Field practicums are a routine activity for FMIPA UI students in several courses across all departments. Through these practicums, FMIPA UI faculty members train students as researchers from an early age and enhance their competency in research reasoning.

Biology FMIPA UI is one of the departments that has just held a field practicum activity in one of its courses, namely the elective course Coastal Ecology.

The field practicum for this course was conducted on the coast of Binuangeun, Banten, on April 27-29, 2018. This course, which attracted 42 undergraduate biology students, studied the condition of coastal ecosystems and the biota found in coastal areas of Indonesian waters.

The Binuangeun area was chosen as the location for the practicum because of its highly diverse biodiversity, particularly invertebrates, macroalgae, and seagrass species. The Binuangeun coastline also boasts a distinctive coastal shape, representative of the coastal structure of the southern coast of Java in general.

The interns collected data using a 50-meter transect and a 0.5 x 0.5 meter quadrat, a simple standard method for observing coastal ecosystem data. Data collection was also conducted at low tide to facilitate observation and prioritize safety, due to large waves in the trough area even at low tide. In addition to the interns, several students also collected data for their thesis purposes. The research topic chosen was the primary productivity of macroalgae genus Halimeda and Gracillaria and the condition of plankton on the Binuangeun coast.

Several student interns and those conducting research also served as anti-hoax ambassadors, appointed by local police. Observing and monitoring the activities of the UI Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences students observing the natural conditions of the Binuangeun coast, the police officers asked student representatives to promote the Binuangeun coastal tourism area in Banten and serve as role models for the youth in the area.