Clarion University Environmental Biology

02/09/2024

RIMERSBURG — There is something fishy going on at Union High School — trout to be exact.

08/24/2023

11/12/2022

November Membership Meeting

Wednesday, November 16th in room 123 of the Science and Technology Building on the Clarion University Campus at 7:00PM

Speaker will be Grace Tillotson, Aquatic Biologist for the Allegheny National Forest.

Title: “The Next Chapter of Watershed Improvement on the Allegheny National Forest”

Park in lot #11 off Greenville Avenue

Bring a friend

07/21/2022

Today was Day 3 of Summer Academy! We started the day with a more in-depth look at wildlife pathogens relevant to Western PA. Our main field activity switched gears to focus more on citizen science and wildlife diversity. Students used iNaturalist, a free app that uses crowdsourcing and databases to help ID pictures and audio recordings of species. We used this app to complete a “BioBlitz,” or species count, of two local habitats in Clarion County. After a little lunch fun time at a local park, we returned to the lab to complete the Bd swab analysis. This involved running our completed PCR reactions on an agarose gel, which allowed us to determine whether the Bd pathogen was present in any of our salamander swabs.

07/21/2022

Day 2 of our Summer Academy centered around collecting the rest of our salamander “swab” samples and learning new molecular techniques to test for our amphibian pathogen of interest, a chytrid fungus known as “Bd.” Bd is a significant pathogen among amphibians and can cause mass die-offs by infecting the skin and interfering with respiration and osmo-regulation. Our students began the day with an overview of disease biology and wildlife pathogens. In the field, we collected swab samples from more larval spotted salamanders, as well as other local amphibians, in several different ponds. Returning to lab, students used their new micropipetting skills to extract DNA from the swabs. They then used the DNA as a template in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify any amphibians carrying Bd.

07/19/2022

Monday was the first day of the 2022 Summer Academy! This year’s program, offered by PennWest—Clarion Honors Program and Biology Department faculty, invited regional high school students to spend a week learning about the intersection between wildlife management and disease biology! Our 14 students spent much of yesterday learning the principles of wildlife management and collecting larval spotted salamanders from a local pond. Before being released, each salamander was “swabbed” for further testing of amphibian pathogens in the lab this week. Back on campus, students mastered important micropipetting skills that will be essential for upcoming lab analyses. During the evening, Clarion alum Luke Bobnar spoke with our students about his diverse experiences leading up to his current work with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy—Thank you, Luke for sharing your inspiring story and adventures with our students!

07/07/2022

Our summer field courses, taught at the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, are underway. It is great to be back in the field again after two summers lost to the pandemic. Yesterday the Freshwater Ecology course travelled to the Union City Fish Hatchery to learn about methods of propagating freshwater mussels. Union City is one of just a few facilities nationwide that is capable of raising these complicated and imperiled animals. This important work is spearheaded by Scott Ray, a Clarion University Environmental Biology graduate. Scott shared much valuable information with our students, including the shocking fact that his college courses were actually quite valuable to him. Thanks for the tour and thank you Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for working to recover and restore our mussel populations.

04/18/2022

Neither snow nor rain nor icy roads stays these Ecology students from the swift completion of their appointed field collections.

11/08/2021

Our faculty work to integrate real-world learning opportunities into coursework and we often take advantage of the expertise of the many environmental professionals working in our region. Thank-you Conservation District for sharing your time with us!