So you want to be a marine biologist…
Sarah Egner, Sr. Vice President Program Services
We have many citizen scientist programs for our budding marine biologists to choose from. One of our favorites is our seagrass survey program. Originally developed in 2012 with funding from the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF), it has continually expanded since then thanks to ongoing funding from DCF. The student program is unique as it includes a discussion on seagrass ecology, student led experimental design, field data collection, and data analysis - an important and often ignored component to any scientific monitoring program!
A healthy seagrass bed outside Grecian Rocks
Many students come to MarineLab with the dream of “being a marine biologist.” But what does that mean? What does a marine biologist actually do? While the answer to that question is endless, many of our students visit with an unrealistic view of the everyday life of a marine biologist. Not all marine biologists spend their days swimming with dolphins - and even those that do need to spend time in labs analyzing samples, on computers writing papers, etc.. Our seagrass survey program has opened many eyes by giving a glimpse into the field of marine biology.
Collecting data underwater is not easy, and this is something our students quickly learn. While using transects and quadrats on land may seem simple enough, it is a different experience when dealing with salt, masks, snorkels, sediment, etc. In addition to seagrass/algae ID, abundance estimation, experience with monitoring tools, etc., conducting data collection while IN the water is a large part of the learning experience for our students. We also make sure that the students who participate in data collection spend time with an instructor making sense of the data. What do these numbers mean? How can they be manipulated? What can we learn from this?
An unusually clear day in a seagrass bed makes data collection ALMOST easy
After participating in the seagrass survey program, some students realize they loved it, others may find marine biology may not be the right field for them, after all. Either way, we consider it a success when our students learn not only about an important habitat but also learn a bit about themselves and what they want for their future. (It helps that we often see some cool animals during the surveys, as well!)
One of the requirements of the grant is for the project to have both an education and a research component. The educational component is of course easy for us to implement. To fulfill the research portion, the MarineLab staff enjoys putting those science degrees to use to conduct quarterly surveys (sans students!) at three permanently established sites throughout the year.
This fringeback nudibranch appears to be enjoying munching on this blade of seagrass
Our seagrass survey program is in collaboration with Seagrass Watch, an international seagrass monitoring program based out of Australia. We follow all Seagrass Watch protocols which makes our data comparable to data collected by Seagrass Watch members globally. All staff collected data is sent to both Seagrass Watch as well as Florida’s Pennekamp State Park to aid in management decisions, per our permit. Check out the Florida page on the Seagrass Watch website to see more about our data and how it compares to similar studies around the world.
All data collected as part of the seagrass survey program is available to all MarineLab teachers. Please email our citizen science coordinator Emily Stuller if you are interested in utilizing the long-term data in your classroom – it’s pretty useful for learning statistics, too!