Biological Oceanography course at sea

We had our annual research cruise for Biological and Geological Oceanography here in the Marine Science & Environmental Studies department, and this year was a new collaboration with the Sea Education Association. It was a phenomenal couple of days at sea - the students got to participate in all aspects of both sailing and research, from deploying neuston nets to setting the sails; we saw lots of great marine life (whales, dolphins, pteropods, and more); and we got to meet Brad Perry from KUSI news. 

 

SEA is a fantastic program, and everyone there, from the captain and chief scientist to the stewards and deck hands was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and eager to share information about the ship, the physics/biology, and the history of sailing and oceanography.  Plus, fresh-baked bread for our sandwiches? Crazy.

 

These pictures give a little taste of what the trip was like, but cannot do justice to what a great experience it was for our students, and how fun it is to be doing science on this ship. Now I look forward to analyzing the data and seeing what we find. 

 

back and ready for the fall!

After a summer full of travel, research, and fun, the lab is now gearing up for the fall (and feeling a little empty!). 

 

Alex Blanco is still working away at his samples, but it seems like a very interesting picture is developing about how and where the Venerupis philippinarum are invading in Mission Bay.  And Polly has a great set of photos and data for us to integrate into a field guide to San Diego fouling communities, which I hope will be used by local biologists, students, and the public.

 

Our Biological Oceanography course will be heading to sea in mid September to do some research on the SSV Robert C. Seamans, a beautiful tall ship (a brigantine) that the Sea Education Association uses. We will be accompanied by the Geological Oceanography class, and it promises to be a great trip. 

 

I also am fortunate to be in an amazing Preceptorial course - the class is Life in the Oceans, and at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, everything is phenomenal about this class. We have a wonderful Preceptorial Assistant (Maria), are part of a great Living Learning Community (Sustainability), and have some really exciting field trips and activities planned for the semester. I went over to campus today to meet some of the students and their families as they moved in, and I was uniformly impressed with how eager and excited everyone was.

 

So, the updates on the science and classes will be more regular for the next few months - stay tuned!

 

 

a welcome invasion

There is a great group from Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) taking over my lab to analyze fouling plates.  It is great to see the lab so full of activity, and to get a look at so many fascinating organisms (see pictures below). It is an added bonus that SERC was willing to hire two of our (wonderful) undergrads (Alex and Polly) to help out during the project. In fact, the organism photos below were taken by Polly, who is working on helping to create a field guide to local fouling community organisms.


Special thanks to our recent graduate and new SERCster Brianna Tracy for helping out so much while I am in CT!

travels with ducky

Some brief updates on the lab's adventures so far this summer: 

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1. I was accompanied by my daughter's "blue eyed ducky" on the trip into Mexico - she figures prominently in many photos. 

2. Accompanied by an Ocean Discovery Institute Fellow (Rosa), Ocean Discovery Institute staff (Carla), two of my graduate students from USD (Anai and Liz), and an undergrad from University of New Mexico's Minority Access to Research Careers program (Larisa), we headed down to Bahia San Quintin for some sampling of the bivalve communities (including "sampling" some oysters).

3. After a few days of that, we drove south (stopping to enjoy some fossil beds and cave paintings) and arrived in Bahía de los Angeles, meeting up with more of my crew for Island research (Joel), the Sea Turtle research group (including Dr. John Wang and Ocean Discovery Institute Executive Director and researcher Shara Fisler), wetland scientist Dr. Christine Whitcraft, Meteorologist Jim Purpura, and other staff who somehow manage to do fieldwork, organize the station, and still keep the operation in San Diego running via super slow satellite internet.

4. My team got a phenomenal amount of work done in a few days. We set  pitfall traps on every island in the bay in three days (despite 112 degree heat and, in some cases, climbing hand-over-hand for 100m to reach the top). We also sampled the waters of the bay for nutrients, looking for pattern across a 1 km grid of sampling locations across the 25km length of the bay.

5. Meanwhile, back in San Diego, my (phenomenal) McNair Scholar Alex sampled San Diego Bay benthos with scientists from Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, worked with a student from Mater Dei High (Sergio) on sampling Fundulus parvipinnis, and managed to start his own project looking at an invasive clam in Mission Bay.

Now I am back in San Diego and trying to catch up on writing, email, bills, etc., but will update when possible!

an exciting and busy summer begins

I am fortunate to have some phenomenal people and some fascinating research going on in my lab this summer. My students are at all stages of their academic careers - from Danielle C., who is at the "analysis and writing" stage of her thesis on spatial subsidies at the land-sea interface, to Sergio, a rising high school scholar who will be working with me on figuring out more about Fundulus parvipinnis, ​and all levels in between - Anai, working with the other (smarter) Dr. Talley, Theresa, looking at current bivalve populations compared to historical datasets; Liz, a brand new NSF GRF who is just scoping out her research this summer; Becky, immersed in juggling data entry and a full time job as she works towards finishing her thesis; Larisa, a University of New Mexico undergrad on a MARC fellowship, studying surface nutrients in relation to island locations and bird use in Bahía de los Angeles; and a couple of University of San Diego Undergrads, Alex, studying the distribution of an invasive clam in Mission Bay, and Polly, who will be working with Smithsonian Environmental Research Center scientists on their fouling community surveys based out of my lab this summer. 

​So, it promises to be a hectic, amazing summer - more info on all of these projects as we go forward!

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another fascinating look at women in science

This study takes a really interesting tactic - comparing women in academia (where there is a huge amount of time involved in obtaining the degree/qualifications) with women in medicine (which requires a similar amount of time). Very interesting to see the differences both across those fields and between Canada and the U.S.

The conclusions the authors make, however, seem a little out of step with the rest of the study.

photo:  InVICKtion @flickr
photo:  InVICKtion @flickr

serif vs sans in presentations

I have virtually NO talent for creating aesthetically pleasing designs in presentations, posters, clothes, furnishing....well, anything, I guess. But I always thought that there were rigid rules based on sound science that dictated fonts for slides. 

Now, based on THIS, I wonder.

photo credit: wikipedia

photo credit: wikipedia

does education help us live longer?

Well....maybe. Some of us.

This study found no racial differences in leukocyte telomere length (which is associated with longevity) until they factored in education. Consistent with previous studies, Blacks had longer telomeres than Whites. An examination of the interaction of race and education showed that Blacks with more than a high school education had significantly longer telomeres than any other group (Blacks with less than high school education and Whites with any level of education). 

Really fascinating study.

happy holidays!

many, many blessings in my life - wonderful wife, smart, funny, thoughtful daughter, great friends, perfect job, and a supportive network of colleagues and family.

SO instead of going on and on - some pictures:

catching up!

so, it has been a while. The quick rundown is:

I was at the (always phenomenal) Western Society of Naturalists meeting in Seaside, CA, presenting a poster on spatial subsidy with collaborators and students from University of San Diego and Ocean Discovery Institute. Great meeting and a great chance to catch up with friends.

We have had more great field trips with the students in Biological Oceanography - we went to the rocky intertidal, where we saw lobsters, abalone, octopuses, and lots more, while examining the examples of gradients and patchiness there.

We also got to go and help the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve sample fishes in a recently-restored salt marsh in the South Bay, and compare those samples to an adjacent natural marsh.

More updates coming up!

Wetland Field Trip

We had a great field trip in our Biological Oceanography course yesterday out to the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve (TR NERR), right on the US/Mexico border.​

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​Declared a "wetland of international importance" by the International RAMSAR convention in 2005, the TR NERR is the largest intact wetland in southern California. As they note on their website:

The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve preserves, protects, and manages the natural and cultural resources of the Tijuana River Estuary by focusing on research and education with compatible recreation and resource use. The Reserve encompasses beach, dune, mudflat, salt marsh, riparian, coastal sage scrub, and upland habitats surrounded by the growing cities of Tijuana, Imperial Beach, and San Diego. Critical issues confronted by the Reserve include habitat conservation and restoration, endangered species management, management of the wastewater from Mexico, sediment management, and the integration of recreation

​We were shown around the border area (up to the fence itself) by Dr. Jeff Crooks, Research Coordinator for the reserve. Jeff explained some of the social, environmental, and health challenges facing the estuary and the border region, and how the reserve is working, on both sides of the border, to improve conditions for Mexican and US citizens alike. 

​We also got to get an up-close look at the "model marsh", a fascinating created wetland built under the direction of Dr. Joy Zedler, founder of the Pacific Estuarine Research Laboratory. The model marsh was built to help us learn more about how to most effectively create and restore salt marshes. This is particularly important here in CA, where over 90% of our historic wetlands have been lost!. It was a great opportunity to see an example of science that is both "basic" (answering essential questions about how the world works) and "applied" (helping to solve real-world problems). 

Biological Oceanography Sandy Shores Field Trip

Had a ridiculously good field trip to the Scripps Coastal Reserve today with my section from MARS 451 (Bio Oceans). We took to the shores, notebooks in hand, to examine some of the environmental gradients faced by sandy shore organisms; to look for examples of patchiness (and mechanisms producing it); and to try and identify major players in the sandy beach community. ​

​We could not have had better weather or a more inquisitive, engaged group of undergrads and grad students. We found mole crabs, Donax, polychaetes, Pismo clams, amphipods, kelp holdfasts - the list goes on and on - so much for the idea of a depauperate community. We also ran into some folks from the Dayton Lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, surveying the effect of trampling on the rocky intertidal just to the south of our study site. 

​Anyway, being out in such a beautiful place, with such a great group of students, almost makes me feel guilty calling this my "job"!