Today we started an experiment. We met as a group and decided we would like to know more about parrotfish and what they are actually eating on the reef. We were curious if they just graze on the algae, are taking bites of coral, feeding on grass, etc.. We assigned each group of partners a specific species of surgeonfish to follow around the reef and observe what they’re eating. We did a fish following assay where we chose a fish to follow around and observe for 5 minutes. We started the experiment by visiting the patch reef again. Here Zoe and I looked for stoplight parrotfish and observed them. Among the way we saw a few more sting rays.

In the afternoon we continued our experiment by visiting two more reefs. Zoe and I saw more male parrotfish at this second location which are more blue and colorful than the grey and reddish females. At the third location as soon as we got in the water there were multiple Barracudas. Some looked to be at least 4 ft long. As we were swimming around watching for our parrotfish we noticed that one of them was following us. We swam up to Dr. Evans and he told us that they’re actually attracted to the way Zoe kicks because she produces a lot of bubbles. As we were swimming with Dr. Evans, we came face to face with another Barracuda. We all heard Zoe’s scream underwater. Unfortunately no eel sightings today again.