A new project focused on the rehabilitation of tidal mangrove creeks in South Eleuthera has been put into action by the Flats Ecology and Conservation Program. A part of this project is the establishment of a red mangrove nursery in the creek on campus. Armored cultivator pots have been built to house the young mangrove propagules which will be transplanted to areas that would benefit from the reestablishment of a mangrove forest once prop roots start to grow.
The initial plan for the armored cultivator pots was derived from a design used by the Mangrove Solutions Division of the Reef Ball Division. The cultivator pot acts as a growing medium for the propagule as it becomes established, and further acts as a protective shield once the young mangrove is transplanted to a predetermined area that would benefit from mangrove rehabilitation that may experience wave, wind, and tide action. We strive to use the highest percentage possible of locally sourced materials in the mixture and to include organic materials that provide nutrients to the plant as it grows. The mixture we have employed includes mud collected from the mangrove creek, sand, compost, shredded coconut husk, and Portland cement. Continue reading →
As a continuation of two years of research on the elusive, critically endangered oceanic whitetip, we made the crossing to the southern tip of Cat Island on Tuesday, May 7th with the goal of learning more about this understudied, and historically abundant, pelagic shark. We have been at Cat Island for less than a week and have been extremely successful. With 17 satellite tags on oceanic whitetips and countless in-water experiences, the first leg of the trip has gone smoothly. We have over a week left here and less than ten tags to deploy, making our main purpose to put out sat tags on males and recaptures, as well as conduct ultrasounds on all females to determine reproductive state. We have also caught, tagged, and taken biometrics on a blue shark and a small but curious tiger shark while out in the blue water. To learn more, check out the link to our collaborator’s blog at the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Science :http://www.somas.stonybrook.edu/research/highlights/Chapman/index.html
The plastic pioneers of CEI have struck again! Recently the Cape Eleuthera Institute embarked on a historical project studying macro and micro plastic pollution on beaches in South Eleuthera. This unique project is the first of its kind here in The Bahamas and is led by Bahamian researcher Kristal Ambrose.
The project which is aided solely by the help of educational programs visiting CEI and students of the Island School and Deep Creek Middle School, has welcomed nearly 150 volunteers to this research project. So far the plastic team has surveyed 14 beaches on the island, with 4 remaining for assessment. Continue reading →
The bonefish tagging project continues to study the movements, population size and structure, and the possible impacts of angling on these important fish. By capturing and tagging large numbers of bonefish at multiple sites throughout The Bahamas, we hope to better understand bonefish movements, as well as determine how many spawning aggregations exist and where they are located. This information can help identify coastal areas that should be protected.
A view from a beach on Hummingbird Cay, ExumaProper handling of a bonefish before tagging.
A team of scientists visited Exuma early this spring with hopes to expand the bonefish tagging program to this island. The team, consisting of Aaron and Brian Shultz (The Cape Eleuthera Institute), Dave Philipp, Julie Claussen, and Chris Haak (Fisheries Conservation Foundation), met up with the staff at Hummingbird Cay and were later joined by the family that owns the small island located to the west of Great Exuma. Brian Shultz conducted a sustainability audit for Hummingbird Cay, while the rest of the team surveyed the creek systems and tidal flats. The scientists also connected with several bonefish guides on Great Exuma to discuss the importance of the bonefish tagging program and the recent tagging efforts on other islands such as Abaco, Grand Bahama, and Eleuthera. Stevie Ferguson, Reno Rolle, Drexel Rolle and several other bonefish guides agreed to help capture and tag 500+ bonefish later this year. Overall, this was a very successful trip that would not have been possible without the support of the Hummingbird Cay Foundation and Exuma Foundation.
Attention! Deadline for registration for CEI’s Eleutheran Explorer’s Camp, Shark Week, Flats Week, and the new Turtle Week has been extended to JUNE 15. Please see the links below for informational flyers about the camps!
Last October, Hurricane Sandy caused a dilemma by shifting the off-shore aquaculture cage. Last week the aquaculture team, along with the help of a number of CEI and IS faculty members, successfully moved the off-shore cage back into its pre-Hurricane Sandy position. The move went off without a hitch and has been a long time in the making after months of prep work.
After a few dives, with a large team of helpers, new anchor lines have been installed and we are now in the process of re-positioning the anchors in order to prevent a repeat of last year’s unfortunate events. With the cage back in its original position, preparation can now begin for a new batch of Cobia fingerlings in the coming months. Continue reading →
Lyford Cay grade 8 had a busy 3 days here at CEI diving into the plastics curriculum as well as some of the fun yet educational activities typical of our Island School programs: Sandbar geology, Lionfish lesson/dissection, and reef ecology lesson & snorkel.
Weather was a tad windy for snorkeling at 4th hole but they did have a chance to check out the reef balls. Successful plastics research was conducted on 4th hole beach with Miss Kristal Ocean herself and the results will be used in their science class back at Lyford.
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 →
A new project focused on the rehabilitation of tidal mangrove creeks in South Eleuthera has been put into action by the Flats Ecology and Conservation Program. A part of this project is the establishment of a red mangrove nursery in the creek on campus. Armored cultivator pots have been built to house the young mangrove propagules which will be transplanted to areas that would benefit from the reestablishment of a mangrove forest once prop roots start to grow.
The initial plan for the armored cultivator pots was derived from a design used by the Mangrove Solutions Division of the Reef Ball Division. The cultivator pot acts as a growing medium for the propagule as it becomes established, and further acts as a protective shield once the young mangrove is transplanted to a predetermined area that would benefit from mangrove rehabilitation that may experience wave, wind, and tide action. We strive to use the highest percentage possible of locally sourced materials in the mixture and to include organic materials that provide nutrients to the plant as it grows. The mixture we have employed includes mud collected from the mangrove creek, sand, compost, shredded coconut husk, and Portland cement. Continue reading 
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