MLML’s Dr. Mike Graham on His New Book, “The Essential Naturalist”

Dr. Mike Graham

By Catherine Drake, Invertebrate Zoology Laboratory

On Tuesday November 15, 2011, Friends of MLML hosted a talk with one of MLML’s own, Dr. Mike Graham, author of “The Essential Naturalist.” An alumni of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, he then obtained his Ph.D. at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Then, Dr. Graham came back to the MLML and is the advisor for the phycology (seaweeds) lab.

Nowadays with the internet, it can be easy for researchers to overlook journal articles that are 100, 50, even just 20 years old. With marine science librarian Joan Parker and Dr. Paul Dayton, Dr. Graham compiled older scientific articles—some from over one hundred years ago—into “The Essential Naturalist.” Not only were these articles extremely significant in a scientific context, but they also told great stories for those who enjoy nature. Dr. Graham stresses that scientists before us were just as smart as we are and they thought about all that goes into scientific research—methods, data analysis, etc.—just as we do now.  So, all we need to do is dig a bit to find articles that greatly contributed to science, and are hence indispensable for anyone who considers themselves naturalists!

Below is a conversation with Dr. Graham about “The Essential Naturalist”:

Where did you get the inspiration for “The Essential Naturalist”?

Well it stemmed out of a series of conversations I had with my PhD advisor (and “Essential Naturalist” co-editor) Paul Dayton. I was looking into the old literature while studying for my PhD qualifying exam and kept uncovering old papers that seemed to say exactly what more modern papers were saying. And every time I told Paul about one of these papers, he would respond with a comment about another paper that people had forgotten as well. So after a while we just started talking about how modern ecologists were beginning to lose their roots, and how great it would be to resurrect some of these papers.

How did you decide which journal articles to place in the book?

Well, in addition to all of the search I did on my own, plus the additions from Paul and Joan (my fellow co-editors), I polled over 100 ecologists and evolutionary biologists as to what their favorite Natural History gems were. This resulted in a long list, some papers of which were easily discarded because they didn’t fit our intended format for the book. But we ended up with about 150 papers that were good. Then I simply started working through them all to see which had compelling readings that could be excerpted and of interest to a broader audience. I tested some of the materials against my own kids and students to see what was boring, as well as my father Jon who loves natural history and was a good sounding board. The rest of the choices were simply from intuition as to what would fly.

Why do you think scientists and researchers tend to disregard, even sometimes inadvertently, journal articles that were published 50+ years ago?

Out of sight, out of mind. Its harder to keep track of the literature today with 1000s of articles published per year. Everyone has deadlines. So the easiest thing is to either Google your keywords of interest, or cite a paper that just happened to be on your desk, recommended by a colleague, or in a journal you subscribe to. All of these make it harder to find the older papers.

An electric eel, which Baron Von Humboldt studied and wrote about during his journeys.

Can you tell us one of your favorite stories in “The Essential Naturalist”?

I like them all, for different reasons. But the one that I recite the most is the story from Humboldt of how the native South Americans showed him how to fish for electric eels using stampeding horses. The story is vivid. My kids love hearing me tell it. And it’s so visual that you just cant help telling the story in such an exciting voice. It’s a lot of fun.

Making an Impression: The Art and Science of Drying Seaweeds

photo: E. Loury

It’s a few steps up from pressing flowers in the pages of your phone books, but the concept is the same.  Phycology student Sara Hutto shows an algal press from the MLML herbarium (that’s plant collection) to teachers from the Teacher Enhancement Program.  Drying seaweeds is an easy, compact way to store the plants for later study – and it also produces great decorations for cards.

Hey teachers! Get a 6 ft. frozen squid in the mail!

Kids get squiddy at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History (photo: A. Booth)

by Erin Loury, Ichthyology Lab

Unwrapping a jumbo-squid-sized mail delivery was but a dream for marine scientist hopefuls of yesteryear.  Now, thanks to our pals at Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station, your students can have that experience in your own classroom!

The Squid-4-kids program, run by graduate students out of the Monterey-based Hopkins Marine Station, can provide your students a one-of-a-kind learning experience to poke, prod, and dissect a giant of the deep.  The squid and lesson plans come free, you just pay for shipping.  All Humboldt squid are collected in conjunction with ongoing research or by sport fishermen who donate their excess catch.

For more information, check out  the Squids-4-Kids website, or click to down load the Squids4Kids Application.

And while you’re at it, check out the awesome squid research these Hopkins students are doing!  This great podcast and photo slideshow on searching for squid with the Hopkins crew was put together by Cassandra Brooks, an MLML alum working for the National Park Service.  And Hopkins student Danna Staaf is not just a squid researcher but also a squid blogger extraordinaire.  Give her a visit and get your dose of Squid-A-Day!

Gene Speak – The Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms

Erin Loury

by Erin Loury, Ichthyology Lab

All you science educators out there, get your browsers ready!  The National Institutes of Health have unleashed a learning tool so powerful, it actually speaks:

Introducing the Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms!

If a talking glossary could take over the world, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing – at least we’d have one gene-savvy populace.

What sets this site apart from your workaday genetic glossaries is the use of audio snippets from medical and science-y people.   And no, they don’t just reiterate the definition that you can read yourself  like some kind of brain-numbing driver’s ed – they are actually pretty engaging!  Hearing Dr. Francis Collins, the NIH director, discuss genetic discrimination makes me feel like I’m eavesdropping on a cocktail party of the white-coated elite  (probably the closest I will ever get to doing so…).

Some of the words also come with an illustration or nifty 3D animation (type in “gene” to see an example).  And if you click the button that says “Test your gene knowledge,” you can choose  a quiz containing genetic terms you may hear in the classroom or in the news.

Best of all, in this ichthyologist’s humble opinion, is the link to the aquatic world. The one entry listed under “Z”?  Zebrafish.

This site is the newest addition to our Teacher’s Corner page, prompting the creation of a “genetics” subheading. Check it out!

A Journey to the Bottom of the Ocean

Kyle Reynolds

Editor’s Note: Graduate student Kyle Reynolds describes her experience in the South Pacific, where she participated in a 2006 research cruise to study organisms living on the hydrothermal vent system of the Lau Basin.

by Kyle Reynolds, Benthic Ecology Lab

Fiji from the air

Looking out of the airplane as it began its descent toward Fiji, I remember feeling like I was having an out-of-body experience. We had crossed the equator and the International Date Line during this flight – two firsts for me! Once the plane touched down and we made our way to Suva, the capital, I would be embarking on a multidisciplinary research expedition with several teams of scientists from around the world to study the biology, chemistry, and geology of hydrothermal vents in the Lau Basin. My heart was in my throat as I elatedly took in the sights and sounds of my last moments on dry land for the next 30 days.

Once onboard the R/V Melville (the Scripps Institute of Oceanography ship we’d be using), the scientists quickly went about the task of securing their own cargo in their lab spaces to keep anything from spilling or breaking in transit. Our research would involve multiple deployments of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) named the Jason II, or “Jason” for short. Jason would be working almost non-stop over the next month to take videos as well as animal, geological, and chemical samples for the various researchers’ projects. I was there to obtain snail samples for my thesis research, and would be using them to study their reproductive adaptations. Being the newbie, I was given the midnight to 4:00 a.m. shift to stand my watch in the Jason control van each night. The control van is a large metal container from which the crew can pilot Jason, while scientists record the data, log notes, and direct the collection efforts.

Teachers Splash into the Lab and Field

Grad students at MLML work with adjunct professor Dr. Simona Bartl through the Teacher Enhancement Program to help teachers incorporate the resources of a marine lab into their classrooms. This June, 20 teachers from around California participated in the week-long Lab and Field Explorations summer workshop, learning activities ranging from water quality and invasive species to sand crabs and sharks. Kathy Diver, a teacher at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, contributed the following account of her experiences with the Lab and Field Workshop.

Teachers ready to explore the lab and field of MLML!

Kathy Diver, Los Osos HS teacher

I am writing from home a day after my week at the Teacher Enhancement Program in Monterey Bay at the Moss Landing Marine Labs (part of the Cal State University system). I had a very good time, but I am pretty tired after all that work and fun. Simona Bartl, the Project Director is a serious scientist with a great sense of humor. She seems to understand the need to bridge the gap between research science in the laboratory and students’ understanding when we are in the classroom.

We had a variety of presenters from various levels of education and research in the Monterey area. What an honor! Some were MLML teaching assistants (aka graduate students), others were instructors from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Hopkins Marine Station and the Elkhorn Slough Estuarine Research Reserve. All presenters led activities both in the field and in the lab that let us see first hand how we can participate in scientific research with our own students.

Monday (6-23-08) we were at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories all day. We toured the facility with Elsie and learned what the week was going to look like. We did an activity with Sacha (from MERITO) in which we modeled the shape of the Monterey Canyon in clay, and another in which we pretended to discover a deep sea organism. We had to list the adaptations to the environment and give it a scientific name according to normal naming conventions. This curriculum focuses on multi lingual learners who live near the oceans, but since I have used similar activities in my class, I think it’s just good teaching.

Teachers inspect invasive snails for parasites

Tuesday (6-24-08) we went to the Elkhorn Slough with Kenton, Danielle and Elsie to study, count and collect an imported (invasive) species of snails. We later compared our numbers to last year’s research data. The original native species in the area has not been seen in over 35 years. The invader was brought in during the 30′s with the oyster cultures that were brought to the area for pearls and oyster meat. We also used microscopes to observe the parasites that are infecting this snail. We spent some time with Simona in the afternoon discussing and sharing lesson plans, activities and resources we use in our own practices. Since the 20 participating teachers cover a variety of curricula we got to discuss marine science with respect to our own classes and get some idea on how to enhance what we already do.

Braving the surf to sample sandcrabs

Wednesday (6-25-08) we went with Lisa and Erin to the Salinas River Beach to do a population study on the sand crabs there. It was cold and wet, but I loved being on the shore and in the water. We caught, measured, and recorded data on sand crabs. Later, we put in our numbers to an online sand crab-monitoring site (LiMPETS). We also checked some sand crabs for parasites while in the lab. These parasites actually harmfully infect shore birds and otters, so the scientists and agencies are keeping a close watch on the number of parasites found in a given area. I loved this day!!!

Birds of the Bering Sea: Packing Light and Taking Flight

Nathan Jones

Editor’s note: Graduate student Nathan Jones will be spending summer 2008 aboard a research vessel studying seabirds in the Alaskan Bering Sea. During his occasional access to internet, he will send back dispatches that we will post here. This is his second “Birds of the Bering Sea” installment.

by Nathan Jones, Vertebrate Ecology Lab

May 31, 2008, 8am. Anchorage, Alaska – The sun is shining this morning in Anchorage, Alaska. Today will be another in a week of days marked by growing warmth. The mountains to the east are greening in a rush as winter snows retreat, and summertime is arriving with a certainty that is felt by every living thing.

Alaska (USFWS)

At this latitude it seems like the daylight is endless, and I sit reveling in this feeling as I wait for news of my flight to Dutch Harbor. I am scheduled to fly out tomorrow on a twin engine prop that has been chartered by NOAA to carry a group of biologists to meet our research vessel, the Oscar Dyson. Dutch Harbor is a bustling fishing port, tucked in the protective, folding coastline of Unalaska Island at the base of the Aleutian Island chain. It is a major hub for all the fishing activity that goes on in the Bering Sea, and has recently been made famous by the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” series.

After breakfast I get the call. It is not sunny in Dutch Harbor. In fact, it is blowing 25 knots and raining sideways, with visibility down to a few hundred meters! This kind of weather might seem difficult to imagine at the end of May, but such rough conditions are not that uncommon for the Bering Sea, even in summertime. And, although Alaskan pilots are some of the most skilled aviators in the country, they are wise enough to know when it’s just too dangerous to fly. So the airport in Dutch is closed, and I will have to wait in the sun here in Anchorage, hoping for better weather…

Alaska (USFWS)

June 1, 2008, 5pm. Enroute from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor, Alaska – The weather in Dutch Harbor has cleared somewhat, and we’re all ready to go! It will be a full flight – 26 scientists, sitting shoulder to shoulder – all going to meet ships to do their research on the Bering Sea. Because the plane is small we’re limited in what we can bring; most of these people have shipped their bags ahead, and are bringing less than 20 pounds each! Luckily, my coworker Marty and I have been granted an exception, because our reference books, computers, binoculars and other equipment weigh almost 30 pounds already. I have reduced my personal baggage to some basics: 22 pounds of clothes, shoes, and gear to last me three weeks. The props on the engines are turned, and begin to spin. They whir. Then they roar. I put in some earplugs to dull the noise, and the plane races down the runway and launches into the air. We’re off!

Alaska (USFWS)

I’ve always been impressed when flying, and it’s a pleasure to peak out of the windows and watch the rugged, snowy mountains divided and sculpted by living glaciers that are melting into turquoise rivers heavy with silt, then spreading wide into vast stretches of wetlands that sweep to the horizons in all directions under the plane. It’s almost too immense for words. These pictures depict the landscape that I am flying over, courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

We must stop in King Salmon to refuel. This should be a routine task, but once on the ground the pilots inform us that the plane is in need of an emergency inspection; a smoke detector in the cargo hold has been lighting up for no apparent reason. It is already 8 pm, and we still have a couple more hours to fly to get to Dutch Harbor, but no one here is going to complain about any inconvenience. Better to be safe than to risk plummeting in a fireball into an untracked wilderness, I say! There’s now enough time to unfold myself and get out of the little plane to grab a sandwich from the (only) store. Better to eat now, because I suspect it’s going to be a late night…

Alaska (USFWS)

Birds of the Bering Sea: A Long Journey to an Arctic “Hotspot”

Nathan Jones

by Nathan Jones

May 25, 2008. Moss Landing, California – The Bering Sea is a long way from Moss Landing, California. It’s a long way from most anywhere, actually. To begin my summer of field work, I must first fly from San Francisco, California to Seattle, Washington. In Seattle I will change planes and fly to Anchorage, Alaska. From Anchorage I’ll catch a small propeller plane and fly low over the mountains, glaciers, and the vast wilderness of Southwest Alaska to stop briefly in King Salmon, where we will refuel, and then continue on out along the foggy Aleutian Island chain to land in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. I will then board a research vessel that will motor for fifteen hours out into the Bristol Bay portion of the Bering Sea and there, at last, I will begin my work. It will probably take me three long days.

Map of the Bering Sea near Alaska (NOAA)

Humans are not the only animals that eat fish, of course! Seabirds flock by the millions to feed on fish in the Bering Sea, and also on energy-rich krill (tiny crustaceans, similar to a shrimp). These krill grow to become so numerous in summer that they form dense undersea clouds that can stretch for miles. Krill, known to scientists as euphausiids, are eaten by fish; in fact, we feed them to our own pet goldfish, in dried and flaked form! They are also the favorite food of many whales, which use their thick baleen plates to strain these tiny creatures from the water in huge, lunging mouthfuls.

Birds and whales feed together in Alaska

Because they like to eat similar kinds of food, whales and seabirds can oftentimes be seen congregating to feed together in productive areas that contain especially large amounts of fish and euphausiids. Such places are usually characterized by turbulence and the mixing of cold(er) and warm(er) ocean water. What is it about the turbulent combination of cold and warm water that attracts the euphausiids and fish?

During the next two months I will spend most of my time on the ocean. I will be taking special interest in these foraging hotspots, trying to learn more about how seabirds find and exploit them.

If you’re interested in learning more, Nate recommends the following websites:

To learn more about the North Pacific/Bering Sea where Nate will be working, check out the National Pacific Research Board, Bering Climate, North Pacific Ocean Theme Page, and Arctic Change.

To learn more about wildlife, check out these resources for marine mammals, seabirds and fish.

Balloons are no party for marine wildlife

Danielle Frechette

by Danielle Frechette, Vertebrate Ecology Lab

Hi, my name is Danielle. I am a graduate student in the Vertebrate Ecology lab, and I need your help with a problem we are having in our ocean right here off the coast of California. I noticed this problem when I was working on a whale watch boat in Monterey Bay.

The winter months (December through April) is gray whale season here in California. Gray whales spend the summer in Alaska, where they feed in cold, nutrient rich waters. At the end of the summer they head down to Mexico, to give birth to their calves and mate in the warm, shallow waters of Baja California. Here in California we are lucky, because they travel right along our coast on their way to and from Mexico. On February 15th and 16th I was out on the whale watch boat, looking for gray whales. We found whales, but we also found balloons. LOTS of balloons.

Each time we saw a balloon, we stopped the boat, and our deckhand used a gaff hook (a long pole with a hook on the end that is normally used for grabbing the lines we use to tie the boat to the dock) to grab the balloon out of the water. During those two days alone, we picked up 14 balloons! Each balloon was either pink, or a heart shaped Mylar balloon, which means they were all probably released on Valentine’s day, either accidentally or on purpose. We only traveled across a small part of Monterey Bay, and if we had traveled across more of the bay, I do not know how many more we would have found!

Fourteen balloons is a lot to find in only two days. It is not unusual, however, to see one or two balloons on an average day of whale watching in Monterey Bay.

Balloons can kill marine wildlife like this Northern fulmar. Note the balloons wrapped tightly around its wing, and hemorrhaged leg (BeachCOMBERS)

One of the problems with balloons is that they can look a lot like jellies. Animals like endangered sea turtles eat jellies, and they can accidentally eat balloons, thinking they are jellies. This seems surprising, that a balloon could be mistaken for food. More than once though, I have looked over the side of my whale watch boat to see a large jelly floating near the surface, but as we got closer, I

realized that it was not a jelly at all, but a big Mylar balloon. If I, with my human brain, can mistake a balloon for a jelly, it is easy to understand how a hungry turtle can make the same mistake!

I don’t only see balloons out in the ocean. Almost every time I go for a walk on the beach, I see balloons all tangles around kelp, driftwood, and even wildlife, like the northern fulmar in this photograph.

I need you to help me figure out how the balloons get out into the ocean. Also, I need you to help me figure out how the balloons affect wildlife like sea turtles, birds, and marine mammals. I would also like you to help me figure out what we can do to help decrease the number of balloons that make it out into the ocean.

You can use these websites to answer the following questions, and help me keep our oceans free of balloons!

Websites:

http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/balloons.htm

http://www.mcsuk.org/mcsaction/pollution/balloons

Questions:

1. How do balloons get into the ocean?
2. Give three examples of how marine animals are affected by balloons.
3. What are the laws in California regarding balloons?
4. What can you do to help prevent balloon from harming marine wildlife?