Sarah Wood

Sarah Wood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In June of 2020 I graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. During my undergraduate degree, I completed a senior thesis that utilized citizen science and drone imagery to census the seals, sea lions, and birds of Año Nuevo Island. I also worked as an instructor at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center where I taught marine science to K-12 students on school field trips. Currently, I am working at Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital as a veterinary assistant. I also volunteer at The Marine Mammal Center in Moss Landing where I help rescue, rehabilitate and release seals and sea lions in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.

As an intern, I am working with current graduate student Parker Forman and Dr. Gitte McDonald to analyze tag data of emperor penguins. Using R, we aim to calculate flipper stroke rates of emperor penguins to better understand their diving behavior. In the future, I hope to attend graduate school to study marine mammal energetics and behavior with a focus on conservation and education. I am excited to continue to learn and grow in the marine science field!