Methodoly

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.