Getting started with the project was quite challenging, and I had a couple of false starts. I had a lot of trouble planning everything at first. I had to keep returning to my notes and re-reading the lectures to ensure I was doing it right. In addition, I had difficulty finding the scientific name for my subject of study because I found different names for it in various sources. After making sure I had the name right, there wasn’t very much information on it. There aren’t many studies on tropical alpine flora in Mexico, which made finding reliable sources difficult.
I have a newfound appreciation and admiration for full-time ecology researchers, and at the same time, I am more skeptical of swiping generalizations on ecology news articles. Finding new information and ensuring it’s “true” takes time, effort, and resources. While taking samples is challenging, making sure they are enough and unbiases even more so. I had many problems along the way that I had to adapt. I made grand plans for sampling that, once on site, I had to modify because I simply couldn’t get to my sampling coordinates. On google earth, the area looked easy to get to, but once there, I realized the terrain was too steep and overgrown, with the possibility of encountering poisonous snakes.
I would have liked the opportunity to talk with a faculty member at the beginning of the project to get more direction and help with planning.
Thank you for a concise and candid post!
Really acknowledging the obstacles you had faced at the beginning was relevant and refreshing for me to read. I wish I’d read the reflections posts BEFORE I began the project 🙂
It sounds like you got some great takeaways as well, including respect, some healthy skepticism, and a more accurate idea of site accessibility!
Great post.
All the best on whatever is next for you,
Joel