Biologistas

Biologistas

Originally uploaded by marinebiologista

Using quadrats (the white square) to sample organisms in the intertidal

Ocean Research Group Scholar

I have been sick all week, but was brightened today with the news that I received a scholarship!  I was selected by the Ocean Research Group to be their 2009 scholar!  This includes a scholarship, recognition at their annual benefit dinner, and contacts with the top shark researcher in the U.S. !  It is so exciting to be nominated by this group.  They are all award winning cinematographers and underwater photographers.

Plus, they will be delivering the award to me at the end of the month at a Benefit Dinner!

Mud Cores and Rachel Carson…

Just finished a trip on the research vessel, Gulf Challenger. We went out if Portsmouth, NH , headed out to ocean.
We brought a bunch of cameras to to get footage for a silly movie we are making this fall. It was also great to document the different processes. We lowered the CTD (measures salinity, temperature, flourescence, and turbudity) four times at differnt areas in the open ocean and in Portsmouth Harbor tributary. In the open ocean, Steve and I lowered a plankton tow in the water. We then collected two samples and saw mostly Copepoda and hope to look for forams back under the ‘scope (slang for microscope) at lab. The samples are in the freezer so they don’t die too quickly.
We also took some samples looking at the mud in the estuary. We took two cores and brought them up on deck. Then, with bare hands, we sifted through the mud for organisms. We found nothig but empty shells! In the second sample, we found some 1 cm long clams. Now we are hunkering down below deck as we drive the boat back to the harbor. I can’t nap- too excited and stimulated. Plus, I love being on boats!! Back to reading “at the edge of the sea” by Rachel Carson…

Midterms done!

After 3 and half hours of madly scribbling on our pages, we are done with our first midterms! Both Marine Ecology and Experimental Design.
It’s my first set of tests in 3 years, and I was on it!
It has been great to nail down my study habits again. I am a nerd and really love the spiral bound notecards. Matt and I made our first hashbrowns this morning, courtesy of the blog “pioneerwoman”. We went for a walk around Nahant, and I dove into my two hour exam with vigor. The test was as challenging as I imagined it could be. However, I felt ready to meet the challenge. As for the Stat’s course, I aced the test. This includes the question the teacher describes as “separating the men from the boys” !

I am especially pleased that I did well, considering I followed my goals yesterday of enjoying life while being in school: we went to the Fine Arts Museum of Boston! I really enjoyed the Egypt exhibit, particularly the mummies.

Just read in the NY times today that BestBuy is launching a new campaign with Twitter. It reminds me that we are in a time of innovation and flux in our society’s technology and social networking abilities. I strive to keep up to date and not become an old fogie about technology.

studying away at the Northeastern libary

two midterms tomorrow..let’s go!

Bostoning

Driving in Boston tests the strength of your character. you must fully believe in what your are doing. You must think that people have to let you in. That you are getting in the right lane even if you are the biggest asshole, trying to switch lanes at the last minute.
I have seen tentative drivers in Boston, and they simply tremble in fear. Bostonians swerve around them as they wait in the left lane with their blinker on.
It symbolizes the world we live in…if you wait in your lane for someone to let you in, you will most likely NEVER get anywhere in life. You have to take the wheel in both hands and move your car swiftly towards the direction you want to go.

Science Museum

Went to the museum of science and was stoked on the way the museum is presenting information to the public. The part I enjoyed of teaching environmental ed was sharing knowledge. The more information we can disseminate to the public about the environment, the wonders of it, and the sheer diversity, the better. I enjoyed seeing that many of the exhibits had a clear mission statement and purpose, but many people simply saw it as a game, and rarely followed all the steps. It is interesting how each exhibit can target different ages.

Here is a picture of the area where my classes take place. we have been diving and collecting from areas right around here. The view at East point is killer.

Scientific Diver

As of today, I am oxygen certified, CPR certified and a certifiable underwater diver!

DNA extraction

We strapped on our rain boots and plodded out to the intertidal. After navigating over slippery sewaeeds, we collected two species of intertidal snails and some seaweeds. Back in the lab…wearing baby blue gloves we smashed snails with hammers and took a rice grain size of tissue and put it into our test tubes with two other chemicals..our tubes then sat in heater for three hours as we ate lunch and had lecture. Then, we added some toxic chemicals, threw the test tubes in a centrifuge and repeated these two steps four times. Then, we looked in our test tube and saw a beautiful white lacy netting. DNA. It really was beautiful, and breathtaking. This is the stuff that codes for life, I thought. pretty mesmerizing.