What is your job related pet peeve?

Ask A Biologist Monday 3/29/21

Mine is people who feed wildlife, especially bears. It leads to a number of issues including disease and the animal becoming too accustomed to humans, often leading to their death.

Answers from Biologists:

• Littering

• People ignoring trail signs

• Messy handwriting (this can really mess with data collection)

• Locals asking me how the squirrels I work with taste (they’re endangered)

• People thinking illegal wildlife rehab is okay

• Feeding bread to birds (this causes their wing feathers to grow in incorrectly and they often die)

• People killing for fun. I’m a hunter, but killing an animal for no purpose sickens me.

• The public trying to discredit your knowledge with an old wive’s tale/viral internet video

• People who are perpetually late to field activities. Especially early mornings.

• Assuming I have the ability to arrest someone for breaking a regulation, especially in state or federal jobs.

• People assuming that I’m not the big game biologist because I’m a woman.

• Being loose with data collection and organization.

• When I tell people I’m a wildlife biologist and they think that means I work in a zoo.

• Careless data entry/management.

• People joking about shooting “annoying” birds (like Scrub jays and Magpies)

• Standing on coral when snorkeling. Most people don’t know coral is a living thing.

• Balloons. I find so many, even in the most remote areas.

• Free roaming cats. Barn cats included. (They do so much damage to small mammal and bird populations.)

• Batteries. Always have extras. If you don’t, a camera or GPS will always be dead.

• People saying I don’t know anything even though I have 2 degrees and 11+ years of experience.

• People not understanding that all species are vital.

• Not hitting reply-all on an email chain.

• People not believing me when I tell them that Virginia creeper is not Poison ivy/oak.

• Exotic pets like cougars and coyotes.

• Being an educator with a Bio degree, having biologist talk down to me or disregard my role.

• Off-leash dogs.

• When people ask what species I work with and then respond with “Ew.” “Gross.” etc.

• Members of the public directing their questions to my male interns/techs/coworkers and never to me.

• The expectation of working for free when we start out.

• People sending blurry photos to ID (flora/fauna) and feeling inadequate when I can’t.

• Bragging about illegal/immoral activities.

• Disregarding any advice or information.

• People asking me for pest control advice.

• People thinking of predator species as “mean”. They’re just living their life!

• Assuming that I’m lost when doing fieldwork.

• Asking to ID all kinds of random blurry critter pics.

• Off-leash dogs in piping plover nesting areas. Especially when they ignore the fences!

• People who claim zoos are bad and should be abolished.

• Being asked if I’m “catching butterflies??” when I go out in the field with insect nets.

• People who work in the field with long nails (that inevitably get full of dirt).

• Bad handwriting on datasheets.

• People saying that they want to hunt/eat the animals I care for (zookeeper).

• When people use me as a dumping ground for their anti-predator opinions.

• Sexism.

• Saying the black mountain lions exist in Texas.

What school(s) did you go to?

Ask A Biologist Monday 3/15/21

I went to NMSU for undergraduate, took 2 years to do tech jobs and gain experience, then went to Texas A&M University-Kingsville for grad school.

Answers from Biologists:

• Ohio State for undergrad, Tufts University Cummings School of Vet Med for grad school

• Oregon State w/summer at Mexico Uni for Spanish, James Cook Australia for semester of Marine Sciences

• Humboldt State for undergrad, Texas A&M University for grad school

• Auburn University for undergrad, Texas Tech for Master’s

• University of Georgia-undergrad

• University of Montana-undergrad

• Undergrad-Auburn University. Master’s (currently)-Texas Tech

• Eastern Illinois for undergrad and University of Kentucky for Master’s

• University of Georgia-undergrad

• Ball State-undergrad. Western Illinois-Master’s

• Delaware Valley College (BS), Stephen F Austin State University (MS), Texas A&M-Kingsville (Ph.D)

• Loyola Marymount University for undergrad. UCLA for Ph.D

• UC Davis-undergrad

• Texas Tech University-undergrad

• Oregon State University-undergrad

• UW Stevens Point for undergrad. University of North Dakota for Master’s

• University of Nevada-Reno for undergrad

• Purdue University for undergrad. Grad school TBD after a few more years working!

• University of Rhode Island for BS. University of Florida for MS

• University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point for undergrad. South Dakota State University for grad school

• UNC Wilmington for undergrad-double major in Biology and Environmental Science

• Northern Michigan (plus OkState and Lansing CC) for undergrad. Angelo State University for Master’s

• Texas A&M University for both undergrad and grad school

• University of Nevada-Reno for undergrad

• Humboldt State University-undergrad

• UC Davis-undergrad and John’s Hopkins (MS)

• University of Florida-undergrad

• University of Montana-undergrad

• Mississippi State University for bachelor’s. Still looking at grad schools.

• Tennessee Tech for undergrad. University of TN at Chattanooga for MS

• Ball State-BS. Western Illinois-MS

• Michigan State University for undergrad. Auburn University for MS

• Kansas State University-undergrad

• University of Idaho-BS, University of Alaska-MS, Washington State University- Ph.D

• University of Tampa for undergrad and Drexel University for Master’s

• Texas A&M University-Galveston for undergrad. University of Alaska-Fairbanks for fisheries MS

• University of Main in Orono for undergrad as a non-traditional student (currently 30 years old)

What percent of your work is outside vs. inside?

Ask A Biologist Monday 3/8/21

I personally manage all the species within a specific area. During the spring, summer, and fall I spend about 70% of my time outside and 30% inside. During the winter it shifts to about 80% inside and 20% outside. Tip: The further you get into your Wildlife career, the more time you will spend indoors. Most of the hands-on work is done by technicians. Consider this before getting a Master’s and/or PhD.

Answers from Biologists:

• October-April, 80% indoors. Only to help other projects with surveys

• Summer: almost 100% outdoors (sans admin duties). Winter is for data analysis indoors (Fisheries Biologist)

• 100% outdoors (Seasonal Fisheries Biologist)

• 99% outdoors (technician for the CA department of Fish and Wildlife)

• 70% office in normal times. 100% office with Covid restrictions (Public Lands Specialist)

• 30% outdoors, but it can go in waves throughout the year (Partner Biologist with American Bird Conservancy and NRCS)

• 0.5% outdoors-this is what a PhD looks like for a lot of Wildlife Biologists!

• 30% outdoors, though Covid has changed this (Refuge Specialist for USFWS)

• 20% outdoors, 80% indoors (Master’s student)

• I get out maybe 1-2 days/month (Consultant Ecologist)

• 100% inside online. Post Covid: maybe 5% outside (Bio Planner for USFWS)

• 99.9% inside. Sometimes I miss the field but I volunteer on other’s projects and I spent more than 10 years working tech jobs so I’m okay with the desk job and stability (T&E nerd)

• 80% fieldwork, 20% data entry and reporting (invasive weeds ranger in NZ)

• 100% inside (applications manager for hunting applications and make hunting maps)

• 30% outside, 70% inside (Forest Service Ecologist)

• 70-80% outside, 20-30% inside depending on the season (Wildlife Biologist-Environmental Consulting-CA)

• 100% inside, but I volunteer on other projects (Permit Coordinator)

• 20% outside, 80% inside (Environmental Scientist)

• 30% outside, 70% inside (Wildlife Rehabilitator)

• 90% outside summer, 80% inside fall/winter (Part-time bird researcher)

• 10% outside when collecting data. Now 100% inside (Master’s student)

What is your favorite ecologically themed book?

Ask A Biologist Monday 3/1/21

This book was recommended to me by one of my closest friends and fellow Wildlife Biologist. It includes some truly inspiring stories about women in jobs just like the one I have. It shows the strength and perseverance of women in what has typically been a field dominated by men. I highly recommend this book for anyone in the field or looking to become a part of it.

Answers from the Biologists:

• Unseen City by Nathaniel Johnson

• The Wildlife Trees by Richard Preston

• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• C.J. Box Novels

• The Song of the Dodo by David Quammen

• Craig Childs novels

• Freckles by Grace Stratton-Porter

• Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith

• Mark of the Grizzly by Scott McMillion

• An Ocean Garden & The Curious World of Seaweed by Josie Iselin

• Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

• Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History

  Book by Dan Flores

• Wildlife Wars by Terry Grosz

• Dirt Work by Christine Byl

• The Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson

• Animal Weapons by Douglas Emlen

• The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw

• Letters to a Young Scientist by Edward O. Wilson

• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

• Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams

• Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe by Charlotte Gill

• Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

• Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

• The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

• The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson

• A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

• On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21st Century by Dave Dempsey

• Mountain Sheep by Valerius Geist

• Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

• Wapiti Wilderness by Margaret and Olaus Murie

• Wild Again: The Struggle to Save the Black-footed Ferret by David Jachowski

• The Loop by Nicholas Evans

• Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are by Frans de Waal

• Zoobiquity by Barbara Natterson-Horowitz M.D. and Kathryn Bowers

• Last Child in the Woods by Ricahrd Louv

• Shadow Mountain by Renee Askins

• My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell