Bahamas Project

Final Podcast from HSMB 2008

2008-08-29T16:55:09Z

You will need Flash 8.0 or higher to view all of our videos, click here to download the player

"Waste free lunch" results.

2008-08-25T19:23:03Z

Through out HSMB pre and post-trip classes, we have participated in a "waste-free Lunch" challenge. Our goal throughout experience has been to eliminate as much waste from going to land fills as possible. In this effort, we have recycled as much plastic, glass, metal and paper as possible and deposited our organic waste into worm bins to be transformed into compost.

We learned how worms can be used to compost our food waste.

There were many challenges involved in this task because many items in everyday lunches are non-recyclable. Many food items designed for students to take to school in their lunches, items like chip bags, individually wrapped fruit snack wrappers, food trays, containers, etc are non-recyclable. To eliminate these and other items that could very easily end up in landfills, we utilized things like Tupperware containers to carry our sandwiches and chips, reusable lunch boxes to carry our meals, and reusable water bottles, thermoses to carry our drinks and tried to buy in bulk instead of purchasing individually wrapped items. Organic items such as apple cores, banana peels, brown paper bags, and other similar items were places into compost bins instead sending them to a landfill where often even organic items don't get a chance to break down because of lack of oxygen and landfill conditions. Plastic were a particular challenge at first because of some confusion about the different kinds of plastics and which ones could be recycled in different areas, but now we have the hang of it and will always remember to buy plastic items with recycling logos on them and match the numbers with the ones that can be recycled in our area.

It may be difficult at first and take some getting used to, but in the end you too can make a difference by reducing your human footprint and the amount of waste that you send to a landfill!

8/21/08 Mystery Photo

2008-08-25T18:55:27Z

Use your mouse to look for clues in the space below.

Students re-unite and reflect during post trip classes.

2008-08-17T14:52:43Z

On July 23, 2008, both weeks of HSMB 2008 re-united to begin our post trip classes. During these classes, most of what we worked on prepared us for the final event in August. Some activities included; collaborating on our research projects, exploring careers in the marine science field, and sharing our experiences from the trip.

Most of what the trip gave each of us was inspiration to continue marine biology as a career, so we headed to Shedd's computer lab. There, we explored many career options and variations of how we could continue our new knowledge to the future. Being a marine biologist wasn't the only way to express ourselves through environmental research. Oceanography, engineering, writing, filmmaking; there were so many options we learned that would still impact conservation. We also had a few Shedd employees come to our classroom and explain how they got to where they are today. Their stories gave us an idea of what we could do with Shedd as well as possible paths we can take after high school.

Throughout the three days, we also created posters within our research groups. We put up data supporting our research and summarizing our experiments. With this, we had the opportunity to unveil our creative sides by putting together the posters. Having shared the experience together, it was more fun to assemble them. Teamwork, dedication, and motivation allowed us all to complete it productively. This project strengthened the anticipation for the final event.

On the third day of class, we took our group photos on the main stairs in front of the Shedd. Standing on the staircase, the atmosphere filled with unity and affection. It gave us the strong sense of family. The friends we've made, the interests we've shared, and knowledge we've gained, has, in one way or another, changed us all. What we experienced with Shedd's High School Marine Biology will never be forgotten.

HSMB 2008!

How can we continue to act after HSMB 2008 is over?

2008-08-12T21:40:29Z

Here at Shedd Aquarium, we have created a new family together. We are a very unique group that has been able to unite our ideas and form similar beliefs. Our basic question is, when HSMB 2008 has ended, will we be able to stay strong with our beliefs, opinions, and actions as individuals?

In a large group, it seems easy to simply be a follower, but as HSMB comes to a close, we must realize that we need to become our own leaders and make efforts to gain and inform new followers. For example, at HSMB we were able to comprehend how much waste we were producing everyday by weighing our trash. Now that we are going back to our individual lives, we need to be responsible enough to stay aware of our garbage production. We must not fall back into our old habits. Throughout this program, our instructors, as leaders, have successfully transformed us into leaders ourselves.

Now we need to complete the cycle and take in new followers to teach them to be leaders as well. Half the battle in leading is getting out of your comfort zone. We need to make an effort to stay informed and start informing the public as well. Even if our opinions are not heard, it is still important to try because along the way, someone will listen. If we continue this cycle on and on, this can be our first major breakthrough on making a huge difference in this complicated world.

Mangrove Destruction in Bimini Bay

2008-07-19T15:20:07Z

At the start of day three, we got the opportunity to go snorkeling in the mangroves. Despite the rainy weather, we all had a great time observing the plants and animals in this unique habitat. We learned that mangroves provide an important home for many species of animals - particularly juvenile fish, sharks and invertebrates. During our first snorkel at La Chance Rocks we observed an ongoing construction project in an area north of Alice Town called Bimini Bay. Our instructors told us that the project in progressing quickly and they have added many news homes, a sea wall, a beach and a harbor just since the project began. The next phase of the project is scheduled to include lots more new homes and an 18-hole golf course that could put a lot of the mangroves, including the area where we snorkeled, in jeopardy.

When we visited the Bimini Biological Station (Shark Lab) we learned about how the destruction of this vital habitat may have a negative impact not only on the species living in Bimini, but the Caribbean at large. We discussed this matter with a few Biminites at the straw market in Alicetown. Many of them related to us that they have lost business to the new shops at Bimini Bay and have noticed that the dredging for the new harbors have already had an impact on the islands reefs, as well as conch and lobster populations that are so important for the islands economy.

Can you think of ways that the natural resources of Bimini can be preserved, while providing jobs and economic growth for the people of Bimini?

Vegetation Survey (Week 2)

2008-07-18T21:07:12Z

Karolina uses the densiometer to measure the canopy cover.

The goal of our vegetation survey was to answer the question of whether the invasive species, Australian pine, would impact the occurrence of native plant species in the surrounding area. From this question, we drew our hypothesis. It states that the presence Australian pines will reduce the amount of native vegetation in the surrounding area. In order to calculate this, we measured both the height and canopy cover of Australian Pines in two locations around Bimini because we believe that it is the height and the width of these trees that are eliminating native vegetation from the area by blocking out the valuable sunlight needed for photosynthesis. Vegetation native to Bimini is generally low lying, none of which grow to higher than 10 feet. Therefore we believe that a tall tree species like Australian pine could easily out compete these native species for sunlight, thus establishing itself in a given area. To measure the tree height, we used a clinometer, while we used densiometer to measure canopy cover.

]]>

Anna uses a clinometer to measure the height of a Australian pine.

Our second location was on a small near by island called Gun Cay. At this site, we saw a much different habitat dominated by low-lying native plants like inkberry, spider lilies, railroad vine, and buttonwood with a few Australian pines having established themselves in small numbers on the fringe. We followed the same exact procedure we used at our first study site. Here, the average height of the Australian pines measured trees was 31.82 feet, with an estimated 25 trees in our study site. The average canopy cover for trees sampled at this site was 59.35%. With less pines in the area, we observed that both the amount of native plants and diversity increased. In this location, we found 3 different species of native plants (sea purslane, buttonwood, black mangrove) with the native vegetation making up 74.16% of the ground cover sampled.

Although you can easily observe that the presence of Australian pine has a negative impact on native plant species, the data we collected doesn't completely support this statement. There were numerous variables that could have had an effect on the outcome of our data. For example, East Wells had previously had a fire, which killed the majority of the Australian pines in the area, leading to there being a greater amount of canopy cover at the Gun Cay study site because all the trees at East Wells had lost their needles. So even though the Australian pine population at East Wells was far more established and had a greater density of trees, our data showed a lesser canopy cover due to their bare branches. This fact caused the data to appear a little misleading because you would expect a more established population with great density of trees in an area with few remaining native plants to have a high percentage of canopy cover. If we were to replicate or expand on this study in the future we would include more study sites and one that had not been effected by fire.

In the end I believe that the results of our data probably created more questions than it produced answers. Was it the fire that came through East Wells what wiped out all the low-lying native vegetation in the area or was it the established pine population that was blocking the sunlight these plants needed? We also observed that there was a thick layer of pine needles covering the ground in East Wells, what impact does this layer have on native vegetation? Is there a chance that a layer of decomposing pine needles can change the chemistry of the soil to a level that native plants cannot tolerate? Our first location at East Wells was further from the water than our second location at Gun Cay is it possible that the Australian pines act as weed withdrawing valuable water from the ground water from the ground and not allowing the native vegetation to receive enough for their survival - particularly in areas further away from a permanent water source? Whatever the reason may be, there are still many questions that need to be answered before we can figure out what exactly causes Australian pines to outcompete the native vegetation of Bimini. Questions like these need to be answered before strategies can be established to eradicate this native species and restore these area to their native ecosystems.

By: Emilse, John, and Valerie

7/17/2008 Mystery Photo

2008-07-18T19:41:36Z

Mouse around in the space below for clues.

We have learned so much in Bimini

2008-07-18T19:24:50Z

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

Plankton Tow (Week 2)

2008-07-18T18:35:45Z

Hypothesis:

We used microscopes to identify the plankton and other organisms we found during our plankton tows.

Plankton are organisms that drift in water currents. There are two types of plankton; zooplankton and phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are primary producers that are light-dependent. Zooplanktons, on the other hand, are microscopic animals that feed on the phytoplankton. The majority of plankton lives in the photic zone. Plankton can be an indirect or direct source of food for most aquatic organisms and are the base of the aquatic food web. In order to better understand the quantity of plankton communities in the Bahamas during different times of day, we conducted the plankton tow.

We hypothesized that phytoplankton would be the most common plankton found. In our experiment, we expected to find more of the primary producers mainly because they are light dependent and would most likely drift near the surface opposed to deeper waters. In our experiment, another variable we put to the test was time of day; two of our plankton tows were conducted during the day as well as 2 more during the night. With this, we hypothesized that we would find more zooplankton during the night tows because they feed at night; their vertical migration also occurs at this time.

Data Summary:

Looking through the microscope unveiled some very interesting organisms.

Our collected data opposed our hypothesis. We found that more zooplankton were found both during the day as well as during the night. Although the numbers of zoo and phytoplankton were somewhat similar for the day, the night numbers showed a significant difference in the amount of zoo and phytoplankton. As we know, this was because the zooplankton vertically migrated in the evening to feed, greatly increasing its number. According to our research, stormy weather also had an effect on the amount of plankton collected. The results we collected after the squall were significantly greater than on a calm day. With the plankton, the squall also increased the amount of sedimentation, inorganic matter suspended in water. Our results helped us propose other questions we may ask about plankton quantities such as; Would the depth of the plankton tow affect the amount of plankton collected?

Feeding wild animals is not a good idea.

2008-07-18T18:25:54Z

While we were in shallow water performing a grassy bottom beach seine a stingray swam around us. It returned several times circling our group. We were told by our instructors that stingrays are fed at this location and that it was looking to be fed. Many people and tour outfits feed wild animals like rays and sharks to bring people closer to these animals. By feeding these animals they begin to associate humans with food. This association brings humans and wildlife in more frequent contact which poses hazards to both wildlife and humans.

What are some ways that we can educate people about the importance of not feeding wild animals?

Beach Seine (Week 2)

2008-07-18T13:39:04Z

A successful beach seine requires a lot of cooperation.

In our hypothesis we stated that the grassy bottom would have more biodiversity than the sandy bottom. We came up with this hypothesis because we thought that there would be more fish that lived within the grass of the ocean. The smaller fish and juvenile fish used the combination of shallow water and the turtle grass as protection from the larger carnivores. We predicted that the sandy bottom would not have a large biodiversity because most fish would not camouflage in with the sand and therefore their predators would be able to see them and eat them.

]]>

Juvenile Scrawled Cowfish from beach seine through turtle grass.

After completing the beach seine we can now confirm our hypothesis that there was a greater biodiversity in the grassy bottom than in the sandy bottom. With three trials in the sandy bottom we collected only 7 different species of fish, snails, and crabs. Two very interesting fish that we found during the beach seine with sandy bottom were an Eyed Flounder and a Lizardfish. Even though we had a good collection of fish in the sandy bottom we had an even better collection of fish in the grassy bottom. During the grassy bottom beach seine we discovered 19 different species of fish, crabs, and snails. We collected these 19 different species in only two trials compared to the three trials in the beach seine on sandy bottom.

Juvenile Scrawled Filefish from beach seine through turtle grass.

Our data supports our hypothesis. We had a greater biodiversity of species in the grassy bottom than in the sandy bottom. We believe that there is a greater biodiversity in the grassy bottom because has a greater number of hiding places, food sources, and spawning areas compared to the sandy bottom. In the third trial of the grassy bottom beach seine, we conducted the experiment closer to the grass so that is why we collected a greater biodiversity of fish and also a school of 35 permits.

Grassy Bottom:
-Cowfish
-Filefish
-Swimming Crab
-Checkered Puffer
-Peacock Flounder
-Razor Fish
-Juvenile Wrasse
-Milk Conch
-Queen Conch
-Hermit Crabs
-Baby Conch
-Nobby Perywinkle Snail
-Juvenile Filefish
-Fringe Filefish
-Silver Side
-Mojara
-Blue Swimming Crab
-Wrasse
-Shrimp

Sandy Bottom:
-Lizard Fish
-Star Gazer
-Swimming Crab
-Sargasm/ Ocellated Crab
-Flounder
-Jacks
-Permits

Juvenile Eyed Flounder found during beach seine over a sandy bottom.

By: Kelsey, Parker and Logan

Podcast by: Tyler and John

2008-07-18T13:33:52Z

You will need Flash 8.0 or higher to view all of our videos, click here to download the player

Bimini Intertidal Zone Survey

2008-07-17T18:11:35Z

You will need Flash 8.0 or higher to view all of our videos, click here to download the player

All tangled up!

2008-07-17T14:21:38Z

You will need Flash 8.0 or higher to view all of our videos, click here to download the player