Lake resident Charity Cummings '96 and Joy Ramstack '96 lived at Pine Lake this summer doing research for Charity's senior research on nest success and placement in Eastern Kingbirds and Cedar Waxwings. These two birds have very similar nesting habits - their nests are very similar in construction and placement. The two species closest ecologically are furthest apart genetically. The most similar genetically are least similar in behavior. Cliff Swallows grow slow and tend to get fat.
Tree Swallows grow fast and are lean.
They will study two kinds of sunfish. Pumpkinseeds and Bluegills. Sondra and jane will conduct separate growth experiments on fish from Pine lake under laboratory conditions, raising Bluegills and Pumpkinseeds in separate, identical conditions, and combined. She hopes to demonstrate some differences between screech owl density in wild and developed areas. In a study not actually at Pine Lake, but that could be used to compare to a future Pine lake study, Shannon McCarthy is goind a survey of a man-made wetland in Otego.