The semester is in full swing, so I wanted to share a bit about the research we're currently working on in Dr. Polidoro's toxicology lab. Last week, we finished the last of the fish samples that were received from the Philippines. They are called rabbitfish and are consumed by the locals. The fishes are from nearby bodies of water, close to human development. 12 fishes were collected from 4 different sites.
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Whole Rabbitfish samples from the Philippines (left), the tissue samples
ready to be weighed (right).
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Setting out the supplies for the procedure.
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The purpose of the study is to identify any organic contaminants found in the tissues of the fish. This helps us understand the human health impacts that come from locals consuming rabbitfish. With the increasing concern of pollution in marine environments, I believe this study will help us understand how it can affect marine wildlife and ultimately those who depend on it for food.
I'm incredibly thankful and happy to take part in this study.
I also look forward to this next project. We'll be doing the methods for Total Suspended Solids (TSS). In this, we're using pre-filters that have been exposed to water environments. Through their exposure, they should collect any contaminants present. Since this is the first week working on them, I'm still learning about the procedure and look forward to working on more samples next week.
