Julian Leon Email and Phone Number

Responding to stranding marine mammals across the LA County

Jules of the Sea is a developing social media platform that will use humor and education to bring a marine science to a broader audience. It will have everything from youtube videos, marine biology themed merchandise, and even marine biology themed songs that will captivate and educate people about the wonders of the marine world. At Jules of the Sea our goal is to bring laughter and the ocean to your doorstep... but not in the sea level rise kind of way. Some of the things I have done for Jules of the Sea include: -Digitally illustrated comics about marine science and paired them with funny, informative pieces about the featured animal or topic on multiple social media platforms-Used Instagram/Facebook’s Business Suite to monitor audience engagement and to schedule when content gets published-Acquired additional stock footage and images to add more visuals for videos when necessary-Made advertisements and chose target audiences to increases chances for engagement-Created videos from start to finish which included script writing, acting, editing, and directing-Digitally illustrated art and logos for merchandise to sell

As one of Los Angeles's only stranding services, Marine Animal Rescue responds to animals from Palos Verdes to Pacific Palisades covering about 25 miles of coast between 4 people. We do various species of marine animals including sea birds, sea lions, seals, sea turtles, whale, and dolphins. Our primary objective is to assess the animal's health condition, determine if it needs human intervention, catch the animal if necessary, and then transport them to local animal hospital while keeping them medically stable. Although we have to be prepared for any marine animal, most of our calls are for injured or sick sea lion pups and adults. We are trained to use several different netting and rescue methods and to predict and respond to their various behaviors and make the most efficient rescue. Our job requires us:-operate large trucks-drive on beaches and other rough terrain-work and use winches to pull up heavy animals-operating a small boat-walking on rough slippery terrain while doing a rescue (jettys, rockyshores)-netting animals that can be up to 700lbs and trying to control them-heavy lifting and dragging-knowledge of a diversity of marine animal anatomy, physiology, behavior, and life history as well as common species specific health problems -being physically fit and agile- as the rescue specialist on the scene we work with and instruct the public (including police, lifeguards, and volunteers civilians) on how they can help us with the rescue-educating the public about marine animals and common threats to them-filing out rescue reports and activity logs of the days to day rescue activities.-species identification for birds, pinnipeds, sea turtles, and cetaceans

- Worked amongst fisheries biologists and fisheries managers- Assisted the crew leader to install and maintain the adult salmon weir- Counted and passed salmon that came through the weir and collected their scales and reported data to ADFG office-Marked salmon at the weir and recaptured and recorded the ratio of marked fish in spawning streams- Recorded and verified all biological data in field notebooks, data forms, and computer files-Recorded physical environmental data at the weir-Assisted the crew leader with camp maintenance and maintained and stored field supplies- Serviced and maintained skiffs, outboard motors, and generators

- Researched background information from credible sources- Wrote scripts and story boarded for film scenes- Directed. filmed, and acted in the videos- Wrote educational blogs that paired with the videos- Edited the films in post-production-Familiar with iMovie, Adobe Photoshop, and Premier Pro

Teach and engage students (4th grade to 12th grade) that come to our remote location within Santa Catalina in at our outdoor education center. We teach them various different marine science classes and also lead them on various water and terrestrial related activities such as kayaking, snorkeling, night snorkeling, and hiking. We manage the safety of up to 16 children per instructor, handle marine fauna, prepare classrooms, promote team building through our high and low rope challenge courses, and drive small watercrafts. I was also chosen to be on the social media team where we make entertaining education videos about various science topics.

Cared for aquaculture facilities and managed the life support systems of ~2,000 Mozambique Tilapia. Assisted in 24/hr sampling experiment to support my graduate student research where we samples over 500 tissue (blood, intestine, pituitary gland, etc.) samples. Performed RNA extractions on tissue that were extracted from fish and checked the purity of the RNA using a spectrophotometer. Managed the lab after graduate student graduated and when head of the lab was in the processing of switching to his new facilities.

Filled tanks using a compressor. Sized up customers to their gear based on their measurements. Loaded heavy gear and tanks into our truck and boat. Picked up customers at their hotels. Free dived to anchor the boat to a mooring line. Provided dive briefings. Led dives and kept tack of customers safety. Recognize and identify Hawaiian marine fauna to educate the customers after the dives.

- Taught college students proper dissections techniques- Taught students about the evolutionary relationships for various groups of extinct and extant fauna-Led class field trips to the zoo and talked about the different anatomical advantages of different animal species

Assisted graduate students on their various projects. Sieved through soil samples to find small snails. Processed snail specimen to be preserved in ethanol. Performed field surveys through throughout remote forest in the Hawaiian islands. Collected and samples both invasive and native snails. Started my own project using an integrative taxonomic approach to study invasive snail species. Wrote proposals to support my own research project. Went to Uruguay to do survey and collects snail samples for my project.