Krysten Martin | Class of 2018
Hello everyone! My name is Krysten and I graduated from UC Davis in September 2018 with a B.S. in Animal Biology, emphasizing in Mammalian Behavior and Ecology, and a minor in Archaeology. Choosing the Animal Biology major was one of the best decisions I made in my college career and it has helped me to grow and mature as a researcher in the sciences. When coming to Davis as a lover of animals with a passion to study more about them, it can be hard to pick between Animal Science, Animal Biology, and Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation. For me, the answer was clear: I wanted to do research, I wanted to study wild animals, and I wanted to focus on mammals, and the Animal Biology major allowed me to do just that. What makes the Animal Biology major really unique are the 25 restricted elective units available for students to focus their major on what they want to study. In addition, the Animal Biology major requires a Senior Practicum Project, which while daunting at first glance, provided research experience pivotal to where I’ve gotten to today!
When starting out in the Animal Biology major, it can be hard to imagine finding a topic to write a practicum on. However, as you network with professors, check out presentations on campus, and take new classes, many potential topics can jump out at you! I first interned with the Sacramento Zoo as a Zoo Keeper-aide and gained experience cleaning enclosures, feeding animals (birds, carnivores, ungulates, and primates), and maintaining exhibits. This experience gave me insight into the zoo-keeping field and initially inspired me to conduct zoo-based research. However, later that year, I attended a presentation by Operation Wallacea, a UK-based conservation research organization, and from there was inspired to take part in one of their expeditions and conduct my practicum research. When I asked Dr. Kimsey (lead faculty advisor for the Animal Biology major) about potential on-campus mentors for such a project, I was pleasantly surprised by his offer to be my on-campus mentor and from there worked with him to choose courses from the NPB, WFC, and ANT departments that would aid in my research.
Summer 2016 I took part in my first expedition with Operation Wallacea to their research site in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Campeche, Mexico as a Research Assistant. I spent 3 weeks at the terrestrial site learning about the biodiversity of the reserve and conducting surveys on birds, herpetofauna, butterflies, bats, and large mammals. We used mist nets, point counts, pitfall traps, transect surveys, tracks, camera traps, and habitat surveys to learn more about the ecology of the region. After that, I spent 1 week at the marine site and became PADI Open Water dive certified. Having loved my experience with the program, I returned the next year for 6 weeks to work with Dr. Kathy Slater and conduct research exploring the effects of fruit availability on spider monkey behavior through a unique “Dissertation Student” track Operation Wallacea offers to guide undergraduate and graduate students through their research projects. I surveyed spider monkeys daily—identifying group composition, activity budget, and social interactions—and recorded the GPS locations of subgroups to assess home and day range. These summer research expeditions unearthed my love for field research and laid important groundwork for my foray into this field, which I would not have experienced were it not for the ABI Practicum Project requirement.
Inspired to learn more about field work, I also participated in a 3-day Ringtail Live-trapping, Morphometrics, Camera-detection, and Radiotelemetry Workshop offered by DavidWyatt in the spring of my senior year, which provided me with additional mammal-focused field experience and directly related to my first post-graduation position. Six months after graduating, I was accepted as the Bobcat Ecology Intern for the Santa Monica Mountains National Park and for the next six months worked with biologist Joanne Moriarty full-time conducting radio-telemetry on and studying the behavior of bobcats, setting and maintaining remote camera traps, utilizing GIS to manipulate data and create maps, and managing databases for the park. Currently, I have extended my internship to a full year and now serve as the Bobcat Trapping Intern where I will now help with trapping, collaring, and tagging bobcats for the park! This position would not have been possible for me without the preparation the Animal Biology major gave me, and I highly recommend it to any student looking for a versatile and practical major in the sciences. The courses, advising team, and research components of the major all provide crucial building blocks for a career in research or a related field.