Monthly Archives: January 2014

Educational Programs, Lionfish, Research Programs, Sharks, Student Research, Sustainable Fisheries

MSSM presents on the effects of longline capture stress

Shark research associate, Owen O'shea, with juvenile tiger shark caught on longline.
Shark research associate, Owen O’shea, with juvenile tiger shark caught on longline.

The Maine School of Science & Mathematics blessed us with their presence for the 4th year in a row here at the Cape Eleuthera Institute! Dr. Debbie Eustis-Grandy and Dr. Gregory Hamlin, both teachers from MSSM in Limestone, Maine, lead five brilliant boarding students through a two week research program with Cape Eleuthera Institute’s shark researchers- Edd Brooks, Owen O’shea, Ian Bouyoucos, Ollie Shipley, and Mackey Violich.

Students learning about the anatomy of the invasive lionfish with Alicia Hendrix, CEI's research technician for the sustainable fisheries program.
Students learning about the anatomy of the invasive lionfish with Alicia Hendrix, CEI’s research technician for the sustainable fisheries program.

Students were specifically looking at the effects of longline capture stress on the blood chemistry of Caribbean reef sharks & nurse sharks, focusing on glucose and lactate levels within the first 30 minutes of capture. Students worked alongside the shark crew in the field longlining for shark. Their first day in the field they caught a juvenile tiger shark with a total length of just 134 cms! This data will contribute to CEI’s shark longlining database and be used to research the potential effects commercial longline on shark species. Students analyzed blood chemistry data on Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks provided by the CEI’s long term database. This data was used to draw conclusions on the different stress response of species with various life history characteristics. Continue reading →

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinby feather
Educational Programs, Flats, Research Programs, SCUBA, Student Research

Spring Gap students are here!

Team Gap Year Spring 2014
Team Gap Year Spring 2014

The Spring Gappers are on campus! Our first week was busy getting oriented to all the exciting opportunities that are waiting for us in the next two months.

While we’ve only started our Environmental Issues class we’ve already had so many opportunities to learn, attending Dr. Conrad Speed’s presentation on his work with sharks in western Australia as well as the presentations held by three soon-to-be departing researchers on their work with checkered puffers, bonefish, and personality in sharks and rays.

Team Gap learning to SCUBA dive with Ron
Team Gap learning to SCUBA dive with Ron

Aside from learning, we’re all training to compete in athletic events organized for the end of our semester. Two of us are training for a more traditional triathlon, with our first run-swim at 6:30 Wednesday morning. Not to be deterred, our very own Stef Tai is in training for the newly created “biathlon” (swimming and now, kayaking). Continue reading →

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinby feather
Educational Programs, Outreach, Plastics, Student Research

Plastics outreach with Preston H Albury school

A PHA student searching for plastic debris
A PHA student searching for plastic debris

This past fall, CEI’s resident plastic researcher, Kristal Ambrose teamed up with local high school teacher Joanna Parker’s geography class to conduct two consecutive beach plastic surveys for their BGCSE course work, a national exam required for graduation. Their plastic lesson began when Kristal visited the high school to talk about plastic pollution and her research being done on the island. They were very receptive and interested in learning more about the issue.

The students surveyed two beaches in South Eleuthera and compared how debris levels varied between beaches. Thirty two students from grades 10, 11 and 12 at the Preston H Albury High School in Rock Sound ended their lesson on the beach to test the hypothesis for their project. The educational programs team assisted in this venture and helped to make it a success. Students were impacted by the amount of debris discovered on the beaches and are excited to conduct more surveys!

A group shot from the surveys groups
A group shot from the surveys groups
facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinby feather
Lionfish, Research Programs, SCUBA, Visiting Scientists

Lionfish study focused on South Eleuthera’s patch reefs is accepted for publication!

A photo of catching lionfish by REEF's Lad Akins
A photo of catching lionfish by REEF’s Lad Akins

Good news for the continuing battle against invasive lionfish – a study conducted at CEI in collaboration with Simon Fraser University and Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), and headed by marine ecologist, Stephanie Green (now a postdoc at Oregon State University) was recently accepted by the Ecological Society of America. This 18 month study shows that by reducing lionfish populations below threshold levels, we can help protect native fish communities from predator-induced population declines at a local scale. Even though complete eradication of lionfish is virtually impossible, this finding gives researchers hope that removal efforts are making a difference.  So, get out there…save the reef, eat a lionfish!

Check out the recent press about this study, http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-01/osu-wol012214.php
Lionfish on the patch reefs
Lionfish on the patch reefs
facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinby feather
Educational Programs, Outreach, Research Programs, Sea turtles, Student Research

Earthwatch Expeditions starting soon!

Green sea turtle
Green sea turtle

The Sea Turtle Research Program at CEI was recently awarded funding through the Earthwatch Institute! Starting in February, 8 expeditions are planned throughout 2014 where people of all ages and all nationalities can join the research team and assist with this important study.

Students measuring carapace
Students measuring carapace

Earthwatch expeditions allow individuals to spend a meaningful vacation working with scientists in the field, getting a unique experience, learning new skills and assisting in tackling environmental issues. Participants on the sea turtle expedition will live on the CEI campus and be immersed in all it has to offer, be trained in the skills necessary for field work, collect and enter data and participate in evening activities such as guest lectures and island exploration.

Over the course of the next few years, Earthwatch volunteers will assist in the collection of data that will lead to several peer-reviewed scientific publications. The topics focus on the

Surveying for turtles
Surveying for turtles

 

selection of and fine scale movements in foraging grounds, by green and hawksbill turtles, so that these areas can be conserved. To better understand this volunteers will be surveying for turtles on nearshore reefs and in tidal mangrove creeks, capturing and tagging turtles, surveying the habitats they are found in, and assessing predator abundance and diversity (sharks!) in these habitats.

kissStay tuned for updates from the field and click here for more information:
facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinby feather
Educational Programs, Flats, Lionfish, Outreach, Plastics, Research Programs, Sea turtles, Sharks

CEI attends Abaco Science Alliance Conference 2014

asac 1
Stephen, Owen, Tiff, Meaghan, and Joce at the conference.

FRIENDS of the Environment hosted the 6th Biennial Abaco Science Alliance Conference (ASAC). The conference goals were to provide a forum for networking and information sharing for Abaco and Bahamas-based research projects, to encourage the use of research for local education and environmental management purposes and to stimulate further research in The Bahamas.

The research and educational programs team traveled from South Eleuthera to Marsh Harbour, Abaco to represent the Cape Eleuthera Institute. The team presented on various research topics currently conducted at the Institute. From mangrove restoration to deep water sharks, here is list of ASAC attendees representing CEI:

asac 3
Owen’s presentation

Stephen B Cone Jr, an outstanding 2013 summer flats intern, gave a talk titled “The mangrove action plan: an adaptive outreach and ecosystem rehabilitation initiative.”

Dr Owen OʼShea, research associate for CEI’s shark research and conservation program, gave a fantastic talk on deep water elasmobranch surveys. His deep sea videos caused much excitement!

Dr Jocelyn Curtis-Quick encouraged all to eat lionfish and talked about her study on the interactions between the Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus, and Invasive Lionfish, Pterois volitans.

asac2
The whole CEI group!

Kristal Ambrose gave a passionate talk on the spatial and temporal patterns in the abundance and diversity of plastic marine debris on beaches in South Eleuthera.

Megean Gary presented on her turtle research examining the spatial dynamics of immature Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) within a foraging ground on the Atlantic coast of Eleuthera.

Continue reading →

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinby feather
Plastics, Research Programs, Sharks

Interesting research on weather balloons by CEI researcher Dr. Owen O’Shea

Dr. Owen O’Shea, research associate for the Shark Program at CEI, recently had research published looking at the negative effects of weather balloons, after thousands were recorded from community beach cleanups.

Check out this press release describing the research!

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/calls-to-stop-weather-balloons-after-remains-found-on-great-barrier-reef/story-fnjpusyw-1226804587144

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinby feather
Conch, Educational Programs, Flats, Research Programs, Student Research, Sustainable Fisheries, Visiting Scientists

Monmouth University students continue ongoing research projects at CEI

1 Comment

January at the Cape Eleuthera Institute is an exciting time:  a new year, new interns, and a heap of new students visiting during their university’s January term!

turtleMonmouth University joined CEI for the 9th consecutive January, with two weeks packed full of research.  Among other tenets of tropical marine ecology, students continued their investigations of the carbon cycling potential of mangroves, the benthic macroinvertebrate distribution within mangrove flats, and the age and life stage distribution of various conch middens. During their time in the flats, students experienced the full range of Bahamian winter biodiversity, including sharks, turtles, bonefish, and more!

Hermit conchResearch of various middens in the Cape Eleuthera area found that newer middens include a high concentration of juvenile shells, affirming the fact that immature conch are being harvested at an increased rate.  This is often an indication of a struggling fishery, and students will continue to analyze potential protective measures for queen conch in years to come.

Samples of mangrove roots, leaves, and stems returned to NJ with the students for further analyses in hopes of better understanding the carbon sequestration occurring within mangrove flats.  A strong correlation between certain types of mangrove environments and high carbon sequestration may lead to increased protection of such areas.

Professor John Tiedemann talking to students out in the mangroves
Professor John Tiedemann talking to students out in the mangroves

Led by Dr. John Tiedemann and Dr. Pedram Daneshgar, and supported by Ph.D. candidates Elizabeth Wallace and Christopher Haak, the students logged countless hours of field time investigating various elements of flats ecology.

Dr. Tiedemann was also instrumental in coordinating a visit from Todd Pover and Stephanie Egger, conservation biologists from New Jersey’s Conserve Wildlife Foundation (http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/).  The two scientists gave a campus-wide presentation on the international work they’ve been doing with the piping plover, a shorebird who breeds along the New Jersey shoreline and winters in the Bahamas.  CEI is excited about the possibility of partnering in CWF’s educational initiatives in years to come!

A group shot at High Rock
A group shot at High Rock
facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinby feather
Educational Programs, Outreach, Research Programs, Student Research

Outreach in Spanish Wells

Student looking at coral cover
Student looking at coral cover

In November, Kristal Ambrose, working for the Center for Sustainable Development, and CEI’s outdoor educator Tiffany Gray, made the trip down island to visit Ms. Thompson’s grade 12 geography class at Spanish Wells All Age School. Students were completing a comparative reef study for their BGCSE course work, a national exam required for graduation. The students surveyed two reefs and made comparisons based on the diversity of indicator fish species, algae and coral competition, surrounding habitat, and coral disease.

Continue reading →

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinby feather
Conch, Educational Programs, Research Programs, Student Research

Visiting program from Exeter University visits Schooner Cays for juvenile conch surveys

Students looking for juvenile conch
Students looking for juvenile conch

This weekend saw visiting Exeter students and professors heading to the Schooner Cays with the CEI Queen Conch team.  A 30-minute ride and short swim allowed us to conduct shallow water surveys around the relatively remote and seldom-visited islands.  Since they were last surveyed in 1993, little data has been collected on population densities around the island.  Recent questions regarding changing larval supplies and reduced reproduction as a result of fishing pressures meant that collecting new data was particularly important.

Measuring a juvenile conch
Measuring a juvenile conch

The group split into two teams of undergrads to complete surveys in two different areas of the shore.  Calipers, measuring tapes, and snorkel gear were distributed and lines of observers began advancing through the surf.  Forty minutes later, one group had found only 2 live juvenile conch.  Just down the beach, the second group found almost 350.

Continue reading →

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinby feather