{"id":31436,"date":"2019-04-01T11:10:03","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T15:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=31436"},"modified":"2022-08-29T08:54:52","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T12:54:52","slug":"wood-ducks-marl-soil-chorus-frogs-and-more-natural-surprises-await-researchers-and-students-at-merry-lea-environmental-learning-center-of-goshen-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wood-ducks-marl-soil-chorus-frogs-and-more-natural-surprises-await-researchers-and-students-at-merry-lea-environmental-learning-center-of-goshen-college.htm","title":{"rendered":"Wood Ducks, Marl Soil, Chorus Frogs and More: Natural Surprises Await Researchers and Students at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College"},"content":{"rendered":"

Located near scenic Wolf Lake in Indiana, Merry Lea<\/a> boasts geological riches of an unusually wide variety such as peat bogs, a marl pit and glacial gravel formations. Merry Lea is also home to wetland, prairie, and savanna restorations and participates in sustainable agriculture.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jonathon Schramm, Associate Professor of Sustainability and Environmental Education as well as Director of the Institute for Ecological Regeneration at Goshen College<\/a>, has spent the past seven years exploring the natural wonders Merry Lea has to offer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a 1,200-acre preserve in northern Indiana, and it lies at the headwaters located of the Elkhart River watershed,\u201d Schramm notes. \u201cBy being in the headwaters, we affect the area in broad ways.\u201d The headwaters contribute to the lakes, numerous wetlands and tributaries at Merry Lea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMerry Lea has been part of Goshen College for 40 years,\u201d says Schramm. \u201cIn the late 1960s, a local movement developed to try to preserve some of the natural habitats native to this area. Much of the land in this area had been or was still being farmed, both pastures and row crops. Lots of natural wetlands had been drained to make the farmland. Now, years later, we are trying to return to normal hydrology.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Returning to normal hydrology has involved the making of small levees and lightly managing previously-farmed wetlands. \u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to focus on ecological outcomes instead of focusing on our chemical data,\u201d says Schramm.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Merry

A Virginia rail (Rallus limicola) hides among the vegetation along the shores of High Lake, in a recently restored lakeside marsh (Photo Credit: Jennifer Schrock)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

That being said, chemical data has been taken on the various water bodies on the property, including nitrates, phosphates and dissolved oxygen data. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Hach kits<\/a> were used to gather chemical data. \u201cFor selected studies of iron, phosphates and nitrates over the years, we\u2019ve used the Hach AccuVac<\/a> colorimetry system. Not during my time, but in the past, some researchers have used HydroLab DataSonde 4a units for diverse water quality variables at depth in our larger lakes. Another surface probe we\u2019ve used is the Hach DREL 2010 Water Quality lab kit. The main \u201cworkhorse\u201d YSI probe that we use a lot (and is also used for the Indiana Clean Lakes monitoring program) is model 550A,\u201d says Schramm. Goshen student projects have involved collecting data using the YSI probes and colorimetry for iron data. One of the student projects looked at the effect of iron from ground source heat pump water on the wetlands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Handheld equipment is used for most data monitoring. However, buoys made in house are used for zebra mussel monitoring. Plastic plates are hanging in series in six feet of water by the shore. Zebra mussels affix to them and can be counted. \u201cThe mussel monitoring buoy I mentioned was homemade, with a simple design based on generic aquatic recruitment measurement traps,\u201d Schramm explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Indiana Clean Lakes program<\/a> monitoring program has been going on for 30 years, with Merry Lea participating for the last 12 years at least, in coordination with the state of Indiana. Merry Lea has been gathering turbidity data and conducting monthly monitoring with YSI equipment for the program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Merry

A widow skimmer dragonfly (Libellula luctuosa) rests near Kesling Wetland (Photo Credit: Jennifer Schrock)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Species compositions that have been investigated at Merry Lea include plants and aquatic macroinvertebrates. \u201cThere was a real lack of data on what wetland macroinvertebrate species were out here,\u201d says Schramm. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t much data compared to the macroinvertebrate stream data we had. So we\u2019ve been working on filling in that data.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The oldest wetland at Merry Lea has shrub carr– a wetland habitat dominated by tall shrubs–and buttonbush swamp. It has never been drained. Of the previously farmed areas, marshes and open water systems have been restored at Merry Lea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Merry Lea has proven to be an excellent nesting ground for wood ducks, who like wetlands with a forested boundary. There are also nesting ruddy ducks, golden eyes and mallards.<\/span><\/p>\n

The newest restored wetlands at Merry Lea are the \u201cprairie potholes,\u201d which cover about an acre and a half of land still dominated by reed canary grass. The grasslands at Merry Lea have been restored to prairie habitat with small vernal pools. There are also sedge meadows, which students and staff are working on to knock back the invasive reed canary grass. Once the sedge meadow is sufficiently established, however, it should be able to hold its own against the reed canary grass.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Merry

Environmental education master student Natalie Roberts leads schoolchildren on a wetland macro invertebrate dipping expedition in one of the vernal ponds at Merry Lea (Photo Credit: Carol Good-Elliott)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIn addition to student assistants, we have staff that has been working to manage the land at Merry Lea for many years, such as Bill Minter,\u201d says Schramm. \u201cBill has been managing the land at Merry Lea for 30 years and much of the present landscape is a direct result of his vision and responsiveness to the land.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another major plant species under restoration and management at Merry Lea is tussock sedge (<\/span>Carex stricta<\/span><\/i>), which accumulates sediment around their root bases and offer habitat to other species that prefer slightly drier soils.<\/span><\/p>\n

Water drainage influences the character of many areas in Merry Lea. \u201cIn 1899, a large farm drain was dredged that lowered water levels around the property by 6-8 feet. Our systems are still affected by that,\u201d says Schramm. \u201cFor instance, that created a shallow bay at the north end of High Lake with a floating mat of bog-like vegetation. Although never a true bog, the predominant habitat went from acidic tamarack to maple swamp. Glacial relict species still predominate.\u201d Glacial relict species at Merry Lea include wiregrass sedge and pink lady slipper orchids. Bear Lake prairie emerged during that same period of drainage, and a special soil was left behind by the lake as well: marl. \u201cMarl is a unique soil created when sand and gravel from a glacier is modified by shellfish and calcium carbonate,\u201d says Schramm. \u201cIt has unique vernal effects and unique drainage properties. It retains water early in spring, but dries out thoroughly in summer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some current monitoring and restoration projects at Merry Lea are the restoration of sedge meadow at High Lake–a former Tamarack area, being undertaken by Minter– and a few environmental education graduate student projects, including amphibian monitoring.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe amphibian community here is very special,\u201d Schramm notes. \u201cWe have abundant headwaters that are very clean, lots of vernal pool formation and good foraging areas around our ponds, which are very important factors for amphibians. We have spring peepers, wood frogs, cricket frogs, chorus frogs, leopard frogs, green frogs, bullfrogs and several salamander species. We have wonderful diversity here now that the many of the wetlands have been restored. In many remnant wetlands around here, you can only hear one or two types of frogs chorusing, if any, but here at Merry Lea you can hear four or five at the same time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Merry

A wood frog (Rana sylvatica) basks in the morning sun on a vernal pond in Luckey Forest (Photo Credit: Maria Tice)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

There are undergraduate environmental science and biology majors doing projects at Merry Lea as well, such as those involving sedge meadow monitoring. There is also some student fish work. Student projects are being performed on a year-round basis. Several senior theses are in the works, including a study on mosquito diversity that involves collecting mosquito larvae.<\/span><\/p>\n

Merry Lea shares its lakes with private landowners and helps monitor water control structures.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur vernal systems change throughout the years, and we are especially influenced by the freezing and thawing rhythms in winter, which changes our vernal pools in early spring. We are also heavily impacted by fall precipitation, especially if the fall precipitation is low,\u201d says Schramm. \u201cIn late summer and early fall, you can see changes with the lead-back (lungless) salamander, for example, based on the precipitation. If there is enough precipitation, their eggs are submerged in winter and survive. Otherwise, they won\u2019t. Or, rains can be too heavy in winter, and that isn\u2019t good for their populations, either.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Although he has worked there for seven years, Merry Lea still has the ability to surprise Schramm. \u201cI was surprised at how native plant species returned after wetlands restoration that we did not plant, such as in the sedge meadows,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThe plants were just waiting for the right conditions to return.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only was Schramm surprised by the native plants that returned so quickly once restoration of the habitat had occurred, but the frogs returned at a surprising rate as well. \u201cI was amazed that they came back to breed so quickly. The first springtime after our meadow restoration, we went from only hearing spring peepers, who can use the invasive reed canary grass habitat that used to be dominant in the meadow, to hearing four or five different species of frogs chorusing. It really goes to show how small changes in the aquatic habitats can have a big impact on species,\u201d Schramm reflects. \u201cIt shows the power of small differences in a natural environment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Merry Lea boasts many diverse habitats and intriguing glacial features, as well as a noteworthy amphibian community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":31438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,5,32,8,49,510],"tags":[1557,60,1556,29,1559,1562,1558,109,1560,1561,503,741,1555],"class_list":["post-31436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-estuaries-wetlands","category-featured-articles","category-lakes-reservoirs","category-newsfeed","category-rivers-streams","category-water-quality","tag-elkhart-river-watershed","tag-featured","tag-goshen-college","tag-indiana","tag-institute-for-ecological-regeneration","tag-jonathon-schramm","tag-merry-lea-environmental-learning-center","tag-news-ticker","tag-sedge-meadows","tag-vernal-pools","tag-water-quality","tag-wetland-restoration","tag-wolf-lake"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\nWood Ducks, Marl Soil, Chorus Frogs and More: 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