Summer research in Costa Rica wows MCC student
Thursday / September 20, 2018
Marshalltown Community College student Ryota Masuko spent the summer working as a research assistant studying sea turtles in Costa Rica with a group from Texas A&M University. A resident of Saitama, Japan, he says the experience was both fascinating and challenging, and that he’s grateful for the opportunity he had.
“Our team included four people from Texas A&M, two from northern Ireland, me, a local boat captain and an assistant,” says Ryota. “We spent daytime in the ocean looking for mating turtles to study, and nighttime on the beaches finding tagged turtles. On the water and beaches we looked for turtle tags, took blood samples and collected ultrasounds, which the researchers will study.”
He says the large turtles fought back aggressively when the researchers captured them in the process of mating in the ocean, and that the turtles could have easily bitten off a human finger. After capturing the mating turtles and hauling them to the boat, the researchers tagged the turtles, gathered blood samples, and collected ultrasound images. Ryota is a strong swimmer and was often one of those who captured the turtles in the water and brought them to the boat.
A large amount of time was also spent on the turtle-infested beaches of the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge, which Ryota described as being grossly littered with broken turtle eggs and nests. The muddy beaches were a challenge for the turtles because the mud was more difficult to dig nests into than what sand would have been.
The research team worked on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The Ostional National Wildlife Refuge is an important nesting beach for three of the world’s seven species of sea turtles (Leatherback, Pacific Green, and Olive Ridley). ONWR has been active in marine turtle conservation for the past 40 years. In addition to turtles, the ONWR’s 400 acres of land is home to howler monkeys, white-nosed coatis, kinkajous, basilisks, bats, and a variety of lizards.
Ryota added that Costa Rica has a big fall turtle egg festival, and that most people in that country love to eat turtle eggs. “I didn’t like to eat the eggs because I thought they smelled like the turtles,” he grimaced.
This fall Ryota is a sophomore at MCC, where he continues to improve his English language skills and prepare to study Marine Biology and International Business. After graduating from MCC, he plans to transfer to a university to complete his studies.
MCC Biology Professor Dr. Danielle Kness helped Ryota find and apply for the sea turtle research program, also writing a reference letter. She helped him line up some of the equipment he needed for the summer program, too.
“This was a dream opportunity for a serious science student, and I’m so pleased that Ryota was able to participate over the summer,” says Dr. Kness. “The MCC Science Department encourages students to seek out and take advantage of these kinds of opportunities. We always share this kind of information and are happy to support our students through the application process.”