I was asked a question the other day by one of my co-workers at starbucks. I have it written down and I'd like to share it with you:
"So, what's so tough about research?"
And that question I feel only needs one answer and that's "how you plan to do it."
Methodology is key...if you don't have sound methods, you're research is more-or-less doomed, I say. So that's what my job has become for the next 2 to 3 weeks - finding sound and understandable methods for the experiments I want to perform. My first problem has come down to simple transportation around the study site: "Pee-rogue" vs. airboat. Yes, the pee-rogue is less invasive than the airboat, but if I plan to resurvey fish and invert diversity and abundance at my study site, I will need to perform throw trap experiments so I can compare diversity and abundance to the surveys performed back in '97-'99.
(For the lay reader, a quick overview of a throw trap: it is usually a 1m cubed metal frame covered on all four sides with mesh nets. The trap is tossed in the water and allowed to sink and settle at the bottom. The fish caught by this method are removed using a dip net similar to what sport-fishermen use to collect their fish from the side of the boat. There are some drawbacks to using this method. They can be biased by size and morphology, they are good for shallow water but usually can only be used at low tide, and although they can be operated by a single person, it only samples a small, yet defined area.)
Other methods I am considering in this project at light traps (see Meekan et al., 2001 paper A comparison of catches of fishes and invertebrates by two light trap designs, in tropical NW Australia for more info on that method) and SMURFs, which stand for Standardized Monitoring Units for Reef Fishes (see Ammann, 2004. SMURFs: standard monitoring units for the recruitment of temperate reef fishes for more info) The only problem is that if I want to compare one year to the next I need to use the same method for each sample period, but if I want to compare one method of collecting to another and decide which is more appropriate or recieves better results then different methods each sampling period is fine.
So how would I get these throw traps out to the many sampling sites, a "pee-rogue"? Could work but the traps are large and the boat unstable. How about using an airboat like they did in previous years? Good thought, but as Dr. Anna and I sat down to discuss this idea, we came to the consensus that even though it might be our best option right now we are nervous that the noise from a massive engine would hinder our results due to the fact that it might scare the fish as we approached.
And so you see, this is just the beginning. As our ideas become deeper and more involved. The roadblocks become larger and more numerous. So when my co-worker asked me "what's so tough about research?" It's methodology.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
A Blog @ 28,000 ft.
I guess if you can dedicate a blog post to someone, I am going to dedicate this one to my grandmother who recently passed. Mrs. Annabelle Hill Miller (1924-2008). Love you maw-maw.
This blog will consist of experiences, observation, ideas, etc. for the week of June 9th, 2008…
Nothing happened…well I can’t say nothing happened. The week was filled with many happenings. I’m still assisting, measuring, and reading….and reading. The new intern Larissa showed up Tuesday after her orientation and all the hoops HR made her jump through (we all love HR J). I want to welcome her officially on this blog, so Larissa “welcome”; I know you will be a great help to Allison and I both. Even though you are a Longhorn, hopefully by the end of this summer we can bestow upon you an honorary Aggie title.
I started to help Dr. Armitage (Anna) finish the seemingly endless task of weighing ground up aquatic plants from her post-doc work. It’s busy work and really needs to get done so whenever I am not busy I have the opportunity to assist her in that process. What I am doing with this ground-up plant powder is basically adding a certain amount to a small aluminium (?) cup, weighing it on a very expensive analytical balance that measures to the one thousandth of a gram (milligrams) and then taking that cup with sample, meticulously rolling it up into a ball, and placing it into a designated holder to later be incinerated for C, N, and P measurements. Trust me, the research is quite interesting, but I defy someone to tell me they actually enjoy the redundancy and meticulousness of weighing milligrams of samples using their best aseptic technique in the process. To put it in the best way possible, it passes time. :-D I know Dr. Armitage is going to question the professionalness (my brand new word) of this specific blog. So to Dr. Armitage, I apologize.
My colleague, Allison, has begun the sampling of her study site. Her study consists of sampling parts of Armand Bayou around Pasadena, TX for...
(10 minute pause for some pretty sketchy turbulence)
Nitrate, Ammonium, and SRP (I assume) level gradients as she takes samples at points further and further away from two point sources (a water treatment plant and another site) along the bayou. Her samples are consisting of pore water the interstitial spaces of the sediment, water column samples, vegetation, and the sediment itself. This week we labeled Ziploc bags and small plastic bottles with the designated sample points in her study site and both Alisson and Larissa along with the help of Dr. Armitage, Dr. Coe, and a volunteer named Josh recorded their first sampling day that Thursday. From all accounts the sampling went well except for one pesky alligator that gave Alisson and Larissa some trouble at one of their sampling points. Certainly a close encounter.
In closing and on a personal level, no matter if the death of a loved one was unexpected or you were just waiting for that call, I can honestly say it hits you the exact same way. Grieving for my grandmother has been one of the hardest experiences of my life, but I feel it only makes me stronger and more determined to accomplish everything I want to before my time comes. So now not only do I work for myself, but for her as well because I know she’s watching me with excitement every step of the way.
Some notes to leave you with:
1) Longhorns and Aggies can work together in harmony.
2) Weighing small samples of powdered plants is tedious, but quite the time consumer for those 8 hour days when there is nothing else for you to do.
3) To myself: it’s Anna not Dr. Armitage from now on, except in certain situations (I guess?). I think Dr. Anna is a good mix until I can learn.
4) Small 50-seater planes = no beuno.
5) Take good notes of what you do each week. In the end it certainly makes for a better blog.
6) On a personal level: losing a grandmother is tough…end of story.
This blog will consist of experiences, observation, ideas, etc. for the week of June 9th, 2008…
Nothing happened…well I can’t say nothing happened. The week was filled with many happenings. I’m still assisting, measuring, and reading….and reading. The new intern Larissa showed up Tuesday after her orientation and all the hoops HR made her jump through (we all love HR J). I want to welcome her officially on this blog, so Larissa “welcome”; I know you will be a great help to Allison and I both. Even though you are a Longhorn, hopefully by the end of this summer we can bestow upon you an honorary Aggie title.
I started to help Dr. Armitage (Anna) finish the seemingly endless task of weighing ground up aquatic plants from her post-doc work. It’s busy work and really needs to get done so whenever I am not busy I have the opportunity to assist her in that process. What I am doing with this ground-up plant powder is basically adding a certain amount to a small aluminium (?) cup, weighing it on a very expensive analytical balance that measures to the one thousandth of a gram (milligrams) and then taking that cup with sample, meticulously rolling it up into a ball, and placing it into a designated holder to later be incinerated for C, N, and P measurements. Trust me, the research is quite interesting, but I defy someone to tell me they actually enjoy the redundancy and meticulousness of weighing milligrams of samples using their best aseptic technique in the process. To put it in the best way possible, it passes time. :-D I know Dr. Armitage is going to question the professionalness (my brand new word) of this specific blog. So to Dr. Armitage, I apologize.
My colleague, Allison, has begun the sampling of her study site. Her study consists of sampling parts of Armand Bayou around Pasadena, TX for...
(10 minute pause for some pretty sketchy turbulence)
Nitrate, Ammonium, and SRP (I assume) level gradients as she takes samples at points further and further away from two point sources (a water treatment plant and another site) along the bayou. Her samples are consisting of pore water the interstitial spaces of the sediment, water column samples, vegetation, and the sediment itself. This week we labeled Ziploc bags and small plastic bottles with the designated sample points in her study site and both Alisson and Larissa along with the help of Dr. Armitage, Dr. Coe, and a volunteer named Josh recorded their first sampling day that Thursday. From all accounts the sampling went well except for one pesky alligator that gave Alisson and Larissa some trouble at one of their sampling points. Certainly a close encounter.
In closing and on a personal level, no matter if the death of a loved one was unexpected or you were just waiting for that call, I can honestly say it hits you the exact same way. Grieving for my grandmother has been one of the hardest experiences of my life, but I feel it only makes me stronger and more determined to accomplish everything I want to before my time comes. So now not only do I work for myself, but for her as well because I know she’s watching me with excitement every step of the way.
Some notes to leave you with:
1) Longhorns and Aggies can work together in harmony.
2) Weighing small samples of powdered plants is tedious, but quite the time consumer for those 8 hour days when there is nothing else for you to do.
3) To myself: it’s Anna not Dr. Armitage from now on, except in certain situations (I guess?). I think Dr. Anna is a good mix until I can learn.
4) Small 50-seater planes = no beuno.
5) Take good notes of what you do each week. In the end it certainly makes for a better blog.
6) On a personal level: losing a grandmother is tough…end of story.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Initial Trip to the Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area
I digress from my delicious iced coffee and reduced fat blueberry coffee cake from Starbucks (shameful plug, I know) to discuss my recent trip to the Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area (LNWMA). Out there I was able to examine where I would be spending much of the next 2 to 3 years of my life and take some notes to help me develop my research.
We arrived at the site around 9:45am after going through a terrible ordeal with the Galveston Ferry and the slightly incompetent labor force they were using at the time. The weather "on-site" was partly cloudy with a temperature I would say between 80°F to 85°F and a constant breeze that kept us cool at times. In total, five of us made our way around the East 87 study site where we took down hydrological data, personal questions and observations we might want to investigate in the future. The vessels we used to move us around the site were "canoe-like" but with a shallower draft than a normal canoe. To put it another way, it was as big as a canoe, it was shaped like a canoe, but it had the stability of a surfboard.
The first few stops we made were at sites of mounds created by in situ dredge. Questions were raised over what plants were actually planted voluntarily in the area and which came from seeds possibly found in the dredged soil. Some of the intentionally planted salt marsh plants were the Spartina alterniflora and Shoneplectus californicus (California bullrush). Other plants like the Ruppia maritima are native to the area and probably either came from the seeds in the dredge or colonized in the area on its own.
Another observation made was the fact that some of the mounds were located next to deep water areas. Now, this is certainly good for fish but what other impacts might it have when it comes to the interplay of plant and fish, Plants and nutrients, fish and inverts, plant and inverts, or fish and fish? This site sat directly adjacent to another area of mounds that were surrounded on all sides by terracing. How do these surrounding terraces benefit the excavated mounds, i.e. erosion barrier, barrier for larger fish, etc.?
The first of the next few stops made was in an area of S. alterniflora planted more recently (around April). Among all the site where we saw S. alterniflora, the species was much heartier and denser than any Spartina I've ever seen. I was certainly aware that two strains of S. alterniflora were planted in the area, but I would like to know, depending on nutrient content, how dense do the Spartina need to be planted and is this Spartina big and thick because of genetics or because of the nutrient content found in the water and soil? If it is because of the nutrients, than what is the plant's sustainability? How long can the plant survive with a certain amount of nutrients available to it? What are it's upper and lower nutrient limits?
We then continued on to the pilot site where the initial developers wanted to test the stability of the dredge material as soil for the species of salt marsh grass planted. Not much was taken from this area in terms of observations except for the fact that they did receive positive results using dredge material as soil for the restoration project.
Some personal thoughts:
1) If you are out at the site for longer than 20 minutes, wear lightweight long-sleeve shirts and pants more suitable for your trip; not a long-sleeve cotton shirt and jeans.
2) Watershoes or diving booties not hiking boots or crosstrainers.
3) Yes you can get burned on the back of your hands and fingers. Those areas deserve no less sunscreen than say your face, neck, and shoulders.
4) Standing up in an unstable watercraft = not too bright.
5) "Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink." Bring atleast 2 liters with you.
6) Finally, exiting the boat might = mud up to your waist.
We arrived at the site around 9:45am after going through a terrible ordeal with the Galveston Ferry and the slightly incompetent labor force they were using at the time. The weather "on-site" was partly cloudy with a temperature I would say between 80°F to 85°F and a constant breeze that kept us cool at times. In total, five of us made our way around the East 87 study site where we took down hydrological data, personal questions and observations we might want to investigate in the future. The vessels we used to move us around the site were "canoe-like" but with a shallower draft than a normal canoe. To put it another way, it was as big as a canoe, it was shaped like a canoe, but it had the stability of a surfboard.
The first few stops we made were at sites of mounds created by in situ dredge. Questions were raised over what plants were actually planted voluntarily in the area and which came from seeds possibly found in the dredged soil. Some of the intentionally planted salt marsh plants were the Spartina alterniflora and Shoneplectus californicus (California bullrush). Other plants like the Ruppia maritima are native to the area and probably either came from the seeds in the dredge or colonized in the area on its own.
Another observation made was the fact that some of the mounds were located next to deep water areas. Now, this is certainly good for fish but what other impacts might it have when it comes to the interplay of plant and fish, Plants and nutrients, fish and inverts, plant and inverts, or fish and fish? This site sat directly adjacent to another area of mounds that were surrounded on all sides by terracing. How do these surrounding terraces benefit the excavated mounds, i.e. erosion barrier, barrier for larger fish, etc.?
The first of the next few stops made was in an area of S. alterniflora planted more recently (around April). Among all the site where we saw S. alterniflora, the species was much heartier and denser than any Spartina I've ever seen. I was certainly aware that two strains of S. alterniflora were planted in the area, but I would like to know, depending on nutrient content, how dense do the Spartina need to be planted and is this Spartina big and thick because of genetics or because of the nutrient content found in the water and soil? If it is because of the nutrients, than what is the plant's sustainability? How long can the plant survive with a certain amount of nutrients available to it? What are it's upper and lower nutrient limits?
We then continued on to the pilot site where the initial developers wanted to test the stability of the dredge material as soil for the species of salt marsh grass planted. Not much was taken from this area in terms of observations except for the fact that they did receive positive results using dredge material as soil for the restoration project.
Some personal thoughts:
1) If you are out at the site for longer than 20 minutes, wear lightweight long-sleeve shirts and pants more suitable for your trip; not a long-sleeve cotton shirt and jeans.
2) Watershoes or diving booties not hiking boots or crosstrainers.
3) Yes you can get burned on the back of your hands and fingers. Those areas deserve no less sunscreen than say your face, neck, and shoulders.
4) Standing up in an unstable watercraft = not too bright.
5) "Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink." Bring atleast 2 liters with you.
6) Finally, exiting the boat might = mud up to your waist.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
In the beginning...
As I sit here listening to The Bravery ("The Sun and The Moon"), I imagine myself sitting in Dr. Kanz' class my senior year as an undergrad at Texas A&M University Galveston. The chorus goes like such:
"Give me something to believe,
Cause I am living just to breathe,
Just give me something more,
To keep me breathing for,
So give me something to believe."
It goes on for a total of three verses and 3 min, 45 sec., but the point is that it's almost like I could have written this song myself to describe my final year as an undergrad. I wanted more, something extra that I wasn't receiving at the time - something meaningful.
Now, summer 2008, I think I have found that something extra, that something meaningful. I am pursuing a masters degree in ecosystem science and management under a wonderful advisor and have started working on my project that should last me 2 to 3 years. I have an office, I have responsibility, and I have a new outlook on life. I feel I am doing something truly important for humanity and the planet we live on. To put is in simple terms, I am excited/anxious/ready to start. I am looking forward to everything new about this position.
Over the summer I am working as a technician under my advisor; assisting in the research of her other graduate students while beginning my own research. With a grant from the TGLO given to my advisor and another professor, I will be surveying and performing experiments on a restoration site around the Bridge City, TX area. I will be studying the efficacy of different restoration techniques at the site. Mounds were created in degraded open water habitat using different pumping and dredging methods and sediment sources. I do not quite know all the ins and outs of the site and previous studies conducted on it, but I have begun my initial readings to figure out exactly what I want to look at, i.e. hydrology, sedimentation, nutrients, etc.
Keep posted for further interesting information as I develop, perform, and conclude my research over the next few years. I will try my best to keep an updated written record of where I am in the process of it all. This should definitely be interesting.
"Give me something to believe,
Cause I am living just to breathe,
Just give me something more,
To keep me breathing for,
So give me something to believe."
It goes on for a total of three verses and 3 min, 45 sec., but the point is that it's almost like I could have written this song myself to describe my final year as an undergrad. I wanted more, something extra that I wasn't receiving at the time - something meaningful.
Now, summer 2008, I think I have found that something extra, that something meaningful. I am pursuing a masters degree in ecosystem science and management under a wonderful advisor and have started working on my project that should last me 2 to 3 years. I have an office, I have responsibility, and I have a new outlook on life. I feel I am doing something truly important for humanity and the planet we live on. To put is in simple terms, I am excited/anxious/ready to start. I am looking forward to everything new about this position.
Over the summer I am working as a technician under my advisor; assisting in the research of her other graduate students while beginning my own research. With a grant from the TGLO given to my advisor and another professor, I will be surveying and performing experiments on a restoration site around the Bridge City, TX area. I will be studying the efficacy of different restoration techniques at the site. Mounds were created in degraded open water habitat using different pumping and dredging methods and sediment sources. I do not quite know all the ins and outs of the site and previous studies conducted on it, but I have begun my initial readings to figure out exactly what I want to look at, i.e. hydrology, sedimentation, nutrients, etc.
Keep posted for further interesting information as I develop, perform, and conclude my research over the next few years. I will try my best to keep an updated written record of where I am in the process of it all. This should definitely be interesting.
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