I have eyes!

Or at least eye primordia. This is a picture of one of the squid embryos I am working with for my second project. If you look closely at the lumps on either side of the embryo you'll see clear ovals, that's were the eyes will develop. I am very excited to see how they will look tomorrow!

It's been a bit busy, as the paper for my first project was due at the start of the week, at the same time as the proposal for my second (and a presentation on the first during the middle of the week). Hopefully, I'll get a good head start on the second paper tonight... so I can take the time to go whale watching this weekend. I can't believe the program is ending so soon.

Bug Fair

A couple of weeks ago was the annual bug fair at our local museum. This was a pretty big deal as vendors from all around came to sell their bugs and bug-related gear. At the fair you could find dead bugs for your collection, live bugs for rearing or pets, bug catching and displaying gear, as well as t-shirts, hats, and other related things.

There was also a bug chef on hand, and live bug handling demonstrations through out the two day period. My favorite talk was give by a gentleman who did origami for a living. He had some amazing pieces, which looked just like bugs!


He was a physicist by training, so tended to approach origami from a mathematical point of view. He created a program which could tell you how to fold the paper to get any shape you wanted. He also pointed out the scientific uses of origami, such as airbag storage, a new stent which unfolds in your vein or artery to keep it open, and how telescopes in space use origami to fold into different configurations... Way cool!

Photohunter: Reflection of my inner geekyness

This is a picture of a collection of artifacts I have in my house. The collection is often a surprise to most visitors, but give who we generally hang out with, it ends up being a fascinating conversation piece. Not only does our collection offer a glimpse at our inner geekyness to visitors, but they are often used as educational tools for the various classes and fairs that we teach. Most of these items were gotten from the various institutions that me and my husband have worked at or volunteered for over the years. Often, when departments have to move their collections, things get stuck in a cardboard box in the back halls with a sign saying "free, take me home!".

Some of my favorite pieces are:

• A 60 million year old sperm whale fossil tooth bought from the Bone Room (a super awesome place), the elongate, black fossil in the front center right.
• A paper nautilus 'shell', in the open box in front of the true nautilus shell.
• A copy of an archaeopteryx skull, in the clear black bottomed box in the center.
• A fossil of an open brachiopod, showing the fossilized internal structures (mainly the brachidium, which supports the lophophore)

It's a good thing my spouse and I both like biology!

Photohunter: Lazy

This photohunter I thought I'd honor my cat, Rob Anybody McFeegle, or Robbie for short. He's not any lazier than any other cat in general, but when he sleeps he is just too funny.

Like most cats, he spends a good amount of time sleeping on things that I need... like my hand while I am typing, or the keyboard, or various papers I am referencing.


Unlike my other cats, he does not spend a lot of time curled up in a corner. He likes to sleep sprawled out in the middle of the floor. His favorite position is on his back with his paws spread out.

Of course it's a good day when he can combine sprawling on the floor and laying on stuff I am working on.

Busy Day

Yesterday was a busy day for me; busy but fun. I started the morning with the international coastal cleanup.


I did not find anything really weird this year. I think the strangest thing I found was a flip-flop, but I did manage to collect over 2 pounds of trash in an hour and a half. In the back you can see what other people collected. It was kind of sad, because the largest pieces of trash I collected (aside from the flip-flop) all washed into shore while I was standing at the water's edge. Trying to collect all the trash that was washing up while we were doing the cleanup was a little like holding back the tide. But it was great to see all the people who participated, and see the truck of trash that was taken away from the beach.

Then it was off to pick up my husband to go to the annual marine biology association party. I got there before he got off work, so I gathered my courage to check out the spider pavilion near by.

I was expecting to see normal-sized spiders chilling in the trees. What was there was three inch long (excluding the legs!) monsters... There were five types of spiders present, I only found three. The above is a golden silk spider.

There were giant webs strung everywhere, even above the walkway, which made me really nervous. Especially with those giant spiders sitting in the middle of them. The webs didn't look like the would be able to support the weight of the spider (although I know they could). I was expecting one to drop on my head at any moment. It was cool, but I don't think I've conquered my fears with that visit.

Then it was on the the party itself. It was held at my favorite aquarium, so in between chatting with people and eating nibblies, I got to see what was new at the nursery.

What was new was two day old octopuses and day old squids. They were so cute! The octos were about an inch in diameter (including the tentacles), and the squids were 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch long.

To top it off, I won a nice octopus picture from the raffle. What a great day!

Return of Stumpy

Stumpy has returned from her journey to the local museum. The bug expert did get to see her egg laying behaviour, and still is baffled as to why she is doing it. He thinks it may be the plants. He also thinks that the mealworms won't survive to pupate, and indeed when I got her back there were no mealworms left in her tank (see here for pictures).

She is still laying eggs however, so I remain somewhat hopeful. I've got a second small tank set up with a 1: 3 mixture of oats and sand and am transferring half of her eggs into that tank. Other mealworms (often used for feeding) are raised on oats, so I am hoping that a high concentration of possible food will help the process.

Iron clad Egg

I am also keeping a journal, recording the day and place of any new eggs I discover, when I feed her and what, when I place her in the sun, and the temperature of the tank. I'll also be recording when I spot the 1st mealworms, so I can see how long it takes for the eggs to hatch.

I still believe that temperature has something to do with it. Today I put her tank in the sun, and the thermometer read 125 degrees F! I am not sure how accurate this is, as I used my oven thermometer, and the metal may have heated more than the air temperature actually was, but I plan on getting a real thermometer tomorrow, so we'll see. I would not be surprised if it does get over 100 degrees F.

The Saga of Stumpy continues...

Stumpy has been confiscated by the authorities!!

Sort of.

When casually inquiring about how to rear Stumpy's brood, the bug expert at our local museum flipped out. He said that they have generally been considered unrearable, and no one has ever gotten them to lay eggs. After seeing the photo of one of Stumpy's larvae, and confirming for himself that they were actually iron clad larvae, he asked me to bring her in for observation.

The set-up is nothing out of the ordinary (although I like it a lot because I made it), with everything they normally put in there...

The food is similar too, although I use a lot of carrots, because she seems to eat them more than the other foods I've tried (mainly apples and cucumbers). Because it's so similar, there is no obvious reason why she should have felt comfortable enough to lay eggs... My hypothesis is that I put the enclosure in the sun for a couple of hours every other day, to give the plants sunlight. It makes the sand get pretty hot, but since she is a desert beetle I figured she could take it. Maybe the heat helped convince her to lay eggs, or at least helped the eggs hatch into larvae.

So, she will be in the bug guy's care for a week, and he is hoping to see the egg laying behaviour we observed, as well as find out if and what the larvae are feeding on... Of course now I am super nervous about getting the larvae to pupate!

Photo Hunter: Hanging

I love sciences, especially biology. I am an unashamed biology nerd. I think nothing brings that home more than this picture I took of a plankton net hanging up to dry in my shower. Currently, I work with larval forms and a plankton net is en essential tool for catching my animals. Here are pictures of some of the things I've caught:

Tunicate larva (aka sea squirts)

Worm larvae

Bryozoan larva (aka moss animal)

There are a lot of things that live floating around in the water, that many people don't get to see because they don't have a microscope (or a plankton net). But that should not discourage those who want to explore their world. There are ways to make plankton nets out of nylon stockings and "children's" scopes that are cheap, but have pretty decent magnification power. If you're not a do-it-yourself type, visit your local aquarium. Often those that are close to a body of water (fresh or marine) will have a plankton life exhibit. Even if they are not close to water, they might show their planktonic cultures which they feed to their fish.

Photohunter: emotion

Another non-biological one, but I really like the intensity on her face. This is a photo from a powwow held at my school. She is a contestant in the ladies fancy shawl dance. I don't know if she won, because I was too far from the judges to tell, but I would not be surprised if she did.

Photo Hunter: Self-portrait and advice to those contemplating graduate school

So this is not very biological... And normally I object to seeing my face, but I had to share my elation at getting my MS this week! So for the 'biological-minded' considering grad school, I thought I'd share some advice which has helped me.

So, if you are a undergrad or returning student, one thing to do right now is get into a lab. This may mean that you have to volunteer, which is tough if your strapped cash, but necessary. Really, this give you valuable experience as professors are less concerned with grades as they are with experience. When it comes time for letters of reference, you also have a leg up on those who will rely on people they only know from classes. The need for cash can be alleviated, as once you are in the lab, funding and scholarships generally can be found. This will also give you a taste for what graduate school is like. So if you don't like doing research, better to find out now than two years into the program.

Most importantly, it's not the school, it's the person. No matter how much you may like the school's program, you really want to find some one whose research you are interested in and you get along with. You will be working with your advisor for 2 to 5 years, in closer proximity than you would work with someone on a job. So, do some research on them. What have they published, What are they working on now? If interested, you should contact them and meet with them. In many schools, you have to be accepted by the professor to get into the program, and they may not feel comfortable accepting you unseen. Also, this give you a feel for how well you might get along. You can talk with their students as well, but keep in mind what they say might be colored by how they interact with their advisor. (If your talking with them at a meeting, they may have spent the previous weeks being grilled by their advisor to get them ready, so they may not be feeling very charitable)

Finally, if you have a love of learning, go for it!

So close and yet so far...

My department seminar for next week is hosting Milton Love. I've never gotten to see him talk or meet him, but I've soooo wanted to. I even wanted to go to UC Santa Barbra to work in his lab. This was before I saw the light, and started working with invertebrates.

One problem. I am teaching a lab at that time. Ahh! Can I end class an hour early?