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Somewhat related, one of my husband's family members in WI ( U of W grad) is an aquatic ecologist, she is affliated with NALMS. You might want to check out their website. NALMS - About Us
Somewhat related, one of my husband's family members in WI ( U of W grad) is an aquatic ecologist, she is affliated with NALMS. You might want to check out their website. NALMS - About Us
Thanks for the link! The more I learn about the Aquatic Ecology/Aquatic Biology fields, the more I think it would be a great fit for me. I thought there would be more Masters programs in the Chicago area but the Loyola program is the only one I can find. Though it seems there are more programs in Wisconsin and Michigan and that may also be an option.
In my program the age range is from 18 into the 50's. The majority of students are 18 and 19 year olds, but I would say that the average age is 25.
The vast student age range is interesting. I'd still be young in this group! I have met quite a few older marine researchers on dive boats. I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or if this field tends to attract career changers?
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Originally Posted by K-Luv
In One thing you will realize is that a lot of young people get into this type of major because they want to train dolphins, study whales, or study sharks. There is one girl in my program who has the high hopes of working at Sea World as a dolphin trainer. This is actually more common than you may believe.
I have also met quite a few people who want to be dolphin trainers, whale trackers, etc. but I have no interest in this. The benthic and taxonomic research sounds really interesting though. I'm also interested in studying aquatic insects but know nothing about the field.
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Originally Posted by K-Luv
Anyways, the whole reason for all of that is resources. THere are more resources in the ocean than terrestrial and people are now figuring out how to extract them. Ecologists are going to be in high demand in a few years.
Which specific ocean resources are you referring to? And which fields do you think will be most in need of ecologists? Energy exploration (oil, geothermal)? Pharmacological? Food supply? Water supply (e.g. desalination installations)?
I obviously have lots of questions! Any books/sites you can recommend? Thanks again for all the info... Are you a marine biology grad student (you seem too knowledgeable to be an undergrad )?
The vast student age range is interesting. I'd still be young in this group! I have met quite a few older marine researchers on dive boats. I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or if this field tends to attract career changers?
Well, this is just at my college. I am not sure what the demographics are at other schools.
Yeah, it does seem that most in the field are a bit older, but I have met some young ones (by young, I mean in the 40's). Why is this? I dunno. I would hazard a guess that it is primarily from two reasons (1) it is not a cool, hip, hot, or otherwise desirable field as far as the general public is concerned so those employed tend to have a good amount of job security since hordes of graduates are not flooding the field and taking their positions ( like I said previously, many students drop out or change majors when they realize that they are required to take physics, probably calculus, and chemistry), and (2) It is one of the few fields left that still actually values the experience and expertise that comes with many years on the job. Also, a lot of the research that marine scientists become involved with can span decades as they are ongoing studies.
As far as the career changers...Some, maybe. I think that some never really had a career to begin with, despite their age. Some are first-time college students, some have previous college experience, but changed majors, and some have already done the college thing and are getting a second degree.
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Originally Posted by GoCUBS1
I'm also interested in studying aquatic insects but know nothing about the field.
Arthropods are what you want to look into (phylum: Arthropoda).
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoCUBS1
Which specific ocean resources are you referring to? And which fields do you think will be most in need of ecologists? Energy exploration (oil, geothermal)? Pharmacological? Food supply? Water supply (e.g. desalination installations)?
If you can think of it, it probably applies. Food, for sure, mainly with fisheries. There is more gold (and diamonds) in the ocean than on land, but the problem is the cost of extraction currently costs more than what these items are worth. There is also tons of oil. Do not believe what the Republicans and Democrats are telling you; they are both full of it when it comes to this subject. Offshore oil exploration is alive and well and there currently is a shortage of employees for oil rigs. But of course that is not what you hear on the evening news.
Medicinal, for sure as well. For example, sponges contain a chemical that is showing promise as a cure for arthritis. Too bad that the build-up of carbonic acid in the oceans eats away at these sponges. Sharks never get cancer, or even sick. Could be beneficial if someone figures out why. Sea stars can regenerate body parts. A few decades ago here in Maine, lobstermen used to hack up the sea stars that were pulled up with the traps (because the sea stars would eat the bait) and toss the remains overboard. Little did they know that these parts actually grew into new and complete species until someone told them. Now they dispose of them in other ways. They also don't seem to die from old age. How? Why? No one knows.
Also, some barnacles adhere to their substrate with this stuff called, for lack of a better word, barnacle glue. This barnacle glue is currently the strongest adhesive known. It is so strong that when attempting to remove these barnacles from ship hulls, portions of the steel plating actually tear away from the ship, with the barnacle still attached. Whom ever can successfully synthesize this stuff will be able to retire very comfortably. It is so strong that one of the proposed applications is to use this stuff to glue an airplanes wings on. I kid you not. Google it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoCUBS1
I obviously have lots of questions! Any books/sites you can recommend? Thanks again for all the info... Are you a marine biology grad student (you seem too knowledgeable to be an undergrad )?
Books, I dunno. The only book that I can think of that is not academic would be a field guide. The link that I provided you in my first post is pretty good.
The more I learn about this field, the more fascinated I am. I plan on meeting w/a college adviser and hope to begin taking a few pre-req courses in the Fall. I did take Chem (organic and inorganic), Physics, and Statistics in college (10+ years ago) but am not sure which credits can be applied (plus I'm pretty rusty in these subjects). Unfortunately, I only took 1 Biology course (which I loved and received an A for). I'm not sure if I'll need to complete another Bachelor's degree (in Biology) or if I can matriculate into an Aquatic Biology Masters program.
Thanks again for all the great info.... Feel free to keep it coming...
The more I learn about this field, the more fascinated I am. I plan on meeting w/a college adviser and hope to begin taking a few pre-req courses in the Fall. I did take Chem (organic and inorganic), Physics, and Statistics in college (10+ years ago) but am not sure which credits can be applied (plus I'm pretty rusty in these subjects). Unfortunately, I only took 1 Biology course (which I loved and received an A for). I'm not sure if I'll need to complete another Bachelor's degree (in Biology) or if I can matriculate into an Aquatic Biology Masters program.
Thanks again for all the great info.... Feel free to keep it coming...
I don't see why you couldn't go into a Masters program, but that is up to the particular school you are looking at to decide. What pre-req's do you need? I am thinking Bio I and II? Microbiology? Ecology? Calculus? I think that those would be the bare minimum, with your previous science courses. You can take these at a community college.
I don't see why you couldn't go into a Masters program, but that is up to the particular school you are looking at to decide. What pre-req's do you need? I am thinking Bio I and II? Microbiology? Ecology? Calculus? I think that those would be the bare minimum, with your previous science courses. You can take these at a community college.
I'll have to check w/the school on pre-req's. Maybe I can take some of the courses at a community college. Although I've had some of the science/math courses, I worry that I've forgotten most of it as I've never applied it. I took those classes 15 years ago and then went right into the sales/marketing field when I graduated. As you pointed out, I've even forgotten the definition of "species!" I think I may need to re-take some of these classes as a brush-up (or at least re-read the textbooks - I think I still have them somewhere).
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