Sea Education Association
10th Annual Marine Biodiversity and
Conservation Symposium

Friday, June 3, 2022
9:00 am - 4:00 pm (EDT)
Live via Zoom

This symposium is the capstone experience for students from SEA class C-303, Marine Biodiversity & Conservation. The virtual event includes oral presentations of the students' science, policy and conservation research to an online panel of invited experts. Invited panelists and MBC students will participate in a round table discussion following the student presentations. We invite members of the local community to attend the Symposium in person. All SEA Program Participants and staff are fully vaccinated in accordance with CDC guidance. Visitors to SEA campus and ships should also be fully vaccinated in accordance with CDC guidance. We also respectfully request masking for in-person Symposium attendance. The public is also invited to participate via Zoom. Please e-mail Kate Riley for registration details. Please note: participants must be muted upon entry.

About the MBC Program
MBC takes a multidisciplinary approach to ocean education. The program began with a three-week shore component during which students prepared for a five-week research voyage through the Sargasso Sea from Key West, Florida to Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Upon return, MBC students spend three more weeks on shore performing molecular analyses and preparing several science communication products for the unique MBC Symposium.

Agenda

0830 – 0900: Coffee and Donuts in the Map Room

0900: Introduction by Dr. Sarah Kingston and Prof. Ben Kochan

0905: Science Lightning Talks (7-min talks, 3 min for questions)

0905 – 0915: The Mysterious Sargassum

0915 – 0925: Cruising for Crustaceans: A Search for Diversity in the Sargasso Sea

0925 – 0935: Hydroid biodiversity in the Sargasso Sea

0935 – 0945: Examining the behavior of larval eels in the Western North Atlantic

0945 – 1005: Break

1005: Policy Presentations (15-minute presentations)

1005 – 1020: Caught in the Pots: North Atlantic Right Whale Entanglements in New England Lobster Traps

1020 – 1035: Noise Pollution in US Shipping Lanes and Environmental Policy

1035 – 1050: Metallic Potato Farming: Deep Sea Mining Policy and Future Consequences

1050 – 1100: Break

1100 – 1115: Ft. Lauderdale’s Nightlife is Harming its Wildlife

1115 – 1130: Spotty Studies: The Uncertain Status of the Environmental and Health Impacts of Sunscreen

1130 – 1145: Plastic Ports: Waste Regulation and Infrastructure in the Caribbean

1145 – 1200: Break

1200: Policy Panel round table discussion

1200 – 1220: Panelist intros (brief intros/ interests/ foci given by each panelist)

1220 – 1300: Round table discussion (student spearheaded, question-driven)

1300 – 1430: Lunch break

1430 – 1600: Poster session

We will cycle the zoom room, including a projected poster image, by group for 20 minutes each; in person, the posters will be displayed in the classroom and attended by our MBC student scientists

1430 – 1450: Leptocephali

1450 – 1510: Hydroids

1510 – 1530: Crustaceans

1530 – 1550: Sargassum

Contact: Douglas Karlson, Director of Communications | 508-444-1918 | dkarlson@sea.edu | www.sea.edu

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