Week 5 at UWF

Wow. I can't believe I'm back home and this course is really over. I'm really sad and I'm going to miss all of my amazing classmates and the professors I was able to work with during the past 5 weeks.

Carpenter Creek

Me in the bayou. Photo: Lisa Mann

For our last week at UWF in Pensacola, we were led by Dr. Caffrey and Barbara Albrecht. On Monday, they brought us to several spots along Carpenter Creek/Bayou Taxar, which is an urban bayou environment. We started at the headwaters then worked our way downstream, collecting water samples along the way. In the afternoon, we headed over to the EPA, where Alejandro Almario talked to us about government career opportunities for marine biologists.

Me geeking out at the corals in the EPA lab. Photo: Lisa Mann

On Tuesday we observed the rural Indian Bayou and compared it to the urban bayou from the previous day. I also had my first personal experience with fire ants that day, which is an experience I would like to never repeat. That afternoon we processed the microplastics that we collected across the state. We counted the total amounts of microfibers, microfragments, and microbeads from each sample.

Trekking through the bayou. Photo: Amanda Schaaf

Seagrass beds. Photo: Amanda Schaaf

Wednesday we studied seagrass beds and submarine groundwater discharge at Naval Live Oaks. One of the researchers was studying submarine groundwater discharge by measuring the amount of radon present in the water. Because radon can only occur from terrestrial water runoff, when they find radon in the water it indicated that terrestrial water is coming up from below the seawater. That afternoon we analyzed our water samples for chlorophyll and nitrates. We also began compiling the rest of our data for our presentations on Friday. My group was assigned to microplastics, so we finished our microplastic counts from the previous day and began to run some statistical analyses on the correlation between the microplastics and salinity or temperature.

Counting microplastics. Photo: Amanda Schaaf

On Thursday morning we headed to the beach to observe nesting shorebirds. We also practiced tracking with radio telemetry. After some fun on the beach we headed back to the lab to complete data analyses and finish our presentations.

Practicing telemetry. Photo: Amanda Schaaf

Saying our goodbyes. Photo: Amanda Schaaf

Friday was our last day of the course, and we spent our morning putting the finishing touches on our presentation. We presented our findings to the class and visiting faculty. After the presentations, we said our goodbyes and headed home.

Presentation. Photo: Amanda Schaaf

I had a fabulous adventure these past 5 weeks and I wish it was longer. I really appreciate FIO offering this course and providing us with scholarships. I also want to thank all of the professors and staff who took the time to provide us with all of these amazing learning opportunities.

Last group photo. Photo: Barbara

-Dominique