It's practice for the breeding season, when a bull will station himself alongside a herd of females and perform a variety of visual and acoustical displays. The clicks, grunts, tooth-clacking and whistles she goes on to describe help explain how her career took a sidestep. The material quoted above comes from Turco's draft radio script, which should be heard in final form October 16 on Fairbanks station KUAC and at other times on other public radio stations in Alaska. It's the first time she will have tried providing a full context for the natural noises that have come to absorb her career. The script combining sounds, her experiences, and an explanation of her research may mean yet another turn in Turco's career.
Science depends in large measure on serendipity, plain good luck meeting a receptive mind.
Turco's pursuit of walruses now has less to do with blood flow and temperature regulation and more to do with capturing, preserving, and sharing the audible aspects of their behavior. Careers like hers are reminders that data can take many forms, and that paths into science need not run straight.