Month: August 2024

Two Leaders Wearing Two Hats: A wrap-up of the 2024 TOPAZ/JASPER Field Season

Celest Sorrentino, incoming master’s student, OSU Dept of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, GEMM Lab

Allison Dawn, PhD student, Clemson University Dept of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, GEMM Lab Alum

Allison:

Celest and I were co-leaders this year, so it only feels fitting to co-write our wrap-up blog for the 2024 field season.

This was my first year training the project leader while also leading the field team. I have to say that I think I learned as much as Celest did throughout this process! This hand-off process requires the two team leaders to get comfortable wearing two different hats. For me, I not only made sure the whole team grasped every aspect of the project within the two training weeks, but also ensured Celest knew the reasoning behind those decisions AND got to exercise her own muscles in decision making according to the many moving parts that comprise a field season: shifts in weather, team needs, and of course the dynamics of shared space at a field site with many other teams. With the limited hours of any given day, this is no small task for either of us, and requires foresight to know where to fit these opportunities for the leader-in-training during our day-to-day tasks.

During this summer, I certainly gained even more respect for how Lisa Hildebrand juggled “Team Heck Yeah” in 2021 while she trained me as leader. Lisa made sure to take me aside in the afternoon to let me in on her thought process before the next days work. I brought this model forward for Team Protein this year, with the added bonus that Celest and I got to room together. By the end of the day, our brains would be buzzing with final thoughts, concerns, and excitement. I will treasure many memories from this season, including the memory of our end-of-day debriefs before bed. Overall, it was an incredibly special process to slowly pass the reins to Celest. I leave this project knowing it is ready for its new era, as Celest is full of positive energy, enthusiasm, and most importantly, just as much passion for this project as the preceding leaders.

Fig. 1: Two leaders wearing two (massive) hats. Field season means you have to be adaptable, flexible, and make the most out of any situation, including sometimes having to move your own bed! We had a blast using our muscles for this; we are Team Protein after all!

Celest:

As I sit down in the field station classroom to write this blog, I realize I am sitting in the same seat where just 12 hours ago a room full of community members laughed and divided delicious blueberry crumble with each other.

We kicked the morning of our final day together off with a Team Protein high powered breakfast in Bandon to have some delicious fuel and let the giggles all out before our presentation. When Dr. Torres arrived, the team got a chance to reflect on the field season and share ideas for next season. Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for:  at 5 PM Team Protein wrapped up our 2024 field station with our traditional Community Presentation.

Fig 2: Team breakfast at SunnySide Cafe in Bandon, which have delicious GF/DF options.

Within a month and a half, I transitioned from learning alongside each of the interns at the start of the season knowing only the basics of TOPAZ/JASPER, to eventually leading the team for the final stretch. The learning spurts were quite rapid and challenging, but I attribute my gained confidence to observing Allison lead. To say I have learned from Allison only the nitty-gritty whats and whys of TOPAZ/JASPER would not suffice, as in truth I observed the qualities needed to empower a team for 6 weeks. I have truly admired the genuine magnetic connection she established with each intern, and I hope to bring forth the same in future seasons to come.

Witnessing each intern (myself included!) begin the season completely new, to now explaining the significance of each task with ease to the very end was unlike any other. Presenting our field season recap to the Port Orford Community side-by-side with Sophia, Eden, Oceana, and Allison provided an incredible sense of pride and I am thrilled for the second TOPAZ/JASPER Decadel party in 2034 when we can uncover where this internship has taken us all.

…Until next season (:

Fig 3: Team Protein all together at the start of season all together.

Fig 4: Team Protein all smiles after wrapping up the season with the Community Presentation.

Fig 4: Our season by numbers for the 2024 TOPAZ/JASPER season!

Speeding Up, Slowing Down, and Choosing My Fig

Celest Sorrentino, incoming master’s student, OSU Dept of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, GEMM Lab

It’s late June, a week before I head back to the West Coast, and I’m working one of my last shifts as a server in New York. Summer had just turned on and the humidity was just getting started, but the sun brought about a liveliness in the air that was contagious. Our regulars traded the city heat for beaches in the Hamptons, so I stood by the door, watching the flow of hundreds upon hundreds of people fill the streets of Manhattan. My manager and I always chatted to pass the time between rushes, and he began to ask me how I felt to move across the country and start my master’s program so soon.

“I am so excited!” I beamed, “Also a bit nervous–”

“Nervous? Why? 

“Are you nervous you’ll become the person you’re meant to be?”

As a first-generation Hispanic student, I found solace in working in hospitality. Working in a restaurant for four years was a means to support myself to attain an undergraduate degree–but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t also love it. I found joy in orchestrating a unique experience for strangers, who themselves brought their own stories to share, each day bestowing opportunity for new friendships or new lessons. This industry requires you to be quick on your feet (never mess with a hungry person’s cacio e pepe), exuding a sense of finesse, continuously alert to your client’s needs and desires all the while always exhibiting a specific ambiance.

So why leave to start my master’s degree?

Fig 1: Me as a server with one of my regulars before his trip to Italy. You can never go wrong with Italian!

For anyone I have not had the pleasure yet to meet, my name is Celest Sorrentino, an incoming master’s student in the GEMM Lab this fall. I am currently writing to you from the Port Orford Field Station, located along the charming south coast of Oregon. Although I am new to the South Coast, my relationship with the GEMM Lab is not, but rather has been warmly cultivated ever since the day I first stepped onto the third floor of the Gladys Valley Building, as an NSF REU intern just two summers ago. Since that particular summer, I have gravitated back to the GEMM Lab every summer since: last summer as a research technician and this summer as a co-lead for the TOPAZ/JASPER Project, a program I will continue to spearhead the next two summers. (The GEMM Lab and me, we just have something– what can I say?)

 In the risk of cementing “cornball” to my identity, pursuing a life in whale research had always been my dream ever since I was a little girl. As I grew older, I found an inclination toward education, in particular a specific joy that could only be found when teaching others, whether that meant teaching the difference between “bottom-up” and “top-bottom” trophic cascades to my peers in college, teaching my 11 year old sister how to do fun braids for middle school, or teaching a room full of researchers how I used SLEAP A.I. to track gray whale mother-calf pairs in drone footage.

Onboarding to the TOPAZ/JASPER project was a new world to me, which required me to quickly learn the ins and outs of a program, and eventually being handed the reins of responsibility of the team, all within 1 month and a half. While the TOPAZ/JASPER 2024 team (aka Team Protein!) and I approach our 5th week of field season, to say we have learned “so much” is an understatement.

Our morning data collection commences at 6:30 AM, with each of us alternating daily between the cliff team and kayak team. 

For kayak team, its imperative to assemble all supplies swiftly given that we’re in a race against time, to outrun the inevitable windy/foggy weather conditions. However, diligence is required; if you forget your paddles back at lab or if you run out of charged batteries, that’s less time on the water to collect data and more time for the weather to gain in on you. We speed up against the weather, but also slow down for the details.

Fig 2: Throwback to our first kayak training day with Oceana (left), Sophia(middle), and Eden (right).

For cliff team, we have joined teams with time. At some point within the last few weeks, each of us on the cliff have had to uncover the dexterity within to become true marine mammal observers (for five or six hours straight). Here we survey for any slight shift in a sea of blue that could indicate the presence of a whale– and once we do… its go time. Once a whale blows, miles offshore, the individual manning the theodolite has just a few seconds to find and focus the reticle before the blow dissipates into the wind. If they miss it… its one less coordinate of that whale’s track. We speed up against the whale’s blow, but also slow down for the details. 

Fig 3: Cliff team tracking a whale out by Mill Rocks!

I have found the pattern of speeding up and slowing down are parallels outside of field work as well. In Port Orford specifically, slowing down has felt just as invigorating as the first breath one takes out of the water. For instance, the daily choice we make to squeeze 5 scientists into the world’s slowest elevator down to the lab every morning may not be practical in everyday life, but the extra minute looking at each other’s sleepy faces sets the foundation for our “go” mode. We also sit down after a day of fieldwork, as a team, eating our 5th version of pasta and meatballs while we continue our Hunger Games movie marathon from the night prior. And we chose our “off-day” to stroll among nature’s gentle giants, experiencing together the awe of the Redwoods trees.

Fig 4A & 4B: (A) Team Protein (Sophia, Oceana, Allison, Eden and I) slow morning elevator ride down to the lab. (B) Sophia hugging a tree at the Redwoods!

When my manager asked the above question, I couldn’t help but think upon an excerpt, popularly known as “The Fig Tree” by Sylvia Plath.

Fig 5: The Fig Tree excerpt by Sylvia Plath. Picture credits to @samefacecollective on Instagram.

For my fig tree, I imagine it as grandiose as those Redwood trees. What makes each of us choose one fig over the other is highly variable, just as our figs of possibilities, some of which we can’t make out quite yet. At some point along my life, the fig of owning a restaurant in the Big Apple propped up. But in that moment with my manager, I imagined my oldest fig, with little Celest sitting on the living room floor watching ocean documentaries and wanting nothing more than to conduct whale research, now winking at me as I start my master’s within the GEMM Lab. Your figs might be different from mine but what I believe we share in common is the alternating pace toward our fig. At times we need speeding up while other times we just need slowing down.

Then there’s that sweet spot in between where we can experience both, just as I have being a part of the 2024 TOPAZ/JASPER team.

Fig 6A and 6B: (A) My sister and I excited to go see some dolphins for the first time! (~2008). (B) Taking undergraduate graduation pics with my favorite whale plushy! (2023)

Fig 7: Team Protein takes on Port Orford Minimal Carnival, lots of needed booging after finishing field work!

Little bit of Kayaking, Lot a bit of Zoops

Eden Van Maren, Homeschool Student from Brookings, TOPAZ/JASPER High School Intern

Hey! I’m Eden Van Maren, an upcoming high school senior from Brookings. I am homeschooled and am taking electives at Brookings Harbor High School. 

Growing up in rural Oregon, the outdoors have always been more than just my backyard. It’s been both my classroom and my playground. When Oceana (the other high school intern) and I were homeschooled together as children, Fridays meant her mom would take us up the Chetco River. One Friday, we took our snorkels to observe mature salmon migrating upstream. I remember being so amazed by the size and quantity of the salmon, my young brain could not understand why such large fish would want to swim up to such a small area to lay eggs. The next year when we returned to try and see if the salmon would swim upstream again, we found only one salmon swimming around. This river became my classroom, planting my initial interest in science. 

However. Let’s be clear: Being outside in nature was never “all work, no play” – Definitely lots of play! Summers were filled with sunsets on the beach, some foggy day hikes, but most importantly kayaking on the river. I have many fun memories of waking up early on a weekend to pack food for a long day of kayaking in a tandem with my dad and a bunch of other friends. As I’ve gotten older, my passion for both the environment and science have only grown.

Fig 1: My dad and I kayaking with my dog on the Chetco River.

After going on a college tour at the University of Oregon in January, I suddenly started thinking that I should begin planning for college and future career options. On that tour, I met Ma’yet, the Youth Program Education Coordinator at Curry Watershed Partnership who had worked with Allison. Ma’yet was familiar with the TOPAZ/JASPER program run by the GEMM Lab and, while we were discussing possible summer opportunities in science, they suggested that I would be a great fit.  

In early March, when I discovered there would be someone from the program coming to present at school, I had already been scheduled to work a shift at Dutch Bros. I managed last minute to have one of my coworkers cover the last few hours of my shift so I would be able to get there. He arrived late, so I ran to get there on time, but I made it! Upon arriving, I sat down for the presentation, and, within minutes, Allison confirmed my desire to be a part of this program. I always knew that science is where I wanted to focus my studies. When I came across this program, I was very interested because it involved exciting outdoor activities while learning and experiencing scientific field work. I was thrilled to meet Allison in person to ask questions and share my enthusiasm about the project. 


Before working at the Port Orford field station, I had never given much thought to zooplankton. I had known they were the primary prey for whales, but other than that, I hadn’t considered that there was much else to think about. After starting the work associated with zooplankton on this project, I learned through Sophia how zooplankton can be affected by water temperature and kelp abundance, among other things. Along with learning more about zooplankton ecology, part of the program includes collecting zooplankton samples from 12 different stations (using a kayak) out along the Port Orford coastal area. On my very first training day of zooplankton sampling, I pulled up a ridiculous number of zooplankton in the net (much more than the last few seasons).

Fig 2: Me pulling up my first net of zoops! Look at all that zoop!

Once we return to the lab after a morning of zoop collection, we observe these samples under a microscope, identify their species, and count how many species we collected from each station. Just two weeks into our data collection, we have collected 4291 individual zoops, which already surpasses the total amount of zooplankton collected in 2023 and 2022 combined! That’s a lot of zoops! But how do we do it? 

In our team, I am considered the zoop expert, but I couldn’t do it without a handful of Welch’s fruit snacks and my playlist full of bangers. Zoop processing can be very tedious, but I really enjoy the peace that comes with finishing a giant sample by myself. I love being able to blast AJR in the background while ID’ing each zooplankton even though my team loves to tease me for it (but really, I’m totally putting them on). As I’ve gotten better at ID’ing zooplankton, I started brainstorming about what could help teach other interns in the future. Allison and Lisa, the previous TOPAZ/JASPER leaders, created very useful guides used to train me but I felt that there could be other interactive methods to help interns learn about zoop. Having used Quizlet in the past, I thought it would be a great resource to introduce the zooplankton basics to new interns, so I created an online Zooplankton Identification quiz!

Fig 3A & 3B: Me processing a giant sample of Atylus Tridens.

Despite having only completed three weeks of our data collection season so far, I have already learned so much! From waking up at 5:30 ten days in a row, to kayaking for four hours straight, to even counting 995 (not 1000!) zooplankton in one sitting, this internship has been amazing. It’s been a great introduction to working in the scientific field as many of the responsibilities we have been taught are completely new to me. I am excited to share this internship experience as I apply to colleges and add to my list of skills “Zoop expert.”

Fig 4: My favorite zooplankton! A Dungeness Crab Larvae.

“So, I hear you’re an expert in marine mammal ecology?”

Oceana Powers-Schmitz, Brookings-Harbor High School student, TOPAZ/JASPER GEMM Lab Project, MMI Oregon State University

Hi, I’m Oceana Powers-Schmitz and while I am not quite an expert in marine mammal ecology (yet!), I am quite the expert in bringing the team together through a clever game and a heartfelt laugh. One game I turned the team onto this summer during a team dinner was “So, I hear you’re an expert in ______.” Essentially, someone in your group provides you with a niche topic and someone else will have to then go on a spiel about it for at least a minute. One of the best ones I heard so far was when we were driving back from getting Langlois Market hot dogs (don’t knock it, till you’ve tried it). I tasked Eden with “So, I hear you’re an expert in the price of tea in China”. The most fun part of this game is how you have to think on your feet when the pressure is on. This skill is helpful during this internship because I have had to troubleshoot a lot in the field. One example of this was when the team had to rethink the mechanics of our zooplankton net because it was not collecting efficiently. We solved this problem by taking a trip to Gold Beach Lumber and attaching a washer to the bottle to weigh it down, allowing for more space to catch zooplankton within the bottle.

Fig 1: Zooplankton net (Left) with fishing weights in the bottle. Zooplankton net (Right) after removing weights and adding washer.

Although I’m definitely the best at this game, the team has shown some promise at getting better as we spend more and more time together. At the start of the internship, I watched the team make our share of mess ups (fortunately during training week!) such as not turning on equipment or losing the spare zooplankton net overboard. As the internship has progressed, it has been amusing to experience us getting a handle on all the new methods and protocols that come with the TOPAZ/JASPER project. For example, in the beginning, one of the most challenging methods to execute in the field is setting up the Theodolite on an unlevel cliff side. But now Celest and I have a competition to see who can set up and level the Theodolite the fastest. (If you ask her, we’re tied— but I’m obviously winning.)

Fig 2: Celest (right) and me (left) after I assembled the theodolite. (Celest thinks she’s winning.)

Afternoons in the lab are an enjoyable part of the day (for me at least) because it is a chance to relax after an eventful, physically demanding (and hopefully whale-filled) morning. After we break for lunch, I head to the kitchen to make my go-to: 4 slices of Oven-roasted Turkey, a slab of butter, pinch of pepper and salt (can’t be stingy with the salt) on two toasted slices of Buttermilk bread. Pro tip: food is best digested with a book; I’m on my third one.

Fig 3: The best post-field day lunch combo 🙂

The afternoon is also a chance to become closer as a team. From watching the GoPro bloopers to trying desperately to get Google Earth to work in order to check if we were “on station,” these afternoons are always fun. While this statement might be a hot take, I’ve really gravitated to data processing over zooplankton ID. For this project, data processing consists of inputting RBR data, visibility metrics, and going through each station’s GoPro footage into an excel sheet. This process is an important part of the long-term study of our Port Orford field site because researchers will be able to access and use this information. Using what we have collected, future studies may draw new conclusions or make important findings that can be published and add to our knowledge of the ecology of the local gray whales.

Though I am not yet an expert in the field, this internship has solidified the idea that I could become one in marine science. I’m glad for the hands-on experience this internship has provided and through this I feel confident in the fact that I would enjoy this career path. Over the next couple weeks, I can’t wait to introduce the team to more entertaining games to keep us on our toes while we wait for whales. I’m excited for each of us to return home saying “I’m an expert at GEMM Lab’s TOPAZ/JASPER Gray Whale Project.”

Fig 4: Locked in, listening to my favorite podcast, looking through RBR data.

*P.S. Here’s a great podcast to listen to when processing data, you can thank me later 🙂

Radio Lab Link