What Next

Overview

Over the last few weeks I have attended eight different lectures/webinars/discussions on varying topics so that I might obtain greater knowledge on different topics and career paths.
 
The aim was to give me more insight into what I want to do, or don't want to do, so I am not left floundering after university.

[Credit: Vecteezy]


The eight blogs produced are: 

    [Credit: Erzebet S]
  1. Climate change and its impact on ectotherms - I enjoyed this talk but I am still unsure about how it will impact career choice. There is an unfortunate stigma amongst the public and some politicians that its not true, despite it being a growing concern. Climate change is a very large conservation issue, however I may not choose that path because it will likely negatively impact my mental health. 

  2. Conservation of sea turtles - I enjoyed this talk and I like sea turtles but I believe my primary interest are in terrestrial organisms. 

  3. Afforestation and the cultivation of soil - I did not enjoy this talk as much as some others. The science of soil and methods of afforestation are not something that are of particular interest to me. They are certainly important and necessary for conservation but it is unlikely I will progress down that route.

  4. Conservation and research of the Southern Ground Hornbill - I enjoyed this talk more than I thought I would. However, I have worked with birds before and I know that I do not wish to specialise in birds. The reason I enjoyed it more than expected may be due to the positive conservation efforts discussed. It is nice to hear positive news for a change. 

  5. Gaps in insect research - I liked this talk as I think its good to objectively look at how research is being done, however, it seemed to focus a bit more on the social aspect than preferred. I do not have a particular interest in insects or social sciences, I believe biological and conservation research is more suited to my preferences. 

  6. Chimpanzee personality - I enjoyed this talk, however, the research aspect seemed quite weak. I would love to see more, and better, research being conducted for conservation. 

  7. Career guide on becoming an ecological consultant - I can't say that I enjoyed or didn't enjoy this talk as it was mostly just information on how to enter that profession. I liked how informative it was, but this is not my desired career path.

  8. Restoration ecology - I liked this talk, however, it tended to focus more on the botany side of it. Botany is very important for ecological restoration and I would like to learn more about plants, but I do not think I will specialise in plants or restoration ecology. 


After attending all of the talks, I believe it has helped me by process of elimination. Currently, I am thinking the career best suited towards my preferences is biological/conservation research in primates, specifically strepsirrhines.  

[Credit: Aston School]


Plan for the future

I have applied for a masters degree in Zoology and the projects applied for are biological and conservation research in primates. I am hoping that this will open a door to conservation or research job targeted towards primates, preferably for Madagascar species. It is unclear if I will progress onto a PhD after a completing my masters.  


Disclaimer: All views expressed are my own. Images and videos used on this blog are not my own and all rights go to the original owners. This blog and contents are for educational purposes. If you have a copyright issue please contact me via email on author profile.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ecological Restoration

Image
  What is ecological restoration? Ecological restoration is "the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed" - Society for Ecological Restoration .    Today I attended a webinar by  Patricia Holmes  from Botanical Society of South Africa who discusses the ecosystem restoration in South Africa.  [Credit: University of Idaho ] Why should be restore ecosystems? Restoring ecosystems is not only beneficial for wildlife but for humans as well.  Clean air and water, healthy soils for crop production, and climate regulation through carbon sequestration are just some of the ways humans can benefit.    The UN has declared 2021-2030 the Decade on Restoration . This is because we are at a critical point, where if we do not do something now, it will be too late.  This is really put into view by the WWF living planet report 2020 75% of earths ice free land has been altered by humans More than 85% of earths wetlands have been destroyed  M
Read more

Tropical Ectotherms and Climate Change

Image
Threat of Climate Change in the Tropics Climate change is one the most pressing concerns we face as it threatens the biodiversity of both terrestrial and aquatic life. Many studies have been conducted to examine the effects of climate change on the arctic regions. But is climate change primarily a cold region threat? Data from 1884-2020 provided by  NASA  would suggest so.   NASA imaging of global temperature difference from 2020 compared to 1884 Today I joined  David Thomson , an associate researcher for Biodiversity & Development Institute , in his talk about climate change in the tropics. David obtained his zoology degree at Aberdeen university, and later his PhD from Glasgow University.  Additionally, he has been a  quantitative ecologist with the British trust for ornithology and a  group research leader at  Max Planck Institute in Germany. With less than 1% of climate change research papers being written  on the impact of climate change in the tropics, as shown by the IPCC sy
Read more

Soil Cultivation on Afforestation Sites

Image
Soil Cultivation on Afforestation Sites Today I joined Dr Jens Haufe . Jens got his Masters in forestry and PhD in forest sciences at the Dresden university of technology in Germany. He now works as a forest researcher in the UK. Strategically planted trees in a previously not forested area in Israel  Afforestation is the establishing of forests where there was no previous forest.  Soil cultivation is the rearranging of soil.  Why is soil cultivation done in forestry? it is used to improve survival rates of transplants and conditions for tree growth by temporarily altering soil conditions.  Typical composition of soil  (varies by soil type)  The main reasons for soil cultivation: Reduce weed competition Improve soil aeration  Provide nutrients for transplants Break compacted soil layers - prevents shallow roots Potential negative impacts of soil cultivation:  Damaging of natural soil arrangement Destruction of rearrangement of soil microbiome Can reduce water retention too much, preven
Read more