
Hi everyone! My apologies for the short hiatus; I have been enjoying my summer at Shoals Marine Lab in the Gulf of Maine, and getting myself ready for Senior Year! During my time at Shoals, I participated in the Marine Environmental Science course, and I loved every second of it.
Although I was definitely busy with my research project while I was there, I took moments to take in the beautiful environment around me. On Appledore Island, seals frequent the rocks and the grounds are covered in herring and great black backed gulls. Though they keep you up at night, they are very entertaining.
Some of the activities we did involved boating. We went whale watching (best experience of my life) and we went to an island full of seals. We had various rock talks, which are essentially guest speaker talks. One of the rock talks featured Brian Skerry!!! For those of you who do not know who Brian is, he is one of national geographics marine photographers. He talked to us about his experiences photographing orcas, sperm whales, and more. We even got to snorkel while painting (with oil paints) with the artist in residence!
Although all of these activities were amazing, the most memorable was my time working with my peers on a science project. For those of you who have experience in research projects, you may be able to gauge how completing a research project in two weeks could be difficult. However, I worked with three of my peers and we came out with a wonderful project (with results and conclusions) about the foraging abilities of Green Crabs vs. Jonah Crabs. We tested each species of crab in a couple substrates (sand and rock), and we were able to get statistically significant results about which crab would have more success in the Gulf of Maine. The applications of this research could be putting more effort into limiting the spread of the Green Crab because of it's invasive destruction to the Gulf of Maine ecosystem.
All in all, I really enjoyed my time out on Appledore Island, and I was able to connect and learn with so many professional researchers. Being able to talk to people who share the same passions as you truly makes a world of difference. I encourage you all to look into programs like this! It is important to get out there and interact with the planet first hand. After all, we are the ones who have to save it.
Comments