Monthly Archives: May 2016

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Urchin Day + Snorkel Fun

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Hi everyone! I saw so many urchins today!! Before I get into those, I’ll give a quick rundown of the day’s activities. Today consisted mainly of two projects: determining the percent coverage of live coral on the reef and collecting sea urchins. This morning we took a boat out to a patch reef in the lagoon and used transects and quadrats to count the number of live coral, recently dead coral, and macroalgae among other things to determine the health of the coral reef. Since sea urchins both help the coral by consuming the algae that live on them and harm the coral by boring into them, we also did a timed sea urchin collection to see how many urchins we could all catch and returned to the island to identify and measure them. In the afternoon, we repeated the morning’s activities outside of the lagoon.

Slate pencil urchins (Eucidaris tribuloides)
Slate pencil urchins (Eucidaris tribuloides)

Now on to the sea urchins!! In the lagoon alone, we collected over a hundred Echinometra viridis (a small brown/red urchin with spines that have a pale ring close to the body). We also found quite a few Eucidaris tribuloides (commonly known as slate pencil urchins, reddish brown body with blunt spines) and some Tripneustes ventricosus (an urchin with a black/dark purple body and short white spines) hiding in the coral crevices in the lagoon.

A long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum)
A long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum)

In the afternnon, we also collected some Diadema antillarum (a long-spined sea urchin whose spines easily penetrate skin) among the coral and a few Meoma ventricosa, both the live and dead versions (a flattened globe urchin with a reddish body and a five petal design on its back) buried in the sand along with the other species. It was interesting to me that we found the long-spined urchins and red heart urchins mainly outside of the lagoon, while inside we mainly were able to find the viridis species.

Several reef urchins (Echinometra viridis)
Several reef urchins (Echinometra viridis)

In other words, it was a very exciting day for me! I absolutely loved getting to find, hold, and work with the urchins more today. 🙂 I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings and what echinoderms I’ll spot tomorrow. Thanks for reading everybody!

2016

Stony Corals, Sea Urchins, and Starry Nights

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I almost started writing this blog earlier this evening, but instead decided to go out on the dock and look at the stars. Thank God I did, because gazing at the stars was the best part of a fantastic day. Not only is the shear number of stars mind boggling, but the juxtaposition of the vast ocean with the greater enormity of space is quite thought-provoking. I wish we could be surrounded by this much wonder all the time.

As for the rest of the fantastic day, we spent a ton of time in the water, which was so fun. We took our transects and quadrats to the ocean, using them to measure stony coral cover on various patch reefs, which is an indicator of reef health. By doing this analysis both within and outside of the Marine Protected Area, we can look at how protection affects reef health. We also collected sea urchins in both localities, as these species are especially influential on reefs.

It's tough work but someone's got to do it
It’s tough work but someone’s got to do it

I saw some really cool animals today on the reefs! Right after jumping off the boat, a great barracuda swam by, but it was still very small in comparison to its maximum size of two meters. One of the coolest sightings today was a sharptail eel (Myrichthys breviceps) snaking through the coral crevasses. Anna and I also saw a giant, very colorful lobster. Some other piscivorous fish sightings included French grunts and an unidentified species of snapper with huge red irises.
French grunt
French grunt

Overall, a day that really made me appreciate coral reefs in a new way.

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Searchin’ for Urchins

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Today we continued with our quadrat theme to look at stony corals inside Glover’s Reef Atoll. For our first boating expedition, we ventured to a marine protected area (MPA) to study the health of coral reefs. Our day was entirely dedicated to data collection, but I still found a huge amount of herbivorous fish hiding among the corals. The dusky damselfish (Stegastes fuscus) is definitely the most common, but all three species of damselfish mentioned in my last blog are very easy to find on the patch reefs. I also found several ocean surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus). Like all surgeonfish, this species has a scalpel-like spine on their tail used for slashing predators that’s fairly easy to see in the water.

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Initial phase stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride).

I also managed to find a red and brown stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) in what is known as its initial phase. Parrotfish are unique in that they can change their sex; initial phase parrotfish are either females or primary males. However, the large, conspicuously colored parrotfish are actually supermales, or females that later became males. Guess even fish can be transgender.

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West Indian sea egg (urchin).

We also spent a good portion of the day collecting sea urchins to assess reef health. You can find urchins in all the nooks and crannies of a reef, but it turns out getting them out is the hard part. We managed to collect a fair number (sustaining only minor injuries) before measuring them and sorting them by species.

Each day on the reef, we learn about a different taxonomic group, adding them to our arsenal. It’s incredible how each presentation adds yet another dimension to my next visit to the reef. Two days ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what Acropora cervicornis was, but now I’m able to spot it (both alive and dead) out on the reef.

And finally, we ended it all by laying on the dock under the stars. The ocean and sky merge together here, forming an infinite black canvas littered with pinpricks of light. Forgive me for the romance, but I might’ve even seen a shooting star. Isn’t it pretty to think so?

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“Bow to your master, crabs!”

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On today’s agenda were a number of data generation events out in the lagoon. We collected data with transect and quadrat to estimate the percent cover of live coral on patch reefs. Holding the equipment and using it to measure the site was no simple task, as waves became choppier as the day went on. We also did a timed collection of sea urchins on the same patches. We used tongs of course to ensure that no one (besides Randy and Anna) was pricked by one of these nasty creatures. We measured the diameter of each one and then returned them from whence they came.

Later at night we brought a light out to the dock to see if we could attract some small fish and, in turn, attract their larger predators like sharks and barracudas. No luck tonight, but after giving up on the docks I was able to capture a land crab on the way to my room!

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Animal fervor swept over me when I lifted this sucker from the ground. He was definitely feisty, but a number of his larger friends were no challenge at all to catch. Perhaps it was my spurred confidence from the first tango, or perhaps the other one’s were just sluggish. Either way it was a fun way to end the night and simultaneously freak out some of the more squeamish TFB’s.

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Day 11: Little Jelly Blob

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Today was another activity filled day of snorkel work using our quadrants to evaluate density of corals in two different areas as well as finding sea urchins as a proxy of coral density. While not directly related to each other, differing ratios of coral to algae ratio can affect urchin diversity and abundance. One cool thing to know about sea urchins is that they feed primarily on algae that compete with corals. In a way, the urchins keep the algae from taking over the coral spaces. The data obtained from this project could give us a clue as to how these reefs are doing, given their tragic demise these recent years.

During our search, I encountered 2 little jelly blobs that were virtually transparent in the water. The only way to see them was to see how the light was bent differently due to passing through a jelly medium. These guys were about the size of a golf ball and looked quite fragile. I wonder if they were the ctenophores I am looking for. Ctenophores are also known as comb jellies referencing their comb like cilia hairs that they use to swim through the waters. Comb jellies actually aren’t jellyfish in the true sense. Genetically, their more related to sponges than to true jellyfish. They also have a fundamentally different body structure than jellyfish, having a lobed appearance and no stinging tentacles.

I couldn’t see if these little jelly blobs were actually ctenophores. This makes me wonder about the frustration of professionals who study these jellies.

Other than those two jellies, I went back this evening to snap some photos of those upside down jellies from a few days ago. Based on the images, I can say with confidence that they are Cassiopea frondosa. A similar upside down jellyfish, C. xamachana, has leaf-like projections sticking from its tentacles, which picture doesn’t show.

 

 

2016

Corals, Past and Present

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Day 10 was our first real day at Glover’s reef atoll. We started out with a snorkeling scavenger hunt on two of the patch reefs near the dock. It was so fun! Some especially exciting finds included a small barracuda in the sea grass beds, many bluestriped grunts all over the reefs, a yellowtail snapper, and damselfish defending their “gardens”. We didn’t see all of the organisms or processes on the checklist, but hopefully we will in the next few days.

After doing some transect and quadrat practice on land, we took these to the water post lunch to try and quantify two genera of green algae: Halimeda and Penicillus. Lying out the transects and counting the algae in the sea grass beds was really difficult, but hopefully it gave us good practice for doing it on the coral reefs.

We saw some really cool species during our afternoon snorkeling. Two nurse sharks were spotted. One was small and swimming around the dock. The other was apparently much larger and farther out past the sea grass beds, but I was a little too slow to see it! We also saw some more barracudas, and another ray. Unfortunately, my camera died, so pictures might be a bit sparse after this (yes Papi I know, I should’ve brought the GoPro).

I can’t believe how much we did today! After our second snorkel, we headed to a coral graveyard on the other side of the island. There we found the ground covered in fossilized coral pieces, so well preserved that we could see the details of specific species. It was both beautiful and a little sad, as some of the coral species seen in the fossils are now very rare. It served as a good reminder of the work to be done in order to save these fragile ecosystems.

Fossilized stony coral
Fossilized stony coral

2016

(Nakian) May 27: Sea x Urchin x Sargasso

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Today I finally found the Sargassum brown algae. There weren’t whole lot and were free floating on the surface so it could have just been from somewhere else but I was excited to see it. It looked just as I imagined. The dive today was awesome as well. We finally got off the nearby patchy reef but to other area with large reef area. I could see even more kinds of fish, mollusks, and urchins, which we had to catch for our project. I used to only know urchins as orange flesh you eat with Korean hot sauce or a spiky chestnut in the ocean floor. But such beauty they are and how weird they feel when they try to crawl around on my palm. Thinking that their spines are all like legs and means of defense, these urchins are pretty cool animals.

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The coral reef is an amazing ecosystem. Diving through the canopy of different hues of brown and yellow, it is as if I am swimming through Cambrian ocean. Yet I am more amazed by the terrestrial ecosystem these atolls can sustain. These island are not at all big but are full of life and are green as much as the rainforest. It is as if an intricate system inside glass ball of emerald blue. I have read that people like Mayans in the Glover’s and Polynesians in the Pacific have colonized the atolls and lived. Population was a huge factor to the sustainability of these islands that some have fell under population that exceeded the limit. I take these historical stories as the allegory of our planet. What will happen when the glass orb break?

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Day 11: Just keep snorkeling

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Today we went out on the boat to patch reefs. We were looking at the stony coral coverage in the marine protection area versus outside of it. Also we caught, identified, and measured sea urchins in each area.

In the morning, we were in the marine protection area. I didn’t see very much stony coral, but I was able to recognize it. I also had a hard time collecting sea urchins. In the timed 25 minutes we had I found probably a dozen but all so far in crevices I couldn’t get any of them out. I did see another barracuda and some parrot fish. Honestly I’ve seen so much I can’t hardly list it all out. Except for my taxonomic groups. I didn’t manage to see any anemones, zoanthids or corallimorphs. Other people did though and said they were able to recognize them.

In the afternoon we went out to a patch reef outside of the marine protection area, where the water was a bit choppier. My partner and I saw more stony corals. We also saw a lot of fire coral, so we had to be careful not to bump into it. I did manage to collect a single sea urchin at this site. I also tried shifting more rocks around in hopes of finding anemones, zoanthids, and corallimorphs. I didn’t see any again, but I did see a few brittle stars and a very pretty colored sea slug. I will continue to turn over rocks in hopes of finding my taxa. Today was probably my favorite day I’ve had so far. I really remember the reason I love the water so much when I am staring at beautiful reef with waves washing over my back.

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Transects + First Echinoderm Spotting + Fossilized Coral

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Hello everyone! Today was an exciting but tiring first full day at Glover’s Reef. We began the morning with a snorkeling scavenger hunt on the patch reefs nearby, looking for behaviors like antagonistic interactions as well as different kinds of organisms, followed by a transect activity on land to determine the abundance of crab holes in the area. After lunch, we went out to the reef for our second transect activity focusing on the abundance and density of different species of green algae.

Utilizing transects underwater
Utilizing transects underwater in a green algae project

While we were in the water, I got the chance to hold my first echinoderm (!!!!), a sea urchin. It was about the size of my palm, had a reddish brown body and pale cream colored spines that got slightly darker closer to its body, and was found among the seagrass beds by the dock. It was a West Indian Sea Egg (Tripneustes ventricosus). It felt kind of weird when I was holding it, with the mouth suctioning at my hand and the spines poking me ever so slightly, but it was really cool as well.

First echinoderm identification! A West Indian Sea Egg, (Tripneustes ventricosus)
First echinoderm identification! A West Indian Sea Egg, (Tripneustes ventricosus)

Later on, we visited an area covered with fossilized coral. It was fascinating to examine the (almost) perfectly preserved pieces and try to identify them. I learned a lot about the different kinds of polyps and ridges that a coral can have and I’m looking forward to going back out to the reefs to look for the live versions of all the corals we saw. That’s all for today everybody! Thanks for reading! 🙂

Pieces of fossilized coral
Pieces of fossilized coral
2016

In Which My Brain Remembers

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Today we started the day off with a morning swim/scavenger hunt where we took pictures of processes and organisms we could recognize on the reef. I was surprised by how much I remembered from Adrienne’s coral reef biology class.

During this swim I saw a flamingo tongue mollusc, a few queen conch, and one clam shell.

Later in the afternoon we learned how to use quadrats and transects together and surveyed green algae in the sea grass bed using these tools. It turns out free diving is very difficult while holding a clipboard and trying to find specific species in super thick seagrass cover. Who knew?

My favorite part of the day by far was he coral graveyard. This island is incredible in that it has thousands of dead coral skeletons lying all over the beaches and interior that are really well preserved. You can still see the coralytes in all of them and even the honey-comb building pattern of some.

Coral graveyard
Coral graveyard

Adrienne went absolutely insane with happiness while we were identifying corals on the beach. I was amazed at how much I remembered and could still identify which made me excited too. We got to see acropora palmata skeletons and I even identified an acropora hybrid species (acropora prolifera).

Adrienne's favorite place on earth
Adrienne’s favorite place on earth

It was amazing getting to see that much diversity in one place.