First, I got my first article published in a peer-reviewed journal. "Climate shapes population variation in dogwhelk predation on foundational mussels" will appear in Oecologia sometime in the next couple months. Huge thanks to coauthors Eric Palkovacs (my advisor) and Kerry Reid (former postdoc in the lab).
Secondly, I compiled an entire draft of my PhD dissertation! After many stressful weeks of finishing analyses while applying for jobs, I finally submitted my whole dissertation to my committee, and I'm very happy to report that those who have read it so far are pleased with it. I cannot understate the amount of weight that has been lifted from my shoulders. I feel at least 100 times lighter and I can do things like watch movies, play frisbee, and make snail puns again. Here is my title page as well as some new puns on old puns.
Thirdly, I got a part-time job doing environmental consulting with a company called Surf 2 Sea. I am analyzing mussel bed communities before and after a construction project at the marine lab here. For this work, I'm doing the exact same thing I've been doing in graduate school the last year, so it is a perfect transitional job. It's great to get back in the field again after being stuck writing for the last few months!
