[Coral-List] Mariculture Field Course in Panama

Tue Jun 6 15:22:03 UTC 2023

FIELD COURSE:  MARICULTURE FOR THE PLANET (MCP Summer C-23)

COURSE LOCATION: Bocas del Toro Biological Station, Boca del Drago, Isla Colon, Republic of Panama. The biological station is located on a hill facing Almirante Bay and Volcan Baru on the mainland.  Coral reef and lowland tropical rainforest ecosystems are immediately accessible from the field station.  This juxtaposition of the two most biologically-diverse ecosystems along with Panama's rich cultural diversity provides tremendous opportunities for education and research.  See http://www.itec-edu.org <http://www.itec-edu.org/> for details. 

INSTRUCTOR: Lonnie Kaczmarsky, Ph.D. Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation and Florida International University,  phone: (201) 704-8065, email: lkacz001 at fiu.edu <mailto:lkacz001 at fiu.edu>, solonnie at hotmail.com <mailto:solonnie at hotmail.com>. Specialty: Coral reef ecology, coral diseases and mariculture.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to provide a sound foundation in sustainable mariculture concepts, techniques, and experimental study for sea cultivation. The material covered is equivalent to a university upper-level course in mariculture. This 4-week course is a hands-on introduction to sustainable oyster and edible algae cultivation in a tropical setting, but with techniques that can be applied world-wide. Students will learn to design, construct, source materials, and deploy cultivation systems in the sea to help expand ITEC’s grow-out systems and increase its environmental benefits. Using an experimental approach, students are taught to identify factors in the selection of a suitable site for sea farming and conduct test plantings.  Students will: (1) Learn to take field measurements and collect data for simple statistical analyses. (2) Learn to bio-prospect for edible species of algae for “seed” culture while snorkeling, which they will “plant” in algal cultivation systems that they build themselves. (3) Learn to collect oyster spat (juveniles) to grow to marketable sized adults. (4) Visit local vendors of seafood products and restauranteurs to promote oyster and algae consumption by donating those grown by ITEC. (5) Learn about oyster and algae cuisines by developing recipes and preparing meals for their fellow students and ITEC staff.  Students will also research a related topic of their choice for an end of the course report or presentation to ITEC students and staff.

WHY MARICULTURE?  Seaweed and oyster mariculture reduce carbon dioxide and thereby potentially mitigate ocean acidification and global warming. In addition, macroalgae oxygenate waterways and remove nutrients thus mitigate local ocean dead zones and harmful algae blooms. Oysters also remove nutrients and increase water clarity by their tremendous filtering power, thus promote the health of coral reefs and growth of seagrass beds, a carbon sink. You will not only learn how to help the planet but you will actually contribute to its improvement by the work you do here.

LECTURES TOPICS:

	(1)  Brief history of mariculture <>
	(2)  Oyster and marine algae ecology & taxonomy <>
	(3)  Methods and techniques in sustainable mariculture

	(4)  Causes of climate change and overfertilization of marine environments and their impacts

	(5)  Environmental impacts of terrestrial food systems and comparisons to mariculture <>
	(6)  Environmental benefits of sustainable mariculture  <>(e.g., carbon and nitrogen sequestration)

	(7)  Laboratory hatcheries vs. wild collection of oyster spat (baby oysters) and algal spores (“seed”)

	(8)  Oyster and algae cuisines and recipes <>
	(9)  Marketing, processing, and growth of farmed oysters & algae for human consumption

READINGS: Assignments relating to lecture topics will be made from the text and supplementary research articles provided electronically.  REQUIRED TEXT:  Eat Like a Fish by Bren Smith (2020).

ACTIVITIES:  Each student will be expected to actively participate in the design, construction, deployment, maintenance, and monitoring of cultivation systems and gather source materials/seed culture for these systems. Students will visit established cultivation sites to familiarize themselves with the organisms, cultivation techniques, and to make observations that may lead to hypotheses that could be tested in student projects. In the evenings, students will participate in lectures and ‘debriefing sessions’ during which they will discuss methods, techniques, organisms encountered, observations they made and recorded in their logbooks. Waterproof, underwater logbooks will be provided.

EXCURSIONS:  To: (1) a laboratory-based facility with capacity to rear and feed larval oysters and induce algae spore (“seed”) production that can then be deployed to ocean farming sites; (2) a coral nursery facility that raises and outplants coral fragments to help restore degraded coral reefs; (3) local food markets and restaurants; and (4) ITEC’s forest restoration sites (>100 acres) in Tierra Oscura and native tree nursery that are helping slow climate change by carbon sequestration. Optional field trips include SCUBA diving/snorkeling on local coral reefs and night snorkeling to observe bioluminescence. For the SCUBA trip, certification (PADI, NAUI, or SSI) and DAN insurance are required. A small extra lab fee covers dive tank air. Students who choose to dive are expected to bring their own BC, regulator, mask/fin/snorkel.

INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PROJECTS:  Students can work in teams or individually to prepare a research proposal related to their specific interests in consultation with faculty.  Projects may be suggested by observations made during field activities or from the research literature, and will be evaluated on the basis of feasibility in the available time, soundness of design and concept. During the final week, writing of project reports will be carried out and presented orally in an end-of-course symposium.

COURSE LENGTH: ITEC Summer field courses are about four weeks in length.  The MCP 2023 course will be offered in Session C (July 15-August 9, 2023).

TUITION: $2500 USD.  Tuition fee includes all lodging, meals, airport transfers in Bocas del Toro and use of all field station facilities and equipment. Payments to ITEC should be made through ITEC PayPal using itec1 at itec-edu.org <mailto:itec1 at itec-edu.org>.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Session C: June 15, 2023.  ITEC course is limited to 10 students. Applications will be evaluated as they arrive.  

GRADING and COURSE CREDIT:  Up to 6 units of credit will be given, 3 for the lecture portion and 3 for the field portion.  A letter grade will be assigned based on exams, reports, proposals, attendance at lectures, as well as by less tangibles such as personal attitude, motivation, and contribution to the course.  Course credit must be arranged at the student’s institution.  Contact ITEC for details.  

APPLICATIONS can be found at: http://itec-edu.org/education-programs/application/ <http://itec-edu.org/education-programs/application/>. If you believe that your application may arrive late, notify ITEC.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation, 2911 NW 40th PL, Gainesville, FL 32605, phone: 352-367-9128 (Gainesville office) or phone or WhatsApp: +1507-6853-2134 (Field Station in Panama), emails: itec at itec-edu.org <mailto:itec at itec-edu.org>, lahanas at itec-edu.org <mailto:lahanas at itec-edu.org>, or peterlahanas at gmail.com <mailto:peterlahanas at gmail.com>, website: http://www.itec-edu.org <http://www.itec-edu.org/>.  ITEC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1996. 

------------------------------------------------------
Peter N. Lahanas, Ph.D.
Exec. Dir., ITEC
Bocas del Toro Biological Station
Boca del Drago, Isla Colón, Panamá
+507-6853-2134
lahanas at itec-edu.org
www.itec-edu.org