LARVAEThis week I worked on the Ifremeria larvae! early in the week, I spent a whole day transporting thousands of larvae from preservation baskets into smaller ones and prepping them for ethanol dehydration. The larvae I was working with last week were huge compared to the Ifremeria larvae that I was working on and will continue to work on. I first transferred two different vials which took me a while because there were quite literally hundreds of larvae that are very hard to see with the naked eye. In the image above, I was using a glass pipette and a dissecting microscope to get each and last individual larvae. In my right hand you can see the stick with a cactus spine on the end. This is actually a very efficient way of picking up the larvae because when they are that small, they kind of stick to the spine through static. I after setting up the larvae, an ethanol dehydration process was done for 15 minutes in 85%,90%,95%,100%,100%, and a third 100% percent to ensure all water was replaced. Avery ( a Masters student) and I did the critical point drying process together so I can fully understand it and be able to do it on my own next time. I then took about 40 images of the embryos that I stubbed and gold coated under the SEM. The week went by super fast and before I knew it, it was Friday. Friday morning a few of us went to the island near Sunset Bay Beach since it was a super low tide. The tide was a -2.5 feet which meant we could tide pool in area that normally would be underwater. We walked around and looked at many animals. I even cracked open an Urchin and ate its gonads. It was the first time I had Urchin and I thought it was pretty good. My favorite part was walking through the cave in the middle of the island which allowed us to get to the other side. Weekend!This weekend was a fun and productive! After lab on Friday, a few of us played some volleyball which was super fun except when the ball would fall into the river stream running through campus. I think in the hour we played, it made it into the stream 6 times. Saturday morning I went surfing with Aaron Galloway to Bastendorff beach. When we got there, the fog was so thick that we could not see the waves until you were basically ankle deep in the water. Aaron gave me a thick wetsuit, a cap, and booties in order to stay warm the water. We went out and the waves were actually pretty big. I would say they were 4-6 feet. The current was super strong so before you knew it you were 100 meters down the beach and had to get out and walk back up the beach. I only caught one wave since the ocean is very different from calmer Santa Barbara ocean. I will definitely try and go out more and get used to the break.
That same day, Cat, Flynn and I went to town for a grocery run and to eat sushi. Sunday seems like it will be a chill day where I work on my presentation and do some laundry. Phone update: My phone was shipped and will arrive here on Thursday! Also an opportunity arose where I might be able to to Eugene Fri-Sun and if I do I can go to World Champs on Saturday but I have to figure out where Im going to sleep. I wouldn't mind staying in Motel 6 as I would only use it to sleep. Ill figure it out soon.
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AuthorHello I am Ytxzae Enriquez I am originally from Las Vegas, NV but have been living in Santa Barbara for a while. I just graduated from SBCC with two AAs in Biology. By the end of my career at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) I really got into the Earth Sciences and I will transfer to University of California: Santa Cruz (UCSC) this Fall as an Earth Science/Ocean Science B.S Major. I really enjoy Surfing, Rock Climbing, Skateboarding, and going on super sick hikes. Archives
August 2022
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