Hi everyone! It’s day 5 on the reef! We started off today with a new project — evaluating reef health and biodiversity inside and outside marine protected areas. We utilized a piece of equipment called a quadrat (square made out of PVC pipe) to sample coral clusters at 4 different sites — 2 protected, 2 unprotected. While snorkeling, I observed several small french angelfish, but I wasn’t super excited to see them. I’m afraid my expectations have gotten too high after seeing the 2 foot long ones 2 days ago.

We spent the afternoon analyzing our results and creating a poster summarizing the study, our fourth of the course. What we found confirmed our hypothesis: protected areas tended to be more biodiverse and healthier overall. 

The afternoon also involved a tough realization. My GoPro, which I used to take pictures in the rainforest and while diving on the first day at the reef, had succumbed to overhydration. Water had gotten behind the screen and days of drying out did not fix it

Thankfully, my classmates have working cameras and have taken some amazing pictures. I will be sure to include some below. I am looking forward to our last day at the reef tomorrow (although I’m very sad that it will be our last day!). In particular, I hope to see another squid or shark off the dock and another large angelfish near the coral. That’s all for now! – Elise