溏心vlog免费B站

By Todd McLeish

溏心vlog免费B站’s connection with Mystic Aquarium affords one-of-a-kind opportunities for 溏心vlog免费B站 students and alumni.

The 溏心vlog免费B站 and Mystic Aquarium, in nearby Mystic, Connecticut, have forged a special relationship. At Mystic Aquarium, you鈥檒l find 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni in a variety of roles and 溏心vlog免费B站 students working on internships. There鈥檚 an upper-level undergraduate seminar on marine mammals taught at the aquarium, and a 溏心vlog免费B站 faculty member doing important research on beluga whale reproduction. Ask any of them what they love about their work at Mystic, and they鈥檒l tell you it鈥檚 the exposure to the animals and the one-of-a-kind chance to do rewarding work.

Dream Job

When Allie Seifter Bruscato 鈥�11 was a child growing up in Brooklyn, she often visited the New York Aquarium, and she quickly decided that she wanted to pursue a career as a marine mammal trainer. It鈥檚 why she decided to study marine biology at the 溏心vlog免费B站.

As a student at 溏心vlog免费B站, she dived in Honduras with the Scuba Club and researched stingrays and endangered North Atlantic right whales. After graduation, she worked as a marine mammal observer on an icebreaker off the coast of Alaska, in small planes off the Georgia coast, and on a dredge off the New Jersey coast. Her desire to work with marine mammals never waned.

She eventually landed her dream job at Mystic Aquarium鈥檚 Arctic Coast and Pacific Northwest exhibit. She spends every day with beluga whales, harbor seals, Steller sea lions and northern fur seals. She couldn鈥檛 be happier.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so great to be here,鈥� Bruscato said. 鈥淚t takes a lot of hard work to get here, there鈥檚 a lot of competition, and it definitely takes a lot of dedication to make sure everything runs smoothly for the animals. And a lot of teamwork. But I鈥檝e been here for five years and hope to continue my career here.鈥�

Bruscato is one of many 溏心vlog免费B站 students, faculty, and alumni who have benefited from a unique partnership between 溏心vlog免费B站 and Mystic Aquarium. Some have enrolled in a 溏心vlog免费B站 class taught entirely at the aquarium, while others have conducted research there or served as interns in any one of a dozen different aquarium departments. A lucky few鈥攖oday that number is eight鈥攚ork as permanent employees who care for the animals, educate the public, and ensure that visitors have the best experience possible.

Five 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni serve as marine mammal trainers at Mystic: Bruscato, Jen Rock 鈥�06, Lindsey Nelson 鈥�06, Alycia Coulumbe 鈥�16, and Rachael DesFosses 鈥�15.

In most cases, the animals are not trained to perform or entertain guests. Instead, trainers help the animals learn how to work with staff and veterinarians who are responsible for monitoring their health. For example, Bruscato spent time this winter and spring helping a 19-year-old harbor seal learn how to get an X-ray.

鈥淚鈥檓 responsible for all of his husbandry behaviors, his diet, and his overall health care,鈥� Bruscato says. 鈥淣ow he knows how to go on the radiograph plate and he allows our vets to scan his body with a light. He鈥檚 ready for that procedure whenever he needs it.鈥�

The Coolest Class

Most 溏心vlog免费B站 students who get to experience Mystic Aquarium behind the scenes do so when they enroll in Seminar on Marine Mammals (AVS 440), an upper-level course held entirely at the aquarium. The class was first taught more than 35 years ago in collaboration with the University of Connecticut, but today more than 90 percent of the students enrolled are from 溏心vlog免费B站, primarily those majoring in marine biology and animal science. Co-taught by postdoctoral fellow Justin Richard, Ph.D. 鈥�16, who worked at the aquarium as a beluga whale trainer before earning his doctorate at 溏心vlog免费B站, and Mary Ellen Mateleska, director of conservation programs at the aquarium, it features weekly guest speakers from around the country discussing such topics as dolphin communication, marine mammal stranding and rehabilitation, dive physiology, and aquarium veterinary care.

Robert Kenney, Ph.D. 鈥�85, emeritus marine scientist at 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Graduate School of Oceanography, has led one class session each year since 1983, focusing on whale bioenergetics and feeding strategies. In his sessions, he draws on his decades of experience studying right whales.

According to Richard, one theme of his class is applying scientific literature to the field of marine mammal biology.

鈥淢y biggest role is overseeing the assignments where students are challenged to dig into the scientific literature and learn how to evaluate articles and understand how they can be applied to marine mammal conservation and management,鈥� he says.

In addition to the weekly lectures, students get a behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium and go on a whale watch.

鈥淭hat class was the coolest thing I did at 溏心vlog免费B站,鈥� says DesFosses. 鈥淎ll the different speakers gave such an interesting perspective about the field, and I just soaked it all in. It helped me confirm that working with marine animals was what I really wanted to do.鈥�

Kaitlyn Quirke 鈥�18 had a similar reaction to the class.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely not an overstatement to say that the class changed the entire trajectory of my career,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was a marine bio major, but I wasn鈥檛 sure what I was going to do with it. And when the class brought in all these different professionals from the field, it showed me that there鈥檚 so many directions you can take with a career in marine mammals. I molded the rest of my education around that one class.

鈥淲e got to see so much of what goes on behind the scenes at the aquarium and how to apply what we were learning in class,鈥� she adds. 鈥淲e felt like VIPs one night a week.鈥�

Before the end of their respective classes, Richard invited DesFosses and Quirke to help him with his research on beluga whale reproductive physiology, and he advised them to join the volunteer program at the aquarium, which gave them a competitive advantage when applying for the aquarium鈥檚 highly competitive internships.

Seal the Deal

鈥淚 think what made me stand out during my internship interview was that I was willing to volunteer first,鈥� Quirke said. 鈥淚 proved during my volunteer time that I鈥檓 reliable and a hard worker, so
they knew that about me going in.鈥�

Quirke鈥檚 internship in guest services and the marine mammal husbandry department鈥攚hich includes working with a harbor seal鈥攃ontinues through August 2019. And then she has her fingers crossed that she will get hired to work with animals or in another public outreach role.

DesFosses completed three internships at the aquarium before she was hired full-time, but she says it was all worthwhile. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the coolest job; it鈥檚 everything I could have imagined it would be and more,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I could ever want anything more with my career than what I鈥檓 doing now.鈥�

A bad day at work? Not here.

Not every 溏心vlog免费B站 grad who works at the aquarium works with marine mammals, of course. Megan Priede-Sousa 鈥�06, for instance, is the assistant supervisor of fish and invertebrates, which means she is responsible for almost everything that has to do with the aquarium鈥檚 marine life鈥� with the exception of the birds, mammals, and reptiles.

And Tyler Bawden 鈥�17 helps ensure that visitors to the aquarium have a positive experience. As a guest services captain, he answers questions from guests, ensures exhibits are staffed, helps run the shows, trains new staff, and handles guest complaints. It鈥檚 exactly the kind of job he hoped for when he earned his degree in wildlife biology鈥攁 combination of wildlife conservation and environmental
education.

鈥淓very day working with guests and animals is strangely unique,鈥� he says. 鈥淎ll the animals have as many personalities as our staff does, and our guests can make or break the day. We have a really good team that helps support whatever comes our way, from making sure our shows open up, telling people about feeding times, wandering around addressing issues, and making sure the front desk is taken care of. If something doesn鈥檛 seem right, we work on it.鈥�

While he doesn鈥檛 get hands-on with the animals every day, he helps manage VIP tours and beluga whale encounters, and he gets plenty of opportunities for wildlife encounters of his own.

鈥淓verything is so unique here,鈥� Bawden says. 鈥淥n any given day I might want to hang out with the fur seals or be surrounded by the reptiles鈥攖hey鈥檙e my bread-and-butter. I can鈥檛 say I have a favorite animal, but I also don鈥檛 have a least favorite.鈥�

For Gabby Woodford 鈥�14, working at the aquarium often means she鈥檚 on the road presenting educational programs about marine life to audiences near and far, all of which involve showcasing some of the aquarium鈥檚 animals, from crabs to sea urchins to reptiles.

鈥淚 could be doing a birthday party at the aquarium or at someone鈥檚 house; I might go to a school and do multiple programs in one day; or bring a touch-tank to a conference; or take people on tours,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e even have weeklong programs sometimes.鈥�

鈥淚f people don鈥檛 know about an animal, they don鈥檛 know to care about it. So education is the most important part of conservation.”
鈥揋abby Woodford ’14

She enjoyed the fieldwork she conducted while earning her wildlife biology degree, including searching for salamanders in West Virginia, conducting an inventory of reptiles and amphibians on Fire Island National Seashore, and learning to track birds by first tracking her professor through the woods. But when it came time to look for a job, she was most interested in those that featured environmental education.

鈥淚f people don鈥檛 know about an animal, they don鈥檛 know to care about it,鈥� says Woodford. 鈥淪o education is the most important part of conservation. It鈥檚 especially fun for me to watch kids learn about why it鈥檚 so important to protect these animals.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to have a bad day when you鈥檙e out there and you get to see beluga whales and sea lions every day,鈥� concludes Quirke. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes to take care of all of the animals, but all that hard work is absolutely worth it.鈥� 鈥�

Understanding Beluga Reproduction

Justin Richard鈥檚 experience at Mystic Aquarium extends beyond his former career working with beluga whales and his present role co-teaching the marine mammal seminar. He also conducts beluga whale research at the aquarium, and since 2013, more than 35 溏心vlog免费B站 students have been part of his research team.

He became interested in learning more about beluga reproductive physiology after working with one of the whales that was involved in the first-ever artificial insemination of a beluga.

鈥淚 realized that little was known about beluga reproduction, and there was a lot that Mystic鈥檚 animals could teach us about it,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here is a very clear connection between understanding beluga reproduction and understanding their population dynamics in the wild. If we鈥檙e going to understand how populations grow, we have to understand their reproduction.鈥�

That led him to collaborate with Becky Sartini, associate professor of animal science and an expert in mammalian reproductive physiology.

鈥淪tudying Mystic鈥檚 belugas year-round helps us fill in the knowledge gaps that studying them in the wild leaves, because the animals breed in the late winter in the Arctic when they鈥檙e completely inaccessible,鈥� Richard says.

He has spent the last five years validating methods of measuring reproductive hormones. For instance, he figured out he could identify when female whales have ovulated and the status of their pregnancy from hormones in the mucus from their exhalation or blow. He has also validated the use of ultrasound to assess male reproductive physiology.

There is a lot that Mystic鈥檚 animals can teach us about beluga reproduction. 鈥淭here is a very clear connection between understanding beluga reproduction and understanding their population dynamics in the wild.”
鈥揓ustin Richard, Ph.D. ’16

Now he鈥檚 trying to link behavioral observations with these physiological measures so he can determine a whale鈥檚 reproductive status based entirely on the behaviors they exhibit.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e very showy animals, almost like birds, in that the males perform a lot of display behaviors, which suggests that the females are choosy about who they mate with,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd that leads to many different management and conservation questions, especially as beluga habitat changed rapidly with the loss of Arctic sea ice.鈥� 鈥�