Boris is currently an integrative biology doctoral student at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. He studies Temperature Sex Determination (TSD) in sea turtles, and has discovered a revolutionary new way to tell the sex of young sea turtles, one that doesn’t involve invasive surgery. Originally hailing from Venezuela, Boris has been in the US since his teenage years, and grew up fishing with his parents where his interest in the water began. In this episode we chat about Boris’s non-lab related hobbies, how you can be a marine biologist without even realizing it, and about Boris’s award-winning sea turtle research.
Links
FAU Scientific Diving
Semester by the Sea
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
FAU Integrative Biology Master’s Along the Way
Red Eared Slider
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Mullerian Duct
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Archie Carr
International Sea Turtle Society
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
Show Notes
The hobbies of this marine biologist [00:54]
Chatting different dive certifications [2:00]
How you can be a marine biologist and not realize it [3:12]
What ultimately got Boris hooked on ocean science [4:15]
Why Boris transitioned from pursuing master’s to PhD after 6 months [6:10]
Integrating seemingly different careers [7:00]
How to get your master’s and PhD at the same time [8:19]
Turtles are hot chicks and cool dudes [9:28]
Boris’s research question [9:45]
How to tell the difference between boys + girls in baby turtles [10:14]
Why it’s important to identify the sex in young turtles [11:38]
How Boris’s research is changing the face of what sea turtle research looks like [13:15]
How Boris’s made his exciting scientific discovery [14:45]
Potential for new research with Leatherbacks [16:14]
What Boris’s research enables the scientific community to do [16:30]
Possible ways to influence more male turtles [17:20]
Which temperatures influence which turtle sex [20:00]
How you can visit where Boris conducts his research [20:37]
How temperature gradients can vary from species to species [22:34]
Turtles have different sex determination triggers elsewhere in the world [23:35]
Favorite part about being a marine biologist [24:50]
What labtime really looks like as a PhD [25:40]
How Boris’s research won awards [26:24]
Boris’s advice for aspiring marine biologists [27:10]
Why Boris is pursuing a PhD [27:50]
Boris describes his time at Woods Hole [30:42]
Boris’s favorite soccer team and sea creature [31:30]
3 thoughts on “Hot Chicks and Cool Dude Sea Turtles with Boris Tezak”
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I found your podcast yesterday on Amazon Music. Thank you so much for having this dialog! I think it is critical for young people to learn more about topics regarding the ocean and potentially a future career. I wish I had something like this when I was young and dreaming of being a marine biologist. I have enjoyed all 4 of the podcasts I have listened to but by far I found Podcast 4 with Boris the most interesting. It is partly because sea turtles fascinate me. Also because I was fortunate to be able to volunteer with Mote Marine and Clearwater Marine Aquarium while living in Florida, helping to monitor nests.
So happy you’re enjoying the show! Yes, we think it’s important to have conversations regarding the health of our oceans, and if it’s your goal to make it a career, we’re here to support that, too! Thank you for listening and sharing your thoughts.