By Sara Colom, a University of Michigan graduate student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
The summer of 2017 was a tough year for plants, it was very hot and very dry. Plants not adapted to hot and dry conditions suffered stunted growth, low fertility and premature death, assuming that they managed to germinate to begin with. Among those ailing plants that struggled to exist last summer were the seventeen hundred or so morning glory seeds I planted for The research project of my PhD career. I had very low germination (<50%) and for purposes of my research questions, that sample size was not going to fly for significant results. In attempts of saving all my planting hard work and thesis, I replanted a second cohort two weeks later. Unfortunately, for some reason those plants did not grow very much or interact like I anticipated for my project. Long story short my big experiment flopped and it’s a year later and I am going to repeat it, this time with greater wisdom and hopefully better luck.
The reason I called this particular blog rain dance for science (pun intended) is because successful field projects depend greatly on preparation, similar to an intricate and ceremonial dance, but also on things we cannot control like the rain (#FieldLifeHappens). In brief, my blogging goals this summer in no particular order include A) Give tips on preparing a field experiment, B) Share my personal field experience, e.g how I manage a big project and self care, C) Provide some guidance on how to mentor undergrads in field project and lastly D) Talk a bit about my research 😉 .
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| Me collecting data last summer at Matthaei Botanical Gardens. |
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| Volunteer/friends and me planting this summer’s research project at Matthaei Botanical Gardens. |