A Summer Well Spent

This summer I had the great opportunity to experience the part of our CI’s research that I have never seen:  field work. All data collected for my team’s research came from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, ranging from coral reefs off the coast of Key Largo to Marathon. Based out of Lower Matecumbe Key, we stayed in a house on a canal. This location allowed us to dock our boat directly in the backyard. Every day at 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM, you could find me loading or unloading SCUBA gear to and from the boat.

Due to the timeframe of our work, SCUBA gear was required. We spent three hours or more per day underwater, seven days a week, South Florida weather permitting. A wide variety of methods were used for the various projects. For research on fish community and species diversity, we set and captured photos from GoPro cameras underwater. Additionally, we anchored artificial PVC structures on the bottom to see how they affected fish communities. Another focus of our work was coral transplants and the documentation of coral survival. For this research, we set cages around designated corals by hammering them into the limestone. The main focus of my project in particular was the territories of the stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride). For ten minutes, an individual fish was followed around the reef. Its territory was mapped out by placing markers at every point the fish turned. Afterward, the distance from the estimated center of the territory to each marker was measured, along with a compass heading for each point. This data will allow us to create a map of the territory once we get back to the lab.

If there is one thing that I learned from my summer in the Keys, it is that field research is a great deal of work and very enjoyable at the same time. I have never been as tired as I was at the end of the summer, but my time spent in the field was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I would never miss a chance to go back.

This Spring semester of 2018 has brought me many new and exciting experiences as a member of the Childress Lab. I was fortunate enough to travel to the Keys for my second trip in December and again over spring break. I found that with each trip my growing knowledge about marine organisms and marine systems allowed for a new euphoria of understanding. The courses I've taken this semester and the training I've received in the Childress Lab are preparing me for field research in a way I never imagined. However, this semester I've also been exposed to a side of scientific academia for the first time. Morgan and I had the opportunity to present a poster on The Impacts of Hurricane Irma on The Middle Florida Keys at several academic symposiums. Going through the poster making process prepared us for many of the steps involved in publishing scientific literature and allowed us to share our wonderful research with members of the Clemson community. Every member of the CMR team was also charged with the task of designing a project for this summer as well as writing and presenting the proposal. I throughly enjoyed this assignment and took the opportunity to design a project with methods that could easily be worked into the standard data collection methods we utilize. This proposal focuses on how reef fish utilize ledges, an excellent bridge between Kara's work studying the relationship between structure and fish community and the results we found examining the impact of hurricane Irma. As the semester concludes I am eager to return to the keys, this time for eight weeks, and excited about what I still have to learn not only in the field but as a member of the CMR team for many semesters to come.

Ride the Tide

 Last summer I had the opportunity to conduct conservation research with the Sea Turtle Conservation Project at Hunting Island State Park. I grew up volunteering with conservationists on the sea islands of coastal South Carolina and witnessed first-hand the destructive power of nature, poor resource management, and habitat fragmentation. Hunting Island, South Carolina is a sub-tropical barrier sea island that harbors a 3.2 km saltwater lagoon and an ocean inlet – both critical shorebird habitats and home to hundreds of species of wildlife, including approximately 15,000 sea turtle visitors, annually. Lucky me; it’s in my backyard.

In conjunction with citizen scientists from Friends of Hunting Island (FOHI), we identified and monitored active nest sites of several species of threatened or endangered sea turtles. I learned to distinguish between green turtle (Chelonia mydas), diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), and loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) tracks and nesting sites throughout the season (May-September). Occasionally a turtle would lay her clutch too low on the beach and we would have to move it to a safer location, above the high tide water line. Because turtle sex is temperature dependent, we meticulously excavated these nests using egg cartons so that each of the 100-120 eggs and their exact placement could be accurately mapped to avoid altering the naturally occurring sex ratio. Finally, we planted wire mesh around each nest site to prevent predation from scavengers or accidental destruction from human visitors during the fragile 70-day gestation period. All we could do then was monitor and educate park visitors – and hope.

One evening, I was invited to spend the night monitoring the beach for crawls (new nests). Around 3AM, I stumbled across a fresh set of tracks and quietly followed them up the beach towards a dune. As it turned out, it made little difference. The nesting mother had created a veritable sandstorm from her noisy digging and impeded my approach. I turned my headlamp setting to its red setting to avoid alarming her, and when she rested briefly, it quickly became obvious that she was entranced in egg-laying. I observed quietly, counting each egg, until she began burying them. After an hour she finally began the long haul back to the ocean. Watching her descend back into the black waters, I wondered at the event I had just witnessed.

Witnessing a nesting event is special, but I had not expected to be present for a hatching. Early one morning, finally came the call over the radio that our first nest was hatching. Rangers, interns, and FOHI citizen scientists piled into the UTVs and sped through the pre-dawn to the nesting site on North beach. The sand was roiling, a sure sign that the hatchlings would emerge at any moment. Waiting without interfering was one of the most challenging moments of my life. Finally, tiny loggerhead sea turtles began appearing, clumsily climbing from the nest. As we flanked the dune to guide the hatchlings towards the ocean, the feeling of solidarity was indescribable.

Once the hatchlings made it safely into the water, we began excavating the nest for DNA samples. As a barrier island, Hunting Island incurs a vast amount of erosion each year from storm surges, flooding, and hurricanes. One of the primary conservation concerns was that young mothers might not be able to locate proper nesting sites due to habitat degradation. Thus, we salvaged egg shells from the hatched nest to genetically identify individuals, perhaps trace sea turtle lineages, and collect data that could help determine rates of nesting site fidelity. The thought of positively impacting these fragile populations is reason for hope. 

Returning to Clemson last fall, I was determined to branch out and find other like-minded marine conservationists. I found that refuge in Dr. Childress' behavior lab and in Conservation of Marine Resources. It was here that I began to understand how to manipulate acoustic telemetry data, how to analyze communities from reef surveys, and how to synthesize and present research to a variety of audiences. Throughout the semester, we struggled and debated and crunched our way through massive data files, but in the end, working with other passionate conservationists was a pure pleasure.  

Finding My Niche While Sharing My Passion

Global conservation efforts will not make a significant impact until the general public is engaged and aware of how each individual’s actions can influence the health of our planet. After I graduate, I intend to dedicate my life’s work to investigating the effects of and solutions to climate change as well as communicating climate and ecological science to the public in a way that promotes both understanding as well as a desire to become engaged in the process. For this to be truly effective, it must occur from a global political level to a personal and individual level.

It wasn’t until my senior year at Clemson that I realized I wanted to pursue graduate school. I began speaking with graduate students about what first steps to take. It was strongly recommended to me that I apply to undergraduate research programs. I am so thankful that I was accepted to The Conservation of Marine Resources Creative Inquiry team. Working with scientists who share my zeal for protecting the world’s natural beauty has been very enlivening, and I have come to share their passion for marine conservation.

Off campus, I obtained a unique skill set while working part time as an E-learning developer for an automotive training company. I was able to use the skills I developed there to develop an interactive training system that could be used by any students who would work under Dr. Childress in the future. The modules I developed will teach future researchers how to identify various coral, sponge, algal, and parrotfish species in the field. These modules also include quizzes to solidify the students’ grasp of the material. My partnership with this lab has given me an opportunity to apply skills I developed in my job as an E-learning module developer to subject matter that I love.

Creating E-learning modules allows me to leverage my passion for public engagement in a way that will affect positive engagement and educational impact in science. The opportunity I have had to use my work experience to help future undergraduate scientists has reinforced and added confidence to my passion for engaging the public in this urgent and worthwhile endeavor. I need to spend more time learning and contributing to other’s research before deciding which direction to go with my own investigative efforts. The task at hand for me right now is to find several internships that will allow me to contribute to my field while exploring its various facets in order clarify where I want to find my niche, and I have little doubt that I will be able to continue using my skills in developing e-learning modules to engage students and the public wherever my internships take me.

If you would like to see more of these modules, click on the links below.

Substrate Module: https://360.articulate.com/review/content/fd99efaf-bd0f-4eb9-b280-0422a90cb33f/review

Parrotfish Module: https://360.articulate.com/review/content/2cf19848-bee1-466c-8381-13a4fda0a739/review