On Friday, September 27, students from Deep Creek Middle School (DCMS) met with staff from the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) at Paige Creek to discuss mangrove ecosystems. Tiffany Gray, lead outdoor educator for CEI, led the eighth grade science class through an interactive lesson covering mangrove identification, their importance and threats to the ecosystem.
Stacey Dorman and Kylie Bloodsworth, CEI Flats Ecology interns, also gave the students an overview of research carried out by the institute and how mangrove ecosystems might be affected by climate change. The students then snorkeled up the creek system, taking note of important biota residing in the mangroves, such as juvenile barracuda, schoolmaster snapper, checkered puffer and juvenile lemon sharks. The DCMS students happily came away from class with the knowledge that mangroves are important ecosystems worth researching and protecting!
Our Gap Year crew has been very busy in their first month here at CEI with marine research, road trips, classes and community service. We’ve studied human ecology, coral reefs, mangroves and more. We analyzed sustainable aspects of our Island School/CEI community here and compared them to our home communities with the ultimate goal of designing a solution to an issue of sustainability at home.
Outside of our classes, we’ve helped out with many on-site research projects studying everything from green sea turtles to Caribbean sharks to a local favorite, queen conch. We’ve also conducted plastic surveys and helped out in our permaculture garden. Last week we explored outside our immediate community and volunteered at the Tarpum Bay Arts & Cultural center doing a landscaping project (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eleutheras-Art-and-Cultural-Centre/234550843232729). There we met the lovely director, Audrey Carey, who regaled us with stories about what life was like when she grew up in the Bahamas (very sustainable!) and showed us the local students’ and artists’ work. Continue reading →
At the end of March, Kate Barley represented CEI and attended a stakeholder workshop on Ecological Gap Analysis at the Wyndham Nassau Resort. Decision makers from government, policy makers, academics, and NGO’s were also in attendance. This workshop was a part of the larger Global Environment Fund (GEF) Project titled “Building a Sustainable Network of Marine Protected Areas for The Bahamas.” The main objective of this is to expand the coverage of Marine Protected Areas in The Bahamas.
An ecological gap analysis is an assessment to check if the the goals and objectives for the area are being met. An ecological gap is where a certain species or ecosystem (e.g., A reef, mangrove, forest, etc.) is not represented enough for the long term protection that it needs. This is important because The Bahamas is part of an international agreement, The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and as part of this, has agreed to protect at least 17% of the land and 10% of marine environment by 2020. This protection does not all have to be in the form of closed areas, but does need to be effectively managed, ecologically representative, and connected to other ecosystems with the overall goal of reducing the pressure on biodiversity and promoting sustainable use of resources. Continue reading →
Up-close shot of a juvenile green sea turtle.Meagan spotting a turtle.
Annabelle Brooks and Meagan Gary, researchers with the CEI Sea Turtle Research and Conservation Program, recently spent a day in Savannah Sound, Central Eleuthera, with Fishbone Tours (http://www.fishbonetours.com/). Established by Julius Rankine, resident of Savannah Sound, Fishbone Tours offers fishing trips and adventure tours that include a variety of activities including snorkeling on reefs and in mangroves, visiting a conch ranch, lunch on a secluded beach, and catching sea turtles. Not only a fun day out, Julius and his wife also take the opportunity to educate visitors about the various marine environments and species of the Bahamas.
Julius Rankine from Fishbone Tours measuring the carapace length of a green sea turtle.
CEI’s Sea Turtle Research and Conservation Program has teamed up with Fishbone tours, training them on measuring sea turtles that they catch and release, gathering valuable data about the sea turtles using the rich habitat of Savannah Sound. This collaboration will allow us to expand our existing data set from South Eleuthera. During their time in Savannah Sound, Meagan caught a juvenile green turtle and recorded carapace measurements, and the team explored the variety of different habitat types found throughout the sound. This was a great way to start collaborations on Eleuthera and start planning for future research in the rich ecosystem of Savannah Sound.
Last weekend, Bahamas National Trust (BNT) made headway in their Rapid Ecological Assessment of Cross Harbour, Abaco. This REA will gather important ecological data to help establish a baseline for long-term monitoring activities and the creation of the proposed Cross Harbour Protected Area. A group of volunteers headed out on Friday, August 20th, to tag and recapture previously tagged bonefish. Tiffany Gray, lead outdoor educator for Cape Eleuthera Institute, helped in the tagging of 199 bonefish on Friday. The rest of the tagging crew continued through Sunday with at total number of 578 bonefish tagged!
Students from the US and Puerto Rico came to the CEI campus for a week of working with researchers in the Shark, Flats, and Turtle Programs. Here is an update from each group.
Campers tagging and measuring a fish.
Flats Team: Campers working the with flats team got a crash course in learning about flats ecology, mangrove ecosystems, and the economic and ecological importance of one target flats species, the bonefish. They gained experience seining, where they caught bonefish and lemon sharks and were able to practice tagging and releasing. Campers also got to try their hand at fly fishing on the flats, and each group caught a few bonefish. Continue reading →
Last week Justin Lewis, from Grand Bahama, Zack Jud, from Florida International University and Tiffany Gray, from Cape Eleuthera Institute, worked with Cassandra Abraham at Friends of the Environment in Marsh Harbour, Abaco on a flats program with local students from Abaco. This flats program was like a shorter version (just 3 days) of our 7 day sleepover Flats Week summer program at Cape Eleuthera Institute. It gives students a chance to not only learn the basics of flyfishing, but also immerse themselves into the ecology and conservation of the flats ecosystem. We had 5 students, all Bahamians, participating in the course.The program started out on Tuesday, August 13th, with an informational presentation on bonefish and flats ecology. Zack and Justin also spent a bit of time that first day teaching students the basics on flyfishing where they had the chance to practice casting, some of them for the first time! That afternoon we headed over to Great Cistern to do an introduction on methodology and how to use the seine net. We saw lots of turtles, a shark, and caught some shad (mojarra), crabs, shrimp, and other fun stuff in the seine net.
Measuring a bonefish.
The second day we tagged 20 bonefish around Crossing Rocks, about 12 miles south of the Marls. Clint Kemp from Black Fly Lodge in Schooner Bay took us out with two of their flats boats for a beautiful day on the water. After tagging and doing a little fishing, he took us over to the Black Fly Lodge to check out their facilities. It was very quaint and personal lodge, right on the newly developed Schooner Bay. Clint provided a wealth of information on not only what it’s like to be a top notch fly fishing guide, but also some of the background on the development of the unique “Live, work, and play” community of Schooner Bay.
Check out their website:
Black Fly Lodge - http://www.blackflylodge.com/
For the last day, we headed out flyfishing to get more practice using the fly rods and to catch a few bonefish. We went out in Cherokee Sound with local guide Buddy Pinderand found LOTS of bonefish. Those spooky Cherokee bones are known to be tough to catch, but we did have two students get the chance to catch two bonefish that morning! Once the tide got a little high for fishing, we had lunch at the Pinder’s house in Casuarina. Students then learned to make their own flys to take home and use next time they are out fishing!
CEI just completed the second Eleuthera Explorer’s Camp this summer! Camp culminated with presentations for parents at Island School. This gave campers a chance to share what experiences got them most excited throughout the week and to show their parents a tidbit of what they have learned.
The first day started out with a snorkel and sustainable systems scavenger hunt to get everyone acquainted to campus and life at The Island School. Later, they got to do some kayaking, Bahamian dance, and attend a presentation from our plastics research enthusiast, Miss Kristal Ambrose.
Campers in the Deep Creek Explorers Camp explore the mangroves.
On their second day, they had a chance to go on a discover scuba dive! This is for youngsters who are not certified yet but still want to try their hand at breathing underwater. Even Gwyndolyn Domino, who is already open water certified, got a chance to get another full dive under her belt. The day continued with a reef snorkel and presentation on shark ecology.
Space 2 Create, a non profit summer day camp for the youth of Harbour Island, Eleuthera, joined forces with The Cape Eleuthera Institute to initiate Space 2 Explore, a program based around marine ecology and conservation. Founded in 2007 by William Simmons (DCMS Teacher), this comprehensive youth development program aims to enhance the academic, artistic and character development of young people on Harbour Island. Students this summer explored diverse marine habitats under the guidance of Cape Eleuthera Institute researcher Kristal Ambrose and DCMS teacher Carola Walker in partnership with divemaster Shawn Springer.
Students’ eyes were opened as they learned to identify countless organisms in the habitats they explored and also grasped the importance of these threatened ecosystems. These activities were not only academically enriching but helped students to build character as they faced their fears and accomplished things they never thought possible. This learning experience is highly relevant, as Harbour Island is experiencing the pressures of rapid development. It is important that the next generation understands the role of conservation in sustainable development.
This week we said ‘bon voyage’ to an amazing group of students, staff and crew from Seatrek Fathoms. They graced us with their presence for 10 days of science, fun, research, snorkeling, and much much more.
A new experience for the education team with the group staying aboard their 65ft sailing schooner named the Avalon. Each day the group made it to land and delved into our program. The focus of this trip was for the students to really get an idea of how a remote field station functions, all the differing aspects of research at CEI and the reality of setting reachable research goals.
Students clearing access road to the Ocean Hole Park in Rock Sound.
We began our trip with a day sharking out with Owen and his team. It was quite the day long-lining with both the Dave & Di and the Avalon, giving all the students an opportunity to be first hand part on the long-lining crew, switching out with the observers stationed on the Avalon. The day was successful, hooking one Reef Shark, all the students were able to see how shark research works out in the field, and it was a great day had by all. Continue reading →
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