The real bread-and-butter of science is DATA. Much of my first two weeks here was getting up to speed on technology, literature, facilities, people and beginning work on the various computer files – texonomy systematics, range chart, pictures, etc. I analysed nine slides in those two weeks as I gradually worked on my knowledge and species concepts. The training wheels are now coming off and I am working to gather data.
This means counting silicoflagellates. Since silicos are not overly common I count all specimens in a microscope slide. Yes, the slide is small, but my microscope field of view is much much smaller. It takes about two hours to count a slide. Yesterday I counted four slides – about 850 slecimens – working steadily from 9AM to 9PM. Today as I write this it is 3:30 and I am half-way through my third slide, so hopefully four slides done today.
The stratigraphic interval that I am presently counting is less interesting than some of the material lower in section that I viewed earlier. I want to get some of the picture before I get back to the more interesting stuff, though I must say that what I am looking through has plenty of interest. I am flagging some groups for more detailed study and taking many pictures, about 80 yesterday. There are several potential new species or interesting environmental indicators. The bulb-things that I illustrated in yesterday’s blog may be worthy of a separate article, as I am finding these bulbs in several taxa and associated with other evidence of environmental stress. An idea for another paper comes up about every day; if only the papers could be written so quickly.
So, break finished, back to counting. Thus far in this slide I have counted about a hundred specimens, with about ten species. For some of these species I am counting various variants separately, and distinguishing between those that have 5 vs. 6 sides, small spines or no spines, and so forth, so maybe twenty separate categories in this slide. The cast varies from slide to slide of course due to evolution and environmental change. And of course, I need to figure out which is which…
Comments on this entry are closed.