A Dive Into the Abalone World
An SRJC-BML Internship Story
I am Alina Santamaria, an SRJC student transferring to UC Berkeley in Fall 2024, majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology. I am interested in cell biology and hope to one day pursue a career as a medical doctor.
During the Summer of 2024, I interned in the White Abalone Captive Breeding Lab. This lab works to re-establish the currently endangered White Abalone population. This lab specifically works to breed the White Abalone that will later be outplanted in Southern California. Leela works as a Junior Specialist in the lab and Lauren works as an Assistant Project Scientist. When I first began to work in the lab, I had no idea what to expect. I did not know much about abalone, only that people used to dive for them. This quickly changed as the lab was full of researchers passionate to help the abalone and spread knowledge about this endangered species.
My goal for the summer was to learn more about how a lab operates to conduct research as a group and how data is taken and analyzed. As the weeks went by, I expanded my knowledge on White abalone as I read about them and cared for them. Some of my main tasks included husbandry and feeding. I also learned the importance of attention to detail when caring for an endangered species. For example, being aware of yourself and making sure to continuously practice sanitization. This also stood for feeding, it was important that the algae was soaked and and examined before being placed in the tanks. This was good practice for me, because it helped prepare me for the sanitization practices I will need in the medical field.
Apart from my regular tasks, I also had the opportunity to work on some other projects. A project I got to work on was the start of an algae jello experiment. The goal of this experiment is to diversify the species of algae that the abalone eat, so within the jello we place two species of algae and then some diatoms. In this project I prepared the algae for the jello and then fed the Red Abalone the jello. This in the future will be tested with the White Abalone. To build my data skills, I worked on cataloging shells into a data sheet and began learning how to use R. I also got to work on ultrasounding some of the Red Abalone and check them for gonadal tissue. I learned a lot this summer and am really grateful to the Bodega Marine Labatory and the White Abalone Lab for this opportunity. This experience helped me learn how to work with a team to meet goals, how to communicate with others, and broadened my research skills.
About the Program:
The SRJC-BML Internship Program provides summer research opportunities for Santa Rosa Junior College students at the Bodega Marine Laboratory.