Saturday, February 28, 2009

Good Bye San Salvador

Sadly, we leave our tropical island paradise today. I want to thank John and Michelle for this incredible experience.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

French Bay Reef

Today we saw the most awesome reef! It was filled with huge fan corals and brain corals. It was a sight to see. The wave action made it difficult to swim so we had to cut our data collection activities short. The questions I received from yesterday’s blog were great! I wanted to answer one of your questions. Nathaniel’s question: What kind of plant life have you seen? On the coral reef, we have seen many different species of algae. The Island is rich in plant diversity. It has mangroves, palm trees, cactus, and many other types of plants. Keep blogging! I will try to answer some more of your questions tomorrow during our skype call.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Being a Scientist

Today we planned to complete our coral reef cover studies. The high winds made it impossible to snorkel anywhere around the island; therefore, we were unable to collect our data for the day. The highlight of the day was talking with you guys! I hope you learned a little about San Salvador and the coral reefs. We will talk more about coral reefs and the expedition when I get back on Monday. I will leave you with one question. It is a hard one. How is climate change impacting the coral reefs around the world?

Rocky Point Reef

Today was our first full day of data collection. After swimming across some very deep crystal blue water, we finally made it to the reef. It was worth the long swim! It was the most beautiful and diverse reef we have seen on the expedition. Our team was able to identify many of the corals and algae on the reef. Out teammates collecting data on the other side of the reef saw a 3 foot sting ray and a barracuda! Although barracudas are fairly harmless to humans, they are fierce hunters. What role does the barracuda play in the food chain?

Training Day

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Today was our first full day of training. We practiced snorkeling and identifying many hard and soft corals, algae, and fish. This was important training for tomorrow’s data collection activities. The Bahamian Reef Survey project is one of the longest running coral reef research projects in the world. The scientists overseeing this project have been collecting data for over 15 years. Why is the research and data collected in San Salvador so important to the scientific community?

I made it to San Salvador Island.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

John, the Principal Investigator, picked us up at the airport. We arrived at the research center around noon. Immediately following lunch, we had our first snorkeling lesson. I had never snorkeled before and I knew it was going to be a challenge. It was more of a challenge than I expected! Once I learned, I was able to see some awesome sights. We saw some mustard hill coral, brain coral, dead man’s finger coral, blue tang, damselfish, and algae. Many scientists refer to the coral reefs as the rainforests of the oceans. Why?

Getting Ready for the Bahamas

I will be heading to San Salvador Island, Bahamas in less than 3 weeks. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am! I am eagerly waiting for my biggest challenge on this trip: snorkeling.

5 Fun Facts About San Salvador Island, Bahamas

1. The island is 12 miles long and 6 miles wide.
2. Christoper Columbus made landfall in the New World on San Salvador Island.
3. There is a monument on the floor of the ocean where Columbus dropped anchor on October 12, 1492.
4. Only 1,000 people live on San Salvador Island.
5. San Salvador Island was orginally named Guanahani by its first known inhabitants, the Lucayan Indians.

"The beauty of these islands surpasses that of any other and as much as the day surpasses the night in splendour." -- Christopher Columbus

The fun facts and quote were taken from the Bahamas Guide website and The Bahamian website.