May Term Class: Marine Biology

The following are reflections about the trip written by each student. Thanks for following our exploration! Jody Saylor, Ryan Sensenig, and Luke Geiser (TA) The idea that struck to me the most during my experience was the importance of seagreass beds to the coral reef and the production of fish. Also, how the coral reefs … Keep reading »

Thursday May 16, 2019 Today when we first woke up everyone was rushing around trying to put the finishing touches on our independent research papers, and powerpoints before eleven when it was time to attend the twelfth annual Marine Biology Science Conference. This time was interrupted by three manatees that decided to swim right up … Keep reading »

Monday May 13, 2019 We started off the day discussing some of the major threats to the ocean system. Though climate change, over-harvesting, habitat destruction, oil extraction, and invasive species are important, today we focused on the impacts of pollution. The presence of chemicals, nutrient overabundance, and macro/micro plastics transforms habitats and the food chain … Keep reading »

Sunday May 12, 2019 Like last Sunday, our day initiated by gathering as a family and warming our vocals to sing at the local Baptist Church. Although, at the beginning we struggled to sing in sync, by the end we sang quite well for not being choir professionals. During church, the church community showed a … Keep reading »

Saturday May 13, 2019 At breakfast this morning the kitchen echoed with repetitions of species names and quiz questions alike. “What are the three Phylum of the Kingdom Protista?”, “What’s the scientific name of the Cowfish?”, “What’s the difference between Caulerpa paspaloides and Caulerpa sertularioides?” All of which was asked for the sake of studying … Keep reading »

Friday May 10, 2019 Today was a very long day following an exciting but tiring day at the coral reefs. Everyone slept in and then rushed to finish breakfast and make it to our coral reef ecology lecture. Here we circled around as a group and discussed questions trying to find ways to connect terrestrial … Keep reading »

Thursday May 9, 2019 We took a break from our research today and went to the coral reef instead! Since our pontoon would likely made our trip much, much longer, we took at short walk across the street to Keys Marine Lab and were taken out to the reef on two separate boats. The day … Keep reading »

Wednesday May 8, 2019 Today was our second day of collecting data for our group research projects! We had a lecture and discussion about marine trophic cascades in the morning, then we all packed lunches, lathered up with sunscreen, and headed out on the boats to our separate locations. One group took kayaks out just … Keep reading »

Tuesday May 7, 2019 Today was an exciting day as we completed our first research visits for our independent research projects! We started off our morning with a lecture by Goshen College alum and Marine Science graduate student Morgan Short ‘17. We learned all about fishes, which is the proper term to use when referring … Keep reading »

Monday May 6, 2019 The day began with a discussion on how the scientific method is designed to remove our bias (albeit never completely). We also discussed how to go about designing a smart, efficient experiment in order to attempt to eliminate our bias that would have otherwise affected potential results. The rest of the … Keep reading »