A person sitting on a rocky coastal area, making notes in a notebook — Collecting and writing down data of the different temperatures (body, substrate, and air) of 8 intertidal species including lined shore crabs. Data also included size, habitat, wind, humidity, and light.

The Exploration of Thermal Ecology

An SRJC-BML Internship Story

by Katrina Anderson
December 09, 2024

I’m a fifth-year college student at the Santa Rosa Junior College and working towards a master’s degree in zoology and environmental science. I had the opportunity to work with Lily McIntire who is a graduate student at San Diego State University this summer through the Bodega Marine Lab internship. I’m interested in studying animal behavior and how climate change will be affecting our animals. This summer I got to experience the hard work and research of how temperature affects the respiration and mobility of lined shore crabs since they are highly mobile animals and can access cooler habitats due to their fast movements, but this could mean that they have a deficiency in physiological response to cope with higher temperatures. Therefore, it is important for biologists to research and study how crabs are affected by higher temperatures, so we can have a better idea on how they’ll be affected by climate change.

A small crab with red arms poking out from between rocks — Lined shore crab spotted in a crevasse of the intertidal zone during field work.

Ever since a young age, I’ve always wanted to work with marine animals, especially orca whales at the time. I would go to Seaworld in San Diego every summer and found a fascination for them. As I got older, I tried exploring other fields of work such as interior design and theater, but my heart led me back to science. I’ve realized how important our planet and its animals are to me and that there needs to be more awareness and education about climate change and its effect on us and the animals that we are surrounded by. Through this internship, I’ve got to experience the life of people who work in the marine biology and research industry. I gained more skill with patience, collecting data based on different temperatures (body, substrate, air), crab anatomy and tissue dissection, remote work with crab image analysis and gaining more skills in using excel, understanding scientific research papers, and to have a positive attitude.

With this experience at the Bodega Marine Lab, I have met so many amazing people that I will always cherish and keep in touch with. I’ve realized through this internship that I want to continue my goal of earning a zoology and environmental science degree. My overall goal is to protect, spread awareness, and educate the people about animals and how important they are for our environment. I want to figure out ways to help with climate change and threatened and/or endangered species.