tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25368262467868057472024-02-20T04:39:18.365+13:00Around the World for Eighty DaysHolly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-65231945182469487122014-01-22T11:24:00.000+13:002012-11-14T07:36:37.517+13:00Kia Ora!Haere mai, or Welcome! You've found Holly's pseudo-travelogue chronicling her adventures abroad as she conducts Ph.D. Thesis research in New Zealand.<br />
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Feel free to subscribe the the site, join the list of followers, or repost content via Facebook or other social media. The more the merrier!</div>
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Because I'll be simultaneously filling my family in on mundane details (like my awesome orange-and-black bedroom) and explaining my research in bits and pieces, I also welcome any and all comments (you can post them at the end of any of my entries) and questions you'd like to post. And if you're sick of hearing about trees and fungi all the time, check out my <a href="http://www.stanforddaily.com/author/hollymoeller/" target="_blank">weekly columns in the Stanford Daily</a>, yet another mass of non-work writing I love doing!</div>
Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-3082790558306079412013-08-27T12:30:00.000+12:002013-08-27T12:30:00.563+12:00Until We Meet Again (Closeout Stats)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My maternal grandfather refused to say goodbye.</div>
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Instead, his words of farewell were "Until we meet again."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset on the Waimakariri near Arthur's Pass National Park. The river forms<br />
a classic winding braid over its gravel bed, an important habitat for many<br />
native New Zealand species, including insects and some nesting birds.</td></tr>
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Those are the words I always repeat to myself as I pack up shop at Landcare Research and leave New Zealand once again. Just as every trip introduces me to new wonders that make me love this spectacular country more, every departure makes me long for the next return more than the last.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eyes glued to the dissecting scope in my classic work pose.<br />
Photographed by I.A. Dickie.</td></tr>
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Following tradition, here's a numerical summary of this trip to New Zealand:<br />
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Root tips counted: 138,755</div>
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DNA samples taken: 3,435</div>
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Chocolate consumed in this endeavor: At least 4kg</div>
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(Did you really think I was bringing some of <a href="http://aroundtheworldforeightydays.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/id-rather-be-lucky-than-good.html" target="_blank">my chocolate</a> home to share?)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">A visitor in the lab!</span></span></span></td></tr>
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Kilometers driven in rental car: 1217</div>
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Wipers-instead-of-turn-signal errors: 2</div>
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American (counter-clockwise u-turns): 1</div>
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"Correct" U-turns: 3 (I'm getting better!)</div>
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Bottles of NZ white sampled: 4 (plus a Californian pinot by Cline Cellars enjoyed with J)</div>
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Servings of fish and chips: 3 (Yeah, I'm enjoying my social omnivory... :)</div>
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Time until return to NZ: hopefully a matter of months...</div>
Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-47794524535704068052013-08-26T21:36:00.000+12:002013-08-26T21:41:10.933+12:00The Adventures of the Brave Little Tomato Sauce Bottle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What would life be without a bit of adventure?</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise and full moon over the Southern Alps.</td></tr>
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With some luck, and the intensive root-washing efforts of K and F, I was able to finish my experimental harvest in time to have a weekend free to explore! Together with my new favorite travel companion -- a genuine tomato-shaped NZ tomato sauce bottle, a gift from <a href="http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BfrrmuoAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">Jamie</a> - I took off South and West to explore parts of the South Island both new and familiar.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brave Little Tomato Sauce Bottle tempts<br />
a giant roadside salmon sculpture!</td></tr>
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My first goal was to reach the <a href="http://www.albatross.org.nz/" target="_blank">Northern Royal Albatross Colony</a> and see the birds that I'd dreamed of since reading Louis J. Halle's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Sea-Ice-Naturalist-Antarctica/dp/080149575X" target="_blank">amazing account</a> of travels in the Southern Ocean.</div>
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En route, I stopped at the famed Moeraki Boulders, bizarrely spherical concretions that line the coast south of Oamaru.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbKOXS1CLlP0PT-7E9q5XxbzUIFjD9A6waMZaOjvsNnEGpnMd0kk9xC2RNDkOWaz6mLSOhTVgjmV88SVdaj7MaCBRJJYa7bv9BPaXjDdLg3yWGuYFEPlba3NTbxWTpxABqotdLwacUTw/s1600/IMG_1374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbKOXS1CLlP0PT-7E9q5XxbzUIFjD9A6waMZaOjvsNnEGpnMd0kk9xC2RNDkOWaz6mLSOhTVgjmV88SVdaj7MaCBRJJYa7bv9BPaXjDdLg3yWGuYFEPlba3NTbxWTpxABqotdLwacUTw/s320/IMG_1374.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brave Little Tomato Sauce Bottle meets his larger cousins.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVRQjjw8OIij9fx0UFf4G6sCZzSFljQ7-xGnCJmEdZCqoMkn24sCvfB4VINswEyij8K0ACARQv6CvblBs3PCgrrM3jSJKsdur1NVUDMY7zfF4HkPwrkyDJFVqu2fJauv_aqeIHhE9yEU/s1600/IMG_1381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVRQjjw8OIij9fx0UFf4G6sCZzSFljQ7-xGnCJmEdZCqoMkn24sCvfB4VINswEyij8K0ACARQv6CvblBs3PCgrrM3jSJKsdur1NVUDMY7zfF4HkPwrkyDJFVqu2fJauv_aqeIHhE9yEU/s400/IMG_1381.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boulders are best viewed at low tide.</td></tr>
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After five hours of driving on the left side of the road (and not once turning on my windshield wipers when I meant to switch on my turn signal!), I reached Dunedin, which is spectacularly placed at the base of the Otago Peninsula. Dunedin looks out on a turquoise harbor flanked by mountains. If you drive out along the Southern edge of this bay to the tip of the Otago Peninsula, you can reach Taiaroa Head. Once a Maori stronghold, and later an important New Zealand military emplacement, Taiaroa Head has now been transformed into a nature preserve.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJa0AcPw30dxc5EqaIskImvf6SRXPeF1PtmEsM21SaYkXP1pKivEFlTtbyFf24XA9KzpqWoSxEwvz2_qiRYdTi9RoPNp2dUeSjddbspTIlxIo-di-s5z-DxlQcONsiiknl_vWLcgLT3vM/s1600/IMG_1422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJa0AcPw30dxc5EqaIskImvf6SRXPeF1PtmEsM21SaYkXP1pKivEFlTtbyFf24XA9KzpqWoSxEwvz2_qiRYdTi9RoPNp2dUeSjddbspTIlxIo-di-s5z-DxlQcONsiiknl_vWLcgLT3vM/s320/IMG_1422.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View back towards Otago Harbor from Taiaroa Head.</td></tr>
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The preserve is now home to fur seals, sea lions, and many nesting seabirds, including the Chatham Islands Shag, Little Blue Penguins, and, of course, albatross!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mlOB8dPzYi1TaPLdFqQNKn3_onN4XpwwmSxZrCRN2GpBdZUkRjm-dkXZgETRF-qidcQ6BUVHU-wxrkybKD8aMVa62cOXkdiudSz1__Bw4K9SfYkddB-5hif9nj_DlVtupwzre9DZwQs/s1600/IMG_1443m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mlOB8dPzYi1TaPLdFqQNKn3_onN4XpwwmSxZrCRN2GpBdZUkRjm-dkXZgETRF-qidcQ6BUVHU-wxrkybKD8aMVa62cOXkdiudSz1__Bw4K9SfYkddB-5hif9nj_DlVtupwzre9DZwQs/s320/IMG_1443m.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An 8-month-old Northern Royal Albatross chick, who will take<br />
his or her first flight in a couple of weeks!</td></tr>
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Albatross are amazing birds, perfectly engineered for prolonged flight. Their wings have an additional joint, and the wingspan of an adult Northern Royal extends a full 3 meters (almost ten feet! For reference, the room you're sitting in now probably has a ceiling that is 8 feet high). Once the juveniles take off from their nest sites, they will forage in the Southern Ocean for 5 years before returning to land for breeding.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brave Little Tomato Sauce Bottle takes in more views on the<br />
Otago Peninsula.</td></tr>
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I stuck around until dusk, to watch the Little Blue Penguins return to land from their daily foraging trip. They are beginning the first of two annual rounds of breeding; each pair will attempt to raise four chicks (two per three-month breeding cycle).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taiaroa Head's lighthouse at sunset.</td></tr>
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The following day, I headed West from Christchurch into the Southern Alps.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castle Hill is a favorite spot for climbers. It's also featured in many movies,<br />
including The Chronicles of Narnia.</td></tr>
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Farther West, in Arthur's Pass National Park, I treated myself to some hiking in the Mountain Beech forest. Despite its familiarity (much of my fieldwork has been done in and around these forests), the native New Zealand bush remains one of my favorite forests. There's something about spending an afternoon hiking in a misty, mysterious forest that brings peace to my soul.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0A7dG4Vu8HOzfaCC2z92k88sOoxke36wZCua75ZGnlEmFqZP8p6gqyvqXxRMiwYBDVb8FDQRUdfBeBOhMhzk2j62huvcg4x1rrlfDchyphenhyphenRhSogPZxaMySGvmo0GbCmW_xCMk_N6gFs8M/s1600/IMG_1572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0A7dG4Vu8HOzfaCC2z92k88sOoxke36wZCua75ZGnlEmFqZP8p6gqyvqXxRMiwYBDVb8FDQRUdfBeBOhMhzk2j62huvcg4x1rrlfDchyphenhyphenRhSogPZxaMySGvmo0GbCmW_xCMk_N6gFs8M/s320/IMG_1572.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brave Little Tomato Sauce Bottle hangs out in the forest with me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJuEBJ76B-lp-tV-noG9BQNXJAE8wCTgbUhsxPnuIV7EhG3v2JPfNK06pksiREZ5RioZxnHIURCcUg9uzpzxR4pwtqkJhVkb2oUCJGuCmtmqY9RBLipQ2W01l1l4MqxtKK9io6wbv1pc/s1600/IMG_1558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJuEBJ76B-lp-tV-noG9BQNXJAE8wCTgbUhsxPnuIV7EhG3v2JPfNK06pksiREZ5RioZxnHIURCcUg9uzpzxR4pwtqkJhVkb2oUCJGuCmtmqY9RBLipQ2W01l1l4MqxtKK9io6wbv1pc/s320/IMG_1558.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Devil's Punchbowl Waterfall.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtEj7d5gCmwkGs4YjgbPhsU8rqerP_UMtXGzbFGDtbwMzhynZf9d4UVGgI96yQO0SSdGZVznng_dQHl-25Nc05ZSBnzQ6VAaLaOtIJ8PoJrQzgoLKwiK-6b6DUSSWERj1Cm1FFu6NNws/s1600/IMG_1586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtEj7d5gCmwkGs4YjgbPhsU8rqerP_UMtXGzbFGDtbwMzhynZf9d4UVGgI96yQO0SSdGZVznng_dQHl-25Nc05ZSBnzQ6VAaLaOtIJ8PoJrQzgoLKwiK-6b6DUSSWERj1Cm1FFu6NNws/s320/IMG_1586.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bridge over a stream on one of the walking tracks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And, no visit to Arthur's Pass is complete without a visit with one of New Zealand's native parrot species, the inimitable and incredibly clever Kea!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnCSYeLv0WcEVd5OnTQXrPpc4PR3ab0_qKHDCxuIhFWoVNgNodjinH_nmj6rVlzGjM4Q9G5_X9eRg-OiQf-t9csYFrKAfbytYqZWQKwjXiZknfdoSzCBXfpXFSRlpN3HPo_NNWgLBRk4/s1600/IMG_1626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnCSYeLv0WcEVd5OnTQXrPpc4PR3ab0_qKHDCxuIhFWoVNgNodjinH_nmj6rVlzGjM4Q9G5_X9eRg-OiQf-t9csYFrKAfbytYqZWQKwjXiZknfdoSzCBXfpXFSRlpN3HPo_NNWgLBRk4/s400/IMG_1626.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Although the kea's plumage is greenish-gray to help it <br />
blend in with its rocky habitat, when the birds take flight, <br />
you can see a rainbow of colors decorating their wings!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The winter days are so short that I was able to catch a quick sunset before heading back downhill, across the Canterbury Plains, and home to Christchurch, where a bit of cleaning up and lab processing remained to fill my last two days in Aotearoa.</div>
Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-26407747099520035472013-08-17T19:02:00.002+12:002013-08-26T21:37:18.299+12:00The Rate-Limiting StepMust. Go. Faster.<br />
<i>Must. Go. Faster.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
That's the basic mantra I repeat to myself as I perch next to the microscope, rapidly scanning root systems, typing data into the computer, and plunging root samples into chemical buffers.<br />
<br />
There's a basic principle in biochemistry which says, essentially, that a reaction can only go as fast as its slowest step.<br />
<br />
It follows the same idea as the old phrase, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link." Or, in Bay Area lingo, you'll only get to SF from the East Bay as fast as traffic on the Bay Bridge will let you, no matter how clear highways like the 580, 680, and all the other 80's are. The rate at which cars can squeeze through the narrow trans-bay span becomes the rate-limiting step to transportation.<br />
<br />
These days, I'm the rate-limiting step.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://aroundtheworldforeightydays.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/the-dynamic-duo-and-their-microscopy.html" target="_blank">As always here at Landcare</a>, I've had terrific help with my harvest. The seedlings must be carted in from the glasshouse, measured, and washed clean of dirt before I can inspect their root systems under the microscope. (We're also taking soil samples in case we want to do some further genetic and biochemical analysis.) K. works as efficiently as always, preparing the seedlings two-at-a-time and stashing them in water-filled plastic cups to await my attentions.<br />
<br />
It takes about fifteen minutes for me to process a seedling, so I'm expecting to spend about 100 hours on the microscope while here at Landcare. Together with the time required to extract DNA (and make backup copies of the samples I'll be carting back stateside in case of issues with United States border security), I'm expecting to be rather tight on time on this trip.<br />
<br />
As of end-of-day on Saturday, I'm through 152 of ~500 seedlings, optimistically on track to make my Tuesday flight. I've tallied 55,176 root tips, and taken 1,374 DNA samples.<br />
<br />
Still, I haven't looked in the greenhouse at those ominous rows of Douglas-fir seedlings awaiting their turn to face the wash-and-clip treatment. When I think of heading out there tomorrow to survey progress and collect more samples, I can't help but remember a recent conversation with K.:<br />
<br />
"So does it look like we're making any progress," I ask K. as she returns from the greenhouse with the latest tray of seedlings.<br />
<br />
She pauses for a moment. "Err.... No."<br />
<br />
I sigh, then grab the latest batch of washed seedlings and head back to the microscope.Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-12289066814317070862013-08-14T18:06:00.003+12:002013-08-26T21:36:55.302+12:00I'd rather be lucky than good!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When I was growing up, my parents ingrained a bunch of slogans in me. They encapsulated valuable life lessons like "Attitude is a choice," "It's the beach stupid," and "Fly, Eagles, Fly!"</div>
<br />
But one that Mom was particularly fond of saying seems especially resonant today:<br />
<br />
"I'd rather be lucky than good."<br />
<br />
(Dad's counterpoint was, of course, "Serendipity favors the prepared mind.")<br />
<br />
Today, I'm feeling very, very lucky.<br />
<br />
Because when I unpacked the control seedlings (the ones that, as I explained <a href="http://aroundtheworldforeightydays.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-case-of-missing-mondays.html" target="_blank">here</a>, are supposed to stay "clean" throughout the experiment) today, I found <b>no fungal contamination</b> on their root systems!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8fAGeHq1Pi2LZnkN1HCT7d4eenMcp5r0s3wyBqMraInc716j4h2_RctH6tS0DZ0q7MZGEeZRkFrdpQllulW_iLO-qLJ_DZmCHqpk0KdiIbIFmIapGwBImP71nlLnEYd1GgI6ToDshlU/s1600/IMG_1256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8fAGeHq1Pi2LZnkN1HCT7d4eenMcp5r0s3wyBqMraInc716j4h2_RctH6tS0DZ0q7MZGEeZRkFrdpQllulW_iLO-qLJ_DZmCHqpk0KdiIbIFmIapGwBImP71nlLnEYd1GgI6ToDshlU/s320/IMG_1256.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My how you've grown! The greenhouse seedlings are mostly<br />
thriving more than six months after their November replanting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Though very preliminary, this is <i>incredibly</i> good news because it means that we've probably managed to catch the fungal contamination before it spread throughout the experiment. We'll know more in a few days after I've made some progress on the harvest, which is now proceeding full-speed ahead!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The first seedlings that we've harvested following checking the controls are ones that show evidence of fungal fruiting bodies (i.e., mushroom formation) like this:<br />
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<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPCXDtZB8SWbBRZZ7s3rjMPGaQ6hWvdbyTOwBBIXR0g_7SVILAC1FdBqauzUg4O9jZFl7AC70hH1nsiNfWdisaiEHe9jykCg53VENPX7Em0UJnXmWo9V3vUYe6cJqDKtpoX5lxIkVRDY/s1600/Contaminant_IMG_1486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPCXDtZB8SWbBRZZ7s3rjMPGaQ6hWvdbyTOwBBIXR0g_7SVILAC1FdBqauzUg4O9jZFl7AC70hH1nsiNfWdisaiEHe9jykCg53VENPX7Em0UJnXmWo9V3vUYe6cJqDKtpoX5lxIkVRDY/s400/Contaminant_IMG_1486.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fuzzy brown mound around the base of the seedling<br />
is a fungal fruiting body, indicating risk of contamination.<br />
(Photo taken by I.A. Dickie.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We're following the usual protocol of taking measurements of seedling height, and then looking carefully at the root systems with a microscope to measure the level of fungal colonization. This time, because we don't need to keep the seedlings alive for a second experiment, we also separate the roots from the above-ground shoot, and dry them separately in paper bags to measure how much the seedlings have grown since they were planted almost a year and a half ago.</div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXzecOievE10MKCageB47W3zdVVkVo9FKKQtSvvpSPoSW21ZqR99bmltQc-U1iEzX4mmqkCb24Kni811aVnOCHPj0vX3-1YDHMemUVr97LVvR4fHOjMdhs7cgUaLQKUxuRXWK9_z7N8w/s1600/IMG_1272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXzecOievE10MKCageB47W3zdVVkVo9FKKQtSvvpSPoSW21ZqR99bmltQc-U1iEzX4mmqkCb24Kni811aVnOCHPj0vX3-1YDHMemUVr97LVvR4fHOjMdhs7cgUaLQKUxuRXWK9_z7N8w/s320/IMG_1272.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of time at the microscope is on tap for the next couple of<br />
weeks! The grid helps us quickly measure root system size.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Although our control seedlings had beautifully clean root systems, now that I'm starting to look at the heart of the experiment, it's a lot of fun to see the diversity of shapes and colors of fungal infections on other seedlings!</div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwoDM6tht_OjomcbLVBAbM_DcxNJawFs-sXGkHcm83_UgV0pH3WTn49SUkdR8cv-Xnyv5y0x8fcv5qlNUkDoEsHwo23bPGpXNQmH0Ct-TfizVCm37GaW0KKw2DtAEPk9jZa1FLkjCzsc/s1600/IMG_1271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwoDM6tht_OjomcbLVBAbM_DcxNJawFs-sXGkHcm83_UgV0pH3WTn49SUkdR8cv-Xnyv5y0x8fcv5qlNUkDoEsHwo23bPGpXNQmH0Ct-TfizVCm37GaW0KKw2DtAEPk9jZa1FLkjCzsc/s320/IMG_1271.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This highly-branched chunk of the root system indicates<br />
the presence of mutualistic fungi, wrapping themselves like<br />
a comfortable blanket around the seedling's roots.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Today, with the help of K.'s measuring and washing skills, I was able to process 29 seedlings. Hopefully this rate will speed up, since I have to get through almost 500 before sampling is done! It'll be a tight deadline, given that I only have two weeks in New Zealand on this trip.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In any case, I'm keeping myself well-fueled on chocolate, and looking forward to the results the next few days will bring!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL4xx0Bokep71Xu8wptihggiiowgI3iEOuRuZhYDJooaboSJqJDDT-Orl_qwE6Sdo69UOsQEcI_fBJuPwys621TbQMqWk1pvVHVG8XmwjS4v0GIereiWAHuuZcV81xLW2j4-fdpOiHW0/s1600/IMG_1255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL4xx0Bokep71Xu8wptihggiiowgI3iEOuRuZhYDJooaboSJqJDDT-Orl_qwE6Sdo69UOsQEcI_fBJuPwys621TbQMqWk1pvVHVG8XmwjS4v0GIereiWAHuuZcV81xLW2j4-fdpOiHW0/s320/IMG_1255.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">They had a sale at the supermarket today...</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-35662091975232493142013-08-10T12:56:00.000+12:002013-08-10T13:05:05.754+12:00A Case of the (Missing) MondaysLast month, when I boarded a plane to Canada for a math conference, I thought affectionately that I was glad that the last stamp in my passport, which expires in October, would be from my beloved Northern neighbor.<br />
<br />
I didn't expect to be headed to New Zealand for another stamp before I sent my passport off for renewal. But, as those of you who saw me in my most frantic moments at the <a href="http://www.esa.org/minneapolis/" target="_blank">Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting</a> this week know, sometimes surprises happen.<br />
<br />
This time, the surprise came on Monday: an email from a colleague who'd been kindly keeping an eye on my seedlings in New Zealand. "There's a fungus among us," he wrote -- or something of the sort. Or, to use another trite turn of phrase, "Houston, we have a problem."<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
His email was enough to have me scrambling to buy a last-minute (but fortuitously inexpensive!) plane ticket to New Zealand, leaving Sunday, a scant 48 hours after my return from the ESA meeting in Minneapolis. Hence, a Monday lost to the date line. (After a red-eye flight, I will arrive mid-afternoon on Monday, California time, but with the date change, it will be Tuesday in NZ.)<br />
<br />
There is indeed a fungal problem, whose severity I don't yet know. Basically, when I left New Zealand last December, I'd just finished setting up a big greenhouse experiment to look at competition between the belowground fungi, ectomycorrhiae, that associate with Douglas-fir seedlings. In the "great swap," my fantastic helpers and I unpotted, sampled, and replanted literally hundreds of baby trees in a little over one week's time. We then had a "before" picture of the fungal community on the seedlings, and how it differed among the baby trees. By planting the seedlings in pairs in new pots, we then hoped to look at how those fungal communities battled it out with one another (yep, they sure do go to war, complete with chemical weapons!) and figure out who would "win" the root systems of our various seedlings. This gets at age-old questions in ecology about what traits make organisms more or less successful in different environments, how species diversity is maintained, and so on.<br />
<br />
As is always the case in experimental work, it's important to keep things clean.<br />
<br />
For example, we wanted to make sure that the only fungi present in our experiment were the ones that we had put there ourselves, rather than outside contaminants. For this reason, we do things like planting "negative controls." In this case, these are seedlings who were never exposed to any fungal colonists throughout their entire lifetimes. If their root systems stay clean (i.e., no fungi show up on them) over the course of the experiment, we know our greenhouse is pretty sterile, and it helps us to trust our results.<br />
<br />
So, when there's any hint of contamination, the instinct of most experimental scientists is, well, to freak out.<br />
<br />
My colleague's email suggests that we might have some contamination in our experiment. He saw mushrooms (the reproductive structures of the fungi that we study) in some of the seedling-containing pots. These mushrooms release tons of spores into the air, which means that the fungi can rapidly spread between pots in the greenhouse, contaminating the whole experiment in a matter of weeks -- even days.<br />
<br />
And, if our worst fears are confirmed, the mushrooms we see might possibly indicate widespread contamination that has already taken place across the experiment -- but that's what our controls will tell us when I dig them up first-thing when I get to Landcare on Tuesday.<br />
<br />
Greenhouse work in New Zealand, as those of you who have followed this blog know, has been fraught with ups and downs. But then, science is always that way. When I called my dad to cancel our scheduled vacation ("Umm, sorry, Dad, swimming with sharks sounds awesome but I've got to get to Christchurch."), he reminded me of the fretful days in undergrad when the failing cold room threatened to plunge my Antarctic phytoplankton into hot, humid New Jersey summer weather. And I still remember the ironically-titled poster I saw during my interview at Princeton: "My field site burned while I was gone, so now I study fire effects."<br />
<br />
It's enough to turn a girl fully into a modeler...<br />
<br />
It is also a good reminder to be grateful: for sufficient thesis data already collected, for sympathetic conference roommates, for grant money, for attentive collaborators, for loopholes regarding departure dates and passport expiry, for scheduling flexibility, and for understanding friends and family.<br />
<br />
I'm sure that's a list I'll be repeating to myself as I unpack those controls on Tuesday.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">See you on the flip side (of the planet)!</span>Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-55682682798328440942012-12-23T18:00:00.000+13:002012-12-23T18:00:06.754+13:00Closeout StatsWe may not be able to trust Mayan numerology again (or at least not our doomsday interpretations of it), but you can sure trust these numbers!<br />
<br />
<br />
Number of earthquakes felt in J's presence: 1<br />
J's guess at said quake's magnitude: 3.6<br />
Actual measure of quake's magnitude: 3.5<br />
<br />
Total chocolate consumption by Holly: 7.86 kilograms<br />
Rate of chocolate consumption: 1.43 kg / week<br />
(...and accelerating. Sometimes I impress even myself.)<br />
<br />
Root tips counted: >200,000<br />
Bird bone photos taken: 201<br />
Papers in press at <i>Ecological Applications</i>: 2 (woo hoo!)<br />
<br />
Number of pages filled with meaningless algebra: 8<br />
Number of models for tree-fungal interactions attempted: 4<br />
Record lowest biomass of tree (in a <b>badly</b> broken model): -1 x 10^(76)<br />
(Happily, my trees are behaving better now!)<br />
<br />
Months until I return to Landcare: ~11<br />
Grant money I must spend before then: ~$9,200<br />
Thesis chapters that must be accepted before then: 2<br />
Thesis chapters presently written up: 0.71394<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Whether it's been driven by chocolate, good company, or successful science, this trip to New Zealand has been a spectacular one. And while I'm looking forward to getting back home to my practically-beachfront-apartment, I'm also so excited to come back next year and let you know how the wee seedlings fared!<br />
<br />
Thanks for coming along on the ride!Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-47976854930792306612012-12-21T11:26:00.003+13:002012-12-21T11:26:40.546+13:00"Well before I'm northward bound..."*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As I begin to pack up my five-and-a-half week stay in New Zealand, I thought it might be nice to document some of the fun the last week has brought my way. I was drawn to science because of its variability: It's rare that I spend more than a few days -- much less a few weeks -- doing the same thing. Which means that I'm never stuck on a dull task for very long, and that I occasionally get weeks like this one, which remind me how lucky I am that I get to <i>play </i>for a living and how much joy I get from my job!</div>
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Having finished up his seedling harvest, I spent Monday with J. at the Canterbury Museum, where I got to dust off my dSLR (which got hauled down here, telephoto lens and all, only to sit on the shelf while my point-and-shoot saw most of the action) to photograph some of the bones that he was measuring. Many of the photos will hopefully see some use as reference photos, since we posed them to highlight morphological differences between species. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBKDymV2uk3wyX_FDJadip2q5l7zL7MUcI7aJ6qxyy6knqNZZKt6bGgQLVkkcVOW7f9pcDEbhw3gActAYExVA7hJrPFfnx0nGvkPtLjhPX9MV83ovA69Rgv2jxnBrCQB3djWEXyg0fBE/s1600/IMG_8132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBKDymV2uk3wyX_FDJadip2q5l7zL7MUcI7aJ6qxyy6knqNZZKt6bGgQLVkkcVOW7f9pcDEbhw3gActAYExVA7hJrPFfnx0nGvkPtLjhPX9MV83ovA69Rgv2jxnBrCQB3djWEXyg0fBE/s320/IMG_8132.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Bird-brained?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></span></td></tr>
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I absolutely love going behind-the-scenes at museums, and it was <i>so cool</i> to get a glimpse of the avian collection -- especially some enormous Moa bones!<div>
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<div>
And if that weren't enough, I also got treated to a couple evening trips to the seaside, once with K. to enjoy a bottle of our favourite wine, and once for a nice long run, as the shadows slowly stretched out in the lingering summer dusk. It's going to be hard to adjust to the short days of the Northern Hemisphere winter next week.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3GgQ17mu1988KB6GfwrylpaDnFpbRa24IlYOcvPbpROuuagn7mbvLs8R7wi0nboshQOPjrA93x13NAxVtLveMfum5Y7yxZcOL_mORTveMmvdJDdBntiqP3uFkNiIKJ2OqufF71R15wF4/s1600/IMG_9229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3GgQ17mu1988KB6GfwrylpaDnFpbRa24IlYOcvPbpROuuagn7mbvLs8R7wi0nboshQOPjrA93x13NAxVtLveMfum5Y7yxZcOL_mORTveMmvdJDdBntiqP3uFkNiIKJ2OqufF71R15wF4/s320/IMG_9229.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sumner: the perfect spot for a beach run!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFor5LV3pCbrhzsAK840nDQmKAiok_pkYNEoR12nRd-SpFhJSFzVUmSTlQ3VKKs-E49vE2Ohyphenhypheny0As1rNif5fk0rbPvXfMQzlor1e_Xf2SYQYKjxiwC7zxfJYmpF224RCR8oBHZTP9HeT8/s1600/IMG_9235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFor5LV3pCbrhzsAK840nDQmKAiok_pkYNEoR12nRd-SpFhJSFzVUmSTlQ3VKKs-E49vE2Ohyphenhypheny0As1rNif5fk0rbPvXfMQzlor1e_Xf2SYQYKjxiwC7zxfJYmpF224RCR8oBHZTP9HeT8/s320/IMG_9235.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">I was amazed a gull had flown into my shot so perfectly.<br />Then I realized I was near their nesting site, and really it<br />was gathering with its companions to mob me!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD265pDO39m3kdtq4Nd3lHhsOzUDuAdMVeGgjpxogcslAas55y4sVgsgYSqvdSQwAWaa0KN3C_V2F5vGg_jFE02ass0ZOsZ26NHwCC1G27CN0w7Pyl9o0JBxgqFyp0rR4Jy5jKunru4q8/s1600/IMG_9242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD265pDO39m3kdtq4Nd3lHhsOzUDuAdMVeGgjpxogcslAas55y4sVgsgYSqvdSQwAWaa0KN3C_V2F5vGg_jFE02ass0ZOsZ26NHwCC1G27CN0w7Pyl9o0JBxgqFyp0rR4Jy5jKunru4q8/s320/IMG_9242.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">It was a banner evening for finding sand dollars at Sumner!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<div>
Meanwhile, the replanted seedlings have been holding their own in the greenhouse. I check in on them every couple of days, make sure they're well-watered, and take a nervous tally of the ones that are starting to droop after all the abuses to their root systems.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUKI1AC-9B-tH8JJaifh168UmBj-2pT9bKxR28xCNGPITwlrDQg4QKk7pB08q0VY9x-RCT5w83AEtIc9dOD5X8c87sYPIoPzOF32Yaql-RpMyVYTvwJr1E_PKTNDcnkOY2pndT7lJSv4/s1600/IMG_9244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUKI1AC-9B-tH8JJaifh168UmBj-2pT9bKxR28xCNGPITwlrDQg4QKk7pB08q0VY9x-RCT5w83AEtIc9dOD5X8c87sYPIoPzOF32Yaql-RpMyVYTvwJr1E_PKTNDcnkOY2pndT7lJSv4/s320/IMG_9244.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Dreaming of a (Perlite) White Christmas.</td></tr>
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I got to spend a pleasant few hours of quality time with them when I added a centimeter or so of perlite to the top of each pot. The perlite makes it much easier to water the trees without splashing (which could cross-contaminate the soils in each pot) and reflects some of the incoming light to keep the soils cool and moist just a bit longer over the holiday season. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
And, with my empirical work done for this stay in the Southern Hemisphere, I got a chance to turn back to math, and spent a solid few days buried in some of the most pleasant calculus I've done in some time. Short of doing math on a chalkboard, few things beat burying one's head in a bit of algebra for an afternoon. (OK, maybe my judgment is a little off because of my love of partial derivative signs.)</div>
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Between that, various holiday celebrations, a weekend trip to the beach that even involved a quick dip in the South Pacific, and the chance to turn yet another one of L.'s carefully-crafted Word documents red and green with comments and revisions, it's been a truly lovely week.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yyDgmbkG9f4vDL6ylTkbDEuxG79jgekZqtVsZoPbIkbC67KBzjnHeWW_A0ML3hWZCYmFGsTXdm1R4xOR1RYhyphenhyphenE9vPaR3RdVjvNWHmkQkT1KLb5p3SLNcyyU0Y5xUlA1-fItRkvdbuG0/s1600/IMG_9213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yyDgmbkG9f4vDL6ylTkbDEuxG79jgekZqtVsZoPbIkbC67KBzjnHeWW_A0ML3hWZCYmFGsTXdm1R4xOR1RYhyphenhyphenE9vPaR3RdVjvNWHmkQkT1KLb5p3SLNcyyU0Y5xUlA1-fItRkvdbuG0/s320/IMG_9213.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last Saturday, I discovered that a bus runs from J.'s house out<br />to New Brighton. The water there is a balmy 60*F, so I even<br />got a swim in! Next time, I'll have to wear a more bodysurf-<br />friendly swimsuit!</td></tr>
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Happy Holidays, and all the best in work and play for the New Year, from Aotearoa!</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">*For those of you interested in such poetical things, the title of this post comes from the lyrics of "Northward Bound" by </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearfoot_(American_band)" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Bearfoot</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> (formerly Bearfoot Bluegrass), which M., B., E., and the rest of the </span><a href="http://www.uas.alaska.edu/arts_sciences/naturalsciences/biology/undergraduate-research/REU/index.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">UAS REU</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> students fell in love with during our Juneau summer.</span></div>
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Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-73825261337963690782012-12-13T12:53:00.000+13:002012-12-13T12:56:39.344+13:00Fir is Murder! (Or: The Value of Scientific Collaboration)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
About year ago -- before I did any field work in New Zealand; indeed, before I was even certain I'd be working on Douglas-fir in New Zealand -- I went for a run around the Stanford campus and passed a Christmas tree lot.</div>
<br />
A lifelong tree-hugger, I was reminded of my annual childhood distress at the start of each New Year, as my Dad and I, walking around the neighborhood, bore witness to the ignominious disposal of many a family's Christmas tree. (We'd always had a lovely little artificial tree, passed down from my Dad's relatives. I think this was mostly to avoid the myriad cleaning joys of a tree shedding needles everywhere, but I chose to interpret it as my family's deliberate efforts to save baby trees.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixH3Mnw7G8Thz0RRq-qySPkCI1___SAKaB4MEab9SWiOPdWzFPUsn79bsCIaYvXn156s66mSKebXua0tQBtO7dBaUsIhnSs4d7S_6jK8jF_0n-LfJJqM_1U1vvAIQlN_wxZTXmuGSnbA8/s1600/IMG_5604m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixH3Mnw7G8Thz0RRq-qySPkCI1___SAKaB4MEab9SWiOPdWzFPUsn79bsCIaYvXn156s66mSKebXua0tQBtO7dBaUsIhnSs4d7S_6jK8jF_0n-LfJJqM_1U1vvAIQlN_wxZTXmuGSnbA8/s320/IMG_5604m.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I mean, we wouldn't have these beautiful Canadian running<br />
trails if someone cut down all these trees for Christmas! <br />
(Err... let's not discuss the logging situation in B.C.)</td></tr>
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When I got home from my run, I told Luke about the horrors of the Christmas tree lot, and he told me that every single year, his family had a lovely real tree, and that it wasn't Christmas without its delicious conifer smell permeating their house.<br />
<br />
"Well," I spluttered. "Well... That's twenty-five years of murdering baby trees for you!"<br />
<br />
Several days later, I'd come up with a slogan and was feeling very clever about it. "FIR IS MURDER!" I'd bellow at Luke every time one of us entered or left our apartment. (Fortunately for him, I have the memory of a tunicate, so I didn't keep this up for long.)<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Then I went to New Zealand, where I spent three months digging up, cutting down, or otherwise killing every Douglas-fir seedling that I could find. At first, it was hard: I could hear my Dad's voice (and envision the "Leave Only Footprints" park signage) telling me not to disturb the natural environment every time I bent down to pluck out a juvenile tree. But eventually, I became habituated -- and then self-righteous! There was an invasion to stop, after all! It was my duty as a scientist and an environmentalist to protect New Zealand's native forests!<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, I didn't realize just how programmed I'd become until several months later, when Luke and I took my first backpacking trip.<br />
<br />
We were climbing steadily uphill through a mixed stand of pines and firs in Sequoia National Park when, glancing down, I saw the telltale needle arrangement of a young Douglas-fir tree. I felt a flush of indignation: How dare this audacious seedling try to take over the forest! I had just bent over to pluck the seedling out of the ground, when Luke caught up to me and stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.<br />
<br />
"You're in their native range now, Holly," he reminded me. "Besides," he added with a smirk, "Fir is Murder!"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkJBt_DyiPQVhdfDDX0nP4kL7V1oqgyfZUaK-f8lg2rqENh-b6C44CcZJAgw6D49DzzM0Z3MnldRAMDNpqhXB27IELsCgQIdt0OlWUlyytzHuH0cjqdY_EM5eM8SfhGzzMfatAjIIOZ8/s1600/IMG_2593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkJBt_DyiPQVhdfDDX0nP4kL7V1oqgyfZUaK-f8lg2rqENh-b6C44CcZJAgw6D49DzzM0Z3MnldRAMDNpqhXB27IELsCgQIdt0OlWUlyytzHuH0cjqdY_EM5eM8SfhGzzMfatAjIIOZ8/s320/IMG_2593.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke, learning an important lesson in Yosemite: when the<br />
sun hits the bark of a Ponderosa pine, it smells like vanilla!</td></tr>
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It was a good thing for that little seedling -- and for my conscience -- that Luke was with me that day. And it's another example of why other people are so important to our lives -- and to our work.<br />
<br />
Years ago at university, when I was deciding not to be an organic chemist but instead to be some sort of biologist, I was drawn to the field of Ecology mostly because it is so collaborative. When you're studying the nature of everything interacting with everything else, it's impossible to accumulate all the necessary knowledge in your own brain. Which is why, so often, you'll find a soil scientist called in to have a peek at a field site, a mammalogist conferring with a botanist over dung samples, or a modeler working on projects spread from the deep sea to a mountaintop.<br />
<br />
Of course, during a Ph.D., one's supposed to become an expert in a particular -- read as: small and well-defined -- subject area. And while this is invariably a personal and mostly solitary exercise, it's kick-started by an advisor (or two... or three), propped up by a thesis committee, and chivvied along by a series of collaborators along the way.<br />
<br />
For me, it's these people -- their thoughts, their advice, their presence -- who have shaped me as a scientist and, inevitably, as a human being. In the same random way that life sometimes throws us course-altering curve-balls, my scientific career has taken some stochastic turns as a function of people I met in a lab, at a conference, or during a class.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYb199Cdc3ghyphenhyphenm1vHFXpENT7X5eKdtIon7yqce7x6RESB2sDqKKKXIOOofJCsqxNd6tWjD2STfLb3SqqKyJDLBjt2ucm1yDO5Lozfb1RnU2cPMCSnBujLZIwm6FLJjaYO9knPHaqYKzRw/s1600/IMG_4407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYb199Cdc3ghyphenhyphenm1vHFXpENT7X5eKdtIon7yqce7x6RESB2sDqKKKXIOOofJCsqxNd6tWjD2STfLb3SqqKyJDLBjt2ucm1yDO5Lozfb1RnU2cPMCSnBujLZIwm6FLJjaYO9knPHaqYKzRw/s320/IMG_4407.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've also learned to identify a seemingly stochastic set of<br />
plants and animals which my friends have worked on. Here,<br />
a salamander in Mendocino County, which Luke discovered<br />
during a field trip to collect some of my samples.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
These people have left me with words I will always treasure, shared vast sets ideas and inspiration, and, of course, become lifelong friends. They've generously given of their time and energy to teach me new techniques, help me out in the field, or commiserate over a botched piece of model code.<br />
<br />
And, in a few special cases, we've shared that secret science handshake and said, "Let's write a paper together."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIc0CwyfHhbOHMzSVbFw839mBSvJVgVTc72_gbgffSZNRhRArH04N6LJCYj3yLVXipznw44neDa6VYzSNs5h7YXlLRpo3j02D0jAUdFeBcq97yttg0mqouRt-9xS5QC6GfSVQwMEOuTs8/s1600/IMG_4847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIc0CwyfHhbOHMzSVbFw839mBSvJVgVTc72_gbgffSZNRhRArH04N6LJCYj3yLVXipznw44neDa6VYzSNs5h7YXlLRpo3j02D0jAUdFeBcq97yttg0mqouRt-9xS5QC6GfSVQwMEOuTs8/s320/IMG_4847.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Who can talk about collaborations without a nod to one of<br />
the classic and ancient ones: plants and ectomycorrhizae?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Collaboration in science, as in all things, works best when everyone puts their best foot forward. And Science -- that hallowed body of work that most of us still hold up on a pedestal -- progresses fastest when we are open and collaborative.<br />
<br />
I had that lesson hammered home one day at University, when my undergraduate thesis advisor came back from a conference. He was angry -- actually angry, an emotion I'd never before seen him display -- that several scientists had deliberately withheld their own experimental data despite asking for (and receiving) information from him on some of our lab's latest results. "Maybe they'll get their paper out ahead of us this time," he said. "But that's not how you advance the field. And that's not how you do Science." (I had the feeling he spelled it with a capital S, too.)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-fbIv6gETyscxPtdCHv8fWredYAVtcOI9Xu5TXaLeh4iLs45u_tZ_g0Xvy_ryiZsJInwdat4wH1H-U0lyxbG7fVMI7FC13EN_qv1i5B_xlTCOO761c7hznpXNlkIo1vtmdmD1JNDwMg/s1600/IMG_9161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-fbIv6gETyscxPtdCHv8fWredYAVtcOI9Xu5TXaLeh4iLs45u_tZ_g0Xvy_ryiZsJInwdat4wH1H-U0lyxbG7fVMI7FC13EN_qv1i5B_xlTCOO761c7hznpXNlkIo1vtmdmD1JNDwMg/s320/IMG_9161.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J and I spent the last week with his 600+ pine, fir, and beech<br />
seedlings. If you squint, you can make out some white tips<br />
in this root system, which are infected by ectomycorrhizae.<br />
It's so much more pleasant to sit in the microscope room with<br />
a collaborator! I think we both worked faster because of it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Of course, mostly we collaborate -- indeed, mostly we do Science -- not out of obligation, but instead because we're fascinated by a particular topic. And the more we share our ideas and expertise, the more we reap the benefits: new projects, new papers, and new opportunities. Just last week, I got to jump in on an experiment at the best time: the harvest! Simply by being in the right place at the right time (and knowing something about how Douglas-fir root systems look, having stared at them for the previous week), I got to help J. take the first look at the results of his own seedling experiment.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
(Four and a half days at twin microscopes, 609 seedlings, and 176,528 root tips later, J. swears he's never setting up another bioassay again. Then, last night, as we sorted through the data, he started brainstorming about follow-up experiments... Fir. Is. Murder.)</div>
Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-18985713555600592972012-12-04T17:51:00.000+13:002012-12-04T18:01:46.958+13:00The Dynamic Duo and Their Microscopy Minion (or: Anatomy of a Harvest)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Ladies and Gentlemen, your cast, in order of importance:</div>
The Dynamic Duo, a.k.a. the Able-Bodied Assistants, a.k.a. the best money Holly ever spent on science<br />
The Microscopy Minion, a.k.a. Holly -- and her bloodshot eyes, too<br />
<br />
The Backstory:<br />
Many weeks ago, in a land far, far away, through the mysterious portal of Skype, Holly and her thesis committee members conferred.<br />
<br />
"My, what a fine set of data we'll have," they remarked as they contemplated the upcoming harvest of more than five hundred Douglas-fir seedlings. "And we'll have a whole bank of little seedlings, all with their own tiny root system communities of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Whatever shall we do to torture them next?"<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsP4QvorMT3UIizwZyuPJL8KH0IC1ACqOw7S7ESFg59UF5aC7hXY0U4hRxgWUitOG69LbMCTsSgOy_FXYK-uYFyLlgQysAeeVQopnNwTJaPFR6qVESphRQTXGEUs62Y6vz78z1buXhRjE/s1600/IMG_8974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsP4QvorMT3UIizwZyuPJL8KH0IC1ACqOw7S7ESFg59UF5aC7hXY0U4hRxgWUitOG69LbMCTsSgOy_FXYK-uYFyLlgQysAeeVQopnNwTJaPFR6qVESphRQTXGEUs62Y6vz78z1buXhRjE/s320/IMG_8974.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seedlings waiting to be victimized. Note the adorable straw-<br />
and-sticker labeling scheme, which cost S. and I an afternoon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"Well," said Holly, feeling too ambitious for her own good, "Let's do something high-risk."<br />
<br />
"Well," said Holly's advisor, "Let's do something involving community assembly."<br />
<br />
"Well," said the NZ team, "Let's do something involving conifer invasion risk."<br />
<br />
"Well," said the Stanford crew, "Let's do something cool."<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>And so the intrepid team designed an exciting experiment with an unfortunately complicated design. The seedlings would be re-planted in randomly assigned pairs, mixing up fungal communities from Douglas-fir plantations, from native beech forests, and from grasslands, which arose from soils collected all across the South Island of New Zealand.<br />
<br />
"We'll find out which fungi are better competitors!" said the Stanford crew.<br />
<br />
"We'll find out which fungi help Douglas-fir invade!" said the NZ team.<br />
<br />
"We'll find out how historical contingency affects community dynamics!" said Holly's advisor.<br />
<br />
"We'll create a logistical nightmare..." said Holly, under her breath.<br />
<br />
You see, all the seedlings were already in pairs, in their original soil cores. Now, they would have to be gently unpotted and washed without damaging their root systems, measured and processed under the microscope to assess their current complement of fungi, and replanted with new partners. And all this would have to happen as quickly as possible -- ideally, within a few hours -- to minimize strain on the baby trees.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-juGyaCfBAuxilNGAC7fPXzLRKXK7qUJU1DRrLdUCDqXJJ2oIS_AUpnZi_ctlFXkfcdcCHdEF-I_SzewA985TzVH6XJGtwOU46DUB5YHYn3LHDBJczYY4PQCnlSFveNLkOc2y-acW8c/s1600/IMG_9058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-juGyaCfBAuxilNGAC7fPXzLRKXK7qUJU1DRrLdUCDqXJJ2oIS_AUpnZi_ctlFXkfcdcCHdEF-I_SzewA985TzVH6XJGtwOU46DUB5YHYn3LHDBJczYY4PQCnlSFveNLkOc2y-acW8c/s320/IMG_9058.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 1: Measure the seedling's height, green height, <br />
and color. We also note other plants in the pot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So Holly spent a few days playing with a random number generator and many, many scraps of paper, figuring out the optimal harvest order. She printed out twenty-page lists, several sheets of labels, and a half-dozen highlighted greenhouse maps.<br />
<br />
Then she spent a few hours doing a quick pilot harvest, finding no fungi on the seedlings, and deciding to abandon the second phase of the experiment.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE9f1pULnee955ENTV__aCNFo4bJx1xsGmkBkVQh91f_DGqfdaRmGeu6DCSCvOeClv_UXZzE9DLB6bfypu6v-LXIW4RpMhMzccqEOpqfxRhkTXL_UKJtAWh8UQsZVgm7fQTTdp6d0PkI/s1600/IMG_8996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE9f1pULnee955ENTV__aCNFo4bJx1xsGmkBkVQh91f_DGqfdaRmGeu6DCSCvOeClv_UXZzE9DLB6bfypu6v-LXIW4RpMhMzccqEOpqfxRhkTXL_UKJtAWh8UQsZVgm7fQTTdp6d0PkI/s320/IMG_8996.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 2: Pop the soil core out of the PVC pipe.<br />
This sometimes requires a great deal of strength!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then she spent the next day doing a secondary pilot -- having abandoned her optimal harvest scheme -- and found, to her delight, rather more fungi than the first day had suggested. And so the second phase -- with all those complex replanting logistics -- was back on!<br />
<br />
The next Monday, Holly's hired helpers arrived. They looked at her, her dirty hands and spotty lab coat, and her greenhouse hodgepodge of trees with some suspicion. They watched and listened patiently as Holly yammered on about proper techniques, the importance of efficiency, and ectomycorrhizal-fungi-as-the-coolest-things-on-Earth. And then they got to work.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIAwKKjI3yw9yN7DSA35rbV1SLCSTbXAbd90jwLpubcpsm5k91ZEQC14YrxQCFw-mpglF_7BTu5bJGU8JR1fWUq8hjmPv5AWiSnuMQwFv0KdDlwihLlQ3CrPRTQcpjMOEoy9W0p_P1NU/s1600/IMG_8995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIAwKKjI3yw9yN7DSA35rbV1SLCSTbXAbd90jwLpubcpsm5k91ZEQC14YrxQCFw-mpglF_7BTu5bJGU8JR1fWUq8hjmPv5AWiSnuMQwFv0KdDlwihLlQ3CrPRTQcpjMOEoy9W0p_P1NU/s320/IMG_8995.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 3: Gently, *gently* wash the roots clean!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That day, the Dynamic Duo processed 21 pots -- more than Holly expected the team to do in a full day after a week of practice. <br />
<br />
By Tuesday, they were washing seedling root systems clean faster than Holly could count them.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRdPNg71DSGqyZrl6x59dRLDi7z2xGtPpkSX0Lbtqv_beUeCpUvKcfApdvAPm73uR9rhducBKX_Q8UzeBijGa82LuCShgN4pqqU4-KtKa6Qh9783C0pXrn3827F_PHOBZklT1xEilLeg/s1600/IMG_9059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRdPNg71DSGqyZrl6x59dRLDi7z2xGtPpkSX0Lbtqv_beUeCpUvKcfApdvAPm73uR9rhducBKX_Q8UzeBijGa82LuCShgN4pqqU4-KtKa6Qh9783C0pXrn3827F_PHOBZklT1xEilLeg/s320/IMG_9059.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 4: Stash the seedlings in a beaker of water.<br />
Accumulate massive backlog of washed seedlings<br />
and take lunch, while Holly counts frantically.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
By Wednesday, they had learned to treat Holly like a little microscopy machine, planting her in front of the dissecting microscope and shuttling in and out with trays of seedlings, whistling a happy tune (and snickering when Holly confessed that she was listening to some pretty hard-core hip hop through her girly headphones).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEK-qX8LkAm5o7bmmBPe241VgJFLTLrys27uDrZBmjcj_uqQ_gedYQMrt_NQKLFlIrp6kCBGfROmszbBbiU8_tkOVDEDcqGRy6IL0wd5fsj6dV2gM_nTTsBh3FaC5m2kMuQLUHj9rZNss/s1600/IMG_9064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEK-qX8LkAm5o7bmmBPe241VgJFLTLrys27uDrZBmjcj_uqQ_gedYQMrt_NQKLFlIrp6kCBGfROmszbBbiU8_tkOVDEDcqGRy6IL0wd5fsj6dV2gM_nTTsBh3FaC5m2kMuQLUHj9rZNss/s320/IMG_9064.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 5: Use a 1cm-grid to determine root system size.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXX64oh5nN949vsxDIjSiohpfiQR1yHXbYSNQz4iDGIRs5RTy7h8T5kXrCC_4Uj0Su6_eqsvaSgG65wy7-qu6L2WwpFbDaBI-GMPHziEFCltISMUAVSip1nldz5hQEFP3gWqQnfthiYY/s1600/IMG_9106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXX64oh5nN949vsxDIjSiohpfiQR1yHXbYSNQz4iDGIRs5RTy7h8T5kXrCC_4Uj0Su6_eqsvaSgG65wy7-qu6L2WwpFbDaBI-GMPHziEFCltISMUAVSip1nldz5hQEFP3gWqQnfthiYY/s320/IMG_9106.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 6: Identify, and count, mycorrhizal root tips.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
By Thursday, they were processing about 40 pots per day.<br />
<br />
And on the following Monday they said, "We can have all this done by tomorrow," and Holly's last conscious thought was, "They're running this show," before she was subsumed into the twin lights of the microscope occulars. They set a new record of 49 pots in a single day. And then Holly slept.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-W3dGYW71l5DDcLH4dutEp05DWopbf2VWL7jIaIWkIJUJ9Eq1zidvozcptRbJp_B_3WWiFkWSJ5W3aypyIOq8HIlmthiso77rCs9mXjcRdnFF-aUJEUFWRGsS_xeXB8ATBicOjA5MQ7w/s1600/IMG_9089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-W3dGYW71l5DDcLH4dutEp05DWopbf2VWL7jIaIWkIJUJ9Eq1zidvozcptRbJp_B_3WWiFkWSJ5W3aypyIOq8HIlmthiso77rCs9mXjcRdnFF-aUJEUFWRGsS_xeXB8ATBicOjA5MQ7w/s320/IMG_9089.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 7: Repot, relabel, water, and stash back<br />
in the greenhouse for another year!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Endnotes: We did, in fact, finish harvesting and repotting today! Keep your fingers crossed for these little guys; the next few weeks will tell us how well they tolerated our root system roughhousing.Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-43055353130819760232012-12-01T21:21:00.002+13:002012-12-02T00:12:06.987+13:00Miscellaneous Harvest StatsA longer post updating you on the current status of the soil survey will be forthcoming, but here, a few amusing (and perhaps terrifying) numbers to sketch the picture. All values are accurate to three decimal places. Totally. We're doing super-precise science here!<br />
<br />
<br />
Number of able-bodied assistants: 2<br />
Hourly wage of able-bodied assistants: Higher than NSF pays graduate fellows<br />
Enthusiasm of able-bodied assistants: Off the charts<br />
Volume of music played in the lab by able-bodied assistants: Dunno, but it's *loud*<br />
<br />
Max number of soil cores processed in one day: 39<br />
Soil cores processed to date: 163<br />
Soil cores remaining: 91<br />
DNA samples taken: 1632<br />
Anticipated end date: Wednesday -- two weeks ahead of schedule!<br />
<br />
Hours per day Holly spends at the microscope: 8<br />
Car Talk podcasts listened to at the microscope: 7<br />
Number of times Kid Cudi's "Up, Up and Away" has played on repeat on my iPod: 217<br />
(Yes, I can get a little obsessive.)<br />
Number of Rutgers football games listened to on the radio: 1<br />
Number of Rutgers wins listened to on the radio: 0<br />
Percentage of workday calories comprised of chocolate: 97%<br />
(Also I think I ate three plums and a banana.)<br />
<br />
<br />
I was starting to have dreams about meat again, but luckily J. arrested my rapid degeneration into protein deficiency by suggesting Indian takeaway on Thursday night.<br />
<br />
In other adventures, I have learned that the proportion of drivers who like to honk at running girls is substantially higher in Chch than in SF. (Today's mile times averaged 7:45 so I'm heading in the right direction!) And that, according to J., I drive a standard transmission "better than expected," but "can only improve from here."<br />
<br />
Have I mentioned that J. is a pretty laid-back and super-accomodating guy?Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-12474785671268888412012-12-01T21:05:00.002+13:002012-12-01T21:05:51.605+13:00Roadside Tourism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
[[You can also read the Seeing Green column inspired by this trip <a href="http://www.stanforddaily.com/2012/11/30/a-line-in-the-sand/" target="_blank">here</a>.]]</div>
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Until my first whirlwind of graduate school interviews back in 2008, I didn't realize exactly how much travel was involved in being a scientist.</div>
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But by the time I interviewed at Stanford in 2010, I was a firm believer in travel as one of the perks of the job. As a result, I somehow convinced my amazing advisor to let me siphon off his grant money for a field project in New Zealand, convinced the National Science Foundation to let me spend a month at a time visiting collaborators in Woods Hole, and in the end managed to spend fully half of 2012 out of my own bed.</div>
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In general, you can expect graduate students to have extra pages in their passports, stockpiles of frequent flier miles, and exceptional time zone-acclimation abilities.</div>
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How did we wind up getting so spoiled?</div>
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Mostly by being exceptional opportunists. Yes, concerned funding agencies and taxpayers, all the travel we do has a very carefully justified purpose! But once we're at our fantastic destination, it doesn't hurt to poke around a bit, right?</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSPxr5dPOu-fLwWG3hxHqBMKBLB9IxP9wCUCgMgx_wK9TUAalpjSuCWO13r_V3QMDxKlndgz-nQrzfKvzuYdEM1yfDlYcGZltQLEDfSwz-sjz0LHgD3cdHJ1v0OTIbfrPDzzR4_r3zxM/s1600/IMG_9001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSPxr5dPOu-fLwWG3hxHqBMKBLB9IxP9wCUCgMgx_wK9TUAalpjSuCWO13r_V3QMDxKlndgz-nQrzfKvzuYdEM1yfDlYcGZltQLEDfSwz-sjz0LHgD3cdHJ1v0OTIbfrPDzzR4_r3zxM/s400/IMG_9001.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A snowmelt-fed stream cuts its way through native <br />mountain beech trees in Arthur's Pass National Park.<br />Our first stop on our way across the Southern Alps.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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That's the principle that J. and I applied last weekend. Tasked with obtaining a handful of leaves from a species of tree that grows only on the western side of the Southern Alps (the mountain backbone of New Zealand's South Island), J. generously offered to take me on a bit of a sightseeing tour on the island's other coast.</div>
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<a name='more'></a>After stopping briefly in Arthur's Pass (and snickering at the Kea, who were earnestly prying the rubber insulation away from <i>other people's</i> cars), we dropped down onto the other, wetter side of the South Island.<br />
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The change in the vegetation was dramatic! Finally, a glimpse of a real New Zealand tree fern-stuffed temperate rainforest!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyjgXjdiSWD9xCDjeKfByOIJUsBTknaUEl5N1VDYJ3kDGOG6Hu3jG4L1-hMViOKRuO4stdx_MdINgJ5acfWwqbKZVa9BVo0cCk-sReIWW_jbCHBbdrMKBZNC5LbLLxSn3jLJQlGG5FQ78/s1600/IMG_9016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyjgXjdiSWD9xCDjeKfByOIJUsBTknaUEl5N1VDYJ3kDGOG6Hu3jG4L1-hMViOKRuO4stdx_MdINgJ5acfWwqbKZVa9BVo0cCk-sReIWW_jbCHBbdrMKBZNC5LbLLxSn3jLJQlGG5FQ78/s320/IMG_9016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the foreground, native flax, for which the Maori had many<br />uses. In the background, a relatively open tree fern canopy<br />grades into a densely forested hillside, the beginning of the<br />slopes leading up to the Southern Alps.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We stopped briefly at a few points along the coast. At one point, I even got to dip my hand (and soak my shoes) in the warm waters of the Tasman Sea! Sadly, there wasn't time for total immersion.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSFi6jjbVXd-hEtTBevZf7-mET8TDMXwXFcVIZ_SWQZKTEjWs-tW4QRFFNsMqDD_IwgSpciGwSZZTjz2npndOKNXo6xjlpfwmLAEfZ4NbfxE8nr056DeqP5yAzLUSQ15tGuRZTm44RFA/s1600/IMG_9011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSFi6jjbVXd-hEtTBevZf7-mET8TDMXwXFcVIZ_SWQZKTEjWs-tW4QRFFNsMqDD_IwgSpciGwSZZTjz2npndOKNXo6xjlpfwmLAEfZ4NbfxE8nr056DeqP5yAzLUSQ15tGuRZTm44RFA/s320/IMG_9011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stunning rock formations are cut into the coastline by the<br />frequent storms that spin across the Tasman.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3zwiNrwqL_3WvWJQ5PiloFTL_xofjZ-I5RhfChh_VFtKyWuSYbGpdqMdPFuPqeZtN13Cn3wQljLwlGM180iqoxlKqLTFwcwEiLx6HBkair4qKYnHY9uiW1A2mq1TOs9U6lV6-2gp-kw/s1600/IMG_9034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3zwiNrwqL_3WvWJQ5PiloFTL_xofjZ-I5RhfChh_VFtKyWuSYbGpdqMdPFuPqeZtN13Cn3wQljLwlGM180iqoxlKqLTFwcwEiLx6HBkair4qKYnHY9uiW1A2mq1TOs9U6lV6-2gp-kw/s400/IMG_9034.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the most stunning can be found at the Pancake Rocks <br />and Blowholes near Punakaiki, in Paparoa National Park. You<br />can see just a bit of spray coming out of this blowhole here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05IqKlZKUiCbsfOcw80qhUVdh7XQ-p-3yAZjm7CIaVSfjZ8huHIDwumOyIoy8GqYqEfAmmJulfF0af-WUYy_aJIEp-w_dEUqLRF9-d9-DbW6H4lrep0rP8KA3w-MWQL5sTUhS9BP5jWs/s1600/IMG_9044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05IqKlZKUiCbsfOcw80qhUVdh7XQ-p-3yAZjm7CIaVSfjZ8huHIDwumOyIoy8GqYqEfAmmJulfF0af-WUYy_aJIEp-w_dEUqLRF9-d9-DbW6H4lrep0rP8KA3w-MWQL5sTUhS9BP5jWs/s320/IMG_9044.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These rocks lie just offshore from a fur seal colony. We had<br />just enough time to spot a couple of this year's pups.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Besides the spectacular geology, I also enjoyed a bit of car window birding, glimpsing the native pigeon for the first time, and also encountering my first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weka" target="_blank">wekas</a>!<div>
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIYq96pwJk4PjdOjeiVoHPPkIn7fcnV9ien8XT6UHggSVI9EbsZIuco-zgCjUJExFelYnAA_vEjAfm-29Tc0VHkIOJEfmcs7dz8M2SYRjG_6WtGk_akhv4rl8OpGCyTcphka-g0eLlcc/s1600/IMG_9047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIYq96pwJk4PjdOjeiVoHPPkIn7fcnV9ien8XT6UHggSVI9EbsZIuco-zgCjUJExFelYnAA_vEjAfm-29Tc0VHkIOJEfmcs7dz8M2SYRjG_6WtGk_akhv4rl8OpGCyTcphka-g0eLlcc/s320/IMG_9047.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NZ's endemic flightless rail in a totally native habitat. These<br />guys are both highly curious and highly territorial, and made<br />for an amusing reststop before our long drive back to Chch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-30754371893633275002012-11-22T22:30:00.000+13:002012-11-23T08:36:03.274+13:00On GratitudeHappy Thanksgiving, United States-ers!<br />
<br />
Once again, I've managed to be out of the country for my favorite holiday. (Well, favorite outside of the day after Easter, which I celebrate with my credit card and circuit through all the major grocery stores within 5 miles.)<br />
<br />
Last year, I ate amazing smoked turkey with friends, collaborators, and future founders of "The Ukranian Journal of Looking at Animals" (future home of many a paltry thesis chapter?) in Montreal and was grateful for a warm dinner, laughter, and snow on the ground.<br />
<br />
This year, I had an even stronger prompt to remember all there is to be thankful for. Because my experiment failed.<br />
<br />
That's right: Those cute Douglas-fir seedlings, looking all fat and happy in their posh greenhouse, had next to no ectomycorrhizal fungi on them at all.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJA1CGvZiEVXNL3PJU1RVQm0w6WTyrK95bTHOTv71hfszJQvxBdKIc7Ec7OJzTCvfrOsHYgh_WrRyM_Bh8B8h8MQ37zJW1_hcE9oeGy3Uym-Jmsc9djSIVCtY9tymGJhldMM5_kUB45U/s1600/IMG_8997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJA1CGvZiEVXNL3PJU1RVQm0w6WTyrK95bTHOTv71hfszJQvxBdKIc7Ec7OJzTCvfrOsHYgh_WrRyM_Bh8B8h8MQ37zJW1_hcE9oeGy3Uym-Jmsc9djSIVCtY9tymGJhldMM5_kUB45U/s320/IMG_8997.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Individually tagged, pulled out of the PVC<br />
pipe, and ready for washing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We're not sure why the experiment failed.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The soils came from places where we collected healthy, well-colonized seedlings. They came from places with healthy, long-lived Douglas-fir forests. They came from places with plenty of mushrooms, indicating a healthy ectomycorrhizal community. Perhaps we watered too much, or too little. Perhaps there wasn't enough light, or it took too long to plant the seedlings, or the seedlings didn't grow fast enough over the austral winter. Either way, the vast majority of our seedlings have the cleanest root systems I've ever seen. They'd make great controls* for any other one of my experiments!<br />
<br />
In spite of the general lack of fungi, we'll probably be able to recover some useful data to tuck into another paper. And we may still learn something about what facilitates Douglas-fir invasion. So really, the experiment didn't fail, and that's something to be thankful for.<br />
<br />
But the thing about having 500 seedlings sit in a greenhouse for 8 months is that you start fantasizing. You invent all sorts of weird and cool experiments to do with those seedlings once they've completed their bioassay first task. And sometimes you pick one of those experiments, get totally committed to it, and do things like go out into the field and dig a big hole to get soil for it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEili1j3UTK91BxsMMx3kdlCLDVkdBII-jy5bz_Lq9h28Pz3isjW8h7EObyfug6OAf974iPoD2kJs6TsPSKxZ_BOc8yrX9U5Dml5tTuxAdto5VwLAkuC5AEPKAeRfdt9uHwRRySyBxyyEFM/s1600/IMG_0876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEili1j3UTK91BxsMMx3kdlCLDVkdBII-jy5bz_Lq9h28Pz3isjW8h7EObyfug6OAf974iPoD2kJs6TsPSKxZ_BOc8yrX9U5Dml5tTuxAdto5VwLAkuC5AEPKAeRfdt9uHwRRySyBxyyEFM/s320/IMG_0876.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"We dug a really big hole!" <br />
L. and I sieve soil in the field to bring back for the second<br />
phase of the greenhouse experiment.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And then you find out that, because you haven't got any fungi on your seedlings, that second experiment -- the one you created this imaginary, glorious, Ecology Letters-worthy fantasy about -- doesn't make sense.<br />
<br />
I have to admit, I looked at that big, deep pit of despair. I thought about jumping in. I did that thing, you know, where you hold onto a tree branch or a fence or something and lean out over the edge to scare yourself a little bit. And then I remembered that it was the fourth Thursday of November.<br />
<br />
I am grateful, no matter what happens to the results, that we spent those long days in the field harvesting pots of soil or sieving roots. Because I work in New Zealand -- I mean, are you kidding me?!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKYv4i4-ho__dclDVAvdRam3l0prTwZQtoGO4iRnB-m4Hi5O-fDUwSWmG8vhWphfMKVwKICSG2n7_UCQtRVhap5YHEscCUKgZXjuwxO_ZcR8G9K4-BgnbjzmhJ6g28GXiwvCaKZGUTbE/s1600/IMG_7795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKYv4i4-ho__dclDVAvdRam3l0prTwZQtoGO4iRnB-m4Hi5O-fDUwSWmG8vhWphfMKVwKICSG2n7_UCQtRVhap5YHEscCUKgZXjuwxO_ZcR8G9K4-BgnbjzmhJ6g28GXiwvCaKZGUTbE/s400/IMG_7795.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hard-to-access Skippers Canyon, which we got to visit <br />
specifically to collect soils for the greenhouse experiment.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXXGBeZEHDsn4wtGHWjaZb-HutAInrqvvEclkcynwday-xXrnL45wdy4mHBRvOf2K3MamTr9Cz2yzlETur7dyQbWGqokepwCPcK7KPlQARnWbdJZevBNjspD4K8tU83gvDrSrH74sSE8/s1600/IMG_8988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXXGBeZEHDsn4wtGHWjaZb-HutAInrqvvEclkcynwday-xXrnL45wdy4mHBRvOf2K3MamTr9Cz2yzlETur7dyQbWGqokepwCPcK7KPlQARnWbdJZevBNjspD4K8tU83gvDrSrH74sSE8/s400/IMG_8988.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After Tuesday's soil collecting mission, we hiked along <br />
this stream for a beautiful view of native beech trees and <br />
a mountain-backed scree slope.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I am grateful for those pesky, field-harvested seedlings that gave me cool results and the assurance of at least one publishable dataset from this segment of my thesis. And for feeling like I helped control the invasion when I plucked them all out of the ground.<br />
<br />
I am grateful for a committee member who responds to panicked emails within 10 minutes, a collaborator who runs to the microscope at the drop of an email, and an advisor who will take trans-Oceanic Skype calls on Thanksgiving Day.<br />
<br />
I am grateful to my friends and family, who tirelessly remind me of the meaning of unconditional love.<br />
<br />
I am grateful for the fact that, because we're spread all over the world (and keep such radically different sleep schedules**), there's always someone around on gchat.<br />
<br />
I am grateful for hope and joy, for the ability to laugh and play and smile, and for two legs that give me the freedom of the open road and the winding trail.<br />
<br />
I am grateful that, for all it may make me seem like a scatterbrained mess, I've kept fingers in many pies for my thesis, so I'll have a set of chapters to stitch together even without this experiment.<br />
<br />
And also, I'm grateful for pies. Though the amazing savory ones down here make me almost want to forget I'm a vegetarian***.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
*In this case, controls are seedlings which are set up in sterile soil. Ideally, they would not be colonized by any fungi, indicating that the only source of fungal colonization is the field soils (i.e., that there aren't any random spores floating around the greenhouse or in the water).<br />
<br />
**K, if you're actually reading this on T-day, no smartphones at the family feast!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
***Everyone, please eat a double-serving of turkey on my behalf.</div>
Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-22979191191601763622012-11-19T18:56:00.001+13:002012-11-19T19:00:03.373+13:00Baby, we were born to run!I have a really clear memory of the first time I ran as a deliberate exercise.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Looking back, I had always been a runner in some way. I was the kid at recess who sprinted back and forth on the field just for the joy of it. (Luke and Danny will appreciate that, after Dad read Jurassic Park to me, I used to pretend I was a velociraptor on the hunt. Surprisingly enough, I was not a particularly popular child.) I always ran the full set of laps on field day, and, err, I suppose I chased a few boys around the playground as well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But then one day, Mom took me to the fitness club with her. Usually, we'd go inside for a few laps in the pool, but this time, for some reason, we went around back to a few jogging trails. Mom settled in for a brisk walk and said, "Why don't you run some, Holly?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Off I went.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The girl who quit gymnastics and basketball, who dodged wiffleballs instead of catching them, who didn't learn to ride a two-wheeler until middle school, and who couldn't swim the crawl without drowning herself until last year... That girl had finally found something that would stick.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLEPJE4sudOr69NwHpfDxnnRuPpcWhU0ZVLZxM9JJksZ7OvzfMtQe2nuWc_7fa6KvLJ1mn2CrXtyEXzTcuyZ1DTEWixhcsZ8ejvdRtlCSRVDYfmzDVx1eLVj_Yp2wbV-YLmSVhxucV4k/s1600/IMG_8972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLEPJE4sudOr69NwHpfDxnnRuPpcWhU0ZVLZxM9JJksZ7OvzfMtQe2nuWc_7fa6KvLJ1mn2CrXtyEXzTcuyZ1DTEWixhcsZ8ejvdRtlCSRVDYfmzDVx1eLVj_Yp2wbV-YLmSVhxucV4k/s320/IMG_8972.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let the record reflect that I outran this thunderstorm home. :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: left;">
Fifteen years later, I'm still running. I've changed training programs, shoes, and MP3 playlists, but I still think that trotting around under one's own steam is the best way to see the country.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
It's certainly also the best way to adapt to reversed traffic flows and to quickly learn one's way around a new town, as I learned when I lived in Halswell at the beginning of this year. But this time, much to my delight, I'm staying in Hoon Hay, just a couple blocks from runs that will take me up into the Port Hills along the southern end of Christchurch.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXf7zD8EL7QzByxnPt8C0BZd7JcFdUQo1bT0ihrcvgOOKKMJx-t7N7zwBHV70ALvbrMIFpW1ziHkU04siFmw2ImYh6Yl9cCjVc5f4SimC79xbg2FCsdaNeKAJ1bv18_onL2G5eJ3csBYQ/s1600/IMG_8969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXf7zD8EL7QzByxnPt8C0BZd7JcFdUQo1bT0ihrcvgOOKKMJx-t7N7zwBHV70ALvbrMIFpW1ziHkU04siFmw2ImYh6Yl9cCjVc5f4SimC79xbg2FCsdaNeKAJ1bv18_onL2G5eJ3csBYQ/s320/IMG_8969.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O'er hill and dale, past cow pastures and plantations...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Not only does this mean workouts that will leave me in great shape to run the Presidio and Marin Headlands when I get back to San Francisco (provided I don't, say, grind my knees to dust on the descents), but it also affords a spectacular view of the surrounding country (read as: I can see the ocean from up there!).</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqBgvGjIJ6goHk5fhqKOLQuahrM7j_5TOi1yoqabpD-CIOyN2NlfXaSgaJfgNJKlfZLfVxWbxv3kSSHERj5PRGu3aCssap2n4I25lkI7H2y-adtAgwUPbCBopeyEPCreYmyT02h8PAl4/s1600/IMG_8967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqBgvGjIJ6goHk5fhqKOLQuahrM7j_5TOi1yoqabpD-CIOyN2NlfXaSgaJfgNJKlfZLfVxWbxv3kSSHERj5PRGu3aCssap2n4I25lkI7H2y-adtAgwUPbCBopeyEPCreYmyT02h8PAl4/s320/IMG_8967.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worsleys Road has some tight turns. Keep in mind that's a<br />
25 kilometer-per-hour sign! The line of mountains in the<br />
distance is the Southern Alps range.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On a clear day, you can see all the way to the Southern Alps in their snow-tipped glory. And on a stormy day, you can watch the clouds roll over the hills and drop patches of spring rain on the farmland. Plus, since the climb leaves me embarrassingly winded, I'm going slowly enough to have a good look around.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28UMCx5F7c90lYzi_WKgR4aH2rbp7a3mQxFx3UU7kLDN3i-gheQzfhYCQZ5M5LW_GHiuYbckfnSg-eYNyr0dfV6XS_oAz3gpIe7fyTb28UvcwCp4SQ0uUDOjsCbwFpPFGyab98R5xQJg/s1600/IMG_8965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28UMCx5F7c90lYzi_WKgR4aH2rbp7a3mQxFx3UU7kLDN3i-gheQzfhYCQZ5M5LW_GHiuYbckfnSg-eYNyr0dfV6XS_oAz3gpIe7fyTb28UvcwCp4SQ0uUDOjsCbwFpPFGyab98R5xQJg/s320/IMG_8965.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken right before all the sunlight vanished and I realized<br />
that the storm system to the left was actually moving <br />
towards me and had to book it back down the hill. Oops!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Eventually, I hope to be fit enough to get up to the ridgeline and run on some of the tracks that overlook Governors Bay. And perhaps a weekend long run could take me all the way down the other side and back: Google Maps suggests that the as-the-crow-flies distance is only 4.5 miles each way. (Famous last words.)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
But for now, most of my time is spent looking back. Back over the Canterbury plains. Back along the track I've just run up. Back over the bumpy ride that 2012 has been.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Christchurch has a way of putting all of that in perspective, though. Because when I look out across the plains and see the skyline of downtown, still being remolded by the aftermath of a series of devastating earthquakes, whatever stress and heartache the past year has brought me pales in comparison.<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKyjZ7ssJ1GC9FsAFaHd0MFs6RN0M2iBMu69xE1nRKqZEFLI1rLKPi9ozXoPCkAxDqo0RrlCIE5gj0MPpsfjTVadynbxWddcbnGIZHJKA0fPnra_QXNxe5kkFsUP6KFrO5eKp3Tpl4UM/s1600/IMG_8963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKyjZ7ssJ1GC9FsAFaHd0MFs6RN0M2iBMu69xE1nRKqZEFLI1rLKPi9ozXoPCkAxDqo0RrlCIE5gj0MPpsfjTVadynbxWddcbnGIZHJKA0fPnra_QXNxe5kkFsUP6KFrO5eKp3Tpl4UM/s320/IMG_8963.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Seems like there are as many cranes as tall buildings left in<br />downtown Christchurch these days...</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Christchurch -- and the people who are rebuilding it -- remind us that, however far we run, there will be a home to return to. Whatever shakes our foundation, we will rise again. And whatever our mother suggests is probably a good idea.</div>
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Oh wait, I learned <i>that</i> lesson years ago. :)</div>
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Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-5987709457718460592012-11-15T16:54:00.001+13:002012-11-16T09:40:39.716+13:00"Teach me how to Dougie"Six months ago at a beach cleanup day, I learned from a local DJ -- and about 100 dancing middle-schoolers -- about a new dance called the "Dougie."<br />
<br />
As someone with little demonstrable sense of rhythm, I'll leave it to you to look up the YouTube videos and learn the moves. But what I <i>can</i> teach you here is a different, nerdier form of Dougie-ing.<br />
<br />
Seventeen hours, two plane flights (complete with early meal delivery thanks to my new vegetarianism!), and one skipped Wednesday (thanks International Date Line!) after leaving San Francisco, I found myself in a newly-renovated Christchurch airport. A very generous J. had come to greet me as I exited security, in spite of having just flown through himself after returning from a stint in Australia just a few hours before.<br />
<br />
"Well, are you game to just head straight out to Landcare, then?" he asked.<br />
<br />
And off we went!<br />
<br />
I was excited to see the progress my little greenhouse buddies had made in my absence!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimUHhixU1GMqzoGQYJZpIBhDKbWtGscbMyoXUzz_U1956b70c1ttdpJftWKaDqt9ctaSc8sFT96kXXe4KuvA2531INBRNGGb_sq64YywBApnk4OiTW23QeL4Qen1b4A3yIkZ9UUMEIf6A/s1600/IMG_8953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimUHhixU1GMqzoGQYJZpIBhDKbWtGscbMyoXUzz_U1956b70c1ttdpJftWKaDqt9ctaSc8sFT96kXXe4KuvA2531INBRNGGb_sq64YywBApnk4OiTW23QeL4Qen1b4A3yIkZ9UUMEIf6A/s320/IMG_8953.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each one of the 264 pots holds two Douglas-fir seedlings,<br />
most of whom seem reasonably delighted by their surroundings.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I'll get started harvesting the experiment early next week, so today was all about logistics and planning. It turns out that, of the more than 500 seedlings planted by the team here at Landcare, only about 50 have died. (This is stunningly low mortality in my opinion, given that I'm used to having half my experiments die off on me!)<br />
<br />
This gives us plenty of seedlings to use for data collection right now, and for transplanting on into a further experiment in which we test how fungal communities from different environments compete with one another.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCb13sqrOWPtAde3CZXDeT66Nq_oaaz8YGaz-e86GBbXo3ySmS5_N47hKNyPEjLhyphenhyphenxf86jS725-fSMBw-TlvTFS8Lm1M0voArTm4ARqgKH8g61TYGFA3P6Jw7fWm0mXGikTgreWfrukvY/s1600/IMG_8955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCb13sqrOWPtAde3CZXDeT66Nq_oaaz8YGaz-e86GBbXo3ySmS5_N47hKNyPEjLhyphenhyphenxf86jS725-fSMBw-TlvTFS8Lm1M0voArTm4ARqgKH8g61TYGFA3P6Jw7fWm0mXGikTgreWfrukvY/s320/IMG_8955.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many of our seedlings are accompanied in<br />
their little pots by various mosses and weeds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In addition to figuring out which fungi are where, we're also interested in how healthy the seedlings are. For example, how big have they gotten? How many needles have they put out to gather light energy from the sun streaming through the greenhouse glass? What color are they?</div>
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Color is an especially interesting metric for measuring seedling health. Like other trees, Douglas-fir gets its rich green color from its chlorophyll, an elegantly evolved molecule which captures incoming light and harnesses that energy through the process of photosynthesis. It's through photosynthesis that plants transform carbon dioxide into the sugars that are used by almost all other forms of life on Earth, including us.</div>
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Just as we need a suite of foods to feed our bodies (no, even Holly cannot live on chocolate alone), a plant needs a particular set of nutrients to manufacture its roots, stem, leaves or needles, and, of course, chlorophyll. And, as many a gardener knows, one of the signs that a plant isn't getting the right nutrition is a yellowing which stems from a lack of chlorophyll, or "chlorosis."</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Where do Douglas-fir get their nutrients? Why, from ectomycorrhizal fungi, of course!</div>
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So, while I wasn't exactly <i>happy </i>to see some sickly seedlings in our greenhouse, it was really interesting to note that most of the sadder members of the collection were found in grassland soils. This is really interesting because it suggests that perhaps Douglas-fir may have a relatively tougher time finding fungal partners in grasslands, as opposed to under Douglas-fir plantation canopy, or under native beech forest.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Of course, the proof will be in cracking open these pots, visually inspecting the root system for fungal colonization, and, ultimately, using DNA sequencing to identify the fungi present on each seedling!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNyrRrBu79DDz9KXu4BouFKjFKVtAyWNqF5Xh3SDUC8uASjAOosCxYE18DKbRRrVOnqJvyKJje54WLU4o_QCggcACInDIjQbDWaVgIjNEdRMn6C3P2bfg4uZqsntpqSQzl27cmxKlano/s1600/IMG_8959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNyrRrBu79DDz9KXu4BouFKjFKVtAyWNqF5Xh3SDUC8uASjAOosCxYE18DKbRRrVOnqJvyKJje54WLU4o_QCggcACInDIjQbDWaVgIjNEdRMn6C3P2bfg4uZqsntpqSQzl27cmxKlano/s320/IMG_8959.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A chlorotic seedling (left) shares its pot with<br />
a healthier, greener, neighbor. You can see from<br />
the grassy weeds coming up in this pot that this<br />
particular sample was taken from a grassland!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-84461063005597190222012-11-14T07:35:00.000+13:002012-11-16T09:41:05.101+13:00Back to Aotearoa!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For those of you who don't know, when I left New Zealand last March, I'd just set up a greenhouse full of 264 soil-stuffed pieces of piping.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The effort represented several weeks of dragging J and K out into the field, breaking our hands hammering the white PVC segments into the ground, and breaking our backs hauling the intact soil cores back to the lab. (In actual fact? We had a<a href="http://aroundtheworldforeightydays.blogspot.com/2012/03/180th-hole-anatomy-of-soil-sampling.html" target="_blank"> ton of fun</a>!)</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38pjECgkbkitXT4hvV4VcNZY2MPncrUuj4I_xjYCv3phzX9SHGPmzEvn4Tk7xmYi2T8_oNiVOtdl3JRRuvD2M22qlTMq9zRWi46vgQZzwzsI9KvC0rV4OBx_FvLqPP6zAe9yoU7c3iNI/s1600/IMG_8087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38pjECgkbkitXT4hvV4VcNZY2MPncrUuj4I_xjYCv3phzX9SHGPmzEvn4Tk7xmYi2T8_oNiVOtdl3JRRuvD2M22qlTMq9zRWi46vgQZzwzsI9KvC0rV4OBx_FvLqPP6zAe9yoU7c3iNI/s320/IMG_8087.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The end result: Neatly nested little soil cores, waiting to be<br />
planted up with Douglas-fir seedlings before I left last March.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>The kind scientists back at Landcare planted Douglas-fir seedlings in each of these pots, so that we could see which fungi would associate with the trees in soils from all across the South Island of New Zealand.<br />
<br />
And now, it's time to open up those tubes and take a look! I'm so excited to see what those baby Doug-fir have grown up to become, and to check out who's hanging out on their roots. And, with any luck, I'll even have time to update you all back home!<br />
<br />
See you on the flip side (of the world),<br />
HollyHolly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-82931025216476855812012-03-19T16:42:00.000+13:002012-03-19T16:42:23.524+13:00An audio postcard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">J. and I were sitting by Lake Rotoiti admiring this patch of forest over lunch. We were astounded by how loud the birds were, even in the middle of the day. (I'm used to hearing a flurry of activity at dawn and dusk.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a quick video recording to give you a glimpse of a genuine New Zealand beech forest, complete with native sights *and* native sounds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/KaGiiS4sATY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Most of what you're hearing are native bellbirds; we saw a few flitting around in the canopy, but they were too fast and tiny to be captured with my little point-and-shoot camera's video function. Apparently -- at least, judging by the signs forbidding entry to dogs -- there are also kiwis poking around in the forest's leaf litter, though they're only active at night.Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-31380315576816364722012-03-16T22:38:00.000+13:002012-03-16T22:38:11.396+13:00Two-Month SummaryObviously I've been rather lax in posting these summary statistics, but with two months down and two weeks to go, here are some entertaining figures drawn mostly from J. and my trip to Nelson Lakes in search of more field sites.<br />
<br />
Distance driven on the "wrong side" of the road in the last three days: 1200 km (~750 miles)<br />
Number of American-style (i.e. counter-clockwise) "open space U-turns" (i.e., in parking lots or grassy areas): 2<br />
Number of Kiwi (i.e. clockwise) U-turns: 3<br />
Number of mp3 files that will fit on a standard CD: 140<br />
Do two such mp3-packed CDs fill a 1200 km journey: No<br />
<br />
Lake temperature in St. Arnaud: 45 F<br />
Number of eels seen post-swim: 8<br />
Length of largest eel observed: 4 ft<br />
Number of one-legged ducks spotted: 2 (out of 30+)<br />
Number of stories about ducklings being eaten by eels heard: 1<br />
<br />
Ocean temperature in Kaikoura: 60 F<br />
Number of frightening creatures seen in ocean: 0<br />
Moral of this story: Salty >>> Fresh<br />
<br />
Number of insect bites currently being ignored: 13 (plus the 3 I won't feel until I wake up scratching them)<br />
Number of field sites obtained and sampled: 2<br />
Number of field sites expected: 5<br />
<br />
Desire to do future work in insect-free, ocean-full Antarctic: 50,000,000<br />
Relative scale of this desire: UnknownHolly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-8863193360205870232012-03-14T16:51:00.000+13:002012-03-14T16:51:00.276+13:00Where the Wild Things Are<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Everyone knows I love microbes. In general, I have very little patience for multicellular things -- they're just adding unnecessary complexity to the metabolic magic that a single-celled bacterium or protist can do. In fact, the only thing that saves tress for me is the fact that they can photosynthesize: Photosynthesis is my absolute most favorite metabolic process.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But in spite of my preference for things visible only through a microscope, I've still enjoyed a few very special wildlife encounters over the last few weeks.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The first was in Akaroa last month (it's taken me a lamentably long time to post about it), when my friend Elise was in the country following her research cruise to Antarctica. (Elise, like many of my most awesome friends, studies microbes: She works on marine phytoplankton, the free-floating algae responsible for half of Earth's photosynthesis.) Elise's Dad treated us to a wonderful boat trip out of Akaroa Harbor.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNs0tGHKqpT45tEhgOEIwxPabgN4QoowY7dXZvrGo9MfBFbS_qvLMON1J6gJ_sgeUPhAwz5ahhscA22P3Rg6uw_MxUMYCU3wu17WLsCP1trDveeccTgYgaEDAcmeZ2_3U4K3J9RuOo37w/s1600/IMG_7236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNs0tGHKqpT45tEhgOEIwxPabgN4QoowY7dXZvrGo9MfBFbS_qvLMON1J6gJ_sgeUPhAwz5ahhscA22P3Rg6uw_MxUMYCU3wu17WLsCP1trDveeccTgYgaEDAcmeZ2_3U4K3J9RuOo37w/s320/IMG_7236.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Akaroa Harbor sits in the crater of an ancient, sunken volcano.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a name='more'></a>Like Kaikoura, Akaroa is known for its marine life. We enjoyed views of Hector's dolphins, plenty of seabirds, and even some baby fur seals!<div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1C68rCw-TcxwJ8TsMW2NpGvgHqanasey25-rRNdJqb3G0swTnXQR5uQ4OPnyVE59Vbw3JObvnhNXpf5qDyjBARr2SV_6JjUYez3XGeYnmMY0sUDJgyEDz2D4BA2Db2wmPd1_rmq48V_o/s1600/IMG_7270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1C68rCw-TcxwJ8TsMW2NpGvgHqanasey25-rRNdJqb3G0swTnXQR5uQ4OPnyVE59Vbw3JObvnhNXpf5qDyjBARr2SV_6JjUYez3XGeYnmMY0sUDJgyEDz2D4BA2Db2wmPd1_rmq48V_o/s320/IMG_7270.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hector's Dolphins are the smallest in the world. For some reason,<br />
they take particular interest in all boats. I was surprised we still<br />
drew a crowd, even with a dive boat (with infinitely more<br />
entertainment value, I'd guess) nearby.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNyOwxorsVoCmcDClvPxGJSAXaBHLkl5OKsVskTOgH22tUTuxXnXXlQsweDeCRUlWnfyrPRp3pCmXcpTrfv005SNHN5LzSYT9hbqYBVpw9MixAQRH1RxDevl_6Z1B3QMUs7WA-56Jjdw/s1600/IMG_7285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNyOwxorsVoCmcDClvPxGJSAXaBHLkl5OKsVskTOgH22tUTuxXnXXlQsweDeCRUlWnfyrPRp3pCmXcpTrfv005SNHN5LzSYT9hbqYBVpw9MixAQRH1RxDevl_6Z1B3QMUs7WA-56Jjdw/s320/IMG_7285.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MYCJfWV_tCRBCKdcOUYg-mA1QhC9T9I_QKllZSQbrlF860H7Cy0R4s4-UcFcfU7KAx9Q55Fm_k2wDKcZ3iN5m7TbFP_Kn51mDMysKqiC1JhwkMQeJ0bQg_xPcino0bQa_LeQeAM3TUY/s1600/IMG_7329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MYCJfWV_tCRBCKdcOUYg-mA1QhC9T9I_QKllZSQbrlF860H7Cy0R4s4-UcFcfU7KAx9Q55Fm_k2wDKcZ3iN5m7TbFP_Kn51mDMysKqiC1JhwkMQeJ0bQg_xPcino0bQa_LeQeAM3TUY/s320/IMG_7329.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Following our boat trip, we took in the view from above.</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUgKJCozLc-99FctC60oNA_BVArPsiyWnM8yaknsizlV025LSB1hb3AznlJQ8DtMSG7nFRHATPZ3od0GghStRBj6aWg-XF1Nr0iTX_MYJMA4Vkpan_gGweJvl2WHa0FG9fVv5vEd7hGo/s1600/IMG_7361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUgKJCozLc-99FctC60oNA_BVArPsiyWnM8yaknsizlV025LSB1hb3AznlJQ8DtMSG7nFRHATPZ3od0GghStRBj6aWg-XF1Nr0iTX_MYJMA4Vkpan_gGweJvl2WHa0FG9fVv5vEd7hGo/s320/IMG_7361.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elise, having completely fallen in love with N.Z.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> But as amazing as that day was, there was still one animal in particular that I wanted to see: the infamous Kea, a highly intelligent parrot known for harassing tourists at Arthur's Pass. Since the pass is only a few minutes' drive from one of my field sites in Cora Lynn, we headed up there one rainy day after sampling. Though we succeeded in finding ice cream at the tourist rest stop, there was not a bird in sight.<br />
<br />
"Let's just try one more spot," K. said.<br />
<br />
So we drove a further few minutes up and over the pass, dropping down (however briefly) onto the West Coast. And, though I can't claim to have seen New Zealand's famous rainforests, at least I can now say I've seen a Kea!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic0J5Z2kNpwUW_ayHTd3kshd5R5UpGou4sy1ZFDS-Ahrsojh41sbeKv3_P2PrdlSLpOFGWf8FDdAYs4HqCzMjpIi7Zf7yzaISeg99cFp8SnioffgZNZYiAdiKsmGzUoXrvyME83jbaWY/s1600/IMG_7709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic0J5Z2kNpwUW_ayHTd3kshd5R5UpGou4sy1ZFDS-Ahrsojh41sbeKv3_P2PrdlSLpOFGWf8FDdAYs4HqCzMjpIi7Zf7yzaISeg99cFp8SnioffgZNZYiAdiKsmGzUoXrvyME83jbaWY/s320/IMG_7709.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking a bit bedraggled in the misty evening<br />
weather, but still highly alert and intelligent.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rO9qNMdQ-4ay0Y7CGdx3mSN92drSlUiYC7zBBXvkukey-6eZFkU243M_8UcpE1OQdIxz0YqHcuEn2JeCh6xf2kALRT88Fvajg1jGeGYXWH3HzOACi-9O-Vx1IeB0qjwmICqQz3viHBo/s1600/IMG_7710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rO9qNMdQ-4ay0Y7CGdx3mSN92drSlUiYC7zBBXvkukey-6eZFkU243M_8UcpE1OQdIxz0YqHcuEn2JeCh6xf2kALRT88Fvajg1jGeGYXWH3HzOACi-9O-Vx1IeB0qjwmICqQz3viHBo/s320/IMG_7710.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While this bird groomed, we saw just how<br />
colorful he was. With wings folded, the Kea's<br />
brown-green feathers let him blend nicely into<br />
the surrounding rocks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Later that same week, K. and I headed down to Queenstown. We had a fantastically scenic drive: a bit rainy on the way down to bring out the colors in the landscape, and fine the rest of the time, with some artistic clouds periodically decorating the sky.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8K8QpVlh-nIsdJYaENrDi7GJ3Mgoha8IIievSnCranK9MDN5K8aQJGwOhEw3gGXxV_totkfdXLm4WNlTPkxuKoTcFHQlgsPCO146M2PUkplfCtWQoNDbdkTvp2bosJ7FJrJ7IPZATtP8/s1600/IMG_7739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8K8QpVlh-nIsdJYaENrDi7GJ3Mgoha8IIievSnCranK9MDN5K8aQJGwOhEw3gGXxV_totkfdXLm4WNlTPkxuKoTcFHQlgsPCO146M2PUkplfCtWQoNDbdkTvp2bosJ7FJrJ7IPZATtP8/s320/IMG_7739.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINErQ_ftQnVU9VrrZP_vz5zWlvzLDX8sSfRFd2ZGmVA_0gv3LEkhOc4XydpEYZxOznKFt3Pzo2PJYo2PV1_N39EcfAxBjA7jPqV6qvbVePPpZoANccz2X4mDqfk1ZzJu8RJR9RdeGLQE/s1600/IMG_7798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINErQ_ftQnVU9VrrZP_vz5zWlvzLDX8sSfRFd2ZGmVA_0gv3LEkhOc4XydpEYZxOznKFt3Pzo2PJYo2PV1_N39EcfAxBjA7jPqV6qvbVePPpZoANccz2X4mDqfk1ZzJu8RJR9RdeGLQE/s320/IMG_7798.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fortunately, both K. and I were eager to take photos, so we stopped at many of the picturesque overlooks.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What struck me most about the drive was its resemblance to the Kona side of the Big Island. Unfortunately, K. informs me that many of the bare patches that we saw on our drive through the Mackenzie Basin are actually the result of overgrazing and <i>Hieracium</i> (an herbaceous plant) infestation, rather than yet-uncolonized scraps of lava flows.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimcX6IBZy_PtaFlLKIvzAvNftZWrGRHalr-EQcfQ6vxz43Sdo6JS0P0odfxM90HA-6zIgvtZ7yS_JKr38Et88EgSV4aQeYSJ4yRVLitj5u3dZhPmSVrotp-pQPL_1Y4xsRVVir575ivA/s1600/IMG_7884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimcX6IBZy_PtaFlLKIvzAvNftZWrGRHalr-EQcfQ6vxz43Sdo6JS0P0odfxM90HA-6zIgvtZ7yS_JKr38Et88EgSV4aQeYSJ4yRVLitj5u3dZhPmSVrotp-pQPL_1Y4xsRVVir575ivA/s320/IMG_7884.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Other parts of the region remind me of Banff, one of Canada's most spectacular National Parks, whose lakes also bear the same distinctive blue hue.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrcGhQrDo-yOrk77XrSMxq8lOZ4m99kiGq_Mhuw0rfkN4nF25zbfE1p2bm-W1T_TdROUp3f2XJ17EE7JYEo6OIFd876PDDXVojB70KCxRo0WekbcdpLc21fc2Xa1TNWkjvaqPEV-55Co/s1600/IMG_7895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrcGhQrDo-yOrk77XrSMxq8lOZ4m99kiGq_Mhuw0rfkN4nF25zbfE1p2bm-W1T_TdROUp3f2XJ17EE7JYEo6OIFd876PDDXVojB70KCxRo0WekbcdpLc21fc2Xa1TNWkjvaqPEV-55Co/s320/IMG_7895.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdX9DM9voJ66NpKc84V1GJ6zivTmz5COevEvgNM1oEZ0G9Due4MruLfxJ_cfKAaip0JYXHP-xAkorOpPErcdP7XtUc5P1VfjSU_ot5ba0PUm5kf1aTyZtoaPcuYC6uP7tyVMt4nLYj0hk/s1600/IMG_7949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdX9DM9voJ66NpKc84V1GJ6zivTmz5COevEvgNM1oEZ0G9Due4MruLfxJ_cfKAaip0JYXHP-xAkorOpPErcdP7XtUc5P1VfjSU_ot5ba0PUm5kf1aTyZtoaPcuYC6uP7tyVMt4nLYj0hk/s320/IMG_7949.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There was even the occasional rock cairn to remind me of North America!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_6smcZ_yy77dbhBMx9dJ9ox7dowY9OKUEVbIFFpAxMEQQ_ia7gtCI5aZL_OiNKE0URXKGp-xXA5aVri84SKBOq3vmOYUDUG3cFrxE8VZdZWK9ix341E0cQ7WFuae6cQqOtXxuEUe3-s/s1600/IMG_7957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_6smcZ_yy77dbhBMx9dJ9ox7dowY9OKUEVbIFFpAxMEQQ_ia7gtCI5aZL_OiNKE0URXKGp-xXA5aVri84SKBOq3vmOYUDUG3cFrxE8VZdZWK9ix341E0cQ7WFuae6cQqOtXxuEUe3-s/s320/IMG_7957.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div> In terms of "wildlife", though, our remaining encounters took place much closer to civilization.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbUlhyn0EksFAjdkpm3UPgL6GalJfs6ZiWUBmrf5dd7uDEZAICuS_TKYGBYcG0C97pZZDARksj7miZkqIJ6KJSNn4NEwDbsmie9Aw-ZUTQttRpzr8fj0mSz62CSwwWhDvcagYUEmfpMs/s1600/IMG_7825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbUlhyn0EksFAjdkpm3UPgL6GalJfs6ZiWUBmrf5dd7uDEZAICuS_TKYGBYcG0C97pZZDARksj7miZkqIJ6KJSNn4NEwDbsmie9Aw-ZUTQttRpzr8fj0mSz62CSwwWhDvcagYUEmfpMs/s320/IMG_7825.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Queenstown Gondola. We hiked up, collected backpackfuls<br />
of samples, and took the gondola back down.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>One day, we sampled inside a Douglas-fir plantation guarded by alpacas. Unlike sheep, which invariably scatter from both cars and pedestrians, these four were extraordinarily curious -- enough so to make K. and I nervous, since their teeth look capable of quite vicious nipping.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH23u6aIajHPLaEAv6XzTnPI5JJd0GnWCgmHBHT7zPUEkT91c86Ufj-y_sX72h5rsV5piQolZgmcLZAOSzRg9QKLBV_aynwHTYfAt5DcNwXI4490tBSeQK5RY39faUCBpubV13o1x4Cac/s1600/IMG_7818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH23u6aIajHPLaEAv6XzTnPI5JJd0GnWCgmHBHT7zPUEkT91c86Ufj-y_sX72h5rsV5piQolZgmcLZAOSzRg9QKLBV_aynwHTYfAt5DcNwXI4490tBSeQK5RY39faUCBpubV13o1x4Cac/s320/IMG_7818.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The absolute highlight of the trip for me, though, was finally finding a hedgehog! We'd been having a rathe frustrating day -- after one successful sampling trip in the morning, we couldn't find a second site, no matter where we looked. But then, when an inconsiderate driver forced us into a turn on a side road and we thought we couldn't get any grumpier, we spied this fellow scurrying across the road.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gquGG1QWqzHvHQmLQ7414nGaqfk5FMLyP30vX435hdKoQnOzHemUaEQFiErbBXSBpy3dC9oqjDXpQV82zUbR53c7jyCGPOyIX2DN1QPnFwFDuGm9q82GjTkYYTcURvxPw2fOUQgF_60/s1600/IMG_7865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gquGG1QWqzHvHQmLQ7414nGaqfk5FMLyP30vX435hdKoQnOzHemUaEQFiErbBXSBpy3dC9oqjDXpQV82zUbR53c7jyCGPOyIX2DN1QPnFwFDuGm9q82GjTkYYTcURvxPw2fOUQgF_60/s320/IMG_7865.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Of course, when K. picked him up, he curled immediately into a ball. It took several minutes of silent watching (as he panted, then slowly uncurled, then wiggled his nose at us for several moments) before he finally worked up the courage to proceed into the adjacent cow pasture.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFE80ZKfj_9wXDg7Hq4MtJyKqbwcia514IP8_4SqZOfA17nIRGWTM-EcFID1aEA0OGojB1kUZcWI1uySGTA_lwl7tHDTr9PX9-R-yMz8yaK64CK0eRt_xg6QOUvB75mnmBwvklTNGZddA/s1600/IMG_7852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFE80ZKfj_9wXDg7Hq4MtJyKqbwcia514IP8_4SqZOfA17nIRGWTM-EcFID1aEA0OGojB1kUZcWI1uySGTA_lwl7tHDTr9PX9-R-yMz8yaK64CK0eRt_xg6QOUvB75mnmBwvklTNGZddA/s320/IMG_7852.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div>Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-85397177555301301432012-03-11T16:29:00.003+13:002012-03-11T16:48:00.013+13:00The 190th Hole (Anatomy of Soil Sampling)The past week -- and the week to come -- are all about digging. More precisely, they're about hammering a short segment of PVC pipe into the ground, and <i>then</i> digging.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDuCPgrg9TABqcIQIJRr88UX2n2w6JL64KiEz3f_CSX1oDB0-1JQSe_pfZfFBsy8aH_ifHvSPb_-BVBE16gAomTxPXPZPpGUmt-HFHq6DBVl_MuTZtt1bR-mplrp3Y3E_8RhK2CbkFEw/s1600/IMG_7659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDuCPgrg9TABqcIQIJRr88UX2n2w6JL64KiEz3f_CSX1oDB0-1JQSe_pfZfFBsy8aH_ifHvSPb_-BVBE16gAomTxPXPZPpGUmt-HFHq6DBVl_MuTZtt1bR-mplrp3Y3E_8RhK2CbkFEw/s320/IMG_7659.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">K. and J. extracting samples from a grassland. You can see a<br />
pine plantation in the background, and a wilding Douglas-fir<br />
just behind K. (in the purple shirt). The white tube in J.'s hands<br />
is a newly-extracted soil core.</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Together with the help of K. (who knows all the best ice cream spots on the South Island) and J. (who's generously loaning her strong arms and back in the name of seeing more of New Zealand), I'm collecting soil samples for a greenhouse bioassay (a glasshouse-based experiment using living organisms to test the properties of an environment).<br />
<br />
This experiment is the natural complement to my survey of fungi infecting existing seedlings. In this case, I'm collecting soil from the same three canopy types (grassland, native beech forest, and Douglas-fir forest) at sites spread across the South Island of New Zealand (rather than the few local sites at which I collected my seedlings). I'll plant Douglas-fir seeds in these soils, allow them to grow in the greenhouse for 6 to 9 months under the watchful eye of some helpful Landcare folks who will keep them happy and watered for me, and then harvest them to find out what fungi from the soils colonized the seedlings.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The neat thing about this setup is that, in theory, it gives us a bigger picture of what's going on belowground than when we just collect seedlings. You see, when you harvest seedlings from the wild, you see only the successful young trees -- the ones that were able to survive because they sprouted in the right patch of earth, got colonized by the most helpful set of fungi, and avoided grazing by deer or sheep. Therefore, it's likely that, if you just look at seedlings, you only see one particular set of fungi.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5QGjywisMOub2HzuSbCI3q5T8rXyaYqixsRw0ylt0dkKFiw8zg0VgWoXfJ70J6bTY4-jM_CDC0qadFkhlo4K4UnSRIcJHIPG4NzBHwhfX-sI27hyKiItn1xTwa_mUzO58oHXWLhgIfg/s1600/IMG_7763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5QGjywisMOub2HzuSbCI3q5T8rXyaYqixsRw0ylt0dkKFiw8zg0VgWoXfJ70J6bTY4-jM_CDC0qadFkhlo4K4UnSRIcJHIPG4NzBHwhfX-sI27hyKiItn1xTwa_mUzO58oHXWLhgIfg/s320/IMG_7763.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At each location, we take 10 of these soil cores. The tubes are pre-labelled, <br />
so all we have to do is hammer them into the ground (sometimes easier said<br />
than done when the soil is rocky). Using this method, we get an intact piece of<br />
soil in which to plant Douglas-fir. This mimics the "natural" situation, in which<br />
a seed falls onto a patch of earth, then sprouts, and is infected by nearby fungi.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnoKY2WzEuaJP_rESGbwalZuwPPYNxycIJePm-FRTwqVbi-cUnH8Y4d1jRPZ5TomrGMvbonsDhQug1fEV8etoRsEVQjxezhN6D9b6jJEHV6LCWJPn6HlciTEkPnVssuCPOAZZW13OgCU/s1600/IMG_7760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnoKY2WzEuaJP_rESGbwalZuwPPYNxycIJePm-FRTwqVbi-cUnH8Y4d1jRPZ5TomrGMvbonsDhQug1fEV8etoRsEVQjxezhN6D9b6jJEHV6LCWJPn6HlciTEkPnVssuCPOAZZW13OgCU/s320/IMG_7760.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We also take a hunk of soil from the area next<br />
to each core, to send to a lab for nutrient analysis.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZ-dHKznLVbV4vDnMm-YyvfapV8oaLvlXL-GJ-IPEiF0fYy6R7uKt7F1riye0LVz_fkDPhrdlFQbtXD49nlIx9Z4o1a175GRjytkjQgDz5aE5vqQVJQl7FV2iNM9P_9qvx1L01eWLrNo/s1600/IMG_7657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZ-dHKznLVbV4vDnMm-YyvfapV8oaLvlXL-GJ-IPEiF0fYy6R7uKt7F1riye0LVz_fkDPhrdlFQbtXD49nlIx9Z4o1a175GRjytkjQgDz5aE5vqQVJQl7FV2iNM9P_9qvx1L01eWLrNo/s320/IMG_7657.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In between each core, we carefully clean all of our equipment. <br />
We don't want to cross-contaminate any fungi!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Now, by growing seedlings in different soils, we should see a broader spectrum of fungal colonists, including some pathogenic ones that may make the trees very sick. I wouldn't be surprised if trees weren't able to grow at all on soils from some sites!<br />
<br />
Our hope is that, by collecting soils from many different sites which differ in their soil properties (and hopefully fungal availability), grazing history, and invasion status (whether or not there's already Douglas-fir in the grassland/native forest), we'll be able to see a pattern in fungal community that predicts the success of the planted seedlings. In other words, we'd like to identify the particular fungi that Douglas-fir needs in order to survive in different landscapes.<br />
<br />
If we're exceptionally lucky, we may even find out information that will help managers control the spread of Douglas-fir. For example, we might find a particularly virulent pathogen, or we might come to understand something about the importance of grazing, and so on.<br />
<br />
So far, the three of us have collected 100 samples from the Craigieburn area (where I got my seedlings), and K. and I just got back from collecting a further 90 samples down by Queenstown. J. and I will be taking a trip up to Nelson this week, hopefully finding some good sites and getting the last bit of digging done.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyO0pJAM46Ps6Xu8KXGMZwFpnJb1RVX8VkPGoYgfiXFwp4WqLhTOkQPG_Tzpw81cc3wdesrVTz1trI0qVilBTQW_B_T-_xuG4Ky1_IuMfvqUsdgEl81m0gB3TxnPdrem6DTrvuN-829U/s1600/IMG_7654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyO0pJAM46Ps6Xu8KXGMZwFpnJb1RVX8VkPGoYgfiXFwp4WqLhTOkQPG_Tzpw81cc3wdesrVTz1trI0qVilBTQW_B_T-_xuG4Ky1_IuMfvqUsdgEl81m0gB3TxnPdrem6DTrvuN-829U/s320/IMG_7654.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A friendly fantail accompanied us most of the way up the<br />
Cass Lagoon track on our first day of sampling.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I have to say, while I'm really enjoying the chance to see more of the country, and New Zealand's mountains are really growing on me, I'll be glad to see the end of this field season. The most stressful part of the work is actually trying to find sites, especially when you only have a few days in a location, and you want to get a certain amount of sampling done. Often, we'll find two out of the three canopy types (i.e. Douglas-fir/Beech or Douglas-fir/grassland) in a really accessible location, but have to give it up because we can't find the third. Clearly, the foresters didn't have my project in mind when they laid out their plantations sixty years ago!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8-v6VXra4_mOzAedfDfxL2ZHE2AaoJe6ImZZ6Lc_f6cs1qN9W3JtOw5cSheT2w2esVTgC-dz4FQl9QamXY687aMcpVsPes6TA3oIysvXntn2SZUGsswcYqvr8jUfy_JThjkKp4fChDQ/s1600/IMG_7814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8-v6VXra4_mOzAedfDfxL2ZHE2AaoJe6ImZZ6Lc_f6cs1qN9W3JtOw5cSheT2w2esVTgC-dz4FQl9QamXY687aMcpVsPes6TA3oIysvXntn2SZUGsswcYqvr8jUfy_JThjkKp4fChDQ/s320/IMG_7814.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J. calls the Douglas-fir plantations the Red<br />
Riding Hood terror zones. Here I am, having a<br />
Blair Witch moment inside of one. Note the need<br />
to use a flash in the plantation's darkness -- it's actually<br />
quite bright and sunny beyond the trees!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-82974124197073796092012-03-02T13:22:00.000+13:002012-03-02T13:22:53.776+13:00I need your help!The National Science Foundation has asked me to write an abstract of one segment of my Ph.D. research. In 350 words or less, I need to describe a project I'm working on back home, also using Douglas-fir, but with fungi from its native range. Because the National Science Foundation is funded through our tax dollars, they -- and I -- want this abstract to be really readable.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, having buried my head in science for the past four years (and having been nose-deep in it for four years before that), I'm not the best at catching all my technical jargon. Have a look at what I've written below, and let me know what you think. What don't you understand? What's missing? What's unnecessary?<br />
<br />
Thanks!<br />
<br />
---------------------------<br />
Metabolic Bet Hedging as an Explanation for Maintenance of Diverse Tree-Ectomycorrhizal Mutualisms*<br />
<br />
Trees are a critical part of many terrestrial ecosystems, providing both physical structure and chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis. In order to conduct photosynthesis efficiently, many trees rely on mutually-beneficial interactions with below-ground fungi called mycorrhizae, which gather nutrients, supply water, and defend against pests in exchange for energy provided by the tree. One group of these fungi, the ectomycorrhizae, is particularly diverse, having a large number of species, each with its own suite of metabolic abilities which determine its value as a trading partner to its host tree.<br />
<br />
Intriguingly, an individual tree may host dozens of different species of ectomycorrhizae simultaneously, including species which appear to be of little to no benefit, or may even be harmful to the tree. Presumably, rather than limiting its interactions to the subset of most useful fungi, the tree is incurring fitness costs by supporting a larger fungal community. Why hasn't natural selection produced a tree that can perfectly control its suite of fungal partners, so that it maintains only those that are most beneficial to it at any given time?<br />
<br />
One possible explanation is metabolic bet hedging. Trees are long-lived organisms that experience seasonal and interannual environmental variation. Therefore, their nutrient requirements also vary over time, potentially altering the relative value of each fungal partner. So, much as human investors maintain a portfolio of stocks to compensate for economic variation, trees may passively maintain a range of ectomycorrhizae in response to changing environments. <br />
<br />
This project tests the metabolic bet hedging hypothesis using laboratory (greenhouse experiments that control trees, fungi, and environmental conditions) and mathematical (economic models that test tree fitness as a function of fungal mutualisms) approaches. Results, in addition to their broader theoretical value to scientific understanding of mutualisms, will be of specific value to the management of Douglas-fir (the tree model used in this study), which is both a commercially important forestry species, and an aggressive invader in some foreign locales.<br />
<br />
<br />
*Sorry, I can't do anything about the title. Otherwise, I'd have tried to think of something more witty, like <a href="http://www.stanforddaily.com/2012/03/01/seeing-green-all-thats-holey/" target="_blank">this week's ozone hole column, "All that's holey"</a>.Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-73157472360576996892012-02-29T00:01:00.000+13:002012-02-29T00:01:00.465+13:00Teaching a sprinter to run marathons (Anatomy of lab work)I've always been an endurance athlete. Probably because I'm just plain slow, and you can hide that a lot better in a 5K than in a 100-meter dash.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSW89hL1FQqdyAgIDlEP2M4w_LSqSz6PDUpQfPeNo_iRTDR4CD8VZwcobXo11UGnXnwOw1JtVuvhBjzkdXfKOrb-oEiqYzPolyOM1fsCF0lnKqSM-9ORcL2BQmfGl4pVBY8txHs9zM9Nw/s1600/IMG_7190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSW89hL1FQqdyAgIDlEP2M4w_LSqSz6PDUpQfPeNo_iRTDR4CD8VZwcobXo11UGnXnwOw1JtVuvhBjzkdXfKOrb-oEiqYzPolyOM1fsCF0lnKqSM-9ORcL2BQmfGl4pVBY8txHs9zM9Nw/s320/IMG_7190.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">This Douglas-fir seedling has lost its chance to take over the world.<br />
Or at least, the surrounding native forests. </span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>For the most part, after more than a decade of semi-competitive running (though over the last few years it's been more about the pleasure of stretching my legs over a few miles than about lowering personal records), my brain has been molded into that of a distance runner. I like to stick things out, I like a certain amount of pain (I can picture Mom and Dad making their 'self-flagellation' gestures... thanks for the emotional scarring, guys! :), and -- according to Dad, anyway -- I have a reasonable degree of mental toughness.<br />
<br />
But in some things, I will always be a sprinter.<br />
<br />
To some extent, I espouse Hemingway's "Live hard, play hard" dogma: I have a tendency to throw myself into science and work feverishly for a few weeks or months, then wear myself out and collapse in a fit of TV-watching, elaborate-meal-cooking relaxation. (Err, I guess that's not really relaxation... more like throwing myself into something else, equally intensely.)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSCohhrG79ki8d_rRCMgQc1rHf5EJt1GqunXgm7F-NdBzT2-ZYup6BxVTgOgUHMwY7r9McH4-Q8J2MOW4wRN5fgjpks2gdGpaiBe0mqYyk7BvNoeKWIrwNl5AuWbmLSu4I7zV3Q9zMhI/s1600/IMG_0152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSCohhrG79ki8d_rRCMgQc1rHf5EJt1GqunXgm7F-NdBzT2-ZYup6BxVTgOgUHMwY7r9McH4-Q8J2MOW4wRN5fgjpks2gdGpaiBe0mqYyk7BvNoeKWIrwNl5AuWbmLSu4I7zV3Q9zMhI/s320/IMG_0152.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In addition to seedlings, we also collect any sporocarps (mushrooms,<br />
the fruiting bodies -- a.k.a. the physical structures that release spores,<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">the reproductive part of a fungus) that we find in the field. These are</div>brought back to the lab for DNA sampling, photographed, and dried.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">I've never been very good at pacing myself when it comes to work. So it's no surprise that, where we said we'd collect 15 seedlings per canopy type, we came home with closer to 30. And now, with bags and bags of samples piled up in the freezer, I'm feeling some perturbation, which is currently manifesting itself in nightmares in which I open the door to the cold room and am instantly toppled by a tidal wave of Douglas-fir seedlings that come pouring out. (Silver lining: This is a much better dream than last week's, which featured an unfortunate encounter with a band saw while cutting sample tubes for the second half of my field work.)</div><br />
As I know from experience, there's only one cure for this dream-inducing stress: Getting to work! With one sprint into the field over, it's time for the sprint to finish up lab work before the next phase of my project. Here's how it's done.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Basically, we excavate all our seedlings in the field, digging deep around them to try to scoop out their entire root system. Depending on the type of soil they're growing in, we're often able to shake off a lot of the dirt in the field. (K. is much better at this than me!) We're conservative, though, because fungi are found colonizing the very tips of roots, and we don't want to break any of these off by accident.<br />
<br />
We bag up the seedlings, haul them back to the lab, and then soak the root systems in water to loosen any remaining dirt.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMv2TZufWI_cMl8FBy6QHsvkKulqGEcHWDyMNo2z5TjYAGcpCFwJVhDijSOWXB98KZ26ytcjdxOFk8jJwkSn13bKqs4RYSToPjSXv9gYEVr5_d6SGWS_yXoWYJbMjd-a9EfbDflYbQiU/s1600/IMG_7193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMv2TZufWI_cMl8FBy6QHsvkKulqGEcHWDyMNo2z5TjYAGcpCFwJVhDijSOWXB98KZ26ytcjdxOFk8jJwkSn13bKqs4RYSToPjSXv9gYEVr5_d6SGWS_yXoWYJbMjd-a9EfbDflYbQiU/s320/IMG_7193.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 1: Soaking the seedling in some tap water for about an hour.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDeUDT5maAmvixJSm9sSCxVNaTVAxJbT8lPkRVEktcqzPkJBvsGlwlf4S9PmEgICGRiEZ26GdFCTm2qEWzjmyR3ttAj13cNMec0C3Ldt4YYhtRfcBqOy3Ss1xPHomExf2JbGQlEG6or8/s1600/IMG_7195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDeUDT5maAmvixJSm9sSCxVNaTVAxJbT8lPkRVEktcqzPkJBvsGlwlf4S9PmEgICGRiEZ26GdFCTm2qEWzjmyR3ttAj13cNMec0C3Ldt4YYhtRfcBqOy3Ss1xPHomExf2JbGQlEG6or8/s320/IMG_7195.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 2: Gently washing the roots with more water.<br />
Note: The seedling changes with every picture. :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwhAxvTSX_Ujz-QXMXhw9ukh_B8AcGDvUW7oR1XXPrb4jt2ofMjAC_NiORL1zkMrBsKfol1ahJtzzPnVe9NozZMV0soRpAqMO8hRIujJrnx4t-04dPP_xBxEBJIibSoAnyv37O5bFPt1s/s1600/IMG_7217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwhAxvTSX_Ujz-QXMXhw9ukh_B8AcGDvUW7oR1XXPrb4jt2ofMjAC_NiORL1zkMrBsKfol1ahJtzzPnVe9NozZMV0soRpAqMO8hRIujJrnx4t-04dPP_xBxEBJIibSoAnyv37O5bFPt1s/s320/IMG_7217.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A prepared seedling (this one about one year old) waits in a<br />
water dish for further examination. You can see some light-<br />
colored knobby looking things on its roots, right?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>After the seedlings have been cleaned, they're ready for some close examination. First, I record the coloration of the seedling -- that is, how dark green it is -- which indicates its health. As any gardener knows, a yellowing plant isn't doing so well. Here, a yellowing Douglas-fir seedling is probably lacking some fungal partner that helps it gather a critical nutrient. I also estimate the seedling's age by carefully counting scars on its stem -- an imperfect method, but speedier than trying to slice and stain sections of the tree's tiny trunk.<div><br />
</div><div>Since you can see the roots with the naked eye, it doesn't take too much power to get a close look at any fungi that might be colonizing the roots. So I use a low-powered microscope called a dissecting microscope to examine the root system.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_b7aeGBZ9LhgleQU0xk4oFWs6Wn2094KZzWVs3KI2fu2cCqWMyNULed3fCdzn-n5u23VfJbLNEbxjKd9f9nB44OD4PkxT1jam0YD9FylpyQ98VCZ8NojnT4ADy8OFzOiIKsNbhSzDzFE/s1600/IMG_7185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_b7aeGBZ9LhgleQU0xk4oFWs6Wn2094KZzWVs3KI2fu2cCqWMyNULed3fCdzn-n5u23VfJbLNEbxjKd9f9nB44OD4PkxT1jam0YD9FylpyQ98VCZ8NojnT4ADy8OFzOiIKsNbhSzDzFE/s320/IMG_7185.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Examining a seedling under a dissecting microscope.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I scan through the root system tip by tip, using a counter (the thing with the colorful tabs on the right-hand side of the scope picture) to record the number of tips of each morphotype. A "morphotype" is a category of appearance, an approximate way of grouping tips by species. See below for a couple of examples.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV86cI48dKDYb5B9Evar8covTjMjb7qKtkc0iPDWZIWrtmgkmSK4BfwAsLjV0dlKz-z39m7FYEXBVmbba1BkemJiCFl8s5-tgqGYgdW3kQJDCK8gLmyupMs3fJlweJbdfUlpETa5fU97A/s1600/IMG_7379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV86cI48dKDYb5B9Evar8covTjMjb7qKtkc0iPDWZIWrtmgkmSK4BfwAsLjV0dlKz-z39m7FYEXBVmbba1BkemJiCFl8s5-tgqGYgdW3kQJDCK8gLmyupMs3fJlweJbdfUlpETa5fU97A/s320/IMG_7379.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A "clumper". You can see the branching structure of the root<br />
system here in brown. The white is a coating of fungal hyphae --<br />
hyphae are the fine hair-like structures that fungi produce. The<br />
yellow bits are pieces of still-attached dirt. Some fungi are sticky!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0Ag-k-Y_wYWLemhYuKZvlweSDOttFedoZt6cUaa8A8SSkNf1oChNArKdfxe0e0Ul7VzhvOHoYxuAz4-r4PUiqK_VGGD1xD3OkWSyX3Eoz56_1So1dkSWtKIjOuAm_ykocPmSPBsntxc/s1600/IMG_7487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0Ag-k-Y_wYWLemhYuKZvlweSDOttFedoZt6cUaa8A8SSkNf1oChNArKdfxe0e0Ul7VzhvOHoYxuAz4-r4PUiqK_VGGD1xD3OkWSyX3Eoz56_1So1dkSWtKIjOuAm_ykocPmSPBsntxc/s320/IMG_7487.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another "clumper". Some species of fungus induce lots of<br />
branch-formation when they infect tree root tips, producing<br />
clusters like this one. You can see a lot more attached dirt<br />
here. Also note the air bubble: This particular fungus is hydro-<br />
phobic: That is, its surface repels water. So although the roots<br />
are submerged in water here, you can see clinging air bubbles.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ImoeYvZPaTWsQg2CqPAh-QCHsIookCB_wR06mPln2eEdEUrUAcCEnWUijqYIZ7bi_rwq0gdj3E2gdAZcxWOZwPUulP-RdUIcE4wQ9ibsGZaAbQpld_FHcC64ioQt3lRwnYX6Jvz7oiM/s1600/IMG_7501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ImoeYvZPaTWsQg2CqPAh-QCHsIookCB_wR06mPln2eEdEUrUAcCEnWUijqYIZ7bi_rwq0gdj3E2gdAZcxWOZwPUulP-RdUIcE4wQ9ibsGZaAbQpld_FHcC64ioQt3lRwnYX6Jvz7oiM/s320/IMG_7501.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the prettiest morphotypes. This fungus produces a<br />
really smooth coat, giving the tip a nice polished feel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Not all species of fungi look different, though: "Cryptic" species are those whose appearance is very similar to another species. And some species produce multiple morphotypes. That's why we take samples of different morphotypes. We'll extract their DNA and sequence a short region of it, which allows us to identify the species of fungus colonizing each root tip.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2phvzeOLR8VenVm-sBiYTu6u2Lo10lZ4E6dPz-S4UiTiNI13HsTaqZFq7rEjSFJLI7cl8LJFqr_8yUxJA0_Qt1OPUXSuby2ePU8e-1WUiZ1VhJFkPmfAbgaLdv2CoTVNOAyrHfbj4Do/s1600/IMG_7184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2phvzeOLR8VenVm-sBiYTu6u2Lo10lZ4E6dPz-S4UiTiNI13HsTaqZFq7rEjSFJLI7cl8LJFqr_8yUxJA0_Qt1OPUXSuby2ePU8e-1WUiZ1VhJFkPmfAbgaLdv2CoTVNOAyrHfbj4Do/s320/IMG_7184.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plates of root tip samples. At the bottom of each tube is a bit<br />
of tree root with a fungal infection that looks like the above<br />
examples. It's floating in an extraction solution, that breaks up<br />
the tissue and lets the DNA out of the cells.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJw6AnVpyv8nhKN8p42zLwE4jVB9bYlCgiJZ1rwm7nbnYuv1TBhcK8LrrRNjCEpc61Qlb53G6PhMYqVApccO64fLju_w2wuQB9OlTqwbrYhqP8vlRB7bO2MJ9VUu9b1H8O3QYhcXaEFkg/s1600/IMG_7428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJw6AnVpyv8nhKN8p42zLwE4jVB9bYlCgiJZ1rwm7nbnYuv1TBhcK8LrrRNjCEpc61Qlb53G6PhMYqVApccO64fLju_w2wuQB9OlTqwbrYhqP8vlRB7bO2MJ9VUu9b1H8O3QYhcXaEFkg/s320/IMG_7428.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here, I'm processing a plate of samples by pipetting<br />
different buffers into each well. The goal is to process all <br />
the seedlings and perform all the DNA extractions before<br />
heading back to the States. DNA is very stable in freezers, <br />
so once it's been extracted, I can store it for future work.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After the seedling's root system has been examined, I separate out the roots from the shoot (that is: I cut the seedling in half), and save each portion to be dried and weighed. Later, I'll be able to use these data to do things like estimate growth rate (by measuring the distance between trunk scars) and calculate fungal infection per unit tree biomass.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So far, I've accumulated 17 such plates of DNA samples in the freezer, and I've still got two-and-a-half coolers-full of seedlings to process. On with the race!</div>Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-80657346008635345552012-02-27T00:01:00.004+13:002012-02-27T00:01:00.455+13:00Waitangi Weekend: Wellington<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Like many a good blogger who also pretends to be a scientist, I've fallen.. oh... three weeks behind now in posting photos from the second half of my Waitangi Day Weekend trip.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6idovOIDzy93tHL9jt29R4nRTnWFyzAybw5Gc4TorsD1T7dlwVLeVtaHg2g8zVUD7dlDafFFF1KTHjunGKQD53x3exzni5F4qsH8_UvCoJ-SMRyfjYBzavfYHzl2NDQUKlJ7IMxmL0G4/s1600/IMG_6225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6idovOIDzy93tHL9jt29R4nRTnWFyzAybw5Gc4TorsD1T7dlwVLeVtaHg2g8zVUD7dlDafFFF1KTHjunGKQD53x3exzni5F4qsH8_UvCoJ-SMRyfjYBzavfYHzl2NDQUKlJ7IMxmL0G4/s320/IMG_6225.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At last! A sort-of view of the Kaikoura Range.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I left Kaikoura on the Coastal Pacific train to head up to Picton, the interisland ferry port on the South Island. Along the way, we got through some of the fog to see glimpses of the mountains, ducked through plenty of tunnels, and passed some very scenic wine country.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-5uXoDS90du1ApWrUNj0yD0TKaQvE3BNDnw8aA_bIgZGAcDArkg-QpRp6l5TdyEysAqm7hV9aGGd3_degV7SLLO0nyr34dqWiWh8QVpRoJIhYk2aHKUI2QnfgtkSOnUctZ1GvIfQ_Ek/s1600/IMG_6519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-5uXoDS90du1ApWrUNj0yD0TKaQvE3BNDnw8aA_bIgZGAcDArkg-QpRp6l5TdyEysAqm7hV9aGGd3_degV7SLLO0nyr34dqWiWh8QVpRoJIhYk2aHKUI2QnfgtkSOnUctZ1GvIfQ_Ek/s320/IMG_6519.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of many vineyards in New Zealand's famed wine country.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-p4qQHGQTb5LAnAqbKa_miaaB7xrg6HSFFqQzG0J2mIl56LoDpVpkWed1hA-eMWCIfTQ35-rYYnQpXMO_S7T-3QA8LbavBJdrdYWJm03FEeHcDn63QBn5l8VTrmN1Jy9EFhX7kfS-js/s1600/IMG_6486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-p4qQHGQTb5LAnAqbKa_miaaB7xrg6HSFFqQzG0J2mIl56LoDpVpkWed1hA-eMWCIfTQ35-rYYnQpXMO_S7T-3QA8LbavBJdrdYWJm03FEeHcDn63QBn5l8VTrmN1Jy9EFhX7kfS-js/s320/IMG_6486.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salt-making at work. These vast pools are turned red by<br />
some halophilic (salt-loving) microbes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>As usual, I spent my train ride in the viewing car, looking ahead for tunnels and traffic signs before sticking my head out to take photos.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lgiBNMZArmNusMvgo2xAOg5MzNgSPS0lj-6vuKmP1P1y-fX7JoNCIxWNuGw4txvh_vMUnuXUyFLFGRgUFCl2tfSpxuM5jYBZFsAqWYczrtgbyhZpCxf-gyXxB9o2pjLfHLBPdg28FWI/s1600/IMG_6594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lgiBNMZArmNusMvgo2xAOg5MzNgSPS0lj-6vuKmP1P1y-fX7JoNCIxWNuGw4txvh_vMUnuXUyFLFGRgUFCl2tfSpxuM5jYBZFsAqWYczrtgbyhZpCxf-gyXxB9o2pjLfHLBPdg28FWI/s320/IMG_6594.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About all I got to see of Picton.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I had an hour's layover in Picton before my ferry departed for Wellington, which I'd planned to use to take a glance around the small waterfront area. But much to my surprise, when they say "Check in 45 minutes ahead of ferry departure," what they mean is, "Check in 45 minutes ahead, and get on board 40 minutes ahead." So before I knew it, I had shouldered my way to the forward-most corner of the top deck (of ten(!) decks), and, camera in hand, was preparing for a three-hour crossing of the Cook Strait.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxPQ8kbeVMigOQi74sAMfMGTflrIXieanyRJQyLc6fBnXMsaRwsj1uesg6KUk8sSLnb0jWg5LZ8n_kikMzD8o7HK8oJtOVlr-Wd_YNchUcCHyDMrrr7O9LplnW2ciO5M_-wD9j51ZB1Q/s1600/IMG_6614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxPQ8kbeVMigOQi74sAMfMGTflrIXieanyRJQyLc6fBnXMsaRwsj1uesg6KUk8sSLnb0jWg5LZ8n_kikMzD8o7HK8oJtOVlr-Wd_YNchUcCHyDMrrr7O9LplnW2ciO5M_-wD9j51ZB1Q/s320/IMG_6614.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sister vessel of the ferry I was aboard. This one is,<br />
believe it or not, actually smaller than our ship.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFJ7oBLZuPN_sBQtYFn2wlrWAnfJZfkhbZEKYO09_dOB4zhGFb6cuEw2TTnbMBKtA7cQ0mzaxM1abqK5ojXl-AFY8Q3NUeD89hBbFs4VkAwWM8qgAWIjkbmzhWo9yct5QLgLbncZPyEM/s1600/IMG_6821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFJ7oBLZuPN_sBQtYFn2wlrWAnfJZfkhbZEKYO09_dOB4zhGFb6cuEw2TTnbMBKtA7cQ0mzaxM1abqK5ojXl-AFY8Q3NUeD89hBbFs4VkAwWM8qgAWIjkbmzhWo9yct5QLgLbncZPyEM/s320/IMG_6821.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If I weren't so afraid of heights, it would've been profoundly<br />
tempting to jump off the ferry and ask the sailboat to take me aboard.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The ferry ride is advertised as the "most scenic ferry ride in New Zealand" (though, while I haven't looked rigorously, I've yet to hear of another ferry ride), but according to some personal accounts, can be a little rough. Fortunately for me, I'm neither prone to seasickness, nor (apparently) unlikely to encounter bad weather. Once we'd cleared the South Island, we were in one-meter seas the whole way across the Strait, which made for an almost too-pleasant ride: I'm someone who likes to feel the sea beneath me, which takes some doing on a huge ferry.<br />
<br />
By the time we docked in Wellington, it was nearing 5pm, so I didn't have time to check out the more common tourist attractions, like the museums and gardens for which the city is renowned. I did, however, pull on my running sneakers for a jog about town (including, of course, a spot of beachcombing which yielded a few more <s>abalone</s> paua shells).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKPVa5b-bjXzWtPHk8HwyTnmVQZz1YywAV2_g8Tl13MGroiv7jIi3TeJNVIYqDAaJgTPRCk9RqILyeCxazA2eqREeyTGPNT0lO_1Vr3ygrGZoLDOM9J3FZFkpo6GAV5u4QEUhocjuILg/s1600/IMG_7057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKPVa5b-bjXzWtPHk8HwyTnmVQZz1YywAV2_g8Tl13MGroiv7jIi3TeJNVIYqDAaJgTPRCk9RqILyeCxazA2eqREeyTGPNT0lO_1Vr3ygrGZoLDOM9J3FZFkpo6GAV5u4QEUhocjuILg/s320/IMG_7057.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of many stairwells that allow pedestrians to<br />
shortcut the switchback streets. You have to be<br />
careful not to inadvertently wind up in someone's<br />
backyard, however.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Wellington is a city built into hillsides. Though it slowed me to walking pace at times, I enjoyed the stairwells and steep paths that took me up Mt. Victoria, to a spectacular overlook of the city.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinaUchyrSWbw1kZ4jbjioKtMbrINOdJXA_vipwleFbo1Bm7jpR_1z2cOBEY2Zaqk4tO_lDC1KJYyyq2KKefi0EFKpv6RwBlXywfgXDdjMpWCi1gE96-kE7RQXzI6DzmlI_nHNXZ6r7la8/s1600/IMG_7015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinaUchyrSWbw1kZ4jbjioKtMbrINOdJXA_vipwleFbo1Bm7jpR_1z2cOBEY2Zaqk4tO_lDC1KJYyyq2KKefi0EFKpv6RwBlXywfgXDdjMpWCi1gE96-kE7RQXzI6DzmlI_nHNXZ6r7la8/s320/IMG_7015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out at Wellington's downtown.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZmh7VK9Pl3qiZXIIWF1yhNyTyWbU4a-t7xjX86SwaTzBZOsPDLauFAGkYmMuRLvWlkkd39ugKtiH3Mbk8ks7_hpqQSBOXmppyaqlTqzkfWBLuQpDwJXcElOtBAWhkP-U2Ps6Xp1J0Gw/s1600/IMG_7064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZmh7VK9Pl3qiZXIIWF1yhNyTyWbU4a-t7xjX86SwaTzBZOsPDLauFAGkYmMuRLvWlkkd39ugKtiH3Mbk8ks7_hpqQSBOXmppyaqlTqzkfWBLuQpDwJXcElOtBAWhkP-U2Ps6Xp1J0Gw/s320/IMG_7064.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A room with a view. I think our orchids could<br />
be very happy here...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmqJ55jn5UU5kTHCEE6B-9ZMtahXdDPoabvvARjDF58dZTzeZ71lj3mcfzY5QKPFyAxGzLTaS5Twcu5NO7yW8VhQlG2To9dJxbUvJZQvpllcJbf2Y174Y9JW8OhXXOf1aJm1iMnK9D3o/s1600/IMG_7059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmqJ55jn5UU5kTHCEE6B-9ZMtahXdDPoabvvARjDF58dZTzeZ71lj3mcfzY5QKPFyAxGzLTaS5Twcu5NO7yW8VhQlG2To9dJxbUvJZQvpllcJbf2Y174Y9JW8OhXXOf1aJm1iMnK9D3o/s320/IMG_7059.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You really don't want to take any construction-zone turns too<br />
fast. When I heard that the big earthquake was really expected<br />
to be in Wellington, I was horrified. All the houses (and the cars<br />
parked on wooden slots built jutting out of the hillside) would just<br />
go sliding into the sea!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>By the time I finished my meandering trot, it was nearly nightfall. I had time to stash my shell collection addendum in my pack before wandering out in search of food (I'd finally run out of pre-packed sandwiches) and an internet connection. I think L. enjoyed our Skype-call with the lit-up Wellington skyline in the background!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0D6nmjSCSafoBRe6juZIo36X_WBFxId0f3qxdQVlJ510ey77hW5-JRXQcwTjqlCdUC1SKrGwkNivM7uxnBc-ZNv-q6nuosHpVFt7F9BoEsgA1rO1BVn11zGFHP7qOlCLcq4gH7NIigwY/s1600/IMG_7094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0D6nmjSCSafoBRe6juZIo36X_WBFxId0f3qxdQVlJ510ey77hW5-JRXQcwTjqlCdUC1SKrGwkNivM7uxnBc-ZNv-q6nuosHpVFt7F9BoEsgA1rO1BVn11zGFHP7qOlCLcq4gH7NIigwY/s320/IMG_7094.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqEKBcUGkFGk2zfEdMlPRYrURUKJ7wQV9HmgjN5pwhY9DhuoF9hnlEsOZV6PVDXzTn4iL8DRKBO1IREblcznsQwYjRT8B6gLbkpWkmWCs-iB-p9XNLYrK9SBXRmWuRE4ZkTdvKcBGQ7Q/s1600/IMG_7101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqEKBcUGkFGk2zfEdMlPRYrURUKJ7wQV9HmgjN5pwhY9DhuoF9hnlEsOZV6PVDXzTn4iL8DRKBO1IREblcznsQwYjRT8B6gLbkpWkmWCs-iB-p9XNLYrK9SBXRmWuRE4ZkTdvKcBGQ7Q/s320/IMG_7101.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>All in all, Wellington is an incredibly lively-feeling city. Though I only had a few hours there, I was very impressed. It seems a lot "bigger" and more worldly than Christchurch, though much of this has to do with the quake damage that Chch has sustained, I'm afraid. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKSt7wxKlcwNyI0f050bgBtF10TainM7IDH8F_ZCFP_SamMF1yrHXqF45lI2KLa1pzn4msa2QqusFD933UlnTSGb1yaszF-cyhwvOwylbgcy7fQqhhvmiJ9LFNHWEzW26_BCe51pCG34/s1600/IMG_7133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKSt7wxKlcwNyI0f050bgBtF10TainM7IDH8F_ZCFP_SamMF1yrHXqF45lI2KLa1pzn4msa2QqusFD933UlnTSGb1yaszF-cyhwvOwylbgcy7fQqhhvmiJ9LFNHWEzW26_BCe51pCG34/s320/IMG_7133.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise on my way from the hostel to my return ferry ride.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Though I definitely didn't have enough time in Wellington as I would've liked, it's definitely a spot I'll return to when I manage to appropriately plan some travel time into my next stay in NZ. (I'm due to return at least twice: once in nine months or so to harvest a greenhouse experiment we'll be setting up over the next few weeks, and once about nine months after that to harvest a follow-on experiment. More on this later.)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSX0UgxdhzA4Co4gg1Q6lD6gUoQhbykEC0bCLzfA999Ih7yRxMvMqzgQGfvVi1tlJozQGuVrxT-Ym3O89Bo9v1UFEPRdgLfQatt6y83HRy9F2Q5492-MFAJoHlci5YnCk9lC9zzdIXH8s/s1600/IMG_7192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSX0UgxdhzA4Co4gg1Q6lD6gUoQhbykEC0bCLzfA999Ih7yRxMvMqzgQGfvVi1tlJozQGuVrxT-Ym3O89Bo9v1UFEPRdgLfQatt6y83HRy9F2Q5492-MFAJoHlci5YnCk9lC9zzdIXH8s/s320/IMG_7192.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Departing the North Island onto the "high seas" of the Cook Strait.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Having splurged on train and ferry tickets on the way up the coast, I took a bus from Picton back to Christchurch. It was an enjoyable (if slightly more cramped) ride, and I was able to draft a column, eavesdrop on the conversations of returning boarding school students, and get one last look at Kaikoura -- this time, under sunnier conditions.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6a5aU7WaAfBr-O9g5Y645lXc4gC2Dw4xdivyUrFy_U_E30akLiqdoj9uGMUz-bmwoQupTL4bd0Wcl-dLH4X438aqblP_Gt4AvEfFVAll9-a27FvLsVKptWIJ33ccdkKM54GBvMRRC6M/s1600/IMG_7131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6a5aU7WaAfBr-O9g5Y645lXc4gC2Dw4xdivyUrFy_U_E30akLiqdoj9uGMUz-bmwoQupTL4bd0Wcl-dLH4X438aqblP_Gt4AvEfFVAll9-a27FvLsVKptWIJ33ccdkKM54GBvMRRC6M/s320/IMG_7131.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had a fifteen-minute leg stretch at Kaikoura on the way<br />
home to Christchurch. What a spectacular color that sea is!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Naturally, some clouds still blocked out those mountains!Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-51108057780350165652012-02-26T16:12:00.000+13:002012-02-26T16:12:15.633+13:00Week 5.5 SummaryHalfway done! And halfway done my fieldwork, too! Looks like I'm staying on schedule for now.<br />
<br />
Chocolate consumption to date: 6.1 kilograms (as in, I bought lots on sale, and ate it all, too.)<br />
Cups of coffee to date: 2<br />
Cups of tea to date: 4<br />
Weight gain: We'll see when I get on the scale back home... I'm concerned.<br />
<br />
Amount of time it takes me to write a good column: 12 hours<br />
Amount of time I spend writing a column these days: 5 hours<br />
Amount of trouble I've given my poor editor: Uncountable<br />
Number of reasonable column ideas remaining: -2<br />
<br />
Number of seedlings processed: 150<br />
Number of seedlings remaining: I'm afraid to countHolly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2536826246786805747.post-22337735135758212202012-02-25T00:01:00.003+13:002012-02-26T13:26:57.048+13:00Orion is upside down! (Anatomy of field sampling)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On Monday night, to celebrate the completion of the field survey, I stayed up long past sunset (working on <a href="http://www.stanforddaily.com/2012/02/23/seeing-green-the-spring-boileth-over/" target="_blank">this column</a>, actually) in order to check out the Southern Hemisphere's stars.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8qZdkG0hWL4nPAtSAkJxrHbrnZ4xNnkksAugbLZnYpX8ZVys8XkZ64AjhUBpojCh-rz5T-FK_u2w4I53tO4ItlRWuu8tmKOv3Rqw-3qHLk0TwymrO-Se5vibnJv6fU3B2YQwk9Dzkm4/s1600/IMG_7152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8qZdkG0hWL4nPAtSAkJxrHbrnZ4xNnkksAugbLZnYpX8ZVys8XkZ64AjhUBpojCh-rz5T-FK_u2w4I53tO4ItlRWuu8tmKOv3Rqw-3qHLk0TwymrO-Se5vibnJv6fU3B2YQwk9Dzkm4/s400/IMG_7152.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of many, many Douglas-fir seedlings we've collected in the past weeks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It was a remarkably clear night up in Hanmer (location of the Hanmer Hot Springs, which we skipped, and one of the worst wasp infestations I've seen, which we sampled in), and the tiny town offered very little light pollution. So I got my first look at an upside-down sky.<br />
<br />
I only recognized one constellation, Orion (my "cellestial boyfriend"). And he was upside down.<br />
<br />
"No, he's not!" K. said. Though born and raised in Germany, she's been in NZ for more than a decade and a half, so this disconcerting reversal is normal for her.<br />
<br />
"But his sword is pointing up instead of hanging down..."<br />
<br />
Feeling troubled, I went back to my room in our rented Kiwi batch. (We stayed overnight in someone's vacation home. One wall of the living room was literally plastered with pictures, from which K. and I decided that the family had three children, one of whom was now married with a child of his own, and the parents loved taking pictures of themselves with statues. And bathing in the... erm... nude. Naughty bits safely underwater, fortunately.) It was 10:30pm, way past my bedtime (yes, I am an old lady), and I was ready for bed.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
After two and a half weeks interspersed with daytrips and this one overnight expedition, we'd collected literally hundreds of Douglas-fir seedlings from five sites across the Christchurch area, all of which now need to undergo processing in the lab. <br />
<br />
Duane, Ian, and I have come up with a sampling scheme that balances two things: First, getting good science done. Second, getting good science done in a reasonable time frame (read as: before Holly gets on a plane in just a few short weeks).<br />
<br />
Our question: What ectomycorrhizal fungi are helping Douglas-fir seedlings establish under different canopy types?<br />
Our method: Collect seedlings from three canopy types (grassland, native Beech forest, and Douglas-fir plantation), and identify the fungi colonizing their roots.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgVP47jjiHXGT3nunzzKmsy9tUxi8rMN27O8UvDKiYR_3j7ejpuHMGFzw0lh26lmqFjSe6nJ3umE6veH3TZCbt22bEHBqggdkbIXwRxBNCanyHjL70CM-Ow_MRopxXKl2gsNTI8rau6A/s1600/IMG_7137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgVP47jjiHXGT3nunzzKmsy9tUxi8rMN27O8UvDKiYR_3j7ejpuHMGFzw0lh26lmqFjSe6nJ3umE6veH3TZCbt22bEHBqggdkbIXwRxBNCanyHjL70CM-Ow_MRopxXKl2gsNTI8rau6A/s320/IMG_7137.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of one of our grassland sites. Did I mention,<br />
we work in paradise?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzKHAnVtwda4CnYkfnwTKf607Q6mkTBheUkhwJgvLNvPE_5jJARCHi4htXx6jB0QCM-41rqQjyvqxtgnvQWE6i6TWdUZbIiXMUWwbUOl1yxPh3P8je0YBRzLMv6lpFu2UN4qmrnzQwBCE/s1600/IMG_6914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzKHAnVtwda4CnYkfnwTKf607Q6mkTBheUkhwJgvLNvPE_5jJARCHi4htXx6jB0QCM-41rqQjyvqxtgnvQWE6i6TWdUZbIiXMUWwbUOl1yxPh3P8je0YBRzLMv6lpFu2UN4qmrnzQwBCE/s320/IMG_6914.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under mountain beech canopy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9S6HVz93cC-ilw_DNV0ctTFvzsHOgCW7wLoKhhJAVoiP9Pu0nKJtlKHqDcEadCx1UmtdEnYsXHsPbEJgcuZ6q8G0AEdlcLE_qv-CwX_xmS0yw4svsUIsb9C5Bxwx3UIa63HVjUDR-Wo/s1600/IMG_7149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9S6HVz93cC-ilw_DNV0ctTFvzsHOgCW7wLoKhhJAVoiP9Pu0nKJtlKHqDcEadCx1UmtdEnYsXHsPbEJgcuZ6q8G0AEdlcLE_qv-CwX_xmS0yw4svsUIsb9C5Bxwx3UIa63HVjUDR-Wo/s320/IMG_7149.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A clearing in the Douglas-fir plantation, chock<br />
full of up-and-coming seedlings.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>From a statistical perspective, it's important to have good replication in these studies. That is, you want to sample multiple locations (here, we'll call each location a site) to make sure that what you see isn't just a phenomenon of a single site. <br />
<br />
Another expository food example: When Holly travels, she likes to treat herself to a McDonalds milkshake. The last time she had one, though, was some time ago on Cape Cod. This milkshake was served in a snazzy clear plastic cup, topped with whipped cream and a cherry, far classier than what Holly is used to -- and, frankly, less delicious. There are two competing explanations: (1) McDonalds joints everywhere have upgraded, or (2) Cape Cod is fancier than other places. But because Holly's sample size is one (one milkshake, at one McDonalds), she cannot determine whether her results are limited to that single site.<br />
<br />
Bringing this back to research, that means we want to check out the roots of Douglas-fir seedlings that came from many different sites, which are theoretically independent of one another because they're far enough apart that both the seedlings and the fungi colonizing them come from different sources.<br />
<br />
For our purposes, we've defined a site by its Douglas-fir planting history. Each site has its own independent Douglas-fir plantation, and seeds from that plantation have resulted in the establishment of Douglas-fir babies under the plantation's canopy itself, under adjacent Beech canopy, and in adjacent grassland.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3IZcvL-revSi1K9WEwlW0EQtL4henfs7XRlrT1_1whPv8zwOiNnzmx1Lap6jOrMtifc8CAUJlTOeJHUiNVi6iW8Jsjr9LiG_EqTPhav3ff_Z-si_dgzEu5y1lQwxnKGLf8hGT-tYPN4/s1600/IMG_7198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3IZcvL-revSi1K9WEwlW0EQtL4henfs7XRlrT1_1whPv8zwOiNnzmx1Lap6jOrMtifc8CAUJlTOeJHUiNVi6iW8Jsjr9LiG_EqTPhav3ff_Z-si_dgzEu5y1lQwxnKGLf8hGT-tYPN4/s320/IMG_7198.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">K. digging up one of the grassland seedlings.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFyAt4LybVw8QcHCymqP5CTCKilgrPVmDgJXUdV7wVCJyLavX1X3LFD62etDVOfkZTsomEL5A_TJowHgwVIegkuV1jDc8cgIxxpuMI56M15N4TLpSiDPhWBZMFQCU3I7M1RMBLIOHGqc/s1600/IMG_6925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFyAt4LybVw8QcHCymqP5CTCKilgrPVmDgJXUdV7wVCJyLavX1X3LFD62etDVOfkZTsomEL5A_TJowHgwVIegkuV1jDc8cgIxxpuMI56M15N4TLpSiDPhWBZMFQCU3I7M1RMBLIOHGqc/s320/IMG_6925.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">A seedling coming up in the grassland. Because of the greater<br />
light intensity there (no tree cover), the seedlings tend to be bushier.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
From each site, we collect at least fifteen Douglas-fir seedlings, which gives us a chance to encounter even the fungal species that are rare. (Typically, a seedling will be colonized by only one or two dominant fungi, because its root system is so small. So if you took only a single seedling, you'd likely find only a couple fungi, when in reality there can be many important species.)<br />
<br />
From an armchair ecologist's perspective, we decided it would be great to sample three sites. So 3 sites x 3 canopy types per site x 15 seedlings per canopy type gives 135 seedlings to analyze.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAag1nabL5FMoIg6xytGkFJnJHNccCnr7n6mYSqV6ViTgku7kC53vgQGfYDr2apz7FmIAA7SAzBk27qytS48OG2EvscPkkav1RQ_qhUjEHKedvs2rnD-anopSESB872T_0WKZHLtGgGJE/s1600/IMG_7148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAag1nabL5FMoIg6xytGkFJnJHNccCnr7n6mYSqV6ViTgku7kC53vgQGfYDr2apz7FmIAA7SAzBk27qytS48OG2EvscPkkav1RQ_qhUjEHKedvs2rnD-anopSESB872T_0WKZHLtGgGJE/s320/IMG_7148.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's important to keep the seedling's root system <br />
as intact as possible, so that we can look through all <br />
the root tips for fungal infection.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> In reality, I've been able to visit 5 sites -- three with all three canopy types, and two with only Douglas-fir and Beech canopies -- and have collected closer to 25 seedlings under each canopy type. Slowly I'm working my way through bags and bags and bags of seedlings... More on this processing later (look for: Anatomy of laboratory work).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnmlQLtdNXRDSHm2XO6Ky8gT0vTMwuA78TCQEK7BJVoyokN4edk_qo_jkY2cxPfm49itm4_ouNb7YCiUP2d7AmV9Rcwg6ROmYhkMTpf756Avpzdfm6LNIgWBUeDZrBPN_SAjQq8jDA0U/s1600/IMG_7172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnmlQLtdNXRDSHm2XO6Ky8gT0vTMwuA78TCQEK7BJVoyokN4edk_qo_jkY2cxPfm49itm4_ouNb7YCiUP2d7AmV9Rcwg6ROmYhkMTpf756Avpzdfm6LNIgWBUeDZrBPN_SAjQq8jDA0U/s320/IMG_7172.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J. and I holding up some cut Douglas-fir. When<br />
we have the time, we cut down the older, reproductively<br />
active trees in the Beech forest, doing what we can to<br />
slow the invasion.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivV15l3rDcHsT7cHT8FxKX4-j57ObwrWLzGn6EcPOehJq3h1MITtFxjMcycC0bxNvAZr-HMgGkcRMqQPfY3NQx6uJiZsQTyxRm_62pMVxekheWlAxzTwtPJn4E6dAEQZO3tCttDn2inr0/s1600/IMG_7159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivV15l3rDcHsT7cHT8FxKX4-j57ObwrWLzGn6EcPOehJq3h1MITtFxjMcycC0bxNvAZr-HMgGkcRMqQPfY3NQx6uJiZsQTyxRm_62pMVxekheWlAxzTwtPJn4E6dAEQZO3tCttDn2inr0/s320/IMG_7159.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shortly after hacking down some souvenir Christmas trees,<br />
J. and I enjoyed photographing this Daddy Long Legs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8BzudZodNouOn27HMZ486sJhtT9nQpW7NJLTqTw-UOXTlM85V8pVvUTM1XE6I3LDT1T2fQWgLQKDQVqLca1hmRNVuTeakln4B8hAtorqk_6cREqaMHJJIpo6_2LB8ound4v8fMQELM0/s1600/IMG_7200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8BzudZodNouOn27HMZ486sJhtT9nQpW7NJLTqTw-UOXTlM85V8pVvUTM1XE6I3LDT1T2fQWgLQKDQVqLca1hmRNVuTeakln4B8hAtorqk_6cREqaMHJJIpo6_2LB8ound4v8fMQELM0/s320/IMG_7200.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Paradise comes with snacks: sweet snowberry growing in the grassland.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>Holly Moellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09400266142323614084noreply@blogger.com0