This summer I spent just over 7 weeks in Trinidad with a group of students carrying out zoology research for the University of Glasgow. It involved tracking some amazing frogs, working with turtles and their hatchlings, hill climbing in 35⁰C heat for water samples, and for myself in particular collecting many foam nests produced by frogs during mating. It was one of the most amazing trips of my life, with an incredible team, and has quickly converted me to love all things herpetology.
The main purpose of this trip was to collect samples, so I could continue work on studying the potential of foam produced by frogs for drug delivery systems, but I learned so much more and I think some of it is important to share. So here are my top 4 tips from my Trinidad trip:
1. Know where your samples come from – ALWAYS
If you work with any kind of samples that are taken from the field, understanding how they are collected and processed is massively important, it can affect more than you think. In my case, the foam I need can contain 200 – 400 freshly laid eggs. A huge part of my PhD has been studying the foam proteins, and before I had the chance to collect the foam myself I was given samples of lovely eggless foam. I hadn’t really considered that my results could be impacted by the eggs, and that if one was burst while they were being removed it would release proteins that I didn’t want. It is a consideration that when I collected my own samples seemed so obvious, and I felt a bit stupid for not thinking about it before. There were many more examples where I realised my lack of knowledge about the sites and collection procedure had led me to overlook things, but the point remains the same: small things can cause a big impact on your research, and if your collection sites are thousands of miles away, like mine, you may just be wasting time and money. So lesson one from my trip; know your samples well.
2. Explaining your research to others is useful
Now when I say this, I don’t mean explain it to a person in your lab who has known and helped you with your project for a while. I also don’t mean explaining your project at a conference to fellow members of a society. What I mean is talking about your research to people whose work is in a different field to yours, who to some extent had no idea your research even existed. It forces you to simplify, fully understand and answer questions on the things that you’re doing. It’s hugely beneficial to see how other people react, the questions they ask and the ideas they have for your research.
Sometimes these simple conversations lead to new ideas that have nothing to do with your project but help promote work across different specialties. While in Trinidad many conversations about molecular biology lead to how this could be applied to zoology, and in this case has led to a member writing a proposal about how environmental genomics can be applied to find evasive species. By no means was this idea mine, but it was brilliant to help it develop and talk about how it could become a real experiment instead of a just a fun idea. So branch out and talk to people who work on something different, it’s a game changer.
2. Take a step away
One of the great and terrible things about a PhD is that your research becomes your life, your experiments are your best friend and your worst enemy. It is easy to get caught up in a bubble of stress trying to repeatedly make something work. This trip "forced" me to step away, to concentrate on a different aspect of my project, and to learn some new skills. Seven weeks of a new type of work, and environment meant that when I returned I had fresh ideas and a better mind set to look back at previous experiments. I am not suggesting that students should go on a seven week "holiday" every year, but every few months give yourself a chance to do something different, learn something new and if you’ve been carrying out the same protocol over and over again step back for a while. You’ll find that when you return your brain will re-evaluate and the solution may be simpler than you thought.
3. Field work is fun!
My final lesson is short and simple. Looking at the world through the eyes of field biologists is great fun. Field work involves long hours and hard work, much like being in the lab, but it is just as and sometimes more rewarding (sorry, it’s hard to beat holding a tiny frog or a turtle hatchling in your hand). So, if you get the opportunity, get outside and go study the wildlife. The UK has as much to offer as the rest of the world, when you look there is more to see than you think!
About the Author:
Sarah is a PhD student studying the potential of foam from foam-nesting frogs and the potential of these for drug delivery applications and antimicrobial peptides.
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