This summer you are going to enjoy a wonderful and educational experience with CMERA in beautiful Clearwater, FL. This packet offers more information about our program so that you are prepared when you arrive. As always, if you have any questions at all please contact us, but hopefully the information below will be helpful to you.
Arrival: Please let us know as soon as you can when you will be arriving in Florida and no less than 1 week prior to your arrival. If you are flying, please fly into either Tampa International or Clearwater/St. Petersburg. Please provide us with your airline, flight number, and time of arrival. We are also happy to pick you up from the bus and train station in Tampa. Just tell us your flight, train or bus number and your time of arrival. If you are driving to Clearwater please let us know when you plan to arrive.
Orientation: There will be an orientation and safety briefing Monday mornings at 8am. This is mandatory for your first week of summer, even if you have attended our program in previous years. Orientation will begin promptly at 8am on Monday. We will go over emergency procedures, research procedures, discuss safety precautions, and discuss the research project that you are working on. You will also receive your CMERA T-shirt!
Orientation will be held at 2240 Belleair Rd. Suite 240 (Upstairs) Clearwater, FL 33764
Morning Schedule: We will begin each morning with a lecture around 8:00 AM and our research will begin each day around 9:30 AM (subject to change). Since we are working outside, the time of our work is weather dependent. We will let you know what time to be ready each day after examining the weather report the day before. We will be conducting our shark and ray research each day, and we will include snorkeling in various local ecosystems. We will pick you up each morning at the appointed time, it is important to be ready to go on time! This will allow us to maximize our time on the water. We highly recommend that you eat something for breakfast even if you typically do not eat breakfast. It will be very hot, and we will be working very hard in the hot sun for most of the day. It is important to eat something and drink plenty of water to keep your energy up and to stay healthy.
Research Activities: We will be on a boat for approx. 6 hours each day Monday through Friday. We have very hot, humid, summer weather here in Clearwater, FL and you will be doing physical work on the boat. We will be setting tangle nets and we will be setting longlines each day. While there is not much heavy lifting involved, setting, and pulling in the nets and longlines and handling the animals can be tiring but is also lots of fun! We expect each person on the boat to participate in this work, but you will never be asked to do something you are uncomfortable with or that is beyond your physical capacity.
What you will learn: We will discuss how to design a field research project and the important factors that must be considered in a field research design. You will experience many of these factors while you are with us. We will teach you how to identify local species of sharks, rays, crabs, turtles, birds, and other fish. You will learn about distinguishing features between different species in the same genus. You will learn how to handle small and large sharks and rays, turtles, crabs, and other fish and you will get to handle all the animals we catch. You will learn how to tag sharks and rays and will actually get to tag them yourself. You will learn about and experience our local ecosystems (including sea grass beds, sandy bottom areas, reef areas, and mangrove forests) and how all the different species interact with each other in the system. You will also learn safe boat practices and many other things that are transferable to furthering your academic and professional careers.
Lectures and Discussions: Most lectures are focused on elasmobranch biology, physiology, ecology, identification, and conservation. Other lectures will include biology, physiology, identification, and conservation of sea turtles and manatees; fisheries, aquaculture, and ecotoxicology; the concept of a species; aquarium controversy; and how to develop a research project and communicate the results effectively. Our research: We are in our 14th year of our research project. We will be documenting the shark and ray species found in this part of Florida, determining population sizes, age structure within a population, sex ratio within a population, site fidelity of individuals, and any changes in population sizes that occur during the duration of this study. We will also be looking for possible interactions between the populations of different species.
Boat amenities: We will always have plenty of water available on the boat, but you need to have your own refillable water bottle and your lunch. You may bring any additional Gatorade or sodas that you would like. Our boats have plenty of shade and marine bathrooms. Evening Schedule: You will typically have evenings free unless we begin our research activities late in the day.
Food: You are responsible for your breakfast, lunch and dinner. We will take you to Wal-Mart on Sunday night to buy anything you may need. If you have a car, you are welcome to go out to dinner.
Departure: We will take you to the airport, train or bus station as you depart Clearwater on Saturday. Please let us know when you can, your flight or bus number and the time that you would like to arrive at the airport or bus station. Those of you driving need to leave by noon on Saturday.
What to bring:
- Clothes that can get wet, dirty, and torn
- Closed toe shoes* (mandatory on boat)
- Sunscreen
- Bug spray
- Sunglasses
- Water bottle
- Lunch
- Swimsuit
- Toiletries
- Mask and snorkel (optional, we have
communal use sets)
- Camera
- Laptop (if you wish, not required)
- Hat
*Closed toe shoes are for the protection of our feet. Hard sole shoes such as sneakers or hard sole water shoes are best. The shoes should also protect the tops of your feet and should easily stay on your feet. Crocs and thin water shoes (those with a thin sole and thin mesh top) are not acceptable. We will also provide transportation to Wal-Mart after orientation on Sunday so you can buy any toiletries, food, or drinks at that time.
Accommodations: We rent houses for our students so that you have access to a full kitchen and laundry facilities. Cable, bedding materials, and all basic kitchen needs will be provided. The weekly accommodation rate will be $345 for a same sex room. This housing is from the Sunday night you arrive to the Saturday morning you depart. If you are staying for multiple weeks, your housing will also include the Saturday night between weeks. If you do not stay at the house with the group we cannot guarantee that we can provide transportation to/from the boat depending on where you stay in relation to where the rest of the group is staying.
CMERA participants are responsible for the cleanliness of their own housing. You are expected to clean up after yourself, do your own dishes, and share responsibility for the cleanliness of common areas such as the kitchen (wiping down countertops and sweeping/mopping the floors), living room (vacuuming), and bathrooms (wiping down countertops, sweeping/mopping the floor, cleaning toilet, cleaning shower, cleaning sink). No one person should ever clean an entire condo. These responsibilities should be shared with everyone staying in the housing. Random inspections will be conducted.
Rules and Regulations:
• Always be respectful to the group leaders, group members, and third party contractors.
• Be respectful of the itinerary and time schedule by being on time for research activities and lectures.
• No illegal drugs (including marijuana). If you are found in possession of illegal drugs you will be dismissed from the program and sent home at your own expense. You also will not be allowed to participate in any future CMERA courses or activities.
• No alcohol in CMERA housing. No exceptions. If alcohol is found in a room, everyone in that room will be dismissed from the program regardless of whom the alcohol belongs to. If your roommate brings alcohol into your housing, you must notify a staff member immediately, to avoid being dismissed from the program at your own expense.
• No underage drinking in the housing, classrooms or research vessels. No exceptions. If you are under 21 and a staff member finds out that you were drinking, you will be dismissed from the program at your own expense.
• If you are intoxicated or hung-over, you will not be allowed to participate in any research activities. If you become belligerent, violent, or destructive in an intoxicated or sober condition, you will be dismissed from the program and sent home at your own expense. You also will not be allowed to participate in any future CMERA courses or activities.
• No one from outside our group should ever be brought back to our place of housing and are never allowed in a CMERA condo or house.
Packet Agreement
You have 3 business days from the date this packet is sent to you to read the packet, sign the below agreement.
I, have read and understand all the information included in this packet in its entirety. By signing below, I am agreeing to be held responsible for all the information included in this packet. I have paid particular attention to the details in the “Rules and Regulations” section of this packet and to the “Travel” section of this packet. I agree to abide by all the rules and regulations listed in this packet and understand that failure to abide by these rules and regulations will result in my dismissal from the course and future CMERA activities. I also understand that any additional costs that result from my dismissal from the course are my responsibility. I understand that any damage that I cause to places of lodging, vehicles, or other equipment will be my financial responsibility.