Marine Mammal Medic Course

Hey Team!

So last weekend a bunch of my friends and I took the Marine Mammal Medic Course with British Divers Marine Life Rescue. They are an organization for the UK and Ireland that are basically strandings response. If a seal, dolphin, porpoise or whale wash up on the beaches of Britain, you call their hotline and they send people (now) like me out to (hopefully) save them. They have an extensive volunteer web complete with locals, scientists and marine vets who all just want to lend a hand when they can.

Now, once I leave the UK I won't really be able to be part of their volunteer base. But I took the course to get stranding training, because every little bit helps. I have a basic understanding of what to do for a stranding and what is needed, which will look much better compared to someone who has no idea where to even start off.

Every country, province, state, county, what have you, will have a different way of responding to strandings based on resource availability. But knowing something, anything, is better than knowing nothing.

It was a one day course. the first half was lectures - how to identify marine mammals, and the theory for a seal, dolphin, small whale and porpoise rescues.

Lectures on Strandings

What to do with a mass stranding (more than one individual)

After lunch was the fun part - we got to practice a seal, dolphin and pilot whale stranding! Now obviously we couldn't use real animals, but the inflatable versions were just as fun!

With seals, like most injured animals, they can get mean and defensive. The main thing is to keep control of the head so you don't get bitten and diseased. True story. Control the head while you check vitals and injuries, then either put it back in the water or crate it and take it to the closest rehab centre.

Throw a towel over it's head to keep it calm and to keep control

Dolphins need their skins kept wet and cool - so make sure to keep wet sheets on them constantly. Check for injuries and make sure a vet takes a look while you monitor vital signs. If the vet gives it the okay, haul it back into the water, and release it when it has the energy to go!

Taking the dolphin back into the water (Photo courtesy of James Bailey)

Small whales (but larger than dolphins) need to be refloated using pontoons - because you try carrying a two tonne animal. Keep them wet and cool, check vitals, get a vet to give the okay, then inflate pontoons around them and release them back when they're ready!

Stabilizing the whale for the vet's inspection and refloatation (Photo courtesy of James Bailey)

setting up the pontoons for refloatation (Photo courtesy of James Bailey)

Obviously this is a watered down version of instructions, but I think it gives you an idea.

"Baywatching" out of the water (Photo courtesy of James Bailey)

If you have the opportunity to take a strandings course, I recommend it. You never know what kind of situation you'll find yourself in working with marine mammals, so it's best to be prepared. Plus it looks great on a CV, and there seem to be quite a few strandings jobs open at any given moment.

It was a fun day with good weather and good friends. I'm so lucky I had this opportunity here in Wales.

Research volunteers turned marine mammal medics!

Speak Loud!



PUBLISHED!!!

Hey Team!

I AM PUBLISHED!!!

 

After two long years of writing and editing and writing and editing, and not writing, then writing and editing and writing and editing and.... well you get the idea...

 

I have PUBLISHED my research in an honest-to-goodness scientific journal with an honest-to-goodness official sounding name!!

 

Along with my thesis supervisor and the veterinarian from the local zoo, we successfully turned my honours thesis into a journal article which was accepted to the Canadian Journal of Zoology.

 

There was a bit of crying and a lot of jumping around and a lot of celebratory dancing that went along with the publication.

 

This is also a chance to thank everyone who went on this crazy journey with me. Put up with my insanity while writing the thesis, edited the paper over and over without calling me an idiot too many times, and for some helped me through some breakdowns where I truly believed I couldn't pull any of it off.

 

You can find a link to the article here. If you don't have access to the journal (and I don't really expect you to), and know me personally and want a copy to read, I can send one your way. I can't promise you'll understand much, depending on your background, but I love to answer questions almost all the time.

 

Speak Loud!

Mega-Facts on Megaptera

Humpback whales are some of the most popular, most celebrated and most studied species of whale on the planet. Here are some fun facts which totally validates all that.

1. Their scientific name is Megaptera noveanglia - meaning "Big-winged from New England". We're very creative.
2. They are a rorqual species of whale. The group is defined by the large grooves on the bottom of mouth, allowing their mouths to open like an accordion.
3. Humpbacks have longest pectoral fin-to-body ration of any whale - up to one third of their body length.
4. Why so long? Long fins allow for graceful manoeuvrability under and over the water
5. They love to breach! Breaching is a fairly common whale behaviour, where the animals throw themselves out of the water and come crashing down. There is no sight more amazing. I had the chance to watch one breach something like ten times in a row - utterly spectacular.
6. The 'humpback' in their name comes from the hump-like dorsal fin on most individuals, as well as small humps along the spine between the dorsal fin and tail.
7. They migrate! In the summer they inhale as much food as possible in cold northern waters, then they head south for the winter mating and breeding season.
8. Humpbacks are probably best known for their mad singing skills! They are the only whales to properly "sing" - in tune and everything! Only males sing though, and only at the winter breeding grounds.
9. Researchers are pretty sure it has something to do with mating (because what isn't, really), but nothing is definitive. Some think it actually has more to do with communicating to other males than with females.
10. In the summer they eat a lot  of krill and small schooling fish (capelin, herring etc.). Unlike some of their relatives, humpbacks aren't really picky eaters!
11. Humpbacks also have one of the coolest ways of catching fish! In a group effort, they'll blow bubbles out of their blowholes to surround and ensnare schools of fish, then swim up through the nets to get a good mouthful of fish. This is called bubble netting, and is crazy to watch!
12. Individuals can be identified using the patterning on the underside of their flukes (tail fins). Each one has a black and white pattern that is unique to an animal. The variation in the amount of white and black is used to ID an animals, as well as the edge of their tail, which have a natural raggedy to them.
13. They're big animals, about the size of a bus. Which seems pretty big, unless you compare them to the other whales in the rorqual family, which includes the blue whale and the fin whale. Now those are big whales!
14. the "moles" or "warts" on their faces are commonly known as tubercules - no one really knows what they are for, but they have little hairs on them, which makes scientists think they are sensory, and might help them with the search for fish.
15. As a big whale species, they used to be a target of the whaling industry. While whaling of humpbacks is banned in most places, some countries still hunt them, but in very small, highly managed quantities

So there you go! Some things to keep you interested in an interesting species of cetacean!

Minke Stranding!

I sort of feel kind of guilty for how exciting today was, because sometimes I think "dead whale" shouldn't make me a happy as it does, but today, it kind of did. I might be a bad person.

Anyway, today there was a stranded minke a little west of us, and MICS is the stranding response unit, so we got to go check it out!

Size has become such a relative thing. In reality, minkes are big animals. Like, probably 2 cows worth of animal. But compared to seeing humpbacks and fin whales, I knew the animal we saw was "tiny". Oh what a life I lead.

So we got there, and it's pouring rain. Makes it hard to take any kind of notes in the rain. Fortunately the rain did stop eventually, but not before getting every piece of paper we had sopping wet, and all the sharpies stop working. Oy.

We got there, took the total length measurement of the minke, then started taking our samples. Eight samples of muktuk (blubber and skin. They don't call it that here, that's just what the Inuit call it) from up and down the body, an entire jaws worth of baleen, plus a little bit of skin for isotope analysis. An extra sample of muktuk and a piece of our baleen for DFO, and we called it a day. It was a quick response because the rain made it impossible to take lots of measurements (we really had nowhere to write them down) and a little animal like that didn't need a whole lot of samples taken. A whole bunch of photos though, while praying that the camera doesn't get too damaged in the rain.

I didn't get to touch the minke (wah!) because I was taking photos of the samples, and you need clean hands to touch the camera.

We left it there, and hopefully the seagulls will help with the decomposition process. I'm not quite sure if they'll do anything with the body or just leave it up to mother nature.

All I know is I smell, my clothes are in the wash, my rain jacket might never be the same, and that is the biggest dead animal I have ever worked with. Can only go up from here!

And on a totally random note, I got my first ride on an ATV today! It was kind of fun, I have to admit!

Due to the nature of the photos, and I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post them because of fun people like PETA, I'm not putting any photos of the minke up here (I really don't want to get in trouble!). Sorry guys!!!

Speak Loud!

Conservation vs. Research(vation)

Hey Team!

This post is actually a year in the making. Because last year I did an internship with a conservation group, rather than all my others, which have been research based.

And there is a big difference between the type of work they do, and the people who do it. And I sort of wanted to touch on those differences here. Because research work isn't for everyone, but neither is conservation. So maybe use this as a way to help decide which is right for you (if, you know, you're reading this as a way to help continue your future in marine biology).

So, research. It's about asking questions. Keeping up with the latest news in the field and figuring out what the next step is in the pursuit of knowledge. Most biologists are just trying to figure out the world around them.

Conservation is about doing something with the answers that researchers have found. It's one thing to find out that whales are sick but what are we going to do about it? As the world is being figured out, we need to put that figuring into action.

The people are different as well. To be a biologist, you probably need at least one degree in, you know, biology. Do to research, you probably want a one of those too. At least some kind of science degree is a must. Chemistry, physics, geology, all important.

Not for conservation. Anyone with any background can do conservation work, though it would help if you had some bit of background in what you are conserving, but you don't need an entire degree for it. Marketing and business, law, even an arts degree is completely okay if you want to go into conservation. In fact, different background of education mean that people bring different ideas towards their conservation efforts, which can be useful!

This next one is very generalizing, and not true for each and every researcher, but for the most part, researchers would rather not deal with the general public, at all. They'd even rather not deal with other scientists every once in a while. But they have to, mostly for funding reasons.

Conservationists have to deal with the public on a regular basis, so they should probably like it. A big part of wildlife conservation is prevention and awareness - letting people know what they can do to protect their local (and global) wildlife. It's also fundraising, petitioning, rallying - all having to deal with ordinary people on the street. It takes a particular kind of person to be able to swallow retorts as the ignorant come out of the woodwork. So unless you have a strong filter on you, I'd stay away from conservation.

If you're going to go into research, don't do it because "you love whales" or "always wanted to see a killer whale". Do it because science fascinates you  Do it because you want to know more. This isn't an ecotour of whales or the safari or the rainforest. This is real work. For some, it doesn't matter what species they work on, it's the techniques and the methods that they care about. That is research.

That isn't to say that researchers don't love their research species. Some of the best really do. But it's more about what we can learn from them, rather than the "prettiness", "cuteness" or "coolness" of the animal.

I've known since before I can remember that I want to work with whales. I've known since second year university that I want to work with blue whales. But that's not what any potential Masters supervisor cares about. What they care about is my skill set, and my determination to do science. Any science, so long as it's science.

Conservation is begging for passionate people. Save whales because you love whales! Stop the poaching of elephants if you love elephants! Get involved because where scientists need to keep some professional distance from their research species, conservationists get to put all the emotion into it, because that's what interests and holds an audience captive!

I want to end on things they have in common. It's the people who are most passionate about nature and the world around them that get involved in both. These people, for the most part, love hiking, camping, eating organically and locally, and just being outdoors as much as humanly possible.

They are also in it for the animals. Although almost all the funding comes from "how does this affect humans" kind of sources, they are really all in it because of the animals, and because this Earth would be a pretty awful place to live without them.

Another thing they have in common - there is no money to be made in either. If you promised your mother you'd find a job that would keep you comfortable for the rest of your life, you better get out now.

If you promised your mother you'd find a job that tried to make a real difference in this world, then stick around and get ready for ramen.

Speak Loud!

Facts in a Bottle

Hey Team!

So keeping with a feature of this blog, here are 15 facts on most people's favourite cetacean, the bottlenose dolphin!

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1. Their scientific name is Tursiops truncatus, named for the shape of their teeth
2. They are one of the most well known cetacean species, due to their exposure in aquaria and in film
3. They live in groups called pods, with a "fission/fusion" social system.
4. The "fission/fusion" system describes one where there is a well defined population, but not all individuals will be see together at all times.
5. Small, more permanent groups can arise, like mom/calf pairs and male pairs.
6. Male pairs are affectionately called "bromances". Two or three adult males will be seen swimming and and acting together in call aspects of life. They can last for a few months up to a lifetime.
7. They have some strange... |mating rituals". A male pair (or trio) will approach a female, separate her from the group, mate with her (both of them), then return her to the group. This sometimes reminds us of inappropriate human behaviour, and we have nicknamed it such.
8. All cetaceans can be identified by individuals in a particular manner. Bottlenose dolphins, like other dolphins, can be identified easily by their dorsal fins.
9. Bottlenose dolphins can be somewhat violent towards each other in play, mating and aggressiveness. Therefore they can get a lots of scratches and scars.
10. These scars, scratches, nicks and notches are usually permanent, and on the dorsal fin can be used to identify dolphins as individuals.
11. Just like a human's fingerprint, no two dolphin fins are the same in size, shape and natural markings!
12. Like other small cetaceans (mostly toothed whales), bottlenose dolphins use echolocation to get around underwater.
13.  Echolocation deals with sound waves, so dolphins are able to "hear" the world around them, or even cooler... "see in sound". That's kind of cool.
14. Although their common name isn't "the common dolphin" (which does exist), they are the most well known dolphin, courtesy of movies and films like Flipper and Dolphin Tale.
15. not only are bottlenose dolphins intelligent enough to do flips and tricks on command, they are also intelligent enough to use tools for foraging! There are a lot of documented cases of dolphins using sea sponges to root around the ocean floor for food.

Enjoy your day!

There you go, a couple more facts for your cetacean knowledge!

Speak Loud!

It's a Mans World... Or Is It?

Hi Everyone!

 This might seem a little out of place, but my grandmother sent this video to me because it reminded her of me, and not to seem conceited or anything, it reminded me of myself as well.

 Science has always been a mans world. It seems like only within the last generation or so am I reading women names in my journal articles. It's no surprise that the farther up you go in the chain of research, at the end of it all you are more likely to find a man than a woman.

 But it's changing, and I am one of the many trying to change it.

 When I was finishing grade 6 and figuring out where to go for middle school and potentially high school, my dad was pretty adamant about placing me in an all girls school because, he believed, there would be a better chance of me getting a strong education in math and science, because he understood then (and I definitely didn't) that math and science is a mans world.

 But my love of theatre, my ambition for challenge and my preference for public school won out in the end, and I don't think my education suffered. I lucked out with amazing math and science teachers that certainly but no emphasis on gender in the classroom, and I won't deny that the female population in all my classes kick butt. But looking back, I understand and appreciate my dad's worries. Especially because he thought I was going to be a doctor (just kidding... I think).

 I grew up in a house of feminists. Go get a copy of Cat in the Hat right now. Read through it. Notice how Suzy doesn't say a single word of her own? Her brother talks for her the entire time. This is not the story my sister and I grew up with. It wasn't until we were reading on our own did we realize this, because my dad had an extraordinary habit of giving lines to Suzy. That's the house I grew up in.

 So ladies, it's time to break barriers. Yes, our grandmothers did their share, so did our mothers. But there are still walls to take down, and we don't need to call a man in to do it. I am young and naive and I know it, but I do think I'll be able to have a hectic, life-sucking job and still be able to raise a family the way I want to.

 Anyways, this video. Basically saying all the same things I was brought up to believe, but by a woman who has done it. I enjoyed it so much, and I hope you do too. For any men reading this blog, I think you can also enjoy it, and think about what she says on what true equality is in a relationship.

 Speak Loud!

Just Do It

I know I sound like a Nike commercial, but it's relevant, I promise.

I can't say it enough times, because it's something that  I don't think everyone believes when you tell them: science is NOT glamourous!

This is not CSI, or House, or Big Bang Theory, or another TV show that shows you how cool it is to be a scientist. This is hard work, no pay and nothing to show for it beyond your CV.

And I do it 'cuz I love it.

What brings this warning on? My current task at work is dull with no challenge. I am doing inventory of seal teeth, animal tissue and teeth slides. I go through every sample, note which teeth are missing, and put it all in a spreadsheet.

I've done just over 850 teeth samples (which feels like 1900, because the left and right are separate), and believe me, there are moments when I ask myself "I need a degree for this?"

Welcome to internships. Welcome to science.

90% of successful students, professors and researchers you will meet have had a period like this. Compared to this, photo-ID was fun! But it looks good on a CV, future supervisors and employers will see this and go "she can do the crap work, and do it right." Plus, the more you say yes to your current boss, the better the reference is for the next job.

This goes for unpaid internships. We would all love to get paid for what we love to do, but like the struggling artist in Soho, we need to suffer for our work.

Anyone who isn't a biologist (aka most of my friends) cannot comprehend the idea of an unpaid intership. When I tell them about past/ future plans, the second question they ask (first being "where is it?") is "is it paid?"

My darling friends. If I was getting paid to be a marine biologist, I can assure you: It would be the first words out of my mouth!

An interesting story. I was chilling with some people, talking about my plans for unpaid internships, and a friend goes "I love my work, it's interesting and I can't imagine doing anything else. But if they didn't pay me... I don't think I would do it."

Totally fair. Most people would choose a career that actually pays them. I get that.

But with that attitude, biology with chew you up and spit you out and tell you to be something easy. Like a doctor.*

In my field, particularly marine mammal behaviour, you need to be ready to give up time, energy, money, sleep, food, and most importantly, sanity, to get what you want. Ifs and Maybes need not apply.

So my pupils, I again offer you the opportunity to check yourself. Are you willing to do anything, give anything, to be a marine biologist? If not, I suggest getting into birds. Everyone wants to give money to ornithologists. Just be ready to wake up really early.

Complaining about my job and something to think about... yupp, successful blog.

Speak Loud!

*before I get some scalpels launched at my head, I AM KIDDING! Becoming/being a doctor is not easy, I promise I understand it's a challenge. Please don't poison me and make it look like an accident.

You May Say I'm a Dreamer...

...But I'm not the only one.


Day Four - Thursday


Feeling of the Day: Inspired.

I will honestly admit that I can't believe I've had something to say for every day of this conference. You would that that it would just get repetitive and dull, but in reality every day has brought new ideas and challenges, and I think that's a big part of my passion for this science.

Now I'll admit, not all my inspiration of the day came from the conference. While talking to a friend of mine teaching in Thailand, he was telling me all about his adventures on an elephant preserve. Now elephants are my favourite terrestrial animal, because they produce infrasound just like the loves of my life, the blue whales. But he was telling me these stories (called this because of the lack of scientific evidence, sorry TW!) about suicidal elephants. And that got me thinking about potential connections between the cognitive abilities of animals and their ability to commit suicide (as there have been known cases in dolphins as well, although no papers as of yet).

It's also made me wonder whether there is a connection between the social structure of an animal's grouping and their memory, as elephants are able to recognize the calls of dead martriarchs, and killer whales live in similarly structured pods.

Now, I'm not jumping off the boat just yet, because as you can see, I have connected these ideas to marine mammals, because I have not put in this much time, work, energy and sanity to not study marine mammals.

Add this to the myriad of topics swirling around this conference, and it almost makes me want to scream! There is so much science out there yet to be discovered, and it frustrates me that I can't seem to do it all!

I'm working full steam ahead to get in graduate school now that I have a much better understanding of the 'who's who' of the field. I think I have a decent shot of doing what I want to do for Master's, although the timeline of it all is still a little iffy. But now that I am asking a zillion (real number) additional questions, it makes me want to become a professor just to have student minions to do my bidding in the lab!

I don't think I want to give up my dreams in blue whale infrasound anytime soon, but all these other questions are just so intriguing, it's hard to just leave them alone. For the time being they are written down, and maybe if I get desperate or lucky, I'll have a chance to work on these projects on the side.

So I guess I should give some advice now... I guess it would be to not be afraid to branch out from what you think your singular goal is. A lot of biologists don't study the same thing for their entire lives, so you never know where your career is going to take you. Don't wait too long though, otherwise someone else might have the same idea as you (as I realize that once again, I've shared my own ideas with the general internet public... damn). At the same time, it's not always about having your name on the paper. Sometimes it's just about finding out the information. I'd almost be just as happy to hear the results of someone doing the work on these ideas than doing the research myself. Almost.

Friday might be a slow day. Everything is winding down, and Thursday night is the Student fundraiser party. It's going to be a late night!

Speak Loud!

PS. On another inspired note, if a certain newly created fund (you know what I'm talking about) has not already been promised to any particular organization, I think it should become a funding opportunity for Jewish females pursuing a career in the research sciences (emphasis on non-medical). Just saying.

Who'da Thunk?

So generally, there are skills that everyone thinks about when they want to go into any biology field. An iron stomach, good with computers, fast learners, deep thinkers and an drive for natural knowledge.

For marine biology, skills like boating experience, no fear of water, exceptional swimming skills and comfortable around/ handling large aquatic animals are also a plus.

as I said in a previous post, there are other really great skills for an an aspiring marine biologist. Lifeguarding, first aid, scuba, boating licence, are all things that say "Not only do I know how to be safe in and around water, but I would be an asset on a boat in case of an emergency and you don't have to put in the time or money to train me yourself!". Trust me, it's a good thing to 'say' all these things.

But then, there are the skills you picked up in the most random of places that you don't think about putting on a CV but that do actually come in handy in the strangest of ways. And even if you don't advertise them directly to your future employers, once you have miraculously found a job, they will help prove yourself a capable scientist. Which, really, is the goal in life.

Like the last post, I'm going to use myself as an example... because really, that's all I know.

Horseback riding - How to make bouncing not hurt

A long time ago, as a gift, my grandmother bought me a year's worth of horseback riding lessons. I had already participated in a week long day camp at another horse stable the summer before, and I had had a lot of fun. So I was eager to get back on the horse (pun intended) and make it a weekly activity.

I had a total blast. My Dad explained to me later on in life "The lessons weren't about competition or even learning to be a master rider. It was so that in the future you wouldn't be scared of riding a horse." It wasn't about making it a major part of my life, but making sure I never limit my future adventures.

Little did either of us know that it would also help keep my backside happy on the rolling waves. Let me explain.

There is a skill in horseback riding called 'posting'. It's where you move your body almost opposite of the horse's movements while trotting. Trotting is a very bouncy style of movement, and when you just sit on the horse while you trot, it can lead to a very sore bottom at the end of the day. So posting keeps you off the horse at the right moments, so your butt isn't killing (as much) when you're done. It's done by sort of standing up in the stirrups at the right moments.

I have found, while in a small boat on not-so-calm waters, that I am recalling my posting practice while sitting and looking for dolphins. Not that these are monster swells in any sense, but when you're going fast over waves or another boat's wake, you can get bounced about quite a bit. But if you lift yourself up at just the right moment, you don't feel it as badly. I actually found myself doing it unconsciously, and I had to smile a bit as this long lost skill made it's reappearance.

Swing Dancing - Awesome Balance


If there is one thing I love doing almost as much as science, it's swing dancing. I've been at it for almost 3 years now, and it has reshaped my life in all the best ways possible. I am obsessed.

One of the biggest things about swing dancing is balance. Because you are being tossed, twirled and flung around the dance floor, and there are plenty of moves that don't require two feet on the the ground at the same time. Plus the interaction with another person means you have to really be in control of your own body, more so than some other dances.

So while I will not pretend to be an expert dancer, I hold my own and I know that my personal balance has gotten better since I started. I've learned good stances and how to hold my body so that I don't fall over easily.

I think this one is obvious in how it's connected to work on the water. In small vessels, balance is important. Especially is you have to be able to do things on the boat, like take pictures or collect samples. If you can keep your balance in waves or poor boat drivers (cough, me, cough), then you are doing dandy, and things don't have to take forever.

Now I'm not saying I have the best balance on the boat. Obviously people who have spent more time on boats are better acclimated to the exact type of movement, but for someone who has not spent any time on marine waters and have never had to deal with these types of conditions, I think I'm doing pretty well, thanks to swing dancing.

Sleep-away Summer Camp - Living with others


One of the biggest changes for me moving to Florida was living away from my parents, and having to live with people I've never met before. Most of the other interns down here are accustomed to that, as University students usually move away from home at 18, even if they are going to school in the same city as their childhood home. But for me, it was a new experience.

Or was it?

Obviously, having to take of myself completely was new. But living with people in close proximity was not. Sharing a room certainly was not. For my next internship, I'll be living at the research station with everyone else, most likely in a dorm/cabin setting. Definitely not new. And on boats, when you have lots of people in a small amount of space? Piece of cake.

I went to a sleep-away summer camp every summer for 12 years. For 9 of those I was a camper, meaning a shared EVERYTHING with anywhere between 2-12 other girls. Everything. We all slept in a single roomed cabin, ate at the same table, did all our activities together. We changed in front of each other and even showered in front of each other. We had to teach ourselves how to maintain our own spaces and how to be "by ourselves" in a crowded room.

So I'm used to living with other people. I'm especially used to living with people who I might not particularly like. Such is usually the case when many people (particularly girls) are forced to spend lots of time together. But after dealing with it in all the wrong ways growing up, I think I've taught myself how to deal with conflicting personalities in a way that won't cause serious drama and blowouts. Which is key when the people you live with are also your co-workers, and it can be difficult to keep your home and work lives separate.

Teaching Swimming - Communication and Comfortable in the cold


Okay, so other than the complete comfort in the water and the swimming skills, teaching 5 year olds how to blow bubbles does not really have much to do with marine biology.

Except for a couple things, actually.

It's one thing to discover facts about animals, it's another to get those facts out into the world. You can do this in a few ways: write a science article about it in a science journal, so that other scientists can read of your discoveries. But then it's always a good thing to tell the public about it. And kids are our future and what not, so being able to relay serious information to kids in a way they'll understand and remember can be an essential skill to have.

Fortunately, this is a big part of being a swimming instructor, because we don't just teach strokes, we teach water safety. Live saving facts and skills that have the potential to save the kid's life in the future. Heavy stuff.

I've also spent a lot of time standing on a cold pool deck in nothing but a bathing suit and wetsuit, soaking wet and no towel in sight. So being wet and cold is something I am accustomed to. So is spending hours in frigid water.

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This is not to say that now you should go out and do these exact same things. I am sure that you have other experiences through which you have gained similar or different, but still equally as important, skills that will make you a better scientist. What I mean by this post is just to never think your experiences unimportant, because even things that have absolutely nothing to do with marine biology can help you be the best marine biologist you can be.

So bring it on Ocean, me and my bag of random experiences and random skills are ready for anything you can throw at us!

Speak Loud!

The Intimidation Factor

There are going to be times, many, many times, in your career where you will meet people that intimidate you.

Perhaps they are a superior whose knowledge and experience seem daunting. Then your intimidation might be the result of absolute respect. I have felt this kind of fear a lot with my profs. They are brilliant, seem to know everything and their approval is the only thing that matters. Even once you discover that they are but human, your determination to impress overpowers your common sense, and every encouraging word or disciplinary act moulds ever move you make.

Then again, perhaps it is some up and coming scientist, wide eyed and naive, but who you know is much smarter than yourself. You fear that the future of your science won't be written by you, but rather them. You are intimiated by their potential to overthrow you, and you will be forced to live in a cardboard box and eat ramen noodles for the rest of your life. Fear not! Except for the few arrogant ones that no one likes and therefore will get turned away from jobs more often than not, those younger/ less experienced than you will look up to you and seek your advice simply to not trouble the waters and occasionally to be liked (see paragraph above). So don't fear them, encourage them and help them become better scientists. Most will know their place, and remember: science is a team effort.

The final category, and possibly the most terrifying of all, are your collegues. Those that are also recent graduates, looking for the same funding and the same job/academic opportunities. These are your true enemies, the one's you keep closer than your friends. You are in your own arms race, constantly keeping up the Joneses.

Or are you?

As I have recently discovered, everyone has the one-up on each other in some way or another. While a collegue might have more experience in one field of interest, you might have more experience in another. They wrote a longer thesis, but you wrote a more concise one. They went away for school to a expensive university, but you understand the value of money, don't expect your supervisor to come up with all the funding, and are ready to spend gruelling hours writing grant proposals (see last post). When you sum it all up, life, work and school experience, 95% of us are on equal footing.

I am living this out right now. Some of the other interns on paper seemed super intimidating. But as I get to know them, I find that I have experiences they don't, and even though they've had more experience in marine biology, they aren't entirely sure what they want to do in the field. I think depriving myself of it for so long forced me to really think it through and consider all the options ahead of time, which might in the end make me a better candidate for graduate school or jobs in the future.

So refuse to be intimidated! Except by your superiors, they are actually frightening. But as for the others, we're all just trying to learn new things and expose the world to new knowledge. Science can't happen from one person alone, so don't waste time being intimidated that you could be using to fuse two (or three) brilliant minds together to make the future of our planet a better one.

Speak Loud.

Must be Funny in a Rich Man's World

Hey Team!

So to all my followers eagerly anticipating my next post, I apologize for the wait. August was not a very biology-y month for me, so other than preparing for Florida (where I am sitting right now), there wasn't much for me to say. But with my internship starting in a few days (I should probably figure out how I'm going to eat...) the posts should be almost endless!

But that isn't the subject of this post. The subject, if you didn't guess from the most excellent clue in the title, is money. Specifically, how the hell am I supposed to get some.

This is another thing I was I was told back in high school about becoming a scientist. Getting your second degree is nothing like getting your first. Your bachelors is basically handed to you, all you need to do is: apply to a university, get accepted, work your ass off, and POOF! degree!

Masters: Work your ass off in your bachelors, write an Honours thesis, gain work experience, apply for grants/scholarships, get grants/scholarships, apply to supervisor, get accepted by supervisor, apply to university, get accepted to university, work your ass off, write thesis, and POOF! degree.

Sounds like a blast and a half, no?

This is not me complaining, I am more than excited to do all of it. It's just a very intimidating process. The most intimidating part though is the grant application process.

See, research costs a lot. It costs even more then you are working with giant animals that live under water where no one can see them. And most profs, even the ones who work with marine mammals, don't have thousands of dollars to fund yet another project, so they insist that students bring their own money into the mix. Especially if they want food and shelter for the next two years.

So that's where I stand. I am in the race of my life competing with other (probably more) qualified students for money to help jump start our futures and careers. And as much as I impressed my family with my grades and accomplishments, in the research arena I am a so-so candidate, and there are many more impressive people worthy of money (more on them later...).

Once I am totally settled in, I'll have to start worrying about all that. It's going to be a lot of applications, and a lot of rejections. I'm glad I went through I lot of that with my job search, I ordered a pretty think skin for that.

Enough complaining Gaby! The point of this was to help other marine biologists, not to be a whiny baby!!

So here is where to look for money to help fund research. Disclaimer: My grad student friends had to help me with this, because I had no idea where to go.

-- NSERC - one of the hardest grants to get, but therefore the most prestigious. Only the best grades, most work experience and most publications get these grants. So seriously (seriously) work hard, and make yourself into the best applicant for this grant

-- University grad scholarships - most universities have grants specifically for their grad students, so look into these. But remember, they are open to EVERY grad student in the school, so competition is high.

-- Society scholarships - If you belong to a biology-related society (which you should.... a few even), they might have research scholarships for members and even specifically students. The applicant pool is much smaller for these, so you have a better chance of getting one.

--Online resources - there are websites (like www.studentawards.com) that help you by listing all the scholarships you might be eligible for. Although the name of the scholarship can be important at times (see NSERC), it's the money in your hands that is the finish line. So apply to even the most obscure scholarships, because you're not going to care who's memorial scholarship it is when you have a couple grand to buy groceries with.

I'll be starting my own money making process soon. Hopefully I get something from someone so that I can make my Master's student dream into a reality.

Speak Loud!

Do's and Don't's

Here are the do's and don't's (I don't know if that's a real word....) of becoming a marine biologist

Do take all the best math and science classes you can in high school
Don't neglect your English class! Having good, clear and concise writing skills will come in handy (hence why I am struggling)

Do care about your grades starting as early as you can. It's about getting into the best university (with as many scholarships as you can).
Don't neglect the extra curriculars. Universities are looking for those!

Do work hard and save lots! Get used to having to earn money on top of school, because grad school doesn't pay much. Having a bit of a safety net is always good.
Don't put off travelling! I have, and I regret it. That being said, my personal goal is to have a career that travels a lot, so I felt like I could hold out for a while. Still on the fence about it.

Do find work in your field!! Something science related, in a lab or as a field assistant or even a data cruncher. I spent my high school/undergrad life doing jobs COMPLETELY unrelated to biology, and I am paying for it now.
Don't be unemployed if you can't find a lab job! Every job has skills that are important to biology, it's all about how you spin it!

Do take all the courses you can to give yourself all the skills and certifications you can! First Aid, Lifesaving, boating licence, scuba diving, etc.
Don't forget to take specific courses. Universities will offer courses like "marine ecology" or "coastal reef biodiversity", and those are what are going to make you stand out. But they cost. A lot. Just go to a university that offers a marine biology undergrad degree.

Do make 'friends' with your biology profs in University. If they know your name and know you are interested in their field, they will make GREAT connections and can be extremely helpful in progressing your career.
Don't believe that "C's get degrees"!!! Get the BEST grades you can, and if you need help ASK FOR IT!! Peers, profs, TAs, older friends, anyone who knows what they are doing can help YOU know what you are doing!

Do get an honours degree. While you are at it, do a co-op too. A general degree is 3 years, a honours is 4 but a honours co-op is six years but it has to be the best idea in the entire world!! I wish I had thought of it.
Don't be in any rush!! If research is what you want to do with your life, then any time you spend doing some is worth it, even without letters after your name (but those are pretty sweet). So do the volunteering, take the co-op, take almost any job offered to you and don't worry about how long it takes between degrees!

That's all I can think of for now. Learn young Jedis. Learn from all my mistakes and you will make it better than I will... wait a moment... damn.

It started with a dream....

No one seems to agree on when I wanted to become a marine biologist. My dad says it was when I was three and I saw a scuba diver feeding sharks and fish at an aquarium in Disney World. My mom might say it was when I was seven and made a diorama of a clown fish. I remember when I was eleven and read A Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L'Engle which is about a marine biologist and decided I wanted to work with dolphins. Or maybe I read it because I wanted to work with dolphins. Who knows.

All I know is that for longer than I can remember, I wanted to be a marine biologist. Sure, I thought about becoming a doctor, and yes I considered going into teaching, but through it all, marine biology has won out.

When you are a kid, "marine biology" meant playing with dolphins. When you are in middle school, it meant training dolphins. In high school, it means researching dolphins while scuba diving.

University dashes all those into pieces.

Now it means field work you can't afford, followed by hours and hours or sitting in front of a computer begging for money and crunching numbers, being rejected over and over for publishing and when you are finally accepted, you are torn apart limb from limb and scrutinized. Then you are published. Then repeat.

I still want it. So badly.

But nobody told me what I needed to do in order to be a marine biologist. So I wasted my high school away with extra circular activities and fun. And now, I am just trying to make my dream come true the hard way.

Join me in my adventures!