook entry, Stream Ecology visits at area schools for more pix!

Live Food Experiments Underway!

Students at many of our schools are using the Scientific Method to create hypotheses and conduct experiments this month to find out whether their trout will prey on other living organisms. 

 

Above, students in Ms. Hamilton's class carefully observe the behavior of their trout, as tiny zooplankton, Daphnia magna (and other ssp), are introduced to test containers.   This simple, 5-minute test produces some interesting outcomes.  Partial results are below.:

Our thanks to Prof. Nelson Hairston, Cornell Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and lab manager Lindsay Schaffner for providing our daphnia supplies and amazing support for this project. 

 



Trout Revival at AJ Smith!

Kudos to students in Mr. Owen's classes at AJ Smith Elementary (Union Springs, NY), who are showing some pretty impressive fisheries skills.  A mix-up in the supply lines sent the wrong size fish food to AJ Smith, and by the end of winter break, the brown trout being raised there looked to be at death's doorstep.  All but a few were lying on their sides at the bottom of the aquarium. HOWEVER- no quit in this class!  Mr. Owen and his students devised an intensive-care unit right in the tank.  The ailing trout were placed back in their hatch basket and carefully fed with the right size food.  After just a week, most are up and swimming and looking good.  Way to go guys!  Keep us posted on progress.

Reviving trout fry - up and swimming!

Survival Polls Are In!

At the start of each year, we ask students to consider the changes and challenges that their hatching trout will need to survive as the grow.  Students vote on how many trout they expect to survive until release-day in the spring, starting with about 100 eggs.  Here are results from participating classes this fall - we'll see how it goes!

WOW! Three Projects Funded!

We have learned that three -count 'em, THREE- teacher grant proposals submitted to IPEI were funded this fall.  These are all independently conceived extensions of the basic Trout in the Classroom program, developed by our teachers.  Very proud of the fact that TIC is providing a foundation for cascading enrichment opportunities.  Congratulations!

Anna Chapman, Caroline Elementary:  "Brookies and Browns".   Students will raise both species and utilize their new stream-side classroom on 6-Mile Creek to look back into local history, exploring land-use and stream impacts, and also to look forward, exploring the potential impact of climate change on stream habitat.  Cayuga Nature Center is also a partner. 

Jen Wilkie, South Hill Elementary:  "Using Scientific Illustration to Learn about Trout, and Contribute to our Local Community”   Camille Doucet will work with students and staff to create trout illustrations, convert them to greeting cards and raise funds for a local charity.

Jayne Port, Belle Sherman Elementary:  "Six Mile Creek and Me".  Students will enjoy themed books from Buffalo Street Books, and create interpretive maps of Six Mile Creek with the help of "Pond and Stream Safari" author, Karen Edelstein. 

Brook Trout eggs arrived!

11/18/13

My class of 24 5th graders and I received our packet of 150 Brook Trout eggs and all but three survived the trip from the Morrisville hatchery in tact. So far, so good!  Our tank is up and running, the chiller is chilling, the filter filtering and the bubbler is bubbling. Our pH is currently 8.2. We enjoyed and were informed by a presentation and introduction by Bill Foster and Cory V. from the Floating Classroom. And this year we will be posting blogspots asoften as our busy school day schedule allows. We're very excited ...and we appreciate all the support we receive from all the trout people in our lives.  Thank you!