Meeting Abstract
A novel undergraduate marine biology course at the University of Rhode Island fully immersed students in the largest and least understood ecosystem on the planet – the pelagic realm. This intensive, primarily ship-based class brought a select group of undergraduate and graduate students to the deep waters off the continental shelf south of Rhode Island for a week aboard the 185’ R/V Endeavor. While there are other field experiences available for undergraduates at URI and elsewhere in the country, there are few if any shipboard courses aboard ocean-going research vessels because of the expense and the limited availability of ship time for education. Given a rare funding opportunity through Rhode Island’s Endeavor Program, this class afforded students exposure to a realm that undergraduates generally only study within the confines of a lecture hall. Likewise, hands-on experience with the standard tools and techniques of biological oceanography are not common in undergraduate courses. Using a one-of-a-kind Tucker trawl, students were exposed to the diversity of oceanic and deep-sea fauna, the likes of which few working oceanographers ever see, with bountiful samples that came up from as deep as 1800 meters. Additionally, some students were able to experience bluewater research diving as typically practiced by only a handful of researchers worldwide. Overall, students were exposed to invertebrate and vertebrate diversity, and relevant oceanic phenomena, such as diel vertical migration, depth donation and bioluminescence. Engaging in such immersive experiences not only greatly facilitates learning, but often proves life-changing for such fortunate students.
