D-3 Marine Quadrats and a Coral Gravesite?

Hi everyone!

Today was pretty great, we got to do a bunch of new things as a group! For example today we worked with transects and quadrats under water for the first time. At first it was a little challenging, specially with two new devices and a clipboard to carry while swimming yet working as a team definitely helped. With a little bit of practice it got easier for me and my partner to place the quadrats correctly and then assess the amount of green algae in that patch. Although we were all able to gather data, our data ended up not proving our initial hypothesis. Originally we predicted that we would see a decrease in green algae as we moved further from shore, yet the opposite appears to be true. Although we do not know why, we infer that it could be due to over-competition from the sea grasses.

Later on in the day we went to what Dr. Correa called the coral graveyard. I thought it was so amazing how well preserved so many corals were after being fossilized. We had a small learning activity there in which we learned to pair some corals with their species name. Although many people got the names down quite quickly I can’t say I was one of them. Yet, I took photos of them and their respective names and plan to study them! I really enjoyed everything we did, yet I think working on our poster to present our data was my favorite part!

Regarding my taxa, I didn’t get to see any of them today. I am sure I will have a greater chance of seeing piscivorous fish whenever we go to greater depths!

Day 3: A Coconut Paradise

Feeling like a true field biologist! Today we practiced using our quadrates and trisects, first on land and then in the water. For the water experiment, the whole group came up with the research question: how does the density of the green algae Penicillus changes the further you go from shore? We also brainstormed a hypothesis (that they’d become less abundant) and a method to carry out our question. In the end, our hypothesis was wrong, but it was still really fun to be able to look closer into the seagrass and find all of the other organisms that reside in it (corallomorphs, anemones, and conchs).

Before, as we were working on our experiments and waiting for everyone to be finished, we were all treated with 10/10 service from Dr. Correa and Dr. Solomon’s kids Calliou and Nayala. I learned how to husk a coconut and also how to get the water out from it. I now believe that I could most definitely survive on a deserted island. No doubt.

After lunch, we went to the wet lab and worked on our group poster about the green algae experiment (during which we were graciously treated with even more delicious fresh coconut from Calliou and Nayala) and  then presented it to Dr. Correa and Dr. Solomon (we totally aced it too ;)). We then went out to Dr. Correa’s favorite spot in the whole entire world: the Coral Graveyard. Once you get there, you can totally understand why too. Here, it was a section of the old reef that re-mineralized and all of the coral skeletons are super clear and really easy to identify as they are all now stone. This also includes the conch shells which I thought was pretty crazy. Some corals that we identified include Fire Coral, Symmetrical Brain Coral,  and Pillar Coral (which sadly isn’t very common anymore). Also! I was able to see some Crustose Coraline Algae (my taxa) mineralized. It was super cool to be able to see the skeleton of the hundreds of pieces corals before they corrode into sand, something that you don’t get to see everyday.

-Sophia

A full group selfie!
Re-mineralized Psuedodiploria strigosa (left) and unidentified coral (right)
A re-mineralized conch shell
Re-mineralized Crustose Coralline Algae

Day 3: A walk in the graveyard

Today was day 3, and it’s crazy that we still have 11 days left on this journey. Each day has felt like 3 (not in a bad way though).

 

This mornings lunch was my favorite so far: some beans, bread, sausage, and spam (and some watermelon). It reminded me of something my mom would make back home, Simple but Delicious. It does seem like we’re running out of fruit though. The first couple of days, there were some delicious mangos, but alas, all of those are gone now.

 

After breakfast, we did an experimental design on land, which we then executed and collected data for in order to get used to using the transect tapes and quadrats. Then as a group, we designed an experiment for the water (determining the density of penicillus algae as we moved away from shore). This experiment allowed us to work with these tools in the water for the first time, and to work together as a team to develop and execute a scientific question. The experiment went well, but our hypothesis was dead wrong ☠️

 

During that snorkel, we also saw a starfish, a sea urchin, and a handful of mollusks! (Including a very large queen conch! 🐚)

 

We then worked together to make a scientific poster illustrating our experimental design and results, which we presented to Scott and Adrienne once we were finished.

 

Lunch was a chicken burger and fries. After lunch we did another land activity: we adventured to the coral graveyard 🪦🪸! Just a hop, skip, and jump away from our bunks lies a collection of calcified coral corpses like no other. They’re so well preserved in their fossilized form that we could identify the species from the long dead skeleton corallites. We verbally identified 11 species using ID cards and books.

 

We had one lecture before dinner(chicken, rice, and mashed potatoes, with the other 3 coming after dinner. The night snorkel was supposed to be tonight, but the winds have picked up too much to go out safely, so we’re staying in!

 

Fun extra excerpt about the day: Caio and Nyala became pros at cracking open coconuts and provided coconuts to your hearts galore for the whole group. Great kids

Day 3: The Coral Graveyard

Much like I am assuming most days on this trip will be, today was full of many new skills both in and out of the water. As a class, we seem to have graduated past simple scenic observational snorkeling and were tasked with developing and testing a research question for our afternoon snorkel. Utilizing a quadrat and a transect tape, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of the macroalgae penicillus as we swam out away from the dock to closer waters. I must say, this was easier said than done. We thought the algae would be relatively easy to find, yet finding the marine equivalent of a green Truffula tree among a dense forest of also green seagrass did not go as smoothly as first thought. Yet, we managed to find a few, and created a poster outlining our results.

However, after lunch is when the truly exciting action took place. We went on a small walk (this time well protected from the ravenous mosquitoes) and ended up on the seaward side of the island where there is a graveyard of coral fragments. If you have seen the graveyard scene from The Lion King, it had similar vibes, yet in this case, the graveyard provided an unprecedented opportunity to look at the skeleton of stony corals. For my cards and presentations, I did a significant amount of research regarding the different stony corals of the Caribbean, yet many of the ways to tell the species apart is by the skeleton (which you would hope to not see on a healthy reef). This graveyard of coral provided the perfect opportunity to see these unique characteristics which are typically obscured by tissue. Porites divaricata, Pseudodiploria stigose, Acropora palmata and cervicornis, are just a few of the many of species that we saw and discussed. I also happened to find a piece of Eusmilia fastigiata, which was a rare and cool find.

After sadly leaving the coral graveyard, we wrapped the day up with several presentations covering Lionfish, herbivorous fish, piscivorous fish, and a fantastic yet kind of depressing presentation illustrating the future of our coral reefs. Another incredible day.

~Rusty

Favia fragrum
Eusmilia fastigiata

Day 3: Itching and Experimenting

This morning I woke up at 6 AM and immediately felt itchy. A closer inspection revealed dozens of bug bites all over my arms, legs, and back. (Now I’m starting to regret trekking through the Mosquito Mangroves yesterday!)

Today we started familiarizing ourselves with the process of drafting, designing, and conducting experiments and data collection while snorkeling. We decided to determine how the density of green algae changes as we move away from the shoreline. We found the most green algae about 80 feet away from the dock.

By far the highlight of today was visiting the ‘coral graveyard’ on the other side of the island. While it sounds macabre at first, it’s actually amazing and super helpful as a crash course in identifying corals! (It helps to have a couple of coral experts and guide books with you, of course!)

I didn’t see any sponges today, but I definitely soaked up a ton of useful information about identifying common coral species for the next time we snorkel a reef.

Quadrats + Coral Graveyard

I felt like such a tropical field biologist today (with training wheels of course). We started off the day with a land activity using transects and the quadrats that we made yesterday. Liliana and I got some practice using the gear and with the methodology by gathering data to characterize what percentage of the measured area had evidence of hermit crab movement through the sand. Here is a photo! (The square is the quadrat, the line is the transect, and the orange rectangle is a very fancy dive clipboard)

Then, all of the TFBs put our heads together and came up with a question to test with this procedure out in the seagrass beds. We chose to investigate how the density of penicillus (a green algae) changes with the distance from the shore. We decided on a uniform methodology and got to work! I saw a lot of warty corallimorphs and great Caribbean sea anemones in the seagrass beds! After we collected our data in the water, we came back to the wet lab and compiled our data. We all made a poster that reflected the entire experiment, including results, discussion, and figures (one of which is a taped-on penicillus in a quadrat heart).

While working in the wet lab, I ate some freshly husked coconut as a snack!

Later in the day, we went to what Adrienne called the “coral graveyard,” and which she also described as “the most amazing place on the planet.” It really was amazing! The field of coral skeleton rubble was extremely well-preserved, and we were able to identify a lot of the species! One thing that I was particularly excited about was seeing and correctly identifying Montastraea cavernosa fragments. I took Adrienne’s coral reef ecosystems class, and my semester-long research proposal centered around this coral. It was so gratifying to get to hold a piece of its skeleton framework!

Besides the few sightings I got in during our penicillus data collection, I didn’t have a lot of time or opportunities to focus on my taxonomic group today. However, I am now so much better at recognizing great Caribbean anemones and warty corallimorphs!

Although my collection of mosquito bites has grown to be rather impressive, I can’t wait to get more if that means I can have more days like this!

– McKenna

Coral graveyard and crab shenanigans (09/06/22)

Hi y’all, it’s Liliana again.

I am completely exhausted right now so lets hope that I can write something coherent. We started early again at 6:30, and I hate to say it but waking up that early is becoming more normal. We practiced using our transects and quadrants on land before we formed our research question and went out on the water. This time we stuck to the sea grass and swam through it looking for a specific green algae, penicillus. Each group of two with a total of seven groups swam at least 100 feet out, looking to see how many we could find in a 2×4 area every 10 feet, in the end despite all the ground covered we did not find that many. My group only found two, but we found some other exciting stuff instead like an upside down jelly! And more relevant to my taxon we found a crab next to the upside down jelly, but it was very dead and I didn’t want to get close enough to the jelly to see what the crab was. We wrote our findings and made a group poster and presentation about our mini experiment.

After lunch we went to the coral graveyard, which is great for identifying coral species since you can get a really close look at all the parts and how it looks underneath the living tissue.

After that I got to present my lecture on lionfish/invasive reef species, and my years long mission to eat a lionfish, and I hope that this trip will finally be my chance, since there are many lionfish on this reef that need to be removed.  Today was interesting in terms of crab behavior.

On my way to the bathroom I spotted this hermit crab dragging a small lizard across the ground into a hole.

We also discovered that the hermit crabs like coconut, they’ve been swarming the area where the children were cracking and eating coconuts.

Anyways, it’s time for me to go to sleep, I am exhausted and need all my rest before tomorrow.

Day 3 – Time to start measuring things

Today we started learning how to take measurements and collect data underwater. We made quadrants yesterday (pvc squares with string tied on to make a grid), that we will be using this week to answer questions about the reef that we will come up with! Today, as a large group, we tried to see if the density of the Penecillus sp. algae changed with distance from the shore. We ended up having a completely wrong hypothesis (that it would be denser near the shore), but at least we got a good handle on using the quadrants. It is harder than you would think to be holding onto a camera, quadrant, and a clip board underwater! There weren’t any soft corals in the sea grass area, as they tend to prefer live coral patches and reefs.

While taking our measurements, we found a sea star! Holding it felt very cool, as it started to grip your hand with suction cup like appendages. I got a great picture of my snorkel buddy Michiel holding it!

This afternoon, we got to visit a beach with countless coral skeletons that had been turned into more lasting rock, preserving them immaculately. This was a super cool way to see what the inside of corals look like, especially because when we see them in the water they are often obscured by either live coral tissue or algal overgrowth. I tried to identify a few species using guide books, but didn’t have too much luck. Now that I know what they look like though (thanks to Dr. Correa and everyone else with better identification skills), I think they will be much easier to recognize on the reef!

At the coral graveyard, I also saw a dead dried out soft coral, a common sea fan. This wasn’t calcified like the hard coral skeletons however, it was just a common sea fan missing its polyps! 

– Ava

Cool Coral Cemetery!

Today we got to do the first of many research projects for our class, during which I was finally able to spot some jellyfish out on the reef! As a group, we got to design a research question, collect data in the field, and analyze and present our results in poster form to our professors! We investigated the changes in density of a species of green algae as we swam farther away from shore, and it was super interesting to collect data and draw conclusions for our question all in one morning!

While we were out on the water collecting data in the seagrass beds, we spotted so many jellyfish! Specifically we spotted a variety of sizes and colors of the upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.) resting on the sea bed right near the dock! It was really surprising how many of them there were considering none of us spotted any yesterday, but we were also distracted getting used to snorkeling at the time. Here are some good pics!

In the afternoon, Dr. Correa showed us one of her favorite spots on the island which is a super rare coral cemetery, where there were tons of old coral which had been exposed to air and mineralized. Their skeletons were so well preserved and it was breathtaking to see so many corals, some of which are extremely rare now due to diseases. We spent a lot of time organizing them and identifying them by species, which was fantastic practice for our future excursions.

First Day of Experiments!

Hey guys! It’s Michiel; I’m glad to write to y’all again : )

This morning I woke up and had an amazing breakfast (as always here). After breakfast, Adrienne and Scott wanted us to practice using our quadrats and transects, so they sent us out to collect some data on the island using these tools. Ava and I decided that we wanted to see how much of the island sand was disturbed by crab lines. We set up a 50 yard line from our transect, set our quadrat on either side of the transect, and counted the amount of squares covering sand that was disturbed by crab lines. We ultimately determined that about 9% of the sand in the area we studied was disturbed.

After this riveting experiment, we got to put our tools to use out on the reef! Our professors left us in the wet lab with only instructions to come up with a research question and methodology. As a class, we asked “How does the density of Penicillus green algae change as we get further from the dock?” To test this, each buddy group lined up in the water near the dock and spread out horizontally so that there was at least 10 ft of space between us. Then each of us went off, placing our quadrats at every 10 foot marking on the transect to count the number of Penicillus organisms. Unfortunately, Ava and I did not see a single one (we did see two sea anemones and a starfish, though). We also did not get to see any herbivorous fish since we stayed pretty far away from the patch reefs : (. They’re really only found over there because their diet consists mostly of algae that grows on the reef, so it would be unwise for them to go too far.

Thankfully, the other groups did find some Penicillus, so we pooled our data and determined that the organism increases in density as one goes further from the dock. We believe that Ava and I did not see any because the lush sea grass in our area may outcompete or cover it.  After discussing our results, the class put together a poster and presented our research to Scott and Adrienne.

After these presentations, we went to a very cool area of the island that was just a huge fossilized coral reef. Adrienne showed us lots and lots of different, very well preserved, corals. She identified some of the most common corals we have been seeing in the reef and told us about their importance and history. She even showed us a couple species that are currently rapidly dying off in coral reefs.

After the fossilized coral area, we had a presentation, then dinner, then I presented on herbivorous fish (I hope you all enjoyed), then there were a couple more presentations.

Overall, today was full of activities and it was our first time conducting research in the water! We all had lots of fun and I’m sure we’re all excited for the upcoming days of research in bigger coral reef systems.

Also, here’s a picture Ava took of me holding a starfish (thank you Ava!)