Alec Sims '13

Today in class we began by discussing today's articles. The first article detailed the unique adaptations of the mimic octopus and the oyster. Nick and Rob described how the octopus could change color from dark brown/black to white and dark brown/black stripes. They also told us how they could change their shape, whether that be from an octopus to...

Today we learned about Parrot fish grazing coral and the grouper as a biocontroler of the invasive lionfish. These two articles were very interesting because they dictly related to what we would be doing in the BVI. We will be rouding up the invasive lionfish and we will be studying coral. We also did an exercise that involved...

Today in class we first went over two articles. One of the articles was mine and Kells's. It was about butterflyfish consumption of coral. The other article was Paul and Nick T.'s. Theirs was about non-marine mollusks. We then proceeded to the lab where we dissected the sea-star and the squid. This helped us learn about the anatomies of...

Today we began by talking about our reading about virus's role in the ocean. We then discussed the biological zonation of the ocean and learned about the different zones and layers, most of which are labled according the amount of light present. We also talked about the role of plankton in the ocean. Plankton can be harmful, for example,...

Today we learned about global warming and the composition of the ocean, as well as the waves and currents. We learned that the increase in temperature by a little bit less than a degree can affect seasonal timing for organisms as well as community interactions like mating. This relates to how the temperature can affect the ecological and marine...

Today learned about the origin of life and the layers of the Earth. We also learned about plate tectonics and the Continental Drift Theory. The origin of life relates to marine biology because one theory is that life began in the ocean. We also studied the formation of the Earth's crust and continents shifting because it formed the oceans...

Today we learned about the scientific method. We saw Dr. Gruninger's videos about worm reproducing which is related to food smell. I also learned about many different types of occupations within marine biology. I learned how the energy from waves can be used as a new way for renuable energy. Alec Sims

I want to learn about the coral reefs and how humans interact with them. I also want to learn about the organisms besides Humans that have an impact on the reefs. My favorite marine organism is the whale shark. I am excited to go diving in the British Virgin Islands because I have heard how beautiful it is. Alec Sims