April 9, 2011 In Uncategorized
Recent network collaborator fieldwork
Here are some recent photos of colleagues in Angola and Nigeria using new field sampling equipment during their manatee surveys. I was able to send them this equipment thanks to several generous grants (much appreciated by both myself and the African researchers!). This equipment, which seems so basic to us in the USA but is so difficult to get in Africa, allows them to collect more accurate data in their home countries. These colleagues received depth sounders with built in digital thermometers, GPS units, binoculars, refractometers (which measure water salinity), headlamps for night surveys, secchi disks (to measure water clarity), rain ponchos, waterproof field notebooks, African aquatic plant guides (electronic versions on CD), and drybags to keep the equipment dry.
Miguel Xavier is doing manatee surveys of river systems in central Angola. Here he uses his new refractometer to check water salinity. His preliminary surveys found that there may be a high level of pollution in some rivers, so he has purchased a water chemistry set to test levels of several chemicals during his surveys.
Uzoma Edijmadu is a PhD student in Lagos, Nigeria studying manatees in Badegry Lagoon. He uses his new secchi disk to check water clarity, which is important to understand where aquatic plants (manatee salad!) are capable of growing.
The new depth sounders are great because they not only give the depth of the water (very important when searching for manatees in murky rivers and lagoons), but also the water temperature, all with the click of a single button! 
Bolaji Dunsin of the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, who collaborates with Uzoma, checks their location on their new GPS while surveying Badegry Lagoon in western Nigeria.
I’m really happy to see the network collaborators in action and able to collect better data thanks to their new field equipment. I’ll post photos of other collaborators as they are sent to me!
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