Trials and Tribulations (a.k.a. remote field work)

Well I said I would be better, and I failed. I went through my entire field work session in Belize without blogging once! The remoteness and slowness of internet of Carrie Bow Caye, Belize was totally underestimated and frankly nothing would upload. So close your eyes and imagine we are back in time by about three weeks. And we will pretend I am back on the island.

Each year as I plan and pack for field work I somehow expect that I now have it all figured out. This year will be different. I will hit the ground running and know exactly what I am doing every second of the season. Then the work begins, I shake my head, and I laugh at my naivety. However, when I start to get frustrated at myself I remember (or my boss kindly reminds me) that if it wasn't hard and didn't go wrong, I'm not doing anything novel or worthwhile. And after a few minutes of questioning if I've made major errors in choosing my career, I shake it off and get to work. I mean I get to work places like this:

See that island that looks as if it's floating mid air? That's Carrie Bow

So this year was no different. I planned on collecting lionfish, easily scraping their mucus layer off, and I would come back to our home lab and analyze the mucus for antimicrobial compounds. Every paper I read made it sounds so easy. Every fish expert I talk with made it sound so easy, "just scrape the mucus off." Not considering for a second that I work with a fish that has 17 venomous spines! That I collect while scuba diving. That I have to spear and promptly pith (sever the spinal cord with an aluminum spike). And that the fish is bleeding everywhere. "Oh just scrape it off" they say, "it's easy" they say.

After the first day of collections, it became painfully aware that after that assault the lionfish were not going to give me their mucus readily. I wish I would have taken pictures of what happened next, because I'm sure to everyone else it would be hilarious. But to me at the time, I was not amused. At one point we had the fish strung up and dangling from PVC while trying to collect the drippings in a beaker sitting below (note: this did NOT work). Well, we finally figured it out and I was able to collect the lionfish mucus but here's the lesson I have learned from my 4 years of conducting field research. It takes about 5% intellect, 5% preparation, 15% shamelessly trolling research articles for alternative methods, 75% being too stubborn to admit defeat. So most days I feel like this guy:

With an awfully long way to climb, but it will be worth it when I get there. Right?!?

Okay so here's some sweet shots of lionfish from my trip, and I promise I will keep posting with more pictures!

- Jules

Curiosities and Exploration

Today, I have been thinking a lot about the field work I have coming up this summer. Overcast days in late April/early May make me tired and cranky, and unfortunately not all that motivated. But this week I started preparing for the upcoming work I will be conducting the Caribbean. The amount of time, effort, planning, and thinking that goes into a measly 14 days in the field is daunting. I started planning this trip a year ago, before last year's field work even started and that's just how things go for scientists. Living our lives grant to grant, there is no time for relaxation. Last June I submitted the grant to conduct this project, did not hear I had received the money until October, and then trying to get three busy scientists on the same schedule and that schedule to coincide with available space at the field station: it's enough to drive you mad.

But now is the time when the excitement and trepidation builds. I convinced someone, somewhere that I am the most qualified person to conduct this research. I beat out other highly motivated and qualified graduate students for the money. What if it doesn't work? What was I thinking telling someone I can do this? But then I take a deep breath, re-read my proposal, and remind myself that I don't have any other choice but to do it. Now I look at the list I made of the lists I need to write (yes, I make plans to make plans) and I cannot wait. The supplies have started to roll in, the chemicals are getting ordered (with permits, yuck!), and my dive gear is getting certified. In six short weeks, over a year of planning and worrying will come to a head, I will be stepping off the boat onto this island, and it will be time to sink or swim (literally and figuratively). This last chapter of my dissertation will be one step closer.

Carrie Bow Cay, Belize, for better or worse, I will be there soon!

Love to all!
- Jules

Research: Old school methods for new discoveries

Everybody has heard about bacteria in one form or another. Whether it is the results of that terrible Strep test where they shove the swab down your throat or food recalls due to E. coli contamination, my poor bacteria get a pretty terrible reputation. But just for a second look around outside, take a deep breath of fresh oxygen-filled air, or think about how right now you do not have a stomach ache, yes my friends you have bacteria to thank for all of that. You are welcome.

My favorite organisms fly deeply under the radar, working day in and day out to make this big blue marble habitable for all the plants and animals taking up the space. Our atmosphere became oxygenated because photosynthetic bacteria converted light energy to chemical energy and as a byproduct spit out oxygen. Fertile soils can grow plants because nitrogen fixing bacteria take unusable nitrogen gas in the air and convert it to usable nitrogen, the element you add to your lawn when you fertilize each spring.

All these amazing little feats made bacteria interesting enough to me to become my life's work. Typically when people ask what I do I start off telling them I am a marine biologist (just to catch their attention) and their eyes light up and usually say something like "Oh wow! I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was little" and usually ask what I study. This is my favorite part, because when I tell them I study bacteria on coral reefs, those excited faces usually drop and they something like "oh that's cool"and that's my cue to show them how cool it really can be.

Currently I am working on a project searching for antibiotic producing organisms which may contribute to disease resistance. Marine animals (sponges, corals, fish) are often chemically defended, meaning the organisms produce a compound that helps them fight off disease. And not just marine organisms, right now you are doing the same thing in your mouth, and your stomach, and on your skin. This knowledge has led to an incredible field called Natural Products Discovery, where they try to capture these compounds and recreate them in a lab for human use.

But I digress, my project is studying the potential interaction of the invasive lionfish:

and their associated bacteria:

And trying to determine if possibly (hopefully) this interaction protects these invaders from common fish diseases in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic Ocean contributing to their success. What's really cool is despite all of the advances we have made in modern science sometimes the old school methods are just the most effective. So lately I have been channeling my inner microbiologist and ignoring my recently trained molecular biologist and working with the bacteria in culture. What this means is that I can challenge the lionfish bacteria against known pathogens and actually see their ability to fight off the pathogens.

There is so much to appreciate and still discover about bacteria beyond their ability to give us a sore throat or food poisoning. Like so many things in life that get a bad reputation, sometimes you just have to use them correctly (i.e. leggings, habanero peppers, and blue eyeshadow).

Love to all!
- Jules