Here are two short bios from two visiting scientists from Simon Fraser University:
PhD student from SFU Luis ready to dive for lionfish.
Luis- I am a marine ecologist with background in oceanography and fisheries ecology; my
research interests are the study of food web interactions and energy transfer in the marine ecosystem. For my PhD at The Marine Ecology Lab in Simon Fraser University, I will focus on evaluating how food webs are affected under different stressors, one very important one being the lionfish invasion on the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean. During the following three months I will be collecting samples of different fish species using non-invasive techniques to study the structure of food webs in reefs off Eleuthera. This is an existing project and having the opportunity of doing it with the help and support of the CEI and Island School staff makes it even better!
SFU Student Sev checking a trap.
Severin- I am a third year biology student from Simon Fraser University. For my cooperative education placement and NSERC – Undergratuate Student Research Award, I have the good fortune of assisting Luis Malpica with his food-web research in the field (under the supervision of Dr. Côté) as well as conducting my own studies on site fidelity and habitat use of yellow stingrays (Urobatis jamaicensis). Although I’ve been diving for several years, my interest for marine ecology was ignited after participating in Dr. Côté’s graduate level, underwater research methods course at SFU.
Lead educator Tiff Gray with students from St. Andrews
Last week, Educational Programs at CEI had their hands full with two classes hailing from St. Andrew’s School in Nassau, home of the Hurricanes. The first class, a group of 17 students, had a blast helping the plastics, lionfish, and bonefish research teams. Students arrived from Nassau and executed their first day nicely with lots of energy and enthusiasm! The first item on the agenda was a sustainable systems scavenger hunt, exploring the grounds and learning important facts about sustainability initiatives around campus. That afternoon, they spoke with Kristal Ambrose, Patch Reef Researcher & plastic enthusiast, on her plastics research project at CEI. Although the rain put a damper on data collection, they were able to conduct beach plastic surveys the next afternoon and utilize this data for their Math class back at
St. Andrews’ students enjoying a beach bonfire on their last night.
St. Andrew’s. The second day they headed down island to explore the caves of Rock Sound, journal at the Banyon Tree, and swim in Ocean Hole. That afternoon they took a stroll down the beach at Paige Creek to learn about the Flats ecosystem and chat with Liane Nowell about her exciting master’s project on Bonefish. The day ended with a bonfire and s’mores on the beach! Their last day started with a joyful school reunion when the second class from St. Andrew’s arrived. Continue reading →
Last week, the lionfish team here at CEI got out of the office and spent their working hours underwater- about 14 hours to be exact! They conducted a round of patch reef surveys in Rock Sound, counting numerous fish species and looking for and removing lionfish from the reefs. The study is aimed at better understanding the impacts lionfish have in the area. On the 16 patch reefs they surveyed, 56 lionfish were seen and sized. On the 8 patches that were designated as “removal patches,” 19 out of 24 lionfish were removed.
Members of Lionfish Research Team (L to R): Liz Underwood (intern), Jocelyn Curtis-Quick (Manager), and visiting scientists Luis and Sev.
Several exciting encounters with other marine life happened as well, including getting up close and personal with a nurse shark and spotting a unicorn filefish! Seven different people were involved in data collection, including PhD student, Luis, from Simon Frasier University. Luis is back at CEI for 3 months collecting data for his project and helping out the lionfish program any way he can! Continue reading →
by 
