The Eleutheran Explorers Camp is quickly approaching day 4. It’s true what they say about how time flies when you’re having fun! The last few days have been filled with day and night snorkels, learning about the sustainable systems, exploring the mangroves and visiting the aquaculture cage! They also took recycled materials from resources and turned it into art! The kids have a busy and fun filled next couple of days ahead of them.
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In order to better understand the ecological role of the Yellow Stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis, team SFU has been performing some baseline stingray surveys each Saturday. What happens on Stingray Saturdays? There are sixteen survey sites (patch reefs) total. At these sites two SCUBA divers record the number of individual rays, sex, total length, substrate, refuge, and where they were found on the patch. In addition to this they also take their picture!
This data will reveal more about the habitat use and site fidelity of the rays. If time permits, the team may even test whether or not the rays can be reliably identified based on their spot patterns. If photo ID were a feasible option it would mean no tags necessary – a noninvasive and cost effective way of identifying individuals!
by The past 12 days have been a whirlwind for a group of 15 students from Carlsbad, Northern San Diego, California. The first week of the program, the students embarked in discovering all the different research areas that CEI is currently involved in. These are just a few of the plethora of activities that we delved into: snorkelling the cage, cutting glass with Sam for the new resource building, jumping off high rock, playing in the pink sand on Harbour Island, observing echinoderms and their tubed feet frenzy over on the sand bar, night wading around the boathouse, followed by many more.
On day one we were out with the flats team seining in some adverse conditions. The rain held us indoors for a couple days, where the student’s day varied from discussing sustainability to dissecting a sponge and learning all about the critters that inhabit the watery pores of a lovely smelling stinker sponge!
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