NEVBD SUMMER INTERNSHIP 2024 Blog - Ramsey Anis

 Hello again everyone,  This blog post is a little bit late as I have already finished my second week, but I'll still recap my first week! Week 1 was highlighted by lots of field work. I visited the lab briefly on Monday morning to pick up various supplies like my tick suit, Zooka, and sampling materials. Then, I headed out into the field and participated in my first ever tick drag. Tick dragging is the process of dragging a white piece of cloth over the top of grass, leaf litter, and fallen debris. We then collect the ticks that attach to the cloth (or ourselves), and these samples will be tested for any diseases. When tick dragging I don a white jumpsuit so I may easily identify ticks that may have attached to me.  On Tuesday, I headed out into the field again. This time I ventured north, up to the Champlain Islands of northeastern Vermont. This is my personal favorite part of Vermont, as it has incredible views of the mountains standing stoic above the lake. I followed a route t

 Hello everyone! Welcome to my summer blog where I will be documenting my summer internship experience at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets, Environmental Surveillance Division. I am entering my senior year at the University of Vermont, and I'm majoring in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology.  My first day is tomorrow, June 3rd, and I am very excited. I will be doing a variety of things, such as tick and mosquito collection from a multitude of sites throughout the entire state of Vermont. In the lab, I will spend time identifying these samples, rearing larvae for the lab's collection, and collaborating with the CDC in collecting Culiseta melanura blood meal samples. Additionally, I will work on a data analysis project throughout my internship period. Last summer I worked for a small mosquito control district doing similar work to the work I will be doing this coming summer. I enjoyed the work I did last year, especially time spent in the field. I am excited to fur