A group of Marine Science students traveled south to the Florida Keys this spring to – quite literally – get their feet wet in coral reef restoration.
Dr. Dan McCarthy, a Professor of Biology and Marine Science with the Department of Biology and Marine Science and Marine Science Research Institute, has been studying coral reefs his entire career, and has taken groups of students to the Keys for years to study coral reef restoration.The latest group of students to take the trip returned in April, and came back home to Jacksonville with a wealth of hands-on experience, and for some, a newfound interest in studying coral reef restoration. Professor of Biology and Chemistry Dr. Andy Ouellette joined the trip to gather footage for a documentary he’s working on to capture Dr. McCarthy and his students’ research on coral reefs.
The five-day trip gave students the chance to learn coral fragmentation, a technique used in reef restoration, how to deploy corals into the field and work in a coral nursery. Students also met with leaders in the field, such as Dr. David Vaughan, one of the inventors of coral micro fragmentation. He also serves as the President of Plant a Million Corals and was former Director of the Center for Coral Reef Research at the Mote Marine Laboratory in the Florida Keys.
“Those are real experiences, they spent a significant amount of time learning these techniques,” McCarthy said. “It's something they can put on their resume that they've done.”
Luke Stoeber, a senior marine science major, attended the trip to the Keys this year, following a study abroad trip to Belize his sophomore year, where he first sparked an interest in coral reefs.
“When opportunities like this come up, to go visit the Florida Reef Tract right in our backyard, I had to jump on it,” Stoeber said.
Upon graduating this month, he plans to attend Clemson University to study coral reef restoration. So for Stoeber, the experience gained on the trip will prove especially useful as he continues his education.
“Being able to get more experience in the water, not only learning from people in
the field about what they're doing but how they're doing it really gives you the background
information to understand the community of coral reef sciences and how it's constantly
changing,” he said. “This trip was helpful in gaining knowledge and experience I can
take to that next step.”
Jack Rooney, a Marine Science graduate student, is writing a thesis on coral reef restoration, so for him, the trip was especially relevant for him.
“I wanted to get first hand experience of going down there, diving and restoring corals,” Rooney said.
Marley Wilkinson, a senior studying Marine Science, plans to graduate in the fall. Thanks to the trip, she’ll have a job waiting for her down in the Keys. She’ll be working with Florida Sea Base as a Marine STEM Educator.
She said she didn’t know much about coral reefs prior to the trip, but left wanting to learn and work with them more in the future.
“Take the opportunity to do anything,” Wilkinson said. “Experience is experience and you never know what you'll fall in love with.”
