Once our discussion was finished, we headed to the shark lab, a lab that does various research projects on sharks. While at the shark lab we had a tour of the lab where Emily, the manger of the lab, explained the variation of sharks and research completed at the lab.

  To conclude our tour visited a shark pen were we able to touch a nurse shark and lemon shark pup.

  We really enjoyed the shark lab and while still on the island where shark lab was located, we took a peaceful nature walk through the Bimini Sands Eco-tour.  While being careful of poison wood, we saw many interesting creatures from the crab spider to the Bimini Boa. We came back to the boat where we had lunch soon after we prepared for our snorkel at Sapona, a shipwreck that is now home to a vast diversity of fish. 

While snorkeling we took a fish survey of the variety of fish that lived in and around Sapona. Once we finished at Sapona we came back to boat to do a plankton tow where we gathered interesting plankton because they swam with intense speed.   Our day was filled many memorable moments that were filled with fun! We are looking forward to more fun filled days! So long fare well from... Kevin and Daniella                                                        

We found moon jellies, anemones, conchs, snails, urchins, and plenty of fish all which are native to this habitat. We also encountered an invasive species, the lionfish. Matt and Laura both said that of all the times they have been at Turtle Rocks that this was the fist time they had seen a Lionfish. After studying the intertidal zone, the crew took water samples of the tide pools in turtle rock.  In the tide pools, we compared salinity, pH and temperature.  One of the challenges we faced were just walking on the jagged rock.

When the crew got to the boat, we were fed cheeseburgers and French fries.  After lunch we played a simple yet confusing game with Captain John that involved a piece of string and two people tied together. We had to work together to disconnect ourselves from a knot. After the game, we anchored on the other side of turtle rock for our snorkel at a natural reef. We saw squirrel fish, southern stingrays, Sgt. Majors and many other types of fish. We also did our first fish survey, counting all the fish we saw, for our research project.

We came back to the boat and discussed all the fish we saw and totaled the diversity of them up. We then anchored at Bimini Road.  Matt and Laura split the crew up as either Scientist or anthropologist. On the snorkel we had to come up with a hypothesis about what we thought Bimini Road used to be. While snorkeling we were lucky to see some sea turtles. We came back to the boat to discuss our thought about Bimini Road. We were told that some have thought that Bimini Road was one of the roads that lead to Atlantis.  On the other hand, many of those who have a scientific point of view believe that Bimini Road was actually a natural geological formation. The crew was more for Atlantis than the idea that Bimini Road was created naturally because HSMB week two has big imaginations.

At seven thirty we sat down to a hearty dinner of pork chops, mushrooms, green beans and mash potatoes.  We enjoyed listening to stories that the captains told us about their experiences and careers. After dinner, we were assigned wilderness classroom duties which we are working on right now. As of right now the HSMB crew is having a terrific night and is excited to further write about our future experiences in Bimini, aboard the R/V Coral Reef Vessel II.

By: Daniella and Whitney

We arrived in Alice Town, where North Bimini's customs are located at 11:45 am. We went to the Straw Market on land to purchase some souvenirs. Some of us even haggled!! Afterwards, we went on a little stroll down their only road. As scientists, we observed that the folks of Bimini drove on the left side of the road. We also observed the Biminites' buildings that were from the European colonial times. They were small and pastel colored. We then voyaged through the parts of Bimini where development was taking place to attract tourism.

Then we traveled to our first snorkel destination!! We went to La Chance Rocks, which is on the Northwest side of Bimini. Although the water was a little choppy, it was still a great experience. The coolest animals we saw were two nurse sharks.

 When we were finished with the snorkel, it was time to do a plankton tow. We did plankton tows on the Port and Starboard side and came up with exceptionally different results for each side. We caught more zooplankton on the starboard side and more phytoplankton on the port side. 

After a laborious day, we sat down to eat a delicious dinner prepared by Chef Matt.  We then got to work on research our projects that week one had started.  Anchored in southwest Bimini typing this now, it's hard to believe that we left Miami only about 16 hours ago, when it feels like it's been days already!! Our hard work for the day is done, and now we must rest our brains for another laborious day aboard the R/V Coral Reef II. Good night!

            One thing that stood out was the sea turtle named Bubble-butt (named because his shell forms a bubble near his tail). Bubble-butt was born with a genetic disorder which affected the shape of his shell. Bubble-butt has a floating problem. Dr. Rusenko's team is still debating on bubble-butt's future. They are not sure whether to release him into the wild or give him to an aquarium.  We then walked along a boardwalk through mangroves.  During the walk through the mangroves, we learned how a mangrove habitat provides for many organisms.

Mangroves are important to marine ecosystems because they prevent erosion, hurricane damage and provide a nursery for marine organisms. We stopped for pizza before heading back to the boat. So far, we have tasted salt water and have fallen in love with a sea turtle.

What do you think should happen to bubble butt?

By:  Mark and Ju Ju

HQ out.

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.

Source: Miketsukunibito.

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.