Week 3: Vester marine lab!

This week we were at Vester Marine Field Station that is associated with Florida Gulf Coast University. This place has by far been my favorite! Our classroom, the rooms we stayed in, and the boats we went out on everyday were all in the same place. It really felt like we were working on a research project with colleagues. I honestly can not pick out a favorite day because they were all interesting and fun to do. I enjoyed coring the sediments because we got the opportunity to look into the past and see how the sediments were different from thousands of years ago. One of the cores the professor dated back 5,000 years ago. It was crazy to think we were touching sediments that were from 3000 BC! Archeology day was a little out of our element since we are marine biology majors but it really did tie in with what we are learning. The site we excavated what a major settlement site for the Calusa indians. Who used hunting and foraging of the ocean around them as their major food source instead of agriculture, like majority of tribes did during that time. Surveying the shells they had left behind, we were able to get a better idea of the major species they ate and used for tools. Shark fishing was the most thrilling day by far. We ended up catching two Nurse sharks and one Blacktip shark! The Blacktip was the only shark we could get tissue samples from and tag since Nurse sharks were not part of the professors research project. It was still really fun reeling in the sharks and seeing what species and size we caught! 

The beach was not far from the field station so almost everyday after class we went to the beach to snorkel.  We found some interesting sea slugs and starfish as well as shells that we went back to the station and tried to identify. I really enjoyed hanging out with my group during meal times. Our meals were not provided this week so we had to cook, which was actually really fun to cook for one another and then getting to all eat together. After dinner one night we all played the board game Cranium. It was nice to get our minds off school and doing an activity that did not involve saltwater for a change! This weekend we are traveling to the Keys and I can not wait to see the beautiful water and coral reefs!