User:Jjoolzz

About me
I'm a graduate student in Biological Oceanography. I study the interactions of protists with biomolecules in the Ocean. In addition to studying life and ecology in the ocean, I study life and ecology on land. I track animals-- coyotes, beavers, otters, foxes, deer etc... What does tracking mean to me? It is an ancient art and science, a way of connecting to the land around me, a window into human awareness and spirit. The foundations of literacy are connected to tracking. Some believe that we learned to read as a result of reading the ground for tracks and patterns.

In addition to tracking, I am interested in primitive living, or living off the land. I'm interested in edible wild foods and medicinal plants and mushrooms. Connected to all this is an interest in permaculture, forest gardening and stewardship of the land (or land "tending"). Someday I wish to buy or invest in land and garden it while living communally.

Interests
I'm interested in how things originated: eukaryogenesis (how eukaryotes originated) and in the origin of life. I like linking disciplines in an effort to expand our understanding of the natural world. I mathematically model ecosystems. I study polymer gels in the ocean-- exudates of phytoplankton that form aggregates and may be an important and understudied link in the global carbon cycle.