Bahamians Melissa Ingraham (left) and Hydie Knowles (right) have been selected to receive the 2018 Alf Thompson Memorial Scholarship, sponsored by Bahamas Marine EcoCentre. Hydie and Melissa, both from Nassau, will spend four weeks this summer at the Bimini Biological Field Station, better known as ‘the Shark Lab’, studying, working and living with other interns, graduate students and with shark and marine biology research scientists from around the world.
Twenty-one year old Melissa Ingraham has previously worked with dolphins, sea lions and stingrays and she participated in a whale camp led by the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization as well as a summer camp at Island School, which focused on bonefish catch and release. Melissa has long had an interest in sharks, and says: “I would like to gain hands on experience with sharks. Their declining populations is tragic, yet the general public sees no harm because of the dangerous depiction of these creatures by the media. My goal is to not only learn about sharks, but to become their advocate and educate those who have misjudged them— shark conservation is important!” Currently a senior at the University of Tampa, Melissa previously attended Queens College in Nassau, and Florida Gulf Coast University.
Hydie Knowles is a twenty year-old student entering her third year at the University of The Bahamas; she is in the Small Island Sustainability programme, majoring in marine biology. As a competitive swimmer from an early age and open water scuba diver, Hydie has long had a love of the ocean. She wants to use her artistic talents to promote creative solutions to environmental problems. When asked about her expectation of the internship in Bimini, Hydie replied: “One of my goals will be to broaden my knowledge of the world’s oceans. This knowledge will allow me to create products and solutions necessary to combat the impacts of human consumption.” Hydie is particularly concerned about the effects of ocean acidification on coral growth and is keen to promote reduction of harmful micro-plastics.
