why I will never get a Nobel prize

I was fascinated by a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (link), showing that A) male faculty tend to have fewer female graduate students and postdocs than female faculty (not news to most of you in the sciences), and B) "elite male faculty" - that is, those with major career awards, members of the National Academy of Sciences, etc. - trained significantly fewer women compared to other male scientists. 

There are many possible explanations for the lack of women in the sciences (some of which I have explored on these pages), but there is no doubt that this is a problem that needs to be addressed. This study suggests yet another mechanism through which the pipeline to faculty positions gets narrowed for female students.

summer in the talley lab

another exciting summer underway (holy crap - 1/2 over!) here in the lab at University of San Diego. I am lucky to have my previous graduate students finishing up their work, another joining the lab (graduate webpage HERE), and three great undergrads in the lab, working on really interesting questions.

Alex Blanco is a McNair Scholar, continuing work in my lab, but his research is taking him in a new direction. Alex is working on an important but little-studied habitat in southern California wetlands - pools in the vegetated marsh. We are trying to better understand their distribution, and figure out if new technology (camera-equipped drones) can help us more cheaply and efficiently map these and other small-scale features in our wetlands. Of course, being Alex, he also pitches in around the lab, helping us with our other studies as well.

Yuri Bejarano also just joined the lab this summer, a transfer student from New York who is part of University of San Diego's Pre-Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) Program. Despite the name, the PURE program, under the direction of our (great) new Director of Undergraduate Research, Dr. Sonia Zárate, now also takes transfer students, and I was fortunate to have Yuri choose my lab. She is helping me work on Fundulus parvipinnis (shocking, I know!), and is helping us get a better handle on some of the basics - ontogenetic shifts in diet; length-weight relationships; and the stable isotope signatures of females and some of their component tissues (e.g., eggs vs muscle). She is a great addition to the lab, is an amazingly hard worker and bright student, and I am looking forward to seeing the fruits of her labor!

Also in the lab this summer has been Quinn Montgomery. Quinn is on the crew team, was in my Physical Oceanography course, and is a delight to be around. He does not have a particular project he is focusing on (he has other plans for his capstone research), but has been invaluable in the field!

Of course, there has also been some great stuff going on with the Bahía de los Angeles research this summer - more on that soon!

from left to right - Quinn, Yuri, and Alex

Support Science Education - by doing almost nothing

Amazon has launched a new way to support non-profits, and I am hoping that you (all 3 of my blog's readers) might be interested in supporting one very close to me.

If you go to smile.amazon.com, you will be asked to choose a non-profit. The organization you choose will then receive 0.5% of the price of any eligible item you guy. It doesn’t cost anything (other than the time it takes to sign in, and remembering to use the smile.amazon.com link instead of just amazon.com), and it can make a real difference to a nonprofit.

Not surprisingly, my hope would be that you would choose Ocean Discovery Institute as your non-profit, since I have worked with them for 10 years and see the difference they make to the community and sciences broadly. Still,  no matter what one you choose, I can’t see a downside to helping out a nonprofit with a donation, when it doesn’t cost anything!

Disclaimer - I am not paid by Ocean Discovery Institute, and get no monetary compensation at all no matter how much anyone donates - I simply think they do astoundingly good and important work, and I have worked with them as much as possible for years.

proud to get to work with these people

I just rediscovered this video, about one small part of the collaboration with Ocean Discovery Institute. Such good work being done here, and I am pleased to have the support of my University, College of Arts & Sciences (and our amazing Deans), and my Department to pursue these efforts. 

#663399Becca

my heart goes out to the family.

http://meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2014/06/09/in-memoriam-2/

McNair Scholar is also CUR scholar

My research student (and co-author!) Alex Blanco was honored with an award from the Council on Undergraduate Research for "outstanding research". We could not be prouder of him - Alex is also a McNair Scholar, a veteran, a dad and husband, a first-generation student, an advocate for underrepresented minority students, and a super nice guy (and that is just the short list). With the support of his phenomenal wife Karla (a grad student herself), he manages to balance all of this while maintaining good humor. 

Only ten of these awards were given nationwide this year. Congratulations Alex!

Grunion-Free Grunion Run

Dr. Colin Fisher (History) and I took a group of students from my Physical Oceanography course and the Sustainability LLC out for a grunion run recently. Apparently, the grunion did not get the memo, but it is tough to complain about a walk on the beach on a warm night in good company. Also, we got to see millions of tiny sand crabs, kelp holdfasts washed ashore, and learned lots about the natural history of our coastal shores.

one last post on the fleet science event

Just wanted to post a good article on the event from Uptown News in San Diego!

http://sduptownnews.com/two-scientists-walk-into-a-bar/

two scientists event was no joke

The "two scientists walk into a bar" event last Thursday was fantastic, both for the scientists and for the public. I only saw my own part of the broader event, but by all reports it was an incredible success, and it certainly was at my location.

Probably the most satisfying part of the evening was the numerous people who a) came specifically for this event, and b) who had no specific questions, but just wanted to learn more about what scientists do and why we love it. 

I was also fortunate to have Steve Snyder, the new Executive Director of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, visit our location during the event, and am impressed with his dedication to his adopted city and the effort to interface with the public. We also had a great visit with reporters from the Uptown News.

In short, this was a blast, and I look forward to representing USD at future events (and teaching everyone why Fundulus is the greatest fish around).

sawbones

There are a few podcasts that I listen to during my (admittedly short) commute or while traveling, and while I generally keep the focus here on science, outreach, and USD, I feel like I should share some of these on occasion, since finding good media to consume is not always easy.

Today I wanted to put in a plug for Sawbones, a podcast that is part of the maximumfun.org network. In it, Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin spend a half hour or so talking about the history of some medical procedure/illness/topic. These have ranged from things like tuberculosis to self-surgery. It is one of those shows that is smart and funny, and once I discovered it I quickly downloaded all of the past episodes.

You can subscribe on iTunes, using your favorite podcatcher, or just go to their site by clicking on the picture above...it is (medical) science with a side of funny.

two scientists walk into a bar...

The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center is organizing a really interesting, city-wide event for thursday March 20th. Called "two scientists walk into a bar", they will be putting pairs of scientists (including yours truly) in local pubs, with a sign that says "We are scientists - ask us anything!" The idea is to get the public involved in discussion about science generally, and it promises to be a lot of fun. 

For more information, click here.  

wow - that was quite the hiatus

But I am back, with a vengeance. This promises to be another exciting semester - projects on islands in the Gulf of California; Director of the Sustainability LLC on campus; mapping local wetlands, and enjoying watching my daughter turn 7!

stay tuned....

an image from one of the greatest camping trips ever...

on the border

fundulus.net updates

on the border

As part of our continuing exploration of environmental, social, and fiscal implications of sustainability, a group of University of San Diego students used last Saturday to explore the Tijuana River Valley. We started with a visit to Wild Willow farm, a small organic farm operated in the flood plain of the Tijuana river. It was a very interesting visit, and we learned a lot about both how small-scale farming works and the issues related to operating in an area with a lot of migrants crossing.

From there it was off to the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, where Chris Peregrine from State Parks talked to us about the challenges and the benefits of operating a wetland reserve where >2/3 of the watershed is in Mexico. We got to go see these important and threatened ecosystems, and had lunch at the Visitor's Center.

Finally, we headed up to Friendship Park, the small park on the border that was closed during construction of the new fence. From there you get a sweeping view of the estuary, as well as parts of Tijuana, making it an ideal spot to discuss some of the social and environmental issues that intertwine here. What made this even better was being able to talk both to Agent Kris Strickland of the Border Patrol and Enrique Morones from Border Angels (a non-profit dedicated to reducing the number of migrant deaths while crossing the border). Each of them clearly view the border issues differently, yet both stressed the need for education and compassion, and it was gratifying to see how much common ground there is when reasonable people discuss even a contentious issue.

In short, we packed a lot of learning and broadening of perspective in a single day, which is what undergraduate education is all about. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this possible!

USD students learn about San Diego fisheries

last weekend a group of our students who are part of the sustainability LLC investigated issues around fisheries, food security, and San Diego. We started the trip with a visit to the docks - once a bustling center of a vast tuna fleet, now a small (but still vibrant) home to local fishers. Last saturday, the docks were loaded with hundreds of lobster traps, as the commercial lobster fishery prepared for the season opening. Our group was met by Pete Halmay, "The Urchin King", who is a key figure in the city's fishing industry. Pete explained how local fisheries can be highly sustainable and ecologically healthy, and made a compelling case for eating locally and smart when it comes to seafood. While we were there we got to visit his boat, Fish Addiction, which not only sells fresh catch of the day every weekend, but supplies many of our local restaurants with live urchin. 

We were then given a talk by the other Dr. Talley, who told us about a project she and Adina Batnitzky from USD are working on, trying to (re)connect the City Heights Somali community with fresh, sustainable seafood. 

Finally, we went to The Fish Market restaurant, where we enjoyed browsing the selection of local (and not-so-local) seafood, and sat down as a group to a delicious lunch.

The outing was a lot of fun and enlightening (not to mention delicious), thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of Drs. Fisher, Duraij, our preceptorial assistants, students, and of course Pete!

me and Al Gore

I had the honor of meeting Al Gore at a recent Ocean Discovery Institute event, and even got the chance to do so with the (incredible) new Dean of University of San Diego's College of Arts and Sciences, Noelle Norton. A wonderful experience, and he is clearly a man who values education, diversity, and the sciences. 

Regrettably, I do not have a picture I can put up of myself with Mr. Gore, so instead here I am with one of our Ocean Discovery Institute Ocean Leaders, and you will have to imagine that she is him. 

me and Al Gore (standing in for Mr. Gore is Khanchi Dam)

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. 

apropos of nothing

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!

whiteboard

an ever-growing species list

busy_lab

controlled chaos

travels with ducky

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

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!