My experience in Dr. Carlson’s laboratory was quite an enriching opportunity because of the environment which I worked in. Dr. Carlson’s internship focuses on studying the population of Eastern Box turtles inhabiting the Allee Memorial Woods Nature Preserve. My research project was to collect data about which kinds of microhabitats turtles were selecting throughout a given time period. Microhabitat data is important because it could help indicate what types of
locations turtles typically choose to inhabit or avoid. Thus, this information could assist researchers in locating large numbers of turtle subjects regularly.
To conduct this study, I and two other interns used radio transmitters to consistently track and locate select turtles across the span of a week. Because of the use of radio transmitters, I gained experience performing
radio tracking which was my favorite part of the experience. Most of our radio tracking and data collection was done separate from Dr. Carlson, and this allowed for independent thinking and action to occur. Gaining independent experience with the radio tracking and collection procedures gave me a great deal of confidence in my abilities as a researcher. Besides radio tracking, this internship opportunity was incredibly enticing because of its field research
component.
I spent around 80 hours in the field throughout the six-week internship, so I was able to get a clear picture of what field work is like. On certain days when we went out to the forest, we braved ninety-degree heat and relentless bugs, which made data collection quite a challenge.
However, I genuinely enjoyed the opportunity to be outdoors in nature. I loved the occasional opportunity to collect data near a cliff face or gorge because it meant that I could gaze for a few minutes at some of Allee woods’ most serene views. Despite the heat and insects these views and the wonder of being surrounded by nature made my experience incredibly fun. Overall, I would
recommend this internship to anyone who loves wildlife or the outdoors because I got spend a great deal of time in the field through this opportunity.
