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"Coming in as a first year, it's daunting and a bigger workload," says Michael McSweeney, a first-year science student at Canada's Memorial University.
"It was nice to feel like I was doing work to benefit people through sharing their experiences, and feeling like a part of science."
McSweeney spent the summer interviewing local land crabbers on several islands in the Bahamas to gain biological insight into the reactions of the black land crab, Gecarcinus ruricola, to their environment, and to document traditional knowledge passed down through generations, reports Phys.org.
Bahamian land crabs are an element of Bahamian culture and have been for thousands of years, he says, and the crabs are one of the very few native terrestrial animals on the island.
"Each island has a different attitude and perspective," McSweeney says.
"McSweeney believes the survey served the purpose of telling the story of crab hunting in the Bahamas.
Many people don't have power, cars, or running water; the survey gave them a voice."
"You could see the excitement on their faces when I asked certain questions," he says.
"It was nice to feel like I was doing work to benefit people through sharing their experiences, and feeling like a part of science Read the Entire Article