Polychaete folly-chaete

Throw back to 2019 when I took the world renowned marine invertebrate zoology course at Friday Harbor Labs(:

An ode to my guardian and protector.

The closures at UConn seem to encompass Environmental Studies and Environmental Science. Hard to understand the mindset of the university administrator who at this moment of climate crisis thinks of those fields as expendable luxuries for our students.

Gods amongst men.

Goddesses are a ten

Primordial deities though will win.

I can’t claim much more than I am a human stuck in a indescriptible open bin.

MFS

5/5

Freedom coddles

Like a baby duck waddles

Unless you claim

You don’t need fame

But rather are interested in the game.

Life is cruel,

It could be even crueler.

Yet we persist.

We resist.

We walk in the morning mist.

4/5

Content wage slaves

There are other paths that sway

Find your courage

Buckle up.

Pull up yo bootstraps

It’s Merica folks

We are freedom.

In a way.

If you choose.

If you use.

If you pursue.

3/5

You know some people don’t feel this??

They stayed in their hometown with a sweet kiss.

How cute.

How closed.

How bold.

A whole world out there.

And you’d rather trot around and stare.

2/5

#poetry #LGBTQinSTEM
#art #creativity

Im gonna share a poem I wrote below cause it’s fun sometimes 🫣🙃:

“Daunting Delusional Dive”

Have you ever been in that moment?

Time aches.

Mental strain of a new environ

Again and again.

1/5

My masters thesis research is underway as we attempt to define the trophic niche of the non-indigenous polychaete, Hermundura Americana, in the Chesapeake Bay tributaries.

Hoping for a more successful semester than last. Lots of obstacles last semester mostly out of my control.

It has started with a new clean space to live in, same apartment, but not a depression hole anymore. Let’s see if I can get this thesis off the ground!

#gradSchool

Essentially most polychaete have a cuticle layer but it varies greatly depending on the worm. This sand striker is in the eunicid family which are known for their jaws and mobility meaning that cuticle layer would be more flexible I believe

Ya it would be like a calcified layer of cuticle that iridesces. That makes the most sense. Cause I know through my work rn using stable isotopes that you have to essentially dissolve that layer to get a viable sample for what I’m doing rn with a polychaete in the Chesapeake bay.

In addition, the worm may have that rainbow appearance bc it’s excreting mucus or has a layer of chitin material that reflects light in such a mesmerizing way.

So while I’m not sure, my guess is their diet or the reflection of light. Polychaetes are glorified tubes with incredibly developed nephridia that are known to absorb toxic material into their tissues with little to no side effects.

Chesapeake bay benthic monitoring season has started! Here’s a few highlights from our first trip on the slover(:

#benthicMonitoring
#LGBTQinSTEM
#FieldWork
#Polychaetes
#TeamInvert

“I’m not hurt. I’m broken. But I called to say I’m fine.”-RKS

Made some of my darkest days bearable in high school, simply with charisma. I’ll never forget the selfless nature he had.

Just need to say, a dear friend of mine took his own life a few years ago today. He’s not forgotten. I remember and honor the impact he had on my life often. May he rest easy. A true friend in some of my loneliest years. Always lit up the room, knew how to make ppl smile.

Just a daily reminder that we SHARE this world with amazing creatures and we should respect their space and lives.

Habitat loss is the leading cause of extinction, we need to give back to our fellow Terrans.

www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8gwk6GQ/

The burrowing anemone of the Chesapeake bay.

Ceriantheopsis americanus.

Found at the mouth of the York river.

I’ll leave this here. Stay safe and warm! Life threatening conditions rn in the Great Plains region. This is still due to climate change.

She was a professional couch surfer, and they could never enforce their boundaries.

It lasted until she found another couch needless to say.

Sing the tune

Without you I wouldn’t know what to do.

The infamous Hermundura Americana. A non indigenous Polychaete found in the Chesapeake bay in 2009, we are actively studying its ecological impact since then on the Bay

Been laughing at this for days.

Orca Mosh pit.

Speedo mosquito

Temporary tats

Clasps and claps

Then gasps in the crowd.

Sheet metal burns and glows.

The mosquito bites with malice

Blood

Blood

Blood transfusion

Careful what you wish for.

My foot still hurts.

Well moreso my heart & head.

MFS

#poetry

Transitioning to this lovely app from an unnamed toxic platform. Here’s a pic of paraprionospio pinnata(some debate about locality and nomenclature) nonetheless, a beautiful specimen