Papers, Papers, PAPERS!

So it has been a month since I last posted but my life has been very busy. A few weeks ago I got word that the paper I submitted after I completed my research project last summer (on the Opportunistic Defense of Bracken Fern by Patrolling Ants) has been accepted for publication! So of course that meant more work, I had to go through and address the concerns of two reviewers, changing or adding things and defend my paper against some aspects I am not going to change. It is a stressful experience, but very exciting as well. Officially last night at 9:50pm I finished and it has now been sent back to the editor and I am anxiously awaiting the final decision.

Not only have I been working on a paper but also reading lots of them. Now that I have decided to pursue my passion for primates in graduate school I have read over 20 papers concerning primatology this summer and have more that are just waiting to be embarked upon. I have high hopes of designing and carrying out another project next summer (Lemurs!) so I want to start now so that I can make sure that I could get a publishable unit of data. There's always more to do but it is so overwhelmingly incredible to think I could contribute to this field someday that I don't mind being busy.