Karnolab

Tag: Kristen

  • Summer Posters

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    At the end of our time in the Karnovsky lab this summer, Kristen and I created Posters displaying some of the preliminary data we analyzed since our trip to the Channel Islands. Kristen’s beautiful poster, titled “Murrelets on the Move: Seasonal Density of Xantus’s Murrelets near Santa Barbara Island,” discussed how the distribution of XAMU…

  • Murrelet Caves on Anacapa

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    Xantus’s murrelets do not make nests of their own. Instead, they seek out the darkest, most protected areas they can find to lay their eggs. On Anacapa Island, this usually means they nest among the cracks and crags in one of the many caves around the perimeter of the island. In May, Kristen and I…

  • A Day Aboard the R/V Shearwater

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    I had never been on a boat trip longer than a day before beginning field research aboard the R/V Shearwater, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a full kitchen area and sleeping quarters aboard, as well as tons of deck space for our CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth sensor) and net tow…

  • These Are the Voyages of the Bio Suburban…

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    Sorry for the lack of posts from the Channel Island crew! Augie and I went on a whirlwind tour of the Bay Area last week, and were too busy to keep up on our blogging. But here’s a recap! Last Tuesday Augie and I loaded into our trusty suburban (with significantly less gear than last…

  • The Elusive Hypoleucus

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    Two subspecies of Xantus’s Murrelets are currently recognized; scrippsi and hypoleucus. These birds look different, make different calls, breed in different places, and recently a genetic test was done to prove they are genetically diverse. Whoever decided they were the same species was a little confused. The vast majority of the murrelets we saw were…

  • Ashy Storm-Petrels

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        One of the unique birds that nest on the Channel Islands is the Ashy storm-petrel. Their world wide population is estimated to be between 5,200 and 10,000 individuals and has been declining over the past 50 years due to predation, light from fishing boats, and pollution, and has earned these birds an endangered status.…

  • Bird Banding Bonanza

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    After two more successful nights of spotlight captures in May, Daryl came up with a target: 100 banded Xantus’s murrelets in 2009. We banded birds in April, too, so those counted, as did the few captures Daryl, Harry, and others did on land. Nonetheless, on the last night, we had to band 22 new XAMU…

  • Put Up Your Sticks

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    Once again, we had a great team on the flying bridge. From Left to right: Kristen (Pomona), Darryl Whitworth (California Institute of Environmental Studies), Augie (Pomona), Jen Boyce (NOAA, MSRP), Annie Little (Fish and Wildlife Service), Christie (Channel Islands Natl Park), Harry Carter (Carter Assoc.) Photo By: Nina Karnovsky (Pomona College). The dowels the boundaries…

  • Suburban Bound for Santa Barbara

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    On May 17th, with the suburban packed to the gills, we made our way to Santa Barbara harbor to load the R/V Shearwater. This time we had Augie Lagemann’10 with us. Augie is a biology major at Pomona College. He will be a senior next year and these at-sea data will be the basis of…

  • Murrelets in the Spotlight

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              After dark all the murrelets come back to the island to socialize and rest from a long day of feeding. Not only do they have to watch out for hungry sea lions, but also our fearless crew of bird-netters! We are collaborating with a research team that is working on a population study of…