Day 4 - Project time: rain or shine

Sitting on the dock at 7:30 in the morning, looking out at the calm water and cloudy skies, I watched as students loaded up kayaks and paddle to their project sites, STRI Point or House Reef. With snorkel mask & fins on, project materials in hand, Gabby and I jumped off the dock into the cold water and swam towards our project site on House Reef. It started sprinkling a bit but that doesn't stop us from research time. 

The dock at STRI

Color flags mark the boundary of 1 damselfish's territory
Photo by Gabby

We had determined our project site the day before (09/04/19) and placed bright colored flags along the reef which marked eight territories of our desired fish, the Threespot Damselfish (Stegastes planifrons). To test if our methods would work, we used an excluded territory to remove certain percentages of seagrass with algae growing on them. During this process, Gabby got bit by one of the damselfish as she was encroaching on their territory. They are feisty little things. As Casey said "they are the chihuahuas of the ocean, go them." Sadly, our project time got cut short as the in-land lightening/thunderstorm headed out towards the bay and for safety concerns we returned to shore. 

After an AMAZING nap, the sun came out and we headed off towards our project site to collect behavioral data on our fish before we manipulate their territories. Overall, it was a great day for us as we collected what we needed minus getting attacked by damselfish. Below are pictures of the other groups on this fine project day☺

         

       Natalie & Mitch building PVC frames 

Casey & Ella - Brittlestar (Ophiothrix suensonii)
in a mortar and pestle to be ground up

 

Tralee & Genevieve - cork screw anemone (Bartholomea annulata) with
a symbiotic snapping shrimp


--Vanessa Vy