DECEMBER 2023
Jasper's Blog
Jasper McCutcheon, undergraduate student
1 December 2023
Hey all,
With the end of the quarter fast approaching, life is starting to feel like a whirlwind of things to be done. This is both exciting and terrifying!
This month I have been working on a couple different aspects of my project. I finished up defining the categories the research assistants will use to describe harbor seal behavior. I am excited to get this implemented in the field once everyone has been trained in it. This data will allow me to ask questions relating to seal behavior at the water’s surface and in-air noise. My project already observed the time spent at the surface in response to in-air noise, but this addition will now allow us to look at specific behaviors. Behavioral biology is something I am passionate about, so am looking forward to seeing what we find!
I have also just started data analysis. I have only gotten to the data organization part of this for the time being, but I am hoping to start doing some modeling soon. Alejandro has sent me some great resources for me to learn from since this sort of analysis is a new world to me. Hopefully with the help of these resources, I should have more to share on the data we collected this past summer and fall by next blog.
Until then,
Jasper
Maya's Blog
Maya Mijares, undergraduate student
1 December 2023
Hello again!
Having just returned from a restful Thanksgiving break, I am feeling ready to tackle the last few weeks of fall quarter! I spent Thanksgiving weekend in Gig Harbor with my roommate's family, where we got to hang out with her adorable dog, read some good books, eat fantastic food, and spend lots of time outside. My favorite part was that the weather was gorgeous, and we got to paddleboard in Henderson Bay! Unfortunately, we didn’t see any marine mammals, but I am told that there is a harbor seal that can often be found in the area (affectionately known as Karen).
Thanksgiving break started off with some exciting news: Isabel and I have received $800 from the MACS research fund! We are still waiting to hear back from RSP, but with half of our funding secured, I’m feeling very hopeful. Since we have finished applying for all of our funding, Isabel and I have been helping Alex work through inputting coordinate locations for all of the samples that she’s collected. By doing this, we will get an idea of what samples are available to us to sequence. Ideally, we will have continuous sampling all along the coast and inland waters of Washington, and are hoping to use mostly samples that were taken from pups. Other than inputting locations and deciding on samples, we are aiming to start writing the introduction and methods section of our paper before the quarter ends.
In addition to the mtDNA project, Whatcom Creek has been keeping me very busy this month! Since Kameran is leaving, we have begun filling the roles of the second lab manager and a few research leads for winter quarter. I’m very excited to begin working with Jack Mezzone as co-manager, as well as begin training a couple of new leads!
With the chum run in full swing, the creek has been pretty crowded. In addition to LOTS of seals, I also got to see Hank (a male California sea lion) for the first time! He has been visiting the creek for two years now (mainly just during the fall salmon runs), and I got to see him for the first time about a week ago. In addition to Hank, there has also been a family of otters hanging out down at the creek who I have yet to see.
And that's a wrap for November! I am looking forward to being done with finals and heading back to Colorado to spend Christmas break with my family! See you next month!
Maya Mijares
Male California sea lion at Whatcom Creek. Photo by MMEL.
From left to right: Sophia, Maya G, Maya M (me), and Emma. My roommates/friends and I paddleboarding on Henderson Bay during Thanksgiving break. Photo by Sophia Cox.
Kameran's Blog
Kameran Rodriguez, undergraduate student
1 December 2023
Hi everyone!
November has flown by so quickly. I had a really good Thanksgiving break. I traveled back to Yakima and was able to spend 4 days with my family which is always great since I have not seen them since the summertime. It was also a good time to relax before coming back to school to get ready for finals which are just around the quarter. Graduation is in two weeks which will be nice to see family again for the ceremony.
The lab is still running strong we are seeing lots of seals since the Chum have started to run and we have even heard there have been 2 California sea lions in the creek! Hopefully we can have some observations confirm this. I have started training the new manager that will take over for me next quarter. It’s exciting to see others step into the position and know what good things they can accomplish.
My individual project is still moving forward but not much of an update at this time.
Till next time,
Kameran
Isabel's Blog
Isabel Shier, undergraduate student
1 December 2023
Hey everybody!
Great news! Maya and I got one of the grants that we applied to! We ended up applying for two grants, one through the MACS program (Marine and Coastal Science, which is Maya’s major) and one through the RSP program (Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities Grant). We received the MACS grant, and we’re waiting until next month to hear back from RSP, so fingers crossed!
Luckily, we would still be able to do our project even with only one grant, we just wouldn’t be able to process all of the samples like we could if we had both grants. So our time lately has been spent looking at Alex’s samples, and deciding which ones we would want to pick should we not have the funds to sequence all of them. I’m excited that we’ll be using a little GIS to do this. I took an intro class on it over the summer and really enjoyed it, so it will be fun to get to use it even just a little bit for this project.
It’s a bit odd, writing the grants was very “go, go go”, but now we’re in a bit of a natural lull until winter quarter, which is when we’re going to start on lab work (which I’m pumped for). Maya and I are both going to do a DNA extraction before this quarter is out, which is exciting. I haven’t done any since this summer, and I miss it!
Well, that’s all for now,
Till next time,
Kameran
Victoria's Blog
Victoria Vinecke, graduate student
1 December 2023
Welcome back!
November has been quite a busy month for the Whatcom Creek researchers! Around the start of November each year, Chum salmon embark on a journey returning to the Whatcom waters they once inhabited as young smolt to reproduce. Watching the Chum arrive in large numbers and make their way up the creek navigating the twists and turns of the current is quite mesmerizing. This event not only captivates the hearts of locals but also draws the attention of the harbor seals. Locals flock to the creek to watch the chum run and witness harbor seals foraging. The presence of harbor seals at the creek increased drastically once the Chum run was in full swing. On average, researchers see around 1 – 3 seals attempting to forage during non-salmon run months. During November, researchers witnessed up to 7 seals surface at a time! The increase in seal activity at the creek is extremely exciting but can be overwhelming at times. The Whatcom Creek crew worked as a well-oiled machine during the busy November month by working together as a team to gather observational data along with amazing photos for identifying known seals!
I am still collecting eDNA samples while the seals are present in the creek. This sampling season has been a tremendous success. This season alone I have been able to collect 13 samples which means I now have a total of 22 samples! Along with a busy field season, Kameran and I found the time to ID as many seals as possible that I have sampled so that later I can potentially assign sex to those individual seals. I am very excited about the progress I have been able to make regarding my project this month and I hope to keep the momentum up in the next coming months!
As for lab work, Dr. Dietmar Schwarz and I have ordered my primers for sequencing! We also designed new primers that are hopefully more harbor seal specific compared to the primers I was struggling with over the summer, which I am eager to try out! Those are the updates I have for now! I want to thank everyone who has helped with my field and lab work so far! Without all the helping hands this field season would not be possible. A special thank you to Alex for being my sterile sample handler every weekend and to Kameran for field, lab, and ID help!
The second activity that really stood out was carving the pumpkin with the MMEL members to submit to the biology pumpkin carving contest! Lots of collaboration went into coming up with the design and carving the pumpkin. Moments like these I will cherish for years to come! The winner has yet to be announced but I believe we have a strong chance of winning! Those are the main updates for this month!
Until next time,
Victoria
Emily L recording data for the eDNA project and harbor seal surfacing! Photos by MMEL.
Alexandrea's Blog
Alexandrea Otto, graduate student
1 December 2023
Hello again,
I believe I learned my lesson in jinxing myself! Oh how fast things can change when you write “short turn around” in your last blog post and that quickly can turn into “a longer turn around than expected” in your next blog post. We did receive those sequencing results back and we actually received results we were not expecting. This caused us to pivot our gameplan a little and order one more last batch of primers to add in hopefully into the next and final optimization round! I’m still wrangling the learning curve of coding in multiple languages slowly but surely as well. Overall, the GT-Seq optimization process has been really interesting though in trying to figure out this puzzle of SNPs and primers interactions!
The Whatcom Creek action increased greatly these past few weeks with the Chum run. In perfect timing, two of my close friends and parents all visited from Nebraska! It was a beautiful moment to show and explain to them the unique system and wildlife ecology that occurs at the creek. The harbor seals in numerous numbers swimming in the creek, while salmon can been seen through the water from the bridge further up the creek, and all happening with the casual snort and appearance of a male sea lion swimming in the creek as well! Far from ay wildlife interactions that occur back in Nebraska! It was really special to be able to show my loved ones a sliver of the marine biology world they’ve been hearing me drag on about for the past few ten years or so give or take.
Other updates include Biology 204 teaching going well as always (minus the grading overload that I cannot seem to escape each quarter). I forgot to mention last month how Victoria and I’s teaching day both landed on Halloween, giving us an opportunity, we could not pass up (see photo below). Maya and Alejandro secured funding through MACs for her capstone project working with Isabel, myself, and Dietmar on the mtDNA project, congrats! Finally as the quarter draws near, we loose another lab manger to graduation. Bitter sweet! Kameran has been a constant powerhouse for the MMEL! Kameran’s ID’ing abilities always leaves me in awe and reminds me of Kate! I’ll surely miss Kameran dearly and all the laughs and late-night work sessions we shared. Congrats Kameran and excited to see what you’ll do next!
Till next month,
Alexandrea
Graduate students dressing up as their study organism, Phoca vitulina, for teaching labs on Halloween! Photo by Dept. Biology.