SRI Sunday: Lenses

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The multiple perspectives that we were exposed to over the weekend did help each of us gain a better understanding of Santa Rosa Island, just as how having a wide variety of disciplines within the SURF program itself assists in our ability to see the world out of a variety of lenses and attack problems in unique ways. At first glance, it seems as though it would be extremely strained to search for a relationship between the work of an environmentalist, an artist, a biologist, and an anthropologist; however, this was not the case. Even with such a wide array of potential projects on the island it is still possible to find strong links between each field and to approach the wealth of information that Santa Rosa has to offer in an interdisciplinary fashion.

There are already restoration efforts in process on Santa Rosa, with new plants being grown in the nursery in order to help the island recover from the variety of grazing animals which have been introduced to its ecosystem by humans throughout history. Cause Hanna and the botanists working in the nursery are all involved in this effort, working at replanting seeds that have been collected and sorting acorns to restore the oak trees. This project could easily benefit from the perspectives of all of our guest lecturers. Professor Furmanski could contribute an artistic eye to the project, as well as the interest in engineering that he had mentioned. Perhaps placing key plants or trees in certain locations could contribute to a more stable structure for the rest of the wildlife to grow around or feed off of. Professor Perry, an anthropologist, would be able to analyze areas of historical interest and protect them from being overgrown for the time being. Though this may seem to be more of a detriment to the project at hand, it would be more beneficial for knowing the history of the island and the people who have lived there. Professor Alvorado introduced the concept of varying landscapes in her lecture. She explained how certain birds fare better in an open landscape because they are able to see their prey with a more direct line of vision, while others perform better in environments with heavy foliage, using trees to their advantage by hunting smaller birds which may be hiding or resting there. By giving her opinion to the restoration project, she might be able to predict what kinds of animals might come to live in a certain region if they were to grow certain plants. Professor Alvorado may even be able to share an opinion in a case where growth may be detrimental to the existing life there.

Every lecturer on the SRI trip did have a lot to say in regards to their own fields, but there were subtleties about everything they told us which tied in seamlessly with interdisciplinary studies. As Thoreau states in his quote, it is incredible to have such a wide variety of disciplines that are able to see through one another’s eyes in order to achieve a greater good for the island and all of its inhabitants.

SRI Saturday: Forming Connections

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Place a group of college freshman in a secluded place, ancient to the world but brand new to our eyes, and there will be a sense of wonder, perhaps fear, and a desire to explore. Although getting to take time to get to know the island on our own terms was crucial to the “sense of isolation” all of us were encouraged to have, the faculty-led sessions were especially critical when it came to truly understanding the land we were on. Two concepts in particular really resonated with me, not solely because of how they contributed to my understanding of Santa Rosa and its environment, but because of how they contributed to my overall world view.

The first idea was introduced in Allison Alvorado’s discussion of the theory of island biogeography, which describes how the size of an island and its distance from the mainland can be used to estimate the amount of diversity on that particular island. she explained that animals on the island have developed certain adaptations that have caused them to differ from their mainland counterparts. It is a slow evolutionary process but after generations and generations, the island has become a diverse and divergent ecosystem completely unique from anywhere else in the world. The other concept that I found to be perhaps the most profound of everything I learned this weekend had to do with Matt Furmanski’s discussion of how nature is art in and of itself. He gave us a lot of perspective and insight into how Santa Rosa has come to exist in the way it does now in terms of biology and in art- how the island is not solely an academic setting to be studied, but how it has also served as his artistic muse. A recurring theme throughout Matt’s lecture was how we all exert our own forces in this world, the same way that the world exerts forces upon us. He discussed how naturally occurring ripples in the sand and arches in the trees on the island allow something like the wind, which is otherwise an invisible force, to become a tangible, visible component of the environment.

These lessons both developed from an analysis of the distinctive characteristics of Santa Rosa, just through different lenses. Every singular aspect of the environment on the island, from the tiniest insect to the highest-velocity gusts of wind, has created the pieces of a never ending and ever-growing puzzle. The “sense of community” that we were encouraged to find on the island seems to have been two-fold. One, of course, was the sense of a growing bond between the people we came to the island with. The other, however, already existed on the island before we went there. The entire island lives and breathes because each entity there, sentient or not, plays a pivotal role in its overall survival. Like a well-oiled machine, the island must be composed of equal parts art and science, evolution as well as origin.

Port of Hueneme MAST Lab Visit

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Last week the team went to visit the Marine Advanced Science and Technology laboratory at the Port of Hueneme. This port is one of the largest on the west coast, and is a major thoroughfare for commercial products, such as fruits and vegetables, and automobiles. The laboratory was built by the port to facilitate development and testing of Remotely Piloted Systems, and includes a two story dive tank (with port holes for viewing) and a rotorwing UAV fly cage.

UAV cage and dive tank
UAV cage and dive tank
Dive tank
Dive tank

This laboratory includes collaborations between companies, the military, and other government agencies. It allows a communal space for entities to test and evaluate different platforms side by side. In addition to simply a test bed, the port has been gracious enough to offer the space for our team to do testing, and also do some of our K-12 outreach. In the future we look forward to many collaborations!

Dropping in one of our OpenROVs
Dropping in one of our OpenROVs

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