by Jackie Schwartzstein, Vertebrate Ecology Lab
Last weekend, my fellow Vert-Lab-member Angie and I hopped in my little car and made the four hour drive down to Carpinteria, CA for offshore survival training. We are preparing to join a research team that conducts aerial surveys for marine turtles and mammals along the central California coast. Before we can participate in these surveys, we are required to take a course in open water survival.
On the weekend of the 26th and 27th of January 2013 WhaleFest was held at Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey. Organizations ranged from local non-profit marine research and public outreach organizations and program here in the Monterey county, as well as fun activities such as painting a squid!
Camp Sea Lab in WhaleFest
Our own very Pacific Shark Research Center participated in this event to share their knowledge of sharks to the public. It was a very windy, cloudy, and cold on Saturday as we set up the station. The strong wind made it a challenge to keep fliers and posters on the table. Braving the weather, our efforts were recognized as visitors intrigued by the mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus head and of a shark fin we had on display, began to ask questions. We were able to teach visitors more about sharks and also talk about the research that’s going around in Moss Landing Marine Laboratories! Many of them are very interested in attending the Open House event that will be held at MLML April 20th and 21st.
Visitors intrigued by the shark head.
There were many attempts to inflate a humpback whale in the Festival on Saturday, but because of the strong wind, the whale was never completed.
Inflating the humpback whale
But luckily, the weather cleared up and the sun came out and made WhaleFest far more enjoyable!
Kristin interpreting for the visitors
By Michelle Marraffini
Invertebrate Zoology and Molecular Ecology
Breakwater Cove dive spot in Monterey where DUI had set up their Demo Day. Photo by: Pamela Neeb Wade
Scuba diving on the central coast means you get to see amazing kelp forests and underwater geological formations but it also often means you are getting in the sometimes frigid waters of Monterey Bay. At depth, the water can get very cold, I experienced a dive at Big Creek, Big Sur where the temperate was only 8 Celsius (~46 degrees Fahrenheit)! At that temperature my wimpy 7 millimeters feels like wearing shorts in a blizzard and gets even thinner as the pressure compresses all the neoprene bubbles in my suit. Over the years I have seen many other divers in thicker wetsuits (up to 20 millimeters on their core) and dry suits. That is right scuba diving without getting wet. When a company that makes dry suits (DUI) offered a demo day at a local dive spot my labmate Pamela and I leaped at a chance to jump in the water without getting wet.
When one applies to graduate school, they may have found the perfect professor that they would ideally like to work with. Sometimes the two of you hit it off great and they would love to have you in their lab, but there is one thing that stands in the way: funding. It is relatively uncommon that a professor takes on a graduate student in their lab if they cannot provide funds for them through the college or through private funds. There is one way to get past this, however, without having to work and go to school part time or going into debt – find your own funding.
Typically professors fund students through one of two ways, a teaching assistantship (TA) or a research assistantship (RA). The responsibilities of these two jobs vary from institution to institution and even from department to department. Each has their own perks, but simply from what I have seen, an RA is certainly preferable to a TA. Sometimes departments even help each other out if a graduate student is qualified to TA a certain course even if it is not directly in their specified field. At my undergraduate institution for example, students in the Plant Biology department were able to TA the intro courses in the Biology department because they are qualified to assist with teaching that class and the associated lab.
While TAs are very useful in that they allow you to get paid while being a graduate student, they often require a lot of time grading for the class they are assigned. In the sciences, the graduate students with TAs usually help with grading homeworks, tests, quizzes, and oftentimes they teach labs associated with the class they are assigned. TAs, however, can sometimes only last a certain time period. My friend had been supported through a TA and though it provided her with enough money during the school year, she had zero forms of income throughout the summer because only a handful of graduate students were needed to assist with the smaller class. Additionally, TAs may only last a semester.
RAs can be just as time intensive as TAs and bring about many of the same uncertainties. While no teaching is involved with most RAs, you are still working. Just instead of being involved with the teaching side of academia, you are involved with the research side as a laboratory technician of sorts. Some professors allow your work for the RA to be directly related to your thesis while others require that they be completely separate.
2012 MLML Games a “Smashing Success”
By Diane Wyse, Physical Oceanography Lab
Photos by Gabriela Navas and Catherine Drake, Invertebrate Zoology and Molecular Ecology Lab
With the world’s attention turned to London for the next two weeks, we think it’s high time to share our version of friendly “athletic” competition – the MLML Lab Olympics!
At the end of the spring semester, Moss Landing student body officers hosted the sixth annual event. Highlights of this year’s Lab Olympics include a sprint relay, pie-eating contest, trivia, and Ultimate Marine Scientist Challenge relay complete with blindfolded dive slate assembly and a Macrocystis kelp slide.
Assistant Dive Safety Officer and Phyckers team member Scott Gabara crushes the “Shark” Attack competition at dive slate assembly. The challenge tests competitors’ grace under pressure in blackout dive conditions. Competitors also learn to appreciate the merits of well-fitting attire.
Danger Zone team member Michelle exhibits good sportsmanship in support of fellow Danger Zoner Catherine during the shoot-n-slide leg of the relay.
Staff team competitor Rhett shows off his unique slide technique.
Competitors sprint to the finish in the anchor leg of the relay.
MLML bloggers Michelle, Diane, and Catherine volunteer with Young Women In Science
By Catherine Drake and Michelle Marraffini, Invertebrate Zoology and Molecular Ecology Lab
Photos by: Diane Wyse, Physical Oceanography Lab
Summer is here on the Central Coast and MLML students as well as a few MBARI interns took some time off to play hooky for a cause. We volunteered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Young Women in Science (YWS) program to help middle school girls in this summer camp monitor the beach for sand crabs and learn how to boogie board. The camp’s aim is help empower young girls interested in science to be guardians of the ocean. Many of these girls have never been swimming in the ocean before and fellow bloggers Diane, Catherine, and myself showed the girls the joys of splashing in the surf.
Lifeguards explaining some water safety ideas before we head into the water
Catherine catching a wave with the girls of YWS
We spent half of the day using the scientific method and sampling along a transect to look for sand crabs. The campers were encouraged to form hypotheses about where the crabs were living and use results to think about larger food webs and ecosystem processes. After lunch and a safety lesson on currents and waves from the lifeguards, girls rushed towards the ocean with boogie boards in tow ready to conquer this new frontier. We ran in after them and helped them learn to catch a wave and dive under ones that were too big. This was the first time being in the ocean for many of these young ladies, and they were so brave as they dominated the large waves. When it was time to go, many of the girls had enjoyed their time in the water so much that they insisted on catching one final wave. It was inspirational to see the girls having so much fun making observations about sand crabs and trying to catch every wave they could. We had a great time volunteering for this essential program, and can’t wait to help out again!
Michelle riding a wave and showing the girls of YWS how much fun boogie boarding is
Never a dull day for a Marine Biologist in Monterey Bay, Catherine models some giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, while boogie boarding
by Angela Szesciorka, Vertebrate Ecology Lab
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories wishes you a happy Fourth of July! We hope you have a fun-filed day of (over)eating, celebrating, and spending time with friends and family. While you are enjoying your day of fun, check out some of nature’s most patriotic sea creatures below!
Affectionately known as red bull, this 14-limbed amphipod crustacean (Acanthonotozoma inflatum) is found mostly in the Atlantic Ocean feeding on Bryozoa, a phylum of aquatic colonial invertebrate animals. Photo by Alexander Semenov.
by Diane Wyse, Physical Oceanography Lab
In the spirit of community building and maintaining positive energy during finals in May, MLML Student Body hosted the first official Moss Landing Marine Labs 3K race. The course covered what most students, staff, and faculty know as “the loop,” with the race starting and ending at the entrance to the labs. Students challenged the faculty to a friendly cross-country style competition. While the faculty team gave the students a run for their money, the students’ overwhelming turnout dominated the competition. Approximately two dozen participants and supporters came out for the inaugural race and post-race BBQ. Stay tuned for the next running of this fun and sporting community event!
Participants prepare to go the distance
(Photo: A. Woods)
by Diane Wyse, Physical Oceanography Lab
Students carefully investigate a tidepool at Asilomar State Beach.
In October, two fellow Moss Landing students and I sprang into action to lead fourth graders on a tidepooling field trip to Asilomar State Beach. Students and chaperones from Ms. Alicia Doolittle’s fourth grade class at Bay View Academy in Monterey enthusiastically participated in the food web interactions lesson and activities prepared and taught by Sara Hutto, Nicole Bobco, and myself.
MLML graduate students (L to R) Nicole Bobco, Biological Oceanography Lab, Sara Hutto, Phycology Lab, and Diane Wyse, Physical Oceanography Lab
Though we each represent different labs at MLML, we all had a blast instructing and helping students identify organisms and their interactions in the intertidal environment. We were impressed by the students’ knowledge of food webs, and even regaled with a song! The field trip was also a treat for me, as I have not been tidepooling in California in many years, since visiting with family when I was about their age. At the end of the day, it seemed everyone had a great time learning about and exploring the beautiful coastal ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean.
Sara teaching a student about intertidal food web interactions.
No mess, no glory! (photo: E. Loury)
As the school year winds to a close, Moss Landing students get ready to unleash their post-finals jubilation on the time-honored Lab Olympics. These contestants from last year have survived a pie-eating contest, one of may challenges facing the would-be Lab Olympic champion. This year’s event is approaching next week – what daring feats of skill will come to pass? Stay tuned to find out!
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