Hi Steemers! :)

My name is Tereza and I would like to share my story with you. I am 24 years old and I come from the Czech Republic. Since my childhood I have always known that I want become a Marine biologist. The sea has a certain power that attracts me and I can´t help it, but to be as close as possible. There are so many unexplored animals and processes… So obviously studying Marine biology was my first choice. And you might wonder how can I study Marine biology in the country that has no sea? Well it is not easy, but if you follow your dream, then it is possible.

I have started studying a bachelor´s study in Biology at Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic) and I chose as many subjects related to the sea as I could. As soon as I had a chance I took the opportunity of an exchange program called Erasmus. I chose a city with a high level of Marine biology: Barcelona. It is a sunny seaside city on the north of Spain with a nice climate and an amazing atmosphere. I loved it there! You could walk on its streets every day and you never get bored. Every street gives you something different…. All the colors, smells, voices…It is like walking in the “Wonderland”…

I spent there half a year and learnt a lot of interesting things about the sea. During these courses we also went on a field trip to Costa Brava, where we were able to see animals in their natural environment.

Did you know that in the sea there is an animal which looks like tomato? The Beadlet anemone (Actinia equina) is called “tomate de mar” (tomato of the sea) in Spanish and the reason is that it really looks like a tomato when it hides its tentacles!

When I came back from Erasmus, I finished my bachelor´s study and was looking for a place, where I could study Marine biology. I was very lucky because I found a professor at my university, who was studying marine fishes. It is a family of small fishes named Gobies. Although it is one of the biggest families of fishes, you might never have heard of them due to their small size and hidden way of life. They usually live hidden under rocks, in caves, or covered by sand. As they live so inconspicuously, not much is known about them. According to previous studies, they have very interesting behavior. Males for example can do a specific sound to attract a female. They also have a male childcare. I think these fishes deserve better investigation, that is why I have started doing my master thesis based on their phylogenetic relationships.

Last month I also finished the open-water diving course, so now I can´t wait to go diving by myself!

I am very inquisitive person and I love experiencing new things, that is why I applied for an internship in Barcelona. The internship starts this September and I am soooo excited about it! I will be studying toxic marine algae, which can cause serious problems, when they reproduce too much. The group of researchers I will be working with, found a parasite of these algae and my work will be to study the parasite-algae dynamics and find out, if there is some way, we could control it and reduce these harmful algae.

So this is my story. I wanted to show you that nothing is impossible and if you have a dream, you should follow it and you will achieve it for sure! Thank you for reading my story and if you would like to know all the exciting things about animals, wait for my other posts! I will be very happy to share my passion for nature with you!

With Love! :)

Tereza