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Students get unusual education in DNR program

Internships and gaining hands-on experience are important parts of many college students’ education.

They learn in classrooms and libraries, of course, but that’s not the same as actually putting what they learn to practical use and seeing how the information they glean is used in the real world.

There are many programs geared toward giving college students practical experience, and one of those is a study on predator fish diets from Lake Superior.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is looking for Northern Michigan University students to determine the stomach contents of various Lake Superior fish such as lake trout, salmon and burbot.

The student project is part of a bigger long-term program geared toward monitoring lake trout population dynamics in Lake Superior.

The program is detailed in an Outdoors story on page 1C in today’s Mining Journal.

One of the purposes of the study is study predator-prey relationships, particularly lake trout feeding on insects.

The DNR program will allow NMU students to weigh and count prey and record data.

Students will learn not only about fish (and what’s inside them), but see how a laboratory operates by working at the Marquette State Fish Hatchery in Harvey. They also will gain experience in technical writing, use of taxonomic keys and other skills.

One of the most valuable features of an internship too is that students can make a real impact on an issue by adding to research and making important contributions to science – or, in fact, whatever subject in which they’re involved.

So, not only does practical experience help each student’s career, society and the environment benefit as well.

Programs providing hands-on experience and research, which are conducted between a professional agency or organization and students, therefore are to be commended and encouraged.

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