Back to the mainland

Aloha!  Yep, I had to say hello and goodbye Maui.  Wow !  What an amazing experience.  I learned so much that I can carry forward with me.  I think one of the most important thins I learned was that I LOVE doing field research.  Whether it is rain or shine, windy, hot or chilly, I will take it - bring it on :)  I suspected this would be the case, but after 3 weeks of being outside every day for at least 4 hours each day, I got a confirmation.  Here are a couple of pictures of me in action:



Working with the theodolyte.  This piece
of equipment has 30x magnification, so
one we found a pod, we could track them
more closely through this. 



Here I am on a rainy day, sitting
on a rock, tracking a pod of
whales.  High powered horizontal
binoculars take some practice. 

Here's a summary of how my time was spent: approx 4 hours in the field tracking whales, approx 4 hours to reconcile the data collected in the field to prepare for turn in.  About 2-3 hours in class at night.  Also in the three weeks we were there, we read a text book and nearly 100 articles, in addition to exams and papers due so spent ALOT of time studying.  Which is great (honestly) beause I learned so much!  We had a few guest speakers in class including: Kalasara Setaysha, David Mattila, David Rothenberg, and Mike Moran.  We also got to attend a benefit concert for the WhaleSong in the beautiful city of Paia.  In my free time, I ate, slept and ran.  Also, we were able to go on a whale friendly whale watching tour.  Here are a couple of pictures from that - I really saw this with my own eyes!:

We were very lucky to see some whales up close and it was amazing, for sure. 

All in all, it was an awesome experience.  I learned so much and came away with some new perspectives!  Here is a picture of the team:

From left to right: Carly, Laura (our team leader), Jenny, (me), Jillian & Chloe
Awesome Team #2!!

If I get the opportunity to do this kind of research again, I will gladly jump on it.   If you have any questions or want to know more about my experience, just ask!

Aloha! doing field research, living the dream

Hi from sunny Hawaii!  Actually it's not sunny today, but has been for the most part.  I know you are wondering, what is she doing in Maui?  Well, I am thrilled to be participating in a Research Internship with the Ocean Mammal Institute!  I arrived on Jan 3 and will be departing on Jan 21. There are about 25 interns here doing:

• Studying the biology and behavior of whales and dolphins while you observe and record their spectacular behaviors.
• Learning and applying the principles of field research design on the impact of boats on the behavior of the humpback whale.
• Gaining a personal understanding of the politics of protecting endangered species. Learning about current research on whales and dolphins around the world and related conservation issues.
• Being introduced to the field of Ecopsychology which studies the relationship between humans and the natural world.

We are broken down into teams of 4 or 5.  We go out into the field, which is a mountain side, set up a theodolite (surveyors type equipment with 30x magnification), have a data recorder, and people on binoculars as spotters.  We look for and watch humpback whales, track there movement and then watch for boat interactions.  We do this for 4 hours per day.  Then we have about 4 hours to analyze and report the data we recorded in the field, and in this time we also work on reading articles.  In the evening we have about 2 hours of evening lecture to go over our articles and continue learning!  

I am having a wonderful time, learning a ton and enjoying Hawaii.  I don't have too much free to get out on the island, but the pure beauty here is amazing.  I cannot help but admire and enjoy my surroundings.  I will post some pictures and more info on this soon.

On a side note, I achieved my goal of getting all A's in my fall semester of pre-requisites towards veterinary school!  Woot Woot!  Now onto the next semester...