paulahartzell

Bill Prater, who currently lives in Cle Elum, invented the Sherpa snowshoe (although he sold the patent through naivete, and recieved virtually nothing for it), in addition to numerous first ascents of peaks in that area.

This summer has been very cool for me -- I've been on glaciers throughout the U.S. and Canada since June 5th, and will stay in the field until August 20th. I'm collecting data for my doctoral dissertation in glacial ecology, focusing on the phylogeography of ice worms -- But I've got a problem! There's only one of me. I REALLY need help from other climbers who will be out on the glaciers during the month of August. Glacier ice worms (Mesenchytraeus solifugus) are the only Oligochates in the world that live in ice, and they live right here in the Pacific Northwest. Learning about these creatures not only will tell us more about our regional environment, but learn about their unique adaptations to frequent freeze-thaw events, high UV exposure (potentially with effective DNA repair mechanisms), their geographic and ecological origins, as well as the opportunity to test molecular rates of evolution. August is the best month for ice worms. They appear as pieces of black string, 3/4 to 1" long. You most often see them in the shade of late afternoon or evening, and you'll find them in glacial pools, streams, snow, firn, and even blue ice. (We don't really know how the mechanism they use to move through the ice yet.) If you're out on the ice this summer, bring out a small leak-proof container with some alcohol in it -- rubbing alcohol works just fine -- and if you see some ice worms, save me 10 to 25 of them. (They occur in densities of 100 to 11,000 per square meter, so this should be okay -- and indeed, has been determined 'No Effect.) Mark the date and location collected on the container, and send them to the contact address below. I will be happy to acknowledge individual or organizational contributions in subsequent publications, as well as to shair our results. Let me know if you are interested in receiving any future reports. I've found at least three glaciers this summer where ice worms had been in the past, but are gone now. It is important that we document this species, as its habitat is quickly shrinking! Thanks for your support. I really need your help on this! Paula Hartzell Biology Department Clark University 950 Main Street Worcester, MA 01610 phartzell@clarku.edu, paulahartzell@hotmail.com