SL
Stephanie Liebscher
  • Class of 2012
  • Danielson, CT

Eastern Student Stephanie Liebscher of Danielson Travels to San Salvador for Study Abroad Program

2011 Oct 17

Stephanie Liebscher '12 of Danielson majoring in Biology, was one of a group of Eastern undergraduate biology students who traveled to the Gerace Research Center on San Salvador Island, the outermost island in the Bahamas.

The student attended the trip for an 11-day study tour of marine and terrestrial environments this past summer. San Salvador's flora and fauna include both native and introduced species, making the island a natural laboratory for studying island biogeography. The students were accompanied by Biology Professors Charles Booth and Ross Konig and Assistant Biology Professor Joshua Idjadi.

The marine studies focused on coral reef, sea grass bed, mangrove, beach and rocky shore communities. The students studied everything from terrestrial plants to important animals in the patch and barrier reefs, learning different water conservation techniques that plants use; adaptations of different animals to harsh environments; and the importance of healthy corals in the ocean's vast ecosystem. Major activities included snorkeling in two different coves and studying corals; swimming out to and hiking on a local cay; and climbing down into caves to get a better view of how the island was formed. Each evening, students attended a lecture where they discussed and identified all the organisms they discovered that day, updated their daily observations and shared their transect datum.

A highlight of the trip was night snorkeling, when nocturnal sea creatures such as reef squid and octopi were encountered. Prior to their time in the Bahamas, the Eastern students had enrolled in the one-credit course, Oceanic Island Ecology, to introduce them to the concepts needed for making critical observations on San Salvador.

Eastern students and faculty have visited the Caribbean since 1967 to study tropical and marine biology in hands-on settings. In addition to the Bahamas, students have studied in Belize, Bermuda and the Sarapiqui region of northeastern Costa Rica.

Eastern Connecticut State University is part of the Connecticut State University System (CSUS) and is the state's public liberal arts university. Eastern serves more than 5,600 students each year on its Willimantic campus.

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