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| Hollie Pellosmaa, '06,
took measurements of young nurse sharks at Sea Camp in the Florida Keys.
"Overall, the trip was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience," says Pellosmaa.
"[Handling] the sharks, obviously, was also new and surprising."
Photo courtesy of Carol Carrier |
Science on the Road
A week away from campus offers
plenty of education for Albion students
April 8, 2004
It was a week
off from classes, but for a number of Albion College students, spring
break was a chance to get a firsthand experience with issues studied
through classes and the Environmental Institute.
The Biology of Subtropical Florida, a class team-taught by shark
researcher Jeff Carrier and tropical botanist Dan Skean, visited
Mote Marine Laboratory, Newfound Harbor Marine Institute, Dry Tortugas
National Park, Everglades National Park, Corkscrew Wildlife Sanctuary,
Archbold Biological Station, and SeaWorld. These varied environments
"presented students with an overview of Florida habitats, ecosystems, and
the flora and fauna that had been discussed in class," explains Carrier.
"The beauty of Florida and its reefs has captured my
thoughts and left me in awe," says Steve Stanek, '06. "I hope that
in the future I can get involved and do my part in preserving it for
generations to come."
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| "Everything about Florida and the
Keys is magnificent, but it's sad to realize that when our
children and grandchildren grow up there might not be anything
left for them to enjoy," says Robin Aleo, '06 (above, with
cormorant). Photo courtesy of Robin Aleo. |
The Environmental Institute sponsored a trip to southern
Louisiana, the latest of its trips to diverse ecological habitats around
the country. Diving into the complex interplay of coastal erosion,
the petroleum industry's impact on the region's past (and likely future)
economy, the preservation of historic Native American and Cajun
communities, ecological conservation and water demands of metropolitan New
Orleans, students and faculty learned that challenges are great and
answers are few.
"To know intellectually that the land is sinking is one
thing, but to go there and see where the land has just fallen into the
water, that was really striking," says EI member Liz Bastien, '04.
"To be in Louisiana and to hear the stories that people told us about
their land, that's just gone now, took our understanding of the issue to a different level. I got a sense of how important this
issue is for the entire country."
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Dan Wreschnig, ’06, Christine Spleidt, ’06, Derek Burkholder,
’04, Jacklyn Numbers, ’06, and Carol Carrier trekking through a
cypress swamp. Photo by Robin Aleo. |
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Environmental Institute students spent a week studying the
coastal erosion and water management concerns of southern
Louisiana. Photo by Tim Lincoln |
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EI students met up with Dianne Guenin-Lelle's "French Louisiana" class in
New Orleans, to tour the city's French Quarter. Photo by Tim Lincoln |
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Albion College biology professors Dale Kennedy (second from left),
Dan Skean, and Jeff Carrier (fourth and fifth from left) led a group
of 16 students to gain "an overview of Florida habitats, ecosystems,
and the flora and fauna of south Florida that had been discussed in
class," says Carrier. The students were members of Carrier's Biology
of Sub-Tropical Florida class. Photo courtesy of Carol
Carrier |
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| Early March is
the end of alligator hibernation season, and Environmental
Institute member Eric Mackres, '06, saw several, including this
one sunning in the Atchafalaya basin. Photo by Eric
Mackres, '06 |
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