Shaaaaahks

I have given a lot of thought to what I would like to do for my final project, and I think I've landed on the topic of sharks. I explored a few different options but this one was the one that I felt most invested in. They are my favorite animal and one I hope to work with in the future as a Conservation Biologist. I want to design a model that examines populations of a shark species and the movement of that species throughout the oceans. Sharks, especially Great Whites, tend to have very specific hunting grounds and patterns of migration so I want to explore why so many of them are moving further north than is historically typical of them.
Although more research needs to be done on my part and what specific factors are likely causing these effects on sharks, I have a few different factors I want to look into. The first, and maybe the most important, is the aspect of food availability. One of the staples of a Great White's diet is seal species, so using data in my model about seal populations (numbers, locations, etc.) is something I'm hoping to be able to do. Since seals are not the only animal Great White's eat, I would also like to include data from other prey species if I can.
In addition, I think it would be interesting to see if I can incorporate climate change data into the model. Personally, I would like to see if the model would show that climate change is having an impact on the sharks and if so, in what way. Another piece of data I would want to include, and this may be the most difficult to obtain, is the changes happening in the oceans in which these sharks live. Are there changes in major currents and water temperature? What does that mean for the sharks and their migration patterns?
In order for this model to work I am going to have to do some much more in-depth research about these migration patterns and changes over long periods of time, and include that data in the model once I have it. After that it will be very important to determine if the factors I have considered are truly impacting sharks within the scope of my project. If not, I will definitely have to edit my project plan and find research and data on the factors that are having an impact. I think this is going to be my biggest challenge, finding the data. Since my projects goals are fairly specific I imagine it might be difficult to acquire the data that I'm looking for , and I may have to make some large adjustments in my model based on the obstacles I run into. Hopefully some of it will be accessible through GIS databases, etc. but I'm honestly not sure how much GIS data there is on marine ecosystems and the other factors I discussed. In my experience with GIS, it has always been landuse and land form data rather than on populations.

Spring Break for a Senior

I thought going into college that Spring Break was going to be some kind of adventure every year. I was wrong. This year in particular was the most uneventful for me in my three years here at UVM, but likely my most productive. At the very beginning of break I got hired at a new part-time job here in Burlington and therefore could not go home at all, and was left to stew in my apartment all alone for 10 days in between sporadic shifts of work. As everyone else I'm friends with went home or on a trip, I was left to my own thoughts for most of the 10 days. In which I really started to give some hard thought as to what I'm doing come May 19th. As a 3rd year senior I have had an entire year less than the rest of my fellow potential graduates to think about what it is that I really want to do and where I want to be going once that diploma is in my hands. This is really stressful, especially when I do not have much time to squeeze such daunting thoughts into my packed schedule of 18 credit semesters and two jobs. So I took the opportunity of Spring break to tackle my goals in the field of environmental science. In that time I finished up an application to a graduate program at Drexel University in Pennsylvania. I applied for the Environmental Science M.S. program and am hoping to work with Dr. Horwitz in aquatic ecosystems and species. I also started researching jobs in Southern New England in similar fields. Currently I am working on applications to both Mystic Aquarium in CT and Roger Williams Park Zoo in RI for a clinical researcher position and an animal care internship, respectively.
Having a minor in Zoology and a concentration in Conservation/Biodiversity both of these job opportunities really interested me. Not only do they really involve what I want to do, but these jobs are at places that house some of my greatest childhood memories. It was Mystic and Roger Williams where I first got to see exotic and foreign animals; things I could never imagine existed based off what I saw in my backyard. So working in these places and learning to care for animals and understand and experience the ground work that goes into conservation by educating the public and doing captive breedings, etc. would give me a great base of knowledge for the steps I would be taking once I decided to move on in my career.