Brie holding a baby American Alligator Expand my public speaking - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Brie holding a baby American Alligator

Expand my public speaking skills,  and get people excited about conservation. I hope to learn from the staff  around me as well as from the other interns. I hope to get out in New England  – experience the culture, food, and entertainment that they have here. I hope to have an impact on  the people I speak to and work with and for the people to have an impact on me. Get a list of graduate programs  I’m interested together Contact some major sea turtle  researchers to inquire about openings in their programs Oh – and maybe even get a tan?! 

 Animal Care  Education/Outreach  Writing (blogs)  Strandings/Animal rescue  Fundraising

 Salinity  Diet prep  Filters  Haul outs  Disinfectant

 Plastron ID’s  Measurements  Headstart programs  Husbandry

 How to weigh/measure turtles  Ask questions  Crash course in a variety of turtle ailments  Observing and assisting with treatments

 See the full cycle of rehab and the end goal  Revisit mass public education  See the impact of letting people get involved at the most basic level

 Cross Contamination  Shift in focus from zoo animal care › Food presentation › Enrichment › Veterinary involvement

 Complexity of animal rehab vs. zoo care.  Contamination concerns  Temp, salinity, pH, haul outs, filters, diet prep, etc.

I have a personal interest in these guys  Proper nutrition because I helped with retrieving  Calcium them and I was allowed to name one, Vesuvius.  Releasable? Bruce Pierce

Brittany and Kate giving one of the hatchlings their calcium treatments.

 Nitrogen cycle  Coliform bacteria  Healthy ranges  Shift from zoo animal care focus

 Non-profit work is variety  Diet prep  Filtration system  Painting, baseboard, sanitation

NMLC Interns at our Mass Wildlife field trip.

 Big question: science or education? › …how about both?

 Many age groups › How to work with adults, teens, and children  Thinking on feet  Answering questions  Keeping them engaged

 Enthusiasm is key!  Making sure kids are constantly involved  Trying to make it as real as possible  Teaching them real procedures and recruiting people to this field

 On the road programs › “Highway” education  How to talk to people that may or may not have an interest  Finding ways to engage and spark people’s interests  Exposing people to new ideas

 Length has changed  Quality of information keeps getting better  Tailor it to the group

 Not all a happy story › Reality check  Public education  Public safety  Rehab’s role  Need for the National Marine Life Center

Kathy Zagzebski (President and CEO of NMLC) with IFAW taking the porpoise away

 Network of organizations  Different type of wildlife rehab – some similar concerns

NMLC volunteers and interns cleaning up the beach after we couldn’t find the seal pup.  No news is good news.  Many ways to have an impact

 The animals are easy in comparison to the people we educate This seal was harassed on Scusset beach by well- meaning people.

Brittany and I hung out with the grey seal juvenile, the animal was healthy, but we were responsible for educating people and keeping them away from the animal.

 Often, the best thing you can do for an animal is leave it alone.

 Collaboration › Bring people together  Hopefully lessening the need for rehab  Animal rehab is multi-faceted  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

 Network  Prep work Brian helping to load donated fish into the van.

 Interns raised ~$500 dollars worth of merchandise and donations for the Mermaid Ball  How to pitch › Passion › Guilt trip › Let them see the vision › Use your good looks

 Useful in presentations and standalone  Educational for all age groups  Design changes › Downsizing

Between a seal and a sea lion ? Sea Lions Seals Harbor seal. Photo credit: wikimedia commons via eol.org. New Zealand sea lion. Photo credit: wikimedia commons www.eol.org/data_objects/6827471 via eol.org. http://www.eol.org/data_objects/5900867 We live… We are both… • Mammals: we have live young, have hair or fur and backbones, breathe air, and are endothermic (warm-blooded). • Pinnip nnipeds : which means “fin - footed.” • Semi-Aquatic quatic: we spend part of our lives on land and part at sea. • Prote tecte ted by the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. • Preyed upon by polar bears, orcas and sharks. Researched by Brie Myre

What’s the Difference… Betw tween een a a po porpo poise ise an and a a dol olphin phin ? Porpoises Dolphins Harbor porpoise. Photo credit: Ari Friedlaender. Atlantic White-Sided dolphin. Photo credit: Regina Asmutis-Silvia, WDCS We are both… We live… • Mammals: we have live young, have hair or fur and backbones, breathe air, and are endothermic (warm-blooded). • Odontoce ntocetes: toothed whales. • We have a single blowhole • Complete tely y aquati tic: most live in salt water, a few species can live in freshwater. • Users of echoloca ocati tion on: to catch prey. • Prote tecte ted by the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Researched by Brie Myre

 Research  Finding pictures  Interactive side: pictures of animals will be cut into puzzle  Slide arrangement/design pieces with the characteristics on  Making it interactive them.

 Seals vs. Sea Lions  Dolphins vs. Porpoises › Some info was too › No background – complex for an inclusive complete learning poster – so I wrote a experience blog on the topic

Sea Lions Seals A member of the Otariidae Mammals family A member of the Phocidae Can rotate back flippers under Pinnipeds family themselves to walk and run on “fin - footed.” Can’t rotate back flippers: land move like a caterpillar on land External earflaps Semi- No external earflaps Aquatic Use front flippers for power Use back flippers for power when swimming when swimming Protected by Use back flippers for steering Use front flippers for steering the MMPA when swimming when swimming Eat: squid, octopus, Eat: krill, fish, lobster, birds Preyed upon birds and fish by polar Claws and fur on front flippers No claws or hair on front bears, orcas flippers and sharks.

Dolphins Porpoises Spade shaped teeth Live alone or in small, fluid Some groups species Conical shaped teeth No prominent beak live in Social animals fresh Sexually mature at 3+ Long rostrum water years Sexually mature at 6-16 yrs Live for 20 years Toothed Live for 20-60 years 6 species whales 16 species (Odontoc Epidermal tubercules etes) Paedomorphosis Small flippers and bodies Single blowhole

 Intro.  Sea Turtles Part 2: Disease, Predators and  Cooter Release Conservation  Freshwater turtle care  Part 3: Leatherbacks,  Monofilament Loggerheads, Greens Recycling  Part 4: Kemp’s, Olives,  Nitrogen Cycle Hawksbills and  Bourne Recycling Flatbacks Center  Seal Stranding Blog  Seals vs. Sea Lions  Dolphin vs. Porpoise?  Sea Turtles Part 1:  Conclusion? Biology and Behavior

 Option change?  Education focus  RA connections I got some Thai food for lunch my second day at the NMLC – and this was the fortune I got. So true.

First big step You cared – you guys are what made this summer special. I chose this internship because I believed that I would meet great people and learn a lot – I had no idea how right I was.