Embarking on this expedition, I was filled with excitement, wonder, and hope. There was nothing that could prepare me for the week I would actually have. If it weren’t for our amazing professors the trip would have been a total wash. Nonetheless, we set out Tuesday evening, expecting bad weather all week and concerned about what we would and would not be able to accomplish. Dr. BG and Dr. DeLeo were assuring but realistic; encouraging us to rethink our projects to accommodate the broader data sets we were more likely to collect. All of us worked hard and rose to the task. Everyone was able to revamp their project and was excited for what the next day would bring. Wednesday we rose early and

This was my first time on a research vessel and the new, up-to-date R/V Hogarth did not disappoint. With nine other women by my side we were ready to get to work. Even though our travel plans changed, our spirit did not. We were able to embrace the dynamics of science research and found new ways to collect data and analyze specimens. I hope opportunities like this continue to be a part of the FIU learning process, for it is an experience every budding scientist should have.

Few days back from my FIRST research cruise! The one thing all my peers have said time and time again…. Something ALWAYS goes wrong during field work. This was the case, as mother nature did not want to cooperate with us. Even so, we were able to deploy a tucker trawl at 500m and plankton net at the surface. The remaining days we were either anchored nearby Key West or docked in Bight Marina. We took a dingy to a nearby island and collected many crustaceans and other organisms to later be identified in the lab. That was an experience to say the least! Sometimes took hours to decipher the dichotomous key, but as a team we were all able to get through it and narrow down the taxon groups to the

During the first week of my post-undergraduate life, I spent a week on the R.V. Hogarth on a research cruise initially intended to sail to the Dry Tortugas. This opportunity provided me with a unique field work experience where our goal was to collect data, analyze the data, and write a short report about it. The original goal for my group project was to analyze the sex ratio of crustaceans in the Florida Straits on the way to Dry Tortugas. However, the weather was not our friend during the trip and the captain decided the best route was to head back to Key West. We were able to do one trawl sample, however, and identifying different invertebrate species and larvae was a fun learning experie

Having the opportunity of being a participant in a research cruise for undergraduate students was an unique experience. Even though mother nature was not on our side this time and we could not achieve our goals, we were able to perform a few trawls and collect a few samples in Key West. The first day was amazing, we could be at open waters and perform one trucker trawl and two plankton tows. The currents were very strong and as a consequence I got sea sick for like two hours. Due to the bad weather the captain made the decision of taking us back to Key West on our second day. The last two days we stayed in Key West and went to explore a little island where we were able to collect different s

For my first research cruise I was supposed to end up in the Dry Tortugas working day and night to collect ample data to address my research question: How does biodiversity vary between different habitats based on substrate type, depth, and distance from shore? The funny thing is, I didn’t end up doing any of those things. One word for you: science. Nothing may have gone as planned, every plan A, B, C, or D, may have been scratched just to be replaced with “We’re going to have to wing it” yet I had more fun and gained more knowledge than I ever thought I would. I may not have much scientific research experience, but it didn’t take much for me to understand that science doesn’t usually allow