Melding biology and economics, an undergraduate perspective
Undergraduates Nicole Rento (front) and Katelyn Jenkins (back) prepare experimental materials
by Nicole Rento (undergraduate student at Brown University)
My name is Nicole Rento, and I have been working at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in Gloucester, Virginia with the ZEN team here this summer. I was born and raised in Virginia about 30 minutes away from VIMS in Newport News, where I attended elementary school through high school with fellow lab intern John Schengber. In a weird twist of fate, we both ended up coming home from our first year at different colleges (him at James Madison University and me at Brown University) to work in the Marine Biodiversity Lab. It’s been great working with one of my oldest and best friends, and making new ones here at VIMS.
I just finished my first year at Brown University, and I absolutely love it. I even enjoyed waking up at 6 A.M. most mornings for varsity swim practice, working in the library until late into the night, and especially everything in between. Heading off to college, I was really considering going into the field of medicine. Growing up with two surgeons as parents and listening to their work-related dinner conversations for 18 years, it was hard to imagine doing anything else with my love for biology.
Throughout my first semester at Brown, however, I began to move away from my thoughts of becoming a physician and the idea of having to take two semesters of organic chemistry and towards my love for the environment and ecology. And surprising myself by thoroughly enjoying an introductory economics class during the spring semester, I put myself on the path of double majoring in biology and economics. As to where that will take me, I’m not so sure. At the end of the semester I did know that I wanted to start figuring that out.
Nicole helps deploy field cages at Goodwin Islands in Virginia
My advisor at Brown (Dr. Dov Sax) knows Dr. Duffy and put me in contact with him. I was delighted when he graciously and enthusiastically offered me an internship here in his Marine Biodiversity Lab. So here I am! I started in May, not sure what to expect nor whether I’d be able to see a path to integrate my two passions (biology and economics). I was introduced to the ZEN project on the first day, and have been working on different aspects of the ZEN projects every day since. The ZEN postdoctoral researcher Pamela Reynolds and the lab manager here Paul Richardson started off familiarizing me with the species we would be working with this summer. I learned about the biology and ecology of Zostera, the seagrass around which the ZEN project is formed, and all the animals that live within the habitat it forms including blue crabs, pipe fish, amphipods, gastropods, and isopods, to name a few of my favorites. I never thought I would see so many ‘bugs’ in one summer, let alone count and sort all of them. I’ve gotten pretty speedy at identifying these small invertebrate algae eaters.
Nicole poses with a prototype field cage
I also never thought that I would become so experienced with PVC piping. One of my first tasks was to help Pamela and Paul design the cages for the predator exclusion portion of the project. Another unexpected job: John and I teamed up to make hundreds of plaster blocks for another part of the ZEN project. There were other tasks such as cutting circles of plastic Vexar, and bending hundreds of wires to be placed in the drying plaster blocks. Plaster, PVC piping, Vexar, wires… all for ecology? Yes. Although the connection was hard to find sometimes, as the cages and materials began to take shape, so did my first lesson in ecology: data don’t come out of thin air. First you have to collect those data, and to do that we had to run an experiment. That step came with trips out into the water – field days. I participated in both the set up and breakdown of an experiment to measure the effects of small predators (crabs, shrimp, fish) on seagrass communities. Working under the sun, holding your breath as we worked to secure our cages in murky water, it was no easy task. But seeing those 30 cages, all designed and built by the lab, helping us answer the important questions we ask with this project, was a feeling of incredible accomplishment for me and for my fellow lab members.
After running the experiment there comes countless (often tedious) hours of sample processing. My initial training in identifying seagrass species has come in very handy as we begin examining the final communities from our experimental cages. Finally, after the samples are sorted and the data collected, they have to be analyzed. But we aren’t there yet. I can’t wait to hear the stories from the other sites, and to see what happens as we begin to go through the data from our site’s experiment.
The summer interns help Paul harvest wild algae in an eperimental flow way at VIMS
This summer has been a wonderful experience filled with bugs, PVC, great scientists and great friends. Working at VIMS this summer has not only reaffirmed my love for biology, but it has given me insight into the combination of biology with economics. During the summer I heard about other projects that had taken place in our lab and in others. One example was the research our lab did with algae as a biofuel. By running river water through giant flow tanks and back into the river, algae was able to grow on the tanks and remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from the river water as it ran through the tank, returning cleaner water into the river. The algae could then be harvested and used as a biofuel. Not only is this a breakthrough biologically, but economically as well. In theory, if companies were to install these flow tanks in their factories, they could not only create their own naturally cleaner biofuel, but also help to clean river or lake water. Although still in the preliminary research and development phase, projects like these are beneficial to both the economy and to the environment, and I can definitely see myself being involved in similar projects in the future.
I’m so thankful for having the chance to work with the VIMS Marine Biodiversity Lab this summer. Good luck to the other sites!
Interest in the ‘ecological organism’ leads student to pursue “wet” science
Stephanie Cimon
by Stephanie Cimon (graduate student at the ZEN site in Quebec, Canada)
My name is Stephanie. I was born 25 years ago in Saint-Nicéphore (Québec, Canada). I am a Master’s student at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Even two years ago, I had no idea I wanted to become a marine biologist. I always wanted to work with living things, from big animals to tiny cells. When it was time to choose a university program, I was captivated by how the human body works. So, I did my bachelor’s in biomedical sciences in Montreal. I was really interested in this subject, but while finishing my degree I realized that I wanted to spend time outside and so I started to take ecology courses. I think an ecosystem works a little bit like an organism. My curiosity in how the human body works was replaced by a interest in how entire ecosystems work. I then started another bachelor’s degree in biology at Chicoutimi and realized that I wanted to work with something related to water. I’ve always loved the water and especially the seaside.
ZEN team in Quebec, Canada: Mathieu, Stephanie, Winna and Guillaume
In the winter of 2011, we had to choose a project for a course called “Introduction to Research”. I visited Dr. Mathieu Cusson who introduced me to the ZEN project. I knew I wanted to be part of it. Last summer I was hired to work in the intertidal zone of the St-Lawrence Estuary for the ZEN experiment and for three other projects. I spent all summer moving from one place to another and I really enjoyed it. Mathieu was really busy, and so I had to organize the planning of our ZEN experiment and prepare for the fieldwork and laboratory processing at our site. Thank to Drs. Cusson, Duffy and Reynolds, everything went well and I appreciated the experience I acquired doing it.
Sampling fish and catching a friendly dog in the intertidal in Quebec, Canada
Our site is situated in Pointe-Lebel (N 49°06’, W 68°10’). The water there is quite cold at 13°C (55°F). There are some “holes” in the intertidal due to scouring action by ice. The holes can be more than 30 cm deeper than the surrounding area. We didn’t have wetsuits and instead used waders, so we had to watch our steps so we wouldn’t fall into one of those holes. The third day we were there to start the experiment, one of our team took the unwanted plunge. Fortunately that day, the tide was so low that the water was “hot” at 20°C (68°F). A few times, some of us made the mistake of bending a little bit too much while working in the water and flooded the waders with the icy seawater. I did it once, and by the end of that day the only part of my body that was not wet was my head. It’s a bit of a game to see who can stay the driest, or manages to get the wettest! Fieldwork is always good entertainment.
Stephanie and Julie make light of fieldwork in Quebec, Canada
To carry the experimental materials out to our field site, we used beach boats, but every once and a while something would fall into the water. For example, somehow Mathieu’s backpack slid off the boat and onto the water where it rolled for few seconds before I grabbed it. When working in the field anything valuable needs to be kept in water tight bags to be safe.
This year, we are still participating in ZEN, but because we do not have enough time and labor, we were only able to participate in one of the projects involving assessing the intensity of predation of small crabs, shrimp and fish on small invertebrate grazers at our site. Our first visit to the site in June was a complete fiasco! We had such bad weather that we lost all of the experimental materials. First, a storm took our five minnow traps. We didn’t want to believe it, so we searched an hour. We kept up hope because the visibility in the water wasn’t good. After recovering two of the five bricks used to attach the traps, we had to face the truth. The ropes did not make it. We also lost 88 podsicles (a special little pole where a food item is glued) out of the 96 we deployed. We were luckier on our next visit last week. We had beautiful sun and hot weather. We recovered everything. We felt like it was a holiday!
One of Stephanie’s rocky intertidal field plots
I am now starting the fieldwork for my master’s degree studying the rocky shore of the St-Lawrence Estuary. My project is about the resilience (ability of a system to recover quickly) of the local benthic community. We removed everything living in 50×50 cm quadrats and burned the rock to be sure all we had left was bare rock. I want to examine the succession (development over time) of the algae and whether different perturbations such as grazing, nutrient enrichment, or thermal stress (through the removal of canopy forming fucales algae) can influence the ability of the community to recover. I think the algae will grow faster with nutrient enrichment, and that the grazer removals will cause slower recovery to pre-experimental conditions as grazing may be important for algal succession. I expect that thermal stress by canopy removal will make the return to normal difficult. I am excited to see if there are some differences. For now, there is still almost nothing on the rock, but I expect to soon see some mussels and algae begin colonizing the area.
Marine ecology is a stimulating profession I am pleased to discover day after day. I am glad to participate to the ZEN project for the second year and I am looking forward to see the results. It helped me choose my path as a biologist. Thank you ZEN!
First week in Akkeshi, Japan
Nicole Kollars
by Nicole Kollars (ZEN graduate student fellow in Northen Japan)
I do not think my wetsuit had a chance to fully dry out this week as we were in the water at the ZEN field site everyday. With several experimental pushes (setting up an experiment to measure predator impacts on mesograzers, maintaining the main ZEN experiment, and surveys of the ambient predator community) it was a busy week for eelgrass science in northern Japan!
ZEN field site in Akkeshi, Japan
Science by canoe
A team of four made maintaining the ZEN experimental plots a smooth and efficient process. We used a canoe to keep bags of plaster blocks, extra cable-ties, and spare scissors easily accessible. While one person paddled around the plots and handed out supplies, the rest of us used mask and snorkel to change the old blocks out for the new. Luckily, the tide was at a good height to make snorkeling easy but the ever-present jellies still makes working at this site quite challenging!
Close up image of the field experiment
Learning how to catch a fish
Before traveling to Japan I had never appreciated how creatively scientists can modify their use of the same or similar experimental gear to overcome obstacles posed by working under diverse field conditions. I’ve surveyed small aquatic predators before using a seine net (a large net attached to two poles dragged through the seagrass to capture fish and other predators). But, I had never seen one used quite like they do at the ZEN site in Akkeshi. We used a typical seine design (floats on top, weighted on the bottom), but with the addition of a tow net attached to one side of the seine. In the water, the seine net was walked out until completely stretched in one direction. Then we walked the ends of the net toward each other to form an enclosed circle. Moving very slowly, we gradually decreased the circle in size until all the fish were forced into the tow net. The tow net could then be emptied into a bucket and the fish counted, measured, and released. It was an effective design that did not require spending time picking the fish out of the netting of a traditional seine. I think this purse seining technique is similar to techniques that shrimpers and other commercial fishermen use to capture fish in the open ocean, but it’s not something I’d ever seen before. But that’s part of why I’m in Japan – to learn new techniques and do rigorous science at the same time.
Nicole finds the seaweed Gracilaria in its native range in northern Japan
A surprise trip to a tidal flat
To my absolute delight, after finishing work at the ZEN site one morning we swung by a tidal flat where I could collect samples of the local Gracilaria seaweed for my thesis research. While this species is introduced and invasive in the Southeastern USA, it is native to mudflats here in Akkeshi. The shallow water prevented the boat from getting too close to the shore, so we had to hike over one kilometer in shin-deep mud before we started seeing the seaweed. This happened to be the day when the sun shone bright and my 10 mm worth of neoprene grew unbearable as I made my way through the mud. But the end result of seeing Gracilaria in its native habitat was well worth the exertion and I was able to collect enough samples for my project and make some useful observations.
Interestingly, in the Akkeshi mudflats most of the Gracilaria is settled onto the shells of a local gastropod. This contrasts to the Southeastern USA where the decorator polychaete Diopatra attaches fragments of Gracilaria to its tube. In both cases, the seaweed is using an animal for substrate but through very different mechanisms. I also found amphipods living on Gracilaria. Similar to how the amphipods in the eelgrass beds are larger in Akkeshi than in the Carolinas, the amphipods I found on Gracilaria are gigantic compared to what I have seen in Charleston. A huge thanks goes out to Dr. Nakaoka for facilitating the endeavor, Dr. Honda and Kyosuke-san for hiking through the mud and collecting samples with me, and ZEN for bringing me to Japan!
Wetsuits drying in Akkeshi
All in a week’s work
Now at the week’s end my wetsuit finally has a chance to dry out and I look forward to a weekend of rest, a lab dinner party (with the promise of local Hokkaido seafood and good sake), and a canoeing trip up the Bekanbeushi River. “Work hard, play hard” definitely describes the life of a marine field ecologist here in Japan. Otsukaresama (thank you for your hard work) ZEN team!
First week in Hiroshima, Japan
Rachel’s local hosts gave her a warm welcome to Hiroshima, Japan
by Rachel Gittman (ZEN graduate student fellow)
After three flights totaling approximately 17 hours, I finally arrived in Hiroshima, Japan on July 25th, 13 hours ahead and a day later than when I left Beaufort, NC.
Although I am still recovering from jet lag (5AM I am wide awake, but 3PM feels like the middle of the night), I have already begun exploring the amazing sights here in Hiroshima. I have decided to do my best to document the trip not only with blog entries, but with photos and a short documentary on the ZEN project here.
Hiroshima
Prior to my trip to Japan, I participated in a ScienceFilm workshop led by Jeff Morales and Robert Wooten, both previous staff and current freelance documentary filmmakers for National Geographic. Graduate students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute of Marine Sciences and Duke University’s Marine Lab coordinated the workshop. Students learned how to film, edit, and produce science documentaries to help promote their research or important scientific topics. Although the course was brief (5 days), it provided an excellent crash course in filmmaking and hopefully has prepared me for making my own short film about the project here in Japan. Now if I can only remember these key tips: use a tripod, don’t zoom, and lighting matters!
National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea (FEIS)
Back to Hiroshima… I am working with Dr. Masakazu Hori at the National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea (FEIS), part of the Fisheries Research Agency (FRA) in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima. Dr. Hori is the lead PI for the southern Japan site and is conducting two ZEN experiments this year: the predator assay and the predator exclusion experiment. We ran the first predation assay on Thursday and Friday of this week. The experiments are being conducted within a sheltered cove off shore of an island across from the Takehara Fisheries Research Station.
To get to the field site, we have to take a boat, which is typical for marine work, but this boat is a little different. Instead of launching the boat from a trailer or keeping it in the water, each time researchers at the station need to use the boat, it has to be lifted and lowered over the seawall into the water. It’s pretty impressive to watch and it is the perfect way to keep the boat clean!
Eelgrass in southern Japan
After a 5 minute boat ride, we arrived at our site, a quiet cove filled with giant Zostera marina shoots! I was surprised at how cool the water was when I first got in since the air temperature was well into the 90s oF with high humidity. It was refreshing and although I was a bit wary of the jellyfish graduate student Matt Whalen had encountered last summer, I was soon completely engrossed in exploring the seagrass beds, or forests as I view them. The beds are extremely dense and tall, with most shoots rising more than one meter from the bottom and around 3cm wide! These beds dwarf the beds we have in North Carolina. We started an experiment measuring the effects of small crab, shrimp and fish predators, which involved some diving and snorkeling because the seagrass can grow as deep as 10m here!
The following day we collected the experiment and found fairly high predation rates, particularly on amphipods. Although I did not spot many fish in my snorkeling adventures, clearly they were lurking in the murky depths of the beds. The visibility was poor, similar to our waters in NC, so I felt right at home.
I am looking forward to setting up the predator exclusion experiment next week, but for now I am spending my weekend walking around and getting to know this part of Hiroshima. More to come next week…
8000 miles for science!
Nicole Kollars
by Nicole Kollars (ZEN exchange fellow in Northern Japan)
Over 8000 miles is the distance I am estimating that I have travelled in the last 30+ hours from my home in Charleston, South Carolina to Akkeshi, Japan where I will be assisting Dr. Massa Nakaoka and his team with the 2012 ZEN experiment at the northern Japan site. My flight left Charleston at 1430 EST and I arrived safe and sound in Akkeshi around lunchtime… 2 days later!
With working to bring my own research in Charleston to a stopping point before heading to Japan, I did not have time to start packing until 2230 the night before my flight. Even the morning of my departure I was still making the phone calls necessary before leaving the country (banks, utility companies, Grandma) and packing right up to the last minute. Before I knew it my 40 lb backpack (which is larger than I am!) was stuffed into the backseat of my housemate’s car and we were off to the airport. On the drive there I received a call form Pamela telling me my flight to Washington DC was delayed due to weather. Upon arriving at the airport, I spent 45 minutes talking with the man at the ticket counter and learned that you should never underestimate an airline employee who knows how to work the system. First he made sure that I had a reservation on another flight in case I could not make my connecting flight to LA when I arrived in Washington D.C. Next, he had my gigantic backpack checked all the way to Kushiro (my final destination) and he had printed out my boarding passes for my ANA flights to Japan. This was amazing considering I was traveling on two different airlines.
Japanese banknote
In the end my flight to D.C. only departed 3 minutes late and actually arrived 10 minutes early. Catching my flight to LA was not going to be a problem and I even had time to find a Travelex kiosk so that I could exchange some US dollars to Japanese yen. And I must say, the Japanese banknotes are quite beautiful! With my new currency in hand, I boarded the flight to LA on time and I settled in next to a Buddhist monk heading to Burma and a young woman on her way back to Australia. We were pulling out of the gate and heading for the airstrip when the Captain announced that all flights were grounded until further notice due to severe storms over the Blue Ridge Mountains just west of D.C.. Luckily, Pamela and I anticipated potential delays when booking my flights so the nearly 2-hour standstill on the tarmac was not going to prevent me from catching the plane to Tokyo once I reached LA.
I arrived in LA a little after 2100 PST (travel time thus far: 10 hrs). The process of getting from the domestic flights terminal to the Tom Bradley International terminal (TBIT) was quite the adventure. With the chaos of LAX ground transportation (cars everywhere and incessant honking), I have to admit that when I finally walked into the arrival lobby of TBIT, I was quite overwhelmed. However, the employees at the ANA counter where I had to exchange the boarding passes I received in Charleston with the official ANA boarding passes were helpful and polite. They even gave me a head’s up about customs procedures in Tokyo which was very much appreciated.
It took Nicole nearly 2 days to travel from Charleston to Akkeshi
I was half-asleep by the time I boarded the plane at 0045 PST (0345 to my US east-coast adjusted body) and I curled-up in my window seat and cannot even remember taking off. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to sleep on the nearly 11 hr flight to Tokyo, so when I woke up 6 hrs later, I was quite relieved that I wouldn’t be arriving in Japan resembling the waking dead.
The part of the flight that I was awake for was very pleasant. The stewardesses were gracious, the seats comfortable and spacious, and the food amazing. I was anticipating the ANA provided meal ever since I read Matt Whalen’s post about his own experience travelling to Japan and I was not disappointed. There was just enough time to re-read the 2012 ZEN manual for a quick refresher of the science that awaited me in Akkeshi before the plane began its descent into the land of Nihon.
I arrived at the Tokyo Haneda airport a little after 0400 Saturday morning – Japan time (travel time thus far: 25 hrs). My first impression of the airport was that it was incredibly clean, sleek, quiet, and peaceful. I was grateful for this because I was expecting a people-filled, noisy environment of chaos, similar to what I left in Los Angeles. Customs was thankfully painless; I think the gentleman who inspected my bag was amused by the piles of neoprene that I had packed anticipating the cold water of the ZEN field site in Akkeshi. If it wasn’t already obvious that I was a foreigner, I think the slow walking pace and my wide-eyed look would have given me away in an instant as I proceeded to wonder through the airport taking it all in – the signs that I didn’t understand, the new sounds and tones, and the sleek design of practically everything.
The road to Akkeshi
I had one more flight from Tokyo to Kushiro before my travels were over. As the plane descended into Kushiro, I was taken back by the beautiful green forests of Hokkaido. Two members of the Nakaoka lab were waiting for me at the airport – Kyosuke-san, a 2nd year master’s student at Hokkaido University, and Kentaro-san, a research fellow with Dr. Nakaoka. It was about an hour drive from Kushiro to Akkeshi through lush wetlands scattered with small farms. We passed a couple of fields of workers stretching out long pieces of the kelp Laminaria to dry. Kentaro-san explained that the algae is harvested from the ocean, but the coast is too foggy for the seaweed to dry effectively so it is transported inland to be laid out in the sun. Seeing the fields filled with these algae reminded me of the economic importance of seaweeds and how algae are used to make so many products we use in the USA and around the world everyday, from ice cream, to toothpaste, to sushi.
Akkeshi Marine Station
We arrived in Akkeshi around lunchtime (travel time thus far: 32 hrs). To reach the marine station, you have to drive through the town of Akkeshi and travel over a long red bridge that marks the separation from Lake Akkeshi (the estuary) and Akkeshi Bay (the sea). As we drove over the bridge I saw the thick eelgrass beds that dominated these waters – I can’t wait to see these plants up close and personal when we set up the ZEN experiment here next week!
Preserved caprellid amphipods at the Akkeshi Marine Station
After crossing the bridge, we drove down an incredibly steep and curving hill to reach Akkeshi Marine Station. Kyosuke-san saw that I was settled into the dormitory where I will be staying for the next 6 weeks and gave me a tour of the lab. When Kyosuke-san showed me the jars of the ethanol-preserved predators and grazers commonly found in the local eelgrass beds, I was shocked by how giant the caprellid amphipods and isopods are here. They definitely are not that big back home in the Carolinas!
View from Nicole’s dorm room window
Over 8000 miles and 30+ hours later, I am all settled into Akkeshi on the other side of the world from home. We start the ZEN experiment this next week and I really look forward to the next 6 weeks of giant amphipods and 6 ft (over 2 m) long Zostera blades. I am grateful for the opportunity to be here, the warm welcome I have received, and the adventures that lay ahead.
When I woke up from a very long nap and looked outside my dorm window to the glassy, misty ocean view, with herons flying by and the soft sound of waves lapping the shore, my first thought was how this is all very ZEN. Literally.
Sewing for success
Caitlin Fikes, VIMS REU student
by Caitlin Fikes (VIMS summer 2012 REU student)
Of all the skills I didn’t expect to learn this summer, sewing is definitely top of the list.
As a child, I envied my brothers who were in the Boy Scouts, the American association that teaches young boys and men leadership skills and about the natural world. They got to go hiking and kayaking and learn about animals and the wilderness. I also wanted to make plaster pawprints and carve small wooden boats and learn survival skills, so I decided to try the next best thing, the Girl Scouts. I think my membership in the Girl Scouts lasted for about two months, at most. The boys got to be Bears and Cubs, while we were Brownies and Daisies. And instead of fun skills like archery or campfire-making, in my local troop we were expected to learn cooking and sewing. This was not for me!
REU Caitlin learns how to sew in order to make experimental materials for the ZEN project
It seems ironic that in my pursuit of a historically “masculine” scientific career, I now find myself required to learn what once would have been casually termed a “feminine” skill. Being a scientist, as I recently discovered, also means being a plumber, an engineer, and always a hard worker. Of the many skills needed to construct the equipment for an experiment, here at VIMS sewing is a common requirement. Last week I was taught this skill by a man, our lab manager Paul Richardson, who can sew neater stiches than anyone I know. In science, Paul has remarked, you have to be a Renaissance person with a diverse skillset and an open mind.
What surprised me was not that I had to learn this skill, but that I truly enjoy sewing and apparently have an aptitude for it. After a full day of doing nothing but sewing mesh bags to be used in a field experiment, I was very pleased to see that my lines were getting straighter, and overall I was gaining confidence. I was actually having fun. I reflected that perhaps I should have stayed in Girl Scouts – I might have become a pretty good seamstress by now. Expanding my list of skills is always a good thing, and if not for this summer I might have forever missed out on a skill that I both enjoy and could be good at. Additionally, as a twenty-year-old college student struggling daily to feed myself, I deeply regret not learning how to cook.
Caitlin says her first craft project will look like this, except blue. And with angry eyes.
Aside from making experimental materials, what other opportunities will I have to use this new needle-and-thread skill? After a quick Google search, I think my next challenge will be to sew my own stuffed animal sea creatures. To the left see one pattern I found online – it looks fairly simple and I firmly believe that you can never own too many cute marine animal paraphernalia.
Fieldwork is never boring
Serena Donadi
by Serena Donadi (ZEN exchange fellow in Virginia)
One of the most exciting days in the field was when we installed cages for an experiment examining the effects of predators (shrimp, fish, crabs) on the seagrass comminity. After spending many days cutting PVC pipes, sewing meshes and gluing parts together, our cages were finally ready! The plan was to go to the experimental site (Goodwin Islands), pound 60 poles into the sediment and attach our cages to the poles with bungees and cable ties so that the currents wouldn’t drag them away. Plus, to make the cages sink to the sea bottom, we planned to put few shovels of sand inside each mesh.
Undergraduate Nicole Rento poses with a cage prototype for a field experiment
The cages are basically empty cubes (sides of about 0.5m), made by PVC poles, which are enclosed in a mesh bag. Inside the cages, seagrass communities are recreated by adding mesograzers (gastropods and crustaceans such as amphipods and isopods) and seagrass shoots attached to a plastic screen. The aim of the experiment is to keep all predators (fish and crabs) outside and see what happens… Will the populations of grazers increase? How will such an increase affect the algae and seagrass? Do we see evidence for a trophic cascade, where animals at top trophic levels promote plants at lower trophic levels by controlling species at middle levels?
The Virginia team embarks to deploy cages at Goodwin Islands
The weather forecast that day was not very optimistic and there was chance of thunderstorms. We decided to give it a try and started loading everything we need on the boat. The boat was literally full! I wish I’d taken a picture. After adding 10 buckets full of sand, lots of poles, coolers with seagrass and other field. I was really afraid we would sink. But our captain for the day, Kathryn, carefully directed us as to how to load the boat to balance the weight and we were safely on our way. Once we arrived at the field site, the bad weather started rumbling and dark clouds were quickly moving in our direction. I have been in Virginia for more than one month now, but I am still surprised by how fast thunderstorms can appear here and how strong they can be. We decided to quickly head towards a sheltered dock nearby and wait for the storm to pass. After one hour we were back in the field.
Beautiful, unpredictable weather at Goodwin Islands, Virginia
It’s odd to say after so many days of terrible heat, but the water was chilly! I was glad I had my wetsuit with me. The sea was still quite rough making the fieldwork quite challenging. To be able to attach the cages to the sea bottom, I wore an incredible heavy weight belt. Despite it, the drift of the waves could still make me roll on the bottom as I snorkeled. The water was so murky that I was not able to see what my hands were doing. Sink to the bottom, stretch my legs to avoid rolling, bind the bungee around the cages and secure everything with cable ties.
Wet weather makes fieldwork (and boat travel) challenging
After a few hours all of us were trembling because of the cold, the tide was rising, and dark clouds began to cover the sky. Finally the last cage was placed and we jumped on the boat. The sea was stormy and Captain Kathryn did an awesome job in bringing us back to the VIMS boat basin where we store the boats. On our way, heavy rain poured from the sky, hurting on our skin and blinding our eyes. I put on my diving mask and thought how ridiculous I should look wearing a mask and a wetsuit outside of the water. Eventually we arrived at the boat basin, tired, hungry and cold.
That night as I lay in my bed and thought about the day, I realized how lucky I am for having this great chance to work with wonderful people in this amazing ecosystem. It was so much fun! Really, it was one of my favorite days so far in Virginia.
Student profile: REU participant Caitlin
Caitlin Fikes, VIMS REU student
by Caitlin Fikes (VIMS summer 2012 REU student)
Greetings, fellow sea-lovers! My name is Caitlin Fikes, and I’m thrilled to be part of the ZEN family. I am an undergraduate student participating in the National Science Foundation’s REU (research experience for undergraduates) program this summer at VIMS. I’ve been asked how I became involved in the ZEN project and the type of background that makes for a competitive REU applicant. To answer that, let me tell you a little about myself.
I was born in the fine state of Virginia, although for all intents and purposes, this summer was the first time I’ve been here. Growing up my family felt the need to move when the wind changes; we breezed through Virginia and onto another state before I was old enough to remember a thing. I grew up in various states, and developed a love for change and travel and new experiences. I’ve never regretted my vagabond childhood for an instant, and I don’t intend to ever stop moving.
I have always loved nature and wildlife. As a child, I read every book on animals that I could get my hands on, and spent my days traipsing through the woods looking for snakes or deer tracks. But I didn’t know what direction I specifically wanted to go. I loved all nature, all animals, everywhere. When I was fifteen, I acquired my SCUBA certification, and it became very clear to me that I belong in the marine world. I resented the human limitations that required me to eventually come back to the surface for air. I would have remained underwater forever if I could, exploring and observing quite happily. My dream of becoming a marine biologist was born.
Other than obtaining the SCUBA certification itself, I took my first real step towards my dream in 2009, the summer before my senior year of high school. My family was living near Omaha, Nebraska, at the time, and the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha was offering a summer “Eco-Adventure” course. The program consisted of first working with various animals at the Zoo for two weeks, and then culminated in a week-long trip to Cozumel, where the group would be researching coral reefs and snorkeling alongside migrating whale sharks. Barely able to contain my excitement, I applied and was accepted. Caring for a myriad of different animals at the Zoo was extremely informative and fun, but when it came to my marine biology dream, the week in Cozumel sealed the deal for me.
An example of the goby and shrimp pair (courtesy: Operation Pufferfish). To learn more, check out this NY Times page
And it wasn’t just about the charismatic megafauna; the dolphins and whale sharks were fantastic and all, but the highlight of the trip for me was discovering a tiny shrimp/goby pair while diving on the coral reef. I had read about the mutualistic relationship shared by shrimps and gobies, in which the blind shrimp digs a burrow for both to live in and the goby becomes a lookout and bodyguard. I thought it was incredible. To see a pair in the wild was exhilarating. The entire experience felt like a green light to pursue this ambition.
As soon as I returned from Cozumel, I used my connections from the program to obtain a volunteer internship at the Omaha Zoo’s Scott Aquarium. Throughout my entire senior year of high school, I spent every available hour at the aquarium, caring for and learning about the animals there, as well as observing the aquarium’s ongoing research. I learned that the Scott Aquarium was one of the first institutions in the world to successfully raise sexually produced elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) polyps, a very important and highly threatened species of coral. To be so close to the cutting edge of marine biology research was an awesome opportunity; but I was eager to actually jump in and get my feet wet.
I began my college career at the University of Miami in 2010, double majoring in biology and marine science, and double minoring in chemistry and environmental science. Miami has given me a thorough grounding in biology, chemistry, and physics, with emphasis on marine science and exposure to incredible field and research experience probably not available to universities elsewhere. By the end of only two years as an undergrad, I had participated in field studies in coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests. I had helped catch and attach satellite tags to pelagic sharks. I had even started my own research project looking at the effects of a common herbicide on the embryonic development of sea urchins, which I will be continuing in the fall. And, in my spare time, I became certified to assist in rescuing stranded marine mammals.
Throughout this time, I also began to better define my interests and which direction I wish to take in marine biology. I became interested in marine conservation biology, especially in light of the current global fisheries crisis. But even more than that, I am interested in how changes in a particular species can affect the entire ecosystem. What is the nature and strength of the many connections between species? How does tugging one strand shake the food web? And how do the non-biological elements factor into the equation? I realized that what I want to become is actually a marine ecologist.
Undergraduates Nicole Rento (left) and Caitlin Fikes (right) prepare materials for a field experiment
Which brings me to this summer. Knowing that I wanted to do research, both to get more experience and to meet the people in my chosen field, I applied to the REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program here at VIMS. I was surprised and delighted to receive a call from Dr. Pamela Reynolds. When she told me that she felt I was a good fit for the Marine Biodiversity Lab under Dr. Emmett Duffy, I was honored, ecstatic, and extremely nervous!
Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay are gorgeous, VIMS is an incredible institution, and the members of the lab are both great people and great scientists. I would love to be able to follow in the footsteps of the skilled scientists who came before me, and every time we go flying out over the York River to our field sites for another fun day of science and adventure, I can’t help but feel that I’m on the right track.
An excellent day in the field
Max Overstrom-Coleman
by Max Overstrom-Coleman (ZEN exchange fellow) on July 10, 2012
To be honest it is actually the 11th, but as I sit up writing this at just a shade past midnight, time seems more irrelevant than ever. I am still feeling energized from the tremendous amount of work James Douglass, my host site mentor here in Massachusetts, and I accomplished. Today we completed the sampling for the main ZEN experiment at our site. It is days like today that reinforce my love for field-work and marine science.
As I drove onto Nahant this morning the tide was halfway through its ebb and I was mentally going over the plan for what was sure to be a long day. As we envisioned it we would be in the water by about 0900 (the low was at about 1100) and our list of objectives was ambitious:
- Sample mesograzers (collect samples underwater from each experimental plot using standardized grab bags)
- Collect 10 eelgrass shoots per plot for three different analyses (1 for an analysis of epiphyte loading that would have to be done that night)
- Sample the percentage cover and canopy height of eelgrass in each plot
- Collect all of the experimental materials (bags of nutrients, plaster, and seagrass litter) to assess treatment loading and eelgrass decomposition
At this point in the season James and I are getting into a rhythm with each other. I feel like we are becoming a good team, and our ambitious plan seemed completely reasonable.
Dorothy Cove in Nahant, MA
With the Northeastern Marine Lab dive truck loaded up with coolers, kayaks, dive gear and sampling equipment, we arrived at the site at a perfect tide height. The cove was empty except for a small family splashing in the shallows. It turned out that, as usual, when people show up in SCUBA gear, kids in the 8-12 age group lose their minds. I know I used to, that’s why I got certified the day I turned 13 (that was 20 years ago next week – wow I’m getting old!) and volunteered as a research diver the summer I turned 16.
Max collects samples from the ZEN experiment in Massachusetts
It was immediately obvious that we were suddenly celebrities and it was a great opportunity to explain what we were doing and why, both to the parents and children. I think it is extremely important to communicate with the public about our research; they have to understand why it is important and see our passion. How else can we expect them to fund the science we consider so essential? In reflection, that interaction may have been one of the most important things I did today.
Max’s dog Jackson patiently watches the scientists work
The sun was cooking up a hot day and it did not disappoint – I made serious strides on my raccoon tan. Before too long we were overheating and had to get in the water. I’ll spare you the nitty-gritty details, but to those of you out there who have spent that kind of time on and in the water, diving, sampling, and executing a scientific plan, I tell you honestly, it went totally smooth. By the end of it we were pretty spent and plenty hot, and it felt long but we did it without any of the usual snafus – dropped / lost / forgotten / broken gear, adverse conditions, etc… What I call an excellent day in the field.
Max scrapes epiphytic algae from eelgrass leaves in the lab
With coolers loaded to the brim, we made it back to the lab just as we were crashing from lack of food. But after a thorough wash down to scrub off all the mud and sand that gets everywhere, and a hasty bite of food, we were back at it, preparing samples for preservation and immediately processing others. As the sunset bathed a few straggling clouds in a range of oranges and purples we were engrossed in scraping and filtering epiphytes for chlorophyll analysis, feeling pretty proud of all we accomplished. Just another day in the life of a marine ecologist.
Ducking and dodging thunderstorms in Virginia
Kathryn Sobocinski
by Kathryn Sobocinski (VIMS graduate student)
I’m a PhD student at VIMS, co-advised by Drs. Emmett Duffy and Rob Latour. While my contributions to the ZEN project thus far have been minimal as I’m in the midst of writing up my dissertation research, I did get drafted into action last week when ZEN was in need of a boat driver and an extra set of hands… I qualified. My research focuses on trophic interactions of fishes in seagrass beds—not all that different from the focus of the ZEN projects this summer. What is different is how we think about these systems. I keep reminding the folks in Emmett’s lab that their definition of “predators” is what those of us in the fish world call “prey.” Or what fishermen would call “bait.” It’s all a matter of scale.
Surrounded by experimental gear, Kathryn pilots the Virginia ZEN team out to the field
And so I found myself in the field with ZEN, and with a few firsts after 4 years of doing field work in Chesapeake Bay. Last week we had one of those early morning tides and correspondingly early start times that made me think staying in and writing statistical code was a good idea. The first morning the alarm went off at 4:30am. My dogs definitely did not want to get up, but they saw the swimsuit and towel as a good sign—they love the beach. Little did they know that today was not their day for a sunrise swim. I made sure I had enough adequate coffee to function, and was out the door. Standing on the boat with the sun rising, I remembered why early field work is so nice: calm water, fresh air, and, most importantly, it’s not so hot! We got to the field site, Pamela got us all organized (which admittedly felt a little like herding cats since several of us were new to the scene), and we set to work installing the cages for an experiment excluding ‘predators’ from patches of Zostera to examine their effects on the seagrass community. I had toyed with conducting a predator exclusion experiment for my own work, but in the end it fell to the wayside—so it was nice to see the set-up and be involved with the execution. We completed the first stage of the set-up before the tide rolled back in and the weather caught up with us.
William and Mary undergraduate Katelyn Jenkins keeps an eye on the approaching storm
One of the occupational hazards of field work in southeastern Virginia in the summertime is the random thunderstorm. As grateful as I am to our friends at the National Weather Service for providing quality marine forecasts, even they occasionally get caught with their umbrellas down and we all get soaked. Tuesday was one of those days. We decided to go in the field on the forecast of “morning showers, afternoon thunderstorms,” and again, we had an early start. We motored out to the site, anchored up, had one person in the drink, and then thunder rumbled in the distance. Once, twice and we pulled anchor and ran to our thunderstorm hideout, a picturesque marina at Back Creek on the York River. We tied up just as the skies opened and the thunder boomed overhead. After four years and almost constant, sometimes daily fieldwork in this area, I had yet to duck back into the thunderstorm hideout! Thankfully, there was a nice awning to keep us mostly dry and Pamela had brought some field snacks to keep us happy as we waited for the storm to pass.
Storms churn up the water, which can make setting up experiments a challenge
After an hour, we were back onsite and installing the second part of the experiment: putting the eelgrass into the cages and populating the cages with grazers. The wind was building and without sun, the water actually was kind of…dare I say…cold! I hopped onto the boat to have a look at the radar (the beauty of smartphone technology!) and things looked clear, so we kept pushing forward, despite the ominous looking clouds over the northeast part of the nearby Mobjack Bay. Sure enough, the next time I checked the radar, 30 minutes later, multiple storms had popped up and things were looking ugly. We called it a wrap, but this time we had no sooner left the site when the skies opened up and pelted us with big, juicy, rain drops. If you’ve never been on an open skiff in pouring rain, you have missed out on the field spa treatment of “dermabrasion”—it feels like you’re being sandblasted! Ouch. While I prefer sunglasses in such conditions to protect my eyes, Serena decided a diving mask was the ticket for protecting her face— she definitely won the field fashion contest! Thankfully, it was just rain with no thunder and lightning, so we pushed on and docked at VIMS looking like a group of drowned sea rats.
By the end of the week we had finished installing the experiment, shored up any caddywampus cages, scrubbed the outside of the cages clean (anyone who owns a boat in these parts can tell you that things in the water get fouled very quickly), and generally made sure the experiment was set. We’ll hope for fewer storms as the experiment continues. While the sun can be hot around here in the summer, it’s much nicer when the wind lays low and the thunderstorms hold off until we’re safe in the lab!
ZEN- Global ecological challenges require large-scale scientific networks 9 September 2015by Pamela Reynolds (ZEN postdoc and coordinator) While at Ecological Society of America meeting (#ESA100) in Baltimore in August, 2015 I attended and participated in the discussions surrounding a special session titled “Collaborative Ecological Research Networks: Sociology, Successes, and Future Opportunities.” I wrote a blog post about this session and thePamela
- ZEN at #ESA100 4 September 2015In August 2015 several of the ZEN partners traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to present their research and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Ecological Society of America (#ESA100). This was a very large meeting and a big occasion for the organization - even the president wished ESA a happy birthday! “Happy 100th birthday to the Ecological Society of […]Pamela
- Global ecological challenges require large-scale scientific networks 9 September 2015
