Good news at KML!

Its been a beautiful last couple days here at KML....
The winds have picked up and there has been a small craft advisory out on the water, but the breeze makes it feel really nice.

Wednesday morning was turtle nest-hunting morning....no luck again.

However, I am happy to say that we have had some major successes in the settling of larvae!!!! A few days ago I found about 20 little polyps settling on a mangrove leaf in the little glass fingerbowl. In a day or so I found more and have been finding more each day! A bunch of them now have little tentacles and a mouth too! So the brine shrimp feeding begins.
So those of you who know me probably remember that in the past I have tried keeping sea monkeys and other types of artemia nauplii on several different occasions all with pretty miserable failures. I just want to let you know that I am a master at raising sea monkeys now.

Three days ago now (holy cow time flies when you're having fun!) Mac, Anke and I went out into the marina to go "jellyfish hunting" Despite having been out snorkeling around the marina a day ago for 2 hours without success, I was optimistic that we'd find one....and we did!! Mac and Anke found 3 females and I found a male! There was great rejoicing at KML and wine was opened that night in celebration. hahaha

So I have been able to gather lots of eggs from the females and get them to hatch into larvae and hopefully all settle! Keep up those prayers!



Other happenings include spending 2 days at Bill Fitt's home in Key Largo....that night I went with the undergraduate students to the Marine Mammal Conservancy where we volunteered to help rehabilitate 3 pilot whales that had been beached a few weeks ago down in Key West. They were in such bad shape that they couldn't float without help, so we literally stood in the water for 4 hours just holding up the whales! The volunteers recorded their respiratory rate (like many other marine mammals breathing is a conscious effort, so they had about 9 breaths per 5 minutes which is A LOT--the average is about 2!) and also their heart rate. It was an interesting experience and definitely eye opening and taught me a lot about the mammal side of marine biology vs. the invertebrate which is my primary focus. Lets just say it wasn't a bad experience at all--I mean, when else am I going to stand chest-deep in water until 1am holding up a pilot whale?! But it certainly was interesting! This was the only picture I could take, because they didn't allow cameras. This whale below is the one I held for several hours. It was a baby and healthier than the other two, so it was sick of being held. The only reason they kept holding it up was so it wouldn't swim around and bite the volunteers or try to play with the other two who were still in need of rehab. Soooo that made for one "teenage-behaved" pilot whale, who on several occasions tried to bite the supervisors and break free of our hold.... pilot whales are extremely powerful despite it being a baby!


As promised, I had quite the photo-shoot with the Cassiopea at Bill's. It was a lot of fun, but I realized that I have a slight reaction to their stinging! Little red welts that go away were found all over my hands and body since they release their toxin into the water column so it gets allllll over the body. hahaha Its not too bad though, I've been getting used to it!



The Briarium larvae have had a bit of a rocky going lately; they looked great now they are having a hard time settling and staying there...I changed all 4L containers and picked through all the little orange larvae yesterday and transferred them to new water containers...so hopefully they'll start getting better!

Out snorkeling the other day with "The Lobster Girls" (as Anke and I like to call the 3 girls from Clemson University that are studying the Spiny Lobsters) I saw a barracuda in the boat channel in the marina. It was murky and deep, and I felt like Arthur when he is a fish in the moat in the Disney movie "Sword in the Stone." That big fish that chases him around....well because the water was so murky I could barely see in front of me until I was up close and personal with this giant barracuda! It could have eaten me for sure. By the time I backed up enough to get a good picture, this is what I got...but I actually think its pretty funny. Look closely.


Mac and Anke left yesterday morning, so it's been quiet around here until Shelby comes tonight. Next post I promise to put up some pictures of the settling scyphistomae! You will be thrilled.

Keys Marine Laboratory!

Greeting from the sunny Florida Keys! I am working on my masters project at the Keys Marine Laboratory on Long Key, FL. I'm here from May 24th until July 12th working with the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana. The plan is to collect larvae from adult jellyfish then to settle them on mangrove leaves in the lab and give them specific Symbiodinium algae cultures and see how their fitness differs between treatments. Then! I plan on putting them out at three sites here in the keys and see if they change what symbiont types they have.
That is the very brief an outline of my Masters thesis project in a nutshell haha

So, upon arriving here at KML me, my advisor Mac, and Anke our Post-doc have been very busy....between snorkeling around trying to find cassiopea, to collecting larvae from spawning Briarium corals, there is never a dull moment! After a long hot day at Craig Key collecting larvae (and of course snorkeling around and exploring the hard-bottom site!), and bringing them back to the lab where we stayed up until past midnight cleaning, sorting and transferring the larvae into fresh filtered sea water, we have had successful settling of Briarium polyps on old gorgonian branches!! It is quite an exciting feat to see them settle almost immediately after placing the branches in their buckets! Now, I can only hope the Cassiopea larvae settle the same....keep those fingers crossed!!!!

May 24th: Anke, Cindy and I went out at 6:30am to scan the beach looking for loggerhead turtle crawls and nests. It was a beautiful morning, we saw no new crawls, but checked out the nesting sites from a few days ago.
No luck finding any cassiopea in Grassy Key Quarry today. :/ They've seemed to have disappeared from KML....! of course as soon as I want to study them.... those tricky little jellyfish!

May 25th: We went out to Craig Key, (Ann's study site for Porites divaracata! we saw all her old samples there too.) to check out Briarium spawning...we're in luck! by the end of the day, we had buckets and buckets full of the pretty little orange larvae!

Mac and Anke collecting Briarium larvae
We got to snorkel around the site all afternoon too, which was great--

Craig key is a hardbottom site and only max 6ft deep, so there was lots to see!





This is Oreaster reticulatus the cushion sea star Cindy and I found Cyphoma gibbosum the Flamingo Tongue







This was quite the find, too! Its a Olgocephalus nastus, Shortnose batfish! We chased him around for a bit...he kind of swims and waddles. It was a funny site to see.


A pretty sunset at Bill's home


Successful Briarium settlement!





I'll keep you posted on the HOPEFUL success of my cassiopea settling...and also post a good picture of a mature cassiopea medusa because I just realized I haven't put one up yet. Ok, thats it for now!!

Inspired by Autumn in Buffalo, NY

Where does the leaf go when it falls
On babbling brook or stream?
Spinning, gliding with the wind,
Impatient to go, it seems.
Time goes by,
It's water's shared,
By more than one or two.
Painted colors of red and gold,
Each one a different hue.
They dance along the surface
To a beat I do not know,
Surrendering to the current
Oh where is it they go?

By Rachel Mellas

Setting Sail

I wrote this poem a long time ago--back in 2004 actually. At my high school graduation Theresa drew a picture to go with it and framed it so its on our kitchen wall right now. I took a moment and I read it the other day, and realized how much it applies to my life once again, especially at this point. So anyways! I thought I'd share it with you. Let me know what you think of it!

Setting Sail

By Rachel Mellas

November 17, 2004

If moments could last a lifetime,

And memories without end,

Would I still want to float down the river of time,

Through the water's unpredictable bends?

If I could look at my life in the past,

And see myself as I used to be,

Would I like how I've changed,

Or long for the child,

That's still somewhere inside of me?

If I could change a decision I made long ago

By chosing the other trail,

How would that affect the me of today,

Would my boat then sink or sail?

I know the answers are not to be learned,

And I should just let the water flow,

But I can't help to wonder where I would be
If I never set sails to go?

A Whirlwind of Events

August 4. What the heck. Where has the summer gone? Hmmm maybe it passed me sometime between a trip to Africa, a canoeing adventure in Canada, my sister's wedding, and an American Idol audition in NYC? Naaahhhh....

I had originally intended to write a blog about each of these events separately, but since time has caught up with me, I find I'm creating a hodgepodge blog entry that will most definately test my reader's attention span. ha...

From June 12th until the 26th I was in Uganda, Africa on an OCMC mission team (See previous entry!). It was an incredible experience and I enjoyed every minute of it; from medically treating over 3,500 patients to the bumpy roads the Ugandans travel on. It was eye-opening to see the Ugandans living with so little but never ceasing to give everything they had to not only their comrades, but strangers and the missionaries from the U.S. who have so much back at home. It was the most humbling realization I had while I was there, and even more so when I came home and saw the wealth around me; how is it we can have so much and they have so little? How is it we are so unhappy and they are so joyful?

Our team traveled to the regions of Gulu and Lira where we set up a clinic each day in different little villages; most of them an hour or more away along nearly impassable roads. We treated patients and saw mostly malaria, parasites, worms, HIV, STDs, and Epilepsy, as well as complications (such as backaches, headaches, and stomachaches) from these ailments. It is interesting to note that we saw very very little or no problems with high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. How different our culture and way of life is!

The missionaries on our team were incredible people and I was blessed to have been part of such a group. The Ugandans we met there; the priests and translators were unforgettable. There is much work to be done in Uganda for the betterment of their future, and I ask that you keep them all in your prayers. Also for the implementation of a permanent clinic to be set up in the near future.

For those of you who know my family, we are a close-knit, goofy bunch who love to get dirty, and seek adventure and thrill together. For us, the more random and less-traveled the excursion, the better. Family vacations in the past have taken us backpacking, hiking and camping in the Wild wild west, jumping sand dunes, and biking across Idaho. This was our last real family adventure; a week before Ellie's wedding. My Dad decided something different, so we drove 24 hours north near Thunder Bay, Canada to Quetico Provincial Park. We rented 3 canoes and spent several days paddling the lake system, camping and fishing. It was complete solitude and just gorgeous. But the best part wasn't the spectacular scenery, the wildlife (bald eagles, loons, moose, and black bears!), or even the vastness of Lake Superior, but it was the time we spent as a family; Getting lost, picking islands to camp on, playing Bid Pitch at night, fishing (and eating the catch!), getting rained on, paddling capsize-able rough areas of lake (that almost resulted in mutiny from one of the paddlers!) and even arguing that made the trip so memorable. I am truly convinced that I am part of the best family ever, and I feel so blessed!

On July 25, my oldest sister, Elizabeth (Ellie) married Eleftherios Constantine. It was the only event my family has been talking about, planning and stressing about for the past year. It was a beautiful wedding, with family and friends that came from all over the U.S. to celebrate. The entire weekend was memorable; from the get-togethers to the visitors to the special time we spent just as a family or the three girls and John. It has made me come to many realizations in life; how fast time flies (cliche, but I swear it was just yesterday we were running around in our backyard in bathing suits and tutus carrying baskets and making "soup" out of bits of mud, grass and sticks!), how I am not looking forward to planning my own wedding one day (haaa...), and how sometimes I keep thinking "when I'm older...." and realize that holy crap I'm almost 23! The whole weekend sped by and was all such a blast, but I realize its not the awesome party or events of the weekend that made it so memorable for me; it was the little things and little thoughts that really meant the most. When we all came together (Rogers, Mellas's and Constantines) to whip up a spectacular open house just hours before it began. Seeing my little cousins Kevin and Stephanie asking my Dad what they can do to help, Derek and Beth always being there despite the crazyness of it all....that evening of wild preparations will stand out in my mind as something more special than the party itself.

Not the walking down the aisle or the kissing of the bride, but the emergency stop to Tim Hortons on our way to the church so the bride could pee....the excitement--unlike anything I've ever felt before--of waiting in the Narthex with my closest cousins...of seeing my sister and my Dad dance to a song that I wrote and sang just for them....of being able to smile and laugh as I see how those closest to me have grown, and how despite distances we have stayed so close as a family. These memories are the special ones in my mind and if I can hold onto anything of that weekend, its those moments.

As if life hasn't been crazy enough, a few days after the wedding, my mom, dad and brother John left for NYC/New Jersey to audition for American Idol! I have loved the show the past couple years and being musically inclined (or at least I like to think so...), heeded the suggestion of several people and decided to try it out.

Without getting into a long explanation of my insanity, If anyone knows me, I am the most uncertain, random, and lost individual trying to make my way to common sense. Its been quite the road, and its still winding away. But regardless of my liking to chase turtles and work with coral symbiodinium in a lab, I have always been drawn to music and performing. Being a beatnik scientist or a struggling musician have always been toss-ups for me. Anways, the excitement and thrill of auditioning for the most watched TV show was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I had no idea what it involved; standing in lines from 4am until mid-afternoon, TV cameras, wild fans, producers, celebrities, and an audition process that was as stressful and physically taxing as well as exciting and unforgettable. Needless to say, I found I was never nervous, but enjoyed every minute of my 30 second audition spotlight. For those of you that watch the TV show, there are thousands of people who audition, and before you get to audition for the judges as you see on the show, you need to pass two separate "cattle call" auditions in front of producers first. There were many amazing singers who didn't make it through to round 2, and many that made it through just for entertainment purposes; superwoman costumes, "The Joker", or sex appeal (taking off one's shirt is an almost guarantee golden ticket). My brother John and I faced the producers together, which was really special and though we both sang really well, we weren't crazy enough to be on the show...a good or bad thing...? haha. The producers judging did tell me specifically to keep singing and to keep up my smiling, because apparently they enjoyed my non-stop grin. Hahaha. It was a great experience, and now that I know the ropes, have ideas for next year's audition....none which include removing articles of clothing though, don't worry.

Another great part of the trip was visiting NYC. I hadn't been there since I was probably 7 or 8 years old. So we saw all the tourist sights, and although I am not a big city person, thoroughly enjoyed the non-stop excitement the Big Apple holds! I would definately visit again soon.

So there you have it. A novel-legnth blog post for a whirlwind of events.

Man's Best Friend

The other day my Dad rented the movie "Marley and Me." Its a story about a dog name Marley. And, just like you'd expect, the storyline builds up, you fall in love with Marley, then BAM at the end the dog dies. Theresa's comment was 'why the heck does anyone even make a movie on something like that? That story happens every day!' Needless to say, that night we watched the movie my Mom picked out at the rental store; An old western flick. Now for any of you that know my parents, it is very much out of the ordinary for my Dad (Ol' Mr. Jason and the Argonauts) to pick out a sappy movie and my Mom (Who cries for commercials) to grab a western. It was role reversal at its finest.

Anyways, our own little "Marley and Me" unfolded this past Monday. Our American Eskimo dog, Cody died. We got Cody as a 2 year old who had already been through multiple homes and names: Wiskey, and oddly enough "Keako" which was very similar to "Teako" the name of our dog who had just gotten hit by a car and died when we got Cody. Cody was 16 years old, and as the vet said when we took him in: "WOW. You guys sure know how to grow a dog!" He lived a long, happy life; despite being hit by 3 cars. He was a survivor.

He was the funniest dog, he had such a character. He liked being around people, but at the same time, was almost Snoopy-like in that he really could care less who he was surrounded by. He SMILED. I have never met another dog that smiled like Cody. Even my mom's piano students that come through each week would pet him and antagonize him, and say that he smiles. He put up with a lot.

Cody was a vegetarian as far as we were concerned. Hmmm, maybe more of a category all in itself. You could give him a piece of meat or bone and he'd be happy (Heck, he was happy when you threw him an old, used kleenex....he actually ATE them. he loved boogers.) but what he really loved was fruit and vegetables! He would go crazy for rotten apples and brocoli stems! We attribute his unusually healthy eating to helping him live so long.

That and his 'spunky, frisky' demeanor. Two days before he died we took him for his regular 2 mile walk! Sometimes, it seemed he was a puppy trapped in an older dog's body, the way he would dash about the house, slide on the harwood kitchen floors, and bark at the gate between the mudroom and kitchen, especially during dinnertime when he wanted to come in and "garbage pick" the floor for food scraps.

Cody had several haunts when he would spend his time outside. His favorite spot was Roger's. Roger is our next door neighbor and quite possibly his best chum. Roger has always adored Cody; and in return, Cody visited very frequently. Whenever Cody wasn't around, the first place to look was Roger's garage where he could often be found eating Roger's little dog's food, or barking at the door to be let into Roger's house, where no doubt, he "garbage picked" Roger's kitchen floor too. Whenever we let him out (especially on Thursday mornings--garbage day!) we had to be careful, because he would sneak his way along our neighbor's fence line and if he wasn't seen, he's bolt two doors down where a neighbor kept their compost pile. I can't tell you all the stinky, gross things he's brought home; from rotten, moldy fruit to a whole deer leg--hoof and all once. His last favorite spot was to sit right beside the brick steps heading down to the pool and look out over our backyard. I think the grass is matted there, he sat there so much.

Cody loved doing tricks for food; he could play dead, roll over, wave, show his paw, and my personal favorite in his younger years was climb up a ladder! As he got older, he loved to take advantage of his advancing years and developed several not-so-pleasant habits. He would often look up when he was called, stare right at you, then turn around and walk the other way as if to say: "Yeah right, I'll come when I want to come!" He was quite the manipulator, and my Mom was the best for falling for his goofy ways. He would saunter along when he didn't want to go for a walk; do almost a limp kind of walk, then as soon as you turned around to head home (or saw another dog out walking) he would put a spring into his step and once he even started running. We were convinced on several occasions that he picked up a potty mouth and in his antics and little ways had been calling us "those fat girls" for years.

However, despite all his quirky, stinky, crazy ways, he will be missed....very much so.

The movie "Marley and Me" went back to the rental store unwatched.

February 2010

I have been delaying posting this since the beginning of February...mainly because I was trying to upload a couple videos (but for some reason I kept getting error messages)....I'll blame it on that rather than lack of inspiration, too busy a schedule, or some other lame excuse...hahaha


SO! Big news!! I was recently accepted to be part of the OCMC (Orthodox Christian Mission Center) mission team to Uganda this June 11-26th! I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to travel and aid the natives of Uganda....it should be an eye-opening experience. Not to sound too desperate or anything, but if anyone would like to donate to the $4,000 I need to raise for the trip, follow this link:

http://www.ocmc.org/programs/teams_search.aspx?SearchBy=Year

click the link "SUPPORT" next to my name. Yes, you have to create a log-in name and password, but I promise you don't have to go back and keep up with anything...however I think you'll be interested in the amazing work OCMC does. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Please keep the team, our supporters, and the Ugandans in your prayers as we prepare for this mission!!

(The picture above was actually taken by my sister who was a participant on the OCMC trip to Kenya in 2007 where they helped build the church of St. Pantelemion.)


Thats a quick update for now, more actual "blogging" to come later. :)


~Rachel

Greetings From 2010!

Cousin Todd and I

2010!
It's been a while since I last posted anything, and quite a bit has been keeping me busy!

November was beautiful in Buffalo, NY and it also marked the 3rd anniversary of my Grandma's death. Grandma was a sister at St. Mary of the Angels convent. She was the coolest sister there for sure. The sisters used to live at an old, castle-like building down the road, and as a kid I remember visiting with my mom and siblings every Wednesday. We would enter the big old wooden door and be careful not to step on the cracks of the greenish colored flagstone brick that led up to the door and into the entrance way. the nuns were notified of visitors by their own indivual bell tone. To this day, I never understood how the heck the sisters could differentiate between the bell tones.
We would eat lunch, sometimes in the lunch room, and sometimes in a room down the hall where we'd watch cartoon network all afternoon. ("Scooby Doo" and "Flintstones" being the favorites) then we would spin around the tall pillars and run up and down the ramp until the grouchy sisters would scold us.
Grandma always always always treated us to ice cream-skippy cups!-a tradition which continued to the new convent and even if we only came for a short visit. I remember one of the last times we came to visit; she didn't really know who we were, but she just KNEW we needed skippy cups!
I have so many memories from the convent....it would take many many blog posts to write about them all, and I'm sure I'd lose many readers if I decided to post all of them....:D
But with all that said, it was a nice time to visit the convent with my mom, see the sisters, bring flowers to the chapel (where Grandma would put any flowers we ever gave her anyway) and see Grandma's grave.

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday of the year. We go to Atlanta and see almost our whole Galucki family. It is a very fast weekend, but full of traditions (polar bear jump into Lake Lanier, RISK tournament, etc.), food, late nights, football games and fun. Every year I am so thankful for how our family grows in love...and the new addition are legnthly conversations about the GFL...Galucki Football Pool which keeps us all in regular emails and banter between NFL teams :)


A week of stress for exams, a wonderful Christmas spent at home with my family, and cousin Ashlee, and last night's New Year's Eve party with my family at our house has brought me to the end of 2009 and looking forward to 2010.

Last night, (led by our fearless leader Derek) proved that no matter how old you get, idiocy still runs in our family....we have had a history of doing stupid things; throwing snowballs at cars, stomp rockets across the road... I'm not sure why we do it...it is bad! Like I said, sometimes we just can't help the idiocy. honestly. anyways, we began building little snowmen in the road, but the one got a bit too big, and we put a party hat on it. Our road is a relatively rural road, and at 1am nobody was driving down it, but the ones that did just went around Mr. Frosty. Except for the grumpy man who stopped and told us he was calling the cops unless we removed it. We eventually removed it, but the police came to the door, much to my dad's surprise, and asked about the snowmen in the road..."What snowmen?" my uncle asked as they went out to look...(we had cleared it up). "No, officer, no underage drinking...just legal adults building snowmen in the road."


So, there you have it...I feel much better to have updated this blog....2009 was a great year (NORWAY! ;) ) but I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be great, and I look forward to it.

God Bless you all in 2010!!


Happy New Year! Καλες Υιορτες!!