"Found Color"--a three-week program teaching young students (ages 5-13) about art and coral reefs. November 2022, Koror, Palau.
Courses
Coral Reefs (BSC 6936-010, BSC 4930-009, BSC 4930-010, BSC 6936-011)
Coral Reefs is currently being taught each Spring. This three-credit combined undergraduate and graduate-level course provides an integrative survey of current coral reef science, focusing on the drivers that shape tropical coral reefs and the threats they face from environmental impacts. The course integrates various research disciplines related to coral reefs, including oceanography, evolutionary biology, microbiology, ecology, animal behavior, and conservation science. Importantly, key concepts and skills are broadly applicable to the study and conservation of diverse marine and terrestrial systems. Students learn key concepts from lectures provided by the instructor and diverse guest lecturers. Students also engage in class discussions about new, ground-breaking, coral reef science and go on several field trips to learn more about coral reef species through hands-on experiences. The course components are designed to teach key scientific skills and to strengthen the students’ understanding of biological concepts, as well as to learn how to apply these in a research setting.
Coral Reefs is currently being taught each Spring. This three-credit combined undergraduate and graduate-level course provides an integrative survey of current coral reef science, focusing on the drivers that shape tropical coral reefs and the threats they face from environmental impacts. The course integrates various research disciplines related to coral reefs, including oceanography, evolutionary biology, microbiology, ecology, animal behavior, and conservation science. Importantly, key concepts and skills are broadly applicable to the study and conservation of diverse marine and terrestrial systems. Students learn key concepts from lectures provided by the instructor and diverse guest lecturers. Students also engage in class discussions about new, ground-breaking, coral reef science and go on several field trips to learn more about coral reef species through hands-on experiences. The course components are designed to teach key scientific skills and to strengthen the students’ understanding of biological concepts, as well as to learn how to apply these in a research setting.
Outreach
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In November 2022, we organized a three-week educational arts program--named Found Color--for students between 5-13 years of age in Palau, Micronesia, led by the artist Kimberly Collins Jermain (https://www.kimberlycollinsjermain.com/). Students were instructed on the use of color and diverse materials for the creation of fine art inspired by the country's natural resources. We organized boat trips to diverse sites, including coral reefs, sea grass beds and giant clam "cities" and encouraged the students to get in the water with their art supplies. Meanwhile, scientists shared stories about the life history and ecology of the local environment.
Rice undergradaute researcher Rebekah Bryant presenting a poster at the Rice Undergraduate Research Symposium in 2019. Under my supervision she conducted an independent project on the abundance and diversity of virus-like particles in heat-stressed coral colonies
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Graduate students working within the Mo'orea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research site presented research posters to Tahitian high school teachers in June 2019. Photo credit: Lauren Howe-Kerr
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Visiting the Yorkshire Academy in Houston in December 2018 to listen to their presentations about marine conservation
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Students in the SEEDS program at the Yorkshire Academy prepared several activities to learn about the benefits of marine conservation
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Mentoring
Rice undergraduate student Jesse van der Meulen received a fellowship to conduct experiments in Mo'orea, in May-July 2021. Among other things, Jesse cultured bacteria from coral reef fish feces, conducted experiments to study how these bacteria affect coral health, and participated in reef surveys.
Rice undergraduate student Kristen Rabbitt received funding to conduct fieldwork in Mo'orea, in June-August 2019. She collected samples of corals, fish feces, and sediment and water to quantify the abundance and diversity of live Symbiodiniaceae in environmental pools.
