Florida

May 17 2021

Monday May 17, 2021 Today students presented preliminary analysis of their data collection to test their senior thesis protocols, which they will implement this coming fall during the Marine Biology Semester. We celebrated with a trip to the beach and...

May 17 2021

Sunday May 16, 2021 This morning there was no lecture, so we were all able to sleep in a little more than usual, if we chose to do so. We also had the option of attending church. As our trip...

May 16 2021

Saturday May 15, 2021 Today started off with a lecture at city hall about micro plastics in the ocean. The ocean is currently littered with plastic and trash, but some people don’t know that plastic breaks down into tiny microplastic...

May 14 2021

Friday May 14, 2021 This was one of the most anticipated days and one of the most dreaded days (for reasons explained later) of the whole trip. This was the day that we all got to see the coral reef,...

May 14 2021

Thursday May 13, 2021 Like every other typical day here in the Florida Keys, it began with sunshine peeking through the curtains. One of my favorite things to do in the morning before hopping on the bus for lecture is...

May 12 2021

Wednesday May 12, 2021 Today’s schedule began again at Layton City Hall with lecture, this time paired with a message of hope for the potential role of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and Marine Reserves in restoring marine ecosystems. Despite their...

May 11 2021

Tuesday May 11, 2021 The day began with sunny skies and calm water as we arose at our normal time for lecture. We learned about the varying complexities of food web ecology, specifically that of trophic cascades and keystone predators....

May 11 2021

Monday May 10, 2021 Today we got to sleep in a little bit later than most weekdays because we were headed to Mote’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration on Summerland Key for a day trip!...

May 10 2021

Sunday May 10, 2021 Today, we attended Layton Baptist Church, which plays a significant role in the history of Goshen College’s marine biology program. Layton Florida was founded by Captain Del Layton. Del Layton had a dream of having a...

May 09 2021

Saturday May 8, 2021 We started off our morning with a discussion on positive interactions and how they may pertain to our work. One type of a positive interaction is mutualism; this is where both species benefit from the interaction....

May 08 2021

Friday May 7, 2021 Today we started the day with a lecture on Mangroves and their ecology. We were introduced to three magnificent species that are native to Florida, these species include the Red Mangrove ( R. mangle), Black Mangrove...

May 07 2021

Thursday May 6, 2021 Today’s lecture was about sponges, mainly focusing on Spheciospongia vesparium (loggerhead sponge) and Ircinia campera (vase sponge). Our morning visit was to the hard bottom sponge site. This habitat consisted of little soft sediment/sand with different...

May 07 2021

Wednesday May 5, 2021 Wednesday morning started like the others sunny and bright. Today’s morning lecture greeted us with the challenge of creating the complex food web of the epipelagic zone only using a brief outline and an article we...

May 05 2021

Tuesday May 4, 2021 On Tuesday morning, the sun was shining and the temperature was 81 degrees. In our first class of the day we discussed seagrass ecology and biology, as well as the benefits and threats to the seagrass...

May 04 2021

Monday, May 3, 2021 – The Bight The day began with a brief discussion on our observations and thoughts from our first snorkeling session on Sunday. Out of this conversation came the realization for the group that while there is...

May 03 2021

Sunday May 2, 2021 The Marine Biology class of 9 students has arrived and 0ur course has begun! Given the challenges over the last year, it has been a long wait for our students. Last May in 2020, their trip...