{"id":722,"date":"2015-07-14T06:58:05","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T06:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/?p=722"},"modified":"2015-08-19T15:33:09","modified_gmt":"2015-08-19T15:33:09","slug":"keep-friends-close-and-anemones-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/2015\/07\/14\/keep-friends-close-and-anemones-closer\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep friends close . . . and anemones closer!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been around three months since Susi and I, Sara, arrived on the island of Madeira, Portugal. Although Susi, from Berlin, has been to Madeira many times before, and I, from the north of Spain, am visiting it for the very first time, our opinion of this little island that makes you squint when you look for it on a map is the same: it is simply stunning.
\nOf volcanic origin, it is full of dramatic landscapes: from mountain tops above the clouds to cliffs that abruptly fall hundreds of meters into the sea; from the greenest laurel forests, unique in the world, to the arid easternmost edge, full of all shades of brown, ocher, and orange.
\n\"Jonas<\/a>\"Sara<\/a>\"Sara<\/a>\"Sara<\/a>\"Madeira5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All of this under the close watch of our neighbors the Deserta Islands, which form a nature reserve and are home to monk seals.
\nThese breathtaking landscapes are the perfect backdrop for our daily lives in Funchal. Every day we pass by flowers in the streets and hotels where tourists relax or prepare for dolphin watching as we head to the Esta\u00e7ao de Biologia Marina.
\nThe \u201cMarine Biology Station\u201d is located next to a rocky beach, which means that we can always count on the soothing background of breaking waves. We share a lab with Funchal\u2019s Natural History Museum, but there\u2019s plenty of space \u2013 and plenty of equipment left over from previous GAME teams that we\u2019re using again (Thanks!!).
\nWe\u2019re also lucky to be working with a great team. Joao Canning-Clode, his colleague Patricio Ramalhosa, and intern Jonas Letschert are always happy to listen, help, and propose new ideas for carrying out our experiment successfully. It\u2019s a very comfortable environment, where there is always room for cookies and jokes. They even gave us this as a welcome gift!
\n\"Madeira6\"<\/a>
\nJust kidding, this is stolen.
\nSo far, Susi and I have been really busy, and work has been intense. We built the set-up for our experiment, which in our case has included constructing our own water baths from scratch\u2026
\n\"Madeira7\"<\/a>
\nand preparing hundreds of sample units to be filled with anemones. A quick tip on how best to use a soldering iron: put on some good ol\u2019 rock and roll!
\n\"Sara<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>

Photo: Sara Doolittle Llanos<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Sara<\/a>
\nWe also had several nice sampling days in the field, where we collected our anemones in the most graceful manner possible.<\/p>\n

And now we\u2019ve narrowed down to three beautiful species for our experiment.
\nMeet Aiptasia diaphana\u2026\"Susi<\/a><\/p>\n

Anemonia melanaster\u2026
\n\"Sara<\/a>
\nand Anemonia viridis.
\n\"Susi<\/a>
\nWe\u2019ve had them for some time in our lab, where we\u2019ve learned to take care of them and to understand how they behave.
\nAfter some weeks, we\u2019re now well into our work routine and have done many test runs on our organisms to learn what makes them tick.
\nIn addition, we keep in contact with the other teams around the world, to share opinions, and to get a sense of how well-accompanied we are in the challenges we face.
\nAnd if at any moment we need a break, we just go out to feed the lizards!
\n\"Susi<\/a>
\nAfter cleaning up, rearranging our set-up, poring over our results from the pilot study, and battling the summer heat, we will in the coming weeks begin our main experiment. To this end, we will take A. diaphana and A. melanaster and focus on the range in which they go from blooming and being beautiful to becoming measurably affected by the consequences of higher temperatures. We will check for survival, motility, attachment of the anemones to the substrate, appearance, reaction to stimuli, weight and size, and reproduction \u2013 all of this while ensuring that they are well fed and comfy!
\nIn this way, we will attempt to grasp what the upper thermal limit of our subtropical species is and then compare this to the results of the other sites around the world.
\nAlthough the task can be demanding and we have much to learn, there is time for everything in this subtropical paradise. Social life is abundant, as international and local students mix. Whether it\u2019s enjoying the nightlife, spending days driving around the island, or scuba-diving, the wonderful experiences seem to just go on and on.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>

Photo: Sara Doolittle Llanos<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Sara<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Susi<\/a>\"Susi<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>

Photo: Sara Doolittle Llanos<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Susi<\/a>\"Sara<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Sara<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been around three months since Susi and I, Sara, arrived on the island of Madeira, Portugal. Although Susi, from Berlin, has been to Madeira many times before, and I, from the north of Spain, am visiting it for the very first time, our opinion of this little island that makes you squint when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":783,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722\/revisions\/783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanblogs.org\/game\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}