From magnets to bears: Is a career studying salmon narrow or broad?

Abstract

There are three main themes in this self-reflective essay, and I hope they are thought-provoking without being pretentious. The first is the topic of scientific specialization. How do we steer a course between being a dilettante on one hand, dabbling in everything without making major contributions in any field, and on the other hand being a specialist who digs deeply but too narrowly? The second theme is the concept of specialization with respect to place, and the study of natural history. It can be incredibly rewarding, both personally and professionally, to develop a rich ecological understanding of a particular place such as a field station. However, this requires a great commitment of time, and it reduces mobility and experience elsewhere. The third theme is the importance of mentoring and the transfer of encouragement and opportunity from one cohort to the next. I will address these three themes in this order but they are closely linked to each other, making the separation somewhat artificial.