The Volunteer Survey Project is at the center of REEF's citizen science programs. It provides thousands of divers and snorkelers the opportunity to contribute information on the status and biodiversity of ocean populations. The Survey Project also serves as a training opportunity in many formal and informal education programs. In this issue of REEF-in-Brief, we feature high school students on both sides of the US who are learning first hand how to conduct fish surveys and analyze their results.

The U-32 High School in Montpelier, Vermont, offers a Marine and Fresh Water Biology Class to Seniors each year. Their instructor, Brian Slopey, is also a REEF surveyor. The course focuses on the comparison between rivers, lakes and the ocean. Students examine the living components of these ecosystems as well as the influence of physical and chemical conditions. The students conduct extensive marine research during a trip to the Bermuda Institute of Oceanic Sciences, including conducting snorkel REEF fish surveys. During each field project, approximately 100 surveys are conducted. In preparation for the trip, students use the Reef Fish Identification Beginning ID Course DVD to learn groups of fish. They then generate Geographic Summary reports for Bermuda from the REEF database and use the Fish ID Interactive DVD software to more closely research species of fish they will likely observe. Once in Bermuda, the students keep an extensive journal that includes fish and invertebrate behavior observations, plankton tow observations, lecture notes and notes on readings.

On the other side of the country, in La Crescenta, California, students at Clark Magnet High School, have been working to collect and analyze marine life survey data from the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS). With this project, which is currently funded by a Toyota Tapestry Grant, students use geographic information science (GIS) to document effects of marine protected areas on species abundance. Using species lists from the REEF database, students create field reference notebooks on the fish, invertebrates and algal species inhabiting the CINMS. In preparation for field surveys, students practice with the REEF online fish identification quiz. The students then work with dive teams from NOAA, Ventura County Sheriff’s divers and Sport Chalet to conduct REEF surveys for the class and to document the study areas and project procedures with underwater photography. Following the field work, students analyze the data and display the results of their projects as maps and graphs in scientifically formatted poster presentations. Each student poster incorporated an extended abstract that the students submit for publication in The New Journal of Student Research Abstracts.

Are you using REEF programs in a formal or informal education program? Email us at data@reef.org and let us know about it!