The 5 W’s of Jaz (who, what, when, where, and why)
My name is Jahaziel Gutierrez, but people seem to like
calling me Jaz for simplicity. I am an undergraduate transfer student at UCLA
going into my third year. I truly began to like science when I started
community college and now it has become an essential part in my life,
specifically biology and physiology. I have been interested in animal behavior
for a good while now. It was an area I knew so little of but wanted to learn so
much about. A spark was initiated when I presented my first literature paper of
my choice in my biology classroom. I chose to present a paper on how metabolic rate and body size are linked with
perception of temporal information by Kevin Healy. After this experience, my
curiosity expanded and that’s when I became good friends with search engines. As
I got older and a little wiser, I began to understand the intentions of
research and the value behind it. I wanted to be a part of it one day so my bio
professor Dr. Jimmy Lee suggested that I apply to RMBL and get some research
experience there, so I did.
My first year at RMBL I was an REU student with my own
individual project. My initial plan was to work with animals but instead was
introduced to work with plants while taking a methods in field of ecology
course. I knew very little about ecology so the course really helped me get a
sense of different processes. My project focused on below and aboveground
functional traits of dominant and sub dominant plant species along an elevation
gradient. It was my first project out in the field with its own official lab.
My mentor, Quentin Read taught me some tips, tricks and techniques you wont
find in the books. Although plants are very interesting, my heart kept beating
for animals. Nevertheless, I had such a positive and life changing experience
out there that I decided to apply again this summer.
This summer at RMBL I got to work with one of my favorite mammals,
yellow-bellied marmots. I am a research assistant for Dan Blumstein and a
member of the marmot team. Things don’t come easy and although long hours can
be spent in the sizzling sun collecting data from observations, trapping, etc.,
I enjoy every moment out in the field (except for the mosquitos and flies).
I’ll be scanning with my scope or binos for marmots and expect to see something
different each time. There are times where I am able to predict an individuals
behavior based on how well I know the animal’s personality traits. Marmot
interactions are the most adorable when the yearlings are play wrestling and
boxing. It seems like some prefer to forage together in small groups for better
awareness of predators. And other individuals like to be by themselves and sun
bathe on a rock until it gets cool enough to forage. But regardless of the
marmot, they usually alarm call if they sense a posing threat, which is one of
the reasons I think it is a great factor of their fitness ability. I am
gradually learning about the lives that marmots have to go through and
appreciate all the knowledge that Dan and the rest of the marmot team get to
share with me. The experiences and stories I have here at RMBL are tremendous
and I am grateful to have been introduced to such a beautiful place with such
great people. I cannot wait to hold my first pup and name it, which should be
coming up really soon One thing that I am glad I got to experience the past
week was Gabriela’s first bike ride in the rocky road to picnic. She did so
good that the road has to watch out for her now instead. Cheers to another
great summer!!
