Finishing up the Semester

Well, the semester is coming to close and I cannot wait for finals to be over. I am going to take advantage of my free time by starting to collect data at my field sites. I am  really excited to begin data collection even though I am also a little apprehensive about going out on to saguaro lake in the middle of winter. Before I go out I'll have to take a trip to a birding store in Scottsdale to look for some good field guides to help identify birds while I am out. I have seen my recognition of birds in the area go up substantially since I have began working on identification but moving out into the natural areas will be a much different experience as I am expecting to see more diversity in bird populations in rural areas.

Week 3: Research and Identification

This week I have spent a ton of time trying to put together my presentation for Metro Tech. It was definitely hard to get started since I started late in the semester and don’t have any data yet but once I got going it wasn’t too hard to get ideas down on paper. I’m feeling pretty good about the start of my project and explaining it to others now that I have the basic outline down. I found some really great papers to get background info from. I’m especially excited to read two papers by researchers at ASU poly about urbanization in Phoenix and its effect on birds. I also started working on my bird identifications and I can pick out a great tailed grackle in a second and I've realized that there are a ton of them all over Phoenix.

Week 2 Formulating a Research topic

Week two has brought about a start to my research project for the program. After completing my CRC tests I began formulating my research topic with Matt. I am well into the planning stages at this point. My overall goal for this project is to explore how different environments and varying levels of plant biodiversity within the Sonoran desert effect biodiversity among bird species. My plan is to visit five different sites within the Sonoran desert once a month and identify the plant species in the area as well as the birds each time I visit. The sites that I have identified for the project are all located within the Sonoran desert and are  between 970 and 1700 feet elevation. The sites will be Encanto Park, Phoenix College, Downtown Phoenix, Tres Rios wetlands, Saddle mountain, and Saguaro Lake. These sites will cover both urban and wilderness areas as well as sites with and without a water source. As of right now I have some tentative dates and paths for each site but those of course will be subject to change based on how my first site visit goes. In the meantime I am very excited to dig into some background research on my topic and my sites.

Week 1 Getting Started and Field Trip to Oak Creek

Week one of my S-Stem scholarship program has been a success so far. I have completed all of my video safety lessons and I will be ready to start working in the lab after I finish my ethics course. At the end of this first week I joined the other scholars on a field trip to Oak Creek to explore the west fork trail. This was a wonderful opportunity to practice identifying some bird calls and plant species in the area. I even got to see an American crow and a song sparrow during the trip. I’m hoping to continue expanding my knowledge of different species before the spring when migratory birds are in the area. The hike also gave me time to continue thinking about an interesting research topic for next semester which I am hoping to focus on population ecology.

Bio: Pablo Rocha

My name is Pablo Rocha, I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America with a degree in Culinary Arts in 2012. Since that time, I have worked in the hospitality industry in various roles. While working in the industry I have continued a lifelong passion of spending my leisure time in nature. It was through this passion that I decided to return to school and pursue a degree in Wildlife Biology and Ecology. It is my mission to obtain a graduate degree and help protect our country's natural resources. Taking part in the S-STEM program and learning how to conduct research
is my first step towards completing that goal.