A visit of German and Montenegrin high-school students to the Institute of Marine Biology

A group od students from „Bratstvo-jedinstvo“ high school from Ulcinj, together with a group of exchange students from „Max Planck“ high school from Ludwigshafen (Rheinland-Palatinate, Germany) visited the Institute of Marine Biology on 13th September 20203. The two high school have been participating in a student exchange programme for almost a decade, although they had to pause for three years due to the Covid pandemic.

Twelve students from Ludwigshafen, accompanied by two teachers, spent a week with their hosts in Ulcinj. One of the programme goals was to see what German students could learn from the oecological state of Montenegro. The hosts prepared an exciting programme for their guests: bird watching boat rides in Lake Skadar, studying marine fauna by snorkelling, and a study tour of the Institute of Marine Biology of the University of Montenegro.

At the Institute, the students had the opportunity to visit Laboratory of Marine Chemistry and Oceanography, where they saw a demonstration of oxygen level determination in seawater; in the Laboratory for Plankton and Seawater Quality they saw how bacterial cultures are inoculated on nutritive media, and in the wet lab of the Laboratory of Ichthyology and Marine Fisheries they saw pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) sample processing, measuring length and weight of the individual specimens, sex and gonad maturity stage determination, as well as otolith retrieval for further analysis and age determination (an otolith is a small, calcium-carbonate structure from the inner ear that helps an animal orient in space). The students were very interested in demonstrations and did not hesitate to ask questions when they wanted to know more, and they were enthusiastic about putting on some latex gloves and assisting with fish sample processing!

The next student exchange visit between the two high schools is planned for February (2024), and we are looking forward to another visit.