by John Pirrung [jap448]
Hello Readers,
Quick update, this week has included more work on the website, as well as an interesting bit of field work. All of the excel tables that I’ve been working with have been converted into html and uploaded to the website onto their respective pages. There’s still a few more things to add, such as little descriptive paragraphs on each subpage to explain what the tables are and how to use them, but the bulk of the work is complete. I plan to have all of the opening paragraphs written and implemented by the end of the week. We also added a nice detailed write-up about the data and the project as a whole on the landing page, which also explains the data in words to complement the tables. All in all the website is looking pretty solid, and once the paragraphs are in I can set it on the backburner for a bit and focus on other projects.
I was also able to go out for a bit of field work this week. We’re continuing a project from last year that’s acting as a case study for weed management using biocontrols. Specifically, we’re looking into using Hypena opulenta moths as a management tool against swallowwort weeds. We set up an experimental plot with netting covering a patch of swallowwort, and hopefully by next Thursday we’ll have larvae to place inside. We’ll keep checking in on the plot over the summer to see how the moths have done, whether they’re surviving or thriving, and whether they’re effectively controlling the swallowwort in the plot. I’ll post updates about this in future blog posts as we gather more data. Here’s some photos of the fields of swallowwort and the netting plot:
