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Marine Biology Class Takes Students to Belize

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CONWAY, Ark. (June 11, 2013) – Eighteen students at Hendrix explored marine environment in Belize.

The trip was part of biology professor Dr. Jenn Dearolf's Marine Biology (BIOL 335) course.

“The only way to teach a marine biology class at Hendrix in Arkansas is to have a trip to the ocean linked to the class,” said Dearolf, adding that the trip was required field research for students in the spring semester class. Belize's barrier reef is the second largest in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, offering ample hands-on research opportunities, she added.

Prior to the trip, students learned about rocky intertidal zones, estuaries, the epipelagic, the deep ocean, coral reefs, and mangroves. They also learned about some of the organisms that they would see on the coral reefs of Belize and studied to which taxonomic groups the different organisms belonged, their scientific names, and distinctive features of the taxonomic groups.

Student participants included:
  • Chloe Benichou '15 from Plano, Texas
  • Robin Brown '13 from Little Rock, Ark.
  • Caitlin Cook '13 from Searcy, Ark.
  • Sydney Haldeman '15 from Conway, Ark.
  • Alysa Hansen '14 from Russellville, Ark.
  • Jordan Jehlen '14 from Guy, Ark.
  • Meghan Kerin '13 from Russellville, Ark.
  • Julia King '14 from Larchmont, N.Y.
  • Sophie Knorek '15 from Olivet, Mich.
  • Wes Mills '14 from Wake Village, Texas
  • Justin Mosbey '14 from Texarkana, Ark.
  • Michael Ottenlips '15 from St. Louis, Mo.
  • Brittany Page '14 from Conway, Ark.
  • Lauren Ricci '13 from Needham, Mass.
  • Melanie Roach '13 from Russellville, Ark.
  • Josi Robertson '13 from Russellville, Ark.
  • Hans Schleicher '14 from Houston, Texas
  • Kevin Spatz '14 from Conway, Ark.

Students were accompanied by Dr. Dearolf and Hendrix biology professor Dr. Joe Lombardi.

The group visited the Belize Marine TREC (Tropical Research and Education Center) to observe marine organisms in their environment. They spent their days snorkeling in Tres Cocos, Mexico Rocks and Mexico Cave, Caye Caulker North Cut Back Reef and Caye Caulker Wreck, Tuffy and Mangrove Isles, and Turtle Rock Island, and Shark Ray Alley.

At Tuffy, they performed an experiment and collected data to determine if there is a correlation between the size of a cleared area in the turtle grass beds (halo) and the number of sea urchins (black long-spined urchins, sea eggs, and red rock urchins) on the adjacent coral reef. Dearolf is collecting data from her students, who will write up the experiment as a lab report in the form of a biological journal article.

Students also explored the Marine Protected Area (MPA), off the coast of San Pedro, which is one of the most successful in existence, “making it possible for the students to see many organisms not generally encountered in other parts of the Caribbean,” said Dearolf.

“It was so surreal to see the different types of coral and sponges from our books directly underneath us, said Mills.

“For me, this trip was confirmation that I want to pursue marine biology,” said Spatz, who plans to begin an internship at the Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota, Fla.

On land, the students explored caves and notable Mayan archaeological sites including Tikal in Guatemala. The land travels were designed to expose students to Mayan culture. While immersed, students were required to keep a journal or write an essay to earn Odyssey credit for global awareness.

Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the fifth consecutive year, Hendrix was named one of the country's “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the 2012 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country's best 377 colleges, the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges, Forbes magazine's annual list of America's Top 650 Colleges, and the 2013 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.