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My Life is Crap

Causing a Physical Transformation

5/22/2015

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This video is a great reminder of the immense impact large carnivores have on the environment.  The presence of large carnivores increases biodiversity, creates environmental stability and can even impact the topography of a landscape. They may seem scary but they are necessary for a healthy, thriving, complete ecosystem.

BTW... Happy International Day for Biodiversity!  Stay different.  It helps the planet!
Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity, ensures natural sustainability and provides a greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses. 
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Throwback Third Thursday - May 2015

5/21/2015

 
Because PhD students don't do anything halfway, when the new Avengers movie came out (April 30, 2015 #tbtt), we not only saw the Double Feature to allow for a direct comparison of the two blockbusters, we dressed the part!  We are what you might call true Marvel fans!
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As for my opinion on the movie, the verdict is still out because I'm going to have to see them both again a few more times before I can make a final consensus.  But, for now, I think I liked the first one a little better than the second.  What did you think?
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I think I did a pretty good job!

Zambian Big Cat Hunting Ban Lifted

5/18/2015

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A ban on the hunting of big cats in Zambia, which has been in effect since January 2013, was officially lifted a few days ago.  Hunting of leopards will resume at the end of this year/beginning of next and hunting of lions will return about a year after that.  

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Photo from www.explorationsafrica.com
The ban was initially instated in conjunction with a closure associated with a reallocation of leases for 19 game management areas stopping all hunting in Zambia.  After substantial losses in revenue, the closure was lifted in August of 2014 for all game except big cats and elephants. Although the Zambian Wildlife Authority was already implementing a mandated Conservation Strategy and Action Plan for the African Lion with the sole purpose of ensuring the future for the Zambian lion population through maintenance, restoration and problem animal control, the ban for big cats remained because of "weak regulatory mechanisms" and the government was under the impression that their populations were depleting.

Zambia, however, is one of 5 countries to have lion populations 1000+ individuals strong and, in areas with thriving lion populations, a hunting ban could actually have potentially deleterious effects (and not just on eco-tourism).  Studies have shown that the presence of hunters deters poachers, providing protection for the habitat and other animals.  Revenue brought in by hunters also contributes to anti-poaching efforts as well as community assistance by providing jobs and other resources.  

So, after the realization that a continued full ban in Zambia on hunting for big cats could be damaging for the population (and economy), the government decided to reinstate hunting under the pretense there will be “cautionary quotas.” Tourism and Arts Minister, Jean Kapata, said "safari hunting was profitable and good for off-take of wildlife and could benefit the whole country if well nurtured."  The study I just submitted for publication will (hopefully) be used to help with decisions for setting quotas and implementing management to prevent loss of diversity while big cat hunting is permitted.  

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Time to Make an Impact

5/16/2015

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What do we want?
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When do we want them?
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Scientists measure their impact on the scientific community by their number of publications and how many times those publications have been cited within other publications.  To an academic, publications are kind of like a form of notoriety based currency.   But it's not just about how many publications you have, the quality and impact factor of the journal it's published in is important as well.  Basically, someone who has 3 publications in Nature, Cell and Science (impact factor > 30) is better off than someone who has 20 publications in Animal Biology (impact factor of 0.614).  Not only will an article in Nature, Cell or Science get read, and likely cited, by a wider academic audience but publications in those journals are also more likely to be picked up by the media (which could be a good thing or a bad thing...).  Journals with an impact factor over 5 can still have a lot of impact, just maybe not expanding into the general public like 20+ journals would.  But, in the blossoming age of open-access, its getting a lot easier for anyone, not just academics, to get their hands on scientific literature (which, again, could be a good thing or a bad thing... and could change what we deem as "impact").  

Getting published is also a time consuming process.  Peer-reviewed journals are considered better than non but can take months for a manuscript to get through the review process.   A journal with a quicker turn-around may not have as high of an impact factor, possibly due to more lax or no review process, but could get your results out to the world faster, leading to people citing you sooner.  Meaning, for the right study, the benefits from publishing in a mid-tier journal with a quicker turn-around could outweigh the benefits of publishing in a top-tier journal.  So, when publishing, a scientist has to weigh the pros and cons of quantity, quality and timing. 

New scientists who don't have any publications (as a first-author or otherwise, like me), typically go for the lower tier journals for their first publications to get their foot in the door.  Lower tier journals are also a good place to publish a smaller study that may not hold a lot of clout on its own.  The other option is to aim high and hope for the best.  Worst that can happen is your publication isn't accepted for review and you go a little lower.  It might take a little more time but if you get into the higher tier journal, your "little" study could create some waves.  This was the route I took.  

Yesterday, I submitted my first manuscript for publication to a journal with an impact factor > 8.  I have my fingers crossed that it will get through to review.  I've gotten good feedback on it pre-submission and, although it's just a subset of a larger study, the results are significant (to know exactly what that means, you'll have to wait to find for when it actually gets published, which could take weeks... or months!  I'll keep you posted).
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Celebrating submission!
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Chewie... We're Home

5/4/2015

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This is a great year for movies!  Multiple Marvels, Jurassic World and Star Wars!  Nerd heaven!
(Post about the opening of Avengers: Age of Ultron coming soon...)
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    Caitlin Curry

    I am a biologist and my life is crap!

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