Biology of West Indian Coral Reef Organisms

Biology 314

Lynchburg College

COLLEGE CREDIT AT THE BEACH?

GIVE ME THE DETAILS:

WHO: This field course is open to all interested students of many colleges. In previous years, we have welcomed students from Lynchburg College, Randolph College, Sweet Briar College, Hampden-Sydney College, Longwood College, and the University of Virginia.

Interested students at other colleges or universities, please contact Dr. Benson (by email or phone: 434.544.8364) for additional information.

WHAT: This is a three-credit course, consisting of a trip to San Salvador, Bahamas. This course is taught by Dr. Kari Benson, assisted by Dr. James Anderson. The course emphasizes the ecology and organisms of the West Indian Coral reef ecosystem. Students will learn to identify the reef species, and will study the life history, ecology, and behavior of these organisms. We will take a boat trip to some of the outer reefs. We will also travel to several inland sites that are particularly interesting ecologically or geologically. Students that wish to SCUBA dive can do so at the Riding Rock Inn, a professional dive operation on the island.

The requirements and activities of the course are detailed on the course syllabus.

WHERE: San Salvador Island is a small, Bahamian island with a small population (approximately 800 people). San Salvador is safe, quiet, and relatively unspoiled by tourism or development. Coral reefs and turtle grass beds surround the island. The inner island is covered with expanses of lakes ranging from brackish water to hypersaline (sometimes 3-4 times saltier than seawater).

We stay at the Gerace Research Station, which is a comfortable and relatively inexpensive. We eat most of our meals in the Bahamas at the station's cafeteria. The cafeteria serves good (but simple) food and will provide for students with special dietary needs. We will have lunch in the field several times; the station provides a picnic lunch on such days.

We will visit many locations including several reefs, inland lakes, a cave, beaches, and a mangrove swamp. We will also visit the downtown area (Cockburn Town) for anyone that wishes to purchase a souvenir.

WHEN:  For class year – 2011-2012: We will meet in Ft. Lauderdale on the 27^th of December. We will fly together to San Salvador Island from Ft. Lauderdale on the following morning. You will return to Fort Lauderdale on about the 7^th of January.

You will need to provide your own transportation to Ft. Lauderdale and returning (after 6:00 p.m.) on the date of return. Some students choose to leave Florida the following morning to avoid any potential flight issues or to save money by booking morning flights – this is optional.

WHY: For an excellent educational experience in a beautiful location. This course is a suitable elective for several majors. Students earn three credits. I have enclosed a series of comments from students that attended the course in the past. You can see what they thought of the experience.

DO I NEED TO BE A CERTIFIED SCUBA DIVER? No. While certified divers will be allowed to take in four dives at Riding Rock Inn, where they have seasoned dive masters, equipped dive boats, and all of the requisite equipment; our class activities will require snorkeling gear only. Drs. Benson and Anderson have substantial experience teaching students that are already swimmers how to use snorkeling gear.

HOW MUCH: I make every effort to minimize the costs associated with this trip. The total price of the trip is $2645. This fee includes $1400 in fees (covering housing for the night of the 27^th, the round-trip flight (Ft. Lauderdale to San Salvador), room and board at the station, use of dive lights, fish keys, and other equipment, transportation on the island, a boat trip (if weather allows), and the Bahamian departure tax. The tuition rate is $1245, for which some grants are available – contact me to get an application to get 50% of the tuition covered by the LC experiential learning grant.

You will need to take whatever spending money you desire – little is available on the island for purchase (e.g. t-shirts and baskets, late-night snacks at the snack bar), but you will want to cover your meals during travel to and from the island.

WHAT DO I BRING: I have included a list. This year, we will travel Bahamas Air, so there will be a little more flexibility on luggage weights. But, you can do laundry on site and there is little need to have a large wardrobe there. Your luggage weight is better spent on your snorkeling gear and other field gear that you may want. Students may also wish to purchase (optional) ancillary course materials. There are several books that would be suitable.

Among other things – you will NEED a passport. If you do not have one, get a photograph (FedEx and Walgreens make passport photos), bring your ID and some money to the post office during passport hours and they can take care of you. Passports are required of all U.S. citizens in the Caribbean.

ALREADY GRADUATED? Alumni can take this course (for full fees, of course) by applying for post-graduate study.

Following, please see group photos from each year’s course:

You can see other pictures of previous trips on the web (all photos in one archive)

Lectures and presentations will be held in the mornings, early evenings, and during inclement weather (if we experience any). Students will experience different tropical ecosystems and learn about the ecology and geologic history of the Bahamian islands. Students will experience coral reef organisms and fish diversity by snorkeling or SCUBA (if certified). For SCUBA divers, a certified dive-master will be present via the Riding Rock Inn to insure safe and responsible diving. All students will be expected to have their own snorkel, mask, and fins (I can recommend a good shop in Lynchburg). Students should be comfortable swimmers. Students that are less comfortable in the water may participate if they wear flotation vests (these are provided, let me know if you will need one so I can insure that there are enough available). Snorkeling experience is not necessary. I will provide snorkeling instruction for any students that lack experience. We do our first snorkeling in Graham's harbor, which is shallow and protected.

The educational experience at San Salvador culminates in projects, designed under instructor supervision. These projects allow each student to study, in depth, an aspect of the marine life that they find especially interesting. The class will reconvene in Lynchburg once in January for presentations on the projects, photograph exchange, and to hand in papers.