This is the last week of the Sea Grant program, which is both good and bad. It is almost time to leave Oregon and say goodbye to all of the great people I’ve met, which is sad. However, it is almost time to go home which means seeing my family and getting to sleep in my own bed again! This week will be finishing things up at our internships and then it will be time to leave. Last Friday was the symposium for our final presentations and posters for our summer experiences. This caused me to take a look at my reasons for being in the program this summer.

There were a couple of main reasons I applied to Sea Grant. First, I had my sights set on Oregon State for graduate school and this program was a good way to make contacts as well as experience Oregon for longer than just a vacation. Second, I have never done biology field work so I thought this would be a good way to get an idea of what that is all about. I am leaving Oregon having fulfilled all of those objectives and knowing all about the life of a field biologist. Tony D’Andrea and the rest of the SEACOR team (Bob, Tabatha, Joe, and Mo) have been instrumental in learning about fieldwork and future career opportunities. They have been an amazing team to work with and learn from this summer.

Everyone from Sea Grant and who lived in the yurt or ranch house has also been a pleasure to get to know this summer! I will miss all of you and cannot wait to see what great things you all accomplish!  

Do you remember the first time you saw the ocean? For someone who grew up on an island in the middle of the Pacific, this memory is often taken for granted. I only know that I was taken to the beach before I was a year old because my mom told me that it happened; my first actual memory of the ocean is as a toddler at Ala Moana Beach Park. The idea of going years without ever seeing the sea is…mind boggling. Yet this absence of the big blue is a reality for many land-locked individuals out there. I know because I have met some of these individuals during the HRAP beach shifts. Since my first meeting of an individual who has never seen the ocean before, I have been extremely cognizant of the visitor mindset. 

Yet, here in Oregon, I am a visitor. I may not be a “tourist,” but I am certainly not a local. While I try to put myself in the shoes of those who are unfamiliar with the ocean and marine environment, I also observe myself as a visitor here in Cannon Beach. Having self-awareness as a visitor, sometimes wielding authority at Haystack Rock can be difficult. I have talked to many a beach goer that remembers playing in the tidepools as a child without any government regulation and exploring the Rock without any restraint. Some of them cannot believe what they got away with — now as adults they see how their actions were irresponsible, and would never fathom doing those things now. Others resent me and see me as a barrier between them and reliving childhood memories. As a visitor of Cannon Beach, I feel a little uncomfortable about telling these people “No.” But then I remind myself that as a kiaʻi kai (ocean caretaker) it is my kuleana (responsibility) to protect all the invertebrates in the tidepools that do not speak human and therefore cannot scream “You are hurting me!” as they are poked, pried or smashed.

Saturday, August 3rd was the last day of data collection via survey for my project studying human dimensions at Haystack Rock. According to my data, one third of my respondents knew about Cannon Beach from their childhood. Of those individuals, 48.5% are from Oregon and another 35.6% are from elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. I often compare Haystack Rock to Hanauma Bay, a Marine Life Conservation District that is probably the most popular snorkeling destination on the island of Oʻahu. Like Haystack Rock, Hanauma Bay is the responsibility of multiple levels of government: all of the land areas are a municipal park, but once you touch the water you are under State jurisdiction. Also like Haystack Rock, interaction with the environment is regulated and education is a major component of the visitor experience. Anyways, getting back to my point: if I were to do a survey of Hanauma Bay visitors, I highly doubt that many of those visitors would be locals that remember visiting as a child (although I am from Oʻahu and remember being seven years old, coming face to face with an uhu (parrot fish) and getting attacked by pigeons while eating Cheetos my first time at Hanauma Bay). A huge difference between Cannon Beachʻs visitors and Hawaiʻiʻs visitors is that the love that the former has for Cannon Beach comes from a deep seated sentimental place in the heart that can only be developed over time. Hawaiʻiʻs visitors may have love for Hawaiʻi, but it is a love that is developed during their short stay and on their own terms — they see and take with them the pretty pieces of Hawaiʻi that they prefer and leave behind the ugly real life parts that do not fit into their idea of paradise. 

There is a bumper sticker back home that says “I Love Kailua…Before You Came.” I think this phrase, though maybe hurtful to new comers or visitors, is completely justified. As the local of a particular place, one draws identity from the area: the place is a part of the person. This does not mean a person new to the area cannot also love the place, the love is just different and the relationship with the place is different. As a visitor of any place, one must remember that there were others there first — and not just humans but plants and animals too. As a visitor, one must keep in mind the places back home that they love, that define them and remember that this new place serves the same purpose for someone else. Almost like extending the golden rule so that “others” encompasses all nouns, not just humans.

Looking back…

Time moves strangely as an Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholar. You work really long days and a weekend where you sleep in seems too good to be true. But when you look back, it’s baffling how quickly the weeks have passed, and how much has happened.

Sea Star Surveys

My roommate, Dominique (Nikki) Zuk, has been organizing these amazing intertidal surveys that we’ve been allowed to participate in. I finally was able to go to a starfish survey on a lovely rainy Friday morning. It was a lot of fun, and I got a little competitive about the number of starfish I found, which was unfortunate because I only found one. But it was the very best one, a Leptasterias!

Sampling in Tillamook

Autumn and I went on another sampling field day to different stations in the Oregon Coast for an experiment on nutrient levels within watersheds that intersect with agricultural and urban areas. The team I went with has done it many times before and it was really efficient getting all the stations done between the two teams that were formed. We had enough time that on the way back, we stopped by the Tillamook Creamery and I got Marion berry cheesecake ice cream which was incredible. I’ve never had Marion berry before this summer, and I’m really going to miss fresh Marion berries when I leave here!

Brunch at Chalet!

Nikki, Naomi, Suhn, and I went to Chalet Restaurant and Bakery this past Sunday for brunch. I had the best buttermilk pancakes I’ve ever had in my whole life! The food was so good that I wasn’t even able to have pie and cake afterwards, so there will have to be another trip. They looked incredible, though!

I’m on a (research) boat!

I also was able to go on a boat to do water quality sampling. This was the first time I’ve been on a research boat, and I had really great guides, T Chris Monchon Collura and Beth Rutila, who helped me through the process. It was so much fun! There’s so much work that goes into doing water quality sampling on a research boat and I have great respect for the people who service the instruments every three weeks!

As you can probably tell, I’m having a great time and I’m looking forward to what the last few weeks bring!

Part of what I do as an Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholar intern at the Environmental Protection Agency is river sampling. So far, we have sampled the Salmon, Nestucca, and Tillamook rivers. We test for things like bacteria, dissolved organic carbon, and total nitrogen. We sample both upriver and downriver sites along each river. We do this to try to quantify the gradient of pollutants as you go downriver from high agriculture land use areas.

When we are sampling, we always wear gloves since we don’t know what is potentially in the river until after we sample. This has been a very eye-opening activity for me. Before this, I was definitely one to jump into any river that looked decently clear. It felt very weird to be wearing gloves in a river I would normally go swimming or wading in. 

It has been very interesting to see the bacteria results from some of the sites along these rivers. I have learned that clear water does not necessarily mean that the water is low in bacteria. Also, I learned that it is important to look at the land surrounding the river as well. If there are bunch of cows visible from the river, you can pretty much guarantee that there will be higher bacteria counts.

While a little bit of bacteria won’t kill you, I will definitely have a different perspective on river swimming in the future.

Hello and welcome back!!

So, not much has changed since my last post. I’m still working on the king tides displays, but one of them is almost complete! We only have about two weeks left here, and it’s crazy how quickly time has flown by!

Displays on Displays

I don’t remember if I’ve said this or not, but the travelling display will mostly be to inform about the effects that sea level rise has on the king tides, and how that will affect the Oregon coast! Once the travelling display is complete, it will be printed, and then venues will be booked to house it! :,) We’re almost there! It will be awhile before it can be viewed though, since the king tides season isn’t until winter. But keep your eyes peeled for it when it comes around! :D

The display will be two to three panels showcasing different images on each. One panel will be images relevant to sea level rise’s affect on king tides. The second panel will be high tide vs king tide images that show the difference between the two with a king tide vs king tide over time images that shows how they can change over time. Time willing, a third panel will have king tide images with the effects of projected sea level rise on them (courtesy of OCMP’s Randy Dana). I’m excited to have these products completed and showcased during the winter king tides season!!

King Tide Vs High Tide! :O

Another thing that I may have mentioned is that I went out several times and took photos of high tides for comparison photos with the king tides! Meg and I went to some of the most notable and easily accessible places to take photos!

Super Good Sunday Brunch

This past Sunday, Nikki, Ariana, Naomi, and myself went to Chalet in Newport for brunch! It was so good!! Some of the best blueberry pancakes I’ve had, and they had the best looking pies (sorry Ariana), oh ma lawd!!

Nearing the End… :(

As I mentioned above, we only have two weeks left (big sad). This upcoming Wednesday, I’m going to be attending my last OCMP staff meeting in Salem, and I’m definitely sad to see everyone at the DLCD for what will hopefully not be the last time. On this upcoming Friday, all of the scholars have our final symposium with posters and a short presentation at Hatfield Marine Science Center. I’ll be happy to see everyone again, but very sad that it will be the last time (for the scholars not in Newport). I’m looking forward to seeing what these last two weeks have in store!

The next post will be last, but until then, sea ya!

Sooo not much has changed in my research, I’m still looking for Nematodes in different locations just to see where they infect the shrimp. We did have a tiny breakthrough last week because we originally thought that the nematode wasn’t present in Newport but we sampled a little further out and I actually found 2 more nematodes. This was a relief for my advisor because it’ll make his future research a lot easier since this means he’ll only have to drive a few minutes away from the lab to take sample for nematodes rather than having to drive 4-5 hours to Willapa Bay for samples. I must say I’m getting a lot faster and more efficient with my digestions which has been really helpful since we’ve been collecting more shrimp.

Camping was sooooooo much fun. I thought I would be miserable because I couldn’t shower for two days but that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I also assumed we’d be doing a lot of snacking because of our limited resources but I feel like we ate really well over those two days. It was so fun to make our crazy smores and grill burgers and hotdogs. It was by far the best camping experience I’ve had so far.

I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been a little obsessed with jellyfish. I took a walk along the crabbing dock near rogue just to look at the water and I saw a bunch of jellies floating around in the bay and ever since then I’ve been seeing them everywhere. I’ve seen two since then while doing fieldwork and I managed to pick both of them up with harming myself or the jelly. I was a little scared at first but I didn’t get stung and it was cool to actually touch a jelly and see how it felt.

Watching drones, finding sand dollar beds, and seeing beavers were the highlights of last week. We spent the week in Tillamook, working in Netarts Bay. Drones were deployed to take aerial images of Netarts Bay ad the images taken will be used to create habitat maps of the area. The SEACOR team set out ground control points while instructors and students from Coastal Drone Academy took care of flying the drones. 

Here is how a typical day last week went:
The SEACOR team and the drone pilots went out on two boats at low tide. We set out ground control points while the pilot stations were set up. Unfortunately I was so busy watching everything else going on that I forgot to take a picture of the ground control points we were setting out! However, I did take pictures of the drone.

        -Drone on the landing pad, ready for take off!

        -Drone flying away on the left and partial view of the pilot station on the right      

Once the ground control points were set out and the drones deployed, we waited for further instructions. Usually it was to go gather up the points from areas which the drones had already flown over. Once the flights were done and the ground control points retrieved it was time to get back on the boat and leave. 

        -SEACOR team waiting on the boat in between setting ground control points

Netarts tide flats were different from the Coos Bay flats and one of the most interesting differences to was finding sand dollar beds. I have never come across a sand dollar bed before, just the occasional sand dollar on the beach.

        -Live sand dollars half buried in the sand

        -Top of a live sand dollar

   
In hopes of exploring the area during down time after work, I brought my bike and inflatable kayak. However, the week was spent covering a lot of ground and it was pretty exhausting. I did manage to go kayaking one afternoon and saw what looked like a miniature otter in the water, which turned out to be a beaver. Further upstream there was a sizable beaver habitat. This is the closest I have ever been to a beaver dam so it was pretty exciting and definitely a highlight of the week.

All in all, it was a good week with more new Oregon coast experiences!

July 31, 2019:

I’m sitting at my desk in the office right now absorbing the fact that it’s already Week 7; one more blink and I’ll be sitting on the plane flying home before I know it. As my time as a Sea Grant Summer Scholar is slowly wrapping up, I’ve been getting waves of realization and urgency; I only have 3 weeks left in Oregon and an infinite amount of places I still want to see and explore in town! 10 weeks isn’t enough time when you’ve already gotten so attached to the people and experiences you’ve made in this awesome Newport life.  

This past week was absolutely amazing—I went on a 3-day camping trip in Central Oregon with the other Scholars! By now you’ve probably already read the other Scholars’ blogs about Tacovore (the absolute best taco place in ~the WORLD~) and how we began AND concluded our weekend trip at the restaurant. (Yes, we went twice, and yes we each ordered the same thing each time, and yes we basically stripped the restaurant clean of their flan and vegan blueberry shortbread). It’s a jackpot of a restaurant and I can only hope that all future Scholars christen their camping trip with Tacovore and make it an annual tradition.

Before I move on to the work-related segment of this blog, I CANNOT forget to mention the single greatest dessert discovery that was made this past weekend. It was the love child of Honour’s package of Oreos and Hannah’s supply of Reese’s cups: a Hershey’s chocolate, Oreo, Reese’s Peanut Butter S’MOREEEE!!! I will leave the pic below and say no more.

As if the weekend couldn’t have gotten any better, I came back to work and immediately hopped on the boat to SMURF! I absolutely love SMURF-ing and am convinced I could do it every day for the rest of my life and never get bored or tired of it. We also happened to see 10 different gray whales, and one of them breached and flopped their fluke 30 FEET away from one of our SMURF moorings while I was in the water! Super cool experience. For those who may have forgotten or haven’t have the chance to read my previous posts, a SMURF stands for the Standardized Monitoring Unit for the Recruitment of Fishes. In this case, we are specifically catching juvenile rockfish, and the data we collect helps create holistic fish stock projections for coastal waters inside and outside the Oregon Marine Reserves. Each snorkel SMURF-ing session is concluded by measuring the fish and categorizing them by species—there are some that are tinier than my pinky finger!!  

Once we finish categorizing and measuring the fish, they’re sent off to the lab where their otoliths (tiny ear bones) are harvested and studied under a microscope. Otoliths are neat in that they’re comprised of multiple banded growth rings (just like trees!), which carry a wealth of information on a fish’s life in terms of migration and dietary patterns. The otolith rings are counted to approximate the age of each fish, and the microchemistry of the rings are studied to gauge what food sources the fish have been eating and how much of it is eaten per day! It still blows my mind that I’m lucky enough to participate in these processes that supplement front-running marine research with the most amazing and knowledgeable people every day. Gotta pinch myself at times!

I’m getting ready for another round of low tide series, and that means…more Sea Star Surveys! I’ll be leading two more intertidal field days at the end of the week at both Otter Rock and Cascade Head. A special shout-out to Autumn, Ariana, and Suhn for being rock star volunteers at SSWD monitoring. They’ve been coming along each time I lead the surveys and are such an amazing help, so (if they’re reading this) THANK YOU x1000! :) Looking forward to their help in the field again and getting able to work in the tide pools! Till next time,

-Dominique :)