Sample Internship

Carrie Hoover '99, a Marine Biology major going into her senior year, began her Internship with Dr. Jack Terhune of the University of New Brunswick's Saint John campus in mid-August 1998.

As an Intern with Dr. Terhune at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, I was involved in the study of underwater signals generated by an acoustic harassment device (AHD) located among salmon aquaculture cages at a site in the Bay of Fundy, near Grand Manan Island. The project was supported by the U.N.B. University Research Fund, and was done to analyze the harassment device's output level (in dB) and to determine its audibility to harbor seals at various ranges, as well as its possible effect on harbor porpoise and herring distribution.

Dr. Terhune led this specific study, but I also participated in projects that were being conducted by other interns and graduate students as well. I assisted in the data collection, during both aerial and boat surveys, of harbor seal haul out numbers for a population estimation and distribution study, and I helped with the analysis of Weddell seal calls that were recorded in Antarctica.

Collections for the AHD study were conducted over a span of three weeks in August in the Bay of Fundy, near Grand Manan Island, recordings were made on board a 13-meter research vessel owned and operated by the University. The device was manually set off when the boat was in its near vicinity, and it was allowed to fire randomly when recordings were made at a distance. Recordings were made at the transducer site, among and on the outer periphery of the two sets of aquaculture cages, and at various locations around the cage site. When the recordings were brought back to the SAEL (Seal Acoustical and Experimental Lab) lab, they were analyzed by computer. First the presence and time of each pulse train was conducted, followed by a spectral analysis of individual pulses themselves. The highest dB levels at 13, 15, and 19 kHz were recorded along with the duration of the respective pulse that it came from. Sound Pressure levels were calculated using calibration tones that were on each tape. GPS locations were used to plot the points where pulse trains were and were not detected. This information was then used to determine the effect of this machine on harbor seals, harbor porpoise, and herring in the area, based on these animals' upper hearing threshold limits. Models of spherical spreading were also formulated in order to determine the sound levels in surrounding areas where recordings were not made.

For the seal survey study, aerial flights were conducted twice a month, every other week, for a span of six months. Flights normally lasted about two and a half-hours, and spanned the coast of the Bay of Fundy, from Saint John, Canada to the Maine border. While in the air, population estimations were made, and photos were taken to be used for actual counting in the lab. On the days following these trips, boat surveys were also conducted for daily number variation patterns. These counts were then used by another intern and were compared to data from flights done in 1984 and 1997 to see if there has been a population decrease or increase, and also if haul out sites have changed.

Both of these projects were amazing, and being on the Bay of Fundy was incredible. Canada is very beautiful, and studying the seals was a lot of fun. I never anticipated actually enjoying acoustical research, but from the work I have done with this project, I have found that it is another aspect of marine biological research that I enjoy. Being able to write a paper on the research that I conducted, and having had it submitted for peer review and publication in an actual research journal was also very exciting. From this experience I feel that my education at Southampton has been extremely helpful. During my study I felt extremely well educated, intelligent, competent, and happy.

Sample List of Internship Sites

International Sites

Queensland Pharmaceutical Research Institute Australia
Dept. of Environment & Heritage Australia
Underwater World ­ Perth Australia
University of Nice France
Australia Institute of Marine Science Australia
H. Steinitz Marine Lab Israel
James Cook University, Townsville Australia
Tanga Looma Australia
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panama
Leigh Marine Lab, University of Auckland New Zealand
University of Puerto Rico ­Mayaguez Puerto Rico
Seal Rehabilitation & Research Ctr. Netherlands
University of South Pacific ` Suva, Fiji
University of Southampton England
Royal North Shore Hospital Australia
Dingle Ocean World Ireland
University of Stellenbosch South Africa
James Cook University Australia
Kamitsuki Japan
Bimini Biological Field Station Bimini
Laboratoire Environnement Marin Lattoral France
Bermuda Biological Station Bermuda
University of New Brunswick Canada
University of Dundee ­ Forensic Medicine Scotland
Underwater World Australia
Random House, London England

 

Domestic Sites

Oregon State University Oregon
University of Florida Veterinary School Florida
University of Texas Texas
Friday Harbor Laboratory Washington
California Marine Mammal Ctr. U.C. Davis California
University of Connecticut Connecticut
National Marine Fisheries, Seattle Washington
Santa Barbara Science Museum California
Hawaii Institute Marine Biology Hawaii
Southampton College, Friday Harbor Lab Washington
Texas A & M Texas
Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Lab Hawaii
Mystic Marine Life Aquarium Connecticut
Florida Institute of Technology Florida
Newfound Harbor Marine Institute Florida
Pacific Whale Foundation Hawaii
Town of East Hampton Dept.Human Resources New York
SUNY Albany Neuroendocrinology Lab. New York
Scripps Institution of Oceanography California
Salk Institute California
N.C. State University North Carolina
University of South Florida Florida
Einstein College of Medicine New York
Brookhaven National Lab. New York
Agouron Institute California
Northwest & Alaska Fisheries Science Ctr. Washington
Field Museum of Natural History Illinois
Duke University North Carolina
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography Georgia
Harvard Medical School Massachusetts
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Massachusetts
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories California
University of California, Santa Cruz California
Southwest Fisheries Center California
Idaho State University Idaho
Minnesota Dept. Natural Resources Minnesota
U.S. Geological Survey Florida
Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C.
Roswell Park Cancer Institute New York
San Francisco State College California
Children's Hospital, Boston Massachusetts
Mote Marine Laboratory Florida
Katie's Puppets New York
Bodega Bay Marine Lab California
Marine Life Oceanarium Mississippi
EPCOT Living Seas Florida
National Aquarium Baltimore
National Marine Mammal Laboratory Washington, D.C.
New England Aquarium Boston
Lowry Park Zoo Florida
Marine Mammal Pathology Laboratory-Eckerd College Florida
Stellewagon Bank National Marine Sanctuary Massachusetts