{"id":1395,"date":"2023-09-25T09:11:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T09:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-usc-dornsife.pantheonsite.io\/wrigley\/?p=1395"},"modified":"2024-07-18T22:26:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T22:26:00","slug":"joining-the-conservation-crew-my-experience-interning-at-the-los-angeles-zoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2023\/09\/25\/joining-the-conservation-crew-my-experience-interning-at-the-los-angeles-zoo\/","title":{"rendered":"Joining the Conservation Crew: My Experience Interning at the Los Angeles Zoo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n  \n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Joining the Conservation Crew: My Experience Interning at the Los Angeles Zoo<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n    \n          <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span>Sedona Silva<\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">September 25, 2023<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 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     >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <div class=\"wysiwyg\">\n<p>As an animal lover and environmentalist, it has been a dream of mine since I was a young child to work at a zoo. So when I saw that the Wrigley Institute was hosting a conservation-focused internship at the Los Angeles Zoo, I knew I wanted to apply.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1402\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1402\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1402 \" src=\"https:\/\/live-usc-dornsife.pantheonsite.io\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_E6166-scaled-2-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_E6166-scaled-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_E6166-scaled-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_E6166-scaled-2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_E6166-scaled-2-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_E6166-scaled-2-1280x1707.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_E6166-scaled-2.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1402\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cHabitat restoration in action: Propagating Coast Live Oak seedlings\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>My name is Sedona Silva, and I\u2019m currently a sophomore pursuing a B.S. in environmental studies. I was fortunate to receive a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife-wrigley.usc.edu\/education\/undergraduate-internships\/wrigley-internships\/\">Wrigley Institute Environmental Summer Award<\/a>\u00a0to support my internship at the LA Zoo this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Los Angeles is a biodiversity hotspot, meaning it\u2019s a region that is home to a rich variety of plant and animal species found nowhere else in the world, many of which are endangered or threatened due to habitat loss and other anthropogenic causes. We often think of climate change as a distant matter, an intangible concept that isn\u2019t necessarily relevant to our lives right here, right now. This is far from the truth. During my time at the zoo, I got to experience firsthand the conservation efforts of critically endangered species such as the California condor and the southern mountain yellow-legged frog, both of which are endemic to California. Both of these species almost went extinct due to environmental changes from increased wildfires, drought, pesticide use, habitat degradation, and other impacts of global warming. The LA Zoo\u2019s breeding and reintroduction programs have been incredibly successful at maintaining wild populations of these animals, however, the threats of climate change still persist.<\/p>\n<p>One part of the animal kingdom is often neglected when discussing conservation: invertebrates\u2014a group that includes insects, arachnids, and all other animals without a backbone. While they might be less glamorous than a condor with a 10-foot wingspan, invertebrates serve as the foundation for an ecosystem, providing services such as pollination, decomposition, soil maintenance, and nutrient cycling. They are especially important to conservation research because their biodiversity levels serve as indicators for the impact of climate change on ecosystem health.<\/p>\n<p>During my internship, I worked with a small group of fellow interns to develop a research project focused on the native wildlife in and around the LA Zoo\/Griffith Park area. My research group was focused on the impacts of non-native plants on ground-dwelling invertebrate communities. Within the LA Zoo, there are two main regions of undeveloped land that are currently closed to the public, including six acres of native oak woodland habitat. One of these sites, an area designated for restoration and development of a native California exhibit under the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lazoo.org\/about\/visionplaneir\/\">LA Zoo\u2019s most recent Vision Plan<\/a>,\u00a0is heavily disturbed by non-native vegetation such as mustard grass and eucalyptus. These sites are where we did the majority of our fieldwork, comparing microhabitat analysis and soil surveys of plots that contained native plants to those that contained non-natives.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1396\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1396\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1396\" src=\"https:\/\/live-usc-dornsife.pantheonsite.io\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_5905-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_5905-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_5905-scaled-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_5905-scaled-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_5905-scaled-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_5905-scaled-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/IMG_5905-scaled-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1396\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">LA Zoo interns observing wild raptors in the area known as Oak Woodland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wysiwyg\">\n<p>This was my first experience doing any sort of field research, but under the guidance of my mentors, I learned a variety of techniques such as soil core sampling, GPS mapping, transect\u00a0sampling, leaf litter sifting, and soil chemical analysis. Each hour I spent out in the field, I became more aware of the abundance of life that exists beneath our feet. From the tiniest mite to the most formidable centipede, each of these invertebrates plays a valuable role in their environment. All in all, we collected and identified over 120 different species of invertebrates living in the leaf litter of the field sites.<\/p>\n<p>After compiling our data, observing and documenting our specimens under the microscope, and performing statistical analysis, we found that invertebrate biodiversity was significantly higher in areas with native plants such as coast live oak, laurel sumac, elderberry, and toyon. Through analyzing the soil macronutrient and organic matter content, we found a strong correlation between native plants and rich, healthy soil.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1398\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1398\" style=\"width: 1420px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1398\" src=\"https:\/\/live-usc-dornsife.pantheonsite.io\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-29-at-9.19.30-PM-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1420\" height=\"966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-29-at-9.19.30-PM-1.png 1420w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-29-at-9.19.30-PM-1-300x204.png 300w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-29-at-9.19.30-PM-1-1024x697.png 1024w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/Screen-Shot-2023-08-29-at-9.19.30-PM-1-768x522.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1420px) 100vw, 1420px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1398\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cCalifornia chaparral camel cricket: One of the important native invertebrates I studied this summer\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wysiwyg\">\n<p>While our project was a great way to get some fieldwork experience and connect with our local environment, it also has broader implications for the local community and the LA Zoo\u2019s future plans for conservation. Our research findings will help to inform the development of the California exhibit\u2014where visitors will be able to experience our local ecosystem in its true, uninterrupted form. Our research will also help guide the restoration of the ecologically valuable Oak Woodland habitat.<\/p>\n<p>While the majority of my work was done out in the field and not with the animals on exhibit in the zoo, I still had many opportunities to interact with and learn from the animal care staff. I also got to communicate the importance of my research to the zoo staff and visitors, which challenged me to refine my science communication skills. My experience this summer has fundamentally changed my perspective on the role of zoos in society, specifically as it relates to conservation and environmental justice. I often hear the idea, especially from animal rights activists, that zoos are inherently unethical\u2014placing animals in captivity for the sole entertainment of humans. Given the history of zoos as menageries meant for the entertainment of wealthy, upper-class people, I can see how this perspective is difficult to let go of. However, as an institution accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the LA Zoo prioritizes the highest level of animal care, conservation, sustainability, and equity initiatives. The vast majority of animals in the zoo are either rescued from illegal wildlife trafficking, part of conservation programs, or were taken in because their natural habitat was destroyed due to human development. When talking with the animal care team, touring the veterinary hospital on zoo grounds, and experiencing everything that goes on behind the scenes of running a zoo, I could really feel the love and respect that this organization has for all parts of life.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been so meaningful to feel a true sense of belonging within the conservation community. Through my work this summer, I\u2019ve gained more confidence in my identity as a scientist and environmentalist. The connections I made with my mentors and fellow interns will surely be invaluable as I continue on my career path in the conservation field\u2014I know that I will forever have a home in the Los Angeles Zoo community.<\/p>\n<p><i>Sedona Silvia is supported by the Scully Undergraduate Award and a gift from the Zinsmeyer Family.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"image-caption\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":617,"featured_media":1402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[43,10],"class_list":["post-1395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-internship","tag-undergraduate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Joining the Conservation Crew: My Experience Interning at the Los Angeles Zoo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2023\/09\/25\/joining-the-conservation-crew-my-experience-interning-at-the-los-angeles-zoo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joining the Conservation Crew: My Experience Interning at the Los Angeles Zoo - 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