Greetings All,
The crew from week one has returned from their adventures in Bimini with stories to tell and pictures to share. Here are a few highlights from the last half of week one and the answers to all the questions you've been posting here at Wilderness Classroom. Remember, the week 2 crew leaves today for Miami and the Coral Reef II sets sail for Bimini early tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for updates from the field...
Q: Will the forecast of rain and thunderstorms for the majority of the trip create any adjustment to your research and activity plans? Can you leverage the rain to study activity that may only occur during storms?
A: Fortunately for us the forecast for storms was false and we had amazing weather. We didn't have to change any of our activity plans. However, we did see a waterspout that came from a storm that was miles away.
Q: Sounds like you packed a lot into one day! Question about the plankton: Other than the difference in the quantity between day and night, can you see the difference between zooplankton and phytoplankton? Or do they look the same? Looking forward to hearing more about your adventure and your research!
A: One of the first things that we noticed immediately about plankton was the difference in the abundance between the day and night samples. Plankton (zooplankton especially) was far more abundant in our night samples, as the zooplankton migrates to the surface at night to feed. Today we began looking at the plankton samples we have collected under a microscope. We noticed that zooplankton is much larger and easier to identify than the phytoplankton. Also zooplankton have eyes and generally look like small animals, while phytoplankton are green and look more like geometric shapes or random blobs.
Q: Were these encounters (two in one day!) with oceans of jellies unusual? If so, any ideas why you are meeting up with so many jellyfish? Or is this typical of that area (or this time of year)?
A: Our jelly encounters were not too unusual because jellies can be abundant at random times. Since jellies move with the current, they sometimes come in massive groups, all at the mercy of ocean conditions. However, when the current died down the jellies dispersed quickly.
Q: As a member of Ocean Futures Society, I learned about Bimini's plight from Fabien Cousteau. He had a video about stopping the destruction of Bimini through the building up of resorts and other tourist attractions. Has the 75% build up in three years severely reduced the numbers of native species of plants and animals in the area and has it done some unchangeable effects on the native reefs and sea life? I would love to see the distinct reefs and beautiful sea life for myself before they are destroyed by unnecessary construction.
A: We have heard from some of the researchers that we have met during the trip that the recent development has produced some very harmful effects on the native species of Bimini. Some obvious effects are the habitats (mangroves, seagrass beds) that have been directly damaged or destroyed by constructing buildings, marinas and channels. Other longer term effects can be produced by the waste and runoff from the resorts. Since we haven't been in Bimini long enough to study the effects of the development, we can't say how severely the numbers or amount of species have been reduced. We do know that many studies are being conducted right now that will hopefully shed more light on that. Thankfully, a marine protected area that was established earlier this year will prevent any further development on North Bimini and may ensure a future for some of the amazing species that we have seen this week!
Q: Wow, that is so cool! In all my times in Bimini, I have never been that lucky! Moon jellies are just beautiful, have you seen any sea walnuts? A: We have seen sea walnuts as well. Not as many as moon jellies, but we have seen a few over reefs and towards sandy bottoms. I wish I could have seen one a night because they are bioluminescent.
