Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Last Science Sampling Day

Authors: Aaron, Erin, Rachael, Rob Collins

Word of the day: 

Rugosity- a measure of small scale variations in amplitude and the height of a surface. This type of practice is used commonly for characterising seafloor habitats.

Coco point reef.

Science of the day:

Today the group went sampling on the reef at Coco Point. Some of the groups had to use waterproof paper and clipboards underwater to write down notes and observations of various things like biodiversity counts, herbivory tracings, and measurements of soils etc. The soil groups collected soils underwater at three different locations along their transect lines. The atmospheric gases group took air samples directly above the water on the boat. The bird group did sea bird surveys and observed coastal bird behavior. Dr Iuri conducted his own rugosity study and Dr. Judkins had the opportunity to observe a school of Caribbean reef squid.

Biodiversity group counting organisms along their transect.

The soil group draining water from sediment samples.


Last night our group went on a "night wade" to see what kind of creatures stir about at night around the mangroves. We went out with nets, headlamps, and tubs to capture and release whatever we could find. Some of the first things we found were sea urchins, which we picked and observed. The most interesting observation made was that all the spines moved individually. We also caught a baby barracuda and a bunch of minnows. Later, as we got more skilled at finding creatures, we discovered a juvenile yellow spotted sting ray, a burr fish, mangrove crabs and sea cucumbers.

Some of the species found on the night wade.


Inflated burrfish.
Question of the day:

What defense mechanism(s) do sea cucumbers have to protect themselves from predators?

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