Two Bahamians will be afforded the opportunity to intern at the Bimini Biological Field Station (BBFS), which is more commonly known as the "shark lab", as applications are being accepted for the Alf Thompson Memorial Scholarship.
The scholarship is open to Bahamians ages 20 to 26, and covers expenses for travel, food and lodging for four weeks, from August 15 to September 15.
The intent of the program is to provide Bahamians with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in research at the BBFS in marine science. This includes learning about various research techniques in the disciplines of population demographics and dynamics, molecular and behavioral ecology, bioenergetics, sensory biology and physiology. The expectation is that the internship experience will motivate students to further their studies, and ultimately pursue careers in these fields.
Jewel Thompson, one of last year's interns, said the experience further rooted her appreciation and enjoyment of working with like-minded scientists from around the world, as well as in lush coastal environments. She said that, given the unique coastal landscape of South Bimini and its perimeter, which is nearly fully engulfed by mangroves, she gained incredible perspective on habitat protection for marine fauna and flora.
"Volunteering at the Bimini Biological Field Station has been nothing short of an extraordinary experience. I've gone through multiple levels of trainings, including scientific data collection, boat handling and safety, and GPS navigation, to name a few. As an intern, I gained new hands-on skills, such as repairing gill nets, maintaining shark behavioral study enclosures, boat navigation/driving and proper shark handling. I've also had the opportunity to be directly involved with data collection and handling of multiple elasmobranch species, including tiger sharks, nurse sharks, southern stingrays, lemon sharks, spiny dogfish sharks and dusky smooth-hound sharks."
She said that while there she had no two days that were the same; each experience was tailored to ensure that volunteers received a well-rounded experience of the research life, island-style.
"Whether it was maintaining the lab, conducting research or collecting data, the time was well spent. I was also fortunate to be able to learn about various research projects presented by fellow volunteer scientists. Likewise, I was able to learn from many notable scientists, such as Dr. Dean Grubbs, elasmobranch ecologist, during a course research encounter during my stay," she said.
Bianca Barone described her internship as amazing, life-changing and inspiring. She said she would do it all over again, if given the opportunity.
"It was exciting, unique and special. I felt a great sense of empowerment, having garnered new knowledge and skills that I could immediately put into action in my current position as an aquarist, and having made new friends and connections with such a diverse group of talented, highly educated and like-minded individuals from various parts of the world."
Barone said the shark lab was a remarkable and unique research facility.
Dr. Samuel Gruber founded the shark lab primarily for the study of lemon sharks. Today, the lab's ever-expanding field of research now includes other elasmobranchs, such as tiger sharks, hammerheads, nurse sharks and southern stingrays, as well as other marine inhabitants like green sea turtles.
"It's a challenge to condense the experience, because no two days were the same. Our activities were creatively planned every morning by the staff. Each day was a new and exciting adventure from scrubbing pen mesh or mending grill nets, to 'working up' nine-foot tiger sharks at 3 a.m., and everything in between, not excluding fighting off gigantic out island mosquitoes."
Barone said from the time she arrived on island, she and the other intern hit the ground running.
"In the first week and a half volunteers went through preliminary classes given by staff on proper shark handling, mapping, working the handheld GPS and radios, data entry, knots, first-aid, boat handling/driving, packing/boat gear and the work-up process. These classes provided us with the base information we needed for our day-to-day assignments, but there was still more to be learned that could only be taught in the hands-on environment. The lab's staff and previous volunteers held nothing back, and were more than willing to share with us the processes of fieldwork," she said.
The internship program is made possible by the Alf Thompson Memorial Scholarship through the Bahamas Marine EcoCentre and the Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation, non-profit organizations promoting awareness, conservation and respect for the Bahamian environment.
The Alf Thompson Memorial Scholarship was started in 2011 to honor the passing of the Bahamian scientist and engineer, Alf Thompson. Twelve Bahamians have, to date, been awarded internship opportunities, which at first were held at NASA in the Kennedy Space Center, and later at the Bimini Biological Field Station.
Information and applications are available via email at info@tropicbirds.org or telephone at 242-324-7060. The deadline for submitting applications is May 1. The award announcement takes place on June 1.
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