Writing Under Water: Research Skills Honed During Puerto Rico Trip
Texas A&M University at Galveston faculty and students snorkel and explore sea life during an annual two-week expedition.
Texas A&M University at Galveston students learn about the conservation and reef restoration work of nonprofit ISER Caribe in Puerto Rico. (Courtesy Phil Matich)
In the cool, clear waters off the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico, a Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) junior saw sea cucumbers, dolphins and possibilities.
“It absolutely reconfirmed that marine biology is the path for me,” Travis Ly said. “I belong in the water. I belong hands on helping conserve all these marine environments: coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds.”
Drs. Phil Matich and Jamie Steichen, both Marine Biology (MARB) instructional associate professors in the College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies, at TAMUG have been taking students to the U.S. island territory annually since 2024.
“The goal is to immerse students in the ecosystems they learn about in classrooms here in Galveston but don’t get to experience, because we don’t have coral reefs and mangrove forests, and our seagrass beds are further south,” said Matich, who also serves as MARB undergraduate program chair.
The course descriptions for MARB 421and 422 don’t mention two weeks in Puerto Rico, but words like “field-based,” “tropical” and “coral reefs” point to a learning environment beyond a TAMUG classroom.
Juniors and seniors enroll concurrently in Matich’s MARB 421 Community Ecology in the Tropics and Steichen’s MARB 422 Tropical Marine Botany, earning six hours of credit during four weeks following spring commencement.
The first week is spent at TAMUG with classroom lectures and discussions on sea life, plus the practice of field methods in the pool and intramural field to prepare for the snorkeling, data gathering and analysis that will follow over two weeks in Puerto Rico.
“They essentially become scientists for two weeks, much like working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or the National Park Service (NPS),” Matich said.
A fourth week, back on the Galveston campus, is spent putting data into reports, which students present at the conclusion of the course.
“Turf algae can be an indicator species for areas of high disturbance, whether it be a storm or human-related activity such as boat traffic, whereas sea cucumbers are the opposite,” Ly said.
Ly’s presentation explored how researchers could use sea cucumbers and turf algae as indicator species to determine whether an area had been impacted by physical ecological disturbances.
After flying into San Juan, most of the time is spent on the opposite side of the island. The 10 students and two faculty members stay just outside of La Parguera, a small coastal town in southwestern Puerto Rico, in a large short-term rental home with plenty of rooms and beds.
Together, the Aggies shop, cook, eat and experience the nearby culture.
“There’s a guy that sells mangoes in his driveway because he’s got a huge mango tree in his backyard,” Steichen said. “It’s fun to get the students to experience that as well.”
Research days begin when the rooster crows and involve four to six hours of water time daily. Students use underwater writing tools to record data they gather.
A short ferry ride takes the Galveston contingent to Isla Magueyes, where the University of Puerto Rico operates the Magueyes Island Marine Station and nonprofit ISER Caribe leads conservation and reef restoration work.
“On the first day, the students are shocked by how clear the water is – ‘I can see the bottom’ . . . ‘I can see fish swimming’ – because they’re so used to Galveston where we can’t really see anything,” Matich said.
Isla Magueyes offers both indoor and outdoor laboratories, opportunities to interact with local scientists and students, and boats that take the Aggies to increasingly more distant and deeper waters daily for snorkeling and research.
While Steichen and Matich give separate lectures during class days in Galveston, instruction in the water overlaps.
“We’re looking at the organisms in the seagrass and the mangroves,” Steichen said. “It’s nice because then the students can see how everything is connected.”
In 2025, three manatees appeared one day. This year, a student blogged about seeing a nurse shark and two dolphins on the final day.
Sound like a priceless experience? Students pay about $5,000 – a price that covers tuition, fees, transportation, food, lodging, and excursion expenses. The most recent 2026 expedition was supported in part by the TAMU Association of Former Students, which funded student scholarships.
However, while two weeks of Caribbean island living with daily snorkeling guided by sea life experts may sound like an incredible trip, students enrolled in the courses rigorously collect scientific data using methods that professional marine biologists do. As such, students are expected to focus on their work while they enjoy their surroundings.
“Every experience these students have are both new and impactful. None of the students enrolled in the courses in 2026 had ever conducted scientific research in tropical ecosystems, and we want them to take away as much as they can from this opportunity,” Matich said.
Steichen noted that students who envision futures in the water, working with other biologists for the good of the oceans, will find plenty of opportunities in Puerto Rico.
“There are NOAA facilities. There’s the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, which is about an hour and a half east of where we go,” Steichen said, also mentioning the nonprofit work students see at the La Parguera Nature Reserve. “Definitely potential there.”
While the courses have wrapped up for 2026, the students take an array of experiences and skills with them into their studies and future careers. Data collected by the students will also be used by NOAA for the listing of Caribbean queen conch on the US Endangered Species List later this year.
“I was hoping to get insight into what a life as a marine biologist can look like,” Ly said. “And I got exactly that.”
