First whack at teamwork!

El tercer día, en STRI

¡Hola! from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute!

My name is Haley, one of 8 students from the University of Oregon lucky enough to participate in this amazing adventure here in Bocas del Toro. I can't believe we get to call this experience "school," it feels more like a dream everyday (except in my dreams I don't get sunburnt nearly as often). I woke up this morning to the hoots of howler monkeys, the smell of eggs and bacon, and the creeking of the old bunk bed I get to sleep in. Breakfast was followed by a heavy application of sunscreen and a 5 minute boat trip, South, to the shallow reefs off the coast of San Cristobal Island.
As we arrived and peered over the edge of the boat, we were greeted with calm, crystal clear waters. After jumping in and snorkeling around for about a half hour, we spotted some beautiful species including moon jellies, green mat zoanthids, feather duster worms, giant anemones, fireworms, tons of sponges, brittle stars, lots of corals like Porites, Acropora, Siderastrea, and Diploria... AND A SHARK!

freakin awesome Nurse Shark!

A Bearded Fireworm (Hermodice carunculata)

Grooved Brain Coral (Diploria labyrithiformis)

Moon Jelly (Aurelia aurita)
gliding gently over the reef. 

A mosaic of green Mat Zoanthids (Zoanthus pulchellus) 

A Magnificent Feather Duster worm (Sabellestarte magnifica)

After leisurely snorkeling and observing lots of different organisms on our own time, Richard and Jan gave us the challenging task of working in teams to quantify species present in quadrats approximately 0.5 m squared. This project proved to be difficult not only because we had to hold our breaths in order to carefully observe the species contained in our area of interest, but we also had to practice communication, as a team, in a shallow habitat where treading water was not an option due to the risk of damaging the coral below. After about an hour, and a gallon of swallowed seawater later, every team managed to tackle the challenge with smiles on their faces.

Here I am having a whack at laying down our first quadrat. 

Quadrat 1 for team B (Mack, Christina and I).

Emily and Ellie  working "swimmingly" as a team!

We were all proud to have accomplished our first mission as underwater scientists and packed up to head over to the last snorkel site of day 3, Mangrove Point. 

At this site, we were confronted with yet another challenge constructed by Richard, which included quantifying the number of turtle grass shoots contained in one fourth of our entire quadrat squares. We carefully counted the shoots while holding our breaths and using underwater sign language to come to a consensus about just how many shoots we actually counted. I must say, I'm very grateful to have a team of student biologists who are willing to take turns diving to the seafloor for minutes at a time while also waiting patiently to exchange high-fives at the surface! It has been a true blessing to be confronted with complex scientific questions and environmental issues in a team of such passionate and motivated people. 

 

Deyvis and I excited to be heading back to STRI for some lunch!

We ended the day watching the sunset off the dock, and taking a little dip as nightfell. As it got darker we observed some awesome cubomedusae frolick in the shallows! I can't wait to fall asleep and wake up to a world greater than my dreams... SCIENCE RULES! 

Gracias por leer! Hasta luego, 

Haley Faringer