Death by 1,000 cuts Kaunert: Scientists may not know
why hellbenders are declining, but they know how
Matt Kaunert, of Lycoming College, and some of his students check out a juvenile hellbender found while installing artificial nest boxes.
Hunched over on all fours in the middle of a rustic mountain stream, Matt Kaunert care - fully studied the placement of a concrete nesting box he and his Lycoming College stu - dents built earlier in the summer and placed in the waterway that morning. Suddenly, his face popped up out of the water and he jumped up with a net and something small squirming inside. “Check this out!” he yelled back to the students, showing them a young hellbender – just a couple of inches long – that he spotted
near the artificial nesting box. “That was one of three juvenile hellbend - ers just out of the gill-larval stage, so that is at least a good sign,” he said later in a more formal interview. “So, in some areas at least, there is some survival and reproduction. That is encouraging.” Gaining an appreciation Kaunert recently took over as the director of Lycoming College’s Clean Water Insti - tute after spending most of his life studying
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