Monthly Archives: January 2015

Joey, Starting Out

Searching for Answers (and Data)

Hello All,

Nothing beats the anticipation of leaving the country for the first time.   All I have to do is think about customs and I get fever dreams. On January 28th I will be boarding a plane out of LAX to begin a three week long research trip to Nicaragua where I will be completing two projects on Field Behavior and Conservation Biology.

The first ten years of my life I lived on a horse ranch. Every day I learned a new concept of biology, whether it was the ants that invaded my pepper tree fort or watching a mare give birth.   Surely this had some role in my decision to go to UCLA and more specifically to focus my studies on Environmental Science and Conservation Biology.   I can only imagine what younger me would do if he knew some day he would be participating in such a unique and valuable project, in Nicaragua of all places!

Perhaps even more horribly exciting/terrifying than leaving the country for three weeks is my hope for measureable, quantifying, and novel data. I know that this is not a unique experience; every butterfly-net-wielding, fisherman-vest-owning scientist has felt this. For me, a lot more seems to be riding on this.

When I came to UCLA I knew I wanted to be a surgeon. And then I didn’t know what I wanted or who I was (again, not a unique feeling).   I have since then taken relative comfort in the idea that I will grow up (or perhaps I will never grow up) and contribute to conservation research. Maybe even save a species or two, you know, attainable goals. These next few weeks are going to validate this, hopefully. I imagine myself stepping off of the 4 hour boat ride down the Río San Juan, placing my two feet on the dark chocolate rainforest floor, and knowing that THIS is what I want to do for the rest of my life. But I could just as likely perish from over-perspiration and return to Los Angeles, knowing nothing once again.

Until Then, Cheers,

Joseph Nikko Curti

Kathleen, Starting Out

At Home in the Rainforest

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Between every two pines is a doorway into a new world

-John Muir

Entering into a new year, there are so many questions about what 2015 may bring. One thing that I am most excited for is the class for this quarter: Field Biology Quarter (FBQ) in Nicaragua. It is a unique opportunity to surround myself with all sorts of wildlife in the rainforest and learn from experts of the field and a group of like-minded people. The rainforest is like a second home to me – having spent my first moments of experiencing nature in a rainforest in Singapore – the place that sparked my curiosity and passion for conservation biology.

My name is Kathleen, and I am a third year student in UCLA, studying Environmental Science and concentrating in Conservation Biology. Over the past few years, I’ve taken myself to achieve one large goal: to use time away in college to its fullest, and learn as much as I can; about the world, about nature, and about myself. Having gone to Canada and Namibia to learn firsthand about influences of wildlife corridors and studying animal behavior respectively has revealed great truths about the reality and the possible fate of nature. But these separate ideas that fascinate me have never come as close as they will in this course that I am embarking on. The FBQ aims to bring together animal behavior as well as conservation biology throughout the course, side by side, in the realm of the tropical rainforest in Nicaragua.

Although I have had some experience in conducting research, I have never had the opportunity to conduct my own study in this particular field. I hope to be learning greater depths about these two perspectives throughout the next three months, and discover how I may be able to play a role in this field in future. Each day is an adventure, but I yearn to see this course produce fruition in both scientific growth and personal development!

Callan, Starting Out

Looking for Inspiration

My name is Callan Porter-Romero, and I am a third year Ecology, Behavior and Evolution major. In a couple weeks, I will be embarking on a journey to Nicaragua to research an animal of my choice. It will most likely be a bird because, let’s face it, I am an up and coming bird lady. I got my start recently when I began to take care of zebra finches, which are positively the most adorable and ridiculous creatures I have come to love. However, I have never designed or implemented a research project before, so this will be an exciting and new experience. I will also finally know after this trip if a career in animal research is a path worth continuing.

When I was five years old I dreamed of becoming an alchemist or a witch so I could make potions. Usually that entailed grinding random plants together that would then sit in a jar for months on end. My parents were obviously thrilled when I stopped doing that and decided to pursue ethnobotany instead. My experience in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest during junior year in high school solidified my interest in working in a rainforest environment. Additionally, taking an ecology class at UCLA made me realize that studying animals is very important to me. I intend to eventually return to Ecuador and accurately research medicinal plants and/or animals using the knowledge gained from the field quarter in Nicaragua.

Ideally, if I do come back from this trip in one piece, I will be comfortable knowing that I am following the right path and that I now have a community of people who share similar passions as myself. This concept of wholeness is refreshing and frustrating, especially for a college student who is always hunting down their “one true identity.” And to find not one new potential friend, but thirteen others who I know will help improve one another’s characters? Impossible.

We will all go through a similar experience in Nicaragua with it meaning various things to us. We will be enchanted, haunted, and inspired. Enchanted because the beauty of life in the rainforest makes you captive. Haunted because other people who do not share this raw feeling and knowledge may not understand. Inspired because there are now many people who do understand and will provide positive encouragement for pursuing your goals.

Caleb, Starting Out

Out of the Armchair and into the Jungle

Hi, I’m Caleb, an ecology student here at UCLA. It’s still a bit surreal for me to think about the fact that in just a few weeks, I’ll be traveling up a river in a remote rainforest to build my research skills. Besides seeming like something from a childhood dream, there are few things I enjoy more than being immersed in nature and asking “why” – it’s the reason I’ve wanted to be a biologist since as early as I can remember. So it might be a bit of understatement to say that I’m excited and grateful for this opportunity – I’m sure that so many things that I can’t even anticipate await me there.

A big reason why I want to do this is that I’ve been doing research for the past few years now, but mostly from the perspective of treating ecological phenomena as some abstract idealization on a computer or in some equations. Although I find theory fascinating, it’s hard not to feel as though there’s something missing in my scientific education when I’ve never actually formulated and tested ideas that were generated by my own primary observations of the natural world. I guess you could say I feel like an armchair ecologist. This really struck me last year while reading Ernst Mayr’s “The History of Biological Thought” – repeatedly, I saw examples of how, since the origins of biological inquiry, movement away from direct observation into the realm of abstract reasoning has been a slippery slope, often leading to dead ends at best and harmful distractions at worst. That really made me start to think more seriously about the consequences of this significant gap in my training – a gap which I hope this time in Nicaragua will begin to fill in. Spending every waking moment surrounded by seemingly boundless biodiversity and getting my hands off the keyboard and my eyes and ears into the tropical rainforest will, I hope, inspire me and teach me to develop better ideas of how things are working around me in nature, rather than in abstract models of nature, and how to address and test these ideas in an empirically rigorous fashion.

Michelle, Starting Out

Jumping Right In

Greetings! My name is Michelle and I am a third year Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution major hoping to double major in Geography and Environmental Studies. I am so so so excited for the Field Biology Quarter and I can’t wait to get hands-on experience in the field.

Sitting in our small classroom, it’s hard to imagine that we’ll be in an entirely new country and biome in just a few short weeks. The more pictures we look at and the more books and papers we read, the more excited I get. I can’t shake this feeling that this experience will be extraordinary. There’s so much I want to learn, so much I want to see, and so much that I have yet to anticipate.

 One of my goals this quarter is to learn something new every single day. It’s a simple goal, but I’m hoping that it will remind me to really appreciate this experience and absorb as much as I can. At the current rate of our readings and lectures, learning new things hasn’t been a problem thus far and I can’t imagine that will be much of a challenge once we’re in the field. I think one of my greatest worries is putting the actual papers together. I’m eager for the experience, but I’m also really nervous about planning and carrying out a real project and assembling ideas, data, and conclusions into one solid paper. From what I’ve learned and seen so far, papers are the bread and butter in the field of science – a field I desperately want to be a part of.

I am so humbled by my current position in this course and I feel incredibly lucky. For ten weeks I get to learn from the environment, professors, and my fellow FBQers. After taking seemingly endless classes with gung-ho pre-med students, it’s an incredible feeling to be surrounded by like-minded students interested in wildlife, fieldwork, and conservation. I can already feel a buzz of anticipation and curiosity in this group. I don’t know how this little room will be able to contain our growing excitement in the coming weeks. We already have to crack open the windows.

Starting Out, Tinh

Wild World of Animal Behavior

Hey readers, thanks for stumbling onto my blog. I’m Tinh, a fourth year undergrad at UCLA. I’m studying ecology, behavior, and evolution while minoring in conservation biology. As a kid I’ve always been inspired by the wonders of the natural world. My first nature documentary was at the tender age of four… who wouldn’t be mesmerized by a purple, eight-legged swimming blob or transparent sack with small beads popping out of them? That was my recollection of seeing my first octopus and tadpoles emerging from their eggs.

I was always grateful to have an introduction to the natural world, even here at my suburban home. Growing up, I wanted to devote my passion and energy to learning about the world around us, and divulging that knowledge to viewers so they can experience the animal world for themselves. This winter I am embarking on a field expedition to Nicaragua where I will have my first hands-on experience on field ecology. I was be surrounded with (hopefully not swarmed by) animals ranging from the microscopic to the terrifyingly large. I hope to get a live experience of their true vitality in the field. How does a bird navigate through the dense groves and forests? How do dung beetles know where to roll that ball of poo? Are these dragonflies breeding or fighting? Can I find different animals during the day verses night? And, what’s that sloth doing there? Also…what’s that sound…

Although I’ve had plenty of experience doing lab work on animal behavior at UCLA, these were in controlled laboratory settings. Sure, studying hermit crab feeding interactions and growth patterns of invasive beetles was interesting, but I was missing the truly raw element of animal behavior. In the field I will be in their world. I shall lurk in the bushes, hand on my binoculars, the other on my notebook, and observe their world as it plays out. It is my job as an ecologist to make sense of the coded world of animal behavior.  I want to find as many cryptic species as I can, training my eye to spot a camouflaged wasp nests against a tree’s trunk… and prepare my running boots when I inevitably get chased. My walks through nature will be the spark that ignites my project. My project is to be decided, but my stirring passions will be the fuel that drives its completion. I hope you will join me on this adventure.

This blog is my first step to bringing the animal world back home, so others can feel the wonder and amazement that is out there. I hope to one day work on nature documentaries. So when I’m on PBS… please pledge and buy a $20 dollar mug!

Brigit, Starting Out

Curiosity. Adventure. Bot Fly.

As a senior at UCLA, my time here is coming to an end. I have learned a lot here. How challenging it can be to keep your spirits up. How many things I can be passionate about. How little I know about the world around me. I came to this school bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to be an artist…then I had a detour in both the history and astrophysics departments, trying to find that thing. That thing that I can do that I will be proud to wake up at 4 a.m. for. That thing that my grandchildren will want me to tell them about every Christmas. It’s hard to find someone to confide in about what that thing is someone wants…because all humans are looking for it. So, I talked to a squirrel about this. Pretty insightful conversation actually…I realized that I was confiding in a squirrel. I figured that biology is my thing.

I have accumulated many experiences since I developed my understanding and deep passion for biology and life in general, or biophilia as E.O. Wilson would say. Now, I have the rare opportunity to get out of this monotonous text book and powerpoint slide world and enter the real world…the wild world. To finally put all of this information swarming around in my head to use. To enter the deep rainforest at Refugio Bartola in Nicaragua with thirteen other intelligent and charismatic classmates and four very inspiring instructors.

An adventure has come into my hands in which not only do I get to explore a rarely seen and incredibly exuberant and diverse world, I get to learn about it. I get to ask the questions. Curiosity. I get to stand in the middle of rainforest, between giant buttress trees, towering over me as if I were a mere spec in the vast chasm of filtering light and lush plants crawling with insects and hiding predatory eyes with a recorder and notebook in hand. Stillness. I get to poke my fingers into holes and get a nasty bite from a bullet ant. Patience. I get to rush out at 4 a.m., forget to put on repellent, and come back with my first bot fly. Determination. I get to finally participate and add to the wealth of knowledge of these richly diverse organisms.

My goals to become a researcher of all things living and breathing on this earth is finally about to begin. With this trip, I intend to write my first publishable paper on a system or organism that has relevance to improving how we humans inhabit and treat this world. I hope to continue to learn how to become a better scientist while experiencing it with my bare mud-covered hands. I hope to participate in the betterment of this world and help improve the issue of the global warming of hearts.

Kaylee, Starting Out

Contemplating Conservation

Hello! My name is Kaylee Vanni and I’m a third year Environmental Science major at UCLA.  This quarter I will have the wonderful opportunity to do an original research project in the Nicaraguan rainforest! We have just begun preparation for our trip and already I’m being asked interesting questions that I never thought to ask myself. For example, what species should we focus on conserving? This is a particularly difficult question because, as a young scientist, I am aware of my naivety for wanting to save anything and everything. In order to have effective conservation tactics, questions like this are imperative to ask and attempt to answer. This classroom environment is unlike any other course I have taken at UCLA. The professors and TAs are so engaging and passionate about what they are talking about. I’m acclimatized to huge lecture halls where my face gets lost among the three hundred students. This quarter will be the exact opposite, with one-on-one interactions and attention.

Thinking about what to do when I graduate often makes me feel nauseous. So I’m hoping to have a realization of what it is I want to do with my career and my life during this trip! I hope my experiences can help refine my professional goals and help me discover my true passions of science. This quarter will provide me with so many new and exciting opportunities; I hope I can be open and willing to experience new and unknown adventures. I think I’m most excited about the potential of discovering or describing something new. The rainforest is home to such high biodiversity that many organisms have yet to be discovered. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of new research coming out of Nicaragua. I can’t wait to get out in the field, conduct research, and hopefully come home botfly free!

Ben, Starting Out

From Lab Bench to Rainforest

My name is Ben Schoenberg and I’m a Senior undergraduate student at UCLA, majoring in Biology with a minor in Biomedical Research. This Winter quarter I’ve been selected to participate in a glorious opportunity which involves traveling to Nicaragua and performing field biology research.

Future sports medicine physician or world-traveling biologist? I hope to answer this question at the end of my field biology quarter experience. I’m excited to gain a better understanding of research in a field environment after spending 1.5 years in a stem cell lab on campus. But almost more than that—I can’t wait for the day in and day out activities in Nicaragua. Canoeing up the local river, searching for slippery frogs of all shapes and sizes, and really getting my hands dirty. A venomous snake experience would be very cool too, although at a distance of about 10 meters of course. I’m also looking forward to being part of this trip with a group and communicating our stories and discoveries to each other. I’ve never traveled to such a remote part of the world, especially one that’s a biodiversity hotspot and can only imagine the mysterious creatures I’m going to encounter. Furthermore, getting off the grid and truly disconnecting from social media and email is definitely something I’m looking forward too.

In terms of academic goals I aspire to come back with a new dedication towards conservation biology, with the goal of making a positive impact in the field. Whether that involves direct research, increased public awareness, or spreading cute pictures of spider monkeys playing. Finally, I’m looking forward to gaining practical skills in developing experiments to test and recording results. I’ve never used the statistical software “R” before and feel it could be a useful tool in analyzing data.

Lindsey, Starting Out

And So It Begins

First of all, hello! Welcome. Thank you for spending the time to read about this brief but exhilarating adventure I am about to embark on. My name is Lindsey and I’m a third year studying Ecology, Behavior and Evolution at UCLA. What do I want to do with that may you ask? I’m not entirely sure, but more on that later. This quarter I am partaking in a course in which students plan and carry out research on a subject of their choice in a tropical rainforest in southeastern Nicaragua.

Since I have known that I would be participating in this program I’ve been showered with questions from friends and family. Where exactly will you be? What are you going to be researching? Is this something you want to pursue after college? The intimidating reality that came about was that my answer to most questions was “I have no idea.” I knew the general area we would be traveling to, Refugio Bartola in Nicaragua, but what exactly that area consists of I was unsure. As for the research, our course is set up where we pick, as individuals or groups, a study topic or organism that we then get to collect data on in the field for three weeks. This can be exhilarating but overwhelming to think about. Tropical rainforests are the most biodiverse environments on earth; how am I to choose just one organism to study? And as for the question that I have been asked infinitely since I was a kid, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” or as I see it “What in the world do you want to do with your life when you graduate college?” It is a daunting thought. I currently think I want to go into environmental management, but this trip will hopefully give me some much welcomed insight into what field research is like and if this could be something I could spend my life being passionate about.

After months of being filled with the questions of others and my own, here we are at the present day and a majority of those questions have, to which I am very thankful, been answered. I will be staying close to the border of Costa Rica along the Rio San Juan. What I am going to study has yet to be decided, but I will be creating two separate research projects of which I will plan throughout the next few weeks, possibly even while at the site. There is so much that I am looking forward to in the coming months. I don’t often think much about my surroundings, I’ve lived in California my entire life, but there are so many other environments out there that I cannot even begin to imagine. I am going to travel to a place 100% different than Los Angeles, full of different species that are utterly new to me, and that excites me.