Micaiala Hamner USFSP

This week the class traveled to USFSP for open ocean week. Monday kicked off the week with an incredible lecture from Dr. Judkins. She thoroughly defined what the term open ocean meant and then discussed the creatures that live within this ecosystem. Her lecture was truly inspiring and one of the highlights for me was hearing about all the different opportunities she has had to gain experience. Since her undergrad Dr. Judkins has done countless marine science and conservation related endeavors. Her discussion of the local organization and global affiliations was also inspiring, because it allows us to hear about possible opportunities to look out for. One of my favorite parts of her lecture was hearing about all the work she has done with the gulf oil spill relief efforts. Being someone who aspires to work in some form of conservation, hearing the development of how her work has transpired over the years was an eye opener. She also lectured about some of the deep-sea cruises she goes on yearly. These massive vessels that were once fully functional naval carriers are now equipped with some of the most cutting-edge gadgets.  She’s done sampling and collections in a charted area for years now and has circumstantial evidence of the world’s oceans changing each year.

View from stern of R.V Weatherbird II

While on board we each got assigned to different groups to performing data collection tasks. I was in the plankton group that deployed to nets called Neuston and Bongo.These nets were deployed to skin the oceans surface collecting any free floating organisms or those at the waters surface. Later that night I was in the group deploying the dredge, that scrapes the bottom of the ocean floor as the bottom is in motion. One of my favorite moments was the night time trawl sample collection. Being  able to aid in the identification process was exciting. Sifting through different crustaceans, and being able to identify some of the marine plants that was broad on board was also fun.

 

Night and Day Sample Collections
Photo by: Amanda Schaaf

The next day we were indoors identifying and viewing specimens that we collected. We cleaned and modified the data that we had obtained from the night before. This day was extremely fun because within the sample we collected from the nets we deployed were all filled with living organisms. We worked on identifying as well as viewing larval stages of different organisms. In class we also looked at some of the samples that Dr. Judkins collected and preserved from previous sample collections.

Nathan and I viewing samples under microscope

Photo by: Amanda Schaaf

On Thursday the class took a field trip to the Florida Aquarium. This was such an amazing opportunity because we were able to test out the skills we developed over the course of the class. I was amazed at myself for being able to identify animals as I passed through different exhibitions. The diverse fish and plant species within the enclosures began to stand out to me. I would have never been able to look inside of an aquarium tank and identify a French Grunt or a Pinfish, and definitely not a faux Sargassum in a tank. I have always had a passion for zoo's and aquariums and after hearing a conversation during the week, I have grown fond of any aquarium that is able to aid in teaching the public and raising awareness for the creatures within it. During our visit at the aquarium we also performed a behavioral analysis. I had performed one in my animal behavior course prior, however, performing one in an aquarium was interesting because there is continuous changes in behavior. Being able to realize that behaviors are sometime a reflection of the environment is big in studying behavior. Organisms act differently in enclosures than they would if they were secluded with minimal human interaction. It was also a challenge observing an organism that had the ability to go into an out of sight viewing area for long periods of times.  

Performing behavioral recording

Photo by: Amanda Schaaf

Lastly, the class presentation was on Friday.  I was  thrilled to work with my fellow classmate Megan. Our research was on the abundance of vertebrate species collected during our day and night sampling. This was a great experience as we both learned what graph better suits specific information. I was appreciative of all the constitutive feedback and advice both Dr. Judkins and our fellow classmates provided us. Through our findings we saw that there wasn't a decline in the species abundance which was what we had previously hypothesized. One of my favorite moments while working on this presentation was being able to go through all the statistical tests I had ever performed in previous courses. This is one of the first times I have ever reapplied a math equation and knew exactly why I was doing so and what the answer should look like.

In class presentation

Photo by: Amanda Schaaf

 Having that real life experience really does help in the whole scheme of experiential learning, which is why this course was created in the first place. As the course enters in its final leg, I just take in all the experiences and newly acquired knowledge with a gracious heart. 

Until next time 

Micaiala Hamner