Tom Spannings. Photo: Guy Ackermans They are indispensable on campus: cleaners, caretakers, catering staff, gardeners, receptionists — the list is long. Resource seeks out these key people. This time, meet Tom Spanings (54), a biotechnician in the Carus fish facility.
‘You have to want the best for your animals in this job. You have a choice but they don’t. If you’re overworked, don’t have the time or know-how or aren’t in the mood, that affects the animals. Caring for the animals properly also means you need to use fewer lab animals. That’s the best part for me: making sure my fish do as well as possible. I get a kick out of seeing them healthy, growing well and laying lots of eggs. That’s the basis.
You have to want the best for your animals in this job
As a senior biotechnician, I’m responsible for the zebrafish and carp section. We’ve been rearing carp for 30 years or so. We euthanize the fish before they become too old and a potential disease source. I never like doing that, even though it’s done humanely with a large dose of a sedative in the water. The two times in the day when I feed the fish are another regular part of my job. My activities in the rest of the day vary depending on the ongoing experiments. One day I may be weighing a couple of hundred fish and another time I may spend an hour on the water quality of the coral. I also help researchers figure out the best design for an experiment, taking the fish and staffing into account. I consider what external factors, such as light and water quality, are best for the fish and make sure those factors are the same for each experimental setup. I enjoy the simpler tasks too. I don’t have to be quite so alert when cleaning an aquarium.
People always have a lot of questions about my job. They often have a simplistic view of what managing lab animals involves. They think we kill the animals for research but these days you can study a lot using the eggs of zebrafish.
When I was a boy, I used to spend a lot of time fishing in canals. I still do that but I don’t get the same enjoyment because I spend my working hours with fish too. I spent 34 years working with fish at the Radboud University and I’ve been at WUR for a year now. I like variety and challenges but I was getting that less and less at Nijmegen. Here at WUR, I do get that. I don’t think I’ll ever leave this job.’