The Mis-Adventures of Field Work

I haven't posted in a few days because we are very busy here in Moorea trying to get some last things done before I leave on Tuesday.* Don't worry, I will post some in the following days about collecting stomatopods (mantis shrimp), the motus, and an interview with one of the graduate student scientists who is also doing research at the station. But for now, I wanted to tell you about what happens when things don't quite go as planned when you're doing work in the field.

As anyone who has ever had a picnic rained-out can tell you, doing anything outside is sometimes risky. There are a lot of things you can't control outdoors like the weather. This makes trying to do science, which relies on being able to control as many things as possible during an experiment, sometimes very difficult. You can plan and prepare for things to not work (having extra things in case one breaks, having alternate plans and more time in case something happens), but some things you just aren't expecting and wouldn't even think about happen! Friday and Sunday were two of "those days."

On Friday, we went to the motus (small islands) off the coast of Moorea so I could gather more wind measurements and collect some small hermit crabs. When I got there, I set up the computer and the anemometer, just like always, and started to collect some data. What I wasn't expecting was that three dogs came by with a woman who wasn't watching them very closely. These dogs were very friendly but huge and not well-trained. I got jumped on and scratched by one very excited dog, and since I was in a bathing suit, it was pretty painful. I have some deep scratch marks and bruises along the inside of my left leg now, but luckily they are healing nicely. The dogs also were playing in the water and the sand. Now, sand and saltwater don't tend to make computers and anemometers very happy, so I had to work very hard to cover them up with my clothes so they wouldn't get sprayed with sand and also to try to lure the dogs away from that area. And at the same time, take the data that I needed! It went very slowly because the dogs liked me a lot (even though I was telling them to shoo!) and they decided to hang out for a couple hours. By the time they left, my computer battery was dead and I had only taken one set of measurements when I really needed three. Sometimes, as I learned that day, things happen that you can't predict, and you have to just make-do the best you can!

Sunday was quite the adventure as well. Molly and I were diving to collect more stomatopods, and our morning dive went fine. In the afternoon, it started to pour rain (as it does in the tropics), which wasn't a big deal because we were going to be underwater anyway. We loaded our gear into the boat and drove out to the dive site. We did our dive (it was still pouring rain) and then started to go back to the station. Well, our boat had other plans. About half way home, the motor stopped working. We were stranded in the water, and it was getting dark! Luckily, we were shallow enough that we could anchor the boat and swim back to shore. We walked back to the station in our wetsuits (and got some pretty strange looks from people driving by), then got someone to tow our boat back to the dock with another boat. We were very wet, pretty miserable, and extremely tired, although nothing a hot shower, dinner, and a good night's sleep can't fix.

Some people say that science is boring. Those people are not field biologists. Science in the field can be dramatic, scary, and dangerous. It is also thrilling and exciting when you figure something out for the first time or collect some animal that no one has ever seen before or see an animal in its natural environment do something that defies easy explanation. I love science because it is unpredictable and exciting, although sometimes I wish that it would rain a little less.


* I should say "might" leave on Tuesday because the fire-fighters in French Polynesia are on strike, the airport is closed, and all flights to and from Tahiti have been canceled. I might have to stay a few days longer than planned.