Some updates for those who are (or aren't yet, but are going to be...) following the goings-on in Amazonian Peru right now:
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0816-hance_uncontacted_logging.html
A bit of background on how the Peruvian government has chosen to deal with those pesky natives protesting the expropriation of resources on their land...
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0519-peru.html
This is the latest article, which I also posted on Facebook:
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0803-hambone_peru.html
That's a start, and all of course lead to a wealth (or tsunami, depending on your perspective) of many other pertinent environment-related articles. Thanks to Gordon and Dara Ulmer of San Marcos, TX (Texas State U) for posting previous links that directed me to this website. There is, of course, more information than any one of us could hope to keep up on in a single lifetime, but that also means there's lots of material for everyone who's interested in what's happening in the world today.
Other good sites...
www.rabble.ca
www.guardian.co.uk (Thanks to Dave Macdonald of Dunster, BC for this one)
Thanks!
Susan
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Summer 2009 (so far) slideshow
At last, a few pics from the frontlines. Stefan has more on his camera, but at the moment he's busy changing ethanol in sculpin samples while I'm hard at work... uploading photos. Click on the slideshow to see bigger copies of the photos in Picasa Web Albums, with captions. I'll see if I can get his up today, too - but no promises.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
News from the front
I see it's been very close to two months since the last post. Reasons abound but would just, well, waste space. Of course the problem with not writing is having to catch up later.
In any event, summer field season began on May 17th, with graduate student Stefan Dennenmoser (hailing from the Dr. Steven M. Vamosi lab). He's sampling prickly sculpin (Cottus asper) while I'm working on predaceous diving beetles (family Dytiscidae). It occurs to me not infrequently that I'm doing what every kid dreams of: essentially, doing what you did for fun when you were 8, and actually getting paid for it, while travelling through some of the most breathtaking scenery on Earth. I'm writing now from Shawnigan Lake on the southern part of Vancouver Island, where we've stopped momentarily before heading over to the Sunshine Coast to check out a few lakes over there. This has meant lots of camping, which is fantastic, and more than enough driving, which just goes with the territory of a biogeographic study.
But while I'm off playing in ponds catching bugs and fish, the outside world continues to revolve; so today this post, courtesy of Kelsey Reider, a fellow researcher from my time last summer at the CICRA research station in Los Amigos, Peru:
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0606-oil_or_death_in_the_amazon.html
with more information on the indigenous peoples of Peru and their plight at
http://www.aidesep.org.pe/
It's so frustrating to see this happening, again and again, particularly in countries so rich in biodiversity and culture. Again it makes me think of the situation in northern Alberta with the oilsands, the rights of our own indigenous and Canadian peoples and the blatant disregard shown them by the Canadian government. Of course as always there are authorities far more well-versed than I; it feels sometimes like while the treasure trove of learning to be done while completing a university degree is fulfilling in and of itself, it's served to soak up all my spare moments such that I've become more, and not less, ignorant on world issues over the last few years. The activist part of me vies for the attention of getting good fieldwork done; erstwhile the fieldwork part is duking it out with the writer and the artist, friend, daughter and relationship all sort of get tossed up in the mix. Hardly excuse for not paying attention, though; I'll just have to work harder at it.
The details help to distract; so far Stefan's had the opportunity to see a "BC wildlife sampler pack" - three black bears, a pine marten; black-tail, white-tail and mule deer; elk (but no moose yet) and we've sat at a campfire listening to barred and boreal owls. We've caught (and released) Dolly Varden, brookies and rainbow trout, stickleback, sunfish, and of course several species of sculpin; enough crayfish that if we were selling them in petstores we could have bought a kayak, a mountain bike, or the summer's worth of ferry rides; two red-legged frogs (Rana aurora), two boreal toads (Bufo boreas) and a Pacific tree frog (Hyla regilla). We lost count of the rough-skinned newts and were delighted with a... large, gilled, but as-yet-unidentified specimen. I thought it was perhaps a Coastal Giant salamander but so far nothing matches up well enough for me to be satisfied with that. Their range is extremely restricted in Canada, to a small region inland (the "coastal" part refers to their range in California). Anyway, onward; we've got photos and will keep looking as time permits.
Going to have breakfast now; I think we'll head over to the mainland around noon (I suspect, no plans have been confirmed as yet) to head up to the Sunshine Coast. I'll try to post briefly more often - oh and so far the weather has been STUNNING, hitting the low 30s the last few days with nearly endless sunshine. And I'll try to add some photos when I next get a chance.
Take care,
Susan
In any event, summer field season began on May 17th, with graduate student Stefan Dennenmoser (hailing from the Dr. Steven M. Vamosi lab). He's sampling prickly sculpin (Cottus asper) while I'm working on predaceous diving beetles (family Dytiscidae). It occurs to me not infrequently that I'm doing what every kid dreams of: essentially, doing what you did for fun when you were 8, and actually getting paid for it, while travelling through some of the most breathtaking scenery on Earth. I'm writing now from Shawnigan Lake on the southern part of Vancouver Island, where we've stopped momentarily before heading over to the Sunshine Coast to check out a few lakes over there. This has meant lots of camping, which is fantastic, and more than enough driving, which just goes with the territory of a biogeographic study.
But while I'm off playing in ponds catching bugs and fish, the outside world continues to revolve; so today this post, courtesy of Kelsey Reider, a fellow researcher from my time last summer at the CICRA research station in Los Amigos, Peru:
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0606-oil_or_death_in_the_amazon.html
with more information on the indigenous peoples of Peru and their plight at
http://www.aidesep.org.pe/
It's so frustrating to see this happening, again and again, particularly in countries so rich in biodiversity and culture. Again it makes me think of the situation in northern Alberta with the oilsands, the rights of our own indigenous and Canadian peoples and the blatant disregard shown them by the Canadian government. Of course as always there are authorities far more well-versed than I; it feels sometimes like while the treasure trove of learning to be done while completing a university degree is fulfilling in and of itself, it's served to soak up all my spare moments such that I've become more, and not less, ignorant on world issues over the last few years. The activist part of me vies for the attention of getting good fieldwork done; erstwhile the fieldwork part is duking it out with the writer and the artist, friend, daughter and relationship all sort of get tossed up in the mix. Hardly excuse for not paying attention, though; I'll just have to work harder at it.
The details help to distract; so far Stefan's had the opportunity to see a "BC wildlife sampler pack" - three black bears, a pine marten; black-tail, white-tail and mule deer; elk (but no moose yet) and we've sat at a campfire listening to barred and boreal owls. We've caught (and released) Dolly Varden, brookies and rainbow trout, stickleback, sunfish, and of course several species of sculpin; enough crayfish that if we were selling them in petstores we could have bought a kayak, a mountain bike, or the summer's worth of ferry rides; two red-legged frogs (Rana aurora), two boreal toads (Bufo boreas) and a Pacific tree frog (Hyla regilla). We lost count of the rough-skinned newts and were delighted with a... large, gilled, but as-yet-unidentified specimen. I thought it was perhaps a Coastal Giant salamander but so far nothing matches up well enough for me to be satisfied with that. Their range is extremely restricted in Canada, to a small region inland (the "coastal" part refers to their range in California). Anyway, onward; we've got photos and will keep looking as time permits.
Going to have breakfast now; I think we'll head over to the mainland around noon (I suspect, no plans have been confirmed as yet) to head up to the Sunshine Coast. I'll try to post briefly more often - oh and so far the weather has been STUNNING, hitting the low 30s the last few days with nearly endless sunshine. And I'll try to add some photos when I next get a chance.
Take care,
Susan
Friday, April 10, 2009
Quick quick...
Just a sobering quote from E. O. Wilson, which sums up my feelings about where we're headed and why consideration of the economy and human well-being first, environment somewhere near or in last place, is so perilously short-sighted:
"In the real world, governed equally by the market and natural economies, humanity is in a final struggle with the rest of life. If it presses on, it will win a Cadmean victory, in which first the biosphere loses, then humanity."
Edward O. Wilson; The Future of Life; Knopf; 2002.
(A Cadmean victory is one in which the cost exacted is as great to the winner as it is to the loser)
Food for thought.
"In the real world, governed equally by the market and natural economies, humanity is in a final struggle with the rest of life. If it presses on, it will win a Cadmean victory, in which first the biosphere loses, then humanity."
Edward O. Wilson; The Future of Life; Knopf; 2002.
(A Cadmean victory is one in which the cost exacted is as great to the winner as it is to the loser)
Food for thought.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Cookin' with gas... err.. wind-generated power!
So, good news arrived early in the webmail Inbox this morning - both Jamie and I (and Dr. Sean Roger's undergrad student, Jobran Chebib) will be getting P. U. R. E. awards! (That's Programs in Undergraduate Research Experience). The P. U. R. E. program is this fabulous U of C invention that awards funding to undergraduate students - of ANY year, which is doubly cool - interested in conducting independent research.
Essentially it goes something like this: you find a supervisor who conducts research you think you'll likely be interested in, and formulate an interesting question based on a review of the literature (or they can help you find a good question that relates to their own research but addresses a novel aspect of it). Then you write up a proposal with hypothesis, predictions, sampling plan, and what you hope to accomplish over the summer... submit by mid-February... wait... wait... This year was stiffer competition than the last - 55 out of 190 applicants in 10 faculties won awards - so it makes the acceptance of your proposal extra rewarding. Also, it's excellent practice in writing research proposals, reviewing literature, formulating your own questions, and working with a supervisor even if you DON'T get the award. This is definitely one of the best perks being offered to undergraduates studying at the University of Calgary (besides some great faculty doing some very interesting, compelling and relevant research).
So this year I'll be sticking to my home turf and staying in Canada. That's OK by me since it gives me a chance to get involved in some great fieldwork with Drs. Vamosi & Vamosi on the BC westcoast. Besides that, I'll be living in a tent for most of the summer, driving around on backroads, wading around in lakes and kayaking between islands where the ferries don't go. This morning I found out that it looks like we'll be heading up to Bella Bella - via an 11-hour ferry ride - to sample prickly sculpin and diving beetles in some island and mainland lakes in that area. Was I interested? Hell, yeah! It also looks like there could be some serious cross-country driving across the BC interior via the backroads... Anyway, I shouldn't give away too much just yet as there's still lots of planning to be done.
But it's great to think of summer, and another field season, being just around the corner: this is, after all, the whole reason I'm so hyped about studying ecology and biodiversity. And now, with the burgeoning realization of the importance of incorporating genetics (which unfolds another old-time obsession of mine, epidemiology and bacteria) into community and population ecology... it feels like we're off to the races. I'm stoked.
That said: there's a little over three weeks left to the semester. A few more papers, a presentation to kick Jamie's butt over (ha!), samples to get ID'ing, a thesis to translate into Spanish (yikes!) and... and... oh right, a couple of finals - are all vying for top priority right now. Nonetheless - it's a great feeling to be immersed to the point of what some might call unhealthy obsession. I love it.
Onward, then!
Essentially it goes something like this: you find a supervisor who conducts research you think you'll likely be interested in, and formulate an interesting question based on a review of the literature (or they can help you find a good question that relates to their own research but addresses a novel aspect of it). Then you write up a proposal with hypothesis, predictions, sampling plan, and what you hope to accomplish over the summer... submit by mid-February... wait... wait... This year was stiffer competition than the last - 55 out of 190 applicants in 10 faculties won awards - so it makes the acceptance of your proposal extra rewarding. Also, it's excellent practice in writing research proposals, reviewing literature, formulating your own questions, and working with a supervisor even if you DON'T get the award. This is definitely one of the best perks being offered to undergraduates studying at the University of Calgary (besides some great faculty doing some very interesting, compelling and relevant research).
So this year I'll be sticking to my home turf and staying in Canada. That's OK by me since it gives me a chance to get involved in some great fieldwork with Drs. Vamosi & Vamosi on the BC westcoast. Besides that, I'll be living in a tent for most of the summer, driving around on backroads, wading around in lakes and kayaking between islands where the ferries don't go. This morning I found out that it looks like we'll be heading up to Bella Bella - via an 11-hour ferry ride - to sample prickly sculpin and diving beetles in some island and mainland lakes in that area. Was I interested? Hell, yeah! It also looks like there could be some serious cross-country driving across the BC interior via the backroads... Anyway, I shouldn't give away too much just yet as there's still lots of planning to be done.
But it's great to think of summer, and another field season, being just around the corner: this is, after all, the whole reason I'm so hyped about studying ecology and biodiversity. And now, with the burgeoning realization of the importance of incorporating genetics (which unfolds another old-time obsession of mine, epidemiology and bacteria) into community and population ecology... it feels like we're off to the races. I'm stoked.
That said: there's a little over three weeks left to the semester. A few more papers, a presentation to kick Jamie's butt over (ha!), samples to get ID'ing, a thesis to translate into Spanish (yikes!) and... and... oh right, a couple of finals - are all vying for top priority right now. Nonetheless - it's a great feeling to be immersed to the point of what some might call unhealthy obsession. I love it.
Onward, then!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sometimes I worry...
The discovery of a tuatara hatchling in New Zealand was making headlines this morning, as it's the first that's been seen in about 200 years. Tuataras are an extant branch of prehistoric reptiles whose lineage dates back 225 million years, so that they lived concurrently with the dinosaurs. Apparently, though, not everyone is so sure about the whole prehistoric lineage bit...
"well...evolution eh....I think not. At best biologists and the like reach conclusions based on very little evidence. Evolution is the biggest lie ever fabricated....the second largest is global warming.
It's great that this species of lizard is doing well. Saying it's a direct decendant of an animal that lived 225 million years ago is lunacy. If any of the "pro evolution" bloggers did a weekends worth of research...they'd be stunned at what they found."
Funny. I was just thinking this morning that our 6"-and-growing dump of snow was going to stir up the whole "Oh, so what happened to global warming NOW?" faction. Anyway, back to finishing my weekend's worth of research... so far, no contra-evolutionary evidence coming up, but I'll be sure to keep looking!
"well...evolution eh....I think not. At best biologists and the like reach conclusions based on very little evidence. Evolution is the biggest lie ever fabricated....the second largest is global warming.
It's great that this species of lizard is doing well. Saying it's a direct decendant of an animal that lived 225 million years ago is lunacy. If any of the "pro evolution" bloggers did a weekends worth of research...they'd be stunned at what they found."
Funny. I was just thinking this morning that our 6"-and-growing dump of snow was going to stir up the whole "Oh, so what happened to global warming NOW?" faction. Anyway, back to finishing my weekend's worth of research... so far, no contra-evolutionary evidence coming up, but I'll be sure to keep looking!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Recreation 101
Cynthia & I at the St. Paddy's Day Calgary Roadrunners 5/10K Run on March 15...
So this very very small picture shows what we do in our spare time: run 10 Km on a Sunday morning to fund... wait for it... I'm not sure; I never really did find out who gets those $35 besides the organizers. Oops; but it was fun anyway. Particularly 1) because we had next to no training (last run: 2 weeks ago); 2) I beat my 4-year-old 10K time by 70 seconds, for a run (Vancouver SunRun 2005) that I trained 4 months for, and 3) it was followed by a nice cold one by one of the sponsors, Steamwhistle Brewery. Sweet! What a great way to start the morning... Just next time I'll make sure that entrance fee goes at least partially to alleviating hunger or saving a tree or beating some sort of population-regulating disease.
Speaking of which - Euan Allen (a Masters student studying the effects of thyroid hormone levels on gonad development in goldfish, with Dr. Habibi) just poked his head into the lab looking for donations for the Moustache Madness fundraiser. I'm working on the moustache, but for now I can give my $10 to the cause.
And now it's back to writing theses, studying for midterms, drafting term papers, downloading articles, fiddling with R plots, and avoiding despair by *not* reading Andrew Nikiforuk's "Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent", which, by the way, is available FREE at http://www.dmpibooks.com/pdf/
Cheers
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