Tropical Marine Ecology 2008

January 13

   

The student's laboratory here at Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory. Tropical plants and animals can be found right off the dock in shallow water, or you can swim out past the mangroves (on your left) over the reef crest and dive and snorkel in waters about 25' deep to see a larger variety of life.

Another beautiful day in Jamaica.  The sun was high and strong, temperature was in the mid 80’s, and the water was clear and warm.  Of course there was the 10 minute lunchtime sun shower but I think we’ve all come to expect that at this point.  And with all the beautiful sunny weather we’ve been having, we’re all understanding (even more than before) the importance of sunscreen!

Last night was the second night of project updates and all the projects are well underway.  Just about everyone is diving or snorkeling every day and there are quite a few experiments going on in the wet lab tables.  There are damselfish, brittlestars, urchins, and balloonfish, experiments with music, seagrass tethers, and groundwater.
All the projects are so varied, covering a wide range of interests and animals, it will be interesting to see all the final results.

Tomorrow is another day of fun diving in the fore reef, either at Pear tree or (insert Brad’s accent here) Rio Bueno.  No matter what site, the dives are always fun and exciting, with all sorts of fascinating creatures to see.
Hopefully there will be another sea turtle or with any luck, a spotted eagle ray.  And of course we’re all excited about the trip off the compound to the Cranbook botanical gardens on Tuesday.

Five more days in beautiful Jamaica….
- Marcy

January 12

Sal and Chris stand at the top of Dunn River Falls. Sal's shoes have almost fully dried out now from the hike up the waterfall.

I woke up at about 8:30 am and went to get breakfast. It was a basic breakfast this time compared to their great breakfast food other times. It consisted of French toast, bacon and fruit such as papaya and watermelon, it was delicious and filling. After that I just walked around the compound for a bit just taking in the fresh air and the beautiful scenery. From 10am to about 1:30pm I stayed in my room, relaxed and took a nap which I shouldn’t have because I missed lunch. My lunch consisted of Oreos, milk and Ovaltine biscuits. You would think now with the other groups gone that there would be more food to go around but I guess people are just hungry fiends.

After lunch I resumed my science research project which is on Green Sea Urchins (Lytechinus variegatus) being able to survive in a brackish environment with natural food like Turtle Grass(Thalassia testudium) and/or artificial food like Yellow Corn Meal. I weighed the food first and then feed the sea urchins their food. Group#1 received only macro algae from the saltwater pipes, group#2 received only turtle grass, group#3 received only yellow corn meal, and group#4 received yellow corn meal and turtle grass. The basis of the experiment is which ever group of sea urchins die first means that they cannot survive in that particular type of environment with that specific food. Everyday I will also lower the salinity gradually with freshwater till it reaches about 20 ppt on the last day. I am looking forward to see how low the salinity can be for these sea urchins to live in.

After my project I went back to my room to listen to some music, one of the artists being Bob Marley, one of my favorite artists and why not? We’re in Jamaica Mon. For Dinner we had small pieces of soft supple steak drenched in gravy, a sauce coated fish, cabbage, spinach and other vegetables, a salad with lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes, and for dessert gingerbread cake. The food was amazing and delicious like everyday. I don’t even stuff myself like this during the semester or at home even though my mom makes awesome food. After dinner mostly everyone gathered at the girl’s room to chill, have fun and play cards.

SAL AKA SHALWYN

January 11

A squirrelfish lurks amongst a stand of fire coral. It doesn't seem to bother the fish but we try to avoid bumping into the stuff.

Greetings from Jamaica! It’s difficult to believe that it has already been over a week that we’ve been here in Discovery Bay, and that we only have about a week left.
Today the wonderful ladies in the kitchen prepared all-American meals for us, reminding of the food at home.
For breakfast, we had eggs with cheese, toast and maybe a cup of coffee to get our bodies up and running. Lunch consisted of little mini pizzas, chicken nuggets, and lasagna. For dinner, we had potatoes, carrots, beans, chicken, and some delicious red meat. The best part was desert, fudge brownies with walnuts. So, in other words to those at home, we are well-fed here.

Some of us started off the day with a 6 AM open water dive session, which meant getting up at 5 in the morning. All of us went out and started working on our research projects, some of us making more progress than others.

At 2 o’clock, 7 of us went out for our final open water dives and are now certified divers! Congratulations to everyone! From now on we don’t have to linger behind and watch in envy as Brad and Joe brag about the two sea turtles that they saw swimming around on their dive trips. Just kidding. In short, we are enjoying the lovely weather that has finally made it seem more like we were in Jamaica. Now we must go and hunt some more Damselfish, balloon fish, brittle stars, and sea urchins for our projects. Busy, busy!

- Constance

January 10

Ashley N. begins the snorkeling trip to the front (ocean) side of the reef at Discovery Bay. Everyone was able to sneak over the reef top despite there only being about 18" of water depth.

Today was an awesome as usual day down here. We all had to get our research project proposals done by lunchtime, so Rachel, Elyssa and I (my two partners in crime for this project) went out after lunch to see what we could see regarding the various coral diseases out in Discovery Bay.

We want to do a project about the abundance of the various diseases, looking at the percentage of healthy corals versus sick corals and the correlation between the species of coral versus the type of disease. On a tip from one of the Canadians, we snorkeled all the way out towards the weather buoy by the reef crest and saw more than enough diseased corals to make our project viable. The plan is to mark off 10m by 10m plots and run transects through them as a way to systematically count the amount of diseased corals in each area. I’m pretty excited to start the project tomorrow, as is everyone else I am sure.

After lunch, Brad and Joe took a bunch of us on a snorkel out and over the reef crest. Although it was a little tough getting over the crest with the waves and shallow conditions (and abundant long-spined urchins), the reefs on the other side were really cool and very different from the back reef.

This was my first time seeing sea fans and bigger corals, and although the usual fishy suspects were there too (like doctorfish and french grunts) there were definitely lots of new fish for me, like a black triggerfish, bright blue chromis and these beautiful blue-spotted damselfish. The most exciting part of the snorkel, however, happened literally 5 minutes before we got back into shore: Rachel found an octopus! I heard her scream (with excitement of course) and turned around to see her staring down a rather sizable octopus. It kept slinking into crevices, but every once in awhile it would just come out and stare back at us, like it was sizing us up or something, it was so cool. We followed him through the crevices for a while and once it figured this out, it moved out into the open, changed colors and tried to pretend to be a rock. Once it figured out that we knew it was still there, it darted into the nearest crevice for good and we gave up the chase. Its pretty ironic that we found this guy out in the open in the daytime when a couple of us had spent an entire night-snorkeling trip looking for octopi the other night. Rachel and I were all excited as we swam back in to tell everyone of our cephalopod friend and were both surprised to then see a little barracuda hanging out in the grass, another species we both had yet to see until today. All in all it was an awesome trip, followed by a bit of napping in the sun and another great dinner here.

Hope its not too cold back in New York!

~Ashley N.

January 9

Everybody was up bright and early in the morning to head to Dunn River Falls. This is our entire group, except Adam who was running towards the group as the photo was shot.

Today we left Discovery Bay and ventured out into the gorgeous countryside of Jamaica. Our first stop was Dunn River Falls. Although we were apprehensive about the massive amounts of tourists, we entered the park and started our descent to the beach. The water was beautiful and crystal clear. There were guides all over the place trying to organize the myriad of people. Thanks to our fearless leaders, we managed to escape the grasp of the guides and start our ascent up the huge waterfalls. Although exceptionally slippery, we all seemed to being handling the climb well. For most of us, the problems we encountered climbing were due to the conga lines of people being lead up the mountainside. The falls were amazing and the water was on the cooler side but it was very refreshing. Some of us lost some sunglasses and various other things we took with us. We were warned against taking these things but like most college students we didn’t listen to the simplest of instructions. All in all the falls were beautiful and everyone enjoyed themselves. After we finished the climb about half the group stayed behind to play in the small pools at the top of the falls. By far, I believe this was the best time we had as a group on the trip.

After we all dried off and changed, we got back into our vans and went to Ocho Rios, a town that is a tourist destination of all the major cruise ships. Our bus driver, Pablo, took us on a detour to show us an amazing view of the town from above. We took some wonderful pictures and stared in awe at the massiveness of the cruise ship that had pulled into the harbor. Once we got into the town we found out we had a little over two hours to find food and do ALL of the souvenir shopping we promised our families we would do.

Some of us went to Margarittaville while others hauled ourselves over to the local Burger King and enjoyed some Whoppers. I think most of us haggled ourselves silly in the flea market buying shot glasses, decks of cards, and many other things I will not give away but it’s safe to say you will enjoy your presents when we return.

It took a little while for us to get rounded up for our ride back the Discovery Bay but we all got back in one piece and had another delicious dinner made by the fine ladies our kitchen. Many thanks to those women and all of the people that helped us have a wonderful day.

-Emily

January 7

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How many different species of reef fish can you identify in this picture ? Hopefully, the students can get most of them as their identification practical exam is tomorrow night. Photo by Sara and Ashley

The day began cloudy and windy, but by 11 am, the clouds had cleared, and we were graced with fabulous sunshine for most of the day, with trace amounts of precipitation occurring intermittently throughout the day. Rachel, Ashley, and I went out for an evening snorkel, and on the way back, a beautiful and full rainbow appeared in the sky, and rain began to fall. While underwater, we could feel and see the rain coming down, and it was really quite an amazing thing.

Wish us luck on our test!

- Sara

Today was yet another splendid day in Jamaica, complete with unpredictable weather, goat for supper, and a test review session. Unlike the previous days, today held a much looser schedule, allowing us ample time to work on our photo libraries and study for our upcoming exam. As most of our days have, today began at 8am with breakfast (this time it was pancakes and fresh fruit). Following the feast, Joe and Brad gave us the day to work on our photo libraries that are to include algae/plants, fish, and invertebrates found around the reef at Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory. Working in pairs, we have been photographing and gathering a variety of organisms, storing some in the wet lab at Discovery Bay; after taking the photos, we’ve identified the plants, algae, and inverts down to genus and species.

The top 5 coolest finds (according to me) are as follows:

1.) The sargassum fish [True story: Thinking this was a leaf floating at the surface of the ocean, I snagged this fish with my bare hands, soon realizing the leaf was actually a fish. A victorious moment for me!], 2.) The banded arm brittle star (Ophioderma opressum) [Don’t be fooled by their fragile appearance—these guys can book it! And they’re not afraid to break a leg… really…], 3.) The Spotted seahare (Aplysia dactylomela) [Their oddly soft texture coupled with their spotty appearance makes this fellow from Phylum Molluska loveable to all], 4.) Green grape algae (Caulerpa racemosa) [The common name couldn’t be more accurate. This algae is way cute, so it makes the cut], and last but not least, 5.) Fireworm (Hermodice caranculata). Tomorrow, everyone will present our findings and identifications in Powerpoint presentations. Tomorrow also brings our first (and last) exam for the course! Joe and Brad were generous enough to host a review session, and we’ve been doing nothing but studying for it (in between snorkeling and sunning in the beautiful Jamaican sun) all day and night long.

A fine day in Paradise – 6 Jan 2008

Professor Brad "Butterscotch" Peterson encourages Prof. Joe "Jicama" Warren to enter a lobster trap as part of a specially-designed cage experiment he has planned. Photo by Chris "Cous-cous" Thomas.

What a beautiful day in Jamaica, the weather was perfect with light trade winds, sunny skies, and temperatures in the mid 80s. This break in the weather allowed the sea to calm allowing the certified divers to make their first dive out on the forereef after a delicious breakfast. The clarity of the water was only 25-30 ft due to heavy winds over the past week, but it was really nice to get out there and get that first seaside dive in. What we encountered was many sponges, reef fish, corals, and a fisherman’s lobster cage. The lobster cage only had 4 of the Caribbean Spiny Lobster, but a bycatch of dozens of fish including a stonefish. While it was beautiful down there we look forward the next few days when we can get better clarity of the water column. While the certified divers went seaside, the other students enjoyed the snorkeling in front of Discovery Bay Marine Lab.

When we returned to the dock the remainder of the day was spent identifying the organisms we were able to get pictures of, lectures from our fearless leaders Butterscotch Peterson, and Jicama Warren, and a Jamaican style BBQ with the other groups studying at Discovery Bay. You would think that the highlight of the day would be the BBQ with Calypso Band at the end of the day, but I have to confess that the lecture about Climate Change and coral reefs (and penguins) takes the cake as the BBQ abruptly ended at 8pm after about an hour of food and live music. While it was a good time it didn’t last long enough. Tomorrow the group from Wisconsin and Minnesota leaves which will open up more space for everyone and allow the guys to join the rest of our group at night on the grounds of DBML. We are hoping for similar weather conditions tomorrow, with even lighter winds, and no rain.

Chris Thomas

January 5

Steve is almost ready for the water, he's hoping to capture some elusive algae for his identification collection.

Definitely today's weather conditions were better than yesterday. It was a picture-perfect scene when you headed out to bay area. There was more sun, a little less wind, and the breath-taking view of the turquoise waters. You know what that means, another opportunity to go snorkeling.

Though, I doubt anyone went out for a morning snorkel. Most of us probably passed out last night. I know I definitely did. Nevertheless, I made the extra effort to get a good Jamaican breakfast.

For breakfast, had some fried dough which was yummy, and Akee fruit(sp) with fish. I remember last year's group talking about it. It was a meal that looked like scrambled eggs but was actually fruit. It was fruit that is poisonous if you ate raw, so it had you had to cook it the proper way in order to be edible. I don't know. I wasn't too thrilled with though the fish was good with it. Prof. Warren thought it was fantastic though.

After breakfast, headed out to the water for another attempt to snorkel. In the beginning, I was a little nervous after yesterday's "panic" attack and first attempt to snorkel; however, I wasn't ready to give up. For crying out loud, I was in Jamaica and it should be an experience to take hold of. So with help from Emily and learning along side Jackie, we had success. I didn't panic this time and I became really comfortable with snorkeling. Yay Success! We saw a lot of great things in the waters, especially where the Mangroves were. I saw a lot of urchins, puffer fish, sea anemones. We also caught some nifty critters. Not sure what they are yet but we should identify them really soon. I was so proud of myself. Oh my gosh! it was too amazing for words. Definitely an experience of a life time. Lunch time came and it was actually a pretty healthy meal... well, if you didn't count the french fries; fruit and salad.

Another quick discussion with Brad and Joe and we were ready to gear up again and head out to snorkeling for the afternoon.This time we took out the underwater camera. It was a little difficult to take pictures with the turbidity and the wave action. Hopefully some photos came out nice.

Afterwards, some people in the class started to learn to scuba dive and/or finished their dives but Jackie and I went on the hunt for critters. We were determined to catch at least something. It wasn't a lot of success at first but in the end we caught a lot of neat creatures: algae, "donkey dung" (haha), and a cute little puffer fish! Another great experience underwater. It was time to end the day of snorkeling and take a nice shower. Why is there no such thing as hot water here?? Oh well. Oh yea, I've got to get myself Hair Conditioner after these long snorkeling trips.

Freshened up, time for dinner. Another tasty Jamaican meal: rice, vegetables, tofu, goat and curry. So even, after a long day, we still had lecture?! But nothing really goes the way it is planned. There had been some difficulties in organization of rooms and supplies for lecture, so the class gathered outside near the bay area. It was a really nice night. The winds had died down and the water became calm.

Most of us were stargazing with help from Joe. It definitely was a good opportunity to break out a bonfire and make 'smores... if we had those things... In the end, we sort of had an "unofficial" lecture. We all gathered in the wet labs and started to identify the species we have found.You would think Jamaica would be all paradise and relaxing. Nope, more work to come for us. A PowerPoint presentation, a Practical, and a final research project?!

Aside from future forecasting of work, the day itself was just great. I definitely learned a lot. Can't wait to do more snorkeling and more hunting!

This is Hot Dog Helen signing off!

January 4

A student pops out of the water to orient themselves while exploring Discovery Bay for the first time.

After yesterdays poor weather, we only hope for some improvement. We woke up early (around 6 am) only to find no relief, the winds remained strong if not stronger. Despite the impudent weather some of the students along with Dr.Peterson chose to go out snorkeling. When the students came back we ate a breakfast of hot dogs, onions and French toast....yes a interesting combination to say the least. There was of course fresh fruit which is always so delicious, especially the pineapples, never a piece wasted.

After breakfast some more students decided to try snorkeling, this time all of the students boasted of there being good visibility. Now I felt it was time for me to give it a shot. We had to wait for the afternoon lecture to pass before we could go out. On this trip Dr. Peterson and Dr.Warren wanted the class to go out as a group and we did. As soon as lecture was over we quickly changed and I being very anxious to get wet was one of the first students in the water. As I entered the water from the dock I noticed only 2 or 3 feet of visibility, frustrated and disappointed I paddled quickly toward the reef. As I paddled out I noticed the water looked as if it were half vinegar half water also the kind of illusion you see when heat rises off hot pavement. I thought it was just the mask I was using, maybe a recent defect. When I emerged from the water I stared into the horizon, all was clear, I could see fine. I couldn't seem to grasp what was going on. My vision appeared warped under the water yet clear when looking out in the air. It wasn't until Rachel informed me that there is an underwater aquifer where cold water rises up to meet the warm ocean water and therefore causing this distortion. I swam past this cold water inlet only to find the most surprising thing of all... clear water, with visibility of easily 15 feet reef structure and deeply ruptured, crevassed bottom looked like something you might only see when accompanied by a Discovery Channel voice over. In all this structure we saw puffer fish and other countless tropical fish. This amazed me, in the worst of conditions the reef seemed to maintain its beauty, even in the absence of good lighting. However the current was very strong and after a long snorkeling trip with Chris (cous-cous), Tyler (tomato), Shitaki and Shnoozberry a.k.a the Steve's (because they're both named Steve) we headed back inward.

Tyler and I decided to check out what we called incorrectly the "mangrove forest" because there appeared to be a single mangrove like tree. The "forest" as it was called was protected by a rock barrier which we marginally swam over. Crossing over these rocks we found what can only be described as paradise. A small pool of clear aqua blue water, which begged to be illuminated by the non-existent sun. Even without intense sunlight the pool retained a mystical feel, a kind of calm before the storm; with tree branches dipping into the water and overarching rock ledges leaving shallow caves beneath the rock. Schools of fish swam out of these underwater hideouts seemingly to greet us, then just as quickly passing by and then vanishing within the crevices of the rock face. The smaller fish and lone fish held close to the structure, intrinsically spectacular in their beauty and movements. After the mangrove forest we washed our equipment off and headed toward the volleyball court where a few games were played. As we waited for dinner to be ready Chris, Tyler, Steve, Ashley (Asparagus), Andrea and I took turns coloring in this psychedelic pattern from a coloring book, other students played ping-pong or joked among themselves.

We had a delicious dinner of stir fried chicken, beef and vegetable along with mashed potatoes and fresh tomatoes. For dessert, rum-raisin ice cream and cherry jello...I mean it doesn't get much better than that. Afterward a group of lovely Canadian girls asked the guys if we were interested in joining them to see a Jamaican band, but we told them we had lecture that night and could not attend. However they insisted on talking to our professors claiming they would like lecture to be canceled so that they could take the "American boys" with them. Even though they promised to teach us invertebrate zoology themselves, Dr. Peterson sent them back on their way without a single "American boy" to be taken . The lecture proceeded as planned, after having the lecture slides fire past us (a lot of information in a little time) at 10:00 pm the van arrived to pick the guys up to return to the villa we are staying at. With such a full day behind us, it was only shortly after arrival we quickly feel asleep.

-- Adam

Let The Lectures Begin

End of Day 2, January 3, 2008

All through the night the winds howled!! I don't think I've ever heard winds like that on Long Island before. Some people were kept up by the banging of windows, others slept right through it all. Breakfast was scheduled for 8:00 in the morning, so by 7:30 I was up and looking at the water. Since we got back to Discovery Bay well after dark last night, I hadn't got a chance to see the water yet! This morning it looked glorious, but the winds from last night had made quite an impact. The water was turbid and the waves Brad speculated to be around four to six feet high on the reef break!! Diving was completely out for the day, and snorkeling looked questionable.

My breakfast was unbelievably delicious. Scrambled eggs infused with scallions and other spices, bacon cooked to perfection, toast, jelly, juices, and blue mountain coffee. After breakfast, we were given a tour of the facilities. Discovery Bay is a wonderful place in that it has a great amount of freedom and accessibility, yet it is also quiet and unpretentious. It feels safe and protected on the first day I already feel at home. The lecture/computer room, library, and offices on one end of the building are separated by a Breezeway (which offers a phenomenal view of the water,) while the Marine Wet Lab is on the other side. The Breezeway is my favorite place. It perfectly frames the water like a picture, and like the name implies, the wind races through and hugs your body. If you have ever been anywhere with tropical wind you know what I mean.

At 9:30, we had our first lecture from Brad.(The first of three lectures we would get today!) The topic was Ecological Theory and we covered everything up to and including diversity, autecology, succession, facilitation, tolerance, inhibition, equilibrium theory, density (in)dependant principals, commensalism, ammensalism, and numerous other biological interactions! (If that sounds like a lot, you really don't even know the half of it!!)

After than, we proceeded to our well-earned lunch! I was excited to see spaghetti with a phenomenal meat sauce and fresh grated cheese. The Kitchen (with a capital K) is sensational. American, Jamaican, whatever they make just tastes perfect! Full and satiated, we were greeted by Peter Gayle, head of scientific activity here in Discovery Bay. He told us a lot of interesting history about the island's reefs (including that the lab was affiliated with Stony Brook University when it was initially begun), as well as history of Discovery Bay itself. These reefs have been more heavily researched than any other reef in the world even more so than the Great Barrier Reef!! Next, Anthony, our Dive Master introduced himself and instructed us on the basics of water safety. We discussed our options of either snorkeling or SCUBA diving, and what each activity entails. After that, I was ready to get wet!!

While Ashley, Stacey, Chris, and Constance and Joe went into town to get some extra provisions, Steve and I jumped in the water. It was still really windy and turbid, but I was dying to jump into that 75 degree water. We swam around for nearly an hour and got to see some exciting creatures. Some sea urchins (which in a couple days I know I will know the names of), anemones, a few coral structures, and a wide smattering of different fishes. My favorite was the damsel fish which when approached would 'defend' the territory and try to chase me away! Visibility wasn't too good, but the initial experience of snorkeling in tropical waters is something I'll never forget.

At 4:30, once everyone returned from town, we had our second lecture of the day. Joe spoke about coral reefs, coralline algae, distribution factors, nitrogen fixation, productivity, and the many human uses of coral reefs. We also learned about the different physical features distinguishing fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls. I learned something that I found unbelievable. The amount of by-catch each year is great enough to fill Yankee Stadium 30 times FULL of fish! No wonder the world suffers from over fishing, since that is only the fish we 'accidentally' kill!

By 6:30 our lecture was done, and we all relaxed 'til dinner at 7:00. My dinner consisted of rice and carrots, as I wasn't fast enough to grab some of the roast pork or curried shrimp! With two school groups eating together, you have to be fast if you want to get dinner! Still, it was delicious, and I didn't find myself in want of anything else!

Would you believe we were in for yet ANOTHER lecture?! Thankfully, the subject material was stimulating and relevant to what we will be working on for the next two weeks! Brad extrapolated on Equilibrium theories, primarily resource portioning, circular networks, and compensatory mortality. Conversely, we also looked at non-equilibrium theories such as the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, equal chance, and the gradual change hypothesis. We looked at examples of predation, through examining the infamous studies of Carl Huffaker, C.S. Hollings, Murdock, Paine, and Menge. Needless to say, after nearly six hours of lecture, we were all pretty much ready to call it a night.

As of now, the plan is to meet at the dock at 7:00 (before breakfast) to get in some snorkeling and hope the waters aren't blown out.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!

-- Rachel