2006 Courses
Taxonomy and Ecology of Caribbean Sponges
Sponsored by SENACYT
| Dates: | July 17-28, 2006 |
| Instructors: | Dr. Cristina Diaz Dr. Robert Thacker |
| Organizer: | Dr. Rachel Collin STRI |
In July 2006, 13 students representing 9 countries participated in a 12-day course on the taxonomy and ecology of Caribbean sponges. This course worked synergistically with the Smithsonian Institution's DNA Barcode initiative. Lecture material included discussions of the current taxonomy of marine sponges and tunicates, an overview of the morphological characters that differentiate families, recent developments of cytological characters, and applications of molecular systematics to questions in taxonomy. Field surveys of mangrove and reef communities allowed students to gain experience with field identification and with several survey techniques. During the class instructors and students collected multiple samples of 100 sponge species with the goal of providing proof of concept for rapidly and efficiently generating high quality DNA extractions for DNA barcoding as samples are identified by experts at the point of collection. Students conducted independent projects on assaying the diversity of cryptic interstitial sponge fauna, diversity of sponges of mangrove islands and the development of resources on sponge biology for educators.
Particpants
| Student | Information | |
|---|---|---|
Georgia Southern University- USA I am studying the chemical ecology and biochemistry of sponges from Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, a temperate hard-bottom reef off the coast of Georgia. In particular, I am interested in the defensive chemicals that these sponges use to deter predators. I am using a combination of analytical chemistry to quantify the concentration of the these compounds and field and laboratory feeding assays to investigate their deterrent ability. |
||
 Renata Goodridge rgoodridge@uwichill.edu.bb |
University of the West Indies - Barbados I am the coordinator of field projects for CERMES, University of the West Indies, including coordination of and technical support for students and staff. As a marine scientist and the chief diver for research and contracted work through CERMES and the Office of Research, I have been involved in coral reef assessment projects throughout the Caribbean for over 15 years. My favorite underwater creatures are sponges, and so I find myself delving ever deeper into the sponges of Barbados' varied reef systems. |
|
Ivan Alberto Ramirez iramirez4@hotmail.com |
Venezuela | |
Lisa Becking lebecking@gmail.com |
Netherlands | |
Estrella Villamizar evillami@hotmail.com |
Venezuela | |
Alex Mercado amolinapr@yahoo.com |
Puerto Rico | |
Steve Kimble sjkimble@gmail.com |
USA | |
Lianna Jarecki LJarecki@email.hlscc.edu.vg |
British VI | |
Gisele Lobo Hajdu lobohajdu@oi.com.br |
Brazil | |
Matthew Forrest mjforrest@ucsd.edu |
USA | |
Christina Elmore christinaelmore@islandschool.org |
USA | |
Maria Amaro meamaro_2000@yahoo.com |
Venezuela | |
Lorenzo Alvarez lorenzoalvarezf@yahoo.com |
Mexico |
Course Materials
Please access this page for reprints.