19 Jan 2010

Day 19:
I almost feel like the photo for today is cheating as it wasn't taken today. It was however, taken last week... in fact right before I took the baby lobster photo. Since the weather has turned back to gales and rain in addition to me coming down with a cold, I'm afraid this is the best that I can do as it's pretty much how I am feeling at the moment (dead with a heavy chest).  ;-) Although this photo may seem a bit gruesome (and boy did this bird stink), this was another PhD student [Tony] (the one who sits next to me) illustrating where to take tissue from in a Leaches Storm Petrel (his study organism) for DNA analysis. Being a biologist, I have gotten used to many things that would have made me squeamish in the past, cutting open dead animals, or at least looking at dead animals cut open, is definitely one of them.

13 Jan 2010

Day 13:
In the Marine Biology & Ecology Research Centre at the University of Plymouth, where I am currently working towards my PhD in Marine & Environmental Science, lots of different types of research goes on. This includes everything from fresh water snail development, ecological modeling, seabird genetics, deep sea marine biotope mapping, seagrass ecology, animal physiological responses to thermal change and lots of ocean acidification research. Dan, who's pictured above is a new PhD student that is investigating the effects of ocean acidification on crustaceans, using lobsters as a model organism. Before he can start his experiments, he has to raise his lobsters to the correct size. The one above is still a baby. Do I hear you say, "Awwww...."  Who doesn't love baby animals, eh?