Final Blog and UWF Week - Alyssa Cotten

This course has been amazing and exceeded all of my expectations. I'm fairly new into my marine biology degree and have not had much experience at all, so getting to see so much of Florida along with meeting so many great students and professors was awesome. I definitely made some memories over this trip I'll never forget, and I've even started planning trip ideas to visit literally all of the places we went again. I'm so overwhelming grateful for this course and everything it came with as I feel much more prepared for a future anywhere in the marine bio world. 

That being said I wanted to point out the different locations we visited and how they all connect. I'm a little bias and was very excited to see we started in Jacksonville and ended in Pensacola as I'm from UWF, so I didn't have to make a long drive at the end of this last week. However even reflecting on the differences in landscape and ecosystem between Jacksonville and Pensacola is very intriguing. Jacksonville was a fairly flat place sitting by the Atlantic ocean. That location made the beaches very high energy which meant large rocks/sediment and rough waves constantly. Whereas Pensacola is located in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and we have much calmer water and very fine sediment. Not to mention the very noticeable hilly topography as we traveled North during the week. Farthest South was the Keys. I loved it here but again it's landscape was very different than all others as we were literally on islands the whole time surrounded by the Florida Bay and Atlantic ocean. There weren't really any beaches here like other places; only short narrow sand patches or thick mangrove forests. As we traveled North to Ft. Myers the next week we did see mangrove forests again, but they were considerably smaller. Ft. Myers was beautiful with its almost always flat waves and beaches. We mainly studied the Estero Bay here which I found so interesting as we got to really see the functions and purpose the bay provides. Moving on to Tampa we didn't get to see much of the landscape as our field day was spent on the research vessel offshore. I liked the change in scenery here though as it was a shock from being so close to the beach to all of a sudden right in the middle of a busy downtown in a very large city. Lastly, our week in Pensacola was spent surveying the upper creeks and rivers and then making our way down to the bays and gulf. I learned much more than I thought I would this week and have developed a new found appreciation for our watershed system here locally. 

Overall I would do this course again in a heartbeat to gain the experience and knowledge we did. Even through the stressful and sometimes sleep deprived days I feel like it only helped push us even further into our careers. I went into this course thinking I wanted to work in coral restoration and came out with a new interest in oyster spat, watersheds, open ocean research, sea grass beds, shark research, and most importantly water quality (I will never forget how to use a YSI multimeter ever again). I still have that interest in coral, but with complete confidence I would say this course has put in perspective just how important and intriguing each part of the marine biology world is. Thank you to all of our professors for contributing and organizing this course. I will never forget this opportunity! 

Porcupinefish in Gulf Breeze captured by Barbara Albrecht 

Cushion star found during one of the snorkels in the keys

Urchin found in Bahia Honda state park via Kayley McDowell

Cute little starfish found in the keys

Small filefish leaping out of my hands during a seine net sample via Courtney Collins

Me and Dr. Judkins admiring the porcupinefish via Hannah Schwaiger

Me admiring the cutest porcupinefish for our ethograms via Hannah Schwaiger

Coquina rocks in Jacksonville

Juvenile Scalloped Hammerhead shark being measured via Courtney Collins

UWF - Final Blog - Eliannis S.

During these past five weeks we have been able to visit many of Florida’s habitats, such as mangrove forests/islands, seagrass beds, coral reefs, oyster reefs, rivers, longleaf pine savannas, and even shore bird nesting sites. All of these habitats are very different and unique, but yet still have several things in common. For example, each is home to a variety of species, some have high biodiversity and others low. Yet, for some reason the connection between these habitats that stands out the most to me, is how we humans have altered them in a negative way. We learned that seagrasses are marked by passing boats at the Keys and Vester, then we were able to actually see the markings with our own eyes using the drones at UWF. We constantly went over about how everything that we do on land affects our ocean, and we had the opportunity to see how this occurs at UWF, by visiting severals parts of rivers. Also, we were able to see how shorebirds have adapted to living on the side of a bridge that has much human activity going on, which was very strange to see. Overall, I think that this course made us more aware of the environmental issues that our planet is facing. It is one thing to hear about it on the news or during lecture in a classroom, and another to actually see it for ourselves. During our last week at UWF, we not only learned how the conditions of the ocean are affected by what goes on inland, but also how we can make a difference now and in the future. I am very thankful to have met all of the professors in this course, and to have visited the places we did and seen the things we saw.

Nelson - Final Blog Post (UWF)

FIO Grand Finale

  After an incredible five weeks, our time in the FIO course has unfortunately come to an end.  I've had the great honor of learning from a group of tremendously knowledgeable professors and my outstanding peers. With each week, regardless of the topic, I was able to learn various methods of data collection. These methods included recording both quantitative and qualitative data, as well as how to best display our findings.

During our week at UNF, I was introduced to the YSI and how to properly record and collect water quality data. While it was initially intimidating to operate, I soon felt comfortable handling that piece of equipment and calibrating it. In the Keys, I was taught how to identify a variety of species by utilizing field guides. While this skill may seem simple in retrospect, I had never had to differentiate a species based on minute physical characteristics or based on my own recollection. While staying at FGCU, I became familiar with groundwater sampling techniques. Several tools were used prior to using the YSI to analyze the quality of groundwater. This included the groundwater sampling kit, a pump, an auger, a Trimble, and a water level meter. I also became familiar with ethograms while staying at USF, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The ethograms allowed qualitative data, such as types of behavior, to become statistical pieces of data. During our week at UWF, I learned how to use a transect and how to record the percentages within it. I was also taught the importance of properly placing the transect to prevent sampling the same organisms multiple times.

After becoming familiar with a myriad of tools, I also learned how to record and display the data. Our time at UNF emphasized creating an organized data sheet format so we could later understand our findings. If the data were too messy, we were taught to transfer it onto a new clean sheet. This could only be done after writing “transcribed” onto the original document. While at USF, the importance of using an ANOVA correctly was highlighted as it indicates if there's a significant relationship in the data. This statistical test can show support for a null hypothesis, making it an important skill to know. I also learned the importance of graphically displaying data. Using the incorrect type of graph can undermine data and confuse an audience.

While these skills may seem obvious to a seasoned biologist, most of these experiences were a first for me. Learning how to operate these pieces of equipment and how to best manipulate and record data are invaluable skills that I can’t wait to use again. This course has only strengthened my passion for marine biology and motivated me to continue in this field.

Snorkeling in the Keys with a juvenile reef shark

Using a YSI in the Tolomato River

Identifying seagrass species within a transect

Best Fishes,

     Syd Brown

Week 5: UWF - Courtney Collins

Photo by: Dr. Joshua Voss
Bahia Honda State Park
Big Pine Key, FL 

Our last week of this course was spent at the University of West Florida (UWF) in Pensacola. Similarly to other weeks we spent a large portion of time learning about the local coastal environment. What made this week unique was that we ventured into the local watershed heading upstream to freshwater creeks to understand what causes the water quality issues we have discussed throughout this course. This gave me a whole new meaning to runoff. Prior to this week when I heard runoff I thought of large farms and factories causing issues but never considered apartment complexes or neighborhoods to have a large impact like they do. Dr. Caffrey and Barbara Albrecht did an amazing job at pushing all of us out of our "only saltwater" mindset to allow us to understand why the coastal areas we all love so much are suffering. Throughout this course I have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful and passionate members of the marine biology community like Barbara Albrecht as well as guest professors like Dr. Frank Gilliam at UWF, Dr. Melissa May at FGCU, and Dr. James Gelsleichter at UNF. 

For me this was the final course I would take before graduating from UWF with a degree in Marine Biology and found that this course really solidified what so many of my professors had told me in class. "This is important you'll use this in the future and need to know this!" and at times I will admit it was difficult to see but throughout this course I have referred back to notes, handouts, even powerpoint slides from class I had previously taken. With that being said I enjoyed how this course compiled so much of what I have learned in my undergraduate degree. Demonstrating how they are all intertwined, equally important, and the importance of collaboration. 

I am sad to see this course come to an end but am excited for what the future holds and eager to see how what I have learned in this course will continue to help me achieve my goals in the future! 

Lastly, here are a few of my favorite photos of just some of the friends I've made along the way!

Photo by: Barbara Albrecht
Gulf Island National Seashore 
Gulf Breeze, FL

Photo by: Hannah Schwaiger
Vester Marine Field Station
Bonita Springs, FL

Photo by: Courtney Collins 
Barbara Albrecht "The Butterfly Whisperer"
Walnut Hill, FL 

Photo by: Courtney Collins 
Kayley McDowell, Lexy Gabos, and Courtney Collins 
aboard the R/V Weatherbird II 

Photo by: Courtney Collins 
Flip Flop
at Navarre Sea Turtle Conservation Center
Navarre, FL

Photo by: Alyssa Cotten
Johnson Beach
Pensacola, FL 

Gabbie Nelson, Alyssa Cotten, and Courtney Collins
at the Florida Aquarium 
Tampa, FL 

Week 5 - UWF - Final Blog Post

 

Photo by: Barbara Albrecht

    This final week at UWF was really interesting and a lot different than the previous locations we went to. Unlike the other locations that had mangroves and coral, this location had bayous, carnivorous plants, and a variety of shore and seabirds. Although it was very different with its topography and orange clay, it also had many similarities with the other locations. Nearly every location we went to, including the Keys, Vester Marine lab, and USFSP there were many seagrasses. Thallassia testudinum, Halodule wrightii, and Syringodium filiforme were the main three seagrasses seen at each sight. Before this class, I knew nothing about seagrasses, but now I realize that these seagrasses encompass a large part of Florida's ecosystems and provide habitation for many different species. For instance, many shrimp, and fish species live within the seagrasses, as well as snails and crabs. From the seine nets in Estero Bay and snorkeling in the seagrass beds at UWF, many similar species were found, for instance, the filefish that were found at the various locations. Pufferfish were also found at UWF, Estero Bay (FGCU), the Keys, and offshore on the weatherbird. Many of the same species were found in different locations depending on which life stage they were in as well. At Vester, a baby barracuda was found in a seagrass bed of turtle grass, and out in the keys there were significantly larger barracudas around mangroves and at many of the coral reef sites, we went to. Also, at the Navarre sea turtle conservation center, there was a map showing tracking of different sea turtles and I noticed many had been in the keys, then traveled up through Estero Bay, so sea turtles definitely have a large range showing how connected all of the sites are. Sharks were another species that were important at many of the locations, at UNF many of the pups were found around Pine Island in the St. Johns watershed, that would eventually go out into the Atlantic. We also saw many sharks in the keys while snorkeling and although they were different species of sharks the ones caught at UNF, the hammerhead, and sandbar sharks are also still within that range. The discussion of sharks was also brought up at UWF when graduate and undergraduate students showing their sea turtle research took note that every time a shark was spotted at a dive site, no sea turtles were found, which I found to be a really interesting connection. 

    There were also connections between the research methods used, seine nets were used at both UNF and FGCU Vester to take a biodiversity count of estuary sites. Snorkeling and identifying different plant, coral, and fish species were also done at many of the locations. Using identification field guides for invertebrates and vertebrates was also done at every site which has definitely helped me in knowing many of the native Florida species that are common. A YSI was also used at nearly every site to take water quality data, except on the weatherbird when a CTD was used to take data at various depths. Overall, this experience has helped me to understand Florida's ecosystems at different points as well as what similarities exist around Florida's coast. 

Photo by Heather Judkins

Photo by Hannah Schwaiger

Photo by Karen Asplund

UWF- Jess Marquis

 It is crazy that this course is now over, it has been a fun five weeks. This past week we spent at UWF looking at the local watersheds. It was interesting watching Barb interact with people we met and how her connections made it so we could see some rivers on private property. These locations were quite beautiful and due to them being on private property, it meant these locations rarely have human foot traffic. This week highlighted the connections between the watershed and the ocean. I know that pollution and runoff is bad for the environment, but this week we actually got to see the impacts in person.  

Week 5 -- UWF -- Elijah Hatten

 

I film a colony of Acropora palmata along with the life surrounding it at Looe Key.
Photo credit: Dr. Voss

Sorting through and identifying the catch on the R/V Weatherbird.
Photo credit: Dr. Judkins

Small porcupine fish caught in the seagrass beds at Shoreline Park in Gulf Breeze.

    This course has been an awesome introduction to marine field techniques and research in general. I believe one of the most valuable takeaways of the course is the connection between humans and the environment. From the headwaters of the Perdido watershed to the open Gulf of Mexico, human impacts were observed. Vast crop fields adjacent to small creeks in the upper Perdido watershed were probable sources of excess nutrients that cause eutrophication downstream in the Perdido Bay. In Jacksonville, coastal erosion of Spartina roots caused by boat wakes is eating away valuable intertidal habitat. On the Florida Reef Tract in the Keys, we observed coral bleaching and disease which has been increasing rapidly in frequency as a result of human induced climate change. Even in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, we saw floating plastic debris and even captured some plastic in the dredge from the bottom. Dr. Judkins also mentioned the suspended layer of gas and oil in the Gulf of Mexico left from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. All of these examples illustrate the connectivity of Earth’s ecosystems and the power of human influence.

I’m sad having to go home after the past five weeks of meeting amazing people and experiencing things only few get to do. I got used to my new family and was looking forward to new adventures with them. I am so thankful to have been a part of this class. I will always remember this as my first real taste of marine science.

Last Week UWF - Nicky Kemp

 

    Finishing up our final week in Pensacola was a great way to end the course. Throughout this trip we have boated through salt marshes, snorkeled in the keys, walked through mangroves, studied on the Weatherbird, and studied watershed. Each place we visited was so unique and special. I have lived my entire life in South Florida so when we first arrived in Pensacola, I was amazed at how it did not look like Florida. The dense trees covering the rolling hills was something I had never seen in Florida before.

    Working with Dr. Caffrey and Barbara was an amazing experience, they are both extremely knowledgeable about watershed and Pensacola’s environment. On Monday we explored various creeks, we learned how important these creeks are for our nearby beaches. I did not know much about this because I have not been around many river systems. On Tuesday we walked through Tarkiln Bayou where we learned about longleaf pine trees. I never thought about how long it takes for these beautiful trees to grow. We could measure the diameter of the tree and enter the number into an equation, and it would give us an estimate on how old this longleaf pine is, I thought that was very interesting. I also had no idea how important fires are for longleaf pines. After walking through Tarkiln Bayou we went to GUIS and did seagrass monitoring before we were rained out. On Wednesday we woke up very early and used a drone to look for stingrays. It was interesting to be able to use a drone and see so clearly what was in the water. After the using the drone, we drove to a shorebird nesting site and watched black skimmers sit on their nests. On Thursday we did seagrass surveys and then listened to UWF students talk about their sea turtle research. Friday, we wrapped up with presentations on watershed about the places we have visited throughout this course.

    I am very happy that I fought my imposters syndrome and decided to take this course. I learned so much that will help me for years to come. I have a new family now and I will miss seeing everyone every day.  

- Nicky Kemp 

Final week: UWF - Asplund

     To finish off the last leg of the trip, we stayed at UWF. I have never been to the panhandle of florida, so seeing hills in the area was definitely interesting to me. 

    Over the week, we worked with Dr. Caffery and Barbara and learned all about watersheds and creeks. On Monday, we explored the Upper Perdido creeks including: Pine Barren, Boggy and Brushy creeks. We also saw Lower Brushy, Jackson springs, Cow Devil, Jack’s Branch creeks, and Perdido river. On Tuesday, We saw Pensacola’s bayous and also did a small about of seagrass surveying before unfortunately being rained out. The next day, We joined a drone survey of seagrass beds. I found some really interesting remains while walking along the shore and have taken them home for souvenirs. We also got to learn about shorebirds and see their nesting area. To wrap up the day we visited a Turtle conservation center. On Thursday, we conducted the seagrass survey we were unable to do on Tuesday and enjoyed swimming around. During these surveys we used familiar tools such as secchi disk to measure depth, YSI multimeter to take water quality data, and quadrants to survey area coverage. 

Throughout this entire trip we have been using these same tools to collect data all over Florida and for different purposes. I’ve learned that no matter what your focus is in marine biology, everything connects in nature and you can use these tools to connect the dots and determine if there is correlation between issues and causes. 

Final Post - Leo E

 This course has been quite interesting to say the least. We've had a lot of cool experiences and got to see different types of field work. This was my first time in every city but St. Petersburg, and I really enjoyed seeing the different cities and different ecosystems around this state. I found the connection between the professors and the needs of their environments to be interesting. Everywhere we went, the professors seemed to be focused on conservation or research efforts that are necessary for their location. I found that to be inspiring to continue in this field and do my part to help. Through this course, I was also able to figure out what part of marine research I want to get into since I was able to see things I enjoyed and things I wasn't too crazy about. 

Week 5 - UWF - Alex Freeman

In this course sometimes weeks felt like a day and days felt weeks, but it is ultimately ending now. I think the main connection I observed was the one between experienced doctors of marine sciences and their students. At every location we went, we saw the new generation of marine scientists working along side the experienced instructors or members of our class we those students. This connection makes the wildlife biology and oceanography tract unique in how much the previous generations works to integrate the newcomers to scientific research. In the field of marine work, scientists are finding the dire consequences of climate change and human threats to the ocean and they know that it is important to foster a new crop of scientists to carry on the work that could ultimately reverse this. From these five weeks of field studies I have learned that the connection between the scientific world are close and run very deep. When our instructors walked onto a site they were deeply in their element and knew all the staff well, the whole discipline seems so connected. 

I will always cherish the time I had with this course and I'm glad I could finally become a part of the greater interconnected world of marine science.

Week 5 UWF - Lexy Gabos

 Week 5 UWF - Lexy Gabos   

This past week in Pensacola was a pretty good wrap-up to an amazing five weeks. We focused a lot on understanding how the physical and chemical properties of primary and secondary rivers upland affect the waters we have near the coasts. This is a really important connection that I’m glad we emphasized at the end of this class, as we spent the first few weeks of the course focusing on the health of coastal waters around the state – most specifically looking at their water quality, species diversity, and habitat conservation. Naturally, understanding the health of ocean waters requires understanding the conditions and health of the riverine and estuarine systems which feed into them. We spent our first day this week going to a few different river/creek sites north of Pensacola and learned about the factors which impact their quality and health. We went to different parts of the same river systems that were miles apart, and I thought that was neat because it highlighted how much water these rivers are continuously moving, which eventually deposits into estuaries and then into the ocean. We saw how drastically our upland farming and development has polluted some of the rivers in this area, and how quickly a river system can become eutrophicated or anoxic. While it’s pretty disheartening to then consider how this affects downstream waters, we know that by decreasing the amount of pollution and nutrients which enter upland river systems, we can directly improve the quality of water which flows into our oceans. 

I had not previously spent too much time focusing on this aspect of coastal conservation because of a lack of exposure to river systems and geography in general, so I really appreciated the time we dedicated this last week to this aspect of marine biology. It helped me better see how interconnected our waters are, and how important it is to maintain, improve, and conserve as many different water bodies as we can. It is also definitely a good reminder for me to take any steps I can to lessen my impact on the environment.

Lexy Gabos

06/17/2021

Boats Stirring up Sediments ~ Jess

This week we stayed at the VESTER station and learned a lot about the local water quality. One point that I found quite interesting was how the turbidity of the water was impacted by boats. We helped Dr. Fugate collect data over a span of a few days with the help of an instrument called a aquadopp. This instrument uses doppler to determine how turbid the waters are. Contrary to what I initially believed; mud bottom substrates have a lower impact from passing boats. I was quite shocked when I learned this, because what is holding the sediment down? Unlike the mud bottom substrates, the seagrass beds hold onto more sediment. This means when the boats travel, they stir the sediment that the seagrass beds have accumulated. It is possible that this sediment that is being picked up and thrown about by boat wakes are possibly “drowning out” the seagrasses. In the long term this limited light can eventually result in the death of seagrasses. It is crazy to think of all of the repercussions of human activity has on the environment even when proper precautions are being used.

Week 4 – USFSP – Elijah Hatten

Week 4 at USF St. Pete started out in the classroom learning about the open ocean. We learned about the types of organisms that inhabit the open ocean and how they cope with the challenges of living there. We also practiced our classification skills on a few preserved specimens. This prepared us for Tuesday which was research cruise day. 

Tuesday morning, we boarded the R/V Weatherbird II and headed out 25 miles to the first sampling site. We were separated into five teams which each had a sampling responsibility. One team was responsible for deploying the CTD and performing many water quality tests on the water collected. Two teams deployed and collected the contents of two different plankton nets: Neuston and Bongo nets. The Neuston net collected only surface plankton while the Bongo net could collect plankton at depth. I was on the team which was responsible for helping deploy and retrieve the otter trawl. An otter trawl is a large net that is meant to collect organisms just above the sea floor. The doors of the otter trawl only allow the net to open at depth to prevent unwanted specimens. When the otter trawl was pulled in, everyone helped empty, sort, and identify the organisms caught. The same happened for the dredge. A dredge is a metal cage that is dragged along the sea floor to capture bottom dwelling and burrowing organisms. After the first site, we had a break, and repeated the sampling at an inshore site at night.

Wednesday consisted of clean up, data input, and project topic selection. On Thursday, we worked on our projects, had lecture on biodiversity, and went to the Florida Aquarium. At the Florida Aquarium, we filled out ethograms on a bird and two other organisms of our choice. On Friday, we had lecture on the deep sea, finalized our projects, and presented them. I enjoyed this past week at USFSP, especially going out on the Weatherbird. 

St. Petersburg- Ethograms and Dichotomous Keys

 

 Our time in St. Petersburg was full of captivating hands-on experience. We were able to spend a day focused on animal behavior and learning the best practices for recording such qualitative data. I was introduced to ethograms and how to display the findings collected from an observation period. After observing several organisms at the Florida Aquarium, I acquired a greater appreciation for collecting data on animal behavior. While our observation periods only spanned over the course of a few minutes, one challenge did arise. This involved the organism relocating and moving out of sight. An inadequate viewpoint prevents further data collection, which then results in insufficient observations. Fortunately for the FIO students, the wetlands dome and man-made habitats kept all the organisms contained to one area. Obtaining a greater understanding of behavior can be helpful for animals in the wild and in human care. Under human care, observing animals regularly ensures that healthy interactions with both the environment and other animals are occurring. Observing animals in their natural habitat allows researchers to better understand many aspects of a species. This includes their social habits,their methods of feeding and protecting themselves, and how we can protect them from becoming endangered. I spent a large portion of my time watching a pygmy seahorse, H. bargibanti, and a clownfish, A. ocellaris. The H. bargibanti individual spent a majority of its time attached to an artificial coral structure to feed while the A. ocellaris individual spent a majority of its time actively swimming or hiding within an anemone.

I was also fortunate enough to work with a real dichotomous key for the first time. I always enjoyed learning about them and using small examples in previous courses so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to actually use one. I worked with my classmates to identify a small octopus collected on the Weatherbird the day prior. The dichotomous key was extremely helpful as it brought us to the species name after a brief series of questions. I was also introduced to a vast amount of cephalopod vocabulary which was incredibly interesting.

Macrotritopus defilippi collected from the Weatherbird via dredge.

Amphiprion ocellaris hiding in an anemone during an ethogram observation.

Hippocampus bargibanti observed for an Ethogram at the Florida Aquarium.

  

 Having the chance to utilize the dichotomous key and create ethograms was wildly interesting.  While I enjoy learning how researchers use these methods to evaluate and examine species, manipulating them myself was rewarding. I look forward to continuing our fieldwork this week in Peniscola and can’t wait to get out in the field again!

Best Fishes, 

              Syd Brown

Week 4 - USFSP - Eliannis S.

I never thought I would actually enjoy being in a classroom for 7 hours until I met Dr. Judkins. Usually, my regular classes only last about two hours and they go by very slowly, but during this week, everyday was a new experience. We had the opportunity to learn more about the open/deep ocean and all of the organisms that live within it. Not only did we learn about it, but we were also able to witness it ourselves, and although we did not enjoy how sick it made us, we did enjoy seeing some of its wonders. On the boat ride out on the WBII, we saw many dolphins and even a sea turtle. Being on the boat allowed us to use and learn about some of the equipment that scientists use when working in the field, such as the otter troll, the dredge, the CTD, and the neuston/bongo nets. My favorite part was pulling up the troll to see what types of organisms we had caught, then sorting them and identifying them. On this boat ride, I finally came to terms with the fact that I dislike crabs very much and concluded that I will try my hardest to avoid work with them in the future (they remind me of spiders). 

Other than the ride on the WBII, I also enjoyed the lectures and fun activities that we did, from finding our bioluminescent buddies to building our own plankton or visiting the Florida aquarium. Overall, I think that our group presentation was one of the most important activities from this week. Yes, it was stressful to complete our presentation because statistics is not our strong suit, but it definitely taught us many things that we should know as future scientists. I was very nervous to hear all of the comments on what I had done wrong, but it turned out to be really helpful to hear what could make my presenting skills better. I feel grateful that we were given the opportunity to do this, so that now I can be more prepared for the future. 

USFSP - Week 4 - April

  

 

     The past week at St. Pete was really informative about the open ocean and all the various organisms that live there. I found all the deep-sea organisms we saw in the specimen jars to be really cool as well especially the angler fish and the octopus/ squids. Before this week, I didn't know much about the open ocean and had never been far offshore. One thing I was nervous about for the cruise was seasickness, as I'd been on many smaller boats throughout my life, but was unsure about what being on a larger boat out on the ocean would be like, especially with no land in sight. On Tuesday, I prepared myself with Dramamine and never got sick on the ship, and after being in the sun for a while with all the gear on I started to feel a bit bad, but after drinking some water and getting to the point where we could take the gear off I instantly felt better. In the future, I think working offshore would be really interesting, but this cruise definitely showed me how challenging and exhausting a day can be out there. Over the course of the week, I also appreciated learning about marine research in general, and all of the different instruments used for water quality, or biodiversity count. Using them on the vessel also helped a lot to understand the machines more. I've noticed that my idea of a scientific instrument when I learn it from a lecture and PowerPoint is entirely different than when I see it in person and am able to see how it is used. Overall, having known previously very little about the open ocean before this week, I have learned a tremendous amount about the sea life that lives in the Gulf, and definitely feel it has made me understand its importance and how it works more.

April Thomas