Bahamian Reef Survey with Mrs. Willmarth

"See you later!"

2008-03-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

I titled this not with “goodbye” but with “see you later” because I know that I will return to San Salvador again. This island and all of its inhabitants are a part of me now. The research that I was involved in helped me to fall in love with coral, sponges, algae, fish, sting-rays, sun stars, anemone, urchins, eels, and shrimp, and those are only the creatures that I saw this time!

I also am so proud to be able to say that I have been on an Earthwatch Expedition. Our Team leaders, John, Elizabeth, Annette, and Lisa could not have been any lovelier. They are a dynamic team that brought all of their passions for our oceans to our hearts and minds. I have not learned as much as I have in the past week since I was immersed in being a full-time college student, and now I will have the opportunity to share my knowledge with others as well.

Even though I am back in Washington, I would love for all of you to keep up with the comments to this blog. Again, if any of you are interested in finding out more about how YOU can help save ocean habitat, please let me know and I will help! In the words of a friend from Minnesota, "the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do".

Making a difference

2008-02-29T04:20:00.000-08:00

A Bahamian storm said "hello" to us on Wednesday evening. We were greeted by strong winds, rain, thunder, and lightning. It was pretty awesome! However, because of the storm there were large white caps on the ocean and this is not something a group of snorkelers gathering research wants to see. So, we were unable to get into the water on Thursday for data gathering, but we were able to participate in water testing of samples we had taken from the three testing sites: Rocky Point, Rice Bay, and Lindsay's Reef. I was able to run an oxygen test, but we also ran tests to check the magnesium, boron, calcium, silicate and pH content, among many others, of the water we gathered.

Mrs. Sheri, Ms. Denise and Ms. C.C. testing water samples in the lab

In the afternoon, we headed over to East Beach (where the water was a bit calmer)and did a beach clean-up. On San Salvador, glass and aluminum are the only items recycled, so we had to leave plastics behind. As you will see from the pictures, pretty much all of the debris on the beach is plastic. The majority of these plastics are actually from other parts of the world. We found things from Spain, South America, North America, & Africa and we only combed about a 1/4 mile down the beach! Plastic trash is a HUGE problem in our oceans and on our beaches. Needless to say, I am inspired to reduce my use of plastics at home. Can you believe that 80% of trash in our oceans are from households?

ALL of the items on the beach in these pictures are plastics

Why should I care about the amount of plastic trash in the ocean you ask? Well, to sum it up, plastics are unable to bio-degrade. Instead, they photo-degrade meaning that when they are broken down to molecular levels, they will always be plastic. Though there are many reasons to try and cut down on our consumption of plastics, these two stick in my heart: Over 1 million albatross (a beautiful bird)die each year from ingesting plastics, and of course being the turtle lover that you all know I am, it breaks my heart to know that thousands of sea turtles die each year from eating and becoming entangled in plastic bags and balloons floating in the water. More pertinent to the research I am invovled in on this expedition, plastics wrap around coral reefs and in turn are suffocating them. This of course leads to their death.

If any of you are interested in checking out websites of companies that are manufacturing Bio-plastics (plastic-like material that break down when disposed of and go back into the earth), please let me know, as I have many resources. We all can make a difference!

Way to go future scientists & ecologists!

2008-02-27T19:13:00.001-08:00

I envision you all doing great things for the planet during your lifetimes! First, I want to welcome Mrs. Emerson's class from Madiera Beach, Florida. Thank you for your many comments and questions; keep them coming! Also, I want to thank my students for all of the answers to my questions and for asking me questions as well! You have all done a wonderful job. Mrs. Emerson's class, please check out the comment pages as I have commented to each of your great questions.

Many of you from each classroom have asked me about my favorite coral & the scariest moment I have had in the water. Though all of the coral, sponges and even algae are beautiful, I have to say that my favorite coral are the are the sea fans and dead mans fingers (both are soft corals). My scariest moment in the water was when we saw 9 lion fish. Though these are gorgeous fish, they are extremely deadly as well. It was eerie to be looking at them and knowing that with one touch of their fins, I could be paralyzed or die. We didn't hang around too long!
A gorgeous sea fan, which come in all kinds of colors. They always look as if they are waving at you!

Dead mans fingers. When they feed, tiny purple hairs come out and catch microorganisms floating by.

Lion fish; beautiful, but deadly. These fish are also predatory and so may eventually wipe out all of the fish population which in turn threatens reefs because fish are a part of the delicate balance needed to ensure reef health.

I wanted to give the answers to the questions I posted, so here we go....

1. What are no-see-ums?
Kiana, you are correct! No-see-ums are tiny bugs that are found in tropical areas. They are nasty little buggers and chomped on me quite a bit my first night here; my legs, feet and hands look like I have the chicken pox!

2. In the pictures that you see with this post, why are there different colors of blue in the ocean.
Tristan, you are correct as well! The different colors of blue signify the depth of the ocean.

3. Also based on the pictures, what are the dark colored spots in the ocean.
Russell, correct again! The dark spots in the pictures are the coral reefs & actually, some of the ones very close to shore are rock formations.

4. All coral falls into two categories, can you name these two categories?
This one was a bit tricky but, the two categories of coral are hard and soft. However, these are not the only living organisms on a reef. Reefs have corals, sponges, algae, sand, and rock that help them to be a balanced system as well.

Keep up with all of your wonderful questions. I hope that some of you plan to be scientists and/or ecologists one day!

Make me proud 4th graders!

2008-02-26T04:01:00.000-08:00

I have a few questions for you and look forwarding to see who can find the answers! Please research wisely looking on the internet & in the library to see what you can find out and learn! No helping Mrs. Pirie!

1. What are no-see-ums?
2. In the pictures that you see with this post, why are there different colors of blue in the ocean.
3. Also based on the pictures, what are the dark colored spots in the ocean.
4. All coral falls into two categories, can you name these two categories?

I have to say that I have not seen many new posts from any of you since I have been in the Bahamas. Have you forgotten about me already? Please comment as often as you can from home or the public library….I miss you boys and girls! I wonder who will find the answers to my questions first…..

Curiosity

2008-02-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

Many of you have inquired about the mock coral that we will be creating. We will begin doing this tomorrow, so I may send another post then to follow-up. However, in the meantime I will try to explain a bit better what this is all about! We will be "dropping" the mock coral near other already formed reefs and in turn, sand, sediment, and break-off coral from neighboring reefs, will eventually get to these mock corals, take place and thus a new reef will begin to form. It is sort of like we are creating new housing developments for coral to relocate to and multiply. Hopefully this helps, but after we actually get more into it tomorrow, I will follow-up.

Keep those questions coming!

Finally!

2008-02-23T19:55:00.001-08:00

Turquiose blue waters, a light warm breeze off of the ocean, beautifully colored fish, warm hospitality and a relaxed Carribean accent rolling off the tongues of locals; just a few tid-bits to sum up my first day in San Salvador. What an amazing place of beauty! After 24 long hours of time spent in various airports and dealing with nerves of anticipation, I made it to the Bahamas safe and sound.

We got the chance to snorkel just a bit today in some of the coral reefs and I witnessed first hand the coral bleaching we came here to study. It is heartbreaking to see something so beautiful slowly dying. Coral reefs are vital animals to our planet. To name just a few of the reasons why coral are important to our planet, they help with wave reduction so that coastlines are not damaged, are homes to many small ocean fish, and provide economic and nutritional sustenance.

In our debriefing this evening, our Priciple Investigator, John Rollino, revealed that on this expedition we will be concentrating on creating mock coral, made from cement, which we will be putting in the ocean while here. This is the beginning of a 5 - 10 year study to assess whether or not "starter" coral can be recreated by human beings and can aid in helping natural coral once again be found in prolific and healthy amounts surrounding the Island. He invited us all back in upcoming years to see how our experiment will work. You gotta love ecology!

Tonight I will fall asleep to images of snorkling in turquoise blue water, enjoying a light breeze passing through my room, envisioning those beautifully colored fish "smiling" tomorrow when they see us enter the water to help save their world, and knowing that when I wake up and head off to breakfast, I will be greeted with that calm and relaxing Carribean accent by the wonderful locals. Paradise? I think so.

The Eve of My Big Adventure

2008-02-21T19:59:00.000-08:00

'Tis the night before San Salvador, and all through the Willmarth house....Mr. and Mrs. Willmarth & Junta (the pooch) are bustling about!

I am very excited to be leaving tomorrow for this amazing adventure! I want to thank everyone for all of your well wishes for safety and enjoyment for this trip. It will be a long haul tomorrow to get to San Salvador, but it is all in the name of science and helping the earth; no complaints from me!

I look forward to hearing from all of you!

Questions to ponder and answer!

2008-02-13T13:50:00.000-08:00

Here are questions I would like you to think about and answer before I head off to help the coral reefs of San Salvador, Bahamas:

1. How do coral reefs form in the ocean? Are there other living things that help coral come to be?

2. Why are coral reefs needed in the world?

3. What do coral reefs eat?

4. Why are coral reefs important to humans?

I look forward to seeing your answers to these important questions! Thank you!

Caring for Coral

2008-02-05T18:19:00.001-08:00

Oh my...I will soon be embarking on an educational endeavor of a lifetime! I am headed to San Salvador Island, Bahamas to help biologists study the decline of coral reefs and the reasons for this dangerous decline.

One of the coolest aspects of this adventure, is that I will be able to communicate with my students and each of you every day I am gone! It will be like we are all in the Bahamas together.

Please post your questions and comments to this page and I will reply to the best of my knowledge. Coral reefs, here I come!