We used microscopes to examine the plankton we collected..
Our last day in the Bahamas was one to remember. We did some work, had a lot of fun, and realized how thankful we were for the opportunity to be part of the High School Marine Biology research team of 2008. We woke up to the smell of cinnamon rolls at 7 a.m. Breakfast was delicious, as usual. We then had our article discussion on the slaughter of some Blue Iguanas. The leaders helped us to understand why someone may commit crimes like this. It was interesting to hear about various scenarios and make connections to similar incidents like the Gorilla killings last year in Democratic Republic of the Congo in Virunga National Park.
We made gyotaku t-shirts to help us remember this amazing experience.
Our day continued with plankton lab. The plankton tow team set up microscopes at each table and gave each group a slide. We then partnered up with our snorkel buddies to begin the lab. At each table there was a plankton guide containing the most common zooplankton and phytoplankton to help us distinguish between the different types. We observed two slides for each time of the day and wrote down how many plankton and the types of plankton were on the slide. After everyone finished observing their plankton, we all cleaned up the equipment and then got ready for our research team debriefs. Each research team was to present their data and conclusion along with other possible questions to think about after doing these experiments. After we all presented our data, we were given time to work on our wilderness classroom tasks and finish compiling our research data.
We gathered at the bow of the boat for a final group photo.
Our day continued with our first snorkel of the day at Cat Cay. There, we were able to see an octopus, yellow stingrays, spotted eagle ray and a green turtle. We also saw the areas of the island that used to have turtle grass on them but had recently been dredged. After our snorkel we came back to the boat and dried off and came in for a surprise activity. All of the students sat as Captain John and Matt told us a story of a Japanese emperor who was also a sailorman. Nobody ever believed his stories of how large the fish that he caught were. The emperor finally made a Gyotaku. Gyotaku is the Japanese art of ink pressing, putting ink on the fish and pressing paper or cloth on it. We made our own Gyotaku on white shirts. Using fabric stamps, fabric markers, paint and rubber molds of fish, sea stars and a stingray. After our activity all of the students and leaders jumped off the side of the R/V Coral Reef II. We tied a rope to the crane and swung off the side of the boat into the water while doing flips and other tricks.
We finished up our last day with yet another great dinner and the leaders had
one more surprise. We went for our last night snorkel and saw two
Green
Sea Turtles and two octopi along with bioluminescent plankton, juvenile
Yellow
Stingray and
Caribbean
Spiny Lobster. We had an amazing day that truly wrapped up our week in the
Bahamas aboard the R/V Coral Reef II.
Written by: Emilse and Logan
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