Fresh Water Marine Biology

I would like to become a marine biologist because I love underwater creatures and

learning about how aquatic life survives. I am interested in learning more about aquatic life,

especially in the Great Lakes region, so that I can help protect our limited and beautiful

resources. I’ve grown up around the Great Lakes and feel that they are an important natural

resource and one that we should not ignore.

There are not any colleges in Michigan that offer a Marine Biology major, so I would

have to travel quite a bit in order to go to a school that does. The school that I’m most interested

in is Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. They have a good marine biology program, plus

they have a good bass fishing program as well. Once I earn my degree in marine biology from

Auburn, I would like to come back up north and work on the Great Lakes watershed and figure

out a way to protect fish habitat. As a passionate fisherman, it’s important to me that the fish in

our ecosystems are safe and healthy. I would like to create more structure and habitat for the fish

to live by, as well as try and figure out a solution to the invasive round goby problem. Another

invasive species problem I would like to help with is the Asian carp down in the southern end of

Lake Michigan; this invasive species is destroying ecosystems and killing native game fish by

ruining the habitat that they live in.

I want to become a marine biologist because when I was younger I went to a Trout

Unlimited camp and got hooked on river and lake conservation. This camp created a spark inside

of me when I realized that I can help make the watershed around me a cleaner place and keep

aquatic wildlife around for future generations to enjoy. Sometimes when I go downstate I see

rivers that are full of trash and that really annoys me; I think this is something that fuels me and

creates the desire to keep the beautiful lakes and rivers up north as clean as we can. With a
 Fresh Water Marine Biology
marine biology degree, I would be able to do this and keep our rare natural resources as safe and

as clean as possible.