Pascal Rochette's Diary
2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
The fellow
Welcome to my Earthwatch expedition diary, a travel through my thoughts and my learning experiences.
My name is Pascal Rochette. I’m 32 years old, and I’ve been working for Alcoa for six years in a smelter located in Deschambault, one of the prettiest villages along the St-Laurence River in the French province of Quebec, Canada. I was hired as a process engineer for the carbon plant and the pot relining department, and now I’m an Alcoa Business System (ABS) administrator for the whole plant.
In my spare time, I love to practice sports and travel. I really enjoy cycling (mountain bike and road) during the summer and cross-country skiing during the winter. In past years, I backpacked or cycled in Peru, Vietnam, Austria, and Hungary to get a taste of those wonderful cultures and landscapes.
It was a Friday afternoon, and it was time for me to catch up with emails and make sure that I had answered all the special inquiries of the week. I was concentrating on my job when a pop-up appeared on my screen with the title: Award for Pascal Rochette. What did I win?
I had almost forgotten that I had applied for the Earthwatch fellowship, like the five previous years. To be honest, I was not expecting to be selected because two other people from my plant had already been chosen the two previous years. Deep inside, I knew I was a good candidate for this kind of program, but my rational side was telling me the odds were against me. Good for me that I was wrong! When I opened the email and read the first word “Congratulations!” I couldn’t believe it! I was so excited. Wow. This year it’s my turn, and I’ll do my best to meet the expectations.
I was selected amongst 240 entries to participate in this year’s Earthwatch fellowship program. I’ll be going to study caterpillars in the Andes in Ecuador. What a chance for a mountain lover like me. Plus, I’ll be able to improve my Spanish skills.
They posted the information in our weekly plant newspaper, and I received many emails saying congratulations and showing interest from my coworkers about this program. Since then, every week somebody is stopping me to ask for more information about the expedition and the research I’ll be participating in.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The program: Change the world. Yourself.
It’s now summer vacation planning time, and many people share their projects for those months. When I tell my friends, colleagues, and family that I’m going in Ecuador to study caterpillars, the reactions go from surprise to misunderstanding. And when I add that the trip is offered by Alcoa, the surprise is even greater. “You’re not working for an aluminum company? What’s the relationship between caterpillars and aluminum production? A new species of caterpillar was found that produces aluminum silk?”
Then I explain that Earthwatch is the world’s largest environmental volunteer nonprofit organization, founded in 1971. Its goal: help the world realize its goal of a sustainable environment by funding scientific field research and enabling regular people to volunteer on projects around the world. Currently, Earthwatch is funding 120 field sites in more than 40 countries, and I’m really proud to say that Alcoa, as a corporate partner, is participating this year in seven of them by sending 15 of its employees.
By doing so, Alcoa is publicly endorsing the idea that objective science should be the basis for understanding and managing the environment. By giving employees the opportunity to participate in field research related to environmental issues and share this experience with friends, family, and colleagues, Alcoa believes the participants’ awareness will grow greater and we’ll have leadership impact in our communities to get things done. I could say that just by telling people I’m participating in the program, the goal is partly achieve. It provokes very positive comments about our company and creates interest about my experience.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The research: Hunting for caterpillars
This multi-site caterpillar project was started 12 years ago by the principal investigator, Dr. Lee Dyer, and his collaborator, Dr. Grant Gentry—both from Tulane University. The main purpose of the project is to understand the interactions between plants, caterpillars, and parasitoids in forests from Brazil to Canada.
Parasitoids, including different species of wasps and flies, are natural enemies that kill caterpillars by depositing their eggs on them. Their interaction with caterpillars is an important area of study for both agriculture and basic ecology. Comparisons between the different sites (Ecuador, Costa Rica, Arizona, and Louisiana) will allow the project to test hypotheses about the effects of important climatic factors (rising temperatures, rainfall, drought, etc.) on this interaction.
The five primary goals associated with the research on caterpillars defenses are:
- Document diversity of caterpillars and parasitoids in three species-rich ecosystems;
- Understand how different caterpillars’ defenses function against different types of natural enemies;
- Examine chemical defenses in caterpillars and their host plants;
- Construct models that predict success of biological control based on caterpillar defenses; and
- Examine the effects of climate on caterpillar-parasitoids interactions.
So far, project participants have compiled natural history data related to approximately 1,000 combined species of caterpillars, plants, and parasitoids. In addition, they have given talks in Costa Rica and Ecuador to educate the local workers, students, and naturalists to increase their awareness and respect toward the diversity of the caterpillars around them.
Did you know?
- In many of the Earth’s forests, caterpillars eat more leaves than all other herbivores combined.
- It is not known how many species of butterflies, moths, and associated caterpillars exist, but estimates go up to 3.5 million that await discovery.
- Parasitoids could be used effectively in biological control programs in banana plantations and alfalfa fields.
- The process of identification, description, and documentation of new species of caterpillars or parasitoids requires up to five years.
|
 |
Earthwatch Institute
Learn more about this international nonprofit, which supports scientific field research worldwide.
 go
Hunting for Caterpillars in the Andes
Learn more about the expedition and its scientists.
go
|
