Day at Work: Ichthyologist (Fish Biologist)

Summary

Moises, a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin and an Ichthyologist at the California Academy of Sciences, shares his journey from Panama to becoming a fish biologist. His passion for marine biology was ignited by snorkeling and scuba diving in his youth. Moises focuses on fish genomics to understand evolutionary history and biodiversity. He discusses the challenges of being a non-native English speaker in academia and emphasizes the importance of writing skills. He also highlights the excitement of fieldwork and the joy of contributing to human knowledge.

Takeaways

• 🐠 Moises is a fish biologist and a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin, conducting research at the California Academy of Sciences.
• 🌊 His passion for marine biology was ignited during his childhood in Panama, where he spent time snorkeling and diving in coral reefs.
• 🏫 Moises overcame the challenge of English not being his first language, which was crucial for his academic and research pursuits.
• 🧬 His research focuses on the genome of fish to understand their evolutionary history and the reasons behind high fish diversity in certain regions.
• 📝 Writing is a significant part of being a scientist, and Moises emphasizes the importance of paying attention to writing and literature classes.
• 🔬 As a researcher, Moises conducts genetic analysis, statistical analysis, and writes up his findings for peers to understand.
• 🌳 Fieldwork is a thrilling aspect of being a biologist, where Moises collects samples and observes phenomena that spark questions for further research.
• 🤔 Observations in the field lead to the formulation of research questions, which Moises then seeks to answer through his studies.
• 🌐 Contributing to human knowledge, even in a small way, provides Moises with a deep sense of satisfaction and gratification.
• 📈 Ichthyology is a broad field with various sub-disciplines, including systematics, which studies the relationships between different fish species.

Q & A

What is the name of the person being interviewed in the transcript?

The person being interviewed is named Moises.

What is Moises' field of study?

Moises is a fish biologist, also known as an Ichthyologist.

Where is Moises conducting his research?

Moises is conducting his research from the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, despite being a Ph.D. student for the University of Texas at Austin.

What was Moises' experience with marine life before his formal education?

Before his formal education, Moises had experiences snorkeling in Panama, which sparked his interest in marine life.

How did Moises' scuba certification impact his career choice?

Getting scuba certified in high school cemented Moises' interest in marine biology and his decision to become a biologist.

What specific aspect of fish biology does Moises focus on?

Moises focuses on studying the genome of fish to understand their evolutionary history and the reasons behind high fish diversity in certain parts of the world.

What was one of the biggest challenges Moises faced as a researcher?

One of the biggest challenges Moises faced was that his first language is Spanish, which made writing and communicating in English very challenging initially.

How long did it take Moises to become comfortable with English?

It took Moises about a year to become comfortable with English.

What skills does Moises emphasize as important for a scientist?

Moises emphasizes the importance of good writing skills, as scientists spend a lot of time writing, as well as the ability to perform genetic analysis and statistical analysis.

What does Moises enjoy most about being a fish biologist?

Moises enjoys going to the field to collect samples and observing marine life, which often leads to asking questions and seeking answers that contribute to human knowledge.

What does Moises find satisfying about his work as a researcher?

Moises finds satisfaction and gratification in knowing that his work contributes to the general human knowledge, even if it's a small part.

Outlines

00:00

🐠 Passion for Ichthyology

Moises, a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin, discusses his journey into ichthyology, starting with his childhood fascination with the colors and diversity of fish in coral reefs while snorkeling in Panama. He highlights the importance of passion in becoming a researcher and shares his experience of becoming scuba certified in high school, which solidified his interest in marine biology. Moises' research focuses on studying fish genomes to understand their evolutionary history and the reasons behind high fish diversity in certain parts of the world.

Keywords

💡Ichthyologist

An Ichthyologist is a scientist who specializes in the study of fish. This term is central to the video's theme as the speaker, Moises, identifies himself as an Ichthyologist. His work involves studying fish genomes to understand their evolutionary history, which is a key aspect of his identity and the content of the video.

💡Passion

Passion is described as a driving force for becoming a researcher. In the context of the video, Moises emphasizes the importance of nurturing passion for the subject of study, which is crucial for the dedication and perseverance required in research. His passion for marine life is ignited by his experiences snorkeling and scuba diving.

💡Coral Reef Systems

Coral Reef Systems refer to the complex underwater ecosystems made up of corals and the diverse marine life that inhabits them. Moises was intrigued by these systems as a child, which led to his interest in marine biology. They are a significant part of his research as they are home to a high diversity of fish species.

💡Evolutionary History

Evolutionary History pertains to the study of how species have changed over time. Moises is interested in understanding the evolutionary history of fish to explain the high diversity found in certain parts of the world. This concept is central to his research as an Ichthyologist.

💡Genome

The genome is the complete set of genetic information of an organism. Moises studies fish genomes to uncover their evolutionary history. The term is crucial to the video as it directly relates to his research methodology.

💡Diversity

Diversity in the context of the video refers to the variety of fish species found in different parts of the world. Moises is particularly interested in why certain areas have a high diversity of fish, which is a central question in his research.

💡Scuba Certified

Being scuba certified means having the training and qualifications to dive underwater using scuba gear. This was a pivotal moment for Moises, as it allowed him to explore marine life more deeply and solidified his interest in marine biology.

💡Researcher

A researcher is someone who conducts investigations or experiments to contribute to knowledge. The video's narrative revolves around Moises' journey and experiences as a researcher, including the challenges he faced and the tasks he performs.

💡Systematics

Systematics is the biological discipline of classifying organisms into groups based on their evolutionary relationships. Moises mentions that some Ichthyologists work in systematics to determine how different fish species are related, which is a part of the broader field he works in.

💡Language Barrier

The language barrier refers to the difficulty Moises faced as a Spanish speaker trying to communicate, write, and learn in English. This is an important aspect of his story, illustrating the challenges researchers from non-English speaking backgrounds can encounter.

💡Fieldwork

Fieldwork involves going to the location of the study to collect data or samples. For Moises, fieldwork involves collecting fish samples, which he finds exciting. It's a crucial part of his job as a biologist and provides firsthand experience with the subjects of his study.

Highlights

Nurturing passion is crucial for becoming a researcher.

Moises is a fish biologist and Ichthyologist.

Moises is a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin.

Moises conducts research at the California Academy of Sciences.

Moises' interest in marine biology began in Panama.

Snorkeling as a child sparked Moises' fascination with marine life.

Scuba certification solidified Moises' interest in marine biology.

Ichthyology encompasses a broad spectrum of study.

Moises studies fish genomes to understand evolutionary history.

Moises investigates high fish diversity in certain regions.

Language barrier was a significant challenge for Moises.

Writing skills are crucial for a researcher.

Researchers must be proficient in genetic analysis and data interpretation.

Fieldwork is an exciting aspect of being a biologist.

Observations in the field lead to questions and research.

Contributing to human knowledge is a gratifying aspect of research.

Transcripts

Try to be in touch with, you know, with a system that you really want to study,

with a system that really drives you crazy -- because that's how you nurture passion

and passion is one of the most important things in becoming a researcher.

My name is Moises. I am a fish biologist, also known as an Ichthyologist.

I'm a Ph.D. student for the University of Texas at Austin, although

I'm conducting my research from the California Academy of Sciences here in

San Francisco. How I got into this field is actually a very interesting story --

I'm originally from Panama. I actually moved here to the US to do my Ph.D. and all my

experience before that was in Panama which is a tropical country. And when I

was a kid, I would do a lot of snorkeling and I would always be very, very

intrigued by all the colors of the fishes and also all the creatures that

were in that complex environment that is coral reef systems.

One of the things that I did when I was in high school, that changed my

perspective of life in general, was getting scuba certified. It really, really

cemented my interest in marine biology and it really cemented my interest in

actually becoming a biologist. At the age of 16 I started diving quite a bit and

when I started diving, I got really, really obsesed with marine biology.

When you talk about ichthyology you can do multiple things. In this case it

encompasses a broad spectrum of study. So there's a lot of people that are related

with systematics and try to determine how each fish relates with each other.

The kind of study that I do on fishes -- is that I try to study their genome, to try

to understand their evolutionary history, in order to try to understand why and

how there's such high fish diversity in certain portions of the world.

One of the biggest challenges for me becoming a researcher is that my

first language is Spanish.

It was really, really challenging at first, you know,

trying to write in English the whole time -- try to communicate in English the whole time --

trying to receive classes in English whole time. And it took me

probably about a year until I was really comfortable and it was not an exhaustive

process -- like I would be literally exhausted by the end of the day.

There's many tasks that you have to do at a given time. A lot of people don't think

that they have to write really well, but when you're a scientists, you're gonna spend a

lot of time writing. So, pay attention to your writing classes -- your literature classes.

You also have to do, you know, the genetic analysis. You're gonna have to

analyze the data in the lab with the computers, you're gonna have to do a lot of

statistical analysis to try to infer what's going on with that genetic data and

you're gonna have to write those results in a really good fashion for your peers to understand it.

Another part that's really, really exciting about

being a fish biologist, is that you get to go to the field to collect

samples, and that's probably the preferred part of a lot of biologists.

The thing that I probably love the most about this is that when you go to the

field and you observe something, you can start asking all these questions about

that particular observation. And then you have to come up with ways to try to

answer that particular question.

And in the end, that answer might become part of the general human knowledge, even

if it's like a really tiny smidge of knowledge, it actually is incriminating

the knowledge you're giving to mankind. And that's a satisfaction and gratification that you

feel that no one can take out of you.