{"id":1523,"date":"2017-09-19T01:08:13","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T01:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?p=1523"},"modified":"2017-09-19T01:10:05","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T01:10:05","slug":"new-steps-towards-community-engagement-introducing-high-schoolers-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2017\/09\/19\/new-steps-towards-community-engagement-introducing-high-schoolers-field\/","title":{"rendered":"New steps towards community engagement: introducing high schoolers to the field"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Florence Sullivan, MSc, GEMM Lab Research Assistant<\/p>\n<p>This summer, I had the pleasure of returning to Port Orford to lead another field season of the <a href=\"https:\/\/mmi.oregonstate.edu\/gemm-lab\">GEMM Lab<\/a>\u2019s gray whale foraging ecology research project.\u00a0 While our goal this summer was to continue gathering data on gray whale habitat use and zooplankton community structure in the Port Orford region, we added in a new and exciting community engagement component: We integrated local high school students into our research efforts in order to engage with the local community to promote interest in the <a href=\"http:\/\/research.oregonstate.edu\/port-orford\">OSU field station<\/a> and the research taking place in their community. Frequent blog readers will have seen the posts written by this year\u2019s interns (<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2017\/08\/02\/little-slice-heaven\/\">Maggie O\u2019Rourke Liggett<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2017\/08\/07\/curiosity-community-new-ways-exploring-environment\/\">Nathan Malamud<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2017\/08\/15\/the-passion-of-a-researcher\/\">Quince Nye<\/a>) as they described how they became interns, their experience doing fieldwork, and some lessons they\u2019ve learned from the project. I am very impressed with the hard work and effort that all three of them put into making this field season a success.\u00a0 (Getting out of a warm bed, and showing up at the field station at 6am sharp for five weeks straight is no easy feat for high-schoolers or an undergrad student during summer break!)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1525\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1525\" style=\"width: 908px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8932.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1525\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8932.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"908\" height=\"605\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8932.jpg 908w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8932-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8932-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 908px) 100vw, 908px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1525\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quince hard at work scanning the horizon for whale spouts. photo credit: Alexa Kownacki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>During the month of August, our team collected the following data on whale distribution and behavior:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Spent 108 hours on the cliff looking for whales<\/li>\n<li>Spent 11 hours actively tracking whales with the theodolite<\/li>\n<li>Collected 19 whale tracklines<\/li>\n<li>Identified 15 individual whales using photo-ID \u2013 Two of those whales came back 3 times each, and one of them was a whale nick-named \u201cButtons\u201d who we had tracked in 2016 as well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We also collected data on zooplankton \u2013 gray whale prey \u2013 in the area:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Collected 134 GoPro videos of the water column at the 12 kayak sample sites<\/li>\n<li>Did approximately 147 zooplankton net tows<\/li>\n<li>Collected 64 samples for community analysis to see what species of zooplankton were present<\/li>\n<li>Collected 115 samples for energetic analysis to determine how many calories can be derived from each zooplankton<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1524\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1524\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8762.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1524\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8762-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8762-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8762-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8762-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_8762.jpg 864w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1524\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The 2017 field team. From left to right: Tom Calvanese (Field Station Manager), Florence Sullivan (Project Lead), Quince Nye, Maggie O&#8217;Rourke-Liggett, and Nathan Malamud. Photo credit: Alexa Kownacki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Since I began this project in 2015, I have been privileged to work with some truly fantastic interns.\u00a0 Each year, I learned new lessons about how to be an effective mentor, and how to communicate our research goals and project needs more clearly. This year was no exception, and I worked hard to bring some of the things I\u2019ve learned into my project planning.\u00a0 As the team can tell you, science communication, and the benefits of building good will and strong community relationships were heavily emphasized over the course of the internship.\u00a0 Everyone was encouraged to use every opportunity to engage with the public, explain our work, and pass on new things they had learned. \u00a0Whenever the team encountered other kayakers out on the water, we took the time to share any cool zooplankton samples we gathered that day, and explain the goals of our research.\u00a0 Maggie and I also took the opportunity to give a pair of evening lectures at Humbug Mountain State Park, which were both well attended by curious campers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1529\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1529\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/state-parks-presentation.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1529\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/state-parks-presentation-1024x383.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"247\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1529\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Florence and Maggie give evening lectures at Humbug Mountain State Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In addition, the team held a successful final community presentation on September 1 at the Port Orford Field Station that 45 people attended!\u00a0 In the week leading up to the presentation, Quince and Nathan spent many long hours working diligently on the powerpoint presentation, while Maggie put together a video presentation of \u201cthe intern experience\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2017\/09\/12\/interns-eyes-video-log-2017-gray-whale-foraging-ecology-project\/\">Click here for the video showcased on last week\u2019s blog<\/a>).\u00a0 I am incredibly proud of Nathan and Quince, and the clear and confident manner in which they presented their experience to the audience who showed up to support them.\u00a0 They easily fielded the following questions:<\/p>\n<p>Q: \u201cHow do you tell the difference between a whale that is searching or foraging?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A: When we look at the boundaries of our study site, a foraging whale consistently comes up to breathe in the same spot, while a searching whale covers a lot of distance going back and forth without leaving the general area.<\/p>\n<p>Q: \u201cHow do we make sure that this program continues?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A: Stay curious and support your students as they take on internships, support the field station as it seeks to provide resources, and if possible, donate to funds that raise money for research efforts.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1526\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1526\" style=\"width: 770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9012.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1526\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9012.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"770\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9012.jpg 770w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9012-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9012-768x429.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1526\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nathan talks about the plankton results during the final community presentation. photo credit: Alexa Kownacki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1527\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1527\" style=\"width: 830px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9043.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1527\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9043.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"830\" height=\"459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9043.jpg 830w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9043-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9043-768x425.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1527\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The audience during the final community presntation. photo credit: Alexa Kownacki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1528\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1528\" style=\"width: 893px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9050.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1528\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9050.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"893\" height=\"554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9050.jpg 893w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9050-300x186.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_9050-768x476.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 893px) 100vw, 893px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1528\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quince and Nathan answer questions at the end of the community presentation. photo credit: Alexa Kownacki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When communicating science, it is important to results into context.\u00a0 In addition to showcasing the possibilities of excellent research with positive community support, and just how much a trio of young people can grow over the course of 6 weeks, this summer has highlighted the value of long term monitoring studies, particularly when studying long-lived animals such as whales. We saw far fewer whales this summer than compared to the two previous years, and the whales spent much less time in the Port Orford area (Table 1). As a scientist, knowing where whales <em>are not<\/em> (absence data) is just as important as knowing where whales <em>are<\/em> (presence data), and these marked differences drive our hypotheses! What has changed in the system? What can explain the differences in whale behavior between years?\u00a0 Does it have to do with food quality or availability?\u00a0 (This is why we have been gathering all those zooplankton samples.) Does it have to do with other oceanographic factors or human activities?<\/p>\n<p>Table 1. Summary of whale tracking efforts for the three seasons of field work in Port Orford.\u00a0 \u00a0Notice how in 2017 we only collected 194 whale location points (theodolite marks). This is about 92% less than in the previous years.<\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 368px\" width=\"498\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"144\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"141\"><strong>2015<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"141\"><strong>2016<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"139\"><strong>2017<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"144\">Hours spent watching<\/td>\n<td width=\"141\">72:49<\/td>\n<td width=\"141\">148:30<\/td>\n<td width=\"139\">108<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"144\">Hours spent tracking<\/td>\n<td width=\"141\">80:39*<\/td>\n<td width=\"141\">82:30<\/td>\n<td width=\"139\">11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"144\">Number of individuals<\/td>\n<td width=\"141\">43<\/td>\n<td width=\"141\">50<\/td>\n<td width=\"139\">15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"144\">Number of theodolite marks<\/td>\n<td width=\"141\">2483<\/td>\n<td width=\"141\">2414<\/td>\n<td width=\"139\">194<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>*we often tracked more than one individual simultaneously in 2015<\/p>\n<p>Long term monitoring projects give us a chance to notice differences between years, and ask questions about what are normal fluctuations in the system, and what are abnormal. On top of that, projects like this create the opportunity for additional internships, and to mentor more students in the scientific method of investigation.\u00a0 There is so much still to be explored in the Port Orford ecosystem, and I truly hope this program is able to continue.\u00a0 If you are interested in making a monetary contribution to sustain this research and internship program, donations can be accepted <a href=\"https:\/\/securelb.imodules.com\/s\/359\/foundation\/index.aspx?sid=359&amp;gid=34&amp;pgid=1982&amp;bledit=1&amp;cid=3007&amp;dids=451&amp;x=51&amp;y=12\">here (gemm lab fund)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?token=QEbl2HeRvzH8DAaNgcmycknr2wP4E8PmaQ69H8pfqAio6vNcBv7o9qU530XPvsK4AZO5GG&amp;country.x=US&amp;locale.x=US\">here (field station fund)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1539\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1539\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170824_145151275_HDR.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1539\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170824_145151275_HDR-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1539\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quince records zooplankon sample weights in the wet lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1538\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1538\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170824_144723297_HDR-e1505781528628.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1538\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170824_144723297_HDR-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1538\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quince sorts through a zooplankton sample in the wet lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1537\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1537\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_4566-e1505781516554.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1537 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_4566-e1505783395202-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_4566-e1505783395202-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_4566-e1505783395202-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_4566-e1505783395202-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_4566-e1505783395202-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1537\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nathan stores zooplankton community analysis samples<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1536\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1536\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/DSCF1731-e1505781488167.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1536\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/DSCF1731-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1536\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maggie and Nathan out in the kayak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1535\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1535\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/DSCF1727-e1505781478661.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1535\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/DSCF1727-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1535\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quince and Maggie in the kayak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1534\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1534\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170821_104201133-e1505781467411.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1534\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170821_104201133-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1534\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maggie, Florence and Quince enjoy the eclipse!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1533\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1533\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170821_083856457-e1505781458775.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1533\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170821_083856457-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1533\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quince and Maggie bundle up on the cliff as they watch for whales.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1532\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1532\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170809_145753097-e1505781444249.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1532\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170809_145753097-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1532\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nathan and Quince organize data on the computer at the end of the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1531\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1531\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170806_073420962.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1531\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/files\/2017\/09\/IMG_20170806_073420962-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1531\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quince and Nathan build sand castles as we wait for the fog to clear before launching the research kayak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This research and \u00a0student internships would not have been possible without the generous support from <a href=\"http:\/\/seagrant.oregonstate.edu\/\">Oregon Sea Grant<\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/oregoncoaststem.oregonstate.edu\/\">Oregon Coast STEM hub<\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/research.oregonstate.edu\/port-orford\">Port Orford Field Station<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.southcoasttours.net\/\">South Coast Tours<\/a>, partnerships with <a href=\"http:\/\/kimsbernard.wixsite.com\/zoop-lab\">the Bernard<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/fw.oregonstate.edu\/users\/john-chapman\">Chapman<\/a> labs, the <a href=\"https:\/\/mmi.oregonstate.edu\/\">OSU Marine Mammal Institute<\/a>, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/mmi.oregonstate.edu\/gemm-lab\">Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Florence Sullivan, MSc, GEMM Lab Research Assistant This summer, I had the pleasure of returning to Port Orford to lead another field season of the GEMM Lab\u2019s gray whale foraging ecology research project.\u00a0 While our goal this summer was to continue gathering data on gray whale habitat use and zooplankton community structure in the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2017\/09\/19\/new-steps-towards-community-engagement-introducing-high-schoolers-field\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New steps towards community engagement: introducing high schoolers to the field<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6597,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[636310],"tags":[635061,195384,712846,677522,635445,44681,634945,835,513,1398,148762,482,5,712862],"class_list":["post-1523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gray-whale-foraging-ecology-and-vessel-disturbance","tag-cetaceans","tag-field-work","tag-florence-sullivan","tag-foraging-ecology","tag-gemm-lab","tag-gray-whale","tag-gray-whales","tag-internship","tag-marine-mammals","tag-oregon","tag-oregon-coast","tag-outreach","tag-science","tag-science-kayak"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6597"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1523"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1541,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523\/revisions\/1541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}