Today marked the last day of class at Jesuit. It was no different than any other class we have had yet. We started off the class with another discussion about the upcoming trip. After 30 minutes of discussion, Brody and Hayden took over the class and discussed their article. Their article examined the life of a specific fish called a benny. This fish could travel onto land and back into water. It actually hunts and reproduces on land. This article then led to a discussion about evolution and different theories of belief. After the evolution discussion, Gabe and Will led a discussion about the lion fish invasion. The lion fish is a fish native to the southern pacific near Indonesia, but now the fish is in the western Atlantic due to aquarium releases. Aquariums in the USA purchase these fish, and then they release them because they get too big. These lion fish are very harmful to other coral reef fish, so people are trying to eliminate them from marine ecosystems. It was really cool learning more about these fish because we area going to be catching these fish in the BVI. After the articles, each group presented their own category from the notes last night. My group presented a discussion about cartilaginous fish. I was required to educate the class over the different ways in which these fish maintain neutral buoyancy. I learned so much from my class mates. I learned more about bony fish, marine mammals, sea turtles, and sea plants. Today’s class was very worthwhile, and it was a great way to end the week. I can’t wait to continue this marine biology class in the BVI.
