In the field
I participated in the Behavior and Benthic Ecology Lab's 2014 and 2015 expeditions to our long-term study sites in Prince William Sound, Alaska. We collected small giant Pacific octopuses from under boulders while conducting intertidal surveys. In 2015, I arranged for the crew of "Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin" to follow us in the field and back in the lab, highlighting our year-long process of collecting, observing, and releasing giant Pacific octopuses. Click here to watch it on Pluto TV for free.
In the aquarium
To supplement the trials I ran in the APU Aquarium Lab, I was fortunate to work in the Alaska Sea Life Center, Aquarium of the Bay, Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences, Aquarium of the Pacific, and the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. While conducting video trials on display animals, I had the chance to interact with aquarium guests and answer their questions about octopus behavior and intelligence.
Collaboration
In August of 2014, I collaborated with Dr. Jennifer Hofmeister to track the California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculatus) using acoustic telemetry near Two Harbors, Santa Catalina Island. This study was part of Dr. Hofmeister's dissertation research, and the resulting publication, "Activity space and movement patterns of Octopus bimaculatus (Verrill, 1883) around Santa Catalina Island, California," was published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology in January 2017.