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Who am I?

My name is Rachel Sales (she/her). I'm a Ph.D student studying paleoecology, who wants to make science accessible and fun. My research is primarily focused on the history of the cloud forests of the Andes. I like to write about science topics that interest me, and about graduate student life. Read more about my graduate research here, and follow my ResearchGate.  

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Previous blog posts:

Cloudy with a Chance of Adventure

A Study in Green

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Why am I tossing lizards?

The name of my blog comes from Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle. When Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands, he was intrigued by the marine iguanas (he called them lizards). In one passage, he described:

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"I threw one several times as far as I could, into a deep pool left by the retiring tide; but it invariably returned in a direct line to the spot where I stood. ...as often as I threw it in, it returned..."-pg. 387.

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I've always been amused by a Darwin who tossed lizards to satisfy his scientific curiosity.

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