Jamaica
The biology department has offered Marine Biology (Biology 209) as a
regular course since 2000. It is offered every other year during the
spring semester in even-numbered years. Enrollment is limited to 16 students
and includes a trip to the Caribbean during spring break. The course
is taught by Dr. Thomas R. Platt, who accompanies the class on a field
excursion to the Hofstra University Marine Laboratory (HUML) in Jamaica.
HUML, located on the shore of St. Ann's Bay, is on the north coast of Jamaica, eight miles west of Ocho Rios and four miles from Dunn's River Falls (Jamaica's premier tourist attraction, a 600-foot-high waterfall that you can climb in the water!). HUML shares the grounds of a small hotel, Columbus Beach Cottages, in Priory, Jamaica. Designed primarily for teaching, HUML is used year-round by college and high school groups from throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
Location
The Hofstra University Marine Laboratory (HUML), located on the shore of St. Ann's Bay, is on the north coast of Jamaica, eight miles west of Ocho Rios and four miles from Dunn's River Falls (Jamaica's premier tourist attraction, a 600-foot-high waterfall that you can climb in the water!). HUML shares the grounds of a small hotel, Columbus Beach Cottages, in Priory, Jamaica. Designed primarily for teaching, HUML is used year-round by college and high school groups from throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
HUML's teaching and research labs consist of one large classroom on the ground floor and two smaller classrooms on the second floor. There is a central core area consisting of an equipment/supply room and a library of almost 800 volumes. All of the equipment and books in the central core are available to each class. Attached to this main building is an open sea-water system with five large aquaria and a 10-foot-long water table for sorting specimens. An adjacent structure houses the aquaria and water tables for the two second-floor labs. Two Resident Directors are available to provide supplementary lectures and to accompany the group on biological and cultural excursions. A "fleet" of three vessels is available for use by the classes.
Columbus Beach Cottages consists of a small hotel and cottages, SCUBA shop, gift shop and an outdoor dining area. Students are housed in large, comfortable double rooms with private bath. Rooms are not air-conditioned, but each has a ceiling fan. Because the hotel is located at the shore, prevailing winds keep many of the rooms cool even in the summer.
Program of Study
Marine Biology is designed as a sophomore level class in the biology major and meets the departmental requirement for a field course. The class focuses on both the physical and biological aspects of the marine environment with special interest in tropical marine ecosystems.
HUML is ideally located for a hands-on experience in tropical marine biology. Within walking distance are a tiny island covered with tide pools, sea grass, a mangrove swamp, the archaeological site of Nueva Seville (where Christopher Columbus lived for a year), sandy beaches, and miles of pristine rocky shores with five distinct ecological zones. Within a 20-minute boat ride are bank/barrier and fringing coral reefs, a cave filled with bats, a coral-covered shipwreck in 15 to 20 feet of water, beautiful coves, and tropical forests.
Transportation, Costs, and Financial Aid
All travel is done as a group. Students travel from South Bend to Ocho Rios on commercial airlines. While in Jamaica we travel in air-conditioned busses with professional drivers.
The total cost (including room, board, all transportation on the island, taxes, tips and exit fee) will be in the vicinity of $1500. It is difficult to provide a precise cost for the course. The two major factors are room, board, and lab fees at HUML and airfare. Students will be required to have a passport, snorkeling equipment (mask, fins and snorkel - about $100) and whatever spending money necessary.
Financial aid is available for students who enroll in the marine biology course. Students should contact the Financial Aid Office for an estimate of their eligibility.
Eligibility and Physical Requirements
Prerequisites for the course are Biology 151-152, Biology 103-104, or permission of the instructor. Biology majors are given priority in registering for the course.
In order to fully participate in Marine Biology, students do need to be able to swim and be in reasonable physical condition. Students do not have to be strong swimmers to safely snorkel and to actively participate in the aquatic component of the course. Students do need to be comfortable in the water. Dr. Platt will take students to the Saint Mary’s pool prior to our departure and provide an introduction to snorkeling to make sure that everyone is comfortable with their equipment before departing for HUML.
Many of the labs and rooms at HUML are not accessible to the physically challenged. Students must be able to meet the basic physical requirements of the class, which include: snorkeling, negotiating the very uneven terrain of a rocky shore, and wading through the tangled roots of a mangrove swamp. Any student with a disability that would prevent full participation in these activities should not enroll in this course.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Thomas Platt, Professor of Biology and Chair of the Biology Department: (574) 284-4669; tplatt@saintmarys.edu
Please also see the Biology Department's Marine Biology Jamaica information.
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