Flats intern Stacey Dorman fishes from the bow of the boat.
Interns from the Flats Ecology and Conservation Program and Shark Research and Education Program at the Cape Eleuthera Institute (Stacey Dorman and Carl Treyz) and Zack Jud from the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust finished their four day bonefish tagging trip in South Andros, which was very successful! A total of 654 fish were tagged around South Andros, including the west side and the cays on the southernmost tip of the island. The overall goal was to tag bonefish in areas that are heavily fished by recreational anglers, so that they can be later recaptured, and information about bonefish population movement and growth can be collected. Continue reading →
Two weeks ago, several CEI team members went up to the Eleuthera Arts and Cultural Center in Tarpum Bay to participate in a beach plastic Christmas ornament workshop, hosted by artist Barbra Devries. The event was a success and inspired everyone to think creatively and view beac hplastic in a different light.
The goal of the workshop was to empower locals to utilize discarded resources found on a beach and use it to develop artwork for a profit. CEI team members were able to participate and create their own plastic Christmas ornaments, and everyone had a great time!
Kylie grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She received in a Bachelor’s of Arts in French Language Studies and a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. More recently, she earned a Master’s of Science degree in Marine Science from the University of New England in Maine. Her research examined how river plume dynamics influence larval transport and more specifically the distribution of crab and mussel larvae. Beyond educational institutions, Kylie has gained experience working for State agencies such as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, interning at aquariums, and teaching science and math in K-12 public schools and college-level courses in the Caribbean. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in marine resource management and is particularly interested in science communication, K-12 education and outreach, and conducting applicable research. Continue reading →
Sixth grade students listen to a presentation on lionfish.
Tiffany Gray, the Lead Outdoor Educator at CEI and Franchesca Bethell, a lionfish intern at CEI and a former BESS Island School alumni, recently had the opportunity to teach the awesome sixth grade class at Wemyss Bight Primary School about lionfish awareness. The students first followed along with the lionfish presentation which gave them insight into the invasive species in the western region of the world. They listened attentively and weren’t afraid to ask LOTS of questions during the presentation! Continue reading →
Fall is off to a fantastic start in Educational Programs! CEI jumped back into the academic year with two amazing weeks of programming. Along for the ride were our students from Round Square, a collaborative group of 17 young adults from Canada and Massachusetts, followed by Palm Beach Day Academy of Florida.
The Round Square group dropping the Medusa
Round Square ambassadors spent time on Eleuthera before heading to the annual Round Square conference. Students focused on their “IDEALS of learning: Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure, Leadership and Service” while at CEI, and investigated the concept of what it means to live and travel well. Round Square students had the once in a lifetime opportunity of launching the Medusa with the Shark Research team, along with dissecting a lionfish, conducting shuttle box experiments, and surveying the local beaches for marine debris.
Round Square group playing with kids at the resource center.
To emphasize the international element of the program, CEI organized and launched a Round Square-DCMS Plastics Seminar! The day began by pairing each Round Square student with a DCMS student, and quickly launched into round table discussions on plastics pollution and its impact on environment and our bodies. All DCMS and the Round Square students were insightful and reflective on plastics in daily life, and each left with recycled plastic jewelry to remind them to keep continue thinking about plastic’s role in our world. Continue reading →
With every researcher at CEI always on the go, managing their own research projects, they hardly have time to get a feel for other projects going on at the institute. Luckily this is changing, as once a month all researchers will come together and take part in a different research project. The goal is for each CEI researcher to have a good understanding of all of the great research being done at CEI.
This past week the team assisted fellow researcher Kristal Ambrose with her beach plastic project. The team managed to survey two beaches for the long term project; Kristal aims to determine how plastic moves over time in between beaches here in South Eleuthera. The CEI team helped contribute to Kristal’s growing dataset, learning new survey methods, and getting firsthand exposure to the plastic pollution that threatens the beauty and health of the island. A good time was had by all. Stay tuned for the research team’s next adventure!
Miss Kristal Ambrose, CEI’s Marine Plastic Pollution Specialist, and Tiffany Gray, CEI’s Lead Outdoor Educator, made a visit to 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students at North Eleuthera Primary to talk about Pollution and Plastics. Students had a blast learning about some of the threats to their marine resources, as well as acting out the North Pacific garbage patch! Kristal and Tiffany also had the opportunity to speak with the 2nd grade class briefly before heading out to Spanish Wells.
Spanish Wells was a successful visit as our team checked in with the 12 grade geography class to assist them with a comparative coral reef study that they will be conducting for the Bahamas General Certificate Secondary Examination, a national exam for local high schools. CEI will be continuing on with outreach efforts in North Eleuthera on Oct 17 where students from both schools will get to visit mangroves and coral reefs.
Dr. Bill Louda (PI) and Aaron Schultz, a co-PI and director of the Cape Eleuthera Institute, visited 3 marine laboratory facilities between August 13-18, 2013. The major part of this trip was a visit (Aug. 13-16) to the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) on the Island of Little Cayman just south of Cuba. Following their return to Miami Florida, they then visited two labs in the Florida Keys (post to follow).
CCMI (LCRC) is built very close to the shore line on the northern side of Little Cayman. The outer reef (~ 150 – 175 yards offshore) rising out of hundreds of fathoms of water was effective in decreasing hurricane storm surge several times and it is predicted that future storms, without the influence of sea-level rise, will only push saltwater up under these structures and not into the first floor level.
Dorms over work/dive shop with the NSF-FSML funded lab building being built in the background.
The lab area occupies about one-third of the first floor of the yellow building. The rectangular 1/3 of that floor is itself divided into 3 separate labs, each about 10 x 20 feet (this is from memory, not measurements). In this way, wall and bench linear footage (space) is maximized and lab functions are segregated. This concept should roll into the plans for laboratory upgrades / building at CEI.
Thanks to Dr. Carrie Manfrino, CCMI President and Director of Research for coordinating the visit. Continue reading →
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