THE RETIRED AQUATIC BIOLOGIST

I retired from the Biology Department of the Université de Moncton in July of 2021 after 33 years of teaching and research. I have taught General Biology during all of those years but also Limnology (lakes, rivers and streams), Ichthyology (fish ecology and identification) in addition to a an ecology field course shared with other members of the department. My research has been diverse, from forestry impacts on fish, using otoliths to age fish and more recently cyanobacteria. I still enjoy getting out in the field to fish or assist others with their projects. I currently sit on the board of directors of the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance and have just finished a six year term as the chair of the New Brunswick’s government committee for projected spaces.

J’ai pris ma retraite du département de biologie de l’Université de Moncton en juillet 2021 après 33 ans d’enseignement et de recherche. J’ai enseigné la biologie générale pendant toutes ces années, mais aussi la limnologie (lacs, rivières et cours d’eau), l’ichtyologie (l’écologie et l’identification des poissons), en plus d’un cours d’écologie sur le terrain enseigné en équipe. Mes recherches ont été diverses, allant de l’impact de la foresterie sur les poissons à l’utilisation des otolithes pour déterminer l’âge des poissons et, plus récemment, les cyanobactéries. J’aime toujours aller sur le terrain pour pêcher ou aider les autres dans leurs projets. Je siège actuellement au conseil d’administration de l’Alliance de la rivière Petitcodiac et je viens de terminer un mandat de six ans en tant que président du comité gouvernemental du Nouveau-Brunswick pour la protection des zones naturelles. Le site web actuel est un des mes passetemps.

HOBBIES

Microscope with mounted camera

Like other purchases you will want to do a bit of research on the internet. Besides a solid build and the presence of a camera tube I paid attention to the quality of the optics. Flaws will show up at higher magnifications, so check out what reviewers had to say about the clarity of the specimens when using the oil immersion objective (the larger one in the forefront of the image). I paid more for the camera than the microscope, however a quality camera gains you nothing if the microscopes lens are of poor quality. I wanted to film swimming protozoa so USB 3 was a must and 14 MP was the cost cutoff point for me. The software could be download from the manufacture’s website at no extra charge. I also made sure the the light could be easily replaced. The microscope also came with two pairs of ocular (eyepieces) lens, 10X and 20X, plus two filters green and red. Consult the web for proper care, use and maintenance of your microscope.

Oculars

Filters

Stains

You will want to eventually acquire a set of stains. This very much depends on what you chose to observe. My aim was to look at freshwater protozoans, so I went with a variety of vital stains (stains that at least don’t immediately kill the organisms). Blotting paper (highly absorbent tissue) is a nice addition to soak up any extra stain that might run off the slide. It can also be finely torn so that the fibers act as small cages to limit the movement of swimming aquatic organisms. Research your stains with regard to handling and disposal. You will probably want to avoid stains that are identified as highly toxic. Note that you use tiny amounts of stains so a little goes a long way

Accessories

Stage micrometer – essentially a calibrated scale (of know
length) used in combination with an ocular (eyepiece) scale. The ocular micrometer is calibrated to the stage micrometer and enables you to measure the size of organisms (see https://microscopeinternational.com/micrometer-calibration/). I have an ocular micrometer on order and will post an image after it arrives.
Watch glass. Good for holding organisms over a short period.
Small Petri disk
Cover slips
Dropper
Slides.
In addition to flat slides you can also buy well slides that have a
slight depression which is great for observing aquatic organisms.
Other possible tools and equipment : dissection kit, a dip net and
perhaps a plankton net. Instructions for building a simple plankton net
can be found here : http://njseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Plankton-How_to_Construct_a_Soda_Bottle_Plankton_Net.pdf .

Fly tying

Fly tying vise – By far your most important investment. I tie flies mainly for trout, so the size of the hooks that your vise will have to hold is a consideration. A cheap vise will bring you a world of grief if the hook start to move in the vise. I have a small metal clamp on the stem that moves up and down. You can slide material in and out. When your patterns calls for several types of material and you want to avoid too many knots to hold things in place this works great, it applies a bit of tension and keeps things out of the way.

Bobbin holder – These come in different styles. The bobbin holder must exert enough pressure so the thread does not unwind from the force of gravity. The bobbin holder dangles down from the hook so its weight and that of the spool keeps the material in place on the hook. This avoids having to tie numerous knots instead of winding the thread around the hook before the final finishing knot. I also wax my own thread (bees wax) which also helps in tying down the material to the hook.

Good sharp pointed scissors – another area where quality is important.

Hackle pliers – I have several pairs. They can hold anything but are really useful for winding hackle (feathers) around the hook.

Whip finisher – They come in different sizes. These devices make it easy to tie the finishing knot at the head of the hook. You can also tie the same knot by hand but this tool does a great job.

Hackle tubes – I have a set of four of different diameters. They serve to push back material so the thread winding just in front does not accidentally snag any of the material.

Fly head cement – This protects the final knot. I usually do all of my flies in groups to avoid opening and closing the bottle too often. You need to have good air circulation, like other glues you want to avoid breathing the fumes. You can also buy a dispensing tube but I found that the tube was constantly clogging. A toothpick works for me. New on the market are UV activated cements. Your dentist might use a version of this type of cement.

Projects

This site

This WordPress site is a retirement project in itself. I do not have a computer background, so numerous starts, failures, reinstalls and a lot of reading and research were required to get me this far. This site is running on a raspberry pi 4, using Dietpi OS and WordPress as a Docker container. Upstream from my WordPress site is a raspberry pi 3 also running Dietpi OS and Nginx Proxy Manager. The proxy manager directs traffic to the appropriate device and improves security.

Raspberry Pi 3 is on the left, PI 4 on the right

QGIS AND LIDAR

The province now provides free access to LiDAR data. I want to see if this data can provide me with any insight into to the daily temperature readings I have from local streams. Similarly, I would like to see what additional information LiDAR can bring to an evaluation of potential outside threat to our protected areas.

PYTHON

Started on the road to learn python. I need this to better lever the operation of my raspberry pi but also R and QGIS.

INKSCAPE

Useful for designing logos and anything better designed using vector rather than raster. Following an online course.

My weather station

Equipment: The photo is my Ecowitt HP3500BU. Data is collected using an Ecowitt GW1000 as a gateway and sending the sensor data to a Raspberry Pi 2 running Weewx software with the Neowx material skin. A Nginx web server is used to present the results behind a reverse proxy. That weewx website has been embedded into my WordPress page.