May Term Class: Marine Biology

Wednesday May 9, 2018 Today was a fruitful but exhausting day. After morning lecture we headed out to the field for the first of our research collection trips. We spent the morning in the field, gathering data and implementing the methods we designed yesterday for our research project. The day was sunny, but windy, which … Keep reading »

Students are in the initial throes of developing their own research projects. We had three great presentations with the following topics: – Effect of Thalassia testudinum and macroalgae percent cover on density of Astraea americanus – The effects of substrate composition and floral cover on density of Lytechinus variegatus – Hermit crab (Clibinarius spp) shell … Keep reading »

Monday May 7, 2018 After having a great, relaxing Sunday where we got to share some music with Layton Baptist Church then eat some seafood at a restaurant in Islamorada, it was time to get back to our marine bio work. Today was full of great surprises. As we were heading to our first field … Keep reading »

Saturday May 6, 2018 Today was a very exciting and exhausting day for all. To prepare us for what was ahead, we reflected on a quote from Edward. R. Morrow that we carried throughout the day – “Anyone who isn’t confused really doesn’t understand the situation” (This quote, has definitely been applicable several times so … Keep reading »

Today, our class experienced the diverse weather conditions of the Florida Keys in a very intense fashion. Midway into our boat ride to Triton Flats this afternoon, we realized that it was far too windy outside to be conducive to snorkeling, and were forced to turn around and return to Layton. However, this trip wasn’t … Keep reading »

Welcome to the 2018 Marine Biology Blog! We have all safely arrived and have completed our first field visit to the Bight. Geoff Miller, a junior ES major, wrote today’s blog. Today was the first day of class and our first day out on the boat. The winds were fairly strong and the water pretty … Keep reading »

I am writing this final post from the comforts of home.  The entire class has safely made it back from Florida.  The last two days in Layton were very busy as students completed final projects and took the final exam. The Film students worked in two groups to complete a 3 minute film.  Each film … Keep reading »

Time is flying by down here in the Keys. It feels like just yesterday that students were learning how to snorkel in the seagrass beds of the bight. Now, with a little experience under their belts, it’s often tough to convince them to get out of the water! This past weekend was full of activities … Keep reading »

After a busy weekend of reef visits, a lab practical, church singing, and a visit to Key West, the blog is back! It’s hard to believe that we’ve already arrived to our last week here in the Keys. Students are now focused on finishing up data collection for their research projects and analyzing/writing up their … Keep reading »

Today’s blog post is from senior Nat Thorne, a sociology major with minors in women’s and gender studies and PJCS. Florida provided the class with another gorgeous, eventful day in the water. After our 8 a.m. taxonomy lecture, two research groups ventured out to Triton Flats for the second day of data collection. Triton is … Keep reading »