Utah State University Blanding scholar Tolonqua Nakai imagine heading to the coast.
Which coast?
Any coast that will enable him to study sharks and other oceanic animals, Nakai says.
“I spend a lot of my time watching documentaries about marine biology,” says the 2022 graduate of Utah’s San Juan High School, who’s pursuing an associate degree in biology and functions as a peer coach at USU Blanding.
For now, the undergrad is content to deal with terrestrial animals, consisting of the Siberian huskies his family raises.
While taking part in this month’s Native American Summer Mentorship Program at USU’s Logan school, Nakai had the chance to deal with wild canids at the USDA National Wildlife Research Center Utah Field Stationin close-by Millville, Utah, where scientists research study coyote ecology and habits.
NASMP, which was started at Utah State in 2014, offers trainees with an immersive, four-week intro to four-year degree programs in a variety of disciplines, in addition to management-building activities and details about opportunities beyond bachelor’s degrees.
Before heading to the field, Nakai dealt with Department of Biology professors coach and neuroscientist Sara Freeman, who studies the social habits of monogamous animals, consisting of coyotes. Freeman is presently pursuing collective research study with USDA coworkers at the Utah Field Station.
With Freeman, Nakai found out to utilize an instrument called a cryostat to slice thin areas of brain tissue — experimenting rodent brains — for tiny analysis.
“This instrument allows us to slice tissue in 20-micron sections,” Freeman says. “That’s about the width of a human hair.”
Acquiring this ability, she says, is necessary for studying the neuroanatomy of mammals.
“I never thought I’d be working with actual brains,” Nakai says. “But this and study of animals’ neurobiology builds on favorite topics I studied about evolutionary science in previous classes with Dr. Carla Endres in Blanding.”
Prepped for a two-day field experience to the firmly protected Millville center (no images of the coyotes or enclosures enabled), Nakai took a trip with Freeman Lab member and doctoral trainee Caroline Long to deal with USU alumna and Colony Specialist Andalyn Billings to find out about the field station’s operations and how research study is performed with the animals.
His very first task? Feeding the coyote pups a high-protein slurry diet plan specifically developed for the health and wellness of the fur-producing animals. A yummy treat for the coyotes, the mix, made up of animal by-products with extra protein and supplements included, is not rather as attracting people.
“It’s not so bad, once you get used to it,” Billings says. “It doesn’t bother me, unless I recognize something specific in it, like a cow’s eyeball.”
“Ewwwwww,” reacted Nakai and Long in unison.
“The coyote food smelled, but feeding the coyotes was a fun experience,” Nakai says. “I had only one pup run up to me being curious, and jumping around excitedly with the other pups during feeding time.”
Billings stressed the value of keeping the animals well-hydrated; a requirement that Nakai took seriously based upon his experiences dealing with domesticated dogs. He observed that, like his Husky pups, growing coyotes require a great deal of water and healthy food.
Checking each puppy’s hydration, in addition to weighing each puppy to guarantee they were getting appropriate nutrition, was the next task in which Nakai took part and one he confessed was more tough than the feeding procedure.
“We had to get the pups into their dens to take the measurements,” he says. “They were jumpy and pooped a lot, and they tried running from us. Thankfully, they didn’t get past us.”
Nakai says the experience advised him of attempting to capture dynamic Husky pups.
“Learning how things work in the wildlife biology field has shown me that people who work in these facilities care very much about the animals’ wellbeing,” he says. “They try their best to keep the animals healthy and happy while still collecting as much information for research as possible. The experience makes me want to go into the biology field even more to learn about different creatures we share our planet with and how to coexist.”
While dealing with coyotes was intriguing, Nakai says he still has his mind set on marine biology.
“For now, my main focus is completing my associate degree,” he says. “Then, I’ll focus on a bachelor’s degree.”
NASMP individuals will share their research study experiences from 9-10:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 13, in the Biology-Natural Resources Lecture Hall, BNR 102. All are welcome.
