Initially I said I wanted my capstone project to study how the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year negatively affected the annual aggregate of whale sharks found off the Yucatan Peninsula. It had been recently discovered that whale sharks use negative buoyancy to propel themselves through the ocean, which is rare with most fish. Now the concern is that because whale sharks naturally sink, oil residue could impede their ability to maintain movement-- meaning whale sharks could be stranded helpless on the ocean floor. There are many other risks whale sharks face because of the oil spill and research on all aspects of their survival needs to be carried out. The opportunity is there, I just don't see how I can look into it unless I get an internship specializing in this. Not to mention it's still a very broad topic to research how the oil spill has negatively affected whale sharks in the Gulf of Mexico.
Then I switched my idea half way through the paper to focus more on the successful elements of whale shark ecotourism by studying established companies in Honduras, Seychelles, Australia, etc. My dream career would involve working on ecotourism projects that help sustain local human and whale shark populations while making the entire operation ecofriendly and profitable. Even though I love whale shark ecotourism I wasn't happy with that idea either because I have 0 business background nor am I interested in solely looking at the different businesses's economic success.
Another element of whale sharks that intrigues me are the methods that whale shark information is collected. There are many different tagging methods and a type that is gaining popularity is a type of photo identification that can be performed by recreational divers across the world. The technology originally developed to recognize star patterns in space has been utilized to match the unique pigment patterns found on every individual whale shark. It is a new technique that is gaining popularity but there are aspects to be investigated such as how much data submitted by the public is helpful and useable.
My passion really is whale shark conservation. Someone left me a great feedback last Monday suggesting I develop a whale shark toy, story, character, hero, etc because it will help "[instill] the value of whale sharks in youth" so rising generations will be aware of their awesomeness and understand the importance of protecting that species. The Sea Shepherd had this same idea about sharks in general and launched campaign about "Ron el tiburon" (tiburon=shark). Hmmm... is there a way for me to somehow do my own campaign to raise awareness of whale sharks and promote their conservation? Wow, that does not sound like me. I am definitely more comfortable with the idea of whale shark field researching and leaving the activists to do the dirty work. This idea has only slowly dawned on me as I was writing, so please give input/encouragement/a reality check if I need one about doing a "save the whale [shark] campaign".
Leah-
ReplyDeleteHey it's drew. I think your project is very interesting. I love that your passionate about something and willing to dedicate your time and efforts towards it. I don't have much feed back for you except to follow your dream because it's going to make more of an impact on the world than you now imagine. Good luck.
Leah,
ReplyDeleteMark's thinking much along the lines I'm thinking.
There are so many kinds of thesis, so many possibilities, that surely a good thesis could come out of an internship of whatever sort.
A campaign like you envision might be a good possibility.
A personal account of your experience as a volunteer, bristling with information about whale sharks, could also be a good thesis.
But like Mark said, this is your personal decision.
Can you finance the trip and the stay?
There are various university sources that have helped students in the past: the center for engaged learning; something called skop????, department chairs from your emphases, the dean of the college, and integrated studies.
You'd need to write a short proposal, quite formal, including your budget for the summer, to present to the various entities.
Hope that helps.
Scott
Leah,
I can't speak for Scott, but yes, I have read your blog and, yes, I think
it's "capstone project‑ able" to incorporate and build upon internship
experience in the Honduras. The challenge would be to design your time as a
volunteer so as to maximize its value to your eventual capstone thesis.
Given that they have no scientist for you to work under or formal position
for you, you would not have the advantage of simply joining a research team
on work in progress. You would have to be self‑ directed and know what you
were planning to get out of the experience. That can be a plus as well as a
challenge. Of course, the sheer experience and opportunity to work around
whale sharks and whale shark tourism should have great value to you, since
those are your chosen subjects of interest. But only you can decide whether
the particular opportunity is right for you personally.
Mark Jeffreys
I think that the awareness idea is kinda cool. Toys and tracking their course via the Nasa mapping. Of course, I don't know how accessible or free domain that info is.
ReplyDeleteThe internship sounds absolutely awesome. Scott and Mark seem to like it, too.
The hard parts are, what? Getting the money to go down there and finding a crew that would take you? Mark and Scott seem pretty convinced you could write a grant, so it seems first step is finding people who are already in with the sharks. Who knows, they might even help. I guess that would be my stage one. Stage two with the Discovery Channel contract comes later....
I love your ideas. I to am a fan of whale sharks and the animal kingdom in general. Along with the whole awarness theme maybe you could start a website that allows people to follow the migratory movements of individual whale sharks. They could also donate money on the site. I know this can be done using gps tagging devices. (Google earth has a setting to track animals like great whites of the west coast.) You could find out if any whales are already tagged or if they are only using photo id. This could take off like the "owl cam".
ReplyDeleteI think you are onto something very important with the conservation of whale sharks. I am also a big fan of the Sea Shepard group and think they do some wonderful work. At the end of your blog you talk about making a toy/story etc about a whale shark. One thing I would recommend is to look at how the sea shepard has modeled their campaign in all their areas and copy that model. I'm not saying copy them but use some of their programs in your thesis work, make a website or two, put together videos, start emailing campaigns, even contact the discovery channel and see if they can help provide any material. You could really put together a great multimedia project that could really benefit your cause and I sure that could qualify for a these project. Remember the IS dept will even give grants from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI like how you are really trying to do a project on something you love...not something that is an easy topic. I am having struggles myself narrowing my topic down, so I want to try and give as much feedback as I can. I really like the emphasis on whale-shark conservation - I think this is a strong part from your ideas. In the world today there is a lot of animal conservationists that are recognized and documented. I could see you researching about the conservation of whale-sharks and possibly learning some new aspects or topics to write about that you didn't see before.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could look into the conservation of the species, and form ways to spread the information.
I am so happy that you like sharks :) Silly fact about me - I love sharks and especially shark week! It may be a crazy idea, but have you thought to get in contact with Discovery or Animal Planet to see if they have anything to offer?
ReplyDeleteLeah,
ReplyDeleteI would write about the whale shark conservation because it seems to be the connecting factor between all of your ideas.If they can be preserved despite the oil spills then ecotourism can take place. Maybe you could combine the conservation of whale sharks and how they are or are not able to survive under various conditions such as the spills. Also I am having the same problem as you are with not becoming part of the my blog list did you ever figure out how to fix that?