Earlier this month was the return of Camden Hills Regional High School for their sixth visit to CEI, and Oceanside High School’s second trip alongside Camden. It was another stellar year of exploration, science, research and reflection.
Students focused on research during their time at CEI. They were not only getting out there and assisting our resident scientists with their data collection, but also coming back to the lab, sifting through video footage, % cover of seagrass and trying to work out where all the conch have gone. For these students science came alive. They were able to see what goes into real research, where time, weather, tide, and sharing resources play factors into every minute of every day.
Two students IDing some seagrass out in the field
The students final presentations were outstanding. With only three – four field days and approximately 10 hours of data analysis and thought time, they provided the community with well-rounded projects. Not only did they analyze data, they were able to offer thoughtful insights into why their research matters. Continue reading →
The Island of Grand Bahama. The dark blue color on the south side of the island indicates deep water. The red line is the Grand Lucayan Waterway built in the 70’s that connects the north and south side of the island.
Major man-made changes to the geography of Grand Bahama in the 1960s – 1970s altered the connection between the shallow Little Bahama Bank on the North side and the deep New Providence Channel on the South side of the island. In particular, the construction of the Grand Lucayan Waterway created a new connection, while construction of a shipping harbor obstructed a natural waterway, Hawksbill Creek. These land-use changes potentially altered the spawning migration patterns of fish around Grand Bahama.
VR2 receiver that was placed in the waters around Grand Bahama to record bonefish locations.
Bonefish, sometimes referred to as the gray ghost by anglers because of their elusive nature, are extremely important sport fish in the Bahamas. Recent research on Eleuthera, Abaco, and Andros has shown that these fish migrate from shallow flats to form pre-spawning aggregations near deep water. The goal of this project was to assess present-day movement corridors of bonefish around Grand Bahama during the spawning season (October to May).
Bonefish tag implanted in October 2013.
To accomplish this task, CEI in collaboration with Fisheries Conservation Foundation, College of the Bahamas (Freeport), University of Illinois, Illinois Natural History Survey, Carleton University, and H2O Bonefishing surgically implanted 30 acoustic tags into bonefish and deployed 17 acoustic receivers around the island in October 2013. The receivers were downloaded in June of 2014 and revealed that 7 of the 24 fish tagged on the North side used the Grand Lucayan Waterway as a corridor from the north side to the south side of the island. 2 fish were recorded swimming around the west end and 2 others around the east end of the island, which are each over 80 km journeys. This indicates that bonefish are most likely forming pre-spawning aggregations on the South side of Grand Bahama and will guide research efforts during the next spawning season. The outcomes of this project will be shared with decision makers so they can make informed decisions about protecting migration corridors from spawning grounds to aggregation sites.
Bonefish spawning aggregation. Photo by A. Danylchuk.
Mark Hixon’s Ph.D. students from Oregon State University have returned to CEI for a third summer of invasive lionfish research! This year, they have been busy both above and below the water, performing field and lab experiments. Alex Davis is observing the natural locations of lionfish on large reefs in order to understand whether different types of habitat affect whether lionfish frequent certain areas of a reef and/or leave a reef altogether. Tye Kindinger is testing for competition between two native basslets (popular aquarium fish) by comparing basslets on reef ledges where the two basslets co-occur versus on ledges where she has removed all the individuals of one basslet species. She is interested in seeing whether basslets are less or more vulnerable to lionfish predation when they are competing under ledges.
OSU team diving the patch reefs
Lillian Tuttle wants to know if lionfish harm the cleaner goby, a small but important reef fish because it keeps other fish healthy by picking parasites off their skin. To do this, she moved gobies to small reefs and is now comparing their survival, growth, and behavior before and after adding lionfish, and between reefs with lionfish and those without.
Led by Eric Dilley and Dr. Stephanie Green, the OSU team is also working on a lab experiment that measures how 3 small fish species react to the presence of native predators versus invasive lionfish. Can small native fish recognize and evade this novel predator? How “appropriate” is their reaction given the serious threat that lionfish pose to their survival? Alex, Tye, Lillian, and Eric are excited to be back working at CEI, and we can’t wait to see what they discover this summer about the ongoing lionfish invasion!
The Island school summer term went out with the deep-water research group, led by Mackellar Violich to pull up traps from 1200 meters deep. The baited traps are set off the wall, and traps are pulled in the following day. Researchers then identify, measure, and record all of the organisms from the traps.
IS students out with deepwater research team,
This research project is focusing on finding the biodiversity and abundance of benthic scavenging species that live between 500-1400 meters deep in the Northeast Exuma sound.
The team recently pulled up Bathynomus giganteus, a large isopod and some Simenchelys parasitica, or pugnose eels.
Students working up organisms collected in deep water traps.
Queen conch are an important animal in The Bahamas, both economically and ecologically. Conch reproduce via internal fertilization and females lay extensive egg masses that hold hundreds of thousands of eggs. However, recent years have shown a marked decrease in conch populations, in the greater Caribbean region, and in The Bahamas.
Robin Bater (Newcastle undergraduate researcher) records size categories of conch from Taylor Witkin and Lisa West (CEI Interns) during a tow
In 1993, dive and tow surveys were conducted that assessed the breeding populations of conch off Cape Eleuthera. This summer we are reinvestigating this area to determine whether conch are still utilizing the same breeding grounds as they did in the 90s, and if their population is undergoing any variation or decline.
To accomplish this, CEI is running a series of conch tows and dives to assess conch population density. This involves either pulling researchers behind a boat or diving in small groups and noting how many conch are present as well as the size category of those conch (either adult, subadult, or juvenile). These size categories have to do with the age and sexual maturity of the conch and are determined by the presence and thickness of a flared lip on the conch’s shell. We will continue to update you on our findings throughout the summer.
Last week CEI was graced with 13 kiddos here for our annual Eleuthera Explorers Summer Camp! It was a jam packed week full of smiles, snorkeling, adventures, challenges, tears, homesickness but most of all LOTS of laughs!
Both Eleuthera Explorers Kids Camp, ages 9-12, and Eleuthera Explorers Teen camp, ages 13-15, had the opportunity to head ‘down island’ as far as glass window bridge. The group stopped up at the Governor’s Harbour Junkanoo shack for a little creative pasting and rush out. Teen camp had the chance to scuba dive and Kayak during their program, both a highlight for all!
A camper explores the reef at fourth hole beach after learning about coral reef ecologyThe campers make traditional bahamian junkanoo headdresses out of recyclable materials
Students focused on research during their time at CEI. They were not only getting out there and assisting our resident scientists with their data collection, but also coming back to the lab, sifting through video footage, % cover of seagrass and trying to work out where all the conch have gone. For these students science came alive. They were able to see what goes into real research, where time, weather, tide, and sharing resources play factors into every minute of every day.
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