I have had great interest in the CURE program and research into marine mammals since my involvement with the Scarsdale High School Science Research program and the two summers I spent in Belize participating in data collection for bottlenose dolphins, funnily enough under a graduate student who turned out to be a former CURE member himself, I have sought out similar programs in a university setting. Due to my past high school science research experience, I had previous knowledge of Dr. Laura J. May-Collado’s research and was incredibly excited to participate in a course with her as our professor and mentor. As a graduating senior this kind of hands-on research perfect for developing skills and gaining experience to seek employment after university. This was further assisted with knowledge of what kind of work we can actually find on the field side and what networks currently exist to support it.
For my study we focused on classifying and cataloguing the parameters of vocalizations of the False Killer Whale population in El Salvador, a previously unstudied population for a species that little is known about. This data was from opportunistic collection in El Salvador between 2018 and 2019. This research was conducted using RAVEN and then analyzed for a variety of frequency parameters and duration parameters. COVID has changed the board when it comes to opportunities, with the collapse of tourism due to the travel restrictions globally, many opportunities were opened or complicated. Unfortunately for this specific project, COVID-19 likely contributed to the complete lack of data for 2020. However, the majority of this work being digital analysis of vocalizations meant thankfully the worst of the issues related to social distancing did not affect this course or my research. All in all, we still managed to develop an incredibly strong probability of differences between vocalization types and succeeded at our goals in full.
Data collected in this study will be utilized in the future for algorithms meant to classify vocalizations, and this data may be usable in reference to pre-existing population parameters in the Hawaiian and captive populations. As a graduating senior I am currently seeking further employment in this field and work related to this study will likely play a major role in my ability to find work in the research field. It also has contributed to my ability and knowledge in performing statistical analysis and conducting research in general. I hope to conduct work like this in the future, or barring that, to be on the data-collection side of these studies. Regardless of what the future holds, I think this program has helped prepare me far better for both knowing what is expected of me and knowing how to achieve those expectations in a research setting. Professor May-Collado is a pleasure to work with and the CURE program is an amazing way to develop skills you otherwise may struggle to find elsewhere. If you have a passion for marine biology or conservation related research, I cannot recommend this program enough.
For my study we focused on classifying and cataloguing the parameters of vocalizations of the False Killer Whale population in El Salvador, a previously unstudied population for a species that little is known about. This data was from opportunistic collection in El Salvador between 2018 and 2019. This research was conducted using RAVEN and then analyzed for a variety of frequency parameters and duration parameters. COVID has changed the board when it comes to opportunities, with the collapse of tourism due to the travel restrictions globally, many opportunities were opened or complicated. Unfortunately for this specific project, COVID-19 likely contributed to the complete lack of data for 2020. However, the majority of this work being digital analysis of vocalizations meant thankfully the worst of the issues related to social distancing did not affect this course or my research. All in all, we still managed to develop an incredibly strong probability of differences between vocalization types and succeeded at our goals in full.
Data collected in this study will be utilized in the future for algorithms meant to classify vocalizations, and this data may be usable in reference to pre-existing population parameters in the Hawaiian and captive populations. As a graduating senior I am currently seeking further employment in this field and work related to this study will likely play a major role in my ability to find work in the research field. It also has contributed to my ability and knowledge in performing statistical analysis and conducting research in general. I hope to conduct work like this in the future, or barring that, to be on the data-collection side of these studies. Regardless of what the future holds, I think this program has helped prepare me far better for both knowing what is expected of me and knowing how to achieve those expectations in a research setting. Professor May-Collado is a pleasure to work with and the CURE program is an amazing way to develop skills you otherwise may struggle to find elsewhere. If you have a passion for marine biology or conservation related research, I cannot recommend this program enough.
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