The South Florida Student Shark Program, established in 2006, is a collaborative, multi-disciplinary research and education program. Graduate and undergraduate students as well as university professors train high school students in marine science field sampling techniques, as well as research protocol, data synthesis, and reporting. Students conduct field trips to South Florida's Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park to study sharks, mangrove fishes, and survey the marine habitat. Students collect fishes by deploying seine nets, they also survey, sample, and tag sharks as part of an ongoing population dynamics study. Tissue samples from sharks are extracted non-lethally and non-invasively. They are used for eco-toxicological and genetic studies that students conduct themselves. As part of the programs students participate in ocean engineering workshops where they construct and launch Remotely Operated Vehicles fitted with cameras to observe and video sharks and fishes in the wild. The results of the study are analyzed and prepared by University of Miami students for peer reviewed scientific publication. Students educate others about the issues they are addressing. The students share project findings and engage in activities with students in other schools, local clubs, and parks. Project participants also present their findings to local Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs. Their civic involvement with community leaders generate sustainable financial support and environmental awareness for improved policy decisions. The project gives students greater civic responsibility and empowers youth by giving them a voice to share in an important issue to South Florida. In the program's first year, preliminary research results and objectives were presented at two conferences: the Annual American Fisheries Society meeting in Lake Placid, New York, and a NOAA Fisheries Meeting in Tallahassee, Florida. Track Hoover |
SOUTH FLORIDA STUDENT SHARK PROGRAM
Visit the Student Shark Program's website