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How I spent my summer… Amy Dickson Sophomore, Marine Biology and Aquaculture Columbia, S.C. My internship this summer was through the Cultural Resources Division at Biscayne National Park as a part of the Student Conservation Association (SCA) Internship Program. I found out about the internship through the biology majors list server (basically any internship opportunities that the professors get, they send them out over the list server). I applied thru the SCA program, which offers opportunities in many different fields as well as all over the country. The internship paid for my housing and some money for food every week. I also received an AmeriCorps scholarship for fulfilling my hours. Not only was I living in a duplex with a balcony looking over the ocean, I was snorkeling at least two days out of the week. I worked with the park’s archeologist, doing mostly underwater archeology. We looked after the shipwrecks in the park, picked up trash off of them and did condition assessments. I also transcribed audiotapes from the 1970s and ’80s given by original residents of the Florida Keys. Since the area was a major shipping route, many more historic shipwrecks are said to exist in the area of the park than the amount that is actually known. My favorite story about my experience at Biscayne National Park is about the first time we went out to do a condition assessment of a shipwreck. The wreck was the alleged El Populo, one of the vessels from a Spanish Fleet that ran into a hurricane and got caught up on the reef. As I was snorkeling around in the water, I saw a bunch of rocks but nothing else. I popped my head up to the surface to try to get my boss’s attention to ask her what exactly I was supposed to be looking for. She sort of laughed at me when I said all I saw were rocks, and then explained to me that the rocks were actually part of the shipwreck! In this wreck, in particular, the rocks were ballast rocks—rocks stored in the front of each ship for weight balance since the rear of the ship is so much heavier. If a ship is in trouble, the first things they toss overboard are the ballast rocks, but since this ship was caught in a hurricane, there was no time to unload. Therefore, the rocks were on top and the wood from the ship beneath them. When searching for shipwrecks, we were told to look for wood or piles of rocks! It amazes me to think of how significant this pile of rocks is, and it made me realize how hard it is to find and maintain shipwrecks. I also had the opportunity to work with the biologists for the park. I learned a lot about fish identification, walked the turtle beaches looking for nests, seined twice a month to study the population and size of the fish around Elliott Key, the main island in the park, and looked for destruction from Hurricane Dennis on the coral nursery. My favorite thing about working with the biologists is that I know that I am heading in the right direction with my education.
Between the hands-on knowledge I learned, the transcriptions I did, and just everything I was exposed to on a daily basis, I know that it was a rewarding experience. I learned so much from everyone at the park. Interesting Facts:
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