We woke up for a 7 o’clock breakfast, which is the latest breakfast we’ve had this week (bless this island). We then learned how to use the quadrat in the morning by measuring leaf matter. We finally moved into the seagrass bed and counted worm holes in the ocean. I saw a lot of conch shells, and I regret not picking them up because I thought they were poisonous or they’d sting.
In the afternoon we went to the coral graveyard. (Quick shout out to Adrienne – we miss you) I couldn’t believe how intact and well preserved the corals there were. I was also shocked by the sheer amount of coral as well- the entire area was covered by the fossilized coral. It was very helpful to have the Glover’s Reef guide to help identify the coral fossils.
We then finally got onto the boat and went to a shallow coral reef. Sami and I were fortunate enough to swim through the part of the reef with a lot of coral and fish. We were able to see around 8 sea urchin in one area, and we also got to see a lot of small herbivorous fish. I was able to see a fish that I think is a tiny tiger grouper. It had the characteristic shade of blood-orange with white patterning. It quickly swam underneath some rocks. When I was heading back to the boat, Sami managed to lose our quadrant, which is about a meter by a meter long. Don’t ask me how that happened.
After spending about an hour in the shallow coral reef, we went to a deeper area. This area wasn’t as dense with coral or fish, but I got to see a Spotted Moray Eel! Half of its body was concealed under rocks, which is their typical behavior. The other half was lying on the benthos motionless, but it may have just been swaying with the current.
Then we went back to the island where we had Matthew cut fresh coconuts for us. It was delicious and very refreshing after spending hours under the ocean.
