Demo: Audio Without Image
You can share your favorite audio files for all your visitors to listen to. You have the choice to set a featured image, however this is how things look when you have an audio post without one.
Archive for year: 2015
WRPI-USDA Grant Awarded!
I found out that Dr. Clare Steele and I were awarded the WRPI-USDA Grant for the upcoming semester! The goals of the USDA and regional Watershed Resources and Policy Management is to promote students in real-scientific work. I am really excited to be able to continue the research we are doing on Microplastics in the Sandy Beach ecosystem and specifically its effects on Sand Crabs.
Demo: Have You Heard Of Them?
Link posts are great for sharing cool sites and online resources. All links open in a new window, and the title of your post shows above the link. As always the featured image is optional. Should you decide to use a featured image, you can upload any size (height and width), and X will take care of the rest.
Winter Break = lots of lab time!
Over the break I am finally able to catch up on all my dissections and sand processing. Currently I have gathered over 200 sand crabs from up and down the coast of California to test for microplastics as well as sand samples from each location. This will be a busy winter break!
What a great event!
Patrick, Micheala and I arrived just as the sun was coming up to a great event at Ledbetter Beach in Santa Barbara! This ‘keiki’ surf contest was hosted by Surf Happens which is a local surf school in Santa Barbara dedicated to teaching kids the art of surfing with proper education, etiquette and history of the sport. The group promotes the high five initiative where everyone that hits the beach picks up 5 pieces of trash before they enjoy the waves.
This weekend was special because Pro Surfer Lakey Peterson was there to host the event and had a special clinic session for Teddy Bear families with kids that have cancer. It was pretty cool to watch parents and kids out there having fun in the waves with a pro surfer!
Trial Run
Finished calibrating the sonde so we decided to do some trial data collection. Here is Paul, Jeyla, and I deploying Adelaide in Calleguas Creek via Cam Park.
Greenhouse
A part of my capstone involves conducting a common garden experiment on germinating Torrey pine seeds in different environmental settings. I will be testing the effects of leaf litter and precipitation on the Torrey pines population seedling survival and germination rate. I have learned this week that there will be room in the CSU Channel Islands greenhouse for my common garden experiment, but there is only two set watering schedules that I believe will work. Also, I am still waiting for my permit from Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. I hope to get the permit as I feel that it is an important part of my experiment.
Torrey Pines Pine Cones
Getting together
Trying to get people to agree on a date and time to meet is hard to get down. Even just a conference call is hard to do. Right now Cause Hanna, Erika, Chris and I are trying to get s conference call going.
Leadbetter Beach: ‘Keiki Bowl’ Surf Contest & Marine Pollution Education
This morning Dorothy, Patrick, and I set up a booth at the Lakey Peterson’s Keiki Bowl surf contest put on by the Surf Happens Foundation to raise awareness about the important health of sandy beach ecosystems and the dangers of plastic pollution. Kids loved filtering sand and looking through our field microscope set up for them to see micro plastics in the sand.
work in progress
2015 Marine Mammal Conference
I was lucky enough to attend the 2015 Society of Marine Mammalogy’s Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals this week in San Francisco, and it was an amazing experience! I learned so much, and getting the chance to present at such a large and international conference was a first for me and I am so happy I got the chance to go.
Attending this conference immersed me into the world of marine mammal science. With over 2000 marine mammal scientists around the world in attendance, I learned about research going on all over the world on a wide array of marine mammals. Topics of research on marine mammals included behavior, ecology, human dimensions, acoustics, conservation, distribution, and health and each day was packed with oral presentations, plenary talks, speed talks, and poster presentations by marine mammal scientists from around the world.
The most helpful part of the conference for me was the Student Workshop on Wednesday night. At the workshop I learned about student chapters around the globe, and even one in California. There were also round table discussions led by professionals in the marine mammal field – researchers, government scientists, and others. It was the chance to get advice from professionals and ask questions that you normally wouldn’t get the chance to. Sarah and I were the ONLY undergraduates in attendance to this workshop, the majority were PhD and Masters students, so it was awesome to get that experience. I learned a lot about how to write a proper CV, a paper, and tips for getting jobs, funding for research, and also how to get your research message out there.
Thank you SO much to Dr. Rachel Cartwright and the Keiki Kohola Project for the chance to participate in the research of Hawaii’s Humpback whales and the opportunity to attend this conference.
