Marine Biology

Marine Biology Experience for Students in Florida Keys

This past J Term, Wisconsin Lutheran College professors Dr. Ethan Degner and Courtney Moll ’09 (pictured above) took eight students down to Summerland Key in Florida to take part in marine biology activities and research.

Degner, head of WLC’s marine biology program and assistant professor of biology, said: “We were excited to have the opportunity to start taking these trips again. Students took part in a number of projects including invertebrate collection and typing, conservation efforts, snorkeling, and doing a short course with the Mote Marine Lab.”

The Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium focuses on emphasizing conservation efforts and also runs a coral marine restoration station, where students took part in a fourday short course with the lab’s scientists. This ties together work that students have been doing at WLC, with the school’s successful program of growing coral in the marine biology program.

Senior Taylor Kresa, a biology major, shared the impact that going on this trip had on her: “Overall this trip just really made me feel closer to nature and God’s creation. I am amazed at how awesome everything He made is. It’s inspired me to become more interested in marine conservation and do whatever I can to ensure future generations can experience the world like I got to on this trip.”

This trip is an excellent opportunity for WLC students to learn in a more hands-on way about marine conservation. In addition to conservation-based learning, students also visited a turtle rehabilitation center and a dolphin research center, and they went tide pooling and kayaking. Senior Jonathan Spaeth added his own thoughts on the activities during the trip: “My favorite part was absolutely the different diving and snorkeling outings of the trip. Almost every single day we were going around the Florida Keys for exploration of the different habitats and the creatures that allow them to thrive.”

The next marine biology-focused trip is scheduled to take place in May, when students will travel to Grenada with Degner and WLC resident counselor Cassidy Avery as part of a long-term research project that Dr. Robert Anderson, WLC professor emeritus, started more than a decade ago. As this is a research-focused trip, students need to apply to go; this year eight students will be traveling to Grenada. Research on this trip will be focused on collecting underwater data and scuba diving on monitored reefs.