Our first snorkel of the day was on the Shipwreck Sapona
Day 4 started off bright and early with a 7:00 AM breakfast of cereal, cinnamon rolls, and fresh fruit. After, we jumped right into the daily article discussion. Today's topic was the destruction and bleaching of coral reefs. It explained how factors, such as global warming and pollution, affect the lives of coral. After that, we went right into our first snorkel. We anchored right next to an shipwreck from World War I, The Sapona. The ship provides a habitat for an abundance of life that we got to see up close today. We started to swim around the ship and saw various fish such as French Grunts, Blue Tangs, Gray and French Angelfish as well as many others. There were also several Southern Stingrays in that area. We then entered the ship through large openings on the side. Inside there were other fish like Rainbow Parrotfish, Sergeant Majors and others. Next, we traveled over to Turtle Rocks, where thousands of coral make their home, as well as a variety of other reef creatures. We snorkeled from the R/V Coral Reef II to the rocks and made our way along the coral colonies. We viewed tons of amazing fish, such as Queen Angelfish, Yellowtail Damsels and many more. But the time went fast and we eventually had to trek back to the boat for some lunch. Chef Matt cooked us some soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and chicken salad. It was delicious!!!
We got a chance to visit the world famous Bimini Shark Lab
After lunch, we had our final plankton tow for this week. The haul this time had a lot of plankton. We also had 3 baby pipefish and a baby octopus. The unintended catch was safely released into the water and the plankton then put into the jar. All in all, we had a great final haul. After the plankton tow, we took the skiff, to the Bimini Shark Lab located on the southern part of South Bimini. There we met Kat, the Lab Manager, as well as a few other shark researchers. Kat explained the ecology and conservation of Lemon Sharks to our group. She also took us out to a temporary enclosure where they had a Bimini Boa. This species of snake is endemic or only found in Bimini. Unfortunately, it is becoming rare, but the experience to see and hold it was a chance of a lifetime. Afterwards, we had a chance to see a baby Lemon Shark.
We gently passed around this Bimini Boa and were able to feel its smooth skin.
The experience was great and we learned a lot. After the lab, we returned to the boat and headed for the Turtle Rocks again. We then prepped and took the skiff to the rocks. We got out a few meters from the rocks and proceeded toward the shore to do our Intertidal Survey. This experiment was to observe the different species that live in the tidal zones that can either be covered by water or exposed. The creatures ranged from mollusks like various snails and chitons to arthropods like crabs. We learned a lot about the area from Captain John including the different types of sand and how its made. We then returned to the boat and prepared for dinner. We had a great dinner of meatloaf, sweet potatoes, and asparagus. That just about wrapped up day 4 on the Coral Reef II. Join us tomorrow for "Notes from the Trail: Day 5"!
By: David and Eric
Photos compiled by: Alex
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