{"id":1794,"date":"2018-01-15T07:14:41","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T07:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?p=1794"},"modified":"2019-09-24T20:34:02","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T20:34:02","slug":"really-wildlife-biologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2018\/01\/15\/really-wildlife-biologist\/","title":{"rendered":"What REALLY is a Wildlife Biologist?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alexa Kownacki, Ph.D. Student, OSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The first lecture slide. Source: Lecture1_Population Dynamics_Lou Botsford<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was the very first lecture slide in my population dynamics course at UC Davis. Population dynamics was infamous in our department for being an ultimate rite of passage due to its notoriously challenging curriculum. So, when Professor Lou Botsford<\/a> pointed to his slide, all 120 of us Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology majors, didn\u2019t know how to react. Finally, he announced, \u201cThis [pointing to the slide] is all of you\u201d. The class laughed. Lou smirked. Lou knew.<\/p>\n

Lou knew that there is more truth to this meme than words could express. I can\u2019t tell you how many times friends and acquaintances have asked me if I was going to be a park ranger. Incredibly, not all\u2014or even most\u2014wildlife biologists are park rangers. I\u2019m sure that at one point, my parents had hoped I\u2019d be holding a tiger cub as part of a conservation project\u2014that has never happened. Society may think that all wildlife biologists want to walk in the footsteps of the famous Steven Irwin and say thinks like \u201cCrikey!\u201d\u2014but I can\u2019t remember the last time I uttered that exclamation with the exception of doing a Steve Irwin impression. Hollywood may think we hug trees\u2014and, don\u2019t get me wrong, I love a good tie-dyed shirt\u2014but most of us believe in the principles of conservation and wise-use A.K.A. we know that some trees must be cut down to support our needs. Helicoptering into a remote location to dart and take samples from wild bear populations\u2026HA. Good one. I tell myself this is what I do sometimes, and then the chopper crashes and I wake up from my dream. But, actually, a scientist staring at a computer with stacks of papers spread across every surface, is me and almost every wildlife biologist that I know.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The “dry lab” on the R\/V Nathaniel B. Palmer en route to Antarctica. This room full of technology is where the majority of the science takes place. Drake Passage, International Waters in August 2015. Source: Alexa Kownacki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is an illusion that wildlife biologists are constantly in the field doing all the cool, science-y, outdoors-y things while being followed by a National Geographic photojournalist. Well, let me break it to you, we\u2019re not. Yes, we do have some incredible opportunities. For example, I happen to know that one lab member (eh-hem, Todd<\/a>), has gotten up close and personal with wild polar bear cubs in the Arctic, and that all of us have taken part in some work that is worthy of a cover image on NatGeo. We love that stuff. For many of us, it\u2019s those few, memorable moments when we are out in the field, wearing pants that we haven\u2019t washed in days, and we finally see our study species AND gather the necessary data, that the stars align. Those are the shining lights in a dark sea of papers, grant-writing, teaching, data management, data analysis, and coding. I\u2019m not saying that we don\u2019t find our desk work enjoyable; we jump for joy when our R script finally runs and we do a little dance when our paper is accepted and we definitely shed a tear of relief when funding comes through (or maybe that\u2019s just me).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A picturesque moment of being a wildlife biologist: Alexa and her coworker, Jim, surveying migrating gray whales. Piedras Blancas Light Station, San Simeon, CA in May 2017. Source: Alexa Kownacki.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What I\u2019m trying to get at is that we accepted our fates as the \u201cscientists in front of computers surrounded by papers\u201d long ago and we embrace it. It\u2019s been almost five years since I was a senior in undergrad and saw this meme for the first time. Five years ago, I wanted to be that scientist surrounded by papers, because I knew that\u2019s where the difference is made. Most people have heard the quote by Mahatma Gandhi, \u201cBe the change that you wish to see in the world.\u201d In my mind, it is that scientist combing through relevant, peer-reviewed scientific papers while writing a compelling and well-researched article, that has the potential to make positive changes. For me, that scientist at the desk is being the change that he\/she wish to see in the world.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Scientists aboard the R\/V Nathaniel B. Palmer using the time in between net tows to draft papers and analyze data…note the facial expressions. Antarctic Peninsula in August 2015. Source: Alexa Kownacki.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of my favorite people to colloquially reference in the wildlife biology field is Milton Love, a research biologist at the University of California Santa Barbara, because he tells it how it is. In his oh-so-true-it-hurts website, he has a page titled, \u201cSo You Want To Be A Marine Biologist?\u201d<\/a> that highlights what he refers to as, \u201cThree really, really bad reasons to want to be a marine biologist\u201d and \u201cTwo really, really good reasons to want to be a marine biologist\u201d. I HIGHLY suggest you read them verbatim on his site, whether you think you want to be a marine biologist or not because they’re downright hilarious. However, I will paraphrase if you just can\u2019t be bothered to open up a new tab and go down a laugh-filled wormhole.<\/p>\n

Really, Really Bad Reasons to Want to be a Marine Biologist:<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. To talk to dolphins. Hint: They don\u2019t want to talk to you\u2026and you probably like your face.<\/li>\n
  2. You like Jacques Cousteau. Hint: I like cheese\u2026doesn\u2019t mean I want to be cheese.<\/li>\n
  3. Hint: Lack thereof.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Really, Really Good Reasons to Want to be a Marine Biologist:<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Work attire\/attitude. Hint: Dress for the job you want finally translates to board shorts and tank tops.<\/li>\n
    2. You like it. *BINGO*<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \"\"<\/a>
      Alexa with colleagues showing the “cool” part of the job is working the zooplankton net tows. This DOES have required attire: steel-toed boots, hard hat, and float coat. R\/V Nathaniel B. Palmer, Antarctic Peninsula in August 2015. Source: Alexa Kownacki.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      In summary, as wildlife or marine biologists we\u2019ve taken a vow of poverty, and in doing so, we\u2019ve committed ourselves to fulfilling lives with incredible experiences and being the change we wish to see in the world. To those of you who want to pursue a career in wildlife or marine biology\u2014even after reading this\u2014then do it. And to those who don\u2019t, hopefully you have a better understanding of why wearing jeans is our version of \u201cbusiness formal\u201d.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/a>
      A fieldwork version of a lab meeting with Leigh Torres, Tom Calvanese (Field Station Manager), Florence Sullivan, and Leila Lemos. Port Orford, OR in August 2017. Source: Alexa Kownacki.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      By Alexa Kownacki, Ph.D. Student, OSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab This was the very first lecture slide in my population dynamics course at UC Davis. Population dynamics was infamous in our department for being an ultimate rite of passage due to its notoriously challenging curriculum. So, when Professor … Continue reading What REALLY is a Wildlife Biologist?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8612,"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":[1011750,1310584,1],"tags":[1211813,1061,582,127229,712934,2459,140586,1237561,135571,1667,173914,215873,635445,1705,106208,634945,1237580,40740,247671,1237558,1237571,1237556,513,1237557,1237572,97252,155,482,97272,1212663,1237576,1237559,993645,1237573,5,678,1237566,1237565,1237560,529,3445,1237555,1237581,1040966],"class_list":["post-1794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bottlenose-dolphin-population-health","category-outreach","category-uncategorized","tag-alexa-kownacki","tag-analysis","tag-antarctica","tag-career","tag-computer-programming","tag-computers","tag-conservation","tag-conservation-biology","tag-data","tag-data-analysis","tag-dolphins","tag-fieldwork","tag-gemm-lab","tag-graduate-school","tag-grant-writing","tag-gray-whales","tag-jacques-cousteau","tag-job","tag-lab-meeting","tag-lou-botsford","tag-mahatma-gandhi","tag-marine-biologist","tag-marine-mammals","tag-meme","tag-milton-love","tag-national-geographic","tag-oregon-state-university","tag-outreach","tag-phd","tag-phd-student","tag-piedras-blancas","tag-population-dynamics","tag-port-orford","tag-r-v-nathaniel-b-palmer","tag-science","tag-statistics","tag-steve-irwin","tag-todd-chandler","tag-uc-davis","tag-whales","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-biologist","tag-work-attire","tag-zooplankton"],"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\/1794","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\/8612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1794"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3009,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1794\/revisions\/3009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}