Mee-ya Monnin
Mee-ya Monnin is interning for six months with Dr. Markus Horning to study thermoregulation in Antarctic Weddell seals, Leptonychotes weddellii. Part of her internship will be spent at the Hatfield Marine Science Center participating in the preparation and calibration of telemetry equipment while the other part will be spent participating in field work in Antarctica. The project is a collaborative effort between Dr. Markus Horning of Oregon State University, Dr. Jo-Ann Mellish with the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward, AK, and Dr. Allyson Hindle with the University of Colorado Denver. The project will quantify the heat exchange between seals and their air/water environment and establish energetic models for estimating the cost of thermoregulation in Weddell seals. Monnin will help determine thermoregulatory costs for Weddell seals as a function of size and body condition using innovative, animal-borne electronic data loggers under varied ambient conditions. As part of a seven-man team in Antarctica, Monnin will play an active role in nearly all aspects of the project including thermal and digital imaging, seal capture and restraint, weight measurements, sample collection, and application of telemetry equipment and heat flux sensors.
Follow Mee-ya Monnin's Antarctic adventures by following her blog, "Hailing Frozen Thoughts".