Advanced Living Systems Cruise

Your Experience

On the Advanced Living Systems Cruise, students will board our research vessel, the R/V Sea Explorer, to study benthic and pelagic habitats by using oceanographic sampling equipment to collect a variety of marine specimens. During this 2-hour program students will be exploring an oceanic food chain as a circular system that recycles materials to create a functioning ecosystem. In addition, students will identify plankton and discuss their role in the ocean; study decomposition and recycling of nutrients by identifying benthic organisms; and assist in the collection of live animals from the benthic zone. The organisms collected will then be studied to determine their type and adaptations before being released back into the ocean.