Week two at USF St. Pete!

This week our cohort was at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg. The campus was extremely nice and was in the middle of downtown St. Pete so we got to do lots of exploring when we were not in class. The focus of this week was deep water so majority of the classes were held on campus learning about the diversity of organisms and the different zones that make up deep water. Wednesday was by far my favorite day. We had the opportunity to go on the Weatherbird research vessel for fourteen hours to collect data on water quality, nutrients, and species abundance in deep waters. We went twenty-seven miles off shore to collect our first round of data and then about eight miles off shore to collect our second round of data to compare the differences. We used a CTD to collect water samples at different depths, bongoes to collect plankton in the water column, Neuston nets to collect plankton samples at the top of the water, a dredge to collect samples of organisms living at the bottom of the ocean, and a Otter trawl to collects samples at the different levels in the water column and at the bottom. It was so amazing to see all the different organisms living down there. My favorite was a crab the spit water out of its mouth like a fountain. 

                                                   

The next two days we were in the classroom and lab identifying and counting our samples that we were not able to identify when on the ship. The identify process could be very aggravating at times when it took a long time to identify the species, but when you finally figured it out it was a great feeling! We also dissected a sponge that we had collected when we were on the ship that was by far the worst thing I have ever smelt in my entire life. However, we did find some cool barnacles and worms inside the sponge. This weekend some of us from the cohort went to Universal Studios to see the new Harry Potter world and ride roller coasters! It was so much fun and was nice getting to know some of the people in my group outside of the school week. Im excited to start our week at Florida Gulf Coat University, especially since I heard well be staying right next to the water!