New aquatic life exhibit at West Quad educates and mesmerizes

By Kathy Henry Dowell

Standing next to an aquarium alive with undulating coral, students Jake Adams and Kelly Vogel talked about a new permanent exhibit they helped create.

“The exhibit has text panels that provide information on the state of the world’s oceans and describe the fish and other organisms in the tank,” Adams said. “A key part of the exhibit is to show how animals and the environment interact with each other. For the display to take on a lively feel, we thought an aquarium would go far in showing and educating important points.”

The four-foot-long aquarium is a fully sustainable environment created by Adams, Vogel, and Anne Cooper Ellefson—three marine science majors who are juniors in the Honors College. The three were inspired to start a student organization, Students for Ocean Sustainability, and to create the exhibit after taking a course on sustainable marine resources, taught by Doug Williams, marine science. West Quad, USC’s ‘green dorm,’ seemed the perfect place to house the exhibit.

“The project was two years in the making, and the students were persistent in their efforts to make it happen,” said Williams during the aquarium’s unveiling ceremony March 24. The amount of time invested in the project includes the time it took to grow the aquarium’s organisms.

“We wanted to raise the aquatic life, not catch it,” Ellefson said. “We wanted to avoid disturbing one marine environment to create another, which is an important aspect in sustainable design.”

Adams grew the coral from cuttings taken from a mature tank located in the Baruch Wet Lab in the Earth Water Science building.

“There are several types of coral in the tank, including hammer, staghorn, and gorgonian coral,” he said. “It takes about six months to two years to get a sizable specimen. There are also several young fish, including a clown fish and a blue powder tang, that came from the Baruch lab.”

Adams takes care of the Baruch aquariums and, now, the aquarium in West Quad.

“The tank is fully sustainable—water temperature and lighting are controlled—but it must be monitored,” Adams said. “Before I graduate next year, I’ll take on an apprentice and teach them how to take care of it. I’ll pass on the information and entrust the tank to them, and they will pass on the information before they graduate, and in that way we’ll keep it going.”

Funding for the project came from several sources, including an initial $300 the students won at USC’s Discovery Day, an annual student research competition. They also received $6,200 in funding from the Greenville Salt Water Sports Fishing Club, the Baruch Institute, the USC College of Arts and Sciences, First Year Experience, and the South Carolina Honors College.

Future plans for the exhibit call for a touch-screen computer and Ethernet, which will allow viewers to see the aquarium via the Web.

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