Feature
Nature's Classroom
| USF News
A group of USF marine biology students did more than just watch when they joined their professor and Mote Marine Laboratory researchers on a recent shark expedition.
They worked.
On board the RV Eugenie Clark, the students pulled in all types of sharks — from blacktips to bull sharks — during the 11-hour expedition in the Gulf of Mexico. The sharks, nine in all, were tagged and measured for size and blood was drawn for multiple research projects, including how the Deepwater Horizon oil spill affected the animals. Most of the sharks were released, while some were euthanized to gather tissue samples for research and genetic testing.
The students were enrolled in USF marine biologist Philip Motta's Biology of Sharks and Rays class. The undergraduate course is a joint effort between USF and Mote to give students hands-on-experience. In addition to USF's crew, Bob Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote, and Mote intern Monica Schmidt took part in the expedition.
Motta says the joint effort by USF and Mote affords students an opportunity that cannot be matched by textbooks and instructional videos.
"When you have a six-foot bull shark in the back of the boat and the students have to hold that shark down and draw blood at the same time with a struggling animal and record all the measurements, that is something invaluable," Motta says. "The students will never forget that."
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Photo by Amy Mariani
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Bob Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory, examines a shark caught by the USF crew.
Photo by Amy Mariani -
Students and researchers hold down the live shark as they measure its length.
Photo by Amy Mariani -
The sharks are tagged to indicate they've been caught and samples were drawn.
Photo by Amy Mariani -
The class spent the entire day out at sea, fishing for sharks and gathering samples.
Photo by Amy Mariani