Selina is a 7th year PhD candidate in PEEC working in the Suarez lab. Her research focuses on ant-mediated seed dispersal in the Neotropics. She is describing patterns in seed removal of seed species that do not provide the typical food reward to ant species, investigating the chemical mechanism that promotes this ant-seed interaction, and the short-term seed fate consequences of these interactions.
What have you been working on this past week?
This week I’ve mainly been trying to get things done that have to be done in the lab. For example, imaging a bunch of seeds using the Leica scope and making sure I have all the morphological measurements recorded for some ants that I need for a later analysis. Also, I’ve been working on putting the finishing touches on a manuscript that I’m hoping to submit very soon! Other than that, I’ve finished up my teaching responsibilities by grading and helping to proctor the final exam.
Do you have any pets?
I’ve had a few pets during graduate school, mostly varying from fish to geckos. Sadly, all my fish have passed away, but my geckos are still keeping me company. Parula is my adorable leopard gecko. She was so tiny when I first got her but has grown a lot. Pittasoma is my crested gecko who you can hear crashing through his plant hides at night. Out of the fish I’ve had, two have stood out the most. One was a feeder goldfish, Sunburn, I won my first year in undergrad at Rutgers University. Sunburn traveled all the way from New York with me when I moved out here, but sadly died right after I came back from my first field season in Panama. A more recent fish I’ve had was a feisty little betta named Jai-berry who loved blowing bubble nests.
Do you have any writing “rituals”? What are they?
I have been trying to keep a writing schedule by going to the Writers Workshop Productivity Group meetings that have been happening. Before I start writing I make sure I have everything that I think I need out on the table before I start (i.e. coffee or tea, headphones, notebook, etc.). Then I go to a Slack channel that I have with some of my peers that we use for writing accountability and put down what my goals are for that session or day.
A view of your week:
Here is the image scope I was using to take photos of seeds. It may be a little hard to tell here, but the right side of the seed has been damaged.
