This has been one of the most amazing and rewarding experiences of my life. I have learned much more than I anticipated coming into this course. I have expanded my knowledge base of Florida's common ecosystems as well as gained invaluable field work experience that will likely shape my future career path. I would recommend this course to any person that is considering biology or ecology as their major or career path. It definitely is eye opening about your own likes and dislikes about each field we investigated.
This trip is also an invaluable experience to me because of the amazing connections that were formed during the duration of our five week journey, both professional and personal. I look forward to maintaining these relationships and seeing where our adventures take us!
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| FIO Summer 13 Friends |
I have to say one of the coolest things we did was the one I was dreading the most... the diel study. Twenty-five(ish) straight hours in the field, yes, you read that right 25. Twenty five hours of seining every three hours, taking water quality every 30min-1hr depending on your location, and observing the tidal movements. It was one of the most interesting things I've done. To watch as the feeding organisms shift composition as day turns to night and also see the abundance change over the hours was amazing. We had one catch around midnight with over 5000 fishes. If ever given the opportunity to observe an ecosystem like this for a twenty-four hour cycle, TAKE IT, you will learn and see things many people never will.
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| Seine Dream Team |
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| 75-ft Seine net. Somebody had to be delegator... |
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View of the lake-side of the weir.
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Inside the weir
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Our catch with over 300 shrimp
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| Counting, measuring, and identifying said shrimp. |
And thats the final farewell!
Thank you to each professor from the multiple institutions and board member of FIO that made this life experience possible for us twelve students I can guarantee you it is one that will never be forgotten!
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