Hello Everyone!
This was my last week doing a marine biology internship at UC Santa Barbara. The main portion of my internship has been spent identifying and marking clams within transect images. This is part of a larger project observing the change in different ecosystems over long periods of time called LTER. I identify these clams for a graduate student in order for her to eventually see if there is a correlation between these boring clams (clams that bore into rock) and sediment settlement, distribution of other species and overall effects on the clam’s habitat.
Monday I was able to go on a diving boat with a few other people in the LTER project. These people take the images that I have been working on thus far in my internship. They use this underwater camera to take photos along transects which people like myself then go over in the future and identify species. The people were super nice and brought up creatures for me to see and learn about. They even managed to find three octopi which are my favorite animals.
Tuesday I worked on transect images and identifying clams. Later in the day I was invited to watch some presentations of a college class that I had attended some of the labs with.
Wednesday I had an opportunity to go out on the diving boat again. This day was similar to Monday, however it was in a different location. On the way back I got to see dolphins swim right beside our boat!
Thursday I started to wrap up the images I was working on and went to lunch with another person in the lab and tried falafel for the first time.
Friday I finished the transect I was working on and figured out I had completed 461 images throughout the internship. In the afternoon I went to a picnic celebrating the end of the class that had the labs and lectures I attended.
Saturday I packed and spent time enjoying the last full day I would have of this experience. I went and watched the sunset with some food.
Sunday I finished packing and flew home.
This was an amazing experience and chance to learn. I really appreciate everyone who helped me get here especially the people at Pinhead and my mentors. I will always remember this experience and it has definitely helped me realize my future in the STEM field and marine biology.
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