Just back in the UK, my field trip to Brazil marked the start of my third year, and with some exciting projects and modules coming up I can’t wait for the rest of it! But before it starts I wanted to reflect on some of the best things I learnt in second year. The modules last year covered a variety of topics, from evolution and genetics, to skills, to conservation and animal behaviour.
Filey Brigg- Identifications:
One of the main field trips in the first semester was to Filey Brigg, a large peninsular located in Filey, North Yorkshire. The site sits below Filey Brigg Country Park, at the bottom of steep cliffs which reach up to 20m high in some places. Our trip was part of the module Aquatic Zoology, of which a large section was focused on learning the anatomy of specific aquatic families and species. The main aim being to learn how identify them in the field and Filey was our chance to do this. With multiple habitats, including fine sand and rock pools we mainly found annelids, crustaceans and gastropods, with some of the most common species being the Common Hermit Crab, Pagurus bernhardus and the Common (Blue) Mussel, Mytilus edulis. However many more, slight less obvious species such as the true limpet species, Tectura virginea, which can be seen on many beaches in the UK. Following the trip we used these skills to create a portfolio, drawing and explaining the distinguishing features of five species we personally found.
The Deep- Projects:
Another great trip gave us the amazing opportunity to complete a mini project with The Deep, Hull’s sub aquarium, the only in the UK. Part of the Behavioural ecology module, as a class we worked on multiple projects. These were divided so that data was collected four times for each project and each group worked on six projects. This variety meant that I gained experience collecting data focusing on space-use, activity budget and ethograms. One of the biggest advantages working at the deep is that there are many species projects can be carried out on. One of my favourite projects was activity budget of the Grey Reef Shark, Carcharhinus Amblyrhynchos, an elasmobranch found in the Indian and pacific oceans. This required careful observation and timing of specific individuals, to discover the difference in the time spent gliding and swimming.
The project I researched further and presented however is the space-use of the Common Clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris. For this the physiology, conservation, habitat and ecology were investigated. From this I worked backwards to a traditional project to think about how this information could be used. Clownfish live in groups, with one female and one dominate male making up a breeding pair who live in an anemone. The remainder of the group is male, and forms a queue outside the anemone, as when the female dies the dominant male becomes female and takes her place. They also have a symbiotic relationship with anemones, as they clean and live in the anemone, it provides them with protection. From these facts the one of the most interesting questions that came up, for me, is how space use could be used to identify dominance, and how this differs between species. However to create a sufficient answer a much larger project would be required.
Using R – Statistical Computing:
A skill we cover numerous times is using R, statistical software. Being both free and very effective it is beginning to replace the possible better known SPSS. It uses code to present and calculate useful statistics, including linear regressions, t-tests and ANCOVA. This year we used R for a report in to bird migration and the advantages of group migration over long and short distances. In this case specifically I used ANCOVA as there were two independent variables, one of which was categorical. From this I was also able to discuss the optimal group size and the effects of the breeding period.
Talks- Yorkshire Wildlife Park and the Wildlife Trust:
With just a year to go thinking about the next step is becoming increasingly important. To help give some ideas as to what we can do with our degree the university has put on a few talks from both The Wildlife Trust and Yorkshire Wildlife Park. The first, from the wildlife trust outlined the many roles in the charity from volunteers to co-ordinators. The speaker went through some of the local projects around East Yorkshire and how to get in to the roles. At Yorkshire Wildlife Park the talk focused more on to the work the park does, how breeding schemes are co-ordinated and the importance of linking with charities and other parks. They also went through the importance of education, outlining the roles in both hands on conservation and education.
Next?
My second year was challenging but also massively rewarding, not only in terms of knowledge but also experience. With projects around biodiversity in both the UK and Brazil and my own final project around DNA bar-coding, my third year is set to be even better.
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