All posts by ceiblogger

Outreach, Sharks, Visiting Scientists

Shark team update- lots of guests visiting CEI!

This week has been a busy one for the Shark Team. We are fortunate to have three wonderful guests on the boat:

Dr. Michael Scholl of the Save Our Seas Foundation arrived Saturday morning followed by Jason Heaton and Gishani Heaton who are here doing a piece for Gear Patrol focusing on the Shark Research and Conservation Program.

We spent Monday out on the boat searching for reef sharks with our physiology project and had some luck! We hooked a Caribbean reef shark quite early and had the chance to get some great photos underwater before bringing the small male to the boat and doing a complete workup. Gishani got some wonderful photos from the boat while Dr. Scholl and Jason were in the water taking video and snapping some photos as well. It was a very successful day and everyone was excited to be a part of such an exciting project. More than anything, we were happy to see the shark swim off unharmed and have a complete data set.

A Caribbean reef shark encountererd during a snorkel.
A Caribbean reef shark encountererd during a snorkel.

Tuesday was full of more shark sets and diving opportunities for Jason and Gishani. We had no luck on the lines, but did have the chance to see a free swimming Caribbean reef shark at the offshore aquaculture cage. Continue reading →

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Educational Programs, Flats, Outreach, Student Research

Deep Creek Kids Discover the Life in the Creeks

Last week our Educational team led a three day natural history camp for nine kids from Deep Creek and the surrounding settlements. In addition to camp songs, rounds of the game ‘screaming toes’ and scavenger hunts, our educators introduced students to the terrestrial and marine life on the shores of Red Bays, Deep Creek and Paige Creek.

Adventure Log

lifejacketsDay 1: After intros and icebreakers we went to the beach to do a scavenger hunt, and build our own mangroves on the beach. In the afternoon, the group learned how to identify the red, white and black mangrove trees of Deep Creek and explored the slippery, slimy mud found here.

 

Branae&EliDay 2: A field trip to the Island School! The kids learned how to work together to move kayaks, both in the water and on land! After all that hard work in the morning, we hiked up Paige Creek and lazily floated out with the tide, identifying fish and invertebrates along the way.

Whit&AlishaDay 3: On our final day of camp, we went seining in the creeks with two of our interns, Stephen and Liam. After a couple of attempts, we successfully caught several species of fish and learned how climate change is affecting fish in these creeks – research our Flats team is currently conducting at CEI. After a picnic lunch in Deep Creek, the group showcased what they’d learned about life in the mangrove ecosystem by creating posters depicting the life found there.

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Lionfish, SCUBA, Visiting Scientists

OSU Research Update- Lillian Tuttle

Lillian diving a patch reef.
Lillian diving a patch reef.

Lillian Tuttle is a PhD. student from Mark Hixon’s lab at Oregon State University, who is working at CEI for 90 days this summer studying the lionfish invasion.  Broadly, Lillian is interested in the interactions among invasive lionfish, native parasite communities, and native cleaning symbioses.  Her past research demonstrates that invasive lionfish have escaped the threat of parasitic infection here in the Atlantic, especially when compared to native fishes that are chocked full of parasitic worms and crustaceans.  Without the need to fight infection, lionfish might be able to put more energy into growth and reproduction, perhaps explaining some of their success as an invasive species.  But if lionfish don’t have parasites, might they still change the way that native fish get parasites?

Lillian's hand getting cleaned at an underwater fish cleaning station!
Lillian’s hand getting cleaned at an underwater fish cleaning station!

This brings us to Lillian’s project this summer. Thus far, Lillian has logged many hours of observation and deployed many GoPro cameras to detect what lionfish are doing at cleaning stations, locations on the reef where small “cleaner” gobies and shrimp pick the parasites off the skin of larger fish “clients” (think, car washes in the sea!).  Are lionfish eating cleaners?  Are lionfish eating clients?  Or might the slow, stalking, hunting behavior of lionfish interrupt cleaning somehow?  These are all questions Lillian hopes to answer this summer at CEI.

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Educational Programs, Outreach

Eleutheran Explorers have adventures at CEI

Student jumping off of High Rock
Student jumping off of High Rock

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.

Students getting a tour of the farm with Joseph
Students getting a tour of the farm with Joseph
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SCUBA, Visiting Scientists

SFU Researcher is studying yellow stingrays at CEI

SFU undergraduate researcher Sev counts yellow stingrays on a patch reef.
SFU undergraduate researcher Sev counts yellow stingrays on a patch reef.

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!

A photo of one of the yellow stingrays.
A photo of one of the yellow stingrays.

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!

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Conch, Educational Programs, Flats, Sustainable Systems

Pacific Ridge School experiences the Atlantic 2013

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.

pac ridge pac ridgeOn 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!

Continue reading →

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Lionfish, Research Programs, SCUBA

Lionfish Researcher Invasion

Currently CEI is overrun with lionfish researchers; it’s an invasion!

The Oregon State University has a team of 6 here. The renowned lionfish researcher Dr. Mark Hixon was also on site for 2 weeks. We also have a group of 3 researchers from Simon Fraser University, as well as 3 researchers from the University of the West Indies. And, of course, the CEI team is always here.

lnvasion blog

Lionfish researchers

 

Let’s hope for lots of data and no stings!

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SCUBA, Student Research

Senior Students (Re) Visit CEI!

The week of May 20th we had four senior students Ian, Kyle, Annie & Cyrus, join us at CEI to work on their senior projects. Three of the four students were Island School alumni and returned to this place where they had learned so much about the marine environment and ‘living well in a place’. Cyrus said that he came to “expand [his] horizons, experience a breadth of marine research and see the world through a different lens.”senior projects

The students spent time learning about and helping with three of our research projects – shark research, lionfish research and beach plastic pollution. They had opportunities to work with local students at the Deep Creek Middle School, capture lionfish, scuba dive (Cyrus completed his Open Water Certification here!) and relax at local beaches and restaurants. Continue reading →

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Educational Programs, Outreach, Sustainable Systems

Wemyss Bight Primary School Meets live animals at The Island School and CEI May 28, 2013 & June 6, 2013

Wemyss Bight PrimaryThe Grade twos and threes from Wemyss Bight Primary School have each come to visit The Island School campus and learn all about how animals get their food, water and protection in order to survive. After meeting and greeting the Educational Program staff, the students went to feed the pigs at the Island School Farm.  On site we have six incredibly large pigs that consume much of the food waste from our dining hall. The grade three students helped Fran shovel the leftover food into the pig pen and students and pigs equally squealed with delight. Next, the students met (and pet!) our Muskovy ducks that provide eggs for our kitchen and saw a mother duck incubating her egg.

Students from WBPS about to participate in a game that emphasizes living sustainably!
Students from WBPS about to participate in a game that emphasizes living sustainably!

After a snack break, the students explored how a variety of marine invertebrates survive in the ocean. They touched sea urchins, juvenile conch and a sea star. Throughout their visit, the students discovered different ways The Island School and CEI strive to tread lighter on our planet and balanced all this information out with a few silly games and tons of songs. We dropped them off back at WBPS with giant smiles, high fives and hugs just in time for lunch. The Educational Program staff is looking forward to working with the Grade six class from Governors Harbour next week!

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