2011

Today during marine biology we had two groups present their presentations. One group covered the lion fish invasion in the Caribbean. This invasion could have some major consequences since lionfish have very few predators in the Caribbean. This allows the lionfish population to grow unchecked. We learned of one predator the lionfish have which is the grouper; however usually...

Today two groups presented their articles and as a class we discussed the importance of these articles. Today we based all our focus on learning about strategies to conserve coral reefs. One of the strategies we talked about was the use of of the grouper fish in order to control the invasion of lion fish. In addition, we broke...

Today in class we learned about lion fish biocontroling methods, growing coral, and about coral polyps. Scientists have studied that large grouper fish are an effective way to control lion fish invasions. To grow coral effectively, you need sunlight, algae, and clear, warm water. And finally, coral polyps reproduce asexually and build up the coral reefs. These topics are...

Today was a day full of energy and excitement. We started off the class with four students presenting their individual articles to the rest of the students. The two acrticles weren't that interesting because they seemed very familiar and similar to other articles that we have already discussed. Then we immediately transitioned into a group activity about the different...

Today we discussed alternative strategies to protect and conserve coral reefs, ranging from managing coral grazers to using grouper fish to control expanding lion fish populations. The guys then broke up into groups to research the best method to reintroduce an endangered species into the ocean. They are competing with each of the other groups to see who can...

The guys are currently thinking about ways to preserve and recolonize coral. They are working in groups and using the Internet to research the structure, reproduction, digestion, etc. of different forms of coral. This activity builds on an interesting article we discussed that focused on coral predation by parrotfish. Our other article was about the invasive...

Good evening! Being a busy bee today, class started off quickly as we discussed some articles, lead by the students. They were well thought out, and they brought to light some good points. fter a few notes, we went to dissections. We dissected starfish and squid. Surprisingly, the starfish has quite a tough, exoskeleton, or skin, which in restrospect...

Today's class seemed to fly by because we broke our usual routine of taking notes for most of class. We listened to a couple of presentations about different parts of marine biology, one being the effect butterflyfish have on coral reefs. We learned about different kinds of invertebrates, including starfish and squids. Speaking of starfish and...

Today marked the start of the final week of the in class portion of marine biology! We started off class with two brief discussions on butterfly fishes and marine mollusks. Alec Sims and Kells Koch led the first discussion. I tried to listen to it as much as I could, but I was a little nervous over having to...