I am not sure when this obsession with both small and large things began. One of the earliest photographs of me is in a giant rocking chair. With a big smile on my face, I am dwarfed by the colossal piece of furniture. Sadly, in researching this post I discovered this rocking chair is not the largest. That title is bestowed to a towering rocking chair, a 56.5 feet tall behemoth in Casey, Illinois, not only the world’s largest rocking chair but also the largest chair in all of America. I will of course need to visit, and photograph, myself next to the massive chair. Another photograph to add to my photo collection of myself with oversized objects. The world’s largest Adirondack chair and me…got it. Largest chest of drawers…done. Largest frying pan…visited. Giant 6-foot tall cheese grater…photographed and almost bought. I could go on and on.

I never realized I could get paid for my obsession. I did not at some point in high school realize or declare I wanted a vocation focused on extreme sizes. Nor was such a trajectory flagged as a possibility on those mandated vocational tests. I got flagged for being perfect for cake decorating. No joke. Nothing about decorating tiny or giant cakes. Of course, who would even think you could make a career out of a passion for size, except maybe Guinness World Records? No, I came by it all by accident.

As an undergraduate, I applied for a summer program to conduct research with a biologist. Knowing at the time I wanted to be a marine biologist, I applied to do summer research counting fish on the coral reefs of St. Croix. An unshockingly, popular choice among undergraduates, I did not get the position. My second and third choices were the only other ocean-based projects in the program. When the scientist involved with my second choice project called to invite me to work with him that summer, I didn’t even remember what the project was. I wasn’t really concerned with the specifics of the other projects because how could I not be selected for my first choice, St. Croix, dream project. Opposed to the beautiful tropical beaches of the Caribbean, my destiny would be to work in a windowless lab all summer in Boston. The project didn’t exceedingly interest me at the time as I wanted to be a field scientist and microscopy in the lab sounded…well dull. But working in an air-conditioned lab in the big city sounded better than living with my parents in rural Arkansas working in the intense Southern heat sweating in a factory. So off to Boston I went. Within a few hours of the first day, I fell in love with the project. So much so I asked that scientist, a preeminent deep-sea biologist and expert on the body size of marine invertebrates, if I could pursue a doctorate with him.

In the biological world, size is more than a novelty. How an organism relates to the world around it is determined by its size, and understanding what influences size is key to understanding the diversity of life itself.  That summer I measured the size of 100’s of tiny snails and when I returned to pursue my Ph.D. I measured thousands more. In total I measured 14,278 deep-sea snails. The largest no bigger than Abraham Lincoln’s head on the face of the penny. The smallest the size of his nose. Those snails I measured were collected from off the coast of New England from depths of over 600 feet to well over 18,000 feet, from the shallows of the New England continental shelf to the abyssal plains.

Why would anyone measure close to 15,000 snails? In the late 1800’s Henry Nottidge Mosely wrote: “Some animals appear to be dwarfed by deep- sea conditions.” By the 1970s, Hjalmar Thiel of Universität Hamburg observed that the deep sea is a “small organism habitat.” Increased depth typically translates into less food in the oceans with the deep-sea being a very food poor environment. As you might expect this has profound effects on the body size of deep-sea animals. Thiel’s seminal 1975 work demonstrated that with increased depth, smaller organisms became more dominant. At depths greater than 4 kilometers on the vast abyssal plains where food is extremely limited, you find some of the most diminutive sizes. In a particularly striking example of this, my doctoral advisor Michael Rex and I calculated those nearly 15,000 deep-sea snails I measured could fit completely inside a single Busycon carica, a fist-sized New England knobbed whelk found along the coast. But by measuring all those snails, Mike and I were able to document exactly how size in these snails changes over a 3.5 mile increase in depth. That study was the first of its kind and remains the largest number of deep-sea animals ever individually measured.

But to say that all creatures of the deep are miniaturized overlooks the complexity of size evolution in the deep sea. Some taxa actually become giants. The Giant Isopod, a roly-poly the size of very large men’s shoe, and sea-spiders the size of dinner plates, quickly dispel the Lilliputian view of the deep sea. Although all those deep-sea snails are smaller than their shallow-water relatives, shockingly Mike and I also found that they actually increase in size with greater depth and presumed lower food availability. To further confound the situation, other scientists have reported the exact opposite pattern in other types of snails, whose size decreases with depth. The same appeared to be true in other taxa, such as crustaceans. How can the deep-sea be both a habitat of dwarfs and giants?

To answer that, I turned from the Earth’s largest habitat to one of its smallest—islands. On islands both giants and dwarfs exist. The diminished kiwi and the enormous Moa of New Zealand, the colossal Komodo dragon on the island of Komodo, the extinct pygmy elephants on the islands of the Mediterranean, the ant-sized frog of the Seychelles, the giant hissing cockroach of Madagascar and the giant tortoise of the Galapagos represent just a few of the multitudes of size extremes on islands. In 1964, J. Bristol Foster of the University of East Africa demonstrated that large mammals became miniaturized over time on islands. Conversely, small mammals tended toward gigantism. This occurs with such frequency that scientists refer to it as “Foster’s rule” or the “Island rule.” Big animals getting small and small animals getting large.

My colleagues and I discovered a similar pattern in 2006 between shallow and deep seas. As shallow-water gastropods evolved into deep-sea dwellers, small species became larger and large species became smaller. Interestingly, size did not shift in a parallel manner. Larger taxa became disproportionately smaller sized—that is, both converged on a size somewhat smaller than medium. I’ve since observed this pattern in radically different taxa, such as bivalves, sharks, and cephalopods.

The fact that islands and the deep sea have so little in common represents a wonderful opportunity that allows elimination of several hypotheses. Of course, what the deep sea lacks is food. The absence of sunlight precludes plants.   Thus, for the majority of organisms living there, the food chain starts with plankton, dead organisms and other organic debris descending from the ocean’s surface. Less than five per cent of the total food available drifts to the sea floor, leading to an extremely food-limited environment. On islands, less food is available because the small land areas support fewer plants at the base of the food chain.

In either case, island and deep-sea animals need to be efficient and creative in their acquisition of food. In both habitats, there may not be enough total food to support populations of giants only. Unable to travel long distances to search for food or to store large fat reserves to fast through periods of food scarcity, smaller organisms are also at a disadvantage. If these contrasting evolutionary pressures were equal, size would be driven to an intermediate. However, the selection against larger sizes is greater, leading toward an evolutionary convergence that is slightly smaller than the intermediate size. Thus, differential responses to food reduction by different- sized organisms may resolve the outstanding paradox of divergent size patterns in the deep. In the interests of reaching this ‘golden medium’, some species become giant while others miniaturized.

In that summer of 1996, as a clueless undergraduate, I started my scientific adventure that fueled my obsession with size. Two decades later, I still am excited by the body size of animals. Much of my research, and the students who work with me, is dedicated to understanding how the expansive variety of sizes on Earth from bacteria to blue whales emerged. Did I mention the great selfie I took recently with a giant whale vertebra the size of coffee table?

The post Craig With Big Things (and Small Things) first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Here at DSN we strive to inspire the next generation of mini-deeplings. Ultimately, we want you to want you to be like us. Perhaps not the more delinquent side of us, but definitely the better half of us that constantly questions, investigates, and stands in awe of our blue planet.

With that, we often get e-mails from the mini-deeplings asking how do we do what we do. We LURRRVE talking to them and answering all their questions about how to become marine scientists, oceanographers, conservationists, pirates, and such.  Quite regularly however, they ask many of the same questions. Therefore, to avoid the department of redundancy department and make sure you each get well thought out, comprehensive answers, we decided to compile the 20 most frequently asked questions. Feel free to use these to help guide you on your homework assignments, class work, and most importantly life work.

<DISCLAIMER> Marine Science is an overarching umbrella spanning numerous scientific disciplines.  My hope is that these answers will help you along your path, but know that there are many MANY paths up the proverbial mountain. Our opinions come from our collective experience which in and of it self is extremely diverse. If you have any specific questions about certain topics not covered here, drop us a line and we will put you in contact with the people who can help you.

1.    Have you always wanted to be a marine scientist?

Personally, I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to. My parents were both divers and I wanted, as most children do, to be just like them. The day that PADI lowered their diving certification age, you best believe I was in on that. My first dive off the Channel Islands quite vibrantly changed my life. Till this day, I thank my dad for pulling me out of range of disgruntled moray eels and making sure I didn’t run out of air when I was too busy exploring, flipping over every. single. rock., and sticking my hands into caves, to care about anything important like that. At 13 years of age, I fell in love with the California kelp forest and all the amazing critters it held. Once I was old enough to realize that they ACTUALLY PAID people to frolic in the ocean, flip over all the rocks, and stick their hands into caves….it went without question…I had to be one of those people.

Though many in this field might have a similar story to this, not all marine scientists knew this was their thing from the get go. This is wonderful as they might bring a whole new prospective or skill set to the game.

2.    What does a marine scientist do on a daily basis?

As with any job, this varies from day to day and at what stage of your career you are in. Those who work at universities or certain governmental agencies can often be found doing their research. Research may be carried out in the lab or out and about in field sites that span the globe. When not doing the actual “hands-on” science that you might think of, like creating epic paper machete volcanoes and such, marine scientists have to write grants to fund their research and papers that tell others in their field of their research findings. They also go to conferences and other universities to give presentations about their work. Professors at research universities may be required to teach and graduate students may also teach, as well as, take classes. Certain marine scientists even throw some outreach in the mix and involve the public in what they are doing. Yes, we are still talking on a DAILY basis here. As scientists we wear many hats and must balance a pretty substantial workload.

3.    What is the best part about being a marine scientist?

If you ask me, I say playing with tons of algae and little invertebrates and going diving all the time. If you ask Dr. Bik, she loves playing on her shiny genome sequencing machines. Dr. Martini? Perhaps throwing big expensive equipment in the ocean to learn all about internal waves. (Heck, sometimes I have to force her to love squishy critters.) There is a different best thing for everyone, that’s what makes it awesome. However, I think something we can all appreciate equally is the ability to delve into the unknown and answer questions that further our knowledge of the world. The satisfaction of inquisition. That is hands down one of the best parts.

4.    What is the worst/most challenging part?

I have yet to meet a scientist who enjoys grant writing. Spending months writing a document convincing “The Man” to give you money to do research….the research you often times can’t do without the money. Only to be up against pretty dismal odds that you will even get said money. It’s a pretty awful system. But sometimes, the planets align and the angels sing and by some stroke of luck and a bit of skill…You get the grant. Those days make it worth it.

5.    What classes should I take in high school?

Obviously, if your high school offers a marine science or environmental sciences course, take it. However, most schools don’t so then you go with: Foundations. Foundations. Foundations. Contrary to what one might think, marine science requires ALL of the other sciences. Chemistry, Physics, Math, and Biology. You can’t go wrong with doing well in any, if not all, of those classes. Other classes that you might not think beneficial would be computer programing, web development, and a solid writing class. Advance placement and college level courses are great too. If anything, these will prepare you for the workload you have to look forward to in college. Do not, however, underestimate the power of being a well-rounded student.

6.    What colleges are good for marine science?

We get this question A LOT. However, I hesitate to answer with specific colleges that are good or are not good for marine science. There are many factors that should go into the decision of choosing a college that is right for you and what is good for you may not be good for me. Instead I recommend you have a serious conversation with yourself and discuss the following topics:

• How much are you willing to pay? This might factor in to whether you go in-state, out of state, out of country, etc.
• Does location matter to you? Remember you are going to spend 4-5 years of your life here. Being close to an ocean also helps.
• Do you want to do research as an undergraduate? Does this school have good faculty mentors?
• Are you set on having a degree specific to “marine science”? Aka you can still obtain the skills you need to be successful with other degree titles. Look into this.
• Do you want to study abroad? Is it easy to do this from your institution?
• Do they have a AAUS scuba diving program? This certification is required to dive at any university or governmental institution. If you want to dive. You need to ask this question.
• Do they have a marine lab? Is it close to campus/easily accessible? Do you have a way of getting there?
• Is it easy or hard to get classes? Are marine classes offered? How long does it take for students to get through the program?

From these questions (and hopefully you have your own list) find the programs and schools that best fit your criteria. Talk to students in the programs you are interested in to see what they have to say.  If you are stubborn and still want a list of specific schools, this might be of use (Note: these are only the U.S. schools).

7.    What is the cost of education/training?

This varies HIGHLY depending on two factors: Which universities you go to and how long you stay in school. For reference, I completed my bachelors in 4 years at a state school living on my own in a major metropolitan area. It cost me about $40,000 in total. For some, that is a single semester. This number will change drastically if you go to a private university or one that is out of state. From there you can continue on to a masters or doctorate degree depending on your career goals, but I would worry about that milestone when you get there. If you are in high school, start looking for scholarships. Contact the colleges you are looking at and ask them about their office of financial aid. Go talk to those people. They can also discuss financial planning with you. If you want it bad enough, you will find a way to make it work.

8.    What classes should I take in college?

The required ones. Most programs have lists of the classes you have to complete to graduate…do those. I would recommend a solid core: Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, Calculus, any of the Biological Sciences, Statistics (<-Do it. Learn it. Love it.). Beyond those: Bioinformatics, Programing courses, Scientific writing, Web design, Biological modeling (no…not that kind of Modeling…but just as fierce), Advanced statistics, Critical thinking courses (perhaps a Philosophy course or two). There are so many, but this a decent start.

9.    What other training/education is required for this work?

Being a Marine Scientist requires a pretty extensive knowledge base. Most often you require at least a Master’s degree to be successful in this field, but it all depends on what you want to do specifically. The training I have had to acquire for my job spans from learning how to scuba dive (to collect my critters and make field observations) to learning how to extract the chemicals I use for my experiments. Contact someone directly in the field you are interested in to learn of any other specific training you might need. Now you don’t learn all of these skills at once, it is definitely a process and I am constantly acquiring new training and knowledge. It is one of the reasons I love my job. I am always learning.

10.  I live in a land-locked state. Where can I find career building opportunities?

DSN’s own Dr. Miriam Goldstein compiled a nice list of internships and marine oriented escapades in the “So You Want to Be a Marine Biologist-Deep Sea News Edition.” Check the comments section too for even more opportunities. Insider scoop: The key to getting these often highly competitive gigs, is to start your applications early and have a million people read over them.  Also, make sure you ask only the people who can give you strong letters of recommendation and allow them PLENTY of time to do it.

11. Are there other professional skills I should work on?

• NETWORKING IS EVERYTHING. The old saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is so very true….except you also need to know a lot too.

• Though you might absolutely despise it, public speaking is also a necessary evil. If you aren’t good at it, get good at it. Despite being able to talk A LOT…I really dislike talking in front of large groups….so I have to practice…and practice….and practice. Often you will/should know more about what you are talking about than others in the audience…so show them that. You are not just a scientist, but a salesman too. So sell it.

• Leadership and time management skills are also beneficial in this field. As a scientist, you don’t often have anyone watching over you on a daily basis making sure you get your work done. There is usually just a bunch of deadlines. Thus, you are the one responsible for making sure the work gets done.

12. What is the salary range for a marine scientist?

Let me just preface this with most of us are not in it for the money. Marine Science is indeed a labor of love. With a Bachelors Degree you are looking at an average of about $20-40K a year. With a Masters Degree about $30-45+K. So on and so forth. This number is highly variably on what industry you might be able to find a job in. As a graduate student, your stipend depends on if you are a Masters or a PhD student and the cost of living in your area. This may or may not be supplemented by your professor’s grants. (NOTE: THIS IS DEFINITELY AN IMPORTANT DISCUSSION TO BRING UP WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SCHOOLS!!!!) In academia, assistant professors (those just starting out) make an average of $45-65K, whereas a full professor might make an average of $65-100K. With that said…there are very few of those jobs actually available.

For a more specific look at what one might make taking in to consideration background, location, and sector: SeaGrant Careers.

13. What is the average number of hours per workday?

Like I said before, as research scientists, we often dictate our own schedules. For me, how many hours I work a day depends on what time of the year it is. During the school year I try to keep it around 9-10 hours a day, hopefully no more than 5 days a week…but usually about 6. However, during the summer a.k.a. field season, all of that goes out the window. I work as long as it takes to get the research done. If that means I set up a tent at the marine lab…then I set up a tent…or build a fort…or something like that. Often times experiments do not run on normal human sleep schedules. This can make for very long hours and days. Usually, I just push through these with late night dance parties…and lots and lots of coffee.

14. Do you enjoy working with dolphins, whales, <insert other charismatic marine mammal here>?

Sad Alex is sad. I am going to let you in on a trade secret. Contrary to popular belief, we are marine scientists, not Seaworld trainers. (Rule #1. READ NOW.) I work with algae and snails and little invisible chemicals. Yes, I do enjoy it and think it’s one of the coolest things ever…that’s why I study it. No, I do not play with whales and dolphins. No, I do not want to. If whales and dolphins are your thing, that is awesome!! I know about two people who work with them and this is often how that goes….

…you want to do that too….by all means. We need people like you.

15. What types of jobs are available?

The ocean is really the limit here. You could work in anything from academia (being a researcher or a professor), to government (either policy or regulation), to non-governmental agencies (research, mitigation, conservation, etc.) There are so many different types jobs in the field. The best way is to figure out what interests you specifically and then talk to people who do what want to you do.

16. What personal qualities are important to success in this career?

Hard work, creativity, ability to take criticism constructively, flexibility, perseverance, and passion. These are necessary. Like I said above, this is a difficult field and experiments do not always work out. Therefore you need to be able to constantly re-evaluate what you are doing and improve. Being able to work hard and persevere through difficult situations can go a long way. Do not kid yourself, there will be failures. Lots of them. However, if you can learn from these failures and emerge with a new outlook. That it everything.

17.  In such a time-demanding profession, is there time for other hobbies, family, extracurricular activities?

This is all dependent on who you ask. Many scientists work themselves to the bone. Nothing else matters but getting the data, grant, paper, etc. This is somewhat admirable, but it’s not the lifestyle for me. Personally, using too much science brain in one day makes Alex a dull girl….not too mention a bad scientist. I become less creative and burn out easily. Thus, I make it a priority to sent aside time for other things.  I think it’s really important to stay active, so I do yoga everyday. This actually helps me to think more clearly in my job. I also like to do outreach and blog (obviously), read books that have nothing to do with science or the ocean, hang out with my friends, and play music (I play saxophone on the regular and am teaching myself cello). All of these things only enhance my ability to think and do good science. Balance is key to happiness…oh and really REALLY good time management skills.

18. Where do you think marine science is headed in the future?

This is a very interesting question, especially within the current financial climate. Unfortunately, research in any field will not exist if there is not enough funding to do it and many people think there are other more important things than science. Because of this I think there is definitely a shift in the type of science we are doing. You see, science can often be put into two categories: basic and applied. Basic science being the science we do just because we want to know how a process works. Applied science being science we do to learn how to fix a problem or how that problem is influencing the environment (i.e. the effects of an oil spill on critical bird habitat). I think because funding is so tight in all of the sciences there is a strong switch from basic to applied science, because it is easier to get $$ if you are trying to investigate a problem or a solution to that problem. The impacts of that money will go farther and that’s what investors/the government want to see.

19. How should I contact someone I am interested in working with/talking to?

First. Read. A note from Carl Zimmer.

The lesson here. Scientists are REALLY, REALLY busy people. However, most of us are excited to talk and share our passions with you. With that said, we are not here to do your homework.  In 18+ years of education we have already done tons of homework!! So if you ever feel inclined to contact us, and we encourage you too, make sure to properly introduce yourself and what you are interested in doing and how we can help. Remember when you learned how to write a professional letter in the third grade? Harness those thoughts. This is not Facebook, nor is it Twitter, or Instant Messaging, or Texting.

If you are still confused…

What to do- Professional E-mail Tips

What not to do- If you just e-mail me a list of questions with no introduction to your assignment, yourself, or your interest in this field. I assure you…I will not answer them.

20. What advice would you give a young person regarding your career?

The world needs you. We need radical ideas and people to implement them. Now more than ever our environment and especially our oceans are at a tipping point. We need people who are unafraid to step up and do something about it. This road is not an easy one. Science is a grueling, arduous, and often times extremely risky career path. But if you think you have what it takes to persevere through those obstacles, it can be a great place for you. Stay passionate. Question everything.

More resources:

So You Think You Can Be a Marine Biologist? DSN Edition – Miriam Goldstein (DSN)

So You Want to Be a Deep-Sea Biologist? – Dr. M (DSN)

Advice from the Love Doctor – Dr. Milton Love

Misunderstood Marine Life #1- The Five Biggest Myths about Marine Biologists –Andrew D. Thaler (SFS)

How to Apply for a Job Working with Sharks – David Shiffman (SFS)

How Not to Apply for a Job Working with Sharks – David Shiffman (SFS)

Feel free to add more resources in the comments or ask any more questions. 

The post Top 20 Frequently Asked Questions of Marine Scientists first appeared on Deep Sea News.

The post The glamorous life of the marine biologist first appeared on Deep Sea News.

In the past, a few readers, interns, random undergraduates, and a curious public have asked all three of us here at DSN “How do you become a deep-sea biologist?”  I write this from the perspective of obtaining a Ph.d. in marine biology and I am assuming the reader wants to go for a Ph.d. as well. Some of these are not specific to deep-sea research, but apply generally to any path toward graduate school in the sciences.  Below is my take on this, tips and tricks, lessons I’ve learned from doing things both the right and wrong way.

1. Love and Pain…Like Sunshine and Rain. Welcome to Deep-Sea Science.  Before you start, you better realize what exactly you are heading into.  Deep-sea science can be both extremely rewarding and extremely heart breaking.  To be a deep-sea scientist is to be one part scientist, one part explorer, and three parts masochist. The logistical difficulties and financial requirements of sampling an environment covered with miles of water will pretty much make every project you want to do either impossible or close to it.  While other graduates students and scientists in your department drive a truck down to their field site and take samples till the cows come home, you will be having a nervous breakdown because of insufficient data.  A project that takes other scientists a weekend and $250 to do will take you three years and $250,000. So, deep-sea science is not for the faint of heart.  However, if you can manage to get a chance (which likely will not happen), then you will probably discover something new, a species, a habitat, a process, or a biological adaptation. Deep-sea science is a young field compared to many other science disciplines.  You will never be at a loss for questions, because most of the answers are still unknown.  Too bad you won’t be able address all of them.  I write this with tongue-in-cheek of course, but I am serious.  This is a tough field and doing deep-sea science isn’t easy.  Think about this for some time before you move to number 2.
2. You Won’t Be Jacques Cousteau. Are you still here?  Well, now you better realize a few other things.  You are not going to be rich or famous.  You will not ride on Zodiacs chasing after charismatic megafauna.  You are not likely to spend every day riding around in a sub wearing a red stocking hat.  One week per year, one month if you are lucky, you will spend at sea.  How that time will fly by!  You will spend the rest of the year analyzing that material.  You will spend most of the remaining year writing.  Writing proposals, grants, papers, emails, etc. I hope you like to write. When you are not writing you will be doing menial and repetitive tasks.  Entering numbers into Excel, counting snails, programming, picking absurdly small organisms out of mud, mixing chemicals, these are the tasks that will fill your day.  You will also be spending a lot of time on a computer.  Not Facebooking, Ichatting, surfing the web for fun, playing the newest game.  O’ no my friend, your computer will be the vessel of menial tasks. Thankfully, those menial tasks may actually produce some sort of scientific product (but see Number One).
3. Proving Yourself, Again, Again, and Again. From the time you make your first contact with a potential advisor to the time you are full professor, you will have to prove yourself again and again.  Publishing papers, obtaining grant money, getting positions, getting tenure, etc will all require an exhaustive and thorough review process of everything you’ve done.  If this doesn’t sound like fun then you should reconsider now.
4. I Took Underwater Basket Weaving, What Other Classes Will I Need? Before you even think about graduate school you need to think about the classes you had as an undergrad.  Hopefully you have had multiple basic biology courses (ecology, physiology, evolution, genetics, microbiology) and paired that with some basic level physics, chemistry, and geology.  You don’t necessarily need an undergraduate degree in Marine Biology.  My own degree is in basic biology. Invertebrate Zoology will be a must and you better get an A in it (or ichthyology if you prefer the verts).  The deep sea and all of its weird creatures will challenge everything you learn.  Don’t start off behind.  I would require any potential graduate student to have a firm grasp of math and statistics (Calculus 1, Linear Algebra, and Basic Stats at least).  Modern science is increasing more quantitative.  Now we move to advanced modeling and analytical methods.  You can start learning them now or later.  Not required, although important, would be a basic logic course.  Good science is good logic.  Getting the basics can only help.  You should also make sure you can write well or at least sufficiently (see Number 2). Some basic understanding of mechanics and engineering would be plus as you deal with temperamental oceanographic equipment.
5. Your Training Begins Now and You Are Already Behind. If you have made it to this point, then you are still behind.  You will need to start brushing up on everything deep sea.  Obviously, DSN is a good first step.  Pick a copy of Silent Deep, Deep-Sea Biology, or The Ecology of Hydrothermal Vents.  Better yet pick up all three and read them all.  When you start emailing people about graduate positions you don’t want to sound like an idiot.  Hopefully these books will give you some idea of exactly which subject you would like to research. Yes, you have to be more specific than “deep-sea biology”. If you find all this reading (that in the next step) burdensome or boring then consider another field.  You need to be passionate about the subject (see Numbers 1-3) so you should want to do this.  In fact, reading about the deep sea should be your idea of great way to spend an evening or weekend. You should feel like this is the greatest thing since sliced white bread.  If not, … well, this is not for you.
6. Meet Google Scholar, Your Brand New Friend For the Next Several Months Now with all that basic level deep-sea knowledge comes the advanced stuff.  Use Google Scholar to search for primary literature on deep-sea topics.  You are looking to do a few things. 1) You want to know about all the new advances in deep-sea science (DSN can help you). 2) You want to know who are the movers and shakers in the field, both the legends and the new an upcoming movers and shakers. 3) You are looking for specific topics in deep-sea science that interest you.  Some deep-sea publications can be had online without subscriptions or library access.  There will be several you cannot get.  Don’t fret! Search for the first author’s website to see if they have posted the pdf on their lab’s website.  If not, don’t hesitate to email the first author or corresponding author (sometimes different) for a pdf.
7. You Can Study Anything You Want, You Just Better Know What It Is. As you begin looking for potential Ph.D. advisors, you will definitely be asked what specifically you want to research.  You better have an answer.  You will probably want to pick a focal organisms or entire group (mine’s gastropods, KZ’s is anemones and vent critters, Peter’s is coral).  The most successful programs come from people having a focal taxon that provides the framework to address larger questions.  However, this not the complete story.  You need to have a specific question or topic.  Don’t worry there is no wrong answer here.  Scientists in the field just want to see you have put more thought in this than “deep-sea squid are totally sweet, and I need to work with them.”  A good example would be “The factors determining the geographic distributions of species X” or “the evolution of Y’s adaptations to the deep”. After you state the topic you are interested in, be prepared to answer why. Numbers 4 and 5 will help you narrow your ideas and present new ones.  Most papers and the books above will leave off with questions that are outstanding in the field.
8. Ivy League, Great Surfing, Party School? It Doesn’t Matter! One of the biggest mistakes people usually make when applying for grad school is choosing the institution instead of the person they want to work with.  Sure the Ivy League is nice and the name recognition will help a little or living near the beach would be totally sweet, but ultimately they are not that important.  Your success will be measured by your own research and the products from that (i.e. publications).  Instrumental to this is picking a laboratory and an advisor who will provide both the research topic and the support you need.  Start by using your background readings to identify people whose research you find interesting and match your own interests.  Pick someone who is currently active in the field and publishing. They will be more likely to have the financial and field support you need.  Whatever you do, do not accept a position if you have not met the advisor or, more importantly, their graduate students.  Remember you will be spending a lot of time with this person over the next 5-8 years.  This is all about “fit” and if you “don’t fit” then things could go horribly wrong.  Current graduates students will always be honest about what its like working with Dr. X, and what their department is like.  In my own career, I choose not to work with one scientist because their graduate students were generally negative about their time in the lab.  Once you pick the advisor, the school will be picked for you.
9. Email, Email, and Email some more. Once you find the person (and hopefully, people) you would like to work with (you want options) then you email them.  You want to make contact with this person.  Express your interest in their research.  Ask them questions about their research.  Ask for pdf’s of their work.  Ask them if they have graduate opportunities in their laboratory.  Ask them if you can come and visit. You are interviewing this person as much as they are you, so do not waste the opportunity to gain more information.  Don’t worry if they don’t immediately respond, they will be busy or even away at sea.  Send a reminder (two max).  If they don’t respond to you, or if you get a negative response, this is not bad.  In either of these cases you probably don’t want to be that person’s graduate student anyway.
10. The GRE, Why It Hates You, and All The Other Stuff You Need To Get Into Graduate School. The GRE is a SOB but a necessarily evil.  Take it and score high, no problem.  Score low, things are not over but more become difficult.  In my experience, the GRE measures less what you know but rather how well you can take a test.  Although expensive, it would be well worth the money to take a GRE course.  Now in actuality the GRE is just single metric in which your application is viewed.  A high GPA, research experience, and a well-articulated essay go much further and can outweigh any GRE score (as long as you are above a minimum standard, but even that can be flexible).  If you are still an undergraduate (or even not) get some (any) research experience.  It shows dedication to and a familiarity with working in a laboratory or doing research.  Those experiences can also lead to strong letters of recommendation, which you will also need.  You don’t want your only letters coming from a course instructor with whom you took one class.  Now, here is the part that no one ever mentions.  Having a strong faculty advocate for your admission is essential.  This is why Number 9 is so important.  Typically, all the graduate applicants files are passed around the department and faculty are asked to make their picks.  If a faculty member wants you they will serve as an informal advocate in your behalf.  “I know so-so’s GRE’s are low, but I have had great interactions with this person, they visited the lab, they have X,Y,Z, and ultimately I think they will be a great fit.”
11. You Better Make Sure You Really Love This.  See Number 1

The post Repost: So You Want to Be A Deep-Sea Biologist first appeared on Deep Sea News.

ARRRRR ME HEARTIES!!!! So ye want t’ be a pirate, t’ sail the open sea searching for booty – what? You said a marine biologist? Oh. Well, sailing the open sea searching for booty is actually prohibited by UNOLS regulations – what? Oh, you wanted advice on how to BECOME a marine biologist. All right then. Fall must be the time when a
student’s heart turns toward the call of the sea, for I have received several requests for advice from undergraduate students.

And let me just get this out of the way – being a marine biologist is not about pulling golf balls out of whale blowholes or hugging dolphins. If you want to do that, become a wildlife veterinarian or a dolphin trainer. Marine biology is about figuring out the way the ocean works – and most of the ocean is not made out of dolphins. (That is too horrible a scenario to contemplate).

There are bad reasons and good reasons to become a marine biologist. Fortunately Dr. Milton Love has a convenient list which you should go read immediately. Go there now. Still want to be a marine biologist? Did you read the part about the smell? Ok, you’re sure? Keep on reading this blog post, then.

The following advice is aimed at undergraduates, and is my personal opinion and should by no means be taken as the One True Way. I invite our marine biological readers (both academic and non-academic) to add their own suggestions in the comments.

GET YOUR ACADEMIC SCIENCE ON

You have to have a solid, traditional science background to be a marine biologist. This means the standard coursework in biology, chemistry, physics, math, and statistics. If you want to take environmental studies-interdisciplinary-type courses, go ahead, but it won’t do you any good without the basics. The easiest way to do this is to major in a hard science, but it is possible to major in something else so long as you do this coursework. You don’t have to love all of it – please don’t ask me about my grade in Organic Chemistry – but you have to do most of it reasonably well. I strongly recommend computer programming as well – scientists today live in a glorious sea of data, and you are going to have to know how to program in order to avoid drowning in it. (I spent a year and a half weeping into my R code – don’t be like me!).

Assuming you want to be a marine BIOLOGIST, take lots of biology! Ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, microbiology, cell biology, invertebrate zoology…even if the course is not directly about marine science, you will be learning skills that can answer questions about the ocean. If you don’t like advanced biology courses, well, you probably won’t like marine biology.

FIND A WAY TO GET RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

So, marine biology is about learning how the amazing animals and ecosystems of the ocean work, but how exactly do we do that? RESEARCH! Classwork will give you the basics, but working in a lab or doing independent research is how you’re going to learn how science is actually done. It is easiest to start as an undergraduate, since there are lots of opportunities and resources out there to help you. (More on non-undergraduate opportunities later).

You might notice that many of the things on this list involve talking to your professors. Getting to know them is one of the best investments you can make, though I know it’s not easy, especially at large universities. But science professors (along with teaching) are also running a lab, doing research, talking with other scientists who are doing research, and have graduate students in need of help with their own research – so getting to know them is one of the best ways of getting your foot in the door. Also, you’re going to need recommendation letters for most of the below list of programs, and it’s pretty hard for a professor to write a letter for a student they’ve never spoken to. So go to office hours and talk to them – the best time is at the beginning of the semester when things are pretty quiet.

Here’s a list to get you started:

• Work in a lab. I got started in marine ecology when some weird guy I knew from student theater said that his lab was hiring undergrad assistants. I needed a job, and that sounded fun. Well, scanning several thousand slides (this was before digital cameras) was not exactly fun per se…but it got me involved in the life of the lab. I met the graduate students, went to lab meeting, and started to learn how this whole science thing worked. Many labs hire undergraduate research assistants, and it is a great way to learn about science while gaining some useful skills. So go to your professors’ office hours and ask if there are any opportunities in their labs, or if they know of any in their departments.

• Take a research semester abroad. There are many programs that allow you to go abroad, get course credit, and do science.  They may cost more money than your usual tuition, but may also have financial aid programs. The two programs I know of off the top of my head are Sea Education Association (sail on a tall ship, learn oceanography and maritime skills) and Three Seas Program (coastal marine science in New England, the Caribbean, and southern California). Both of these program have a strong academic component (e.g., you’ll do coursework in marine science) and emphasize independent research skills. No doubt there are more of these programs – if you have experience with one, please add it in the comments. [Update: Another program mentioned in the comments: the Williams College/Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program.] [Update II: Also CSU Marine Biology Semester at USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies].

• Do independent research. The core of being a marine biologist is, of course, research. One of the best ways to get research experience is through the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. These are usually summer programs (though some are at different times of year) that set you up with a lab and and a mentor, and pay you a reasonable stipend (enough to satisfy most work-study requirements) to do research. You can search on their website for programs you might be interested in – here is the list of Ocean Sciences REUs. (I did two REUs as an undergraduate and they were both amazing experiences.) Another great resource is Pathways to Science, which focuses particularly on connecting underrepresented groups with mentors and opportunities. Your university may also have programs just for its own students – investigate by asking your professors and with the appropriate Student Affairs office. [Update: the MBARI Summer Internship.]

YOU’VE GRADUATED – NOW WHAT?

Once you are no longer a student, the path becomes more twisty and difficult, and some of the unfairness of the academic system kicks in. Here are your options:

• Go directly to graduate school, do not pass go, and definitely do not collect $200. If you’ve majored in a hard science and gotten some independent research experience, you have the option of going directly to graduate school. (How to do that is a topic for another post.) While many excellent scientists have gone straight through, my personal recommendation is to take a year or three and getting some work experience. Enjoy not having homework and going out with your friends during the week. Being a bit older and more mature will help your sanity later on.

• Get a job in academic science. Many labs have research assistants – people who are paid to help in the field or in the lab. These jobs can be an amazing way to get experience, to meet people in your field, and to go awesome places. Unfortunately, they are usually funded off grants, which makes them ephemeral and badly paid. Some only pay room and board, particularly those in exotic locations. If you don’t have student loans and can stay on your parents’ health insurance (and you are a traditional student in your early 20s) – these can be a great option for grand science adventures. If you have student loans and/or are not on your parents’ health insurance and/or cannot just pick up and go to crazy locations, these may be very difficult for you to do. The best resource for finding these type of jobs that I know of is the ECOLOG-L listserv. Other paid options that people I know have done include working as fisheries observers or as educators at aquariums.

• Get a job that is not in academic science, but will give you useful experience anyway. When I graduated from college, I had to take a job that would not only pay me, but give me health insurance. While I found it frustrating at the time, it actually led to unexpected paths that have proved very valuable – for example, the construction job that taught me about managing a large project (and about rebar! I love rebar!). When I was interviewing for graduate school, my construction job made me stand out from the crowd. Just be prepared to explain how your nonstandard experiences will help you be successful in marine biology. However, this works best if you also have a strong science background from undergrad.

• Get a nonscience job and volunteer with scientists. Many labs and research expeditions take volunteers along. If you have a regular job but want to get into science, volunteering can be a great way to get your foot in the door. This works best if you have some time available during regular work hours, but some people take volunteers at night or on the weekends. If you have a really flexible schedule, it is possible to volunteer to work on an oceanographic vessel for the duration of a cruise (which can be anywhere from a few days to several weeks). The best way to find volunteer positions is to email people who you might be interested in working with – even if they are not accepting volunteers, they may know someone who is.

IN SUMMARY

To paraphrase Michael Pollan: “Basic science. Lots and lots. Mostly research.”

MORE RESOURCES

• Dr M’s excellent post So You Want to Be A Deep-Sea Biologist. [edit: added this link 13 Nov 21:00 PST]
• Danna Staaf on How to Become a Cephalopodiatrist. She focuses on cephalopods, but most of her advice holds true for all fields of marine biology. [link added 15 Nov 0800 PST]
• The indispensable Dr. Milton Love’s So You Want To Be A Marine Biologist and So You Want To Be A Marine Biologist: The Revenge
• Becoming A Marine Biologist from SUNY Stonybrook – also in Chinese! (PDF)
• Advice from former Scripps graduate student Greg Szulgit.
• Huge list of resources from Hopkins Marine Lab
• Christie Wilcox (now of Science Sushi) tells her story

The post So You Want to Be A Marine Biologist: Deep Sea News Edition first appeared on Deep Sea News.

As far as sampling, I got what I needed but it wasn’t pleasant.  I re-sampled all our existing sites from Dauphin Island, AL to Bald Island State Park south of Tallahasse. Afternoon on the first day was enjoyable, but the sun surprised me and I got the burn to prove it.  The second day was gloomy and the third day was an absolute downpour with thunderstorms and tornado watches.  Science doesn’t stop for the weather, so I had to plod on.

A year later, there are STILL cleaning crews out on the beaches – Gulf Shores National Seashore (a beautiful preserve of ivory sand) got hit pretty hard last summer, and every storm still washes more oil ashore.  A ranger at Gulf Shores State Park in Alabama noted, “I moved here from Galveston to get away from oil on beaches, and then this happened”.

Our undergraduate workshop was a great success – we had 11 bright students who were eager to learn and always had insightful questions.   We enthralled the group with microscope taxonomy and next-generation sequencing technology in the context of our Gulf of Mexico RAPID project – all the methods we explained and demonstrated were tools we use every day in the lab, and it opened their eyes to the reality of scientific research.

But the most important component of this workshop was socializing, perhaps even more so than the science itself.  The divide between undergrads and professors—a subtle, easily ignored physical divide on campus—never really struck me until this weekend.  Many undergrads see their professors as old, boring and stuffy; they know nothing about their love of good beer and heroic liver capacities (a.k.a. god-like capacities for marine scientists).   We took the legally-aged undergrads to a bar and proved how cool we actually are…relaxing together with a beer really opened the communication channels and fostered a great dialogue.  And boy, did they have so many questions – about our research, applying to grad school, and possible career options.  As an undergrad, I would have KILLED to have dinner with a distinguished researcher and ask them how to tailor my grad school applications.  Most of what I know about how science works has come from real-world, informal conversations with other researchers—the earlier that undergrads realize this, the sooner the benefit for their personal and career development.  Talking to undergrads was also pretty uplifting for me as a postdoc—their enthusiasm was catchy, and it made me mentally resolve to reach out more towards this demographic in the future.

By the end of the workshop the undergrads were threatening us with punitive vodka shots if we kept talking about maximum likelihood and gamma distributions on a sunny Saturday afternoon (hey, at least we fed them pizza first)…

The post Teaching undergrads the ‘Bioinformatics of Biodiversity’ first appeared on Deep Sea News.

As part of our NSF RAPID grant studying the impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill, our group is busy organizing an outreach workshop for undergrads entitled the “Bioinformatics of Biodiversity”. We’ll be giving a small group of students the down-low on traditional taxonomy as well as high-throughput sequencing of sediment communities–especially emphasizing the interdependence between the two for inferring complex interactions within marine ecosystems. While preparing material for these workshop sessions, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a marine biologist in the 21st century–I’m really not joking about the scripting.

On any given day, I may extract nematodes from some deep-sea mud, PCR up some 18S genes, build a quick phylogeny, help someone prep environmental RNA for transcriptome analysis, write and run perl scripts, fiddle around with Linux dependencies, and outline some complex data processing needs to my colleagues in the computer science department. Once in a while I go down to the beach to collect some fresh, writhing worms.

“You hear that Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability.”

I still consider myself a marine biologist at heart, but my goal as a postdoc is to be marketable. Academia is a crowded island, and if I want to survive I need to adapt and find my niche.

Now, we are truly living a data-driven life. One proposal I read succinctly noted the “twin revolutions in information/computing and in the biological sciences”. Computers are getting faster and DNA sequencing is becoming ever more high-throughput (with the pace of the latter far outstripping the former). With the plummeting cost of high-throughput sequencing technology and the impacts of climate change already manifesting, reverse taxonomy is becoming the only cost-effective option for describing the biodiversity on Earth: sequence environmental DNA first, then search out biological patterns, and eventually stick a formal species name on the taxa with the most interesting ecology. Taxonomy is always going to be important, but the problem is we could never do it fast enough. Scientists who study microbes are already taking an alternative approach–realizing that the functional role of organisms in an environment (e.g. expressed genes) can be more important than who is actually there.

In fact, given the vast number of uncultivated microbes, it may be that a DNA-centric approach, in which genes are linked to habitats (locations), is more useful than the species-centric view [Field et al. (2010) Nat Biotech 26(5):541]

I’m currently in beautiful San Diego to participate in the Biodiversity Working Group of the Genomic Standards Consortium. We’ll be discussing the current challenges facing high-throughput biodiversity research—how to anticipate and plan for future research needs, particularly the need for diverse fields to unite and share computational resources and workflows. The data problem is too big (and cyberinfrastructure is too costly) for disparate groups to try and tackle alone—thus, today’s scientific community is poised to become more integrative than ever (common computational hurdles mean that disciplines must unite to overcome them). Not only do scientists need robust data storage facilities, but researchers need to access and analyze large DNA datasets (and their associated metadata) in order to tease out patterns across biological communities.

Young biologists who can grasp this overarching zeitgeist and gain a broad scientific background–both computational and ecological–will be well poised for future success. You don’t necessarily need to walk the walk, but you definitely need to talk the talk. And maybe stumble around in the dark (for your own skill development?) if anyone asked you to actually try and walk the walk. I can talk about relational databases to computer scientists, but I could never actually sit down and construct one–well I could, but it would involve much swearing and lots of caffeine.

The post A 21st century view of Marine Biology first appeared on Deep Sea News.

1. Love and Pain…Like Sunshine and Rain. Welcome to Deep-Sea Science.  Before you start, you better realize what exactly you are heading into.  Deep-sea science can be both extremely rewarding and extremely heart breaking.  To be a deep-sea scientist is to be one part scientist, one part explorer, and three parts masochist. The logistical difficulties and financial requirements of sampling an environment covered with miles of water will pretty much make every project you want to do either impossible or close to it.  While other graduates students and scientists in your department drive a truck down to their field site and take samples till the cows come home, you will be having a nervous breakdown because of insufficient data.  A project that takes other scientists a weekend and $250 to do will take you three years and $250,000. So, deep-sea science is not for the faint of heart.  However, if you can manage to get a chance (which likely will not happen), then you will probably discover something new, a species, a habitat, a process, or a biological adaptation. Deep-sea science is a young field compared to many other science disciplines.  You will never be at a loss for questions, because most of the answers are still unknown.  Too bad you won’t be able address all of them.  I write this with tongue-in-cheek of course, but I am serious.  This is a tough field and doing deep-sea science isn’t easy.  Think about this for some time before you move to number 2.
2. You Won’t Be Jacques Cousteau. Are you still here?  Well, now you better realize a few other things.  You are not going to be rich or famous.  You will not ride on Zodiacs chasing after charismatic megafauna.  You are not likely to spend every day riding around in a sub wearing a red stocking hat.  One week per year, one month if you are lucky, you will spend at sea.  How that time will fly by!  You will spend the rest of the year analyzing that material.  You will spend most of the remaining year writing.  Writing proposals, grants, papers, emails, etc. I hope you like to write. When you are not writing you will be doing menial and repetitive tasks.  Entering numbers into Excel, counting snails, programming, picking absurdly small organisms out of mud, mixing chemicals, these are the tasks that will fill your day.  You will also be spending a lot of time on a computer.  Not Facebooking, Ichatting, surfing the web for fun, playing the newest game.  O’ no my friend, your computer will be the vessel of menial tasks. Thankfully, those menial tasks may actually produce some sort of scientific product (but see Number One).
3. Proving Yourself, Again, Again, and Again. From the time you make your first contact with a potential advisor to the time you are full professor, you will have to prove yourself again and again.  Publishing papers, obtaining grant money, getting positions, getting tenure, etc will all require an exhaustive and thorough review process of everything you’ve done.  If this doesn’t sound like fun then you should reconsider now.
4. I Took Underwater Basket Weaving, What Other Classes Will I Need? Before you even think about graduate school you need to think about the classes you had as an undergrad.  Hopefully you have had multiple basic biology courses (ecology, physiology, evolution, genetics, microbiology) and paired that with some basic level physics, chemistry, and geology.  You don’t necessarily need an undergraduate degree in Marine Biology.  My own degree is in basic biology. Invertebrate Zoology will be a must and you better get an A in it (or ichthyology if you prefer the verts).  The deep sea and all of its weird creatures will challenge everything you learn.  Don’t start off behind.  I would require any potential graduate student to have a firm grasp of math and statistics (Calculus 1, Linear Algebra, and Basic Stats at least).  Modern science is increasing more quantitative.  Now we move to advanced modeling and analytical methods.  You can start learning them now or later.  Not required, although important, would be a basic logic course.  Good science is good logic.  Getting the basics can only help.  You should also make sure you can write well or at least sufficiently (see Number 2). Some basic understanding of mechanics and engineering would be plus as you deal with temperamental oceanographic equipment.
5. Your Training Begins Now and You Are Already Behind. If you have made it to this point, then you are still behind.  You will need to start brushing up on everything deep sea.  Obviously, DSN is a good first step.  Pick a copy of Silent Deep, Deep-Sea Biology, or The Ecology of Hydrothermal Vents.  Better yet pick up all three and read them all.  When you start emailing people about graduate positions you don’t want to sound like an idiot.  Hopefully these books will give you some idea of exactly which subject you would like to research. Yes, you have to be more specific than “deep-sea biology”. If you find all this reading (that in the next step) burdensome or boring then consider another field.  You need to be passionate about the subject (see Numbers 1-3) so you should want to do this.  In fact, reading about the deep sea should be your idea of great way to spend an evening or weekend. You should feel like this is the greatest thing since sliced white bread.  If not, … well, this is not for you.
6. Meet Google Scholar, Your Brand New Friend For the Next Several Months Now with all that basic level deep-sea knowledge comes the advanced stuff.  Use Google Scholar to search for primary literature on deep-sea topics.  You are looking to do a few things. 1) You want to know about all the new advances in deep-sea science (DSN can help you). 2) You want to know who are the movers and shakers in the field, both the legends and the new an upcoming movers and shakers. 3) You are looking for specific topics in deep-sea science that interest you.  Some deep-sea publications can be had online without subscriptions or library access.  There will be several you cannot get.  Don’t fret! Search for the first author’s website to see if they have posted the pdf on their lab’s website.  If not, don’t hesitate to email the first author or corresponding author (sometimes different) for a pdf.
7. You Can Study Anything You Want, You Just Better Know What It Is. As you begin looking for potential Ph.D. advisors, you will definitely be asked what specifically you want to research.  You better have an answer.  You will probably want to pick a focal organisms or entire group (mine’s gastropods, KZ’s is anemones and vent critters, Peter’s is coral).  The most successful programs come from people having a focal taxon that provides the framework to address larger questions.  However, this not the complete story.  You need to have a specific question or topic.  Don’t worry there is no wrong answer here.  Scientists in the field just want to see you have put more thought in this than “deep-sea squid are totally sweet, and I need to work with them.”  A good example would be “The factors determining the geographic distributions of species X” or “the evolution of Y’s adaptations to the deep”. After you state the topic you are interested in, be prepared to answer why. Numbers 4 and 5 will help you narrow your ideas and present new ones.  Most papers and the books above will leave off with questions that are outstanding in the field.
8. Ivy League, Great Surfing, Party School? It Doesn’t Matter! One of the biggest mistakes people usually make when applying for grad school is choosing the institution instead of the person they want to work with.  Sure the Ivy League is nice and the name recognition will help a little or living near the beach would be totally sweet, but ultimately they are not that important.  Your success will be measured by your own research and the products from that (i.e. publications).  Instrumental to this is picking a laboratory and an advisor who will provide both the research topic and the support you need.  Start by using your background readings to identify people whose research you find interesting and match your own interests.  Pick someone who is currently active in the field and publishing. They will be more likely to have the financial and field support you need.  Whatever you do, do not accept a position if you have not met the advisor or, more importantly, their graduate students.  Remember you will be spending a lot of time with this person over the next 5-8 years.  This is all about “fit” and if you “don’t fit” then things could go horribly wrong.  Current graduates students will always be honest about what its like working with Dr. X, and what their department is like.  In my own career, I choose not to work with one scientist because their graduate students were generally negative about their time in the lab.  Once you pick the advisor, the school will be picked for you.
9. Email, Email, and Email some more. Once you find the person (and hopefully, people) you would like to work with (you want options) then you email them.  You want to make contact with this person.  Express your interest in their research.  Ask them questions about their research.  Ask for pdf’s of their work.  Ask them if they have graduate opportunities in their laboratory.  Ask them if you can come and visit. You are interviewing this person as much as they are you, so do not waste the opportunity to gain more information.  Don’t worry if they don’t immediately respond, they will be busy or even away at sea.  Send a reminder (two max).  If they don’t respond to you, or if you get a negative response, this is not bad.  In either of these cases you probably don’t want to be that person’s graduate student anyway.
10. The GRE, Why It Hates You, and All The Other Stuff You Need To Get Into Graduate School. The GRE is a SOB but a necessarily evil.  Take it and score high, no problem.  Score low, things are not over but more become difficult.  In my experience, the GRE measures less what you know but rather how well you can take a test.  Although expensive, it would be well worth the money to take a GRE course.  Now in actuality the GRE is just single metric in which your application is viewed.  A high GPA, research experience, and a well-articulated essay go much further and can outweigh any GRE score (as long as you are above a minimum standard, but even that can be flexible).  If you are still an undergraduate (or even not) get some (any) research experience.  It shows dedication to and a familiarity with working in a laboratory or doing research.  Those experiences can also lead to strong letters of recommendation, which you will also need.  You don’t want your only letters coming from a course instructor with whom you took one class.  Now, here is the part that no one ever mentions.  Having a strong faculty advocate for your admission is essential.  This is why Number 9 is so important.  Typically, all the graduate applicants files are passed around the department and faculty are asked to make their picks.  If a faculty member wants you they will serve as an informal advocate in your behalf.  “I know so-so’s GRE’s are low, but I have had great interactions with this person, they visited the lab, they have X,Y,Z, and ultimately I think they will be a great fit.”
11. You Better Make Sure You Really Love This.  See Number 1

The post So You Want to Be A Deep-Sea Biologist? first appeared on Deep Sea News.