The past week has been full of many new experiences for me, so I have taken the liberty of splitting my week into three themes; field work, lab management and new technology. Although I have not been working on my project this week, I have still learnt a lot of valuable skills.
Field Work🍃🌧
My very first field work trip. We headed out to Huddersfield where we planned to set up crayfish traps, and also collect some macro-invertebrates (essentially bugs in the river) for another student's project. That morning, I was in such a rush that I forgot both a jumper and a waterproof. I willed the heavens not to open, but my pleas were ignored. In fact, the rain was pouring quite spitefully in my opinion. But that could not dampen my mood. I was standing in a river, in a beautiful location, absolutely soaking wet. Perfect.
I must say the macro-invertebrates were quite fascinating. If you ever find yourself in a river with a net, kick around in the soil, and then scoop some up. Have a look at what you find. A whole world lives in that mud, and you would never know it. Larvae of different insects, leeches, tiny shrimp called gammarus...
When we came back the next day to collect our traps, the sky was a lot kinder, and I was excited to see what we'd caught. Our bounty was plentiful including one whole crayfish! However, we did catch several brown trouts, which was honestly an unexpectedly magical moment for me. They were small and had little pink dots across their body. I had the chance to hold one (I practically jumped in the river with excitement), and it was such a cathartic moment of realising what I wanted in life. I felt so strongly connected to the life I held in my hand. This trout who had swam its way upstream and landed in my hand. How coincidental that we would meet. How incredible that we are of the same time and atoms and energy.
If for the rest of my life I could hold that little trout in my hands, stood in the middle of a river, I would be a very happy woman.
My lovely supervisor, Josie, was a tremendous teacher on our field trip, showing us the bigger picture of our research. Showing us how all of life is deeply connected, even with you, though it doesn't always feel like it in our modern world.
Lab management 🧪🧹
With all things, there must be balance. With my great excitement for being in the field, I must also endure the tedious act of maintaining a lab. I was tasked with performing daily water quality checks on tanks containing native crayfish babies (they are so small I cannot photograph them - honestly, smaller than your fingertip!). It is actually quite fun, and I like to pretend I'm a chemist when I do them. I must check the content of a variety of compounds in the water, such as ammonia and nitrate, as well as pH. If any of these compounds reach too high a concentration, it could be fatal to the native species we are trying to save. The compounds make some beautiful colours in the test tubes, and its a relaxing addition to my day.
New technology 💡
The university was recently contacted by an angling club about crayfish eating the trout in the reservoir they fish in. I got the chance to go out to the reservoir and meet a fish scientist, Jamie, who showed us some technology used on fish, and which may be useful for crayfish studies.
He pulled out this beaten up laptop in a built-in case that reminded me of meteorology and a car battery. He attached this thick cable to the car battery, and pulled out a key ring which he explained had a tag in it. When he passed the key ring over the cables, a light was activated, and the computer read its unique ID code. By injecting fish - or crayfish - with these tags, we could therefore identify individuals and determine the frequency in which they visit a certain area.
We got to meet again in the lab, where we set out trialling the tags on the crayfish. It was not the nicest of jobs since we had to use a gun-like syringe to inject the crayfish with these tags. We also got to experiment with anaesthesia on the crayfish, which I personally do not think made much difference. The crayfish were still just as unhappy to be injected with a foreign object that makes them beep.
Final thoughts
This week has shown me the whole breadth of science. I have seen wonder and felt awe from the vastness of this world. I have been reminded that work is not always glamorous, but you can make it fun with some imagination. I have witnessed the sharing of technologies and theories; the true essence of science. And most importantly, I have glimpsed my future, and I think I am going to get along with it just fine.