Greetings to all of our blog readers! Today was filled with shallow waters and intertidal zones! We started off our day by eating a hardy meal which consisted of French toast and sausage. Then we set off (in the extra-large truck) to our first destination for the day; Snapshot Shallows. The objective of our time here was to visit the site and focus on the shallow portion of the area. Soon after we entered the water, we laid eyes on a 3.5-4 foot long barracuda. It was amazing to have that encounter. Instead of swimming away, we being the curious students that we were, swam towards it to get a winning shot. After getting some great pictures we ventured off to look at some other organisms. On our way out of that area we realized that the barracuda was close on our fins. Looking around on our search for other creatures, we realized that the barracuda was following us and was 10 feet away. We found this way too close for comfort and began to frantically flee the area in hopes of losing it. After getting to an area with more people, we calmed ourselves down, and started looking at all of the other organisms in that area. We really enjoyed being able to snorkel around and identify the algae, fish and coral that we learned during the previous week. Another thing that we found to be intriguing is how differently you can look at a site after learning more about the organisms that are found there. There are some things, that without knowing about, one might simply look over them and not take note of their presence or activity in the environment.
Once back on the campus, we sat down to enjoy one of our favorite lunches; chicken patties and potato salad. After finishing our lunches, we promptly got ready to set off on our circumnavigation of the island; filled with beautiful scenery and bird identifications. We drove to the southern end of the island passing many inland lakes that were very interesting to get the chance to see. The lakes were representative of a diverse variety of colors. One of the lakes was a vibrant aqua blue- a color that one might find in a box of Crayola crayons. While in contrast, we passed a lake that had more of a murky appearance due to the sediment and lack of direct connection to the ocean. After a 30 minute sunny and scenic drive, we arrived at our intertidal location; Blackwood Bay. This location is comparable to Bonefish Bay but times ten. A notable aspect of this location is the presence of mangroves near the shoreline. These are something that have not been seen thus far in any of our sites. The diversity and abundance found here was incredible. Under every rock there was not only a wild amount of brittle stars but also various species of other critters. Here we saw several species of crabs such as decorator crabs, sponge-hat crabs and calico crabs. One of our favorite finds was the Atlantic pygmy octopus. This little organism consisted of several incredible pigments and was so incredible to get such a great look at. Looking at species that were new to us was something very eye-opening. It was amazing to see the abundance of several organisms that could be found in such a small area. We found ourselves taking close looks at these organisms in order to begin an identification process for them, comparing similarities and differences of organisms that we already knew.
After departing from our site, we began our journey back to the North end of the island, towards the GRC. On our way back we made a quick stop in town to pick up some much needed refreshments; snacks, ice cream and cold juice. Once back at the field station, we washed up and headed to dinner to enjoy a well-rounded meal; pork chops, vegetables and curry.
Today was filled with adventure and exploration. We were able to see and learn so many new and interesting things about marine critters and San Salvador. As always the sites and ocean views did not disappoint and we are both excited to continue to expand our knowledge about marine studies in the Bahamas.
Thanks for reading- until next time:
Jamila Juzer ’17 and Heddie Samuelson ‘18