Marine Bio 101: Lessons from Biscayne Bay


When Ph.D. candidate and teaching assistant Betsy Stoner needed live sponges and sea urchins for an Oceanography and Marine Biology course taught by biological sciences assistant professor Deron Burkepile, she didn’t have to go far. Biscayne Bay is literally steps away from the marine biology building at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus. That’s where newsarchives.fiu.edu found Stoner and senior marine biology major Carlos Villegas Tuesday morning, Feb. 23, collecting samples for an afternoon class. Not to worry: After using the sea creatures for the class, Stoner says they will be returned to the Bay to live happily ever after.