.svg)
.png){kind=logo}
Biology Class Treks through the Swamp
Lt. Col. Paul Moosman 鈥98 shows Bela Melendez 鈥20 and Hunter Sargent 鈥18 a salamander found in Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield County April 14.鈥擵MI Photo by Kelly Nye.
LEXINGTON, Va., May 2, 2018鈥擫t. Col. Paul Moosman 鈥98, associate professor of biology, led eight cadets from his vertebrate biology class into the swamps of Chesterfield County to look for reptiles and amphibians during an overnight trip April 14.
Moosman has been making the trip with cadets almost every year since 2011. They camp in Pocahontas State Park and look for species that are not found in the mountains, such as eels, aquatic salamanders, and even cottonmouth snakes.
鈥The goal is to expose the students to as many species as possible in preparation for a laboratory practical exam when we get back to post that will test their ability to identify the various species,鈥 said Moosman. 鈥淏ut the other major goal is to simply get them out in the swamp so they can appreciate how amazing wetlands are.鈥
And despite the cold temperatures this spring, the class was successful in their finds. While hunting through the park they turned over logs and rooted through the mud. They found southern cricket frogs, a red spotted newt, a box turtle, and a worm snake among other things.
鈥淲orrying about stepping on them makes you pay attention to little details,鈥 said Moosman.
One of the first cadets to go on the field trip, Roy Hunter 鈥11, now joins the group as an alum allowing the cadets and Moosman to use his land in Chester to hunt through the swamp for cottonmouths at night. There they found a variety of frogs, eels, a swamp rat, and one cottonmouth.
鈥淓veryone is afraid of this particular snake but the class gets to see in person how they have been given a bad rap,鈥 said Moosman. 鈥淭hey are not aggressive, and beautiful actually.鈥
Hunter鈥檚 swamp, near the confluence of the James and Appomattox Rivers, is as far north on the east coast as Moosman has ever seen cottonmouths.
Several of the cadets who were hesitant about looking for the venomous snake in the wild, lost their reservations when they saw how non-aggressive the animal was.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize that the cottonmouth was so calm,鈥 said Samantha Fuller 鈥19. 鈥淲ild animals don鈥檛 really care about us as much as we all think.鈥
Another important aspect was learning about the terrain the animals live in. Moosman and Hunter led the cadets through the swamp with nets and headlamps, sometimes submerged above the waist.
鈥淢ost of the time you don鈥檛 get out in a swamp,鈥 said Hunter Sargent 鈥18. 鈥淵ou take one step and you鈥檙e ankle deep, and then you鈥檙e chest deep in mud. Understanding how that environment is鈥 and that鈥檚 how [the animals] thrive.鈥
Also assisting Moosman was Emily Kirk 鈥18. This was her second time attending the trip鈥攖his time as part of a teaching mentorship class. She loves getting out in the swamp.
鈥淭his is my favorite field trip I鈥檝e ever been on,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to see them in textbooks but it鈥檚 another thing to see them in person.鈥
-Kelly Nye
-VMI-