office: summer 2007, wordless

On the rocks, please... intertidal monitoring bliss

Skillz: a park volunteer (yet another professional biologist) perched atop a large marine boulder (at Cabrillo National Monument) searching for and measuring every owl limpet (Lottia gigantea) within 1 meter of a metal bolt. Note the wet spots where her feet were are only where owl limpets are not. She's good. =)

This is a picture of a good day.

If you see me doing this,

you will know I am in my happy place.

I will have ocean-soggy feet,

blonde hair flying wildly,

and a semi-permanent grin on my face.

I love the above photo

because it shows you a part of this work

that is very important,

but few would ever think of.

Our team: 3 professional biologists working for free 'cause a) we're just that nerdy, b) it's such a freakin' awesome place, and c) it's a fabulous cause. =) Note the orange chalk marking either the plot boundaries, or owl limpets that have already been measured.

Something that adds another level of complexity

and makes me love this work all the more.

Aside from having to lean into, hover over, squat under, or perch upon

a cold, hard, damp, variably squishy or scratchy boulder for up to an hour, 

and find and measure all the owl limpets

(being careful not to confuse smaller L.g. with other species),

you need to do it without crushing any owl limpets.

Don't tread on me! Lovely owl limpets. Note the area they've cleared of competitors (via bulldozing) so they can farm algae. Pretty awesome and interesting way of life. Clearly, though, it's tough to doze your own back....

And perching can include tip-toe-ing around on slimy

boulders or ledges: slipping is not an option.

Sometimes you get smacked around by waves,

and you always have to watch the tide.

Sing with me! "Every Lottia is sacred. Every Lottia is great. If a Lottia gets wasted, bb gets quite irate."

Finally, these boulders, ledges, and cliffs were selected for this study

because they sport so many owl limpets. High density.

I kind of love that.

So, while you try to work quickly and accurately,

to accomplish as much as possible in the time given,

within an ever-changing environment that's entirely out of your control,

you must also ensure that you don't hurt anyone.

I think it's good practice.

For lots of things.

=)

xoxobb

Props to NR folks, & photo of bb teaching rocky intertidal mon. in 2002

bb training volunteers to conduct rocky intertidal monitoring at Cabrillo NM, 2002 (NPS photo).

In celebration of rocky intertidal monitoring everywhere.

I didn't help out at Cabrillo NM this year, so in lieu of that is this photo.

I am the bent over creature standing buns-to-sea.

I am surrounded by amazing people.

A few words about a few of them.

1. The guy w/his rubber boots near my head has since passed away, but he was this amazing just-for-fun geology professor at some local college, but really was a retired lawyer (and geologist?!?). He volunteered for our program 10 billion hours (rocky intertidal monitoring, and MILLIONS of hours for herp monitoring) Amazing, fun, super smart, interesting person, grew up in Wyoming, and game for anything. Helped me monitor veg, too, which can be SERIOUSLY rigorous on a v. steep peninsula made of crumbling sandstone and peppered w/cacti, poisonous plants, and rattlesnakes. He was a Vietnam vet, though, so this, for him, was a cake walk.

Spent his first social security check on a mountain bike. AWESOME!

Said he was living off $ he made from widows and orphans, so this was his way to give back, post-retirement. =) Fabulous. He would quote this if I tried to reimburse him for ANYTHING. He refused it all.

2. The guy standing furthest to the left is an amazing (USGS) herpetologist w/ridiculous photography chops. This guy is ALWAYS energetic and ALWAYS upbeat. And fearless. PERFECT personality for a delightful fieldwork experience. Besides having a lightning fast brain & being funny. A gem.

3. The woman standing behind the rubber-boot-ed-lawyer was marvelous, ALWAYS could be counted on to BE there for rocky intertidal monitoring (that's amazingly important) and was SUPER SOLID, smart, interested, gracious creature who was also (bonus!) a delightful person. And, far as I can tell, ONLY volunteered for rocky intertidal monitoring. JUST us. YAY, us!! (us = the science nerd division I headed)

4. Oh, and did I mentioned that ALL of these amazing people were VOLUNTEERS? Paid ZERO dollars to help. And SO marvelous; I was ultra-spoiled.

Anyhow, am kinda swamped for the next week, so thought I'd share that photograph, and through it

SALUTE EVERYONE WHO WORKS HARD

TO UNDERSTAND AND PRESERVE OUR NATURAL RESOURCES,
whether paid or volunteer.

YAY, YOU!!!!

And, thank you. =)

1,000 times.

You rock.

xoxoxoxoxxobb