The first educational project for Project DIBS involved a single classroom of aquatic science students in SE Texas. The students had two main projects:

1. Study the reproduction of a small marine snail that readily reproduces in captivity, tentatively identified as a Columbellid sp. (See Figure 1). The students setup an experiment with two tanks at 78F (26C) and two other tanks at 82F (28C) to see if the temperature difference would lead to a different rate of reproduction.

Figure 1: Columbellid sp. snail used in the study

2. Discuss topics related to current events in coral reef decline, the nature of science, and distinguishing quality scientific information on the internet from false or misleading information with scientific experts and a coral reef conservation volunteer.

At the end of the research study four of the students were interviewed by Rob Weatherly from TalkingReef.com, Eric Borneman, the RSF Science Director, and Brian Plankis, the RSF Executive Director. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the button below. The students had some positive experiences and learned the value of careful collection of scientific data. While their data did not support statistical significance, the snails kept at 82F (28C) appeared to be reproducing faster than the snails kept at 78F (26C).

Talking Reef Episode 99 - Project DIBS student interviews