October 30th marked the five-year anniversary of the death of my friend Washoe. Washoe was a wonderful friend. She was confident and self-assured. She was a matriarch, a mother figure not only to her adopted son but to others as well...
A trusted Ugandan colleague called one afternoon to share the news that he had found someone whom I might hire as a field assistant. Jack and I met with our colleague and the prospective hire, Nick, an hour later in town...
It’s been a busy week for scientists in the Gulf of MexicoLast week, scientists dropped longlines at artificial reef sites off the Texas coast, pulling up some nice-looking red snapper, gray snapper and triggerish...
The first days of a research trip follow a characteristic pattern among the field researchers I know. The story goes something like this. Step 1: Arrive in capital city.
After weeks spent packing, moving from our apartment, and traveling, my partner Jack and I have finally arrived in Uganda. Though it will still take some time to get settled into the place we’ll call home for the next year, a currently empty house in western Uganda will soon begin to feel familiar...
Not so long ago, gods and witchcraft were the main explanations for natural phenomena. Nowadays scientists and science can explain even the most incredible findings.
Thankfully this isn’t a story about traveler’s diarrhea — I’m rather happy I haven’t experienced that yet — but rather about a fantastic tropical pitcher plant that serves as a convenient toilet for small mammals and birds...
Why would any sane person want to climb a 4000-meter mountain with a 25-kg backpack and an electric heater tied on his back? Normally, it may be difficult to find a reason.
With each challenge it encountered, the more the team seemed to take on a life of its own, emerging as a dynamic, complex organism, much more than the sum of its parts.
I’m busy packing up and getting ready for Uganda this week. As I’ve increasingly turned my attention toward my upcoming trip, I’ve been thinking of all the things I’m anticipating.
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