New year's 2004 took my husband and I on an expedition to Chile in search of DNA from the "Sooty Shearwater," a migratory seabird that's known to nest in the remote islands of southern Chile. My research seeks to use genetics to answer ecological questions about these birds (migration routes, foraging, population dynamics, etc.). We went to the remote Island of Guafo, off the Pacific coast of southern Chile, to find these birds, collect their blood (DNA), and to perform one of the first biological expeditions to this remote corner of the earth. Our expedition was in collaboration with Chilean biologists from the Universidad Austral de Chile, Roberto Schlatter, Ronnie Reyes Arriagada, Paulo Campos, and Hector Paves. We were also given assistance from the Chilean Navy ("Armada de Chile"), with a trip on the ship Cabrales, and with help from the crew of the Guafo lighthouse (Freddie, Roberto, Miguel, and Moises). In this gallery are just a few highlights of our expedition. Click here to begin. 1/18/04 |
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