Would you like to submit a question to the community of Biologists?
What is your advice for Biology conferences?
Ask a Biologist Monday 4/11/22
Answers from Biologists:
You’ll learn a ton from the presentations, but make sure you network.
If you’re a broke student, bring tupperware. There’s always extra food.
Wear comfortable shoes. I have gotten so many blisters at conferences because I wore new shoes.
Going to talks is really fun and interesting, but don’t forget to spend time networking too.
Attend local conferences even if you aren’t presenting so you can learn/network.
Attend mixer events and try to spend time outside of people you already know.
During networking hours, carry tea/soda so people stop pushing alcohol.
Don’t be afraid to break away from your usual group. Especially if you attend with a large crew.
Go to the socials/things even if you are alone.
Take advantage of the workshops that are offered.
Visit the booths and really talk to those at them.
Be very careful of invitations to drinks outside of the conference. Always bring a colleague along if you are a woman/younger biologist.
I go with a safe person I can sit with if I feel overwhelmed.
Report any harassment to those running the conference. They really do care and are there to protect/help you.
Have an “elevator speech” prepared about yourself and your work for intros with new people.
Conferences can be a thing. Give yourself time to rest and explore outside of them.
Check out the physical job boards posted at many of them.
Go to talks on a variety of subjects.
Try going to meetings from different societies to see where you fit in.
Ask others for advice on what to wear before going.
Plan your days and the talks you’ll go to.
Do your research beforehand on the scientist who will be there.
Snag that swag.
Print out your resume to have on hand and pass out to interested employers.
Don’t be afraid to talk to as many people as possible, even if you don’t know them.
What should you look for in a grad school program/advisor/school?
Ask a Biologist Monday 4/4/22
Answers from Biologists:
Being paid a living wage/health insurance.
A teaching or research assistantship. No one should be paying for grad school in this field.
Communicative and available to connect you to good funding and opportunities.
Resources, money for TA positions, vehicle to use for labs and research, lab space.
Someone who is kind. Ask previous students. Look at their drop out/drop down rates.
Mentoring style.
Funding. Is it provided? Will you have to find your own? Any additional work study or stipend?
A place where you can form a mutualistic relationship with advisors/lab.
Adequate pay/benefits.
An advisor you get along with.
A good grad student community. It makes everything so much easier.
Look into how supportive the program/school is to marginalized groups.
I went to a mostly online program so I could work full time while in school.
Look into their pass rate and gender ratio of former students. Talk to students who have finished/left.
Fully paid (includes fees, out of state tuition match, and healthcare)
Internal funding
Affordable housing nearby
On campus resources (food assistance, mental health services, etc.)
Student bylaws that serve you
Someone who is invested in your success and willing to make it happen (with grants etc.)
Ask about lab drop out rate as well as average grad timeline to graduation.
A compassionate and human advisor who cared for your well being (mental especially)
Ask others in the field about the reputation of the potential advisor and if they’re well liked/respected/respectful
Make sure your funding will last for the entirety of your grad school.
Quality connections in academia/industry/government that can help you find your next role.
Look at where graduates go, what jobs they get, and what kind of people the program and advisor put out.
Funding, project that align with your interests, advisor you click with.
Advisor should be upfront about stipend/funding/health insurance. If not, they’re hiding something.
Make sure they engage in actions that make the work environment a safe space for all backgrounds.
Check how long it takes their students to get their degrees.
Talk to current lab members and other faculty about the advisor.
Perspectives and advice from the current students in the lab/department.
Your potential advisor’s availability and how often they meet their students.
Mentoring style. Arguably more important than the project itself.
An advisor that understands what you want from work/life balance.
Current student load of the advisor, especially if you need more guidance/direction on your project.
The advisor supports the mental health of their students and values their well being above their productivity.
Accomodations in lab for disabled students/if they have mentored any in the past.
A mentoring style that fits you, a living wage, and a nice place to live.
Paid tuition
Check that no previous complaints have been made against the advisor (ex: bullying, sexual advances, etc.). Ask current and former students.
Advisor that supports your goals of fieldwork/lab work in your master's thesis study.
What is something others should know before getting into the field?
Ask a Biologist 3/28/22
Answers from Biologists:
The academic route is going to try and push you to workaholism
Who you know matters a lot more than it should
The money is hard to come by
It can take a long time to get to where you want to go.
There are very few jobs in this field where you work regular hours always.
It’s not only about fieldwork (which is often glorified). There’s a lot of grit work that happens post data collection.
It will likely be years (5-15) before you get a permanent position.
It’s okay for it to be “just” a job and not a way of life.
This field will likely require you to move all over for the first several years.
If your goal is close contact/touching animals, do recue/wildlife rehabilitation or zoo work, not research.
Your work doesn’t always speak for itself, so you need to speak up for yourself and others.
You don’t always have to go to grad school to get a permanent job.
Most permanent biologist positions require an understanding of basic statistics and modeling.
Having certifications for things like chainsaw skills and GIS are desirable.
It’s extremely difficult and hard to get a full time job.
It can be hard to long-term relationship, because of moving around and long hours.
The 3 E’s of extinction: Ego, Eliticism, Envy.
You have to know how to work with people.
The pay is not great but you deserve a living wage.
You need to use PTO. You’ve earned it and burnout is common.
It’s not about holding animals. Most permanent positions require at least 50% office time.
You have to be willing to work hard.
Some try to be gatekeepers. You don’t need permission to study something you are interested in.
Wildlife conservation is more about dealing with people than wildlife.
Be prepared for lots of writing/math and not a ton of money.
You might get rejected from most of the jobs you apply for. Don’t be discouraged!
You will be expected to work for free under the guise of volunteering to build your resume. Don’t do it.
Different agencies have different work cultures/work environment.
Education and experience is more important than basic trainings.
You will probably be doing things that don’t feel like science and are boring at times.
There’s a ton of sexism and racism still in the field.
Not every position is a field position or one that allows for interactions with animals.
It often takes more than a bachelor’s to get a permanent, livable wage job.
It’s tough. Having supportive friends/partners/family makes a difference.
You'll go through a lot of job hunting before you find something permanent.
You'll need a higher degree to get a full time job and even then there's no guarantee.
It depends on the location/organization but not all your colleagues will care about conservation.
You may be in the office more than out in the field.
Things can get really political.
You'll make amazing friends with similar passions.
Working within ethical standards on some projects is subtlely discouraged.
If you're in college, you need to do internships.
At the start you will almost certainly be overworked and overvalued.
When they say a job is 50% fieldwork, it's more like 10%.
The best paid positions are mostly desk jobs. The fieldwork based jobs don't often pay well.
Pay can differ between employees with the same titles and duties. Men often get paid more.
It can be a boys club of hook and bullet biology that's hard for non-hunting folks.
Networking and getting your name out the is key. Tough for us introverts!
Communication skills, both written and oral are super important.
Lots of gaslighting and being kept at low pay. High pay jobs are often less desirable jobs.
Leadership might lie and tell you what you want to hear. Do you background research!
Homophobia is rampant still and unfortunately you need to be cautious.
You need to set and communicate healthy boundaries, both in the office/lab and field.
Your employer should be willing to invest in your career, or it's not worth it.
What duties does your job involve?
Ask a Biologist Monday 3/21/22
Answers from Biologists:
Water sampling, fish and microinvertebrate collection, regulation standards setting, water chemistry and pollutant analysis
Identifying and managing plant restoration projects for a National Park. Identifying plants, GIS, etc.
Compiling, editing, and providing data on endemic and sensitive species in the state.
Working for the Yurok tribe to build a new CA condor release site, tracking with radio collars
Foot and kayak surveys, drone work, mapping, grant writing for species at risk.
Using cameras to assess a rare chipmunk population in a habitat altered by wildfire
Habitat restoration on 45,000 acres of public surveys, waterfowl banding, and public contacts.
Collecting important data about bird migrations for a wind farm.
Work for a water engineering firm in NYC in the permitting and planning group.
Analyzing survey and banding data, supporting survey design, writing reports, writing manuscripts, meetings.
Bird banding, teaching local communities about landbird monitoring, science communication.
Teaching kids about vernal pools, who lives in them, and how they can protect them.
Pond restoration, dip netting and fence monitoring for flatwood salamanders.
Monitoring military bases for nesting snowy plovers and least terns for state/fed requirements.
Species surveys, habitat assessments, vegetation monitoring, NEPA, ESA, consultation and more.
Raptor trapping, banding, translocation, pyrotechnics and firearms use
Early detection and rapid response for invasive plants species.
Surveys, data collection and entry, inventory and monitoring tribal species, regulatory tribal response.
Animal care, data collection, partner coordination, experimental design, grad student supervision
Fieldwork, grant and data entry (tech)
Supervise/train undergrads, animal care, data/sample collection, research plan/designs
Collection of data in the field and the lab (tech)
Inventory and monitoring on refuges, habitat step down plans, data management
Collecting seed demography, rare plant surveys, many more things
Surveys, avian monitoring, data management, mentoring, consulting for ESA/MBTA
Surveys for bear dens, nesting birds and rare plants, plus amphibian and fish salvage
State oversight of industrial development, requiring wildlife surveys, reports, collaboration
Jet boat diving, snorkeling, salmonoid identification, much more
Monitoring PIPL (Great Lakes population), RPBB habitat implementation, outreach, NRDAR
What’s a funny/frustrating thing your study species does?
Ask A Biologist Monday 3/14/22
Answers from Biologists:
Melanophyrniscus toads perform unken reflex for defense but it’s so cute!
Hawaiian monk seals sleep against our tents in the field and snore and fart all night long.
Common mergansers regurgitate fish in the banding box.
Dragonfly larvae spit water at you.
Bats chew straight through your mist net and escape.
Old world warblers. They exist and are a pain to ID in the field.
Raccoons will mess with any and all traps.
Marbled salamander skin slime makes nitrile gloves stick together like super glue.
When aquatic turtles rip into the mesh bait bag, shredding it and making it useless.
Snapping turtles swim up to hoop nets and will last minute decide they don’t want to go in.
Turtles bask on the side of flotation traps rather than the doors that will catch them.
Green turtles can get themselves out of tangle nets and are shockingly good out outmaneuvering boats.
Pippistrellis bats adjusting their sonar to sound exactly like a grasshopper.
Every purple martin nestling I band poops like clockwork when I remove them from a gourd.
When you put up protective netting for LETE and they nest right outside of it.
Some animals really like being trapped or learn to get peanut butter out without being trapped.
Meadowlarks will sing from the top of mist nets we are trying to catch them with.
I have been slapped in the face by a rhesus macaque.
Prairie dogs will flip traps to get the bait without getting trapped.
Canada geese have innate aim for sensitive areas when they bite.
Rabbits will sit on top of traps and poop on them an not even go into them.
Sage grouse males will try to mate with cow pies…
For fecal pellet samples. collection day tends to be the one time tuco-tucos don’t poop.
Shy sharks curl up like a donut, which makes it impossible to measure them.
Wolf licked a flower and got stung by a bee when I was nearby. Hated me from then on.
Collared pika will spend hours on top of the traps we’re trying to catch them in.
Commercial bumblebees will put their trash in the areas of the nest designed for food delivery.
Green sea turtles will slap sand in your face if they notice you when digging a nest.
Parasites get damaged so easily when collecting, literally losing their heads.
Skunk kits may not spray but they make up for it in attitude. Only wildlife I’ve been chased by.
Downy woodpeckers can crawl upside down in weighing tubes.
Peromyscus species move incessantly in the bag which makes them hard to weigh.
In our effort to band, owls perch on top of the nests set up to capture them.
Goshawks love to dive bomb when you approach their nest site. It’s hilarious but terrifying.
Sometimes saw whet owls will toot along with the audio lure but not actually get in the net.
Least tern nestlings will cry and squirm just at the moment you squeeze shut the banding pliers.
Snowy plovers will brood their chicks without considering their surroundings.
Coyotes will walk in a “C” around my camera to perfectly avoid it. And eat my straps.
Western screech owls sound just like the rivers they sing over.
Florida scrub jays will beg for peanuts instead of building their nests.
Male turtles will often stick their penis out when held.
Fawns get the zoomies in front of trail cameras.
Deer like to have just their butts, ears, nose, or feet in the frames so you can’t ID them.
American kestrel chicks constantly scream before, during, and after banding.
Trying to find breeding tree frogs who are piercingly loud, but when right near them, silent.
Asian elephants can hear you coming through their feet.
Blanding’s turtles can shut off blood flow to their tails when I’m taking blood samples.
What is the grossest/weirdest thing you’ve done at work?
Ask a Biologist Monday 3/7/22
Answers from Biologists:
Carried up to 80lbs of raw horse meat for a mile to set up food caches for endangered Mexican wolves.
Hand-stamped thousands of metal tree tags with a tiny letter F.
Climbed into a dumpster full of deer heads to transfer half of them to another dumpster.
Pulled fungus ropes out of raceways.
Clam, oyster and mussel smoothies to test for the presence of biotoxins.
We had a carp die-off in a lake. They floated to the top and I had to boat out and collect them.
Tucked a dead/drowned chick into my pocket because we ran out of whirl packs for storage.
Strung mealworms onto a fishing line to train bats to forage in the air.
Threw dead 20lb fish into the river for stream enrichment.
Common baits in entomology: rotten fruits/shrimp.
Getting regurgitated on by gulls. Will it be fish or hotdogs??
Spending all day every day counting pine cones on trees and making pine seed traps.
If there’s a possible wolf scat, we smell it to see if it smells “wolfy”.
Condor feeding and cleanup. Hiking hundreds of pounds of rotting carcasses in the dark every 3 nights.
Grinding sea anemones into a paste.
Coyote lure leaking in my backpack.
Bear bait. We used fish carcasses and cow’s blood left for a week beforehand.
Sexing geese via the cloaca during banding season. You never know what will squirt or crawl out.
Spread around human feces bait for butterfly surveys.
Cleaned a macerated musk ox skull that had been sitting in a barn for 50 years.
Skunk butter, vaseline, and skunk scent for fox surveys. Everything smelled like it.
Cut off the head of a dead bighorn and packed it out several km (lab check for nasal tumors).
Vacuumed roaches out of tree cavities (made for woodpeckers).
Cut up mice.
Turkey diarhea.
Fall Chinook spawning ground surveys (collect data on dead and decaying salmon carcasses).
Salvaged roadkill to bait turtle traps.
Cleaning out mammal bycatch from pitfall traps.
Being inside a full grown whale carcass during a necropsy.
Tied a skinned beaver hip to a pull string for a bear trap.
Sniff tuco tuco vaginal discharge-monitoring infection postbirth/retained fetuses.
Did scat sorting-reheated wet wolf scat in an oven.
Helped dissect an orca stomach on a concrete driveway.
Putting out rotting rats for ABB surveys.
Aging male malards. IYKYK.
Swabbing turtle cloacas.
Dissecting roadkill armadillos. New or old, it’s all equally stinky in different ways.
Smear sardines on a scent post near a camera trap. Also used Chanel #5.
Handling wolverine bait/lure. Rotten beavers, skunk glands, etc.
I’m a road ecologist and have handled every kind of roadkill.
Assisted with a bison necropsy. Tried to pull out the stomach but it was tough to grip.
Thawing out a freezer full of carnivore scat for analysis. Bear stinks the worst.
Necrospied a deer with systematic infection that had pus throughout most organs.
Collected expired food and waste from restaurant and grocery stores to bait bears.
Hiking miles with dead birds to send out for necropsy. The smell.
Dissecting a 4-5 day old dead black bear.
First day doing falconry work. Had to catch spoiled pork after force casting the hawk.
Dissecting otoliths out of very rotten fish heads.
Throw dead trout that escaped their tanks overnight in a dumpster.
Got cattle blood from a slaughterhouse to mix with the fish emulsion to make bear bait.
Extract several pounds of River herring ovaries to weigh and then leave out for bears.
Pumping live trout stomachs and collecting the contents to see what they’re eating.
Recovering bands from dead and decaying birds. Sometimes an entire leg comes off instead.
Hot glued acetaminophen tablets to dead neonatal mice to drop from helicopters to combat invasive brown tree snakes.
Milked a male sturgeon. Exactly what you’re thinking.
Sexing Douglas fir beetles (~2mm) by looking under their elytra at their abdomen.
Cutting jaws off dead coyotes to pull teeth and necropsies of the animal.
Carried 6-12 live mice with me at all times from March-August for owl surveys.
Walked through a neighborhood with a urine covered pillowcase with rabbits in it.
Shot a massive cockroach at my face with the door of a Sherman trap.
Baited camera traps with raw chicken and Gusto lure (fermented skunk glands) for fishers.
Sampling in a lake that had a sewer overflow of 5 million gallons.
Processing chicken necks and beef hearts for captive animals.
Anything involving Gusto bait.
Measuring bear skulls covered in maggots when the meat is liquifying off them.
Decomposing brains during necropsies.
Sliced open frozen rock doves, removed their reproductive parts, and tied them out for peregrines.
Shoveled bloody sand off a beach into a dumpster.
Bird poop to the face while banding.
Banding pelican chicks was fun but the regurgitated fish smell doesn't come off my hands for days.
Cutting parts off dead birds and bats for carcass persistence study.
Elbow/arm deep in a rancid bull elk to collect CWD sample.
Collecting scales from maggot covered pus bags (decomposing salmon)
Popped a 3 week old (sitting out drying) owl eyeball onto my pants.
Trying to pull a swarm of baby leeches out from under the skin of my toe.
Decapitating deer with a sawzall.
Removed week old turkey vulture carcasses from the survey site.
Sorting through vomit for hours each week.
Made and kept a mosquito colony with my own blood because we didn't have guinea pig permits.
Scuba diving for listed muscles right below chicken farm byproduct dump.
Washing carnivore scat into cheesecloth to do hair follicle/diet work.
Pulled guts out of mice for rehab owls. Saved any fetuses as treats for bats.
Popped the head off a dead bobwhite to get the collar back.
Extracted a sparrow from a mist net that was decapitated by a shrike.
Got squirted in the face by a popped fish eye while baiting a hook for shark surveys.
Discovering brain absesses in deer while sampling for CWD.
Hacked off the flipper of a long dead 500lb sea turtle.
Cutting dead rats in half vertically for raptors in willdife rehab.
Measuring cloacal protuberances (sperm storage organs) of fairy wrens.
Milked male sea lamprey to collect their sperm.
Took down a rotten monarch chrysalis and it exploded in my hand.
Cleaning up dead gopher tortoises on a very hot day (RIP my study population).
Banding puking shearwaters.
Cleaning out a freezer of dead deer 3 weeks after it stopped working.
Necropsies on bats with moldy Play-Doh like organs from the euthanasia agent.
Performing daily necropsies on nutria.
Digging around in road killed turtles to pull out their eggs for incubation.
Manatee or sea turtle necropsies are even worse than cetacean necropsies.
Dissected an egg bound chameleon to save the babies.
Cut and sawed at smelly old deer to age and get skull caps for hunters.
Torn apart day old dead chicks to feed rehab owls.
Fleshed dead dolphin skulls.
Disassembled a calf and staked it out for golden eagle bait.
Collecting stomach contents from roadkill moose.
Rinsing and sorting otter scat.
Cleaned bison skulls of decaying flesh.
Milked male Atlantic killifish.
Collected the remains of a manatee dead for days in belly deep water.
Projectile eider to the face while banding.
Arctic field camp, hauling out our 4 month old waste in 5 gallon buckets.
De-bowl rats for raptor rehab center.
Blended thousands of beetles and dried them in an oven for accurate weight.
Checking steelhead for coded wire tags. If they had them, I cut off the head and bagged it.
What tips/tricks do you have for fieldwork?
Ask a Biologist Monday 2/28/22
Answers from Biologists:
Always keep extra water and a first aid kit in the car.
A thermos of hot tea nd some fire starters can both make long days in cold weather easier.
Tuck pencils in your hair so you don’t lose them when filling out data sheet.
At remote points, do everything in the same order so it’s harder to forget steps or equipment.
Find North. Knowing your compass directions is so helpful.
Always put on sunscreen and bring it with you, no matter what.
Don’t set your things on top of the work truck. You’ll drive away without noticing.
Have a plan. Someone should expect to hear from you.
Thick and long nitrile milking gloves outperform usual lab gloves.
If you live around snakes, save the contact info to the nearest snake bite treatment hospital.
Always take photos of data sheets in case you lose them.
Bring extra pencils and batteries for GPS, trail cams. etc.
Have educational brochures on hand to help explain rules/management practices to the public.
Have an extra water bottle or liquid IV in the truck for the drive home.
Tie your laces around your pant legs to prevent critters from crawling up.
If you don’t have flagging, use shears to (gently) cut foliage along the trail. The cut marks can help guide you out.
Invest in a good multi-tool.
For radio telemetry, always leave the radio in the vehicle, always check behind you before leaving, being water even if you’re not going far.
Know when to call for help. Digging yourself in deeper helps nobody.
Have a few pepto bismol tablets in your pack for when your stomach disagrees.
Always have a safety/check-in plan in place so colleagues know when to expect you.
A pocket-sized rite in the rain notebook is invaluable.
No matter the weather, always pack rain gear and warm layers.
Always bring a pair of driving shoes. Nothing is worse than driving back in wet shoes.
Always have a shovel in your vehicle in case you get stuck.
Tie your GPS, phone, etc. to your person, with flagging so you don’t lose it.
Put flagging tape on everything.
Always carry a bandana, to use as a tissue, sweatband, pouch, tourniquet, etc.
Reverse your headlamp batteries until you need to use it so it doesn’t turn on in your pack.
Leave a nalgene on the floor of your truck while you’re out so the water will stay cooler on hot days.
Carry a card in your wallet stating that you work with wildlife in case you end up in a hospital.
Extra pair of socks in the backpack. Fresh socks are a game changer.
Always carry duct tape and zip ties. They can fix most things.
Carry electrolytes in hot weather.
Tie mittens to a string through your jacket.
Bring an extra GPS unit. You never know when the first may die for good.
Have a bag packed with extra socks, shirt, benadryl, charger, tylenol, toilet paper, etc.
Boil your water in the winter and keep it in a thermos.
Invest (or request) good footwear.
Put reflective tape on everything, especially for night work.
Take a GPS point of the trail any time you leave it.
Have a bright phone case and tools.
Label everything and keep a running inventory.
Bring multiple layers, especially in the mountains.
Rubber bands around your clipboard to keep pages from flying away.
Carry any medication with you just in case.
OnX is a lifesaver.
Check pockets in coats and packs before air travel just in case, so you don't lose a Leatherman.
Keep an eye on the sky. Weather apps aren't always accurate in rural areas.
Keep your shirt tucked into your pants and pants tucked into your boots.
In winter, keep some hand warmers in inner coat pockets.
Newspaper in boots soak up water.
Ladies get yourself a pstlye so you can go outdoors without exposing yourself.
Wear dog tags with name, blood type, and emergency contact and a capsule with more info.
Duct tape is a must for me. Good for cactus spines, blisters, broken gear, and more.
Remove your yagi and dangle the wire into burrows for more precise telemetry.
Dry bags/boxes are a lifesaver
Put your wet gloves on the dashboard and turn the dash vents on during breaks.
Always carry zap straps and crazy glue
Carry allergy medication (skin cream/pills). Things in the field can make you react without warning.
Keep emergency toilet paper in your backpack.
Hydro flask full of icy cold beverage in the car is a wonderful way to end your day.
Wrap measuring tapes in fiberglass tape; stops paint from rubbing off
Hide a spare key somewhere on your vehicle.
Always bring toilet paper.
What trainings do you recommend beyond school?
Ask a Biologist Monday 2/21/22
Answers from Biologists:
Conflict mediation training
CPR and first aid
Prescribed burns/wildfire training
Leadership trainings-learning how to be a good supervisor one day
Bystander training
Mental health first aid
Indigenous history and Indigenous consultation training
Venomous snake safety and handling course
Hunter safety/education-learn firearm handling useful for captures and other stakeholder perspectives
Wilderness first aid/Wilderness first responder
Conflict resolution
Swiftwater rescue
Heavy equipment operation
Chainsaw certification
Herbicide applicator’s license
Bird banding
Spanish language training-can really help in many areas of the country
GIS trainings
Basics of hunting and foraging
Seasonal plant ID refreshers
How to understand generational differences in the work place
SCUBA and boat license for Australia-opens up so many opportunities
Diving PADI-if you're in a pinch, NAUI if you have time
How do you deal with rejection?
Ask a Biologist Monday 2/14/22
Answers from Biologists:
I ask them “how can I better myself for opportunities in the future?” Then I work on it.
Feel sad a bit, then look up the amazing work of those who got it and get inspired for the next opportunity.
Call or write to thank them for the opportunity, then ask how you could have done better.
I had a sticker book and gave myself a cute sticker every time I got a rejection.
For me, it means something bigger and better is meant for me later.
Ask them for constructive criticism on my interview and resume/experience.
There are often so many great candidates and the decision can come down to something random.
I cry for a day, then I keep applying for jobs. It’s a numbers game.
Chin up! It doesn’t feel personal when there’s so much great competition.
The job probably wasn’t meant for me. Even with rejection, you may make a great contact. Stay in touch!
Ask what qualifications/experience chosen candidates had and how to improve.
I use it as motivation to try harder and an opportunity to try something else.
I apply expecting to get rejected.
Focus on what went well and how to improve for next time. Rejection doesn’t mean bad!
Just keep cranking out applications for what I want. Eventually something sticks.
I try not to hype up the position and tell minimal people until hired. Less pressure.
If I get a lot of rejections in a row, I take an emotional break for a bit before continuing to apply.
It’s a huge field and there will always be more opportunities. It doesn’t reflect my own skills.
Resilience in rejection makes me unstoppable! How much do you want to keep going?
Remember that it’s normal, was good practice, and gets your name out there. Connections matter!
I try to remember that I’m relatively new at this and keep looking for opportunities to grow.
What classes/skills do you recommend undergrads take/get?
Ask a Biologist Monday 2/7/22
Answers from Biologists:
Science communications
It’s so important to be able to explain your research and work clearly with others.
Basic coding
Wetland delineations
ArcGIS
It’s a huge advantage to be competent in GIS when applying for jobs.
Evolutionary biology
to understand why things are how they are
Business/leadership courses
Helpful to learn how to work in groups and manage budgets
Not enough people know how to work in groups
Research methods
Education classes
Really underrated in our field.
Mechanical/technical skills
chainsaw, pesticide applications, boating, etc.
Basic organization
for equipment and data
Communicating via email
Any field technique courses that give you hands on experience
Human dimensions of Natural Resources Management
Any certifications you can get
Look for things outside of class/school like tracking or Master Naturalist
Try to diversify
Landscape/Map reading
learn to see what the system is saying
Data management/analysis
Technical/scientific writing
Honing these skills helps you be a better communicator, get grants, and saves you tons of time down the road wen writing in grad school or on the job.
Research projects
Wildlife/Environmental policy/law/permittingWi
know the laws and regulations regarding what your work is based on
Botany/Plants
Most federal jobs require 9 hours botany/plant ID to qualify
Statistics/Coding
beyond school stats classes, Datacamp has R courses that teach syntax
Drone flying/remote sensing
Wildlife disease
It’s becoming more and more important
Wilderness First Aid/CPr
these can save a life in the field
Gun safety
Lab experience
Flesh out your electives to meet the requirements for federal jobs and certifications from your respective professional society
Field techniques/surveys
hands on experience
Habitat assessments
DEIJ courses
not everyone experiences fieldwork the same way due to identity
Rural sociology/Human dimensions
Understand why some communities resist conservation efforts
What do you look for in technicians/students you hire?
Ask A Biologist Monday 3/31/22
Answers from Biologists:
Passion, flexibility and ability to be a team player.
Asks thoughtful questions.
Positive attitude, hardworking, ability to learn.
Someone that has a specific skill or two they’d like to gain from the job.
Willingness to ask questions. Makes everything easier on both ends.
Motivated and having field skills (hiking long distances, navigational skills, 4x4 driving, etc.)
Someone who has worked service industry at some point. I know they can talk to landowners.
Adaptability, reliability, great attitude/teamwork skills.
Enthusiasm goes a long way.
Enthusiasm and people skills.
Good work ethic, positive attitude, and problem solving skills.
Adaptability, ability to function in an emergency, willingness to learn.
I actually love being cold-called. It show initiative.
Enthusiasm, curiosity and the ability to collaborate well with others.
Ability to adapt on the fly.
Problem solving, willingness to learn and ask questions, and good work ethic.
Someone who can take direction and criticism. It’s how we learn!
Emphasis on safety in the field and within team dynamics.
GIS and data manipulation.
Grit. Working in the field requires dealing with less than ideal conditions.
Someone proactive who sees what needs to be done without having to be told step by step.
Someone who wants to learn and is excited to be there.
Genuine interest in the work.
What advice do you have for undergrads in this field?
Ask a Biologist Monday 1/24/22
Answers from Biologists:
Don’t be afraid to work away from where you live for the summer. The more you limit your location, the more you limit opportunities.
Communicate with your professors. Mine helped me get into grad school!
Start with anything and everything all of the time, then later specialize.
Try to get an internship or tech position each summer/ (Also fire pays really well and looks good on resumes.)
Ask professors about opportunities. None of my undergrad research were advertised projects.
Prioritize expanding your experiences rather than maintaining a perfect GPA.
Become active in your student or state TWS chapter to network and learn.
Be willing to move across the country for experience.
Don’t burn bridges if you can help it. This field is super small and everyone knows everyone.
Learn about public affairs, law, human behavior, and skills in working with people.
Be okay with and ready to move. Go explore and see what all is out there.
If you can’t move because of circumstances (debt, family, etc.) it’s okay. It’s harder but not impossible to succeed in this field.
Talk to faculty and graduate TAs about research help. They always love to teach.
Join clubs like TWS and AFS.
Be willing to travel for summer jobs. It’s fun and you get to see new places and species.
Participate in sampling, volunteer work, tag along for field work.
Get experience however you can.
Get some sort of GIS experience.
Find a mentor/good friend you can go to for advice.
Go to office hours/ Professors are your best resource for getting experience.
Network. Ask people about their experiences.
Look into Research Education for Undergraduates internships.
Join Doris Duke Conservation Scholars.
Tech tech tech. And don’t be afraid to branch out.
Get any and all experience you can get your hands on. It’s so important after you graduate.
Be persistent. Email multiple times if you don’t get responses. Keep pushing.
If you have an opportunity for farm/agriculture work, do it. I just got an amazing job because I had that.
Be open to different species, environments, and locations.
If you’re planning on grad school, take a higher level stats class and get experience with R.
Network, network, network. Reach out to anyone and everyone.
Don’t give up!
Interact with professors. Introduce yourself. Volunteer or work in their labs.
Make sure you have the correct course work to qualify for federal jobs (opm.gov).
Be open to any experience. It helps you to identify and narrow down your interests.
Try to diversify your knowledge base as much as possible.
Take advantage of on campus resources-library, free journal access, clubs, etc.
Start gaining experience as soon as possible in undergrad.
Be careful going back to the same internship/position for multiple seasons. Branch out.
Diversify. You may end up far from your start and learning an ecosystem as a whole is a disappearing skill.
Don’t go into debt for experience.
It’s okay to turn down a job you’ve accepted if a better opportunity arises.
Make sure you fulfill the course requirements for that OPM job title.
Struggling is okay to an extent and can teach you valuable lessons in the long run.
Build good relationships with professors and grad students in your department.
Ask older biologists what courses they took and which are actually valuable. ID and analysis with certifications!
If you aren’t immediately starting a MS program, apply your BS/BA to consulting.
Take botany classes.
Network! I am more able to help students who reach out to me.
Keep an open mind on how you’ll be successful in the field.
Find someone doing what you want to be doing on LinkedIn and see how they got there.
Talk to professors about getting involved in their lab.
Go to conferences and introduce yourself to everyone.
Be flexible and willing to leave your comfort zone safely.
How did you find your focus/specialty?
Ask a Biologist Monday 1/17/22
Answers from Biologists:
As a generalist, I struggle a lot with not having a specialty. But I know my strengths and fell into those.
I took a carnivore tech job in undergrad and knew that was what I wanted.
Accidentally, after a series of oddly fishy coincidences (salmon habitat restoration).
Tried to make my resume well rounded by keeping an open mind. Goal was to find stability.
Undergrad research led me to study birds in grad school. Met the right people at the right time.
Finding mentors that helped me narrow my focus. Now I love what I do!
Taking a class in undergrad led me to birds and the more I learned, the more I loved.
Random decision to take ornithology during undergrad and I fell in love.
Blended my prior skills in customer service with ecology/biology and became a private lands bio.
Worked a variety of seasonal jobs.
I actually got my job (heritage data specialist) because I was a Jack of all trades.
Took a chance and applied for a position in undergrad, it happened to be a great fit.
Was going to do Chem, then realized I should follow my passion (Wildlife).
I assisted on an urban bat monitoring project. I got hooked on acoustic research as a result.
Took a random disease course in undergrad and became fascinated with tick borne diseases.
I followed which ecological questions I found were exciting, interesting, and important.
I had planned on focusing on different species but this opportunity appeared first and grew.
Went from early childhood education to bats thanks to a community college mentor.
Volunteered at a wild bird rehab center and realized I loved working with birds.
One of my required courses was taught by a waterfowl professor and he made me love it!
Growing up in the woods set me up to be an ecologist because I love all ecosystem components.
Volunteering and working various field jobs throughout undergrad.
Took a risk on an invertebrate job.
Being a generalist (wildlife and botany) has really helped me in environmental consulting.
Interned at a reptile sanctuary, was handed a snake and something clicked!
From an early age, I was compelled to hold fish.
I didn’t specialize. I always loved to diversify my work.
My university hired an ornithologist and once I met her that started my bird path.
Volunteering with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game during grad school.
State job postings. I needed a stable income and benefits.
More of a generalist. I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself and also wanted to be well rounded. I sought stability.
What is a recent advance/discovery in your area of the field?
Ask a Biologist Monday 1/10/22
Answers from Biologists:
Discovery of a new snail species in a hot spring.
Possible recent discovery of facultative viviparity in South African tortoises.
Nearly 1/4 of the US population of Golden eagles breeds in AK in the summer.
Materials used in roads/tires are killing PNW salmon.
Soybean gall midge will infect other legumes too.
Cattails have naturalized in some places in the Midwest.
We’ve just named a new family of stoneflies.
Our museum discovered a new parasite in Osprey.
Kuchling and Hoffmeyr 2022 discovered facultative viviparity in tortoise.
A potential cure for hydronephrosis.
Spotted skunks are being split up into a couple new species in North America.
A new species of neotropical tanager from the Andes-the Inti Tanager.
What is a Biology-related goal of yours for 2022?
Ask a Biologist 1/3/22
Answers from Biologists:
Try to publish my first article
Pass my mussel test and be state qualified for relocation
Finally have a job in my field after completing my master’s degree
Learn more coding skills
Find an advisor for grad school
Get my master’s degree and find a PhD position
Pass my qualifying exams for my PhD
Saying “no” more. I love my job but I am more than my job.
Get into grad school and get better at identifying tracks
Finish my master’s thesis (and defend it)
Submit thesis chapters for publication
Finish my thesis
Get into grad school and gain more fieldwork experience
Coordinate with other agencies and states to improve our best management practices
Continue to advocate for and ensure research projects are properly designed
Leave Botswana to start my fieldwork for my master’s thesis
Defend my thesis
Get that international ajolote collaboration going
I have 3 manuscripts I really need to submit
Develop an internship curriculum to help prep for grad school. ArcMap, R, lit review, etc.
Every year is the same: more fish!
Get any bio-related job and or figure out if I want to do graduate school
Find a new job in this field that actually excites and motivates me
Defend my master’s thesis
Get into a good grad program
To make my certificate into a master’s degree
Finish my master’s thesis
Get better at having work/life balance and give good advice/make new people feel welcome
Read more bio/nature related books
To finish my thesis and defend
Start my master’s and be able to identify at least 5 species of nematodes without help
Find a subject for my master’s thesis
Improve my grant writing skills. I’m applying for over $300k worth of grants this year
Starting my PhD
Enroll into grad school. It is time for that next step
Finish my associate’s so I can do my bachelor’s
Get fully prepped for our offices first bison collaring effort
Learn how to slow down, say no, and prioritize life outside of work
Improve my mushroom, lichen, and mold ID skills
Learn new trapping skills and get “that promotion”
Make time to keep up on current research, especially related to win/solar/bats/birds
Come up with a thesis idea
Start my microbiology master’s program this fall
Driving trailers and mastering fly fishing
Employment and experience
Publish my PhD work that I worked on the last 4 years
To defend my dissertation (6 yrs, a move, and a kiddo later)
Pass my comprehensive exam
Finally get a job or internship in my field
Move to a new country and find as many species as I can
Work life balance. And more practice in R
Write a paper with another scientist I look up to
What was your favorite moment from work this year?
Answers from Biologists:
Seeing Eastern Diamondbacks in NC
Catching 9 bobcats in under 2 weeks
Teaching undergraduate volunteers how to age and collect CWD samples off deer
Leaving a toxic PhD advisor and joining a wonderful lab
Seeing rare species of birds on nest sweeps like the Sora and Common nighthawk
When the animal ambassador kestrel perched on command with no mice given
Capturing my first armadillo in a live trap successfully after finally getting funds and IACUC approval
Awarded NAF GRFP and started grad school with the best lab and advisor
Being recognized for my contributions and input being valued by my PI
Contracted 24 miles of woven wire fencing to be removed and replaced it with wildlife friendly fencing
Spotting a CA condor chick and a peregrine falcon flying by me in the same day
Learning more about bobcats and what amazing and elusive creatures they are
Getting a grant for my dream field research on red eyed tree frogs
Getting hired as the youngest tech in my division by 10 years
Got a neotrop grant to start a Caribbean land bird monitoring program
Got a whole municipality to make nature including building for any new buildings (bat boxes)
Being part of a team to get Canadian migratory bats listed as endangered
Getting my first full time job
Getting my first job where I get to focus on wildlife protection and not damage management
Trapped the highest number of prairie dogs my PI has ever seen
Getting to recreate the monarch exhibit, education program and rear over 100 healthy individuals
When my students thanked me for a good semester. I was wicked stressed and want’t expecting it at all
Published my first paper as lead author about the Western bluebirds I work with
Found 4 nesting birds in one massive oak tree
Restored 1200’ of shoreline and 9 oyster reefs in just under 4 months and they're thriving
Seeing a bunch of crocodiles basking
Bred 20,000 endangered tadpoles. Previously our record was 2000
A series of small triumphs getting R code to work properly.
Swabbing hundreds of bats for white nose syndrome and having all results come back negative
Collaring bison in northern British Columbia
Finally starting a project that was suppose to start in 2020
Graduated with a BS in Wildlife Bio
Getting my first pub in a magazine
Finding the first documented leatherback nest on South Padre Island
Had my first author manuscript accepted into a journal
Got headhunted for a junior wildlife bio job before starting my last semester of undergrad
Supervising some undergrads and teaching them the ins and outs of catching bats
Trapping swift foxes to be reintroduced to Ft. Belknap in MT
Doing nest bird surveys in CA hearing hermit thrush calls throughout the forest
Finding 9 Rusty patch bumblebees during one day of surveys
Found an elusive state threatened mudpuppy in western Iowa
Heli-darting 20 caribou while 5 months pregnant
My step daughter was voted best project in her class based on her help with the monarchs this season
Getting paid to work on O'ahu
Getting a new job with a raise and much better benefits and more compelling work
Catching a baby Goliath grooper (under 50mm) in a seagrass trawl
Actually seeing the animal I'd been tracking (red wolf)
Finally getting a permanent, salaried position with great benefits
Finally finished my Master's and looks like I landed a great job
Starting my first field season of grad school
Learning to tube and pit tag rattlesnakes
Getting my BS in Biology
Getting an illegal party that’s been happening at my park for 10+ years shut down for the first time
We found 2 pairs of Northern spotted owls in a place they hadn’t been in years
Getting to ride in a helicopter to our field sites
Do you recommend your BS/MS/PhD program(s)?
Ask a Biologist Monday 12/20/21
BS: New Mexico State University-both the Wildlife and Conservation Ecology programs are top notch. Lots of great professors, hands on experiences, trips, and opportunities to network, plus affordable.
MS: CKWRI (TAMUK-Kingsville)-one of the top grad schools in the country, for good reason. Well funded, networking is incredible, lots of connections with local agencies and land owners, groundbreaking research.
Answers from Biologists:
Bachelor’s:
Michigan State University
Fisheries and Wildlife-small classes, lots of field experience
Recommend. Tons of great majors, courses, and research opportunities
UGA
Ecology-amazing
Warnell school of Forestry and Natural Resources-Highly recommend
UDel
highly recommended natural resources program
College of Charleston
expensive but well funded, new equipment/labs, and fun!
UC Davis
research powerhouse, great professors, great location. Lots of opportunities to get involved and hone interests with variety of majors. Faculty are great and caring.
yes. Great professors, very hands on and lots of opportunities for research.
SUNY Cobelskill
yes. Very hands on program and great connections to be made.
University of Montana
top wildlife program. Tons of hands on in the field opportunities
program was interesting and professors care. Clubs are wonderful and active. World class faculty
U of Utah
10/10, lots of opportunities, smart professors
UofNM
would recommend
TAMU-Kingsville
Wildlife-prepared me really well
U of Saskatchewan
Biology-professors are awesome, lots of research opportunities, but we don’t learn skills that make us competitive at this time (R, higher level stats, modeling, etc.)
Paul Smiths College
isolated small community. Great for hands on learning
yes if you want a small school
Humboldt State
Wildlife-Amazing. I work with lots of HSU alumni
highly knowledgeable faculty, hands on learning, beautiful place. Relatively small class size
will always recommend. You’ll be eligible for federal jobs. They provide many hands on involved classes.
Biology with emphasis in Ecology-yes!
Wildlife Biology-loved it'
Range management-small program with great extracurricular activities. Degree follows governmental guidelines and qualifies you for the 0454 Range Specialist job series.
University of WI Stevens Point
highly recommend. Tons of hands on field experience and great professors.
UW Whitewater
recommend
CSU Warner College
absolutely. Lots of local networking opportunities and amazing faculty. Cost of living in Fort Collins can be high.
NMU in Marquette MI
great professors, resources, and the area is amazing for biology and outdoor stuff, as long as you don’t mind snow/cold
UCM
pretty basic program. Connections with MDC were great. If you leave MO though, most employers don’t know the school, which has made it harder to find a job.
Earlham College
Biology-small school, HUGE hands-on wildlife/field biology programs
UofRhode Island
amazing
Virginia Tech
great school. Lots of hands on field experience.
Georgia Southern
fine
Evergreen State College
unique opportunities for undergrads. Rare gem
UTKnox
Wildlife and fisheries-highly recommend. Lots of opportunities to get experience, very hands on. Required semester of “fall camp” at different field locations. Everyone in the department stresses field experience. Lots of networking.
SUNY ESF
loved it but it was small so not a ton of opportunities but very hands on.
Purdue
highly recommend. Lots of hands on fieldwork, opportunities outside of class, ID courses are awesome, professors are amazing, and you learn R and other modeling systems.
Iowa State
loved it. Faculty were fantastic and genuinely care. Affordable out of state.
University of Minnesota
Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology-like the program a lot. Required field course. Multiple stats classes. Lots of taxonomy courses. Huge research institute with lots of opportunities. Relatively small major though. Costly though. Not a ton of diversity in the FWCB program though diversity in school as a whole.
Roanoke College
for getting into Wildlife, I do NOT recommend their environmental program
SIUC
not extremely well-suited for getting hired afterwards
Wageningen University (Netherlands)
BS: mixed Dutch and English
TRU
Natural Resources Science-love it. Covers a range of topics. Teach coding in R and GIS. Small program so lots of time with professors.
University of Saint Francis
Environmental Science-staff and student groups are amazing. Very expensive and you have to take religious classes to graduate.
TAMU-College Station
highly recommend. Focus on applicable experience.
University of Maine
Wildlife Ecology-recommend
Master’s:
Reminder: Much more important than the school or program or location is your choice in advisor!
UofOK
not recommended for those needing a natural resources focus.
I have full tuition waiver in addition to stipend. Faculty at NREM are awesome. Courses are okay. Lots of new faculty.
Tufts
Conservation medicine-Highly recommend. Not funded but provided amazing opportunities and professors are great. Small classes, more project based.
GA Southern
would recommend with reservations
CKWRI (TAMUK-Kingsville)
great but definitely do your research on advisor.
Wur the Netherlands
Forestry and Nature Conservation-highly recommend
UW La Crosse
excellent for aquatic research and learning
University of Tromso, Norway
Amazing experience in English
University of Central Florida
Great for learning statistics and well-rounded in ecology and biology
Northwestern
Plant Biology and Conservation-in conjunction with the Chicago Botanical Garden. Opened lots of doors.
GMU
not so great
OEP
good for people who want to learn a variety of things (lab, fieldwork, etc.)
WIU
they have no right attempting to support grad students and seem barely able to support undergrads. Incredibly traumatic experience for me and many other grad students. Professors do not care about students generally. Bullying and harassment.
South Dakota State University
a lot of internal politics but my advisor was great at finding funding and projects for his students
UFL
Wildlife Forensics-obsessed with this program
WSU-School of Bio
do not recommend
Georgia Southern
TERRIBLE. Department does not care. Even did background research on my advisor but it didn’t help. Learned little, made no connections, hated my time there. But I graduated.
University of Montana
learned so much and met so many wonderful folks. Demanding program but most advisors communicate well and realize your life is more than just grad school.
SIUC
grad school is doing cutting edge research on freshwater fisheries management
Wageningen University (Netherlands)
MS: fully in English. Lots of opportunities and freedom to specialize how you like.
Humboldt
withdrawn due to overwhelming sexism from the almost entirely male faculty, including my own advisor. Really pretty area where mountains meet ocean. Education was great, experience was not.
West Texas A&M
Plant Science-strong program with lots of research and internship opportunities
University of Michigan
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Frontiers MS Program-fully funded program. Friendly faculty open to collaboration. R1 institute with lots of opportunities.
Sul Ross State
Highly recommend. Very hands on. Incredible professors and researchers.
University of Delaware
research is hard and advisors expect a lot, but worth it. Very hands on with lots of field opportunities.
PhD:
Reminder: Much more important than the school or program or location is your choice in advisor!
UofO
10/10
Pay transparency
Ask a Biologist Monday 12/13/21
I have a bachelor’s in Conservation Ecology and a Master’s in Range and Wildlife science and around 10 years of experience in the field.
This post ended up growing into something more than I could have imagined! Long story short, take the survey (linked below) and stay tuned for the results.
What species/group of species would you want to work with?
Ask a Biologist Monday 12/6/21
I would love to work with quolls. They are such a fascinating species that not many people are aware of outside of Australia.
Answers from Biologists:
Corvids
I can’t think of anything I wouldn’t want to work with!
Arctic foxes
Mustelids
Mustelids. But I currently work with gray foxes and they’re awesome.
Rhinos (Undergrad)
Mustelids, tassie devils, or quolls.
The deep sea ecosystem
Otters
River otters
Cuttlefish
Cervids
Mustelids, owls, and bison
Any type of fox
Mustelids
Literally any fauna. Botanist life is hard!
Orcas (Undergrad)
Redpolls
As a kid I wanted to study jellyfish. But now I also love turtles.
Great hornbill.
Louisiana Black Bear (Undergrad)
Larches
Dholes
I love working with heros, but the short time I’ve had with skunks and weasels has been fun.
Old world vultures
Poweshiek Skipperling, again! Though any butterfly species would be equally as amazing.
Start conducting freshwater mussel surveys in Minnesota.
Fennec fox
Frogs
Alligator gar. One of the coolest freshwater fish in existence.
Mangroves
Snow leopards (Undergrad)
Leatherback sea turtles
Zebras (Undergrad)
Saltwater crocodiles
Marshbirds
Puffins or penguins (Undergrad)
Condors
Owls
Fruit bats and puffins
Tucos. Specifically ctenomys sociabilis (Undergrad)
Sand-colored nighthawks
Marmots and pika
Tuatara
Bats. Heck they’re cute!
Reptiles
Coyotes
Herons or loons
Butterflies or velvet worms (Undergrad)
Masked owl (a type of barn owl) or invasive deer
Tenrecs
I would love to with with okapi
Birds
Jays or bats. So bitey and cute!
Tell us a fieldwork success story!
Ask A Biologist Monday 11/29/21
Back in my tech days, right after I learned to trap black bear, I managed to catch my first bear: a HUGE male that easily weighed 500lbs! Our scale only went up to 450lbs and one of his paws was still resting on the ground. It was so exciting!
Answers from Biologists:
Deconstructing a weather station without the correct tools.
Eating ramen noodles at 1am after spending 6 hours following a radio-tagged lemur.
Hand digging a buried albatross chick out of a snowdrift.
Found the northern spotted owl nest that 3 coworkers had looked for.
Found 4 whooping cranes on a site my park managers wanted to open to ATVs.
Effectively using radio telemetry to track Gila trout.
Got to be on an episode of Wildlife Nation with Jeff Corwin.
Found a cutthroat population on a forest we thought all the pops were accounted for.
Collared 19 caribou calves in one day via helicopter darting.
Spent 2 months searching for Lesser yellowlegs nests. Found 2 the day before they hatched.
Banded 166 endangered Red-cockaded woodpecker chicks in one nesting season.
Didn’t panic when I was pushed around by a manatee my students thought was a Bull shark.
Convinced our archaeologist and local Tribes to designate the Phillips agave as a cultural resource.
Hiked down 4 large timber rattlesnakes to add to my radio tracked sample in one (long) day.
Tracked a bobcat to its exact location and remote downloaded points.
Used shower curtain rods as mist net poles for bat research. Worked great in a pinch!
Setting up my bat detector-electronics are not my forte, so a proud moment.
Finding one last ovenbird nest when I was about to give up hope because it looked old.
Finished the entire day without anyone being stung by a hornet.
Slipped in a yucky pond with a bat in hand, but the bat didn’t get wet. Just me!
Finding wolf dens to cross-foster captive born pups into wild dens.
Found the elusive AIS we were searching for on lunch while looking for cool rocks.
Working with the aggregate industry and Bank Swallows. I was so nervous but by the end of the field season a few operators were interested in creating site plans.
Got my facility designated as an arboretum.
We messed up the planned material design so had to re-design it on the spot, which actually turned out to be a better method than the original!