finally found field focus?

I located some good field sites this past week. Looks like hopefully I'll be on my way to getting started with my fieldwork. They are in San Diego county and I still hope to locate some in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties. Looks promising. How terrible that I should be so delighted to find sites invaded by fountain grass! I'm actually happy to find them; I knew they existed. Now to get permission etc.

Things are looking up, for me and fountain grass. Perhaps not so much for the natural communities! But that is what I'm trying to find out...

Towards More "Elegant" Science

So here I am trying to put the final touches on my dissertation proposal. It's been laid out conceptually, but I've been finding that everything tends to get very complicated very quickly. Control for soil moisture, radiation, or season, or probable date of occurrence or propagule pressure... I think I'm getting the spins.

I was heartened to hear about an experiment wherein a scientist literally looked at the direction cows were facing in pictures in Google Earth (and possibly aerial photos, I'm not sure) and discovered that they seemed to sense the earth's magnetism, because they faced magnetic north a statistically significant amount of time.

How wonderful that such a simple idea- observation, question, simple observational study and discovery of a phenomenon- can lead to a significant discovery in this day and age! And not to mention, a publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (can you see me turning green with envy?). The time of dropping things from the leaning tower of Pisa etc. is long gone, but elegant science seems still possible.

To be precise, elegance is not equivalent to simplicity, rather, it is is the accomplishment of documenting a phenomenon by using a method that captures the essence of what is going on. Often an out-of-the-box reasoning, or simple alternative to traditional methods might be used. Nature teases us ecologists with her elegance, in patterns and processes, and challenges us to find the signal among the chaos.

When I've been designing experiments now, the words (I'm not sure what the citation is here, any help is appreciated) "Simplify, simplify" ring in my head. Also, my 8th grade algebra teacher's favorite expression, KISS, or "Keep It Simple Stupid!"

With all deference to the power and value of complicated experiments, as a student, it is helpful to get back to the question you're asking, and ask, what is the simplest way that I can see if this phenomenon is occurring? It may not approach elegance, but I think it's a start.
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Olympics for all

I was very saddened today to hear that the International Olympic Committee has decided not to allow the athletes from Iraq to compete in the Games in China. What they, of all people should understand is what this actually means to the young athlete. This international stage comes around only every 4 years- an eternity for any athlete, making it often a single chance to compete.

Besides, even leaving the spirit of "We Are the World," Coca Cola commercials and Un Seul Peuple aside, this is supposed to be a neutral event, where athletes are judged by one standard. In this case, it's not discrimination (though I don't know) necessarily, but politics. Politics politics politics. Enough!

This reminds me of how I felt not long ago when there were protests against the Olympic torch. How can someone politicize an international competition, that is at least outwardly representative of peace, understanding and unity? How exactly does a runner/swimmer/javelin-throwing torch-bearer deserve to be threatened and upstaged by protests? An athlete whose goal is simple and pure- perfection of a sport and fair competition!

I attended a party for an (American) Olympic athlete last month. She'd just qualified for her event after years and years of training (and previous Olympic appearances) and her friends and family threw her a giant party to celebrate her achievement. The joy, pride and awe in her achievement after overcoming significant obstacles to compete was palpable, even with such a supportive environment: the party was in a large, beautiful home in Orange county, and sponsors, friends and fellow trainees were there to celebrate.

I'd like to try to picture how Dana Hussain, one Iraqi athlete, celebrated her qualification, in a time when her country is at war, and the difficulties of training and living in Iraq were likely not easy... how she's dreamed about this for months and years. And now she is unable to compete. Without the Olympics, what is the future of a female professional sprinter in Iraq? And what is the future of the children of this country that is struggling to start over- denied the inspiration and hope that comes from seeing their best compete on the world stage?
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Summer fun

Well my explorations will take me far and wide this summer. First up is the search for fountain grass! I will be down to San Diego and up to Santa Monica. Not bad places to go to get out of the 90-degree temps of the inland empire, if I do say so myself. I hope to establish a field site on a nice hillside, with ocean breezes, views to the mountains and oceans, and perhaps with a Starbucks nearby... I know of PhD who studied coral reefs partially due to the location. You can't blame her!

You have to remember here that most of us have paid our dues as interns or technicians in wind, rain, black flies, and toxic dust! I think after about 2 years of service to the feds and various states, I've earned the right to pick a nice field site! Actually most all of us like getting completely dirty-- there's something very satisfying when your exterior reflects the amount of work you've done and how hard it was!

This picture is actually my friend's legs on a field job a couple summers ago. We would roll out of the kayak and slog through mud up to our knees. When we got back we would use a hose to clean our pants, let them dry and then wear them the next day! (you can only bring so many changes of clothes for a 10-day shift)

I guess I do miss it, and I'm sure I'm in store for all sorts of heat, sunburn, ticks, and dust. But I will LOVE IT!

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Un "black hole" a la Francaise?

I was a little disturbed to read today about the CERN project in France that has something to do with colliding particles and powerful magnets. Some are fearing that this could make a black hole that would swallow earth. As a scientist, I know too many stories of people worried irrationally about impossible consequences from things, often spurred by a lack of education on the subject. In this sense, I will admit that I am ignorant on the subject of physics (never took it though my dad taught it long ago! Maybe I absorbed some around the house when I was little).

I know nothing of the physics of this issue, and feel a little silly being concerned about it. However, one thing does bother me. If we are looking for hypothetical molecules, and dimensions that have been calculated in mathematical rather than physical reality, then there is a large unknown here. As in many things, it seems that the more we learn, the more we see how little we know! In any case, the fact that the "destruction of the planet" was named in a lawsuit aimed at stopping the project should raise more eyebrows, although I will concede that in this case, we could similarly argue that monkeys will fly out of the sun if we turn on this machine, as we think they may inhabit the 6th dimension.

Lastly, how exactly can we produce a safety report judging the risk of something so unknown? Am I wrong and there is more known? So perhaps my problem is not with the project itself, but our claim that we can even calculate the risk in this case. (I will also concede here that I am fully out-degreed by the risk assessment panel including a Nobel laureate.)

I just feel that as a citizen of the earth, perhaps more people should have a say in this. We are no longer countries with small populations of farmers and traders. We are large countries that have built things far more powerful than we are. Incredible, but also disconcerting. We are un seul peuple; hard to say if the larger masses of us are qualified to make a judgement in this case, but should we be more careful about the decisions the few make for la foule?

If you would like to see some physicists argue about this stuff, and a moderately technical explanation of the possibility of a mini-black hole actually forming, see this post.

Done, passed, and on to research!

And to try to get a plant named after me...

Outside magazine reporter - "I noticed there is a Central American ant, Pheidole harrisonfordi, named after you. How did you swing that?"

Harrison Ford - "You buy drinks for Edward O. Wilson, the world's leading expert on ants."

Passed!

Passed my written exams. Funny- one question was basically asking for the same explanation of the processes involved in the "iconic megaflora" entry. Blogging comes in handy sometimes! It helped me practice for that question!

I just hope my passing oral exams won't be such a stochastic process. Advice was to "have fun with it." We'll see if I can do that!