Thoughts on the Language Barrier: Anxiety and Opportunity

As I was reading an article on participatory action research (which entails getting multiple "stakeholders" involved in the research design and process) I had a thought that I've had several times before when thinking about my own research: this kind of participatory approach to my research would be great, but I feel a disappointing hesitation with actually implementing it, not because I don't think it's important or would be a good thing to do, but because of my lack of fluency in Spanish. I realized that if I was working with communities and farmers in the US I would be much more "comfortable" with doing this kind of participatory research, but because I am not fluent in Spanish I to be honest am somewhat "scared" of taking on that kind of approach. I've caught myself feeling this way several times, and in moments of stress I half wish I was working in the US for my research. It's strange because I think I feel an extra "pressure" to learn the language and be fluent because I am somewhat conversant in Spanish. If I was working in a country where I knew nothing of the language, I don't think I'd feel as much internal pressure to be completely fluent and "perform well". Despite all these moments of doubt, I know this whole experience will make me that much stronger, and I'll come out of it with a much better handle on speaking Spanish and with conversing and working with people in Spanish-speaking countries. Now it’s time to buckle back down and really practice!

Exciting News: ESA Graduate Student Policy Award!

I have some exciting news to share! I found out on Friday that I received a 2016 Ecological Society of America Graduate Student Policy Award! The award is a great opportunity to get more involved with the science-policy interface, and to learn how I can apply my own research and career to help inform policy decisions.

As part of the award, I will join a small group of other graduate students in Washington, D.C. in April to participate in the Biological and Ecological Science Coalition Congressional Visits Day, an annual event that brings scientists from many fields to the Capitol to highlight the need for federal support of science. We will receive hands-on training in science communication and policy, and will meet with Congressional representatives to discuss the importance of federal investments in the biological sciences.

I’m really excited about this opportunity and will keep you posted on how it all goes!

New Year, New Updates

Wow, I’ve been a bit remiss in keeping up with my blog! Well, it’s a new year and time for an update on my progress with my PhD program. This past semester has definitely been a busy one, and time to put all my research ideas into action (or not, depending on feasibility and funding…). This semester has also been an extremely important one in terms of professional development activities. Here are a few of the highlights:

First off, my research project is developing, although it’s still contingent upon funding from grants I’ve applied for. I have encountered feasibility issues with studying Mexican long-nosed bats (for example, they are just under the weight limit to attach GPS units for tracking to foraging areas; they can fly long distances from the roosting cave (up to 20-30 miles) to forage every night, making radio tracking them difficult; and the large entrances of their roosting caves in my study area make mist-netting them difficult) so have had to adjust my plans a bit. The ultimate goal of my work is still to identify areas of agaves where the bats forage so we can work with communities and agave farmers in those areas to develop bat-friendly agave management programs. However, now instead of directly tracking the bats to see where they are foraging, I plan to use infrared cameras set up in agave fields near communities to determine if the bats are using those agaves and how much they are visiting them. I also plan to conduct agave pollination studies to determine how much pollination services the bats are providing to the communities. Finally, I will be conducting interviews and focus groups with the communities and farmers to determine their willingness to adopt “bat-friendly” agave management practices and how to implement these practices. At least that’s the plan for now!

One of the best and most exciting things this semester was attending the North American Society for Bat Research Symposium in Monterey, CA. I hadn’t been to a NASBR meeting since the Costa Rica International Bat Research Conference/NASBR in 2013, and man was it good to attend again! I presented my proposed PhD research and got a lot of good feedback and ideas to pursue. Perhaps the most exciting activity was being part of the first meeting of a new working group for the Mexican long-nosed bat. The group is comprised of researchers (including myself), Bat Conservation International staff, and government department staff. As part of the group I will be helping to revise the Recovery Plan for the species and identify conservation priorities. We are planning to meet again to really get things going this April in Austin, TX. 

Finally, I am working on several publications, a few as collaborations that grew out of attending the International Association of Landscape Ecology meeting and the Ecological Society of America meeting, and one that stems from a paper I wrote for a class last year. I’m really excited to be working on these, and hopefully they’ll be accepted!