Daily Plethora

This entire summer seems to be full of new experiences.  I am really getting into this lizard stuff.  The green anoles I am working with are fun little critters…when they’re not biting you or you’re not chasing them up the walls and under the racks.  I’m thinking seriously about doing some lizard chasing while I’m at White Lake this year and bringing some back for my own herpterium.

It’s not that hard to keep them – with the proper lighting and heat source. Just don’t put adult males together!  Kinda like bettas, they are very territorial and will fight.  But one male can be kept with several females and they mate willingly in captivity.  The eggs are laid in single-egg clutches and are not tended by either parent, so the baby is on its own from the moment it hatches…and the first thing they do is head for cover!

I borrowed a book from my mentor and I am reading about the adaptive radiation of the genus – how a single species in a specific environment resulted in several different species, each with its own niche.  The fossil record of anoles is very sparse…only four specimens have been found and studied. Even though DNA can now determine who is most closely related to whom, there is still quite a bit to be determined by research. What specifically caused the differentiation? Why is there only one species indigenous to the US mainland while some Caribbean islands have many?  How can I create a species that is easier to catch? or doesn’t bite me?!

It’s not all about the lizards, though.  I am preparing to take the Biology GRE…whoopee!  Standardized testing – yuck!  In the discussion we had Monday on preparing for the GRE, I think we finally determined that the purpose of the GRE is actually to weed out those prospective graduate students who are on the fence about pursuing graduate studies…it is that daunting.  It’s not necessarily the one thing that will keep you out of a graduate program, but it may be the one thing that determines how much money you may get.  Soooo, if you’re thinking about it – prepare for it!  SIX MONTHS OUT!

The kids (camp programs here at OSU) are running up and down the hall and it’s 11:30! Time to go express my displeasure to the counselors and try and get some sleep!

Okay…to those of you who have faithfully following my “daily” posts, I apologize.  I’m afraid I pulled a really lazy weekend, doing nothing but watching Eureka on Netflix, visiting the puppies at the library, and…well, that’s really about it.  I had my room all to myself this weekend, since my roommate went home to visit her Dad, so Friday night and Saturday were for quiet time…and I used it!

As hot as it was, I didn’t want to venture out too far from the A.C. and neither did many others.  However, tonight, I think we’re in for some excitement! We’re about to catch the edge of the storms that are hitting Wichita right now, so I’ve already showered (don’t like doing that during thunderstorms) and I’m updating this blog so I can unplug my computer.  Yeah…I don’t trust the “surge” protectors and I am a poor college student who can’t afford to buy another one right now.

I’ve heard a lot about the storms out here, and actually saw some of the tornado damage in Arkansas as I was driving through there.  My roommate was saying that here, people go sit on their front porch to watch the tornadoes…no, thank you.  I have my evacuation plan and if that siren goes off, you will find me in the basement…probably in a yellow puddle.  I promise that if any golfball size hail rains down upon us, I will get some pictures…probably of the dents in my poor truck.

The storm season is just about over here, as tomorrow is the first day of summer…the hottest season of the year.  I’ll let you know if it beats the heat they’ve had here this spring.  In the meantime, the winds are picking up again…and I need to go roll my windows all the way up!  Dang it…I forgot about that!  I’ll be in touch.

I’ve finally collected enough data to begin to compile a spreadsheet with which to try to interpret it.  Now the fun begins…not.  That statistics course I took was an okay overall summary of means and medians and variance and standard deviation, but trying to use it to make my data make sense is a real challenge…and not just for me.  This seems to be the consensus among the entire group.  So when I approached my mentor with my inability to grasp the technique, I fell in love–he didn’t expect us to know coming in, but would definitely make sure we did before we left.  I am SO glad he picked me to mentor! You know that dance that Snoopy does?  I was about to get up and do it!

The spreadsheet is done and I’ve emailed him a copy.  So off to the library lawn I go to get my semiweekly doggie fix.  There was a ton of them out there today, too!  I got to give some of them treats, but they all had to work for it.  Some could sit, some could dance, one could shake “hands” and one could get her nose into my bag while I wasn’t looking!  Smart dogs!  There were puppies and seniors and shepherds and heelers and mixes and purebreeds…all of them running and playing and sometimes getting into scraps, but usually having a good time.  I even got a chance to do a little training.  One border collie had a tendency to jump up on people, so I suggested a way that the owner could work with her to train her not to do this.  I also showed him how to teach her “off”, the word most often used with my dogs.  “Off” does not necessarily mean to get down off of the couch, it merely means stop what you’re doing–counter surfing, sniffing crotches, preparing to jump another dog, etc.  A good word to have in the vocabulary…some use the phrase “leave it”. “Off” is quicker. I also taught a 3-month-old lab/akita mix “down”.  Her owner could not believe how fast something like that could be taught, but when a dog is food-motivated, it’s amazing how quickly they catch on to whatever will get them the treat.  Makes training them so much fun!  And makes you look like you know what you’re doing!

I do know what I’m doing right now – I’m calling it a day and preparing to turn in for the night. Last night’s sleep was interrupted by another line of storms moving through, so I wasn’t well rested this morning, but tomorrow I plan on being bright eyed and… well, bright eyed, anyway.

When you’re handling anoles, you must remember that they are small (can fit through tiny openings), fast (can change direction suddenly), can change from tan to brown to green (not quite like a chameleon, but close enough), and they seldom are really fond of being handled.  With that said, I found myself this morning searching high and low for the one that got away.  This particular lizard was crafty…he convinced me that he had gone one way and actually went another.  I looked under racks – not an easy feat as they were barely 4″ off the floor.  Let’s just say I was glad no one entered the room at that time.  I looked under the lights that were sitting on top of the tanks.  I looked behind the racks of tanks and up and down the cords to those lamps.  Nothing.

I finally texted my mentor and told him that if I didn’t show up for the 12:00 brown-bag meet-the-mentors meeting, I was probably still looking for #138.  He texted me back and told me not to worry about it, it would show up sooner or later, and to go on to the meeting.  But this is someone else’s research data! How could I sleep tonight knowing that this one lizard might determine the outcome of her research for her dissertation?  Perhaps her entire future rested on whether I found that lizard or not…no pressure there.

I had finally decided to do as my mentor instructed and go on to the meeting.  I locked the door to the lab, looked around to make sure everything else was as it was suppose to be, and then I saw the little bugger! He was on the wall, under a counter, laughing.  Well, maybe not laughing, but he had a smirk on his face!  I closed the door, slowly crept over to the counter, and, kneeling down to reach under the counter, I pinned him to the wall! And he bit me!  I knew I had him then!  Remember what I said yesterday about the thunder?  Anyway, I withdrew my hand with the lizard attached, and escorted him back to his tank, where I told him that there would be no mealworms for him today!  That will teach him!  (Truth is: today was not feeding day anyway, so it was an empty threat…but I didn’t tell HIM that.)

I went to the meeting, went back to the labs for animal care, and then back to my dorm room to enter some data.  Sitting here at my computer, I’m feeling twinges in my back, probably muscles spasms from contorting to peer under the racks…and my finger hurts…and I have a headache.  Stupid lizard….

South

I really enjoyed my research this morning.  I had to capture some anoles (lizards) and measure their length and weigh them.  Actually, I had to measure their mass…a little different than weight, but not that important here.  They are fast little buggers! Several of them escaped my grasp and led me on a loose-lizard chase. I got my workout early.  And they bite!  Not hard (more like a pinch) but they’re like snapping turtles–they don’t want to turn loose ’til it thunders! Could have used these storms earlier.

Then I decided this evening to look for some home-style cooking.  I found a little place way out of town called Mom’s Place.  Good reviews…so I jumped in my truck (figuratively speaking) and fired it up…or rather, I tried to fire it up–dead battery. Pooh! (That’s not exactly the word I used, but you get the drift.)  So I went back to the dorm room, checked online for AAA, and called for assistance.  Glad I signed up before my trip!  As I was locking my room door, the fire alarm went off!  Once I got back to the parking lot, police started arriving from several directions.  After checking the main box, they determined that an alarm had been pulled on our floor. I didn’t see anyone, but there are some middle school kids enrolled in a camp staying on this floor…don’t even get me started on that! AAA finally arrived, boosted my truck, and I barely got to the diner before they closed at 7:00 for my weekly complement of grease…good, home-style cooking, just like they said.  If there had been some onions in the squash, it would have been perfect!

East

Today I spent the greater part of the day reading research articles from scientific journals. (Don’t rush out and buy one–it’s not a very good read just for the sake of reading.)  I have read articles on lizards, fish, and birds.  It may seem strange to you, but they’re not as far apart as you might think.  The one question for which I really wanted an answer, though, was not to be found…not on the internet!  Or if it is, I can’t find it!  Just goes to show you that sometimes you need a book…particularly when you’re dealing with a species which most people couldn’t care less about.  This means a trip to the library for something besides watching dogs…tomorrow.  It’s not open this late on the weekend.

Before I head for the shower and then bed, did you figure out what the mulch is?  If you did, Eli Whitney would be proud!  The mulch is cottonseed hulls!  After figuring out what it was,

Cotton seedlings in the mulch

Chillin'

Saturday’s group was a bit smaller than Thursday’s was.  But there was an adorable 12-week-old GSD named Carla.  She is a very smart little puppy and was able to sit or down for her treats.

Carla

BFSs

Picture Clue 1

Bye!

We’ve wrapped up the first week, which was spent getting to know our mentors, learning what we need to begin some research, and trying to negotiate our way around a new campus.  Fortunately, I can see most of the buildings that I will be in from my dorm…or at least near my dorm.  So that is becoming less of a challenge.

This evening, our group of twelve interns decided to go out to eat together at one of the local restaurants.  Since my roommate is a local, I told her where most of them were wanting to go to eat, and she recommended a different restaurant – one she believed had better food, even though it was a little further away.  The group decided that we should go to the original one, because it was within “walking distance.”  I pointed out that it was withing walking distance of the campus, but from the far corner of the campus from where our dorm is located…deaf ears. OK…I fall in with everyone else and when we had walked about a mile, everyone began to realize that this is a fairly good sized campus!  I also pointed out (before we left) that there was a strong line of thunderstorms west of here moving east.  Again…deaf ears.  And low and behold, after we ordered (at least we got there first) the wind kicked up, rain started falling sideways, and everyone commented that maybe we should have checked the weather forecast before we struck out on such a hike. HELLO!! Is it the gray hair that causes everything I say to be ignored?  What is it with young people these days? Do they have to be struck by lightning before they believe an older adult that there is a storm coming?

Fortunately, one of our group had an errand to do before she could join us, so she was in her car.  After we ate, she brought the other two of us who have vehicles here this summer back to the dorm, and we began to ferry everyone else back.  Thank you, Michawn!  Anyway, maybe they’ll listen next time…maybe they won’t.  All I can do is offer what wisdom I have…what they do with it is up to them.  Me? I think I’ll drive next time…even if it’s just at the end of the block.

This is probably going to be the lightest of the weekends this entire summer, so I plan to take it easy the next couple of days…check out some of the local tourist traps, lounge around the pool, maybe visit with the dog club that meets on Saturday in front of the Library (they LOVE the fountain!).  My roommate’s going to be gone most of the weekend, so I’ve got the room to myself and can sleep as late as I want to tomorrow…I’ll probably wake up at 6 a.m. and not be able to get back to sleep. Oh, well. Enjoy your weekend, and I’ll let you know if anything interesting happens.

This seems to be a summer of firsts…and now I have another one to add – sushi! I finally got up the nerve (wasn’t that hard after Day Five!) and decided to try it with a little encouragement from my research mentor.  I had the (imitation) crabmeat, cucumber, avocado, and cream cheese rolled up in rice and toasted sesame seeds.  Not bad…not my favorite cold food, but not bad.

Everywhere I go on campus I am told of somewhere else that I must eat before I leave Stillwater…I’m only here for 60 days! If I eat at all of the establishments that are recommended, I’ll have to drop my lizard research for cuisine research…and I don’t think they’re paying me for that.  But I’ll give it a shot….

Right now most of my meals are prepared in the dorm: granola bars and yogurt for breakfast, sandwich and fruit for lunch, and then I usually grab something fast for dinner or something I can heat in the microwave.  As a group (there are 12 of us here in the NSF REU program), we are going to eat together here in the dorm one night a week.  One of our group really enjoys cooking, so each of us – without consulting with the others – is going to provide an ingredient for a meal and he is going to combine it into something we can all eat.  Sort of a pot-luck without the pot.  Should be interesting to see what he whips up!

We had a “meeting” with SSA students this evening.  I love the way they tell us what’s going on…what’s SSA? After we got there, we find out that the Summer Science Academy students are freshman and sophomore high school students…no problem…and that WE are the panel for the panel discussion about the transition from high school to college!  Talk about a surprise! But we took it all in stride and fielded questions from some very smart young people, who I hoped got some positive feedback from us.

I have an early morning of animal care tomorrow and some more research reading to do, so I will bid you goodnight.

The day started out rather normally…breakfast, laundry, reading…and then the fun began! Each Wednesday, one of our mentors will share his or her background and research with the group.  Today was Dr. Lovern’s turn, so everyone got a chance to learn what we learned yesterday…plus a little more.  He earned his B.S. in Biology at Duke and his Ph.D. in Biology at Virginia Tech, so he’s got some knowledge of North Carolina. (He actually grew up in Virginia.)  He did his post-doctoral work at Michigan and came to Oklahoma in 2003.  He’s really nice and has a great sense of humor…this is going to be a fantastic summer!

Today we (Michawn and I) were responsible for animal care.  This involves checking the incubator for hatchlings, identifying them and moving them into the tanks with the other juveniles.  Then we have to check nesting boxes for eggs that were laid overnight, label them, treat them and place them into the incubator. Water is sprayed onto the sides of the tanks for the lizards to lap up, as they rarely drink water from dishes, but bowls of water are provided. And they are fed crickets, mealworms, and fruit flies…yum!!

These little hatchlings are tiny!  And the crickets they eat are tinier!  As a matter of fact, the baby crickets are about the size of the fruit flies…I’ve never seen any that small before. The hatchlings are about an inch long (not including the tail) and are very active immediately after hatching.  This is survival…if they do not find cover quickly in the wild, they become something’s next meal. Here, they don’t have to worry so much about that.

I’ve got some reading and research to do, so I’m going to wrap this up for today.  Tomorrow, Dr. Lovern and I will be discussing exactly what we will be working on for the next seven weeks…lots of things to do!