Blog Entry #4

I had my first interview on Friday, September 22, and have corresponded with several other professionals. Dr. Charles Randklev, the man I interviewed with, leads a team of scientists in native freshwater mussel research and conservation. His work was very interesting, but right now I don’t feel like I want to spend the year researching a specific species I am more interested in ecology and broad-range species interactions. Now that I have done some research on environmental topics and had an interview, I am starting to get an idea of what I want to do my research on. Given that further human development is inevitable, I would like to learn what methods people are using to promote human-wildlife cohabitation. There are several urban wildlife biologists I have reached out to and I am going to call them because I think that an interview with one of them would be very helpful for my research. In addition, the local park managers and foresters will have valuable information about promoting green spaces and creating more environmentally friendly cities. After taking part in more interviews, I will better be able to formulate my research and decide what I want to spend my time in ISM studying.