Gabriela Caldera - Environmental Science Lab

I am a senior this year, and I would not spend it anywhere else but CART. Last year, I was a student in the Biotechnology lab where I learned how to use various equipment such as a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) machine, micropipettes, and microscopes. It also gave me experience working with other people on long-term projects which has contributed greatly to my success in academic endeavors. This year, I am happy to call the Environmental Science lab my home. 

So far, we have surveyed the San Joaquin River to determine its health using various indicators such as water quality, plant cover, and species richness of macroinvertebrates and birds. We have worked directly with the Fresno Chaffee Zoo to design an enrichment device for an animal at the zoo, and our friends next door in the Engineering lab have helped us bring it to life in a modeling program. In the spring, we will build our enrichments and bring them to the Zoo where we get to watch the animals interact with them. On the English side of things, we have explored various short stories and poems, toying with the interaction between human kind and nature. Soon, we will read Jurassic Park by Micheal Crichton. 

This week at CART in the Environmental Science lab, we are ‘trapping’ the backyard according to the trapping plan we made in groups last week. Our goal is to determine the abundance of the small rodent population using a targeted grid layout of catch traps. We are also working on our spring projects. For me, that means reading articles and preparing the tools and equipment for our field trip to UC Merced. There, we will have the opportunity to survey endangered species such as four species of fairy shrimp and California tiger salamander. We also have access to extremely new, cutting-edge, technology that will allow us to determine the presence or absence of species from water. We will use a palm-sized device that can read DNA from the environment (eDNA) and sequence it. 

CART has opened doors for me that I did not even know existed. I have learned more about myself, my capabilities, and my drive. Above all, I have grown into the person I wanted to become, and I dedicate that to the Center of Advanced Research and Technology.