We started our day off with a delicious breakfast made by Desuze that consisted of eggs, toast, fresh pineapple, tropical grapes, and juice. The morning was dedicated to students to work on their projects. Each group set off to their study sites and collected data.
After students spent most of the morning working on their research projects, Richard gave a lecture on Coral Reef issues. He taught students about the effects sea level rise has on various coral species and what environmental impacts affect the growth of coral. We learned that fossilized corals can be good indicators of past sea level rises. Additionally, students learned that branching corals are more dominant in shallow waters and become less abundant as the water depth increases. They are more susceptible to damage caused by hurricanes and high wave action, but they have the fastest growth rate. In deeper waters, foliaceous coral can be seen in abundance, though you can't find many in shallower waters.
 |
| Iguana: What is he thinking? |
 |
Red Ginger Flower: Does she feel the warmth of the sun through her petals?
|
 |
| Rainforest butterfly (Banded peacock): Where did she come from? Where will she go? |
While the morning was quite hectic, students were very optimistic to head out for a snorkeling trip.
After a fantastic lunch cooked by Desuze, students got ready to head out to go snorkeling at Punta Caracol and Hospital Point. The first stop in our snorkeling adventure was Punta Caracol. This site exposed us to a reef that is most similar to a pre-human reef based on some literature Richard informed us about. This reef had a wider variety of coral species. The second site we visited was Hospital Point, Maya was very eager to return to this site because we were unable to see a lot of the biodiversity the first time we went. She was very right! We saw an abundance of different species of fish that included Cowfish, Parrotfish, and lots of colorful reef fish. Students even saw a school of reef squid, roughly 13 little ones swimming around in a pack. While at Hospital Point, there were even some scuba divers in the deeper section of the reef, I thought that this was a cool site to see.
 |
| Queen Angelfish at Punta Caracol (Photo by: Sof) |
Lastly, after dinner, we finished the day with a lecture from Maya about Panama's Coastal Issues. Maya told students about some causes that lead to coastal issues, those being: development, waste disposal, agriculture activity, fishing, and tourism. Students learned that there is a big difference in waste system management between rural areas and urban areas in Panama. Only 45% of the wastewater in urban areas is treated, with an even smaller number of 11% treated in rural areas. I found this to be quite shocking. In 2018, the top product exported from Panama was mostly bananas in an almost $130 million industry. In 2021, the top product exported from Panama is mostly copper in an almost $280 billion industry. In recent years, the demand for ore from copper mining has increased exponentially. Copper mining in Panama has led to the deforestation in part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, as well as erosion, and runoff pollution into the San Juan river. With the currents along the Isthmus, Panama becomes a big trash can for waste entering the Caribbean Sea and Pacific ocean. In Bocas del Toro, Panama in 2017-2018 a plastic bag ban was passed and implemented. They became the first Central American nation to ban plastic bags. There is currently a Cero Basura (Zero Waste) Community-led zero waste campaign in Panama that aims to reduce waste disposal through reducing, reusing, and recycling.
Overall, the day was a success and everyone is excited that we are able to sleep in tomorrow before visiting the Cacao Farm. I'm excited to see what the rest of the trip has to offer!
- Nina :)
No comments:
Post a Comment