Ethology Conference - The Function of Behavior

Day Four of the Ethology Meeting is all about Function and Behavior.

For a long time I have always felt as if I had some sort of intution about marketing. Hmm, seems my intutition was merely cuing into my academic knowledge in animal behvaior which also includes pyschology and cognition. From the point of view of the function of behavior, there is a great intersection between Ethology, Consumer Pscyhology and Marketing that I might want to look into as a side hustle.

Today's plenary speaker is Dr. Jean-Charles Chebat who isn't an ethologist, psychologists or animal behavior scientist at all. He's a Martketing professor at HEC Montreal - a Business College in Quebec, Canada, and he studies the behavior of shoppers. Now, if you remember what ethology means - the scientific study of animal behvaior in relation to its habitat - you might be thinking, "What's the'natural habitat' of a shopper?"
Well, the shopping mall, of course. No kidding. His work on how people respond to subtle cues of sound, smell, and space (how things are arranged) is some interesting stuff. His research (and reasearch from other studies) indicates that the background music, specifically the tempo of the music, has an effect on how people pace themselves in a store, how quickly or slowly they peruse the aisles, how much time they spend in the store and not so suprisingly, how much money they spend. Aromas and colors have a simlar effect on shoppers, too. lavendar has a calming effect on shoppers.

Here's some fresh lavendar I found in a park in Rennes, France.

To bad there is no smell-o-vision.

Citrus makes younger shoppers feel as if they can find things more easily (then, I'll take a lemon with me the next time I visit Marshalls or TJ Maxx, I can never find anything on those long racks!)
The cool colors in the blue spectrum tend to have a calming affect on people, making them feel relaxed and comfortable while they shop. Warm colors in the red spectrum tend to encourage people to move at a quicker pace.

And the unconscious behavioral high-jacking doesn't just end with colors, smells, and space. Other people can influence shopper behavior, too.

For task-oriented shoppers like me - crowds have a negative cognitive and spending impact. Crowds can make shoppers and employees feel overwhlemed, that the product or services are somehow less valuable, and it the shopping experience feels depersonalized. Such people are less likely to spend much money or leave feeling irritaged. Perhaps a little lavender in the store and soothing music can do the trick.

However, on a smaller scale, any degree of shopper social interaction can (a friend, a relative or even strangers influence your shopping behavior). In fact, a study found that most people unconsciously fall into one of eleven customer roles (McGrath & Otnes 2000).

1. help-seeker: asks for help with a purchase, findinig something or opinion on a product
2. reactive-helper: offers help when asked
3. proactive helper: offers help without being asked
4. admirer: the co-signer
5. competitor: the body-checker and elbower in basement sales; wants to beat everyone else at acquiring the best purchases
6. complainer: person who is never happy with a store, product, or service
7. follower: people who tail strangers in a store watch what they say and buy
8. judge: slick hater who throws judgement on someone else or their purchases
9. accused: the one who worries about what others think about them and their purchases
10. spoiler: hater who always hates on someone else's purchase
11. observer: stationary, quiet person who just watches everybody else in the store

Which one are you?

Ethology Conference - The Causes and Mechanisms of Behavior

Day Two of the conference all about the Mechanisms of Behavior.


The plenary speaker of the day was Dr. Carmen Sandi whose talk was titled Stress and the fate of memories. First, I was excited to see a female plenary or keynote speaker. In science it is still relatively uncommon to have female keynote speakers. It’s not because there aren’t very many female scientists, and that certainly isn’t the case in the field of behavior. However, there are still relatively fewer women, compared to men who reach the high levels of recognition in order to receive an invitation to be a keynote speaker at a major international conference. There are researchers and science bloggers who study and address these topics directly, e.g. Fairer Science, and can list a variety of reasons why this may or may not be the case. However, it is always a joy to see a plenary talk from a seasoned researcher who represents a different demographic typical of what we think most scientists look like.

Her talk detailed the important role stress has in making memories and learning and how behavior is influenced. How does stress do that?

Well, stress can be internal (like emotional) or external (like meeting a deadline). The stress surrounding the situation can strengthen the memory and shape how we respond to futire encounters of the stress. Your memory can be key to your survival, for awild animal it would be important to remember:
- what food to eat or prey to hunt or avoid
-what is a dangerous habitat or where the predators live, look like, smell like, etc
You need to be able to recall these things in an emergency and react appropriately

Dr. Sandi's presentation included examples of rodent ‘learning mazes’ that were very similar to the testing equipment I used in my studies. The rest of the conference day, including my symposium on Animal Personality and Day Three of the Conference all about Applied Animal Behavior (with domestic and captive wild animals) was Deja vu.

Dramatic, I know. But these tests are being used for a wide variety of animal species: rodents - wild and domesiticated; farm animals - sheep, goats,and pigs; fish;birds..and many, many more species.

Animal personality is one a-MAZE-ing (open)FIELD of study.

The positive: there is a huge body of literature and knowldge about how these behavior tests work to help us leanr about animal behavior and personality.

The negative: we can't seem to agree as what these test actually tells us about animal behavior -of animal kind of animal - large or small, fish or fowl, wild or domesticated.

Science is by no means an exact science. Knoweldge is being constantly updated and modified. Which, by the way is the purpose of me sharing with you what happens at professional science meetings. This doesn't mean that we don't know what we are doing or what we are talking about. Oh contrare - but it does mean that we are cautious about telling you, the public, that we have found the answer, the one absolute answer. You see, most any scientist is always thinking considering things. We try hard not to be judgmental, there is always room to learn. We don't know everything so we always leave the door open to learn more. That's one of the lessons of being scientific literacy you might hear people talking about sometimes.

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Pictures of people at the conference, many of them are professors whose papers I have read and cited in my Bibliography of my dissertation.

Ethology Conference - The Development of Behavior

First, I need to make a correction. The is the 31st Biennial IEC Confrence, not the annual. Biennial means every two years. Each day of the IEC conference is organized around one of the Tinbergen's 4 Questions.

Day one of the conference is all about Behavior and Development.

Development & Behavior - describes how organisms come to behave in a way that is thought to be 'typical' of its species and this is called species-typical behavior. Species-typical behavior is important for the organism because behaving 'correctly' keeps the animal safe from danger and helps it utilize resources - such as what is the right kind of food to eat or prey to hunt, where and how to find appropriate shelter, and also how to interact with conspecifics, or others of its species, in a social manner which would include mating and parenting.

Dr. Robert Lickliter, of Florida International University, gave a talk titled ‘Ecology, experience, and epigenesis: The developmental dynamics of species-typical behavior” and presented some interesting details about how the field of Behavioral Development has provided some great insights into species-typical behaviorFor a long time, we thought of species-typical behavior as built-in to the organism. Animals are simply born, hatched or emerging knowing what to do and doing it. For example, ducks that follow their mother after hatching, or baby antelope that can gallop, run and nurse its mother soon after birth. Or the breed differences between sheep. Black face sheep are known to be very being very good mothers, whereas Suffolk are known for being less so. I learned in the talk by Dr. Cathy Dwyer of Scottish Agricultural College titled “Variation in maternal behavior affects offspring behavior and development in sheep”, that these breed-typical behaviors are based on subtle behavior cues coming from both the mother sheep, called a ewe, and the baby sheep, called a lamb. The reason why these two breeds or sheep are different in their parenting styles is because they different in how much they nurse their young and interact with their lambs when they are nursing. These parenting differences also influence the social behavior or flocking tendency of lambs with other sheep.
Suffolk sheep Image credit: http://www.faculty.ksu.edu.sa/

Black face sheep Image credit: http://www.attonburn.com/

These seemingly immediate and natural behaviors were once explained as being innate or instinctual to the organism. But it is important for me to explain to you that instinct doesn't mean genetically hard-wired. In fact, the idea of innate or instinctual behavior isn't set in stone.

Even what we thought of as instinctual behavior is subject to development, in other words, it happens because of some sort of preparation to do the behavior.

Preparation can include simple exposure - such as baby ducks must hear the calls of its mother and itself in order to know its species call and respond to them once they are hatched. That is why baby ducks follow their mother so immediately after hatching.

Preparation can include practice and coaching - such as male zebra finches that need to hear older males sing their species mating songs and practice the songs before they can successfully sing the song and win a female mate.

Preparation can also include practice and feedback - such as male cow birds that sing mating songs and the females give them visual signals to let them know which parts of the songs they like. The males eventually only sing songs that females like and this helps them secure a mate.

These research studies are great examples of the scientific process and how science helps us discern more information about the everyday - seeing wonder and nuance in common phenomena.

Once upon a time, the term instinct was perfect way to explain things that we didn't completely understand at the time. It just seemed to happen. I made it look easy, because it is to me ("The Choice is Yours" by Black Sheep 1991 - did you get the pun? hahaha).

In other words, until researchers decided to look at the phenomena more closely and carefully, the behavior of the animals just seemed to happen - automatically, immediately, and naturally. The scientific process - of observation, proposing hypotheses and testing hypotheses, allows for us to update our knowledge. Yes, once upon a time we thought of each of the behaviors mentioned earlier as instinctual. Now, with hypothesis testing we are learning that these behaviors are developed and animals are prepared (unconsciously and sometimes before birth/hatching) to do these behaviors. Not only can we update our knowledge about animal behavior, but animals can also 'update' their capacity to behave in a way natural for their species.

Live Blogging Professional Scientific Conferences - International Ethological Conference

I am at the 31st Annual International Ethological Conference in Rennes, France. Ethology means the study of animal behavior in relation to its habitat with an emphasis on behavioral processes. So why don't just call it animal behavior? Well, because there is more than one way to look at animal behavior and scientists who study animal behavior which include (psychologists, ethologists, applied animal behaviorists, and behavioral ecologists). In fact, there are at least 4 ways to examine animal behavior and thankfully we all agree to these - they are called the Tinbergen's Four Questions which are considered the "spine of ethology".

1. Development
2. Mechanisms
3. Function
4. Evolution

Ethologists comprehend that in order to fully comprehend animal behavior we must understand not only what animals do, but when they do it, under what circumstances they do it, what objectives the behavior meets, and the historical reasons why animals do what they do. Some animal behavior scientists focus on one area or the other, but together we pool our research results, come to meetings and put our heads together to get a better idea of animal behavior.

Each day of the IEC conference is organized around one of the Tinbergen's 4 Questions. And I’ll share highlights of the meeting and the scientific research being discussed.

Ethologists attending the conference.

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Now, it’s your turn. Go on an Urban Science Adventure Animal Behavior Research Challenge.

What I love about animal behavior science is a branch of science that comes so naturally to almost anyone; and you don’t have to have expense equipment or supplies to make some really exciting discoveries. Animal Behavior is neat because anyone, including you, can observe animals and begin studying animal behavior. The very act of close watching and taking notes is a part of the necessary work of animal behavior research.

Visit your Special Sanctuary and pick an animal that visits there often. It can be an insect, bug, bird, frog, squirrel or even pets like dogs and cats.

Watch one animal very closely for 10 minutes. This is your focal animal.

Jot down notes as to watch what this animal is doing -- such as running, climbing, eating, resting, interacting with another animal, etc.

Watch this one animal for the whole time. Hopefully, you are keeping a natural journal of all of your outdoor adventures. If not, start your nature journal now.

Now, you are doing real-live observational animal behavior research.
Observe your focal animal as often as you like - daily, weekly or several times a day.
Later, try observing more than one animal, but only after you spend 10 minutes watching the first animal.
Are there many different species at your Special Sanctuary? Observe these animals, too.

Do they behave differently?

Can you identify different individuals from the same species?

Can you notice any individual differences in their behavior?

Write me and tell me all about your Urban Science Adventures! ©

Travelog Europe: Arrival to France

Travel to France included a 7 hour overnight flight to Paris. Though it was only 12:30 am my local time in St. Louis, MO, I arrived in Paris, France at 7:30 am. The sun was bright and it was warm outside – quite unlike the temperature on the 777 plane jet. I departed the plan and followed the lines of people to the international exit – Customs. I was mightily surprised that the flight attendants hadn’t passed out slips of declaration papers which I had experienced in my other international travels (to Canada, Guyana, and Brazil). I kept waiting for the papers and nothing ever happened. I showed my passport to the friendly EU Customs guard and passed without a single inquiry of why I was visiting Europe – for business or holiday, where I was staying, and who did I know.

I next caught the train – the TGV or the European Super Train. First, I had to figure out how to convert my electronic ticket to a real ticket to use on the train. I stood in one wrong line after next and eventually found the correct one – the longest, slowest one. I got my tickets, then I exchanged my money. (I should have traded money in the States, either with my bank or the currency exchanges in the Airport. I gave the European Currency exchangers $120 US dollars and she gave me 65.38 Euros. What?!! Glad I packed half a dozen granola bars and cheese crackers because I ain’t buying anything! Not even food.)

The correct train car

The Super train is large. Very large. I stepped on the wrong car several times before I finally found my seat, by which time the car began moving smoothly away. Whew!

I had to transfer trains in Le Mans, France…The Pontiac car is named after this town. I walked outside briefly and snapped some shorts of the quaint European town, including its local Metro train.

Me at the Le Mans station waiting for my connecting train to Rennes

Pictures of Le Mans, France

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I finally arrived in Rennes, France around 2:30 pm local French time. I had to take the local metro train to the University and the ticket machines are in French only. My list of French terms for tourists did me no good. Thankfully another conference attendee and native French women came to my (and two more Americans rescue).

By this time I was only working approximately 6 hrs of sleep in the last 24 hours and I was dog tired and confused. When I checked into the dorm room, they couldn’t find me because they were expecting me the following day. This time change just got the better of me. But after a little nap and a badly needed shower, I went to the opening ceremony to get my registration packet and enjoyed some light French cuisine, which included…stinky cheese.

The open air cafes in Rennes, France.

Frommage (cheese) and salad

stinky cheese dishes

Chocolat mousse
creme brulee

Headed to France today

I am all ready set to go!
Here is my itinerary

Tue Aug 18
12:51 pm CST: I depart St. Louis on United Airlines. I transfer planes in Washington, DC - Dulles International Airport.

4:00 - 5:30pm EST: I am in Washington DC and this will be your last chance to call me in the United States

5:30 EST: I fly on Lufthansa Airlines to Paris, France

Wed Aug 19
6:55 am (French local time*): I arrive in Paris, France - Charles De Galle Airport
I expect to go through customs which may take a couple of hours.
*Europe is roughly 7 hours ahead of the central time zone.

10:27 am (French local time):I take the Eurorail to Rennes, France. I am so excited about taking the super train.
2:15 pm: I arrive in Rennes, France
I will take the bus to dorm and try not to sleep for the rest of the day (everyone recommends that)

Wed Aug 19 -Mon Aug 24
The International Ethology Conference
I'll be staying in University Rooms Accomodations. Affordable, private and looks comfortable

Fri Aug 21
That afternoon I present will my paper in the Animal Personality Symposium.
Until that time, I'll be practicing my talk, checking out other talks, meeting scientists, networking and if possible - blogginf and telling you all about what and who I see, hear and meet.

Tues Aug 25
The conference ends, but I'll spend some time in Europe, since I've never been before.
5:58 am (local French time): I will take Eurorail to Amsterdam. I have to transfer trains and train stations in Paris. I'm a little nervous. I speak no French and only survival spanish. I printed out some common French phrases for travellers to take with me.

2:36 pm (local Dutch time: I will arrive in Amsterdam and meet my friends Tim and Kevin. Kevin is also a biologist. We stared graduate school together. He's a superstar and studies disease ecology in birds. I'm hoping he'll let me interview him and hang out and do some bird science. Exciting!

Tues Aug 25 - Sun Aug 30
I'll be in the Netherlands with my friends checking out the Netherlands, and hopefully Belgium a little. I expect there will be some exciting urban ecology, wildlife and nature blogging opportunities to compare and contrast to urban American settings.

For example, did you know that house sparrows, Eurasian tree sparrows and starlings are all native birds of Europe that now call North America home?

Last note:
When I get internet access, I'll post updates to the blog, Facebook, FriendFeed, Twitter - so please follow and make comments. Heck, ask questions.

Also, if you would like a post card from me, then you need to leave a comment in this or any of my other European posts before I leave. I'll need your name and address with zip code!

Bon voyage!

Urban Wildlife Watch: Learning to keep your eyes open

Observation is the foundation of all scientific pursuits.
-DNLee

The scientific method you learn at school may teach you the first step is the problem or question or hypothesis. But the real first step is observation - the simple and awesome act of paying attention - with your eyes, ears, taste buds, your noses your fingers tips, and yes, even your heart. All of your senses come to play.

It's only when you notice your environment or body or whatever do you really begin to recognize a problem or ask more probing questions. And that is the magic of science. It's what inspires scientist - the professional ones and all of you at home, to explore!


Wildlife is everywhere, even in the busiest, seemingly concrete human-occupied places of all.


With this blog (and my offline outreach activities) I point out hidden-in-plain-view wildlife and natural places in urban areas.

In fact, here are some photos of wild scenes I've eye-spied in the last 2 weeks, all right in St. Louis, Missouri.

A male cardinal, only a fledgling. I found him in the street (Elm Street in Webster Groves). As I was driving by I noticed a remarkable bright red object in the line of traffic. I turned around to inspect, and found this fellow stunned. I picked him and brought him home for a day. After 24 hours he was perching in the bird cage and eating sunflower seeds I set out for him so I released him in my back yard. (I have video I will share later).

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I saw this bird nest just lying on the ground right next to the SCOSAG house in Tower Grove Park in St. Louis, Missouri at Grand Avenue and Arsenal. There egg shells inside. The summer camp counselor said she notice the nest on a branch in the tree above where it had fell the days before. There were little brown birds that lived in it (some sort of little brown job - sparrow, wren, or chickadees). She took the nest inside for show-and-tell for the kiddies at the summer art camp.

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This is a nest of duck eggs right along the walkway across from the Forest Park Visitor Center in St. Louis. The nest was obviously abandoned and the eggs didn't mature. But how neat is this?

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I saw this bunny right by a bus stop at the Grand Station Metro link in south city St. Louis (near Saint Louis University and Harris-Stowe State University). People were at the bus stop not 6 feet away from this little fellow nibbling on grass.

He eventually hopped away into the work yard of a nearby industrial business.

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Now, it's your turn. Go on Urban Science Adventure Eye-Spy Challenge.

Find a place to sit still and quietly outdoors. You could take a walk through your neighborhood, or visit a park or school play ground or even your back yard. Call this place your Special Sanctuary.

Quietly watch and observe a section of the landscape for 10 minutes. Try not to make any noise or move around too much.

What sounds do you hear?

What new animals or insects have you noticed?

What plants grow there? Is it shady or sunny?

Take a photos or draw a picture of what you see. Write down your thoughts in a journal.

Go back to the same spot at a different time of day. Try visiting your Special Sanctuary in the morning, afternoon, and at dusk.

Are there different animals there? Different plants?

Write me and tell me all about your Urban Science Adventures! ©

Science Behind-the-Scenes

I know this blog is about urban ecology and wildlife, but it’s also about science. I realize that very few people know what all it takes to do and produce scientific information and share it with the world. Far fewer people know a scientist. I share what I do because, well – I ain’t shy about talking and being in front of people, and because I really enjoy what I do, even if some parts of it can be hectic. Science is a verb! It’s what I do. Science is also a process and one of the things outreach scientists, like myself and other science bloggers and informal science educators, lament about is how we can help the general public better understand what science is and what scientists do.

Most of the time, I use this blog to show young people how fun science can be. And it is. I have a blast. I can’t believe I get paid (well, sometimes I get paid) to do this. I go outside and observe plants, animals, and people, I collect plants and animals, I take care of animals (never leave a house plant in my care), and I do experiments, I write up my results and I get to travel to all kinds of places and share pictures and stories of what I’ve done. But, other than the therapy of pouring out my highs and lows with you, I also think sharing this behind-the-scenes view of science – writing the dissertation, attending meetings, interviewing other scientists, etc. – is also my responsibility.

So here I go. This time next week, I’ll be all groggy eyed and tired from my overnight flight and walking on European soil for the first time in my life. I’ll actually be presenting the main chapter of my dissertation at the science conference in Rennes, France. Science conference are like the big trailer of all of the upcoming scientific discoveries and controversies that might eventually be featured in a science textbook, medical news coverage, NPR Science Friday or Discovery/Animal Planet/ National Geographic Channel show near you. So the presentation I’ll give and my dissertation progress are all wrapped up together. What makes this meeting and presentation so special, compared to all of the other meetings and presentations, is that I’ve been invited to speak on this topic – as an up-and-coming authority on the subject of Animal Personality. And I emphasize up-and-coming. The persons speaking before me and after me are university professors and actually I quote them quite a bit in my own papers. It is an honor to hold the stage with them. Plus, I’ll be giving a preview of my dissertation defense at this meeting. I present August 21st. When I am done I’ll post my presentation on this blog via SlideShare. So that way you all can check it out, too.

Related to this, I’m thinking about live streaming my dissertation defense online. The defense is a public which means any and everyone can come. Plus, I have several friends and family who may not be able to make it. I was wondering, would you –my blog readers and internet friends be interested watching my dissertation defense and seeing how a real live scientist becomes a Ph.D.? Let me know; I would love some feedback on this.

Wordless Wednesday: Black Weblog Award Finalist

Wordless? Ha! I must say how very appreciative I am of all of my blog readers and supporters. Thanks to you Urban Science Adventures! © is a finalist for a weblog Award and the lone science blog in the Best Science/Technology Blog category. I’ve got some stiff competition.
To vote for me, and your other favorite Black Weblogs in 30 categories, simply visit the 2009 Black Weblog Awards Finalist Ballot page. Provide your name and email and pick your favorites. Voting ends September 1; winners are announced on September 4.

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Antarctica Contest Update!

I’m in eighth place and I’m hanging in the top ten. You all are the greatest. Voting continues until September 30th, so I there is still time! I realize the voting process for this contest is a bit involved – registration, confirmation and then voting. If you registered, be sure to check the make sure you voted. You have to click on the Vote for me button after confirming registration. So sign-in and vote again to be sure - only one vote per registered email, so you won’t be double voting. If you have yet to vote, then please visit my official contest page.

But this contest has revealed something very important to me. I think the number of votes I have, now 608 (I need 3200 more to get into first place), accurately reflects the reach of my blog. And I am very proud and pleased with this number. A little over year ago I thought hardly anyone read this blog and in that year I my subscription rates have increased. Plus, my comments have increased dramatically. I now get comments and nearly every post I make. Also, I’ve met and made several new friends including other science/nature bloggers, my technorati authority has grown, I’ve had friends and acquaintances of many years discover this blog serendipitously who are now subscribers, and I’ve even had people come up to me in person who recognized me from the blog. So all in all, I know this contest is a success. And it has signaled to me that in order to truly earn more votes for this contest (or any other online contest), I simply need to keep reaching more people.

Count-down to France

In two weeks I depart for France to attend a scientific conference - The International Ethological Conference. The line-up of presentations looks very impressive and I'm quite excited about the meeting and the chance to travel to a new place. This meeting of animal behavior scientists occurs every two years or biennially. I have attended two previous conferences of this society, one in Brazil (2003) and another in Halifax, Canada (2007).

I have been amazingly blessed to travel and see places my parents and grandparents never dreamed of being able to visit. Science has afforded me the opportunity to travel to South America - Guyana and Brazil - and throughout North America - Mexico and Canada. Now, I will travel to Europe for the first time in my life. (Fingers still crossed for visiting Antarctica.)

I'm preparing my presentation "Animal personality: Promise and problems for the investigation of mechanisms and functions". You can visit the website and will see that I am the second speaker in a series of 8 speakers. Haha. No pressure.

I am also packing my 'bags' or in this case my travel wish list.

• an internationally capable broadband internet card
• perfect, weather resistant, no-muss no fuss hair
• an ipod with great tunes for the overnight flight and high-speed trains
• my calorie grabber for all of the delicious food, desserts, and beverages I will try
• a big pack of Lithium Ion Batteries for Digital Cameras - those things work
• knowledge of how to properly use Skype (I have it downloaded on one of my thumbdrives)
• a mini-handbook of French and Dutch
• a meet-up of English-speaking bloggers & tweeters in Paris while I'm there sight-seeing
• lots of well-wishes and any suggestions for places to stay (like a nice hostel, afforable, yet very comfortable) eat or check out.

I intend to take lots of pictures, do interviews with scientists and blog/tweet while I'm in Europe. I hope to share with you all an inside view of the professional side of science and some great urban ecology in Europe.

Merci beaucoup

Adventures on the High Seas with SEAPLEX

In search of……treasure, glorious plastic rubbish that is scientific treasure. Aaarrgh!

Seriously though, my BBFF (blogging best friend forever), Miriam G is headed out into the great vastness of the Pacific Ocean and leading her crew aboard the SEAPLEX - Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition. Their mission… “Seeking the Science of the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch”.

“From August 2-21, a group of doctoral students and research volunteers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego will embark on an expedition aboard the Scripps research vessel New Horizon to explore the problem of plastic in the North Pacific Gyre. The Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition (SEAPLEX) is the first of its kind and will focus on a suite of critical questions. How much plastic is accumulating, how is it distributed, and how is it affecting ocean life? The researchers hope to provide critical, timely data to policy makers and combine Scripps' long tradition of Pacific exploration with focus on a new and pressing environmental problem.”

[Emphasis mine]

Photo: Scripps Institution of Oceanography research vessel New Horizon off San Diego on May 6, 2009.

Doesn’t this sound like the most exciting research ever? I think so. This type of research is not only interested in whole communities –t he plants, animals, and microbes of the sea – but also the entire ecosystem – marine – and how we humans and our activities influence the marine ecosystem and its communities. Have you ever thought about what happens with all of our plastic trash we discard? What about those plastic bags from the grocery store? There always seems to be bags floating in the air, sailing across the ground…and where does it end? What about plastic containers from water bottles, laundry detergent, juice or other food items? Unlike paper or fiber containers, plastic doesn’t obey the ‘rules of decomposition’. It doesn’t easily break down, so it just sits there – or floats – forever and ever. Okay, not forever, but for a time much longer than we live, and we and discard plastic like running water, so we must begin to think about managing it when we’re done with it.

Photo: NOAA Marine Debris Program

Each day, the crew will post updates and let us all know how the weather is treating them, how the sampling goes, and what they are finding. I love how we are able to follow their progress and get a chance to observe a ‘real-life scientific expedition’ in progress. I’m looking forward to it all.

Join me in following SEAPLEX on its High Seas Adventures!

Visit and subscribe to the Blog: http://seaplexscience.com
Follow their every move and discovery at Twitter: @seaplexscience

Dissertation Progress....and other things

As you all know, I've been feverishly working on my dissertation - analyzing data, writing manuscripts, and revising as needed according to my lab mates and committee's suggestions. It's been a hectic summer. Each week, I set the goal of completing the whole she-bang thing. That hasn't happened, but I make progress - very important and fundamental progress to meeting that ultimate goal.

And if you also follow me on Facebook or Twitter, then you know of my daily cycles of frustrations and near-tear episodes of feeling hopeless. These last weeks have been especially trying. All of my friends, relations, and supporters (on-line and offline) have been so great and encouraging...Thank ya'll! And last week I read this really great blog post - Twelve reasons to finish writing your dissertation by Dr. Free Ride - whom I had the pleasure of meeting earlier this year at ScienceOnline09 - and I was feeling like - "Yeah! I can do it. I will do it!"

However, I will not be ill not be able to defend in August like I so desperately wanted. I depart for France in the middle of the month so I'll have to defend when I return - in September. Yeah, I'm going to France, I think I meant to write a post about it but didn't. I am presenting a paper at the 31st International Ethological Conference held in Rennes, France. Ethology is the study of animal behavior in their natural habitats. I was invited to participate in a symposium all about animal personality and behavioral syndromes. I'll be presenting my dissertation at this conference, so that is one of the many reasons why I have been so keen on making sure my results and interpretations are right on. I'll be the only non-professor participating in this conference - heavy hitters - and I'm presenting an opposing view, so I want to make sure I am spot on and ready for the critiques. But I still think I'll be able to pull off a committee meeting before leaving, giving me some much needed preparation for the meeting, assuming I can get them all in the room at the same time. Plus, my remaining dissertation chapters are shaping up. There's been a lot of surgery, deleting parts and analysis, simply because it just doesn't stick to the main point. The good news is that I will have several extra publications.

I'm also still in to win it for the Blog Your Way to Antarctica contest. I'm still in the top 10, but the competition is intense. Positions 2-6 have seen alot of juggling. I need 3000 votes to get into first place. The contest continues until September 30th, so there is time. But my first priority is completing my dissertation and if things go as planned, I'll be defending the dissertation by the time the results of this contest is in. LOL! And though I am trailing in votes I am amazed my the role of social media and it's ability to reach so many different people so quickly. I know thousands of people have heard of this contest and of my efforts simply because of the forwarded emails, Facebook status updates, Friendfeeds, Re-tweets, and blog posts of dozens of people -many of whom I do not even know personally. I am especially grateful for the support from the SITS, BlogHer, and Blogging While Brown blogging communities. Individuals from each of these group have re-tweeted or posted announcements on my behalf and some have even posted full articles for me. Cynthia at A Shimmy in Spirit is even hosting a comment contest to encourage her readers to vote for me, too! By Voting for me and leaving a comment at her blog, you could win a $25 Starbucks card (and more). Click on the image below and learn about the contest. I just love the image, btw - a brown buxom girl with a wintry scene and coffee cup in hand. That is SO me! How does she know me so well and we've never met? Friends in real life, please testify.


So as much as I would love to go to Antarctica, I'm more excited about sharing what I do - science and nature appreciation with a wider online audience. I hope all of these new eyes will stop by Urban Science Adventures! (c) and stay.

Urban Wildlife Watch: Marine Mammals

Living in the middle of the United States, I often forget that major coastal cities experience a variety of urban wildlife that seems exotic to me. I am especially thinking of marine life such as dolphins, whales, sharks, sea turtles, seals, crabs, sea birds, and the like. I image it must be a very beautiful site to see these creatures while enjoying a day at the beach or strolling along the boardwalk.

photo credit: The Bizza.com website -the Biz Levity files

However, I am also reminded that anywhere people and thriving natural ecosystems meet, human-animal conflicts are also likely to occur. Observing urban wildlife can be wonderful, but some animals we only ever really notice them after they have died. I think of how commonly I come across dead opossums and raccoons as opposed to living ones. **Warning, previous link includes a real pictures of road kill.** Roadkill can be disgusting, but for hard to observe animals it's the best way for scientists and naturalists to prove an animal lives in a certain area. It also presents us with a chance to study the animal, learn more about it's anatomy and physiology, eating habits, and what diseases, parasites, and microbes it is vulneable to and successful against. We can use this information to create policy and make recommendations to government and non-government agencies. Plus, it presents the general public a chance to see an animal close-up. Recently, a fin whale was discovered dead beneath the bow of a cruise ship preparing to dock in Vancouver, Canada. Ship Docks With Dead Fin Whale on Bow. (Check it out the link includes a short video from an observer at the scene.)

photo credit: The Greenlight Show blog - an Environmental Radio show aimed at young audiences in Melbourne, Australia

Though many of us may not think of whales are urban wildlife, they indeed can be (There's college text book about them). Think about all of the urban areas along the northern coasts of the east and west sides of the North American continent. Sightings of whales and orkas were recorded there for a few hundred years. And think about the fishing and whaling towns in the same areas. However, this is the largest case of roadkill imagineable, but if you checked out the National Geographic special on the Blue Whale, it discussed this very problem. Much bigger ships - like cargo ships and cruise ships - are travelling along routes in the sea that intersect with the traditional swimming routes of these fantastic creatures, including threatened species like the fin whale.

At the very least, I hope we gain some important insight into the biology of the species and continue a dialogue about how we humans might successfully coexist with our beautiful wild cousins - both marine and terrestrial.

Year of Science - July commemorates Astronomy

image credit: NASA

Year of Science (YoS) is a special international outreach program of the scientific community to engage the general public is discussions and hands-on activities. Each month a different scientific topic is highlighted and local YoS partners conduct programs and interacts with the public. It’s great! This month-long outreach program is an intersection of the Year of Science and The International Year of Astronomy 2009 and together both Celebrate Astronomy throughout the month of July.

As explained on the Year of Science website, Astronomy is the oldest field of science, dating back to early man watching the night sky, developing calendars, navigating ocean routes, and the recent travel into space. And this has been a landmark week in Astronomy and Planetary Sciences.

July 20, 2009 is the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon. NPR had Dr. Bernard Harris on Tell Me More to discuss his space walk in 1995. He also discussed his outreach program – The Harris Foundation Summer Science Camp.

It is a summer academic program for middle-school students to engage in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). There are science camp programs all over the U.S. and as I just learned in my town of St. Louis. Click here for a list of participating campuses and look into having a youngster you know participate in the future. How did I miss this? I’m all about the outreach. If you all need to expand your summer camp faculty in the future, then call me.


Wednesday, July 22, 2009 there are a solar eclipse, best seen in Asia. The accounts of the event sounded beautiful. See the image provided by NASA below. Read more about it here.

Today, July 23, 2009, I heard a story on NPR about an amateur astronomer in Australia who discovered an impact spot of a comet on Jupiter. Anthony Wesley was doing his routine sky watching and made a discovery that rivals that of professional scientists and space science programs like NASA.

Citizen Science rocks!

Me at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois.

Hey, BlogHer conference attendees check this cool science museum out.