Describe your current job
The Orange County Marine Life Refuge Committee is a collaboration between members of the Ocean Institute, County of Orange, State Parks, Department of Fish and Game, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Cal State Fullerton, and marine consulting organizations. The aim of the committee is to increase awareness of Orange County’s tidepools through education, research, and enforcement. The motivation for this project was spawned by the dramatic decline in the past several decades of both the abundance and biodiversity of intertidal life in Orange County. One of the primary causes of this decline has been the heavy visitation, foot traffic, and collection of animals by both the public and school groups. To put the scale of this problem in perspective, one stretch of tidepools in the county recorded over 1,443 visitors in a single afternoon. Most visitors are simply not aware of their own impact and the impact that a large volume of visitors has on this fragile ecosystem.
My job is to coordinate and implement all educational and research projects of the Orange County Marine Life Refuge Committee. One basic part of my job involves coordinating the quarterly monitoring of three of Orange County’s most popular tidepooling areas. Monitoring the marine life refuges requires conducting population studies on organisms that have been termed the “souvenir” species. These are species that visitors are most likely to disturb, or even take home, during a visit to the tidepools, ones such as hermit crabs, sea stars, abalone, and snails. These studies are analyzed to look for any changes in populations, particularly any trends that show an increase or decrease in the abundance of a particular species over time. Another major portion of my job involves increasing public awareness about the fragility of the tidepool ecosystem through educational programs. This ranges from visiting educational and environmental fairs to meeting with government officials to developing informational signs placed at the entrance to all Marine Life Refuges. I also regularly conduct trainings for the various groups of volunteers that patrol many of the county’s popular tidepool areas and assist in educating visitors. A final aspect of my job involves helping to coordinate law enforcement efforts throughout Orange County tidepool areas. I work to coordinate trainings to increase the awareness of local sheriffs, lifeguards, and rangers of Fish and Game Codes and the proper procedures to enforce them. Hopefully, all of these efforts will combine to decrease the impact our population has on Orange County’s tidepool areas.
What do you enjoy the most about your job?
The part I enjoy most about my job is working in the outdoors and with people. During my time in college, I had the opportunity to work on a number of research projects with intertidal animals and learn a great deal about their behaviors, adaptations, and ecology. I now enjoy being able to share my knowledge about these creatures during trainings and in the field with those that share a fascination with them. Millions of people visit Orange County’s tidepools every year and most do not have a good understanding about what is actually living beneath their feet. I like to hear the questions that arise and see the new respect that people develop as they learn more about this amazing habitat. I also enjoy the opportunity to interact with people from many different fields of work, including marine researchers, government officials, and most importantly, students.
What do you enjoy the least about your job?
The part I enjoy least about my job is the administrative work. Writing letters and scheduling meetings is not nearly as exciting as the one-on-one education and being out in the field. Most jobs have some aspect of administrative work to them, but I understand it is a means to an end.
What key events in your childhood most influenced your current career?
Early on, my parents’ trips to SeaWorld probably influenced my career the most. Every time we went, I would leave determined to become one of the trainers in the dolphin or killer whale show. It is for this reason that I went to college and majored in marine biology. Going to college, however, opened my eyes to so many other aspects of marine biology that I never even knew existed. I learned from people who worked in oceanography, population genetics, fisheries, and intertidal ecology. I found marine ecology, research, and education were definitely more where my interests lay, and these areas opened up a range of career options.
Do you have any funny stories about lab experiences or adventures in the field?
One day last year, we were out conducting our quarterly population surveys in the intertidal zone in Newport Beach. One of my colleagues was checking for organisms in one of the tidepools and her keys accidentally fell in the water. An octopus residing in the tidepool stuck one of its arms out, investigated the keys, and then would not let go. As she was scheming about how she was going to get her keys back from the octopus (which it had proceeded to pull into its crevice), her sunglasses also fell off of her head and into the pool. As you can probably guess, the octopus subsequently reached its arm out to grab those as well. Octopus can be very strong and difficult to pull things away from once they have latched on. It just goes to show you the very unexpected (and sometimes silly) challenges you can face doing fieldwork.
Do you play any sports or have any favorite hobbies/special interests?
Probably my favorite hobby would have to be SCUBA diving. I have been certified for about four years, and I try and get in at least one or two dives per week, whether it is after work or on the weekends. My life-long passion, however, has been horses. I have been riding as long as I can remember and have spent a fair amount of my life doing shows, competitions, and rodeos. I also worked as a wrangler on a dude ranch for five years before starting to work full-time in the marine field.
What contribution would you most like to make to science in the next five years?
I would most like to continue to educate students and the public about the fragility of our coastline. The majority of damage and collection that takes place in our marine life refuges is not from poachers but from everyday people who are simply not aware of their actions. I would like to see a return of the biodiversity and abundance of organisms that existed in our coastal areas even 50 years ago. I hope I can help to influence a decrease in the impact to our sensitive intertidal habitat despite the ever-growing population of southern California.
Do you have any advice for an aspiring high school student who might want to pursue your career?
One piece of advice I would offer to someone wanting to get into the marine science field is to volunteer in some capacity in the marine science field and get to know as many people as you can. The people you meet are going to be the ones who can introduce you to the most valuable opportunities. Some of the greatest opportunities in the field are not going to be advertised at your school or posted on a Web site somewhere. The second piece of advice I would offer is to do well in school and plan your college-prep work well. You wouldn’t want any doors of opportunity in your future to be closed because you didn’t do your best.
What is the approximate salary range for your profession?
$30,000 - $40,000 / year
