Week one at UNF was an amazing introduction to marine field studies. For me, it was a week of firsts. It was my first time using various water quality measuring instruments as well as using a seine net. I learned the importance of certain water quality measurements such as dissolved oxygen, salinity, turbidity, and chlorophyll concentration for studying aquatic organisms. I loved sorting through the many different fish, shrimp, and crabs in the seine net and attempting to classify them. This was also the most difficult part of the week, and I mostly had to rely on Dr. Smith to provide the correct ID. It was also my first time helping and experiencing first-hand how shark surveying is done. It was fun to help set the long-line and pull in the catch. I had never seen juvenile sharks in person and was surprised to see huge triple-tail caught in brackish waters.
Along with the field activities, talking with the professors, staff, and graduate students was extremely enjoyable and eye opening. It was refreshing and motivating to finally meet other people interested and working in the field of marine science.
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